Odric's Outrider - The strong part of this guy is that he can distribute the counters around. I believe he breaks even at just 1 counter, and I'd become pretty happy starting at 2. Also gives a counter when itself dies.
Ghoulish Procession - Very strong in the aristocrats deck for providing sac fodder or some damage depending on what you need. I think I'd be happy with 3 zombies across the game, which seems very doable considering this can come down turn 2 and triggers on opponent's creatures as well.
Infernal Grasp - Like everyone else has already said, it's nice to get a good removal spell that doesn't have some arbitrary condition on it.
Morbid Opportunist - You come out ahead at only 2 cards drawn, which should be pretty easy to do since it triggers on tokens and opponents creatures. The possibility for 3 or 4 or more pushes it over the edge.
Consider - Nice for the possible graveyard synergies. However, I think often enough the top card of your library won't be relevant in your graveyard, which means Ponder/Preordain are probably still better.
Organ Hoarder - Decent body, sees 3 cards, puts un-chosen ones in graveyard. Good value all around. Comparable to Sea Gate Oracle.
Overwhelmed Archivist - Decent as a 3 mana play, and then decent value again for the disturb side.
Famished Foragers - Pretty strong if you can reliably get the 3 mana. Repeatable rummaging at a decent cost is nice too.
Lunar Frenzy - Not efficient at lower X values, but starts to represent a lot of damage, at instant speed, at 4R. I guess the ceiling is you turn a trade into a combat win plus 3 or 4 trample damage over. Probably one of the better pump spells in red, after Temur Battle Rage
Definitely in: Cathar Commando - My favorite Peasant card of the set. It's powerful and opens up interesting gameplay while also offering good, solid utility removal. Infernal Grasp - Considering how much good removal we have competing for this slot, it's less interesting but no less powerful. I like the unconditional kill and will probably finally replace Doom Blade or Go for the Throat. Play with Fire - Spellslinger appreciates the scry so it doesn't hit dead cards.
Maybe: Morbid Opportunist - I like the ability but the body is unimpressive, and I think Phyrexian Rager works better in my cube (ETB focus) Ghoulish Procession - Repeatable tokens for only 2 mana is pretty good. To bad they can't block or have more than one attack. Cathartic Pyre - Both good if not exciting modes. Lunar Frenzy - Interesting combat trick/finisher. The mana cost can be thought of as either expensive or a mana sink. Startle - I know I'm the only one who likes this, but my blue section has been my least satisfying for a while, and I want to try this. A combat trick cantrip that leaves behind a body is at least interesting. Not sure, though.
Falkenrath Perforator: Have we already had this effect? Hard to evaluate as an approximation of a 3-power creature. Though, probably not playing it.
Not the exact same stats, but we've had a handful of variations on the theme. Vicious Conquistador is the most efficient. Spiteful Returned absorbs the most life and can even be put on a creature more likely to survive. Leeching Sliver can grant it to others if you're into slivers. Then there's Thornbow Archer, Scorch Spitter, Pulse Tracker, Mardu Shadowspear. And of course, the new Reaper's Talisman, but that isn't an actual body.
While I run a couple from that list, I'm not personally a fan of Falkenrath Perforator because it's a 2-drop designed exclusively to be aggressive but dies to anything because it has one toughness. You'll often only ding the opponent for one and then trade your creature - or just lose it.
Nope: Cathar Commando 1 toughness creatures run into tokens and die.
But this card is so much more than a pure aggro creature that dies to evrything. Flash makes a world of difference - you can flash it in to block and kill a 3/3, 4/3, or 5/3. When they feel safe alpha-striking, you can flash it in an EOT to have a surprise attacker the next turn. You can blow up a key artifact or enchantment. You can even flash it in, block a creature, and in response sac it to blow up equipment or an artifact creature to deal with multiple threats.
Well, I did not get in as early as I wanted, but I still have a Too Early Top 20 for Innistrad: Midnight Hunt. I was about to be pretty down on this set, but a late-second addition certainly helped with that. This set was super hard to judge, especially beyond the obvious top picks. A lot of that is due to these interesting mechanics and how they may transition into our world of Peasant Cube. I run a 512 card Cube, maximized for power and with 6 spells per guild. My lists tend towards interesting cards, which this set has in spades. Here is the list:
20) Loyal Gryff- Very medium card as either an attacking 3-drop or a trick with upside. I doubt a lot of Cubes want to do the very durdly thing this card does best, but it also does regular things okay.
19) Vengeful Strangler / Strangling Grasp- I like what this can do for aggressive black decks, since the transformed aura is a decent but slow removal spell. Black aggro is on the downswing for many of us, but I guess this is kind of a sacrifice deck card too.
18) Fading Hope- I actually like this more than the similar Play with Fire because I think Unsummon is closer to Peasant Cube level than Shock. Very similarly, this card offers upside when used in its less optimal mode and might be the top Unsummon variant we have, along with Vapor Snag.
17) Falcon Abomination- I think a decayed Zombie is worse than a 1/1 token on the whole, which would make this worse than the solid Aven Eternal. That said, if decayed Zombies are better than I think, this should probably be in my Cube as well.
16) Candletrap- Probably a decent enough piece of cheap removal for controlling decks. The Coven ability provides some more upside for creature decks, but the conditions are so very specific as to not be much real upside. Three creatures of varying sizes is difficult to have, along with then having the extra mana to activate. Again, if Coven is better than I think, this is a worthy option.
15) Obsessive Astronomer- This day/night mechanic got added onto non-transforming cards that generally have decent bodies on their own. This two-card rummage is interesting as an effect, especially if it happens in multiples. If you are missing plays to transform into Night, you can discard those hand clogging cards for some better options which then help you double spell and turn back into Day. Nice idea, but how likely is it in practice?
Interesting Options-
14) Dryad's Revival- A lot of people here stated the obvious- there are so many Regrowth options now that it is very hard to break in. Regarding Revival, my biggest strike against this is how much less powerful this looks next to Timeless Witness.
13) Dreadhound- While more powerful than Syr Konrad, the Grim, 6 mana is a lot more than 5 mana and even 5 mana is sometimes more than I want to pay for this effect. But, being the Big Dog has its upsides, especially if it fits into a self-mill black section for reanimator.
12) Consider- I do not think Peasant has a huge need for more one-mana blue cantrips given how relatively flat our power level is and how many fewer spell-slinger options we have access to. That said, this is probably the 4th or 5th best one, so is definitely worth your time to, ahem, Consider.
11) Cathartic Pyre- A really interesting way to mitigate flood in red aggro or discard for upside in blue/red or black/red decks. For me, I would rather deal with mana flood in red aggro with a card like Roil Eruption that also hits players. As for the discard upside, I would rather have that effect in either blue or black.
10) Rite of Oblivion- This is certainly an excellent way to turn a wide-board of tokens into real board impact, and also enables your Blood Artist effects. Although this can hit twice, this could be worse than just another standard Banishing Light type card.
9) Borrowed Time- Another standard Banishing Light type card. Most interesting for me is deciding whether I want this effect three times at 3-mana or three times with upside at 4-mana.
Start Your Engines
8) Gavony Dawnguard- White has a LOT of mana value 3 or less creatures, although this has fewer hits than Militia Bugler. But, compared to Bugler, we have (I think) a better body and the upside of hitting more than once even with the downside of never hitting at all.
7) Deathbonnet Sprout / Deathbonnet Hulk- Green is starting to get more relevant self-mill than ever before and more upside for doing so. While the enabling and upside are relatively small here, I think this fits in great to the right Green section.
6) Heirloom Mirror / Inherited Fiend- A pretty good way to enable a lot of the things black sections want to do. I wish it had an earlier board presence, but drawing extra cards and filling the graveyard can definitely help to do so even before the Fiend makes an appearance.
5) Ghoulish Procession- Although I think decayed Zombies are worse than 1/1s, there are a lot of things you can do with a steady stream of bodies. The obvious upside is with sacrifice effects and death triggers, but I am sure some aggro decks want attacking 2 power creatures all the time too.
4) Morbid Opportunist- I keep coming back to the fact that this is a good deal with one card drawn, great with two cards drawn, and even better from there. Do I wish this had a better body or was repeatable like some rare versions of this effect? Sure, but those do not diminish the potential raw power here.
The Top Three
3) Cathar Commando- Both a 3-mana Disenchant with a really good 2-mana fallback and a good 2-drop that can trade up later in the game. Just a perfect card that we were all clamoring for in White.
2) Outland Liberator / Frenzied Trapbreaker- Another decent 2-drop with the upside to trade up along with the extra bonus upside of the Nightbound side. Hitting a relevant artifact or enchantment without giving up a resource is going to be amazing when you do it.
1) Infernal Grasp- While I think this is less powerful than some other 2-mana black kill spells, it is certainly still VERY powerful and extremely reliable. A strong #1 card from this set.
Cathar Commando - While not supporting any of my two-color archetypes, this has nice utility and allows for some interesting plays. Will find a cut.
U
Consider. "Izzet Spells" is happy, "Simic Flash" is happy, "Dimir Reanimation" is happy, I am happy.
B
Infernal Grasp - This will replace Cast Down as more and more creatures are legendary at peasant.
Morbid Opportunist - Rakdos sacrifice is among the heavily supported archetypes in my cube. This card also upgrades every kill spell and makes chumb blocking fun. I like.
Flame Channeler / Embodiment of Flame - I am a little surprised that nobody mentioned this as an include before. Seems like a no-brainer. Should be easy to flip at which point it is a 3/3 for 1R that potentially "draws" cards. Not the best top deck late game, but still. I'll definetly try it.
G
Outland Liberator / Frenzoed Trapbreaker - This will be the replacement for Wickerbough Elder, especially because I try to support Simic Flash as an (sub)archetype. With instant speed creatures and spells this can flip more easily.
Deathbonnet Sprout - Supports "Golgari Graveyard" and "Selesnya +1/+1 counters". Probably replacing Quirion Dryad which is doing one thing only.
I may be completly missing something, but I have no idea why anyone is excited about Cathar Commando.
Innistrad has always been one of my favorite blocks, but this set just lacks all around and was pretty dissapointing. Here are the cards Im considering.
In: Infernal Grasp - Obvious good black removal. Lunar Frenzy - A great finisher and trick. Mystic Skull - I like to provide the rare opportunity to draft 5color, and this is good outside of that. Morbid Opportunist - Easy include Dreadhound - I like this especially for my spider spawning deck.
Considering: Diregraf Rebirth - Another Unburial Rites isnt bad. I like to lean towards cards that can be reused. Ominous Roost - This is a fun build around for me, I will have to check the amount of flashback etc. I have. Fleshtaker - It will be hard to cut any Orzhov cards for this. Corpse Cobble - Lots of neat interactions, and as an instant can be a real threat. Bereaved Survivor - I love these effects, not sure if it is good enough. Cathartic Pyre - This card is probably going to make it. Turn the Earth - I really like this card for combo decks. Winterthorn Blessing. Simic is the hardest guild to nail down, this is a fun tempo card, and the +1+1 counters invite more synergy.
Changes Dawnbringer Cleric > Cathar Commando: Cathar Commando is great value for 1W. Potential creature removal, surprise attacker, and much needed artifact/enchantment removal in white. Dawnbringer Cleric did not last long. Opt > Consider: 99% of the time this will be a strict upgrade. Heartless Act > Infernal Grasp: The 2 life lost is not trivial, but with Green and White focusing more on +1/+1 counters, Heartless Act is no longer a guaranteed kill spell. Zulaport Cutthroat > Morbid Opportunist: More Aristocrat effects. P/T is not ideal, but card draw is always a plus. Binding the Old Gods > Diregraf Rebirth: Supports G/B mill and graveyard matters themes. Thrashing Brontodon > Outland Liberator: Outland Liberator is more mana efficient than Brotodon and easier to splash.
Testing Goremand > Dreadhound: I like Goremand as a black finisher, but its sacrifice effect can be a problem. Dreadhound is efficiently costed and has upside for reanimator and aristocrats. I just wish it had trample. Quirion Dryad > Deathbonnet Sprout: 100% credit to respor. I was pretty down on the Sprout because of how long it could take to start eating graveyards, but the comparison to Quirion Dryad is pretty apt and the Sprout does more.
Interesting Flame Channeler: Flame Channeler grows into a decent body and has the potential to draw a few cards. The problem is that it takes two burn spells to really generate any value. Gavony Dawnguard: Repeatable card draw in white is always welcome, but day/night is clunky and flipping the Dawnguard is not always guaranteed. Also, no blink synergy. Heirloom Mirror: Would have probably made it in if discarding was not a cost, but an effect. Fleshtaker: Almost included on art alone. Wish it drained and/or triggered off of creatures dying. Hound Tamer, Spellrune Painter: Close, but not good enough. Cathartic Pyre: A fine choice if I want to push harder on reanimation enablers in red. Can be very good, but can also brick hard with an empty board and/or empty hand. Ghoulish Procession: I was initially really excited about this card, but it has no immediate impact upon casting and will take a while to accumulate enough value. Dryad's Revival: If my cube picks up a few more self-mill sources, this will likely be added in.
Cathar Commando - While not supporting any of my two-color archetypes, this has nice utility and allows for some interesting plays. Will find a cut.
U
Consider. "Izzet Spells" is happy, "Simic Flash" is happy, "Dimir Reanimation" is happy, I am happy.
B
Infernal Grasp - This will replace Cast Down as more and more creatures are legendary at peasant.
Morbid Opportunist - Rakdos sacrifice is among the heavily supported archetypes in my cube. This card also upgrades every kill spell and makes chumb blocking fun. I like.
Flame Channeler / Embodiment of Flame - I am a little surprised that nobody mentioned this as an include before. Seems like a no-brainer. Should be easy to flip at which point it is a 3/3 for 1R that potentially "draws" cards. Not the best top deck late game, but still. I'll definetly try it.
G
Outland Liberator / Frenzoed Trapbreaker - This will be the replacement for Wickerbough Elder, especially because I try to support Simic Flash as an (sub)archetype. With instant speed creatures and spells this can flip more easily.
Deathbonnet Sprout - Supports "Golgari Graveyard" and "Selesnya +1/+1 counters". Probably replacing Quirion Dryad which is doing one thing only.
My actual changes are a little bit different than stated above. I ended up not adding Outland Liberator/Frenzied Trapbreaker because it would have been the only day/night card in the cube and I dislike that.
Starting to look through the full spoiler, and Cathar Commando caught my eye. Two mana for a flash 3/1 with a Qasali Pridemage/Thrashing Brontodon ability is pretty good. I don't remember seeing this one before, but I like it. Surprise blocker, EOT for an unexpected attacker, or extra removal when you really need it.
Interested in hearing from people who don't like Cathar Commando. Are you not satisfied with everything FunkyDragon said for 1W?
I haven't drafted Mignight Hunt yet, but from what I've seen and heard from people who have, a lot of them are saying Morbid Opportunist is the standout card.
I missed Gavony Silversmith when I read through the spoilers originally and I was curious about everyone's opinion. Basri's Acolyte is nearly identical and shows up in a lot of people's lists (including mine). Gavony Silversmith lacks lifelink, but it is easier to splash (single white pip) and can place a counter on itself (so at least you get a 3/4 on an empty field). Is Basri's Acolyte still the better card?
I haven't drafted Mignight Hunt yet, but from what I've seen and heard from people who have, a lot of them are saying Morbid Opportunist is the standout card.
This has been my observation as well. The fact it triggers off your opponent's creatures and does not cost life has been quite good.
I missed Gavony Silversmith when I read through the spoilers originally and I was curious about everyone's opinion. Basri's Acolyte is nearly identical and shows up in a lot of people's lists (including mine). Gavony Silversmith lacks lifelink, but it is easier to splash (single white pip) and can place a counter on itself (so at least you get a 3/4 on an empty field). Is Basri's Acolyte still the better card?
I noticed the card but since I have no interest in a second creature like this (otherwise, I would play the original Support 4-drop), the lifelink is more interesting to me than an easier mana-cost on a 4-drop that works best for in-colour strategies.
Edit: Actually, I only now realized that it can indeed put the other counter on itself. Yes, you mentioned that. I forgot by the time that I got to responding. That could definitely make it more relevant.
I still think Acolyte is better. The splashability on Silversmith is minimal when you think about how often it would actually be "splashed". I haven't found it common that Acolyte doesn't have two targets for the counters. I'm willing to be wrong on this one, but for now I think I'll keep Acolyte.
On the subject of Morbid Opportunist, is it crazy to consider cutting Liliana's Devotee for him? After several MID drafts, I'd really like to find room. I'm supporting a decent sacrifice theme, tokens, and even persist combo. That's not to mention regular old fair Magic with combat and removal. It seems like he can really grind out the card advantage. I'm thinking either Devotee or Legion Vanguard, but I haven't gotten any reps in with that guy yet.
On the subject of Morbid Opportunist, is it crazy to consider cutting Liliana's Devotee for him? After several MID drafts, I'd really like to find room. I'm supporting a decent sacrifice theme, tokens, and even persist combo. That's not to mention regular old fair Magic with combat and removal. It seems like he can really grind out the card advantage. I'm thinking either Devotee or Legion Vanguard, but I haven't gotten any reps in with that guy yet.
I think that's a pretty sensible swap. Drawing cards for free does seem better than making a 2/2 for 1B. Which is a shame because I really like Devotee as an aristocrats fodder engine. Perhaps Opportunist digs up fodder too and it's not that different.
I feel they don't fulfill the same role. Devotee can also be used as a mid-lategame threat in certain aggro decks, where its +1/+0 to all zombies can really pay off. I feel Opportunist is more suited to slower decks.
Now that the set has been out and drafted for about a month, I like to check in on how people have drafted this format and some of the interesting Peasant cards from the native draft format:
Chaplain of Alms / Chapel Shieldgeist- A lot of the disturb cards have been overperforming in MID drafts, but I wanted to call out this one as a one drop with a powerful flip side. I hear giving Ward 1 to everything is pretty annoying plus you gets a 2-power flying first striker. Organ Hoarder and Eccentric Farmer- Organ Hoarder is considered by far the best common, but I kind of like Farmer more because it fills a needed role in Green. I play Excavation Mole now and this may be better? Not entirely sure. Ecstatic Awakener- A slightly underwhelming card on its face that turns tokens into a big 4/4 along with extra card draw. A nice card to curve into lots of black 2-drops like Lazotep Reaver or Orzhov Enforcer. Lunar Frenzy- Not a lot of great stuff in red, but this has been a pretty good combat track with a good floor (R for target creature getting first strike and trample) and game-winning upside. I like combat tricks, so this might be a try.
Has anyone else been inspired to try new Midnight Hunt card after drafting the format?
A couple of cards have stood out to me that I am either testing or looking to test:
Chaplain of Alms - Carries equipment and +1/+1 counters well. Disturb is a bit over-costed, but still solid and gives white a little bit of resilience. I am not sure what to replace.
Diregraf Horde - Not Grave Titan, but drops a lot of power on the field and throws in graveyard hate on top. I have considered replacing Marsh Flitter, but I am not sure.
I feel I like Rakshasa Gravecaller a fair bit more than Diregraf Horde. If you were in a position where you couldn't Exploit anything, it usually would make no difference as the Decayed tokens couldn't help you defend either, and the cat demon has such a large butt it really leaves the zombie behind.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
I wish all archetypes could be equally hated. Or loved, but the former better reflects the mindset of the vocal portion of the player base. My 540ish Peasant Cube on Cubetutor
I feel I like Rakshasa Gravecaller a fair bit more than Diregraf Horde. If you were in a position where you couldn't Exploit anything, it usually would make no difference as the Decayed tokens couldn't help you defend either, and the cat demon has such a large butt it really leaves the zombie behind.
Definite Includes:
Maybe:
Cathar Commando - My favorite Peasant card of the set. It's powerful and opens up interesting gameplay while also offering good, solid utility removal.
Infernal Grasp - Considering how much good removal we have competing for this slot, it's less interesting but no less powerful. I like the unconditional kill and will probably finally replace Doom Blade or Go for the Throat.
Play with Fire - Spellslinger appreciates the scry so it doesn't hit dead cards.
Maybe:
Morbid Opportunist - I like the ability but the body is unimpressive, and I think Phyrexian Rager works better in my cube (ETB focus)
Ghoulish Procession - Repeatable tokens for only 2 mana is pretty good. To bad they can't block or have more than one attack.
Cathartic Pyre - Both good if not exciting modes.
Lunar Frenzy - Interesting combat trick/finisher. The mana cost can be thought of as either expensive or a mana sink.
Startle - I know I'm the only one who likes this, but my blue section has been my least satisfying for a while, and I want to try this. A combat trick cantrip that leaves behind a body is at least interesting. Not sure, though.
Not the exact same stats, but we've had a handful of variations on the theme. Vicious Conquistador is the most efficient. Spiteful Returned absorbs the most life and can even be put on a creature more likely to survive. Leeching Sliver can grant it to others if you're into slivers. Then there's Thornbow Archer, Scorch Spitter, Pulse Tracker, Mardu Shadowspear. And of course, the new Reaper's Talisman, but that isn't an actual body.
While I run a couple from that list, I'm not personally a fan of Falkenrath Perforator because it's a 2-drop designed exclusively to be aggressive but dies to anything because it has one toughness. You'll often only ding the opponent for one and then trade your creature - or just lose it.
But this card is so much more than a pure aggro creature that dies to evrything. Flash makes a world of difference - you can flash it in to block and kill a 3/3, 4/3, or 5/3. When they feel safe alpha-striking, you can flash it in an EOT to have a surprise attacker the next turn. You can blow up a key artifact or enchantment. You can even flash it in, block a creature, and in response sac it to blow up equipment or an artifact creature to deal with multiple threats.
2023 Average Peasant Cube|and Discussion
Because I have more decks than fit in a signature
Useful Resources:
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ManabaseCrafter
20) Loyal Gryff- Very medium card as either an attacking 3-drop or a trick with upside. I doubt a lot of Cubes want to do the very durdly thing this card does best, but it also does regular things okay.
19) Vengeful Strangler / Strangling Grasp- I like what this can do for aggressive black decks, since the transformed aura is a decent but slow removal spell. Black aggro is on the downswing for many of us, but I guess this is kind of a sacrifice deck card too.
18) Fading Hope- I actually like this more than the similar Play with Fire because I think Unsummon is closer to Peasant Cube level than Shock. Very similarly, this card offers upside when used in its less optimal mode and might be the top Unsummon variant we have, along with Vapor Snag.
17) Falcon Abomination- I think a decayed Zombie is worse than a 1/1 token on the whole, which would make this worse than the solid Aven Eternal. That said, if decayed Zombies are better than I think, this should probably be in my Cube as well.
16) Candletrap- Probably a decent enough piece of cheap removal for controlling decks. The Coven ability provides some more upside for creature decks, but the conditions are so very specific as to not be much real upside. Three creatures of varying sizes is difficult to have, along with then having the extra mana to activate. Again, if Coven is better than I think, this is a worthy option.
15) Obsessive Astronomer- This day/night mechanic got added onto non-transforming cards that generally have decent bodies on their own. This two-card rummage is interesting as an effect, especially if it happens in multiples. If you are missing plays to transform into Night, you can discard those hand clogging cards for some better options which then help you double spell and turn back into Day. Nice idea, but how likely is it in practice?
Interesting Options-
14) Dryad's Revival- A lot of people here stated the obvious- there are so many Regrowth options now that it is very hard to break in. Regarding Revival, my biggest strike against this is how much less powerful this looks next to Timeless Witness.
13) Dreadhound- While more powerful than Syr Konrad, the Grim, 6 mana is a lot more than 5 mana and even 5 mana is sometimes more than I want to pay for this effect. But, being the Big Dog has its upsides, especially if it fits into a self-mill black section for reanimator.
12) Consider- I do not think Peasant has a huge need for more one-mana blue cantrips given how relatively flat our power level is and how many fewer spell-slinger options we have access to. That said, this is probably the 4th or 5th best one, so is definitely worth your time to, ahem, Consider.
11) Cathartic Pyre- A really interesting way to mitigate flood in red aggro or discard for upside in blue/red or black/red decks. For me, I would rather deal with mana flood in red aggro with a card like Roil Eruption that also hits players. As for the discard upside, I would rather have that effect in either blue or black.
10) Rite of Oblivion- This is certainly an excellent way to turn a wide-board of tokens into real board impact, and also enables your Blood Artist effects. Although this can hit twice, this could be worse than just another standard Banishing Light type card.
9) Borrowed Time- Another standard Banishing Light type card. Most interesting for me is deciding whether I want this effect three times at 3-mana or three times with upside at 4-mana.
Start Your Engines
8) Gavony Dawnguard- White has a LOT of mana value 3 or less creatures, although this has fewer hits than Militia Bugler. But, compared to Bugler, we have (I think) a better body and the upside of hitting more than once even with the downside of never hitting at all.
7) Deathbonnet Sprout / Deathbonnet Hulk- Green is starting to get more relevant self-mill than ever before and more upside for doing so. While the enabling and upside are relatively small here, I think this fits in great to the right Green section.
6) Heirloom Mirror / Inherited Fiend- A pretty good way to enable a lot of the things black sections want to do. I wish it had an earlier board presence, but drawing extra cards and filling the graveyard can definitely help to do so even before the Fiend makes an appearance.
5) Ghoulish Procession- Although I think decayed Zombies are worse than 1/1s, there are a lot of things you can do with a steady stream of bodies. The obvious upside is with sacrifice effects and death triggers, but I am sure some aggro decks want attacking 2 power creatures all the time too.
4) Morbid Opportunist- I keep coming back to the fact that this is a good deal with one card drawn, great with two cards drawn, and even better from there. Do I wish this had a better body or was repeatable like some rare versions of this effect? Sure, but those do not diminish the potential raw power here.
The Top Three
3) Cathar Commando- Both a 3-mana Disenchant with a really good 2-mana fallback and a good 2-drop that can trade up later in the game. Just a perfect card that we were all clamoring for in White.
2) Outland Liberator / Frenzied Trapbreaker- Another decent 2-drop with the upside to trade up along with the extra bonus upside of the Nightbound side. Hitting a relevant artifact or enchantment without giving up a resource is going to be amazing when you do it.
1) Infernal Grasp- While I think this is less powerful than some other 2-mana black kill spells, it is certainly still VERY powerful and extremely reliable. A strong #1 card from this set.
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
W
Legacy Cube
Murderous Cut > Infernal Grasp - I could probably trim the various doom blade varients in my list, but I can't choose between my children.
Ambush Viper > Outland Liberator - More value and Viper is admittedly a bit fringe.
Draft it on Cubetutor here, and CubeCobra here.
Treasure Cruise did nothing wrong.
Innistrad has always been one of my favorite blocks, but this set just lacks all around and was pretty dissapointing. Here are the cards Im considering.
In:
Infernal Grasp - Obvious good black removal.
Lunar Frenzy - A great finisher and trick.
Mystic Skull - I like to provide the rare opportunity to draft 5color, and this is good outside of that.
Morbid Opportunist - Easy include
Dreadhound - I like this especially for my spider spawning deck.
Considering:
Diregraf Rebirth - Another Unburial Rites isnt bad. I like to lean towards cards that can be reused.
Ominous Roost - This is a fun build around for me, I will have to check the amount of flashback etc. I have.
Fleshtaker - It will be hard to cut any Orzhov cards for this.
Corpse Cobble - Lots of neat interactions, and as an instant can be a real threat.
Bereaved Survivor - I love these effects, not sure if it is good enough.
Cathartic Pyre - This card is probably going to make it.
Turn the Earth - I really like this card for combo decks.
Winterthorn Blessing. Simic is the hardest guild to nail down, this is a fun tempo card, and the +1+1 counters invite more synergy.
Dawnbringer Cleric > Cathar Commando: Cathar Commando is great value for 1W. Potential creature removal, surprise attacker, and much needed artifact/enchantment removal in white. Dawnbringer Cleric did not last long.
Opt > Consider: 99% of the time this will be a strict upgrade.
Heartless Act > Infernal Grasp: The 2 life lost is not trivial, but with Green and White focusing more on +1/+1 counters, Heartless Act is no longer a guaranteed kill spell.
Zulaport Cutthroat > Morbid Opportunist: More Aristocrat effects. P/T is not ideal, but card draw is always a plus.
Binding the Old Gods > Diregraf Rebirth: Supports G/B mill and graveyard matters themes.
Thrashing Brontodon > Outland Liberator: Outland Liberator is more mana efficient than Brotodon and easier to splash.
Testing
Goremand > Dreadhound: I like Goremand as a black finisher, but its sacrifice effect can be a problem. Dreadhound is efficiently costed and has upside for reanimator and aristocrats. I just wish it had trample.
Quirion Dryad > Deathbonnet Sprout: 100% credit to respor. I was pretty down on the Sprout because of how long it could take to start eating graveyards, but the comparison to Quirion Dryad is pretty apt and the Sprout does more.
Interesting
Flame Channeler: Flame Channeler grows into a decent body and has the potential to draw a few cards. The problem is that it takes two burn spells to really generate any value.
Gavony Dawnguard: Repeatable card draw in white is always welcome, but day/night is clunky and flipping the Dawnguard is not always guaranteed. Also, no blink synergy.
Heirloom Mirror: Would have probably made it in if discarding was not a cost, but an effect.
Fleshtaker: Almost included on art alone. Wish it drained and/or triggered off of creatures dying.
Hound Tamer, Spellrune Painter: Close, but not good enough.
Cathartic Pyre: A fine choice if I want to push harder on reanimation enablers in red. Can be very good, but can also brick hard with an empty board and/or empty hand.
Ghoulish Procession: I was initially really excited about this card, but it has no immediate impact upon casting and will take a while to accumulate enough value.
Dryad's Revival: If my cube picks up a few more self-mill sources, this will likely be added in.
My 2-Player Signed Legacy Cube
My Lord of the Rings Cube
My C/Ube on Cube Cobra
My actual changes are a little bit different than stated above. I ended up not adding Outland Liberator/Frenzied Trapbreaker because it would have been the only day/night card in the cube and I dislike that.
Also, I did add Borrowed Time for Cast Out.
I did not find a good cut for Heirloom Mirror , so it is not in.
And then I figured that Cathartic Pyre is an upgrade over Fire Prophecy so I switched those.
Legacy Cube
Interested in hearing from people who don't like Cathar Commando. Are you not satisfied with everything FunkyDragon said for 1W?
Draft it on Cubetutor here, and CubeCobra here.
Treasure Cruise did nothing wrong.
This has been my observation as well. The fact it triggers off your opponent's creatures and does not cost life has been quite good.
My 2-Player Signed Legacy Cube
My Lord of the Rings Cube
I noticed the card but since I have no interest in a second creature like this (otherwise, I would play the original Support 4-drop), the lifelink is more interesting to me than an easier mana-cost on a 4-drop that works best for in-colour strategies.
Edit: Actually, I only now realized that it can indeed put the other counter on itself. Yes, you mentioned that. I forgot by the time that I got to responding. That could definitely make it more relevant.
On the subject of Morbid Opportunist, is it crazy to consider cutting Liliana's Devotee for him? After several MID drafts, I'd really like to find room. I'm supporting a decent sacrifice theme, tokens, and even persist combo. That's not to mention regular old fair Magic with combat and removal. It seems like he can really grind out the card advantage. I'm thinking either Devotee or Legion Vanguard, but I haven't gotten any reps in with that guy yet.
MTGS Average Peasant Cube 2023 Edition
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I think that's a pretty sensible swap. Drawing cards for free does seem better than making a 2/2 for 1B. Which is a shame because I really like Devotee as an aristocrats fodder engine. Perhaps Opportunist digs up fodder too and it's not that different.
Draft it on Cubetutor here, and CubeCobra here.
Treasure Cruise did nothing wrong.
WiJ
Peasant 540 Cube
Chaplain of Alms / Chapel Shieldgeist- A lot of the disturb cards have been overperforming in MID drafts, but I wanted to call out this one as a one drop with a powerful flip side. I hear giving Ward 1 to everything is pretty annoying plus you gets a 2-power flying first striker.
Organ Hoarder and Eccentric Farmer- Organ Hoarder is considered by far the best common, but I kind of like Farmer more because it fills a needed role in Green. I play Excavation Mole now and this may be better? Not entirely sure.
Ecstatic Awakener- A slightly underwhelming card on its face that turns tokens into a big 4/4 along with extra card draw. A nice card to curve into lots of black 2-drops like Lazotep Reaver or Orzhov Enforcer.
Lunar Frenzy- Not a lot of great stuff in red, but this has been a pretty good combat track with a good floor (R for target creature getting first strike and trample) and game-winning upside. I like combat tricks, so this might be a try.
Has anyone else been inspired to try new Midnight Hunt card after drafting the format?
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
Chaplain of Alms - Carries equipment and +1/+1 counters well. Disturb is a bit over-costed, but still solid and gives white a little bit of resilience. I am not sure what to replace.
Diregraf Horde - Not Grave Titan, but drops a lot of power on the field and throws in graveyard hate on top. I have considered replacing Marsh Flitter, but I am not sure.
Ardent Elementalist - A better Archaeomancer. This has been added to my cube.
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Thanks Varisami and calibretto!
My 2-Player Signed Legacy Cube
My Lord of the Rings Cube
My 540ish Peasant Cube on Cubetutor
Great point. Rakshasa Gravecaller is probably better under most situations.
My 2-Player Signed Legacy Cube
My Lord of the Rings Cube