another card to make reds 2/2 onedrops playable. I like
The RR cost does make it really bad in my cubes though, because deep red isnt really viable. I dont see myself casting it multiple turns for 1R either.
I like it too, especially since I'm looking for a good reason to cut Valley Dasher, but I think it will be my weakest red 2-drop from then on, till the next real staple comes.
My thoughts exactly. I like this dude and maybe it'll play better than it reads but it looks like a middle-of-the-pack 2-drop that is nevertheless better than a lot of our current options. IE Valley Dasher. Guy is so high variance.
Pyrotechnics reprint is nice, even if it has the wrong coloured symbol for purists, more art and new border (for those who care about borders) is nice.
Abzan Skycaptain: Interesting, not sure how good it really is.
Sandsteppe Outcast: I like it, not sure if it will be better than the rest of my 3-drop's.
Aven Surveyor: Considering Mist Raven and Man-o'-war are super-powerful, this seems really nice.
Lotus Path Djinn: Seems solid, but blue has better flyers at that cmc.
Whisk Away: Ok, but blue has better stuff.
Alesha's Vanguard: I'm inclined to rate this pretty low, but also have the feeling it could surprise me. Seems like a worse Viscera Dragger.
Sibsig Host: Too Expensive.
Sultai Emissary: I love the normal ilustration.
Tasigur's Cruelty: Too expensive for 1v1??
Defiant Ogre: I really like it, probably going in for Wild Celebrants
Temur Battle Rage: Wow. 8 trample damage at minimum with ferocious.
Ainok Guide: Terrible. The worst modal.
Map the Wastes: Interesting. Ramps and gives support to reaching late game.
Return to the Earth: Too expensive.
I think all the runemarks have better, previous versions. Mostly worse than the Bestow version of them.
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Holiday Armadillo... Cloak
My 490 Pauper Cube
Modern frame only- Common on paper only - no functional copies, no strictly-betters - no subtype-matters
There's a lot of cards I'll be picking up to try out in my cube, but besides those, the one card I'm most amused by is Bathe in Dragonfire. It's nice to get an updated figure for how development thinks effects should actually cost so we realize how good we've got it. Let's hear it for Rise of the Eldrazi creating a context that let Flame Slash exist!
Here's a set review I wrote up. Apologies for not adding card tags, I didn't feel like taking that much effort.
Ranking Scale
5 (Bomb): This card is first-pickable, and dominates games on its own.
4 (Staple): This card has a high impact on the game, should consistently be picked early in drats, and is almost always played maindeck. These cards typically define core cube archetypes.
3 (Cubeable): This card is good and can often be played maindeck. These cards are the “meat and potatoes” of most decks, and constitute the majority of cards in typical cubes.
2 (Borderline): These cards are decent, but are either (a) outclassed by cubeable counterparts, (b) appealing only to specific archetypes, and/or (c) typically used to fill out decks. Large cubes and cubes emphasizing very specific archetypes tend to be the most interested in these cards.
1 (Bad): These cards are simply severely outclassed, overall underwhelming, and / or require a very narrow range of cases to warrant consideration. Very few cubes will consider these cards.
0 (Terrible): These cards are so bad, they are probably best used as bookmarks, kindling, or proxies for better cards.
Abzan Advantage: 1.5. Most of the time, this will be “Destroy target enchantment. Bolster 1.” which is alright, but it’s still a very fringe card.
Abzan Runemark: 2.0. +2/+2 and vigilance is high impact, except this has the typical aura disadvantage.
Abzan Skycaptain: 2.0. The bolster ability is good, but it’s hard to ensure that this card will die, so the card will probably be an overcosted Wind Drake most of the time.
Arashin Cleric. 2.0. This is a worse Lone Missionary a lot of the time, and Lone MIssionary isn’t that exciting of a card. Also, only control decks would be potentially interested in a 1/3 body.
Aven Skirmisher: 1.0. This is basically an irrelevant creature.
Dragon Bell Monk: 1.5. Prowess is simply too hard to reliably trigger, and a 2/2 vigilance on its own is unexciting.
Great-Horn Krushok: 1.0. Pillarfield Ox’s big brother still isn’t good.
Pressure Point: 2.0. This is the cycle ability of Choking Tethers, except in white. It’s nice that it replaces itself, but it’s not high impact enough for most cubes to consider.
Sandblast: 1.0. This is just overcosted.
Sandsteppe Outcast: 2.0. 3 power, including 1 with flying for 3 mana is decent, and in some cases, the flexibility to play a 3/2 may be useful, but I’m not sure if most cubes have room for this.
Soul Summons: 1.5. The best case scenario with manifest is powerful, but assuming that creatures comprise a bit over ⅓ of a typical deck, the expectation value of this card is a Grizzly Bear, which is not worth a card.
Aven Surveyor: 3.5. This is a more expensive Mist Raven almost all the time, but it’s still a very good card.
Enhanced Awareness: 1.0. This nets 1 card total, which is not worth 5 mana.
Jeskai Runemark: 1.0. This is a worse Spectral Flight.
Jeskai Sage: 1.0. Prowess is unreliable as a limited ability, and with an almost irrelevant body, this will only be a potential cantrip in many cases.
Lotus Path Djinn: 2.0. A 2/3 flying for 4 mana isn’t the best creature, and prowess is unreliable. Only things like counter-burn decks would be seriously interested in this.
Rakshas’a Disdain: 2.0. This scales well into the late game, but there are much better counters at 2CMC.
Refocus: 1.0. This replaces itself, but makes very little impact on the board state.
Sultai Skullkeeper: 1.0. A vanilla 2/1 2 CMC blue creature is just not worth it.
Whisk Away: 2.0. This is a very nice effect for tempo decks, but 3 CMC is a bit much.
Will of the Naga: 2.0. Frost Breath is a fine card, and this is potentially cheaper late game. However, this is just overcosted in the midgame.
Write Into Being: 1.5. This card would be significantly better if it placed the non-manifested card into your hand, but as is, is basically a slightly more expensive Soul Summons with a slight upside.
Alesha’s Vanguard: 1.0. Neither reinvesting 3 mana per turn into a black Centaur Courser or a black Hill Giant is particularly exciting.
Ancestral Vengeance: 1.0. This just doesn’t have much of an effect on the board, and the double black mana cost is problematic.
Douse in Gloom: This is an overcosted removal spell.
Gurmag Angler - 2.5. Delve is a powerful ability, and this is almost always a better Marshmist Titan. With two cards in the graveyard, a 5/5 for 5 mana passes the vanilla test, and later in the game, it becomes significantly better. The downside is that most black decks aren’t that interested in a vanilla midrange creature.
Hooded Assassin - 1.0. While this card offers some flexibility, neither mode is very good.
Reach of Shadows - 1.0. This card is overcosted removal.
Sibsig Host - 1.0. The mill effect is basically irrelevant, and an otherwise vanilla 2/6 for 5 mana is not what most black decks want.
Sultai Emissary - 1.5. This card is a slightly better Butcher Ghoul, but Butcher Ghoul isn’t exactly that great of a card, even for cubes with a creature sacrifice archetype.
Sultai Runemark - 2.0. +2/+2 and potential deathtouch is very strong, but this is expensive and suffers from the normal aura disadvantages.
Taisgur’s Cruelty - 1.0. This is an overcosted Mind Rot.
Bathe in Dragonfire: 1.0. Flame Slash at 3 cmc is just bad.
Collateral Damage: 2.0. This deals 1 less damage than Reckless Abandon, but it’s an instant, which makes it more flexible.
Defiant Ogre: 1.0. Neither mode is exciting.
Fierce Invocation: 1.0. A 4/4 for 5 mana isn’t very exciting, and in most cases where flipping the manifested creature is good, it will require at least 3 additional mana.
Goblin Heelcutter: 3.5. While the full mana cost is slightly overcosted, the triggered ability, the combination of Dash, 3 power, and a good triggered ability make this a very appealing card for aggro decks.
Gore Swine: 1.0. This card is too fragile, and would need some abilities to be worth considering.
Lightning Striker: 0.5. Lava Axe is a bad card, and this is basically Lava Axe.
Mardu Runemark: 2.0. +2/+2 and potential first strike is strong, but it suffers from the normal aura disadvantages.
Mardu Scout: 2.5. This is a fine card only because outside of a couple of powerhouses, red’s 2 CMC creatures are generally underwhelming. The double red mana cost is unfortunate, but either a red Blade of the Sixth Pride or a red Blade of the Sixth Pride with haste (for a two mana investment each turn) is a fine card.
Smoldering Efreet: 1.0. No red deck wants a Grizzly Bear with a downside.
Temur Battle Rage: 3.0. Double strike is a very rare effect at common, and this is both a good combat trick and a way to deal a lot of damage out of nowhere (especially in something like a R/G midrange deck).
Ainok Guide: 1.0. Neither mode is exciting.
Ambush Krotiq: 1.0 At six mana, this card is slightly overcosted, and the triggered ability is often a downside.
Archers of Qarsi: 1.0. This card probably kills whatever it blocks, but 2 toughness is a huge downside. On top of that, green’s 4 CMC creature slot is stacked.
Feral Krushok: 1.0. This is a worse Hollowhenge Beast.
Formless Nurturing: 1.0. This card is simply overcosted and outclassed by a large number of other CMC 4 green creatures.
Frontier Mastodon: 1.5. A potential 4/3 for 3 mana is great, but that upside is only relevant if the Ferocius restriction can be reliably met. Unfortunately, the decks that can reliably meet that restriction typically would rather just play better creatures at 4 CMC.
Map the Wastes: 1.0. Cultivate / Kodama’s Reach almost always seem better, since Bolster 1 does not have that much of an impact.
Return to the Earth: 1.0. This is overcosted.
Temur Runemark: 2.0. The best case scenario is good, but this suffers from the normal aura disadvantages.
Whisperer of the Wilds: 2.0. This is a fairly average 2 CMC mana elf, but the combination of an underwhelming body and an unreliable upside hurt this card.
Cunning Strike: 1.5. This card is overcosted by 1-2 mana.
Ethereal Ambush: 2.0. Assuming that creatures comprise a bit over ⅓ of a typical deck, there is around a 55% chance (1 - [⅔]^2) that this is better than 2 2/2 creatures for 5 mana. The downside is that 2 2/2 creatures for 5 mana is not too exciting, and flipping the manifested creatures requires an additional mana investment. Additionally, there are probably at least 4 better U/G cards, so many cubes will simply not be interested in this.
Grim Contest: 2.0. This card isn’t great in a vacuum, but B/G is by far the weakest guild in pauper cubes past 3 multicolored slots. Larger cubes may be interested in this as a 4th or 5th B/G card.
Harsh Sustenance: 2.0. As an instant, this card is potentially okay card in W/B aggro decks, but W/B is one of the most stacked two-colored sections in pauper cubes. There are probably 5 W/B cards better than this, but this card could be interesting in larger cubes or cubes with large token themes.
War Flare: 2.0. As an instant speed with more than one or two creatures, this card can be a huge blowout. Unfortunately, at 4 CMC, most cubes would probably consider 4-5 more W/R cards before adding this.
TL;DR I think these are the best commons:
1. Goblin Heelcutter
2. Aven Surveyor
3. Temur Battle Rage
4. Mardu Scout
5. Gurmag Angler
Red got the most out of this set (by far), but there are a lot of interesting borderline cards in all colors. I'll be adding at least 4 cards, which isn't bad for a small set.
I'm pretty much just looking at Heelcutter right now. I will also probably put the Cleric in over Temple Acolyte just for the sake of it. If the Simic manifest works out well for people I may also try it. Right now it feels like it clashes with too many of the cards a typical UG deck plays.
well 4 damage for just R is huge, but instant speed gives you the option to respond to lethal damage or removal which is a huge upside. Im trying to fit both in my Tier1.
Fathom Seer > Write into Being: The Seer is quite boring and I'm really interested to see how Write into Being performes. It also keeps 2 face down cards in blue... (idem white)
Don't you lose all the surprise factor leaving only one morph in blue, and one in white? Remember that Manifest and Morph are not the same, and the opponent knows when a 2/2 is a Morphed-down creature and when is a Manifested creature.
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Holiday Armadillo... Cloak
My 490 Pauper Cube
Modern frame only- Common on paper only - no functional copies, no strictly-betters - no subtype-matters
The common problem with doulbe strike is that even when you use it to kill a big-butt creature, most of the damage is wasted, so is always better a classic pump or a burn card. But Temur Battle Rage adds trample, so the extra damage is not wasted.
I've been thinking a lot about green pumps lately, in relation with the Giant Growth/Ranger's Guile discussion (regarding the net utility of a mere +x/+x), and in my last update, I put in Wildsize and Predator's Strike. I must say that I am very happy with them, trample adds a lot to combat tricks.
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Holiday Armadillo... Cloak
My 490 Pauper Cube
Modern frame only- Common on paper only - no functional copies, no strictly-betters - no subtype-matters
Temur Battle Rage definitely deserves your consideration.
Do you think so? It's simply the monocolored version of Double Cleave (I don't see trample as a huge upside) and I can't see myself playing any red combat trick, when there are so many good burn spells I don't have slots for.
Are you kidding? Any red combat trick that is playable should go in instantly because it gives the color something to do other than burn.
I mean maybe. The key here is that he doesn't see Trample as a huge upside. So if you ignore the Trample part, the card is strictly worse than Double Cleave. Double Cleave sees literally no play. In order for Temur Battle Rage to be a good card for you, you need to value Trample and need to expect to have Ferocious active fairly often. I think it'll happen often enough that it'll be worth considering and Al doesn't, that's the discussion.
I see it as a Double Strike, combat trick, wall murderer, etc. that has the upside of stealing games with Ferocious activated crashing over blockers Berserk-style. All that said, I still probably won't play it tbh. But I'm considering it.
The main reason Double Cleave doesn't see play is because Boros is stacked, it's still a fine card (I've played with it before, and I might try it out again in my 5th w/r slot sometime). Temur Battle Rage is at worst a fine combat trick, and at best can win games out of nowhere (ex: this + Slash Panther, or in a g/r midrange deck). First strike is really, really important for r/x aggro creatures, and double strike is better. I'm also a big fan of including combat tricks when possible; sure, they might not always see play, but they make games so much more interactive.
Quote from Runner5678 »
What 4 simic cards do you consider better than Ethereal Ambush? It's the only Manifest card I'm interested in without playing the mechanic yet because I think for two tokens, it's a pretty fair cost. 4-power flash for 5 mana isn't that bad. I guess Beetleback Mage and Snakeform are definitely better. Then Temporal Spring, Shambleshark and Assault Zepellid are close but by no means runaways for the 3rd and 4th simic slots. So if you classify Snakeform as something else for being hybrid, it easily can make a 3-card or even a 2-card list.
I'd play Snakeform, Beetleform Mage, Temporal Spring, and Assault Zeppelid first, and I'd consider Shambleshark and Frilled Oculus too. As an instant, 5 mana is a huge amount to keep up for a split 4/4, and as a sorcery, 2 2/2's (with a ~50% of one being flippable for more mana) just doesn't seem that exciting for what most u/g decks tend to want to do (tempo/midrange).
I really like Desecrator Hag, too. There is a reason why Gravedigger is uncommon now, and the Hag, even with a triggered ability not as good, is generally paired in power.
Plus, it works great with Gray Merchant of Asphodel, and in a Green/x deck with big creatures, ir really nice.
...
Funny thing, the more I think about it the more I start agreeing with Al respect the Temur Rage. As very few creatures in the cube have 4 or more power (most are in green, of course), it seems like most of the time Predator's Strike is simply better.
Think about it, with a creature with exactly 4 power, Temur Rage grants only 1 aditional point of damage. With everything below that, Predator is better, because it grants a flat +3 to damage, always (so you can use it with every creature in your cube). The 'first strike' component in double strike is only better when you face other first strikers or creatures with deathtouch. Seems like temur is much, much more situational than Preators. But I insist, Predator's Strike is really cool so that doesn't mean that Temur is bad. =P
I plan on running Temur Battle Rage in my cube because I am trying to lower the density of burn in red. Also, red has a fair number of ways to activate ferocious. Notable creatures include:
When evaluating a card like this though, I think we should look at its average case scenario, which is just a red Double Cleave; a card not many people run in their cube. I don't think that ferocious will be active often enough to make this card significantly better than Double Cleave, but I still think its worth testing.
Hey guys! Just popping in to give my quick opinions on some of the FRF cards. =D
Honestly I'm very underwhelmed by manifest and dash. None of the manifest cards interest me at all except perhaps Ethereal Ambush, and that card has stiff competition in Simic, and Write into Being, which honestly is probably the best one given how much control it gives you over your manifest and the top of your library. My problem is that, when you're comparing any manifest card to the others of its kind (Soul Summons to white 2-drops, Sultai Emissary to black 2-drops, Fierce Invocation to red 5-drops), it's just... not better. I have a pessimistic view of how often manifest flips actually happen (and not just happen, but happens in a way that the added mana you have to pay is worth converting one creature into another creature). And what that leaves me with is just vanilla creatures that aren't particularly aggressively costed.
I was excited for bolster, but I don't think there are any significant cards with it here (maybe Dragons of Tarkir will have some). Abzan Skycaptain is okay but not exciting - potentially cubeable, since both the evasive body and the pump are good, but it may not be aggressive enough to compete with other white 4-drops. Map the Wastes, actually, is the one I'm most interested in; an added mana for ramp is something we've historically accepted for an added effect, and in the earylgame bumping 2-drop bear into a 3/3 or something similar is a significant impact to the board. Probably not cubeable in the end, but just a thought.
Enhanced Awareness is probably the card that most captures my attention from the entire set, because it's a type of card I've been interested in for a long time now: 5-mana draw-3s in blue (or, in general, expensive blue draw). In the past I've tried everything from Mysteries of the Deep and Brilliant Plan, and none of them have ever worked because they always have one of two important traits for these kind of cards to work: instant speed, and digging more than two cards (notice how Mysteries of the Deep can do either but not both). This is exactly the card that I've been waiting for, but at this point it may be too late given that we now have Treasure Cruise. Nonetheless, I've been looking so long I may just have to try this out.
On the red cards, I definitely agree that we have some really interesting cards, but I'm not that optimistic about any of them. Mardu Scout is aggressive and red 2-drops have always wanted some improvements, but double red is killer for a card that really wants to come out T2. Collateral Damage vs. Reckless Abandon is interesting - I believe the extra point of damage is EXCEPTIONALLY important, but being able to capitalize on creatures about to die might add enough dimension to the card to make it better. I don't really think Collateral Damage is better than the other red 1-drop burn-spells however, so I'm not really interested. Temur Battle Rage is definitely interesting for the very valid reason of introducing diversity to the mono-burn arsenal red has, but honestly the Predator's Strike argument is very compelling - the fact that this card's strength is so dependent on the size of your creatures means that its use is actually way narrower than it seems, fitting best in a midrangey RG deck than anything aggressive. Which, hey, could be something you want, but I'm going to wait out for a card that does that but better before I think about cutting burn out.
Finally Heelcutter is good, combining a curve-topping body for the aggressive deck with a potential lategame 2-creature falter effect (dashing it out neutralises one blocker and adds one attacker, which means an extra two creatures you control get to get through, unless they have more creatures than you). Probably the best red card under consideration, but I'm just not sure it's good enough. I really don't know, I have to try it out in FRF first to get a read on it.
Does anybody besides me think that Write into Being might be cubeable (specifically at 360)? Its a grey ogre that essentially has Scry, and is one of the few manifest cards that actually has a decent chance of manifesting a creature. I must admit that comparing it to Sea Gate Oracle doesn't make it look too promising, but if you actually get something decent to flip face up then it could be worthwhile.
Manifest is a pass for me. Ethereal Ambush seems underwhelming but could do a decent impression of a pauper Beast Attack. Goblin Heelcutter is a fantastic addition to red's new form of evasion. Gurmag Angler will be great if you already like Hooting Mandrills and Sultai Scavenger. Aven Surveyor gives some nice options. Getting bad Phantom Monster and bad Mist Raven on the same card may not be quite enough flexibility to cube with, but time will tell. One potential staple and 2-3 cubeable cards is more than enough for me
My 490 Pauper Cube
Modern frame only- Common on paper only - no functional copies, no strictly-betters - no subtype-matters
My 490 Pauper Cube
Modern frame only- Common on paper only - no functional copies, no strictly-betters - no subtype-matters
http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/limited-information/bounce-bounce-sac-2015-01-07
The green one is not good enough.
My 490 Pauper Cube
Modern frame only- Common on paper only - no functional copies, no strictly-betters - no subtype-matters
My 490 Pauper Cube
Modern frame only- Common on paper only - no functional copies, no strictly-betters - no subtype-matters
The RR cost does make it really bad in my cubes though, because deep red isnt really viable. I dont see myself casting it multiple turns for 1R either.
T2 powpercube Value https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/37t
My thoughts exactly. I like this dude and maybe it'll play better than it reads but it looks like a middle-of-the-pack 2-drop that is nevertheless better than a lot of our current options. IE Valley Dasher. Guy is so high variance.
Level 1 Judge
Full Spoiler
Abzan Skycaptain: Interesting, not sure how good it really is.
Sandsteppe Outcast: I like it, not sure if it will be better than the rest of my 3-drop's.
Aven Surveyor: Considering Mist Raven and Man-o'-war are super-powerful, this seems really nice.
Lotus Path Djinn: Seems solid, but blue has better flyers at that cmc.
Whisk Away: Ok, but blue has better stuff.
Alesha's Vanguard: I'm inclined to rate this pretty low, but also have the feeling it could surprise me. Seems like a worse Viscera Dragger.
Sibsig Host: Too Expensive.
Sultai Emissary: I love the normal ilustration.
Tasigur's Cruelty: Too expensive for 1v1??
Defiant Ogre: I really like it, probably going in for Wild Celebrants
Temur Battle Rage: Wow. 8 trample damage at minimum with ferocious.
Ainok Guide: Terrible. The worst modal.
Map the Wastes: Interesting. Ramps and gives support to reaching late game.
Return to the Earth: Too expensive.
I think all the runemarks have better, previous versions. Mostly worse than the Bestow version of them.
My 490 Pauper Cube
Modern frame only- Common on paper only - no functional copies, no strictly-betters - no subtype-matters
Ranking Scale
5 (Bomb): This card is first-pickable, and dominates games on its own.
4 (Staple): This card has a high impact on the game, should consistently be picked early in drats, and is almost always played maindeck. These cards typically define core cube archetypes.
3 (Cubeable): This card is good and can often be played maindeck. These cards are the “meat and potatoes” of most decks, and constitute the majority of cards in typical cubes.
2 (Borderline): These cards are decent, but are either (a) outclassed by cubeable counterparts, (b) appealing only to specific archetypes, and/or (c) typically used to fill out decks. Large cubes and cubes emphasizing very specific archetypes tend to be the most interested in these cards.
1 (Bad): These cards are simply severely outclassed, overall underwhelming, and / or require a very narrow range of cases to warrant consideration. Very few cubes will consider these cards.
0 (Terrible): These cards are so bad, they are probably best used as bookmarks, kindling, or proxies for better cards.
Abzan Advantage: 1.5. Most of the time, this will be “Destroy target enchantment. Bolster 1.” which is alright, but it’s still a very fringe card.
Abzan Runemark: 2.0. +2/+2 and vigilance is high impact, except this has the typical aura disadvantage.
Abzan Skycaptain: 2.0. The bolster ability is good, but it’s hard to ensure that this card will die, so the card will probably be an overcosted Wind Drake most of the time.
Arashin Cleric. 2.0. This is a worse Lone Missionary a lot of the time, and Lone MIssionary isn’t that exciting of a card. Also, only control decks would be potentially interested in a 1/3 body.
Aven Skirmisher: 1.0. This is basically an irrelevant creature.
Dragon Bell Monk: 1.5. Prowess is simply too hard to reliably trigger, and a 2/2 vigilance on its own is unexciting.
Great-Horn Krushok: 1.0. Pillarfield Ox’s big brother still isn’t good.
Pressure Point: 2.0. This is the cycle ability of Choking Tethers, except in white. It’s nice that it replaces itself, but it’s not high impact enough for most cubes to consider.
Sandblast: 1.0. This is just overcosted.
Sandsteppe Outcast: 2.0. 3 power, including 1 with flying for 3 mana is decent, and in some cases, the flexibility to play a 3/2 may be useful, but I’m not sure if most cubes have room for this.
Soul Summons: 1.5. The best case scenario with manifest is powerful, but assuming that creatures comprise a bit over ⅓ of a typical deck, the expectation value of this card is a Grizzly Bear, which is not worth a card.
Aven Surveyor: 3.5. This is a more expensive Mist Raven almost all the time, but it’s still a very good card.
Enhanced Awareness: 1.0. This nets 1 card total, which is not worth 5 mana.
Jeskai Runemark: 1.0. This is a worse Spectral Flight.
Jeskai Sage: 1.0. Prowess is unreliable as a limited ability, and with an almost irrelevant body, this will only be a potential cantrip in many cases.
Lotus Path Djinn: 2.0. A 2/3 flying for 4 mana isn’t the best creature, and prowess is unreliable. Only things like counter-burn decks would be seriously interested in this.
Rakshas’a Disdain: 2.0. This scales well into the late game, but there are much better counters at 2CMC.
Refocus: 1.0. This replaces itself, but makes very little impact on the board state.
Sultai Skullkeeper: 1.0. A vanilla 2/1 2 CMC blue creature is just not worth it.
Whisk Away: 2.0. This is a very nice effect for tempo decks, but 3 CMC is a bit much.
Will of the Naga: 2.0. Frost Breath is a fine card, and this is potentially cheaper late game. However, this is just overcosted in the midgame.
Write Into Being: 1.5. This card would be significantly better if it placed the non-manifested card into your hand, but as is, is basically a slightly more expensive Soul Summons with a slight upside.
Alesha’s Vanguard: 1.0. Neither reinvesting 3 mana per turn into a black Centaur Courser or a black Hill Giant is particularly exciting.
Ancestral Vengeance: 1.0. This just doesn’t have much of an effect on the board, and the double black mana cost is problematic.
Douse in Gloom: This is an overcosted removal spell.
Gurmag Angler - 2.5. Delve is a powerful ability, and this is almost always a better Marshmist Titan. With two cards in the graveyard, a 5/5 for 5 mana passes the vanilla test, and later in the game, it becomes significantly better. The downside is that most black decks aren’t that interested in a vanilla midrange creature.
Hooded Assassin - 1.0. While this card offers some flexibility, neither mode is very good.
Reach of Shadows - 1.0. This card is overcosted removal.
Sibsig Host - 1.0. The mill effect is basically irrelevant, and an otherwise vanilla 2/6 for 5 mana is not what most black decks want.
Sultai Emissary - 1.5. This card is a slightly better Butcher Ghoul, but Butcher Ghoul isn’t exactly that great of a card, even for cubes with a creature sacrifice archetype.
Sultai Runemark - 2.0. +2/+2 and potential deathtouch is very strong, but this is expensive and suffers from the normal aura disadvantages.
Taisgur’s Cruelty - 1.0. This is an overcosted Mind Rot.
Bathe in Dragonfire: 1.0. Flame Slash at 3 cmc is just bad.
Collateral Damage: 2.0. This deals 1 less damage than Reckless Abandon, but it’s an instant, which makes it more flexible.
Defiant Ogre: 1.0. Neither mode is exciting.
Fierce Invocation: 1.0. A 4/4 for 5 mana isn’t very exciting, and in most cases where flipping the manifested creature is good, it will require at least 3 additional mana.
Goblin Heelcutter: 3.5. While the full mana cost is slightly overcosted, the triggered ability, the combination of Dash, 3 power, and a good triggered ability make this a very appealing card for aggro decks.
Gore Swine: 1.0. This card is too fragile, and would need some abilities to be worth considering.
Lightning Striker: 0.5. Lava Axe is a bad card, and this is basically Lava Axe.
Mardu Runemark: 2.0. +2/+2 and potential first strike is strong, but it suffers from the normal aura disadvantages.
Mardu Scout: 2.5. This is a fine card only because outside of a couple of powerhouses, red’s 2 CMC creatures are generally underwhelming. The double red mana cost is unfortunate, but either a red Blade of the Sixth Pride or a red Blade of the Sixth Pride with haste (for a two mana investment each turn) is a fine card.
Smoldering Efreet: 1.0. No red deck wants a Grizzly Bear with a downside.
Temur Battle Rage: 3.0. Double strike is a very rare effect at common, and this is both a good combat trick and a way to deal a lot of damage out of nowhere (especially in something like a R/G midrange deck).
Ainok Guide: 1.0. Neither mode is exciting.
Ambush Krotiq: 1.0 At six mana, this card is slightly overcosted, and the triggered ability is often a downside.
Archers of Qarsi: 1.0. This card probably kills whatever it blocks, but 2 toughness is a huge downside. On top of that, green’s 4 CMC creature slot is stacked.
Feral Krushok: 1.0. This is a worse Hollowhenge Beast.
Formless Nurturing: 1.0. This card is simply overcosted and outclassed by a large number of other CMC 4 green creatures.
Frontier Mastodon: 1.5. A potential 4/3 for 3 mana is great, but that upside is only relevant if the Ferocius restriction can be reliably met. Unfortunately, the decks that can reliably meet that restriction typically would rather just play better creatures at 4 CMC.
Map the Wastes: 1.0. Cultivate / Kodama’s Reach almost always seem better, since Bolster 1 does not have that much of an impact.
Return to the Earth: 1.0. This is overcosted.
Temur Runemark: 2.0. The best case scenario is good, but this suffers from the normal aura disadvantages.
Whisperer of the Wilds: 2.0. This is a fairly average 2 CMC mana elf, but the combination of an underwhelming body and an unreliable upside hurt this card.
Cunning Strike: 1.5. This card is overcosted by 1-2 mana.
Ethereal Ambush: 2.0. Assuming that creatures comprise a bit over ⅓ of a typical deck, there is around a 55% chance (1 - [⅔]^2) that this is better than 2 2/2 creatures for 5 mana. The downside is that 2 2/2 creatures for 5 mana is not too exciting, and flipping the manifested creatures requires an additional mana investment. Additionally, there are probably at least 4 better U/G cards, so many cubes will simply not be interested in this.
Grim Contest: 2.0. This card isn’t great in a vacuum, but B/G is by far the weakest guild in pauper cubes past 3 multicolored slots. Larger cubes may be interested in this as a 4th or 5th B/G card.
Harsh Sustenance: 2.0. As an instant, this card is potentially okay card in W/B aggro decks, but W/B is one of the most stacked two-colored sections in pauper cubes. There are probably 5 W/B cards better than this, but this card could be interesting in larger cubes or cubes with large token themes.
War Flare: 2.0. As an instant speed with more than one or two creatures, this card can be a huge blowout. Unfortunately, at 4 CMC, most cubes would probably consider 4-5 more W/R cards before adding this.
TL;DR I think these are the best commons:
1. Goblin Heelcutter
2. Aven Surveyor
3. Temur Battle Rage
4. Mardu Scout
5. Gurmag Angler
Red got the most out of this set (by far), but there are a lot of interesting borderline cards in all colors. I'll be adding at least 4 cards, which isn't bad for a small set.
T2 powpercube Value https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/37t
Don't you lose all the surprise factor leaving only one morph in blue, and one in white? Remember that Manifest and Morph are not the same, and the opponent knows when a 2/2 is a Morphed-down creature and when is a Manifested creature.
My 490 Pauper Cube
Modern frame only- Common on paper only - no functional copies, no strictly-betters - no subtype-matters
I've been thinking a lot about green pumps lately, in relation with the Giant Growth/Ranger's Guile discussion (regarding the net utility of a mere +x/+x), and in my last update, I put in Wildsize and Predator's Strike. I must say that I am very happy with them, trample adds a lot to combat tricks.
My 490 Pauper Cube
Modern frame only- Common on paper only - no functional copies, no strictly-betters - no subtype-matters
Are you kidding? Any red combat trick that is playable should go in instantly because it gives the color something to do other than burn.
The main reason Double Cleave doesn't see play is because Boros is stacked, it's still a fine card (I've played with it before, and I might try it out again in my 5th w/r slot sometime). Temur Battle Rage is at worst a fine combat trick, and at best can win games out of nowhere (ex: this + Slash Panther, or in a g/r midrange deck). First strike is really, really important for r/x aggro creatures, and double strike is better. I'm also a big fan of including combat tricks when possible; sure, they might not always see play, but they make games so much more interactive.
I'd play Snakeform, Beetleform Mage, Temporal Spring, and Assault Zeppelid first, and I'd consider Shambleshark and Frilled Oculus too. As an instant, 5 mana is a huge amount to keep up for a split 4/4, and as a sorcery, 2 2/2's (with a ~50% of one being flippable for more mana) just doesn't seem that exciting for what most u/g decks tend to want to do (tempo/midrange).
EDIT: Here are the changes I'm looking at right now:
Fire Elemental -> Goblin Heelcutter
Mogg Flunkies -> Mardu Scout
Desecrator Hag -> Grim Contest
Cloaked Siren -> Aven Surveyor
Pyrite Spellbomb -> Temur Battle Rage
Plus, it works great with Gray Merchant of Asphodel, and in a Green/x deck with big creatures, ir really nice.
...
Funny thing, the more I think about it the more I start agreeing with Al respect the Temur Rage. As very few creatures in the cube have 4 or more power (most are in green, of course), it seems like most of the time Predator's Strike is simply better.
Think about it, with a creature with exactly 4 power, Temur Rage grants only 1 aditional point of damage. With everything below that, Predator is better, because it grants a flat +3 to damage, always (so you can use it with every creature in your cube). The 'first strike' component in double strike is only better when you face other first strikers or creatures with deathtouch. Seems like temur is much, much more situational than Preators. But I insist, Predator's Strike is really cool so that doesn't mean that Temur is bad. =P
My 490 Pauper Cube
Modern frame only- Common on paper only - no functional copies, no strictly-betters - no subtype-matters
Fault Riders
Slash Panther
Gorehorn Minotaurs
Ruinous Minotaur*
Chartooth Cougar
* Probably only worth it to end the game on the spot, as sacrificing two lands is a huge setback.
When evaluating a card like this though, I think we should look at its average case scenario, which is just a red Double Cleave; a card not many people run in their cube. I don't think that ferocious will be active often enough to make this card significantly better than Double Cleave, but I still think its worth testing.
Honestly I'm very underwhelmed by manifest and dash. None of the manifest cards interest me at all except perhaps Ethereal Ambush, and that card has stiff competition in Simic, and Write into Being, which honestly is probably the best one given how much control it gives you over your manifest and the top of your library. My problem is that, when you're comparing any manifest card to the others of its kind (Soul Summons to white 2-drops, Sultai Emissary to black 2-drops, Fierce Invocation to red 5-drops), it's just... not better. I have a pessimistic view of how often manifest flips actually happen (and not just happen, but happens in a way that the added mana you have to pay is worth converting one creature into another creature). And what that leaves me with is just vanilla creatures that aren't particularly aggressively costed.
I was excited for bolster, but I don't think there are any significant cards with it here (maybe Dragons of Tarkir will have some). Abzan Skycaptain is okay but not exciting - potentially cubeable, since both the evasive body and the pump are good, but it may not be aggressive enough to compete with other white 4-drops. Map the Wastes, actually, is the one I'm most interested in; an added mana for ramp is something we've historically accepted for an added effect, and in the earylgame bumping 2-drop bear into a 3/3 or something similar is a significant impact to the board. Probably not cubeable in the end, but just a thought.
Enhanced Awareness is probably the card that most captures my attention from the entire set, because it's a type of card I've been interested in for a long time now: 5-mana draw-3s in blue (or, in general, expensive blue draw). In the past I've tried everything from Mysteries of the Deep and Brilliant Plan, and none of them have ever worked because they always have one of two important traits for these kind of cards to work: instant speed, and digging more than two cards (notice how Mysteries of the Deep can do either but not both). This is exactly the card that I've been waiting for, but at this point it may be too late given that we now have Treasure Cruise. Nonetheless, I've been looking so long I may just have to try this out.
On the red cards, I definitely agree that we have some really interesting cards, but I'm not that optimistic about any of them. Mardu Scout is aggressive and red 2-drops have always wanted some improvements, but double red is killer for a card that really wants to come out T2. Collateral Damage vs. Reckless Abandon is interesting - I believe the extra point of damage is EXCEPTIONALLY important, but being able to capitalize on creatures about to die might add enough dimension to the card to make it better. I don't really think Collateral Damage is better than the other red 1-drop burn-spells however, so I'm not really interested. Temur Battle Rage is definitely interesting for the very valid reason of introducing diversity to the mono-burn arsenal red has, but honestly the Predator's Strike argument is very compelling - the fact that this card's strength is so dependent on the size of your creatures means that its use is actually way narrower than it seems, fitting best in a midrangey RG deck than anything aggressive. Which, hey, could be something you want, but I'm going to wait out for a card that does that but better before I think about cutting burn out.
Finally Heelcutter is good, combining a curve-topping body for the aggressive deck with a potential lategame 2-creature falter effect (dashing it out neutralises one blocker and adds one attacker, which means an extra two creatures you control get to get through, unless they have more creatures than you). Probably the best red card under consideration, but I'm just not sure it's good enough. I really don't know, I have to try it out in FRF first to get a read on it.
My Pauper Cube ♤ The Pauper Cube Thread Common Knowledge — 1 2
My Cube (DeckStats)
My Pauper Cube: 540 (CubeTutor link!)
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