So Isochron Scepter got a reprint, where are we on that card these days?
When it was in my cube in half of the games it was a mediocre to bad card and in the other half it took over the game without giving my opponent a chance to interact with it at all. It's one of the artifacts/enchantments I cut for being unfun because sometimes you lose against them just because you don't draw a Reclamation Sage. I won't ever add it back.
So Isochron Scepter got a reprint, where are we on that card these days?
I cut it from my cube a while ago and haven't looked back. It never worked out very well, and even when I drafted spellslinger, it often didn't make the cut in my final deck. In theory, it has a high ceiling (never hit it for me), but the floor is really low (dead card if you don't have a card to imprint, and a 2-for-1 if they nuke it before you use it). I also try to run more artifact removal because I do run stuff like Sol Ring, Skullclamp, Loxodon Warhammer, etc. I can't see ever re-adding it.
Since the downshifts were pretty boring this masters set, and I'm bored myself, I went through the list of rares and mythics to see what could have easily been downshifted, and what would have been possibly okay to downshift but possibly too good:
A lot of the cards you mentioned aren't rares due to power level, but rares due to "I don't want to see this silly effect in every draft, possibly even in multiples". Thought reflection for example would be super dumb to see over and over.
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Oh and isochron scepter is not a healthy card. Sometimes it has counterspell or remand under it and you cruise, sometimes you just wait for your... burst lightning or something and it's not worth the trouble. The sweetspot is almost impossible to hit.
Its precisely the kind of card that if I invented it for my custom-card cube project, people wouldn't respect me as a card designer. Too swingy, too unfun.
So Isochron Scepter got a reprint, where are we on that card these days?
I cut it after a couple feel bad moments where it completely took over the game. It was the first card me and my wife cut due to being unfun for the opponent. In cronological order; Loxodon Warhammer, Grafted Wargear, Hymn to Tourach, Mother of Runes and Crystal Shard (?!) have since been cut for similar reasons.
Edit: Skullclamp is also added to the same pile. I don't think we ever got to play with it before it was cut.
Also Serra Sphinx and Skullmulcher. If Green is a go-wide color in your cube Skullmulcher might be worth it. 5 mana and sac two 1/1 tokens to get a 5/5 and draw two cards seems pretty good, but that could be hard to hit consistently except in a very token heavy deck.
Set is incredibly underwhelming, though I'm not entirely surprised considering it has 2x the rares other sets do.
Skullmulcher being 4G makes it easily splashable, which is somewhat interesting? I can't think of a better one time sac outlet at least. Outside of splashing it's incredibly sketchy (without large changes) since most of the green support for it has been getting phased out.
Serra Sphinx is probably the best board presence threat blue has at a reasonable cost, which makes it at least worth considering.
Serra Sphinx is super good but also super annoying to have both Sphinx and Angel in my cube, It just seems odd to me to have two cards that are the same in different colours.
My green 5 drops are so stacked but like the look of Skullmulcher, maybe replace Nemesis of Mortals? which is just a big thing for potentially very little? You can scoop up your mana dorks once you have already ramped for more cards.
They were discussing what could reasonably have been downgraded among the cards that have been revealed at rare and above.
To which I respond by saying "No, Vish Kal doesn't strike me as reasonable"
Never said it was but your original wording was that Vish Kal is not an uncommon rather than that Vish Kal is not suited to be uncommon or that Vish Kal is not in line with uncommons.
Serra Sphinx seems worth some consideration; Skullmulcher less so. If its Devour value was greater or it had even slightly better baseline stats.
Serra Sphinx has been on my list of rares I would add with a potential rare expansion so I'll defintely find a spot (maybe instead of Errant Ephemeron).
I have fond memories of Skullmulcher in Shards drafts. I order a copy and I can see it doing well in G/R, G/B and G/W. It's also okay in ramp decks for mana dorks you no longer need. Not sure what to cut though.
When it was in my cube in half of the games it was a mediocre to bad card and in the other half it took over the game without giving my opponent a chance to interact with it at all. It's one of the artifacts/enchantments I cut for being unfun because sometimes you lose against them just because you don't draw a Reclamation Sage. I won't ever add it back.
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A lot of the cards you mentioned aren't rares due to power level, but rares due to "I don't want to see this silly effect in every draft, possibly even in multiples". Thought reflection for example would be super dumb to see over and over.
//
Oh and isochron scepter is not a healthy card. Sometimes it has counterspell or remand under it and you cruise, sometimes you just wait for your... burst lightning or something and it's not worth the trouble. The sweetspot is almost impossible to hit.
Its precisely the kind of card that if I invented it for my custom-card cube project, people wouldn't respect me as a card designer. Too swingy, too unfun.
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I cut it after a couple feel bad moments where it completely took over the game. It was the first card me and my wife cut due to being unfun for the opponent. In cronological order; Loxodon Warhammer, Grafted Wargear, Hymn to Tourach, Mother of Runes and Crystal Shard (?!) have since been cut for similar reasons.
Edit: Skullclamp is also added to the same pile. I don't think we ever got to play with it before it was cut.
Skullmulcher being 4G makes it easily splashable, which is somewhat interesting? I can't think of a better one time sac outlet at least. Outside of splashing it's incredibly sketchy (without large changes) since most of the green support for it has been getting phased out.
Serra Sphinx is probably the best board presence threat blue has at a reasonable cost, which makes it at least worth considering.
My green 5 drops are so stacked but like the look of Skullmulcher, maybe replace Nemesis of Mortals? which is just a big thing for potentially very little? You can scoop up your mana dorks once you have already ramped for more cards.
Pioneer:UR Pheonix
Modern:U Mono U Tron
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GB Glissa, the traitor: Army of Cans
UW Dragonlord Ojutai: Dragonlord NOjutai
UWGDerevi, Empyrial Tactician "you cannot fight the storm"
R Zirilan of the claw. The solution to every problem is dragons
UB Etrata, the Silencer Cloning assassination
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Never said it was but your original wording was that Vish Kal is not an uncommon rather than that Vish Kal is not suited to be uncommon or that Vish Kal is not in line with uncommons.
Serra Sphinx seems worth some consideration; Skullmulcher less so. If its Devour value was greater or it had even slightly better baseline stats.
I have fond memories of Skullmulcher in Shards drafts. I order a copy and I can see it doing well in G/R, G/B and G/W. It's also okay in ramp decks for mana dorks you no longer need. Not sure what to cut though.
My C/Ube on Cube Cobra