I quite like Dwarven Hammer for peasant myself, and I think it would be funny if it opened the door for the lifelink half to be printed as a 2WCleric's Hammer or something.
On top of the three mana and five mana modes, it also has the six mana mode of drop + equip to swing for the fences (which I know is usually factored into the three-mana mode, but I'm just thinking in terms of turns as well - dropping an equipment and passing turn 3 is a very different speed than dropping the hammer and equipping something for immediate impact on turn 6).
My peasant cube has been snow since Modern Horizons, I'm glad we get more good snow cards and more snow basics so players have the option to switch if desired. Feel free to ignore this trail of snow:
Avalanche Caller is an excellent defensive creature that can switch to aggro later.
Boreal Outrider: I'm probably the only one who would exclude Boreal Outrider for accessibility reasons. I cube with many different levels of players, and this card is too easy to misread. Don't really see why it needed the color restriction?
Moritte of the Frost and Narfi, Betrayer King are super tempting value propositions. Clever Impersonator is great fun, and Moritte brings +1/+1 counter synergy to make up for the 1 tax (being limited to your own stuff on a 5-mana card is a bit of a bummer). Narfi rewards clever drafting in a couple ways with zombies and graveyard shenanigans, though I suspect he'll still be middle-of-the-road if you take him just for his recursion. I think my drafts would be improved by having one or both of these.
Spirit of the Aldergard: should be 4/4 at worst, 5/4 on average and often a 6/4 or 7/4, and the manafixing/deck thinning is great. Without evasion or a way to re-use the ETB though, it's solidly tier 2.
The guild lands are yummy, and I'm always looking for ways to add spells to my land slots, but - taking up a cube slot is still a real cost. I think some of these are serious contenders though.
Finally, I love foretell. Time will tell, but I think it's an excellent mechanic; simple to grasp, lots of options, and can be revisited (I hope).
Despite being heavy on snow and tribal elementals (two things that I don’t personally support), Kaldheim ended up providing a number of intriguing cards.
I’m particularly interested in Foretell, as I like any mechanic that helps to mitigate mana variance. Being able to bank the cost of more expensive cards over multiple turns is a really powerful tool for helping decks that haven’t perfectly curved out or would otherwise have awkward mana sequencing. The facedown nature of it makes it somewhat unfriendly to those less familiar with the cube (similar to Morph), but I’ll have to see how that plays out in practice.
Adding: Usher of the Fallen - Instant staple, not much else to say Clarion Spirit - Even one trigger is above rate, and in the right deck this can threaten multiple triggers pretty easily. Saw It Coming - Probably the second or third best Cancel+, this is a splashable hard-counter but it likely loses some value in an environment with less foretell cards. Behold the Multiverse - A better Glimmer of Genius and the perfect foretell to pair with Saw It Coming. Poison the Cup - It was only a matter of time before we got Murder with upside. Probably not knocking off Cast Down or Go for the Throat as the top tier black removal, but slots in perfectly for environments with depowered removal such as my own. Dwarven Hammer - I overlooked this on first pass so I’m glad this got brought up for discussion (credit to rancoredmalone). I’m definitely in the market for a “fixed” Loxodon Warhammer, and the 5-mana mode seems actually quite efficient considering what it leaves behind. Happy to give more support to the fledgling RW equipment archetype (quick shoutout to Fireblade Charger who has been overperforming here). Snakeskin Veil - Easy swap for Blossoming Defense if you’re trying to support the +1/+1 counter archetype. Sarulf's Packmate - I love seeing more efficient card draw being printed in green. This seems rather pushed for a common, and while it’s not quite Llanowar Visionary I suspect the Packmate is probably higher on power level than it’s getting credit for. Maja, Bretagard Protector - Somewhat vulnerable at three-toughness for five mana, but it seems like it would be difficult to lose a game where this sticks around on the battlefield. This has an immediate impact on the board in addition to providing a repeatable source of value. Kardur, Doomscourge - Two very unique and powerful effects on a solid body, I think this might play even better than it looks. Svella, Ice Shaper - Another fun and unique design, I like that this gives Gruul something interesting to do besides beat face.
Testing: Kaya's Onslaught - Really powerful effect at just W if set-up with Foretell, but still has the same problems as all combat tricks. Giant's Amulet - The more I think about this card the more I like it. The 1-mana mode is almost never worth a card (maybe protecting Soul Herder?), but the creature mode is actually quite efficient compared to what blue gets at our rarity. A 4/5 hexproof* should stabilize the board very well in control, and you can always reequip after combat to your other blockers once you’re ready to start turning sideways. *Your creature never loses hexproof if you don’t want them to, and overall I don’t mind this type of hexproof as it leads to more interesting gameplay than the static version. Ravenform - Versatile removal, sorcery speed hurts but it’s nice for blue to have a permanent answer to the two most relevant card types in the format. Axgard Cavalry - I’ve been impressed enough with Goblin Motivator to want a second copy of the effect, and I like the card diversity of running this over Bloodlust Inciter. Crush the Weak - An interesting Pyroclasm variant, and I actually like the exile clause quite a bit to help counter Blood Artist type effects. Port of Karfell - I really like the design on this land cycle overall, but it ends up being really difficult for them to make the cut in a guild spell section (they would be slam dunks if they tapped for both colors). The Port is one of the only ones I’m likely to test due to trying to go deeper on Dimir reanimator. Firja, Judge of Valor - I’m always looking for interesting options in Orzhov and this actually seems like it has the potential to be really powerful. Moritte of the Frost/Littjara Mirrorlake - Glad to see more clone effects being printed at uncommon, and these seem like fun additions to Simic. I think it’s close between the two and I’ll probably end up testing both at one time or another, but my gut is actually leaning towards the Mirrorlake as taking the slot.
Dwarven Hammer - I overlooked this on first pass so I’m glad this got brought up for discussion (credit to rancoredmalone). I’m definitely in the market for a “fixed” Loxodon Warhammer, and the 5-mana mode seems actually quite efficient considering what it leaves behind. Happy to give more support to the fledgling RW equipment archetype (quick shoutout to Fireblade Charger who has been overperforming here).
Thanks for the shoutout. I have seen a few people mention using a Equipment/Aura archetype in the Cubes and I was curious any specific cards you like for that deck. I have a bigger 512-card Cube with only 8 total pieces of equipment, although I have played a few more over the years. Also any specific non-Equipment support cards you recommend.
Thanks for the shoutout. I have seen a few people mention using a Equipment/Aura archetype in the Cubes and I was curious any specific cards you like for that deck. I have a bigger 512-card Cube with only 8 total pieces of equipment, although I have played a few more over the years. Also any specific non-Equipment support cards you recommend.
I haven't gone too deep on the archetype yet, so it's mainly Boros beatdown decks that have enough ways to get extra mileage out of equipment that it becomes worth running a higher density. A couple of the better support cards have been mentioned: Danitha Capashen, Paragon, Reyav, Master Smith, Scrapper Champion.
I'll plug Fireblade Charger again, whose floor as a Footlight Fiend is fine (still trades with X/2's), but with any decent-sized equipment on the battlefield it becomes insane. I really like of 1-drops that stay relevant later in the game, and the this one can be a legitimate threat. Also works with other types of incidental pump (battlecry, +1/+1 counters, etc).
Accidentally posted this in a pauper thread, but I'm here to right my wrong!
Now that a lot of us have gotten several KDH drafts in, are there any all stars that stick out that you might want to give a shot in peasant cube? I have been really impressed with both Svella, Ice Shaper and Path to the World Tree.
Svella is snow, but doesn't require snow and both abilities are great. At 360 I'm technically running two persist combo enablers in RG (Rhythm of the Wild and Grumgully). I was thinking about replacing Grumgully with Svella for a fair shake at performing in peasant cube.
Path to the World Tree is technically a 5-color card, but the card advantage in the pay off is so good. It also helps you set it up by searching a basic when it ETBs. I'm thinking it would be even easier to get to the activation cost in peasant than it is in KDH limited.
What do you guys think? Any gems you're evaluating in a different light now? Am I completely off base with these two?
We had a weird thing where we played Sealed for FNM because of Covid so we don't touch each other's cards. I didn't have enough gold for drafts on Arena until yesterday
Inga Rune-Eyes was really good in sealed, but I still wished it was black. I just made blocks to trigger the card draw every time I played them without sac enablers.
On top of the three mana and five mana modes, it also has the six mana mode of drop + equip to swing for the fences (which I know is usually factored into the three-mana mode, but I'm just thinking in terms of turns as well - dropping an equipment and passing turn 3 is a very different speed than dropping the hammer and equipping something for immediate impact on turn 6).
My peasant cube has been snow since Modern Horizons, I'm glad we get more good snow cards and more snow basics so players have the option to switch if desired. Feel free to ignore this trail of snow:
Blizzard Brawl seems better than Clear Shot and friends.
Boreal Outrider: I'm probably the only one who would exclude Boreal Outrider for accessibility reasons. I cube with many different levels of players, and this card is too easy to misread. Don't really see why it needed the color restriction?
Moritte of the Frost and Narfi, Betrayer King are super tempting value propositions. Clever Impersonator is great fun, and Moritte brings +1/+1 counter synergy to make up for the 1 tax (being limited to your own stuff on a 5-mana card is a bit of a bummer). Narfi rewards clever drafting in a couple ways with zombies and graveyard shenanigans, though I suspect he'll still be middle-of-the-road if you take him just for his recursion. I think my drafts would be improved by having one or both of these.
Spirit of the Aldergard: should be 4/4 at worst, 5/4 on average and often a 6/4 or 7/4, and the manafixing/deck thinning is great. Without evasion or a way to re-use the ETB though, it's solidly tier 2.
I'm a bit sad that Rampage of the Valkyries probably won't crack in. I only have Extricator of Sin, Flickerwisp and Blizzard Strix to abuse it, but in cubes with extra support like Kor Skyfisher and the like...
The guild lands are yummy, and I'm always looking for ways to add spells to my land slots, but - taking up a cube slot is still a real cost. I think some of these are serious contenders though.
Finally, I love foretell. Time will tell, but I think it's an excellent mechanic; simple to grasp, lots of options, and can be revisited (I hope).
My Cube (DeckStats)
My Pauper Cube: 540 (CubeTutor link!)
Level 1 Judge
I’m particularly interested in Foretell, as I like any mechanic that helps to mitigate mana variance. Being able to bank the cost of more expensive cards over multiple turns is a really powerful tool for helping decks that haven’t perfectly curved out or would otherwise have awkward mana sequencing. The facedown nature of it makes it somewhat unfriendly to those less familiar with the cube (similar to Morph), but I’ll have to see how that plays out in practice.
Adding:
Usher of the Fallen - Instant staple, not much else to say
Clarion Spirit - Even one trigger is above rate, and in the right deck this can threaten multiple triggers pretty easily.
Saw It Coming - Probably the second or third best Cancel+, this is a splashable hard-counter but it likely loses some value in an environment with less foretell cards.
Behold the Multiverse - A better Glimmer of Genius and the perfect foretell to pair with Saw It Coming.
Poison the Cup - It was only a matter of time before we got Murder with upside. Probably not knocking off Cast Down or Go for the Throat as the top tier black removal, but slots in perfectly for environments with depowered removal such as my own.
Dwarven Hammer - I overlooked this on first pass so I’m glad this got brought up for discussion (credit to rancoredmalone). I’m definitely in the market for a “fixed” Loxodon Warhammer, and the 5-mana mode seems actually quite efficient considering what it leaves behind. Happy to give more support to the fledgling RW equipment archetype (quick shoutout to Fireblade Charger who has been overperforming here).
Snakeskin Veil - Easy swap for Blossoming Defense if you’re trying to support the +1/+1 counter archetype.
Sarulf's Packmate - I love seeing more efficient card draw being printed in green. This seems rather pushed for a common, and while it’s not quite Llanowar Visionary I suspect the Packmate is probably higher on power level than it’s getting credit for.
Maja, Bretagard Protector - Somewhat vulnerable at three-toughness for five mana, but it seems like it would be difficult to lose a game where this sticks around on the battlefield. This has an immediate impact on the board in addition to providing a repeatable source of value.
Kardur, Doomscourge - Two very unique and powerful effects on a solid body, I think this might play even better than it looks.
Svella, Ice Shaper - Another fun and unique design, I like that this gives Gruul something interesting to do besides beat face.
Testing:
Kaya's Onslaught - Really powerful effect at just W if set-up with Foretell, but still has the same problems as all combat tricks.
Giant's Amulet - The more I think about this card the more I like it. The 1-mana mode is almost never worth a card (maybe protecting Soul Herder?), but the creature mode is actually quite efficient compared to what blue gets at our rarity. A 4/5 hexproof* should stabilize the board very well in control, and you can always reequip after combat to your other blockers once you’re ready to start turning sideways. *Your creature never loses hexproof if you don’t want them to, and overall I don’t mind this type of hexproof as it leads to more interesting gameplay than the static version.
Ravenform - Versatile removal, sorcery speed hurts but it’s nice for blue to have a permanent answer to the two most relevant card types in the format.
Axgard Cavalry - I’ve been impressed enough with Goblin Motivator to want a second copy of the effect, and I like the card diversity of running this over Bloodlust Inciter.
Crush the Weak - An interesting Pyroclasm variant, and I actually like the exile clause quite a bit to help counter Blood Artist type effects.
Port of Karfell - I really like the design on this land cycle overall, but it ends up being really difficult for them to make the cut in a guild spell section (they would be slam dunks if they tapped for both colors). The Port is one of the only ones I’m likely to test due to trying to go deeper on Dimir reanimator.
Firja, Judge of Valor - I’m always looking for interesting options in Orzhov and this actually seems like it has the potential to be really powerful.
Moritte of the Frost/Littjara Mirrorlake - Glad to see more clone effects being printed at uncommon, and these seem like fun additions to Simic. I think it’s close between the two and I’ll probably end up testing both at one time or another, but my gut is actually leaning towards the Mirrorlake as taking the slot.
Formerly hedgehogger
Thanks for the shoutout. I have seen a few people mention using a Equipment/Aura archetype in the Cubes and I was curious any specific cards you like for that deck. I have a bigger 512-card Cube with only 8 total pieces of equipment, although I have played a few more over the years. Also any specific non-Equipment support cards you recommend.
https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/peasantsnowcube
-- Updated with Outlaws of Thunder Junction
The PioneWer Peasant CUbe
https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/pionewer
-- Updated with Murders at Karlov Manor
I haven't gone too deep on the archetype yet, so it's mainly Boros beatdown decks that have enough ways to get extra mileage out of equipment that it becomes worth running a higher density. A couple of the better support cards have been mentioned: Danitha Capashen, Paragon, Reyav, Master Smith, Scrapper Champion.
I'll plug Fireblade Charger again, whose floor as a Footlight Fiend is fine (still trades with X/2's), but with any decent-sized equipment on the battlefield it becomes insane. I really like of 1-drops that stay relevant later in the game, and the this one can be a legitimate threat. Also works with other types of incidental pump (battlecry, +1/+1 counters, etc).
A few other cards that play well in the "equipment" deck:
Faerie Guidemother
Grim Initiate
Sunhome Stalwart
Ancestral Blade
Gryff's Boon
Nahiri, Storm of Stone - borderline on power-level but interesting
Even Toggo, Goblin Weaponsmith could potentially provide some narrow equipment synergies (I really want to see a creature gain double-strike from a rock via Reyav).
Formerly hedgehogger
Now that a lot of us have gotten several KDH drafts in, are there any all stars that stick out that you might want to give a shot in peasant cube? I have been really impressed with both Svella, Ice Shaper and Path to the World Tree.
Svella is snow, but doesn't require snow and both abilities are great. At 360 I'm technically running two persist combo enablers in RG (Rhythm of the Wild and Grumgully). I was thinking about replacing Grumgully with Svella for a fair shake at performing in peasant cube.
Path to the World Tree is technically a 5-color card, but the card advantage in the pay off is so good. It also helps you set it up by searching a basic when it ETBs. I'm thinking it would be even easier to get to the activation cost in peasant than it is in KDH limited.
What do you guys think? Any gems you're evaluating in a different light now? Am I completely off base with these two?
MTGS Average Peasant Cube 2023 Edition
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Inga Rune-Eyes was really good in sealed, but I still wished it was black. I just made blocks to trigger the card draw every time I played them without sac enablers.
Pioneer:UR Pheonix
Modern:U Mono U Tron
EDH
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
Peasant cube: Cards I own