Ooh, seem like a solid flexible option. Solid start to spoilers at least In past constructed formats, would it be normal line to use ice to tap down a land at upkeep in the early game or not usually? Never really played it much at all in constructed myself so don't haven't much experience with it and how's it's usually played or in general.
Oh man, I've been wanting Reckless at common ever since Arrogant was downshifted. Having two of these effects to encourage madness is great, especially with the rise of red looting. Off the top of my head, this obviously increases the value of blue looters, and red stock cards like Faithless Looting and Gathan Raiders, but it also gives a small nudge to borderline stuff like beaters (Azra Bladeseeker/Keldon Raider), card draw (Cathartic Reunion/Tormenting Voice) and removal (Direct Current/Lightning Axe).
Arrogant Wurm has been around for a while, has anyone else had results with it? It's about 0.5 mana too expensive at full cost, since you can get vanilla 4/4s at four mana and 4/4s with two upsides at five mana. In green you have ramp to mitigate the extra expense - I'm hoping red's looting plays a similar role in shoring up the Wurm's main weakness.
Fire//Ice ties Jilt for the number one Izzet spell. If this set ends up downshifting multicolor cards like the last Masters, we're in for an embarrassment of riches
In my cube (T1) Weird is definitely much bettr than Mancer. Boltproof, playable in other color combination or mono. Blocks a lot of early aggression, while also a serious threat later. Its one of the best 2 drops around.
Mancer ist just a bear most of the time and too fragile to really have an impact. Too many spells dont even cost colorless or you cant cast another spell the turn anyway.
Hopefully we also see a common print of Arrogant, because so far its modo only, so i didnt run them. That said I only run 2 discard outlets in the T1. Raiders and Mongrel. Not really much to gain there, so I consider them borderline. Both will be very welcome in my T2, since i already have a madness theme going on there.
Foil is pretty strong in limited I guess. Trading 3 for 1 is kinda bad, but its basically a FoW and lands usually are a ressource you can spend. Not sure how to rate it atm, but free spells usually are kinda broken.
Tethmos High Priest Although with some jumps you can make the card work, I dont think the archetype is dense enough right now to go off.
Foil is not a good limited card, just like FoW is a lot weaker in limited than in Constructed. Especially in pauper there are simply not that many cards that are worth trading 3 for 1 and resources are much more valueable than in constructed legacy.
I don't think Dimir Guildmage actually makes the cut for me. Dimir is just way too stacked. The sorcery restriction really kills it for me.
Worth mentioning with Foil though - it discards instead of exiles like FoW, which does help with graveyard synergies and madness. Being able to counter a spell and drop a 4/4 trampler is a huge tempo gain. Trying to use it as just another Counterspell in control is a losing proposition. Its primary use is in tempo decks where you can use all your mana and cards more efficiently than your opponent. This would be a great addition if you like Izzet aggro or Simic tempo/madness-style decks, and I think that's the kind of place where Foil shines brightest.
Dimir Guildmage probably competes for the number five spot in most cubes (Dinrova Horror, Soul Manipulation, Recoil and Agony Warp being the cream of the crop), which I imagine rules it out up to 450 but puts it in contention for 540+. At that size you've mostly got slightly subpar creatures like Whisper Agent, Tidehollow Strix or Cavern Harpy to play with, and I find it hard to believe those are better than the card advantage this guildmage gives you. I know some players like Consult the Necrosages, and that choice will probably depend on whether you prefer your value upfront (with a spells-matter theme alongside) or prefer the possibility of a bigger payoff down the road with Guildmage (and the body it comes with).
Resurrection does put the number of rez effects up to three in white (Breath of Life and False Defeat at common online) but you really need to hit an ETB creature to get value from it. Best case I can see is evoking Mulldrifter into Resurrection, but any creature that can give you 4+ mana of value on the rebuy (Nekrataal, Beetleback Chief etc) is great - the issue is ensuring you can get that combination consistently in your decks.
Breath of Life and False Defeat are actually only uc online and Resurrection will be the first common there. I already run both, but im not sure whether I want the third right now. The best deck you can build with it is GW Fatcycle. T4 Greater Sandwurm is pretty nice. (in T2)
Guildmage wouldnt neccessarily compete for a Guildslot in my cube but might cheat itself into either U or B
Tidehollow Strix btw is a pretty good guildcard and has a set spot in my T1
Foil might end in my T2 to get more madness shenenigans going or to protect the Mnemonic Wall/Blink combo.
my dimir section
probe, strix, agony warp, consult the necrosages
warp is on the edge, but once in a moon it trade 2:1, so it probably stays. strix being a 2/1 flying for 2 is already fine, deathtouch makes it good.
Soul Manipulation is pretty mediocre, playable but not in the top spots. Dinrova is okay, but ended in my T2
Lotus-Eye Mystics has great synergy with Angelic Renewal, that is also reprinted in this set.
Mammoth Umbra is good in go tall or hexproof strategies. If you had Observant Alseid in your cube (I did), this is a good replacemnt because you can search it with Totem-Guide Hartebeest and Heliod's Pilgrim. Also, totem armor.
Skyspear Cavalry should be read as a 4/2 flyer, not a 2/2. And it kills every x/2 flyer in the cube. Only 15 creatures have 3+ thoughness and flying in my cube (which is 490). Oh, and with any aura or equipment goes nuts.
Wandering Champion is pretty meh.
Moan of the Unhallowed is good. 4/4 stats on 4cmc is ok, and this comes divided (synergy with sacrifice and pumps) and with flashback.
Arena Athlete is meh. We have better red 2cmc creatures now. Idem molten birch, no randomness for me, thanks.
Canker abomination is interesting, though not super exciting. It depends a lot on curving out with it (or having lots of removal).
Nice new art for Patchwork Gnomes. If madness becomes a thing, it could be useful. But on itself is bad.
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Holiday Armadillo... Cloak
My 490 Pauper Cube
Modern frame only- Common on paper only - no functional copies, no strictly-betters - no subtype-matters
Moan of the Unhallowed is stupid good, with the best stats on a pauper 4-drop in black. 4/4 worth of stats, across two bodies, with graveyard synergy and the possibility of a rebuy. It's great.
Mammoth Umbra is not-bad filler as aura support, and I think probably beats Observant Alseid too (tutorable, possibly better body left over).
Lotus-Eye Mystics - I love that white gets its own take on Gravedigger at common. Even if it's a worse card type, the body is ridiculously good (compared to Gravedigger, but it's not bad versus other white 4 drops either) and plays very well with whatever you're returning as an aura target. Also good if you run Seal of Cleansing and friends.
Groundskeeper is nice to see at common but ultimately too slow to make it work. If you want this kind of effect, Tilling Treefolk gives better value upfront and comes with a bigger back end - but I wouldn't discount the possibility of future printings like this guy to fill a Loam-like archetype at common.
Canker Abomination - interesting since it competes with the recent Rhizome Lurcher. It gives the reins to your opponent instead of yourself for its stats, which I'm not a fan of. I think I would have to consider how often they each reach 4/4 (the minimum size I'm willing to invest for four mana) and how often they'd be 6/6 or bigger. Maybe run a split card experiment. Hybrid mana on Canker is nice though.
Skyspear Cavalry reminds me of Cloud Crusader and Plover Knights, which used to be okay options, but I think at five mana I want something that survives damage-based removal or at least provides some value in case it can't.
Retrace synergy is cool. But too cute in general I guess. On its own I really dont like it. - borderline
Moan, pass for me. So far every card that produces 2/2s was pretty underwhelming for me. It supports the swarm archetype not as good as 1/1s since the amount of token for the respective CC is lower and 2x 2/2 are not a 4/4. Actually even a real vanilla 4/4 for 4 is borderline today, Flashback is overcosted. I dont see a reason why peasant would run it actually. - borderline
Mammoth Umbra - in the hexproof archetype the totem armor is completely irrelevant and +3+3 costs 3 in green. Vigilance is also kinda irrelevant a lot. If you want to go big run Empyrial Armor or even Ethereal Armor can provide you with +3+3 in the late. For CC5 i want sth that ends the game and not a clunky bad topdeck. - borderline
Same reason for me not to run Skyspear Cavalry. The way double strike works its not a 4/2 first strike which at least would be a beast in combat. And toughness 2 on a 5 drop is also too fragile. -borderline
You want like 3-5 5 drops max in your cube and both Umbra and Cavalry wont make the cut.
Lotus-Eye. I even run Angelic Renewal in my T2 where i added it. But its more for the interesting gameplay they offer than for the powerlevel. - boderline
Moan of the unhallowed is very strong in pauper cube for midrange or control decks. Stabilizes against aggro, puts threats on the board against control, and has built-in free card advantage for later. The only time it doesn't seem amazing is if BOTH decks are clogging the board with lots of creatures, in which case the vanilla 2/2s won't have as much impact.
Double black is a real cost but not so bad on a 4cmc card for the slower decks.
So after playing UMA a lot now I think we should give Canker Abomination a second look. I personally dislike high variance cards, but on average this card seems to be really decent. Since we only have 2 good Golgari cards anyway, I think this card deserves some testing. The question is if we have significantly more creatures on the board when this is cast than UMA.
I also considered the Abomination to fill the guildslot. Id say its pretty meh in cubes that support swarmdecks. But even of not, it can bite you in the ass and seems more of a win-more card. Behind on board it gets horrible quite fast.
Fire/Ice which is pretty sweet
the latest frame is pretty horrible on split cards though
T2 powpercube Value https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/37t
It's a work in progress
Or are you interested in a Fiora flavor cube? Conspire and win!
Level 2 Judge
Or are you interested in a Fiora flavor cube? Conspire and win!
Level 2 Judge
Arrogant Wurm has been around for a while, has anyone else had results with it? It's about 0.5 mana too expensive at full cost, since you can get vanilla 4/4s at four mana and 4/4s with two upsides at five mana. In green you have ramp to mitigate the extra expense - I'm hoping red's looting plays a similar role in shoring up the Wurm's main weakness.
Fire//Ice ties Jilt for the number one Izzet spell. If this set ends up downshifting multicolor cards like the last Masters, we're in for an embarrassment of riches
My Cube (DeckStats)
My Pauper Cube: 540 (CubeTutor link!)
Level 1 Judge
My 490 Pauper Cube
Modern frame only- Common on paper only - no functional copies, no strictly-betters - no subtype-matters
Mancer ist just a bear most of the time and too fragile to really have an impact. Too many spells dont even cost colorless or you cant cast another spell the turn anyway.
Hopefully we also see a common print of Arrogant, because so far its modo only, so i didnt run them. That said I only run 2 discard outlets in the T1. Raiders and Mongrel. Not really much to gain there, so I consider them borderline. Both will be very welcome in my T2, since i already have a madness theme going on there.
T2 powpercube Value https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/37t
noice. a third reanimator spell
T2 powpercube Value https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/37t
My 490 Pauper Cube
Modern frame only- Common on paper only - no functional copies, no strictly-betters - no subtype-matters
Foil is pretty strong in limited I guess. Trading 3 for 1 is kinda bad, but its basically a FoW and lands usually are a ressource you can spend. Not sure how to rate it atm, but free spells usually are kinda broken.
Tethmos High Priest Although with some jumps you can make the card work, I dont think the archetype is dense enough right now to go off.
Miming Slime meh. Win more or pretty dead.
Slum Reaper dont like the stats too much, but I like that effect. Especially as a counterbalance to hexproof.
Dimir Guildmage until the lategame just a bear, then it can turn into a wincon. Not overly excited, but very likely an include.
T2 powpercube Value https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/37t
Worth mentioning with Foil though - it discards instead of exiles like FoW, which does help with graveyard synergies and madness. Being able to counter a spell and drop a 4/4 trampler is a huge tempo gain. Trying to use it as just another Counterspell in control is a losing proposition. Its primary use is in tempo decks where you can use all your mana and cards more efficiently than your opponent. This would be a great addition if you like Izzet aggro or Simic tempo/madness-style decks, and I think that's the kind of place where Foil shines brightest.
Dimir Guildmage probably competes for the number five spot in most cubes (Dinrova Horror, Soul Manipulation, Recoil and Agony Warp being the cream of the crop), which I imagine rules it out up to 450 but puts it in contention for 540+. At that size you've mostly got slightly subpar creatures like Whisper Agent, Tidehollow Strix or Cavern Harpy to play with, and I find it hard to believe those are better than the card advantage this guildmage gives you. I know some players like Consult the Necrosages, and that choice will probably depend on whether you prefer your value upfront (with a spells-matter theme alongside) or prefer the possibility of a bigger payoff down the road with Guildmage (and the body it comes with).
Resurrection does put the number of rez effects up to three in white (Breath of Life and False Defeat at common online) but you really need to hit an ETB creature to get value from it. Best case I can see is evoking Mulldrifter into Resurrection, but any creature that can give you 4+ mana of value on the rebuy (Nekrataal, Beetleback Chief etc) is great - the issue is ensuring you can get that combination consistently in your decks.
My Cube (DeckStats)
My Pauper Cube: 540 (CubeTutor link!)
Level 1 Judge
Guildmage wouldnt neccessarily compete for a Guildslot in my cube but might cheat itself into either U or B
Tidehollow Strix btw is a pretty good guildcard and has a set spot in my T1
Foil might end in my T2 to get more madness shenenigans going or to protect the Mnemonic Wall/Blink combo.
T2 powpercube Value https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/37t
probe, strix, agony warp, consult the necrosages
warp is on the edge, but once in a moon it trade 2:1, so it probably stays. strix being a 2/1 flying for 2 is already fine, deathtouch makes it good.
Soul Manipulation is pretty mediocre, playable but not in the top spots. Dinrova is okay, but ended in my T2
T2 powpercube Value https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/37t
Full spoiler is up and here's the rest of the downshifts.
Also got a decent amount of new arts for existing commons like ulamog's crusher
It's a work in progress
Lotus-Eye Mystics the effect is nice, but prowess is meh in white and with that statline ill keep Ironclad Slayer
Mammoth Umbra 5 mana, meh. would be fine at 4
Skyspear Cavalry. Although i like double strike, getting a 2/2 for 5 feelsbadman.
Wandering Champion basically the nth 3/1. i doubt you would loot with it often
Canker Abomination - this one seems actual reasonable to fill the 4th golgari slot.
no reason to even mention the others
what i really dont like about the set. circular logic and chainers edict still uc in paper pauper. why..
changes:
T1:
Fire/Ice > Lava Dart
Slum Reaper > Diablic Edict
T2:
Reckless Wurm > Torch slinger
Foil > Separatist Voidmage
Dimir Guildmage > Academy Drake
Lotus-Eye Mystics > Earth-Origin Yak
T2 powpercube Value https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/37t
Mammoth Umbra is good in go tall or hexproof strategies. If you had Observant Alseid in your cube (I did), this is a good replacemnt because you can search it with Totem-Guide Hartebeest and Heliod's Pilgrim. Also, totem armor.
Skyspear Cavalry should be read as a 4/2 flyer, not a 2/2. And it kills every x/2 flyer in the cube. Only 15 creatures have 3+ thoughness and flying in my cube (which is 490). Oh, and with any aura or equipment goes nuts.
Wandering Champion is pretty meh.
Moan of the Unhallowed is good. 4/4 stats on 4cmc is ok, and this comes divided (synergy with sacrifice and pumps) and with flashback.
Arena Athlete is meh. We have better red 2cmc creatures now. Idem molten birch, no randomness for me, thanks.
Canker abomination is interesting, though not super exciting. It depends a lot on curving out with it (or having lots of removal).
Nice new art for Patchwork Gnomes. If madness becomes a thing, it could be useful. But on itself is bad.
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
Wandering Champion is probably in the low mid-tier of 3/1s for 1W, in between Daring Skyjek and Audacious Infiltrator.
Mammoth Umbra is not-bad filler as aura support, and I think probably beats Observant Alseid too (tutorable, possibly better body left over).
Lotus-Eye Mystics - I love that white gets its own take on Gravedigger at common. Even if it's a worse card type, the body is ridiculously good (compared to Gravedigger, but it's not bad versus other white 4 drops either) and plays very well with whatever you're returning as an aura target. Also good if you run Seal of Cleansing and friends.
Groundskeeper is nice to see at common but ultimately too slow to make it work. If you want this kind of effect, Tilling Treefolk gives better value upfront and comes with a bigger back end - but I wouldn't discount the possibility of future printings like this guy to fill a Loam-like archetype at common.
Canker Abomination - interesting since it competes with the recent Rhizome Lurcher. It gives the reins to your opponent instead of yourself for its stats, which I'm not a fan of. I think I would have to consider how often they each reach 4/4 (the minimum size I'm willing to invest for four mana) and how often they'd be 6/6 or bigger. Maybe run a split card experiment. Hybrid mana on Canker is nice though.
Skyspear Cavalry reminds me of Cloud Crusader and Plover Knights, which used to be okay options, but I think at five mana I want something that survives damage-based removal or at least provides some value in case it can't.
My Cube (DeckStats)
My Pauper Cube: 540 (CubeTutor link!)
Level 1 Judge
Moan, pass for me. So far every card that produces 2/2s was pretty underwhelming for me. It supports the swarm archetype not as good as 1/1s since the amount of token for the respective CC is lower and 2x 2/2 are not a 4/4. Actually even a real vanilla 4/4 for 4 is borderline today, Flashback is overcosted. I dont see a reason why peasant would run it actually. - borderline
Mammoth Umbra - in the hexproof archetype the totem armor is completely irrelevant and +3+3 costs 3 in green. Vigilance is also kinda irrelevant a lot. If you want to go big run Empyrial Armor or even Ethereal Armor can provide you with +3+3 in the late. For CC5 i want sth that ends the game and not a clunky bad topdeck. - borderline
Same reason for me not to run Skyspear Cavalry. The way double strike works its not a 4/2 first strike which at least would be a beast in combat. And toughness 2 on a 5 drop is also too fragile. -borderline
You want like 3-5 5 drops max in your cube and both Umbra and Cavalry wont make the cut.
Lotus-Eye. I even run Angelic Renewal in my T2 where i added it. But its more for the interesting gameplay they offer than for the powerlevel. - boderline
T2 powpercube Value https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/37t
Double black is a real cost but not so bad on a 4cmc card for the slower decks.
Pauper Cube & Artifact Pauper Cube & Multiplayer Cube
Interested in building your own Pauper Cube? Take a look at some of the lists and the following project: The "Evaluate Everything" Project (updated to M21/JMP)
T2 powpercube Value https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/37t