Boreal Outrider is Grumgully the generous, trading the arbitrary exclusion of humans for the more tangibly disappointing exclusion of tokens. Fitting in a monocolored slot, this one probably makes it for me unless I've hit a saturation point with these types of effects.
Also the new card doesn't support persist combo, which Grumgully does.
BTW noobinator, the modern horizons snow island is the best snow land.
---------
Edit Woaaaaaaaaaaahhh Frost Augur
is almost 1, T, flip a coin. If heads, draw a card.
That's legit bordering on enclave cryptologist. Wait, I take it back, it's legitimately competing with enclave cryptologist.
Maja, Bretagard Protector still looks super strong to me, it is competing with Trostani's Summoner. It is cheaper and has a more immediate effect but it much weaker if it is removed and doesn't have the blink synergy.
Rovinglights Valley is basically terramorphic expanse, but without the minor interactions.
I guess if you have a splash color and feel like you can't afford to dilute your mana base with an off-color basic, this has that slight upside, but you probably shouldn't be doing that to your deck much anyway.
I assume for people who have singleton, strict c/u fixing in their cube Rovinglights Valley is an option. Yes, it's slightly worse than Expanse and Wilds, but it's still decent one-card-fits-all fixing.
I think Frost Augur is going to be okay as a 1-drop, but I really think the 1-mana activation cost hurts a lot. A card that jumped to mind immediately was Dakra Mystic, which has a cool effect, but became very difficult to support due to the activation cost. Snow mana is easier than blue mana, but it still costs 1.
Frost Augur is mostly Dryad Greenseeker with an activation cost and that card is mildly played, albeit in green instead of blue. That said, blue has even more competition for the effect. I would probably rather have any two-mana looter without a mana activation, along with Enclave Cryptologist. Heck, is it even better than Sindbad? The obvious potential upside is that you have a few non-land snow cards that are very good, like Avalanche Caller to also draw into, but those are still going to be few and far between after Kaldheim.
Also, what kind of flying one-drops have people played in white? I have in Faerie Guidemother currently for the potential damage burst off its adventure. I have also played Topplegeist before, but I feel that does not fit in white.
Anyone have their rankings on flying white 1-drops and where Battlefield Raptor would fit in?
I logged in to temper my initial reaction to frost augur because I thought of sinbad on my couch.
There is probably something to be said about sneaking in your card advantage engine on the turn where you have no other plays, but yeah.
However
If we assume loosely that Dakra mystic only puts the cards into the yard when your opponent has a better card on top than you do then its only working half the time, like this guy. But a lot of the time it's only a marginal difference, like say putting their 10th best card into the bin alongside your 15th best. At least when this guy works, its straight up card draw.
//
Obligatory "snow is a great mechanic for retail limited but for cube/constructed it's stupid in the most socially inappropriate way".
Requiring different skins for basic lands feels like a scam
Yeah, Fearless Pup almost certainly does not make the cut. I imagine getting a 2-power red 1-drop has low chances when the set is already putting so much emphasis on +1/+1 counters. They expect you to put counters on early stuff to make it viable.
I think I kind of like Horizon Seeker, though. Not sure if it makes the cut but the base stats are decent and if you have no land handy that turn otherwise, the effective cost for the ability is just one mana (because you can play the land that you found in your second main phase).
I think I kind of like Horizon Seeker, though. Not sure if it makes the cut but the base stats are decent and if you have no land handy that turn otherwise, the effective cost for the ability is just one mana (because you can play the land that you found in your second main phase).
Not a fan.
- Three mana for a 3/2 is weak, especially in green, so I'm not running it for the body.
- Two more Mana (so 3GG total) to get a land into hand is expensive. I'd rather play Farhaven Elf, Springbloom Druid, Llanowar Visionary, etc., so I'm not running it for the land fetch.
- It has to survive an extra turn. If you block and it does, or if they destroy it or force you to sac it, it was a vanilla body and got zero lands.
- As a basically vanilla 3/2, it is unlikely to survive combat, so you probably only get one land out of it. As such, even Civic Wayfinder is cheaper, more reliable, doesn't cost half your mana the next turn, and the only trade-off is being a 2/2 rather than a 3/2. Is the +1/+0 worth an extra 1G?
- How often will it get activated twice? And is 4GGG a good price for two lands to hand (not even ramp)?
A couple of cards that caught my eye so far which I haven't seen much discussion on:
Clarion Spirit
Getting even a single trigger makes this significantly above rate, and casting two spells in a turn is going to come up fairly regularly. Played off curve it's even possible to get a trigger immediately e.g. play this and then another 2-drop on four mana.
Doomskar Titan
Effectively a 5/4 haste with battlecry the turn it enters, this represents a ton of damage and has to be in the conversation with the other top-end red creatures. Foretell being able to get this out on 5-lands is a big bonus, even if you're paying slightly more total mana.
Dual Strike
An effect that's generally restricted to higher rarities, which might make this worth a second look. Could be an interesting option if you're pushing a spell-slinger archetype.
Littjara Glade-Warden
The Warden caught my eye as interesting value engine, which could be one of the more efficient +1/+1 counter generators we have access to. I'm trying to support both graveyard and +1/+1 strategies with my green section, so this would slot in as a kind-of anchor between archetypes. Probably one knob tuned too low on power-level though, sorcery-speed likely kills it.
Lots of really interesting designs on the multicolor cards in this set between the sagas, legendaries, and spell-lands. I'll have to follow up for more thoughts once I can digest the whole set.
We have finally seen all ten of the ETBT lands which tap for a single color and have a dual colored sacrifice ability. While a lot of the abilities are unique ones to have on lands, (making a 4/4 angel, dealing 2 to all creatures, or cloning one of your creatures,) all of the abilities are 2-3 mana over costed compared to a similar spell and each land would take up a precious guild spot.
For those reasons, I am not particularly interested in any of them. I am mildly considering the Simic land (Littjara Mirrorlake), since Simic is a weaker guild section. I also actively like the Dimir land's ability (Port of Karfell), but heck if I have the room in a tight Dimir guild.
Any of these lands catch your eyes for your Cubes?
I believe the 'second spell' ability is a trap. It doesn't happen nearly as often as some people think and especially not when you need it after playing a card that benefits from it. Pretty sure Clarion Spirit will be nothing but a bear in about 2 out of 3 games it gets played. Too unreliable and even the average case isn't good enough.
Doomskar Titan is one mana too expensive. The battle cry ability doesn't make up for the additional mana cost and the lack of trample. At six mana it's completely unplayable in aggro and foretell at 5 mana doesn't really help with that. I'd always play Skizzik or Charging Monstrosaur before I'd consider it.
Could have sworn Fork was an uncommon in an online or reprint set. Anyway, I believe the double red mana is a problem. Copying a simple bolt will cost RRR, which is so unreliable. Foretell isn't that great for fast spell decks, though it does help a bit. I like the idea of the card, but I think it would need to cost 1R to be good enough.
Littjara Glade-Warden seems super slow and there are so many great cards in green for 4 mana. And it even has a condition to use the ability. Both the ability and the creature (which could have been 2/3 to balance it) should have been one mana cheaper imo.
I agree that the Littjara Mirrorlake is the only ability land that is interesting since it's the big ramp guild so this land + 6 mana isn't unreasonable and turning a land into a better clone of a big creature you played before can be powerful. I doubt I will add it though. The other cards are far too overcosted for what they do in their respective decks.
I'd have to say I disagree on Clarion Spirit. Thinking back on my last several cube matches, double-spell turns happened pretty regularly each game, and that's without considering mechanic support with rebound, flashback, etc. I actually think one trigger is going to be closer to the average-case, with upside beyond that.
Obviously Charging Monstrosaur is the undisputed champion for red 5+ drops, but beyond that the rankings get much more muddled. I personally like the Titan quite a bit more than Skizzik in anything slower than full-tilt aggro. I think Foretell will be very relevant to setting this up for an alpha strike, plus it helps provide archetype support for go-wide strategies.
I think Clarion Spirit pushes you farther from 2 color aggro/midrangey builds that might play a couple 4s and a 5 and into hyper-aggro mono-color decks running 1 mana pumps/auras where the average cmc is 2. If you can support that kind of deck, I think this card will shine.
Alternatively, the card actually seems great in control. Getting a free 1/1 flying for casting Preordain seems like a great deal. You can drop this guy on turn 2 as bear and if he lives he eventually works as a kind of "free" wincondition (compare to Murmuring Mystic). 3 or 4 tokens will end the game quickly with a control shell backing it up.
I'd have to say I disagree on Clarion Spirit. Thinking back on my last several cube matches, double-spell turns happened pretty regularly e
Obviously Charging Monstrosaur is the undisputed champion for red 5+ drops, but beyond that the rankings get much more muddled. I personally like the Titan quite a bit more than Skizzik in anything slower than full-tilt aggro. I think Foretell will be very relevant to setting this up for an alpha strike, plus it helps provide archetype support for go-wide strategies.
Eh, I'm not so high on the titan. Lack of trample hurts a lot when alpha striking and I can't imagine my red aggressive deck wanting to take a down turn to set him up. If I want to play a slower midrange build then there are generally better ways to spend my mana. What deck wants this opposed to goblin bushwhacker or trumpet blast?
If I want to play a slower midrange build then there are generally better ways to spend my mana.
Serious question, what are the better options in red? I'm specifically trying to support control style or "big mana" red decks in my cube, but at Peasant the options are really limited. It would be nice to have some payoffs other than big one-shot damage spells (Slice and Dice, Shower of Coals, Fight with Fire).
Rite of the raging storm is the card that most challenges charging monstrosaur for the best red fatty. I like akoum warrior but it is middle of the road (I realized that I should emphasize that a lot of its value comes from the fact that I try not to give out free mulligans too much).
This new card has no real home. 6 mana is too much for a power-only, one turn anthem. And to get it at a reasonable price you have to take time off... in aggro.
So... we officially have the whole set spoiled, so I want to be first on the board with a Too Early Top 20 from Kaldheim.
A set that, honestly, would have been quite disappointing without the inclusion of snow. I have run snow-covered basics for the 10+ year lifespan of my Cube and I still think it is a fun and unique way to add flavor and power. I understand that without actual snow basics to use, adding snow is very janky, but this is another great chance to pick up snow basics, along with adding a solid dozen or more powerful cards from Magic's history to your Cube . Onto the other themes.
For my Cube, I have extremely limited tribal synergies and almost all of those are self-contained (think Imperious Perfect). Not only do the tribe-specific payoffs not interest me, but the Changelings offer little to nothing.
Foretell is a perfectly serviceable mechanic, but just never got used on a powerful card, in my opinion. There are quite a few cards where Foretell works almost like echo, as an installment plan to get a spell ahead of time. Even those cards are just fine when cheated out a turn early, 3/3 fliers and two 2/1 tokens. For our purposes, I think the best Foretell cards are instants where you sacrifice a little bit of extra mana for the extra flexibility in casting, without losing the ability to react. Such as...
20) Poison the Cup and Saw It Coming- Both of these cards can be cast on your opponent's turn after being foretold with only a minimal downside, going from 1CC to cast to 3C. And if you do not need them during that turn cycle, you get the fully discounted rate for future turns. With that all said, neither of the base spells are super exciting, with 1UU being a little more acceptable for a counterspell then 1BB is for creature kill.
19) Behold the Multiverse- A great use of foretell, where there is no extra mana needed to cast an instant spell. Not exactly what I am looking for in a card draw spell, but not that far off.
18) Stalwart Valkyrie- I like good creatures that have both the small chance to be cast ahead of time or can also be fit into a later two-spell turn. That said, the chance of casting this ahead of time is miniscule, even though I would love a 3/2 flier on turn 2.
17) Masked Vandal- I love having ways to keep early mana artifacts in check, which is why a two-drop creature which exiles an artifact or enchantment is so appealing. But even with self-mill, this feels too difficult to make work compared to more expensive options.
16) Bloodsky Berserker- I saw some comparisons to both Quirion Dryad and Sprite Dragon, but while those have conditional triggers, I think they are each far less conditional than the double-spell requirement of Berserker. I also have veered a little away from the black aggro deck which Berserker best fits.
15) Hailstorm Valkyrie- A slightly bigger and more expensive Chilling Shade. I think I prefer the smaller, cheaper, and single-pump version, but Hailstorm basically always has the first pump of Chilling Shade after paying an extra mana to cast. Very close.
14) Icehide Troll- Most of the upside of Troll is the threat of activation, but the fact that you can use the ability to both protect and attack is appealing.
Some Interesting Non-Snow Cards
13) Littjara Mirrorlake- It is not easy to justify these ETB lands in guild slots, but it helps that Simic is pretty sparse on playables AND focused on ramp. The power is a little conditional depending on your board presence, which weakens the upside.
12) Dwarven Hammer- For those of you looking at red 5-drops, may I introduce this dual-mode equipment? I think a 5/1 trample for 4R is reasonable enough, but when that leaves behind decent equipment (+3/+0 and trample for equip 3), you have a pretty good package. I also think the equipment on its own would be okay in certain circumstances. I think I prefer this to Rite of the Raging Storm, but I am down on that card.
11) Snakeskin Veil- A card which I think is only barely outclassed by Blossoming Defense and Vines of Vastwood. I cannot justify playing all three, but I like having the option.
10) Renegade Reaper- One of the Set Booster extra cards. Mostly a 2/3 flier that self-mills 4 for 2B. The Angel text should never matter, but I am looking for another respectable self-mill creature, and Reaper fits the bill.
Let It Snow
9) Icebind Pillar- A cheaper Icy Manipulator, albeit without the relevant land tapping text. Dealing with both creatures and artifacts also stamped out any appeal from Ravenform in this set.
8) Narfi, Betrayer King- A card I am actually quite excited for, but hard to jam into a packed Dimir guild. The pump to Zombies and snow creatures is not irrelevant, but a large recurring threat that can block early and then close a game is very appealing in grindy Dimir decks.
7) Blizzard Brawl- An efficient fight spell that upgrades into a one-mana Ambuscade with three or more snow permanents.
6) Boreal Outrider- A single-color version of cards like Grumgully, the Generous or Good-Fortune Unicorn. However, Boreal Outrider misses the persist combo, along with missing reanimated creatures, blinked creatures, and colorless creatures. That said, it is really easy to get 5 power out of this 3-drop.
5) Spirit of the Aldergard- A well-sized creature that only grows as the game goes on. I wish it had trample, but it does also draw you to any snow land for fixing or utility purposes.
4) Shimmerdrift Vale and 3) the Alpine Meadow cycle- One of the most awkward things about having a Snow cube is that only the basics are snow, meaning it was relatively easy to weaken your snow cards just by taking good fixing. Now we have 11 snow lands which fix mana along with 2 other utility snow lands. It is now easier than every to have 15+ snow lands in a deck, helping to power all of the cards mentioned above.
2) Avalanche Caller- Along with this card, the most powerful snow card in the set. In one single package, you get the ability to shut down early attackers with 4/4 hexproof blockers and swing with multiple 4/4s to finish the game. Heck, even the 1/3 creature is a good early blocker. Avalanche Caller is fragile, but also can impact the board immediately.
The All-Around Staple
1) Usher of the Fallen- A top 3 white one-drop with a relevant ability. Almost certainly going to make even the smallest of Peasant Cubes.
Very disappointing set. Only card I'll add for sure is obviously Usher of the Fallen. And maybe Behold the Multiverse, though I wish foretell was just instant speed. Everything else won't make it into my cube.
Honorable mentions would be Snakeskin Veil, as it's a decent alternative to Blossoming Defense especially with a +1/+1 counters theme and Littjara Mirrorlake since it's something I wouldn't mind playing in a ramp deck.
I assume for people who consider playing with snow basics instead of regular basics there are more reasons to do so now, but that's nothing I would personally do.
EDIT: Missed Renegade Reaper somehow and saw it in rancoredmalone's list. A 2/3 flyer for 3 isn't too shabby and milling four cards can be very useful in a black deck.
EDIT2: And of course I missed Poison the Cup, which I will most likely try.
If I want to play a slower midrange build then there are generally better ways to spend my mana.
Serious question, what are the better options in red? I'm specifically trying to support control style or "big mana" red decks in my cube, but at Peasant the options are really limited. It would be nice to have some payoffs other than big one-shot damage spells (Slice and Dice, Shower of Coals, Fight with Fire).
Those are some good options, but generally speaking why do the big CMC cards have to be red? That's just not a niche red occupies well. Can your big red decks be big Red/X?
Things I Like: Clarion Spirit - One spirit is all you need for this bear to be excellent. Has potential in aggro or control. Ravenform - I mourn for the color pie. But this is a versatile blue answer. Masked Vandal - This is a whole lot better than Naturalize. I don't have any dedicated tribal archetypes, but there are a few opportunities for incidental payoff. Replicating Ring - Ramp decks and 4C control decks will run a manalith. The nine rings win the game with mana sinks like Rolling Thunder or Vitu-Ghazi Guildmage.
Maybe: Battlefield Raptor - Carries equipment and counters well Bind the Monster - More blue removal. Not sure if I like this more or less than Bubble Snare. Elven Bow - An effective tool for token decks to beat flying decks. Snakeskin Veil - Similar to Undying Evil, this stops removal and leaves a counter. Probably a tad worse but still seems useful.
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Also the new card doesn't support persist combo, which Grumgully does.
BTW noobinator, the modern horizons snow island is the best snow land.
---------
Edit Woaaaaaaaaaaahhh
Frost Augur
is almost 1, T, flip a coin. If heads, draw a card.
That's legit bordering on enclave cryptologist. Wait, I take it back, it's legitimately competing with enclave cryptologist.
My CubeCobra (draft 20 card packs, 2 packs.)
430, Peasant, Very Unpowered
Why you should take your hybrids out of your gold section
Manamath Article
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
Legacy Cube
I guess if you have a splash color and feel like you can't afford to dilute your mana base with an off-color basic, this has that slight upside, but you probably shouldn't be doing that to your deck much anyway.
My CubeCobra (draft 20 card packs, 2 packs.)
430, Peasant, Very Unpowered
Why you should take your hybrids out of your gold section
Manamath Article
My Old School Battlebox
My Premodern Battlebox
Battlefield Raptor looks good for +1+1 counters and equipments. I like it more than Healer's Hawk.
My Omniscience Draft Cube[/b]
My Commander Cube
My Pai Gow Cube
My Two-Headed Giant Cube
Frost Augur is mostly Dryad Greenseeker with an activation cost and that card is mildly played, albeit in green instead of blue. That said, blue has even more competition for the effect. I would probably rather have any two-mana looter without a mana activation, along with Enclave Cryptologist. Heck, is it even better than Sindbad? The obvious potential upside is that you have a few non-land snow cards that are very good, like Avalanche Caller to also draw into, but those are still going to be few and far between after Kaldheim.
Also, what kind of flying one-drops have people played in white? I have in Faerie Guidemother currently for the potential damage burst off its adventure. I have also played Topplegeist before, but I feel that does not fit in white.
Anyone have their rankings on flying white 1-drops and where Battlefield Raptor would fit in?
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
There is probably something to be said about sneaking in your card advantage engine on the turn where you have no other plays, but yeah.
However
If we assume loosely that Dakra mystic only puts the cards into the yard when your opponent has a better card on top than you do then its only working half the time, like this guy. But a lot of the time it's only a marginal difference, like say putting their 10th best card into the bin alongside your 15th best. At least when this guy works, its straight up card draw.
//
Obligatory "snow is a great mechanic for retail limited but for cube/constructed it's stupid in the most socially inappropriate way".
Requiring different skins for basic lands feels like a scam
My CubeCobra (draft 20 card packs, 2 packs.)
430, Peasant, Very Unpowered
Why you should take your hybrids out of your gold section
Manamath Article
Any chance we get a different one at uncommon?
I think I kind of like Horizon Seeker, though. Not sure if it makes the cut but the base stats are decent and if you have no land handy that turn otherwise, the effective cost for the ability is just one mana (because you can play the land that you found in your second main phase).
- Three mana for a 3/2 is weak, especially in green, so I'm not running it for the body.
- Two more Mana (so 3GG total) to get a land into hand is expensive. I'd rather play Farhaven Elf, Springbloom Druid, Llanowar Visionary, etc., so I'm not running it for the land fetch.
- It has to survive an extra turn. If you block and it does, or if they destroy it or force you to sac it, it was a vanilla body and got zero lands.
- As a basically vanilla 3/2, it is unlikely to survive combat, so you probably only get one land out of it. As such, even Civic Wayfinder is cheaper, more reliable, doesn't cost half your mana the next turn, and the only trade-off is being a 2/2 rather than a 3/2. Is the +1/+0 worth an extra 1G?
- How often will it get activated twice? And is 4GGG a good price for two lands to hand (not even ramp)?
2023 Average Peasant Cube|and Discussion
Because I have more decks than fit in a signature
Useful Resources:
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EDHREC
ManabaseCrafter
Clarion Spirit
Getting even a single trigger makes this significantly above rate, and casting two spells in a turn is going to come up fairly regularly. Played off curve it's even possible to get a trigger immediately e.g. play this and then another 2-drop on four mana.
Doomskar Titan
Effectively a 5/4 haste with battlecry the turn it enters, this represents a ton of damage and has to be in the conversation with the other top-end red creatures. Foretell being able to get this out on 5-lands is a big bonus, even if you're paying slightly more total mana.
Dual Strike
An effect that's generally restricted to higher rarities, which might make this worth a second look. Could be an interesting option if you're pushing a spell-slinger archetype.
Littjara Glade-Warden
The Warden caught my eye as interesting value engine, which could be one of the more efficient +1/+1 counter generators we have access to. I'm trying to support both graveyard and +1/+1 strategies with my green section, so this would slot in as a kind-of anchor between archetypes. Probably one knob tuned too low on power-level though, sorcery-speed likely kills it.
Lots of really interesting designs on the multicolor cards in this set between the sagas, legendaries, and spell-lands. I'll have to follow up for more thoughts once I can digest the whole set.
Formerly hedgehogger
For those reasons, I am not particularly interested in any of them. I am mildly considering the Simic land (Littjara Mirrorlake), since Simic is a weaker guild section. I also actively like the Dimir land's ability (Port of Karfell), but heck if I have the room in a tight Dimir guild.
Any of these lands catch your eyes for your Cubes?
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
Doomskar Titan is one mana too expensive. The battle cry ability doesn't make up for the additional mana cost and the lack of trample. At six mana it's completely unplayable in aggro and foretell at 5 mana doesn't really help with that. I'd always play Skizzik or Charging Monstrosaur before I'd consider it.
Could have sworn Fork was an uncommon in an online or reprint set. Anyway, I believe the double red mana is a problem. Copying a simple bolt will cost RRR, which is so unreliable. Foretell isn't that great for fast spell decks, though it does help a bit. I like the idea of the card, but I think it would need to cost 1R to be good enough.
Littjara Glade-Warden seems super slow and there are so many great cards in green for 4 mana. And it even has a condition to use the ability. Both the ability and the creature (which could have been 2/3 to balance it) should have been one mana cheaper imo.
I agree that the Littjara Mirrorlake is the only ability land that is interesting since it's the big ramp guild so this land + 6 mana isn't unreasonable and turning a land into a better clone of a big creature you played before can be powerful. I doubt I will add it though. The other cards are far too overcosted for what they do in their respective decks.
My Old School Battlebox
My Premodern Battlebox
Obviously Charging Monstrosaur is the undisputed champion for red 5+ drops, but beyond that the rankings get much more muddled. I personally like the Titan quite a bit more than Skizzik in anything slower than full-tilt aggro. I think Foretell will be very relevant to setting this up for an alpha strike, plus it helps provide archetype support for go-wide strategies.
Formerly hedgehogger
Alternatively, the card actually seems great in control. Getting a free 1/1 flying for casting Preordain seems like a great deal. You can drop this guy on turn 2 as bear and if he lives he eventually works as a kind of "free" wincondition (compare to Murmuring Mystic). 3 or 4 tokens will end the game quickly with a control shell backing it up.
Eh, I'm not so high on the titan. Lack of trample hurts a lot when alpha striking and I can't imagine my red aggressive deck wanting to take a down turn to set him up. If I want to play a slower midrange build then there are generally better ways to spend my mana. What deck wants this opposed to goblin bushwhacker or trumpet blast?
Serious question, what are the better options in red? I'm specifically trying to support control style or "big mana" red decks in my cube, but at Peasant the options are really limited. It would be nice to have some payoffs other than big one-shot damage spells (Slice and Dice, Shower of Coals, Fight with Fire).
I've been testing a few of the more recent high cmc red creatures: Akoum Warrior and Sanctuary Smasher have been fine but unexciting. Frenzied Saddlebrute and Dargo, the Shipwrecker haven't seen play yet, but I'll probably end up cutting Dargo to test Doomskar Titan.
Maybe I should take another look at Rite of the Raging Storm.
Formerly hedgehogger
This new card has no real home. 6 mana is too much for a power-only, one turn anthem. And to get it at a reasonable price you have to take time off... in aggro.
My CubeCobra (draft 20 card packs, 2 packs.)
430, Peasant, Very Unpowered
Why you should take your hybrids out of your gold section
Manamath Article
A set that, honestly, would have been quite disappointing without the inclusion of snow. I have run snow-covered basics for the 10+ year lifespan of my Cube and I still think it is a fun and unique way to add flavor and power. I understand that without actual snow basics to use, adding snow is very janky, but this is another great chance to pick up snow basics, along with adding a solid dozen or more powerful cards from Magic's history to your Cube . Onto the other themes.
For my Cube, I have extremely limited tribal synergies and almost all of those are self-contained (think Imperious Perfect). Not only do the tribe-specific payoffs not interest me, but the Changelings offer little to nothing.
Foretell is a perfectly serviceable mechanic, but just never got used on a powerful card, in my opinion. There are quite a few cards where Foretell works almost like echo, as an installment plan to get a spell ahead of time. Even those cards are just fine when cheated out a turn early, 3/3 fliers and two 2/1 tokens. For our purposes, I think the best Foretell cards are instants where you sacrifice a little bit of extra mana for the extra flexibility in casting, without losing the ability to react. Such as...
20) Poison the Cup and Saw It Coming- Both of these cards can be cast on your opponent's turn after being foretold with only a minimal downside, going from 1CC to cast to 3C. And if you do not need them during that turn cycle, you get the fully discounted rate for future turns. With that all said, neither of the base spells are super exciting, with 1UU being a little more acceptable for a counterspell then 1BB is for creature kill.
19) Behold the Multiverse- A great use of foretell, where there is no extra mana needed to cast an instant spell. Not exactly what I am looking for in a card draw spell, but not that far off.
18) Stalwart Valkyrie- I like good creatures that have both the small chance to be cast ahead of time or can also be fit into a later two-spell turn. That said, the chance of casting this ahead of time is miniscule, even though I would love a 3/2 flier on turn 2.
17) Masked Vandal- I love having ways to keep early mana artifacts in check, which is why a two-drop creature which exiles an artifact or enchantment is so appealing. But even with self-mill, this feels too difficult to make work compared to more expensive options.
16) Bloodsky Berserker- I saw some comparisons to both Quirion Dryad and Sprite Dragon, but while those have conditional triggers, I think they are each far less conditional than the double-spell requirement of Berserker. I also have veered a little away from the black aggro deck which Berserker best fits.
15) Hailstorm Valkyrie- A slightly bigger and more expensive Chilling Shade. I think I prefer the smaller, cheaper, and single-pump version, but Hailstorm basically always has the first pump of Chilling Shade after paying an extra mana to cast. Very close.
14) Icehide Troll- Most of the upside of Troll is the threat of activation, but the fact that you can use the ability to both protect and attack is appealing.
Some Interesting Non-Snow Cards
13) Littjara Mirrorlake- It is not easy to justify these ETB lands in guild slots, but it helps that Simic is pretty sparse on playables AND focused on ramp. The power is a little conditional depending on your board presence, which weakens the upside.
12) Dwarven Hammer- For those of you looking at red 5-drops, may I introduce this dual-mode equipment? I think a 5/1 trample for 4R is reasonable enough, but when that leaves behind decent equipment (+3/+0 and trample for equip 3), you have a pretty good package. I also think the equipment on its own would be okay in certain circumstances. I think I prefer this to Rite of the Raging Storm, but I am down on that card.
11) Snakeskin Veil- A card which I think is only barely outclassed by Blossoming Defense and Vines of Vastwood. I cannot justify playing all three, but I like having the option.
10) Renegade Reaper- One of the Set Booster extra cards. Mostly a 2/3 flier that self-mills 4 for 2B. The Angel text should never matter, but I am looking for another respectable self-mill creature, and Reaper fits the bill.
Let It Snow
9) Icebind Pillar- A cheaper Icy Manipulator, albeit without the relevant land tapping text. Dealing with both creatures and artifacts also stamped out any appeal from Ravenform in this set.
8) Narfi, Betrayer King- A card I am actually quite excited for, but hard to jam into a packed Dimir guild. The pump to Zombies and snow creatures is not irrelevant, but a large recurring threat that can block early and then close a game is very appealing in grindy Dimir decks.
7) Blizzard Brawl- An efficient fight spell that upgrades into a one-mana Ambuscade with three or more snow permanents.
6) Boreal Outrider- A single-color version of cards like Grumgully, the Generous or Good-Fortune Unicorn. However, Boreal Outrider misses the persist combo, along with missing reanimated creatures, blinked creatures, and colorless creatures. That said, it is really easy to get 5 power out of this 3-drop.
5) Spirit of the Aldergard- A well-sized creature that only grows as the game goes on. I wish it had trample, but it does also draw you to any snow land for fixing or utility purposes.
4) Shimmerdrift Vale and 3) the Alpine Meadow cycle- One of the most awkward things about having a Snow cube is that only the basics are snow, meaning it was relatively easy to weaken your snow cards just by taking good fixing. Now we have 11 snow lands which fix mana along with 2 other utility snow lands. It is now easier than every to have 15+ snow lands in a deck, helping to power all of the cards mentioned above.
2) Avalanche Caller- Along with this card, the most powerful snow card in the set. In one single package, you get the ability to shut down early attackers with 4/4 hexproof blockers and swing with multiple 4/4s to finish the game. Heck, even the 1/3 creature is a good early blocker. Avalanche Caller is fragile, but also can impact the board immediately.
The All-Around Staple
1) Usher of the Fallen- A top 3 white one-drop with a relevant ability. Almost certainly going to make even the smallest of Peasant Cubes.
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
Honorable mentions would be Snakeskin Veil, as it's a decent alternative to Blossoming Defense especially with a +1/+1 counters theme and Littjara Mirrorlake since it's something I wouldn't mind playing in a ramp deck.
I assume for people who consider playing with snow basics instead of regular basics there are more reasons to do so now, but that's nothing I would personally do.
EDIT: Missed Renegade Reaper somehow and saw it in rancoredmalone's list. A 2/3 flyer for 3 isn't too shabby and milling four cards can be very useful in a black deck.
EDIT2: And of course I missed Poison the Cup, which I will most likely try.
My Old School Battlebox
My Premodern Battlebox
Maybe Flame Wave or Meteor Blast?
Those are some good options, but generally speaking why do the big CMC cards have to be red? That's just not a niche red occupies well. Can your big red decks be big Red/X?
Usher of the Fallen - Top tier white one drop.
Things I Like:
Clarion Spirit - One spirit is all you need for this bear to be excellent. Has potential in aggro or control.
Ravenform - I mourn for the color pie. But this is a versatile blue answer.
Masked Vandal - This is a whole lot better than Naturalize. I don't have any dedicated tribal archetypes, but there are a few opportunities for incidental payoff.
Replicating Ring - Ramp decks and 4C control decks will run a manalith. The nine rings win the game with mana sinks like Rolling Thunder or Vitu-Ghazi Guildmage.
Maybe:
Battlefield Raptor - Carries equipment and counters well
Bind the Monster - More blue removal. Not sure if I like this more or less than Bubble Snare.
Elven Bow - An effective tool for token decks to beat flying decks.
Snakeskin Veil - Similar to Undying Evil, this stops removal and leaves a counter. Probably a tad worse but still seems useful.