Dockside Chef snuck onto the Card Image Gallery today, and it's another 1-drop that promotes the sacrifice deck. I think I like this quite a bit, with the cheaper activation cost and the ability to sacrifice artifacts. Containment Construct has that Bag of Holding-type replacement text and I am not sure if the 2/1 for 2 or Bag of Holding is preferred there.
How good is Seismic Wave? It seems like an upgrade to Arc Lightning outside of the times when your opponent has a lot of artifact creatures or you want all 3 damage to go to a planeswalker or player.
Containment Construct has that Bag of Holding-type replacement text and I am not sure if the 2/1 for 2 or Bag of Holding is preferred there.
Containment Construct's exile is optional, which makes it easier to run in reanimator where you want to bin your big creatures, but potentially exile your lands/cheap spells while rummaging. The Construct is much easier to remove, but you never lose your exiled cards and sometimes you just need a 2/1 to throw in front of an attacker or carry equipment.
I considered Bag of Holding somewhat of a build-around when I considered it for Cube. Containment Construct being easier to remove makes me like it less as a build-around, but it is probably better for incidential discard people might have. And it makes for a nice two-card combo with lots of things from looters to Reinforced Ronin.
I really like Gravelighter. . . . I think I will be cutting Hypnotic Specter, even though that card is very dear to me, it has not performed as well as I would like lately.
I had the exact same thought. And I just got my DCI promo hippie too.
I think the fact that the rabbit gun is a 1/1 creature when it is not equipped is more of disavantage than an advantage. Equipements are usually relatively hard to remove but this is not the case for the bunny.
I think the fact that the rabbit gun is a 1/1 creature when it is not equipped is more of disavantage than an advantage. Equipements are usually relatively hard to remove but this is not the case for the bunny.
While this is true, it also means that the bunny is (almost) never a truly dead draw. Personally, I consider that a larger upside than it drawing removal - especially when we are talking of a 1-drop.
Yeah... I like this Colossal Skyturtle and will have to find room for it. Simic is the main Ramp color combination in my cube, and having the versatility of being a 3-mana Regrowth or 2-mana Unsummon OR a 6/5 Flyer that is somewhat annoying to remove with Ward 2 means it will definitely find a home in a variety of decks.
On a side note, I'm more and more convinced that cutting the original Regrowth is the way to go with all of these other options. It's just not that unique of an effect anymore.
I won't be replacing the Riverwinder with the crab because Riverminder is much better at what is does. I think the crab will replace Waker of Waves or Supreme Will.
Rabbit Battery - A Raging Goblin that is also a very reasonably priced equipment? Yes please. It won't feel bad to play this on turn 1 and it won't feel bad if you draw it on turn 5 either. Which is all you could ever want from a one drop.
Reinforced Ronin - Another playable red one drop. Dash isn't always ideal in aggressive decks that need all the mana they can get in the early game, but if you can get in for 2 damage on the first turn and then either occassionally fill your curve with it or cycle it away that's great value. Just like Rabbit Battery it's a one drop that is good on turn 1 and good later in the game as well.
Invigorating Hot Spring - Apart from fringe cases (like persist combo, which I don't care about even though it theoretically works in my cube) a mostly superior version of Rhythm of the Wild.
Gravelighter - Imo the best Fleshbag Marauder variant available for CU/be. In an aristocrats deck you often have full control over the ability.
Circuit Mender - A better Filigree Familiar. Familiar was always a bit too weak and there is no need for a 3 cmc filler in most decks, but Circuit Mender has a better body and can be abused with blink/bounce effects. I can see him do good work in any non-aggressive deck and especially in flicker decks, and not just as a filler.
Twinshot Sniper - Another efficient kill creature with options. Red has plenty of similar cards already, but I will find room for it somewhere I guess - it's just too good and versatile to ignore it.
Touch the Spirit Realm - I have enough room to remove one of the more boring Oblivion Ring variants for this. Even though it doesn't hit enchantments the option for a flicker effect makes the card really versatile and it's always fun to play with cards that give you a lot of options.
Colossal Skyturtle - A lot of versatile Regrowth effects lately. When you consider that Regrowth used to be a somewhat broken card back in the day that's quite fascinating to see. This card is just what Simic wants and any big ramp target that is useful in the earlier game as well is always worth considering.
Honorable mentions:
Blossom Prancer - Efficient creature and the ability never whiffs. I still like Arborback Stomper a bit more against aggressive decks since it has a better body and gives +1 life, but this is certainly not worse, just different.
Mirrorshell Crab - A useful finisher for control and midrange decks. The ward won't help that much though, if you play few creatures and have seven mana then it won't matter for your opponent whether he has to pay 3 mana more to get rid of it. Still a decent card.
Greater Tanuki - Better creature, but weaker ability than Krosan Tusker. Since the 3 mana part is the main mode of either card I'll keep Krosan Tusker for now.
Yeah, so this set is sweet, basically going to have to rethink a lot of my cube. For starters, I am removing +1/+1 counter support in blue. I might give up on wizards in Red. A lot to think about with so many changes.
Do you play Otherworldly Journey? Well this does the same thing only it's blue and can hit artifacts (probably not a big deal, since I can't think of any noncreature artifacts that I want to blink and put a +1/+1 counter on off the top of my head). Blue is definitely as much blink color as white, so logic says this is definitely cubeable.
---------------------
Even this Mnemonic Sphere seems worth a look if you're interested in artifacts, as 1cmc cycling attached to anything means the floor is never bad. For reference, a few years ago, before the proliferation of good, cheap blue card-draw options, while I was trying to support an artifacts matter theme, I ran Courier's Capsule.
My bad. For some reason I was unfamiliar with the existence of that card. That said, they're all very similar - minor difference between all three which are probably negligible.
Blade-blizzard Kitsune - One of the best double strikers for low MV, and Ninjutsu can let it get a surprise hit in.
Tamiyo's Compleation - The most full featured variation of this effect yet. IIRC, this is the first version of this effect that hits artifacts and planeswalkers in addition to creatures, has flash, puts a permanent freeze on it, and makes the permanent lose all abilities. 4 mana is a lot but this seems pretty good.
Gravelighter - Since the sac isn't guaranteed I don't think this can replace Plaguecrafter for me, but I will probably run it alongside.
Rabbit Battery - I like this 1 drop a lot for giving early damage and then helping your bigger creatures get in later.
Circuit Mender - I anticipate this being a good filler card for a lot of decks.
Considering
Imperial Oath - 6/6 Vigilance worth of stats spread over 3 bodies for 6, with some nice filtering on top. Only problem is I'm not sure what archetype wants this, maybe a midrange deck?
Sunblade Samurai - A slightly better Noble Templar? That card doesn't see a ton of play but maybe the 5 MV creature side makes this more playable.
Acquisition Octopus - The base body is bad but the option to put it on an evasive creature like a flyer makes it interesting.
Covert Technician - Potentially strong but really needs some power pump to have many targets in the typical peasant cube.
Dockside Chef - The cheapest version of this effect, but I think I prefer Skullport Merchant. If I want a 2nd version for the aristocrats archetype I will probably add this though.
Dokuchi Silencer - Interesting set of abilities, but I can't tell how good it will actually be.
Leech Gauntlet - Good value but it doesn't really support any theme of my cube. Seems great for anyone with a lifegain or artifact theme though.
Nezumi Prowler - Pretty good for aggro or racing situations.
Blossom Prancer - A 4/4 Reach for 5 with ETB super-draw seems like great value, I just wish it supported one of my cube's themes.
Coiling Stalker - Perhaps for the +1/+1 counters deck? Seems like it might be hard to get in with it more than once.
After a blisteringly fast spoiler season, it is time to sit down with a classic Too Early Top 20 from Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty. I was mentally prepared for this to be the worst Peasant set since Zendikar Rising, but a lot of interesting cards got spoiled in the last few days of spoiler season. By the end, the set I was most reminded of by Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty is Modern Horizons 2. That set was really long on interesting cards that are good enough for Peasant, along with quite a few build-arounds. So while I am not ready to play cards like Enthusiastic Mechanaut and Jukai Naturalist, I was definitely able to find 20 cards to include on today's list.
The one mechanic I want to talk about broadly first are double-faced Sagas which transform into creatures. When thinking about these cards, I think it is worth being very specific about the card you would be replacing with a Saga. Sometimes that is about a turn-by-turn comparison of how each card impacts the board and sometimes that is theory-crafting, but both are worth considering as opposed to "this does not impact the board until two turns later."
As always, I remind you that my Cube is 512 cards, 6 spells per guild, and maximized for power. Here we go.
20) Prodigy's Prototype- There are very few repeating token generators like this in Peasant, especially as 3/4 creatures for 3 mana. There are some conditions and set-up cost, but at least the first token can continue to crew the Prototype into the future. Bonus if you have other vehicles too.
19) Behold the Unspeakable / Vision of the Unspeakable- This has potential to be a game-ending threat for controlling decks, if you can get there. The first chapter buys time and the second chapter finds answers, before becoming a huge creature while you are fully untapped. It is hard for me to find a specific card that compares to this package. Maybe a Vampire Sovereign? That card makes a lot of impact upfront, which matter a lot more on a 5-mana spell than it might on a 1- or 2-mana spell, since 5-mana spells are often cast off-curve already.
18) Discover the Impossible- Deep card selection like this becomes more appealing as Peasant cards get more powerful. We are not there yet, and there is a lot of competition for this slot. The upside is pretty cute if you can counter a big spell while tapped out, too.
17) Containment Construct- I am very curious exactly how much self-discard you need to have to make this worth playing in a deck. Do you need multiple repeatable engines like Thought Courier? Would you be happy with this plus a few Channel abilites and nothing else? Unfortunately, this is basically just a blue support card right now, which hinders the upside.
16) Walking Skyscraper- A giant artifact creature with some built-in protection along with cost-reduction through +1/+1 counter synergies. There could be a fun green-based ramp/counter deck that this would slot into nicely.
15) Colossal Skyturtle- An extremely versatile creature with tons of modes built-in. My most interesting question is whether or not this is good enough for a Blue/Black or Black/Green Reanimation deck that has no (or limited) ability to cast the spell. Guild sections are tight, but I might give this a chance to answer my question.
Cool Variations of Cards I Don't Play
14) Moon-Circuit Hacker- Someone mentioned that Ninja of the Deep Hours usually only hits once before it starts getting blocked or killed. If that is true, this is the same upside, except cheaper to ninjutsu in. It certainly leaves behind a much worse creature than Ninja of the Deep Hours, but a two-drop 2/1 creature that loots on damage to players may sometimes just hit on its own too.
13) Greater Tanuki- I have this as a slightly better creature and an even/slightly worse discard ability to Krosan Tusker. For my money, that makes this better than Tusker.
12) Gravelighter- I have never been a fan of Plaguecrafter-type creatures for being unplayable on an empty board and not good against small tokens. Of course, those creatures are very good with small tokens, which black can produce. Also, you can combine this with black removal to obtain the best total effect. I am treating this like a 2/2 flier for 2B with Morbid- Draw a card and minor downside.
11) Circuit Mender- Filigree Familiar always struck me as both underpowered overall while being overpowered against aggro as an easy to cast roadblock. Being a 2/3 makes me feel a lot better about the overall power of this card, instead of it feeling like a specialist. Still has a chance to feel like Filler-gree in decks.
Twists on Cards I Do Play
10) Mirrorshell Crab- I have this just slightly behind Striped Riverwinder and Waker of Waves in the reanimator slot. Heck, it might even slide behind Colossal Skyturtle in that deck. That said, the Channel ability is probably the strongest of the mono-blue cards mentioned and a hard-cast Mirrorshell is also hard to shatter.
9) The Modern Age / Vector Glider- Compared to two turns of your standard Merfolk Looter, you will get to loot twice before trading in your looter for a fresh 2/3 flier. I can imagine a situation where you would rather have either one, to be honest. And even though this takes extra time to impact the board, you do get a loot immediately, as compared to Merfolk Looter itself.
8) Uncharted Haven- Back when discussing Temple of the Dragon Queen, I said I would "take another one or two of these before I have had my fill." Well, consider this my fill, because this will make it into my land section for now, but on a short leash.
7) Touch the Spirit Realm- While I do hate missing out nearly 30 relevant enchantments and planeswalkers as compared to Borrowed Time, I like the ability to protect my creature/artifact if that happens to be the best permanent on the board. I doubt it is very likely I would rather blink a creature compared to exiling a creature/artifact, but there are some very powerful ETB abilities in the cube.
The One-Man(a) Gang
6) Dockside Chef- A very cheap enabler for sacrifice synergies. When it comes to repeatedly sacrificing creatures for card draw, the activations do not get any cheaper, even on more expensive spells. Also nice that it can sacrifice itself in a pinch (of salt).
5) Kumano Faces Kakkazan / Etching of Kumano- A lot of red one-drops are conditional in some way already, like an Akoum Hellhound, Goblin Glory Chaser, or Village Messenger. Compared to Hellhound, Kumano Faces would give you 1 damage, a possible +1/+1 counter and a 2/2 attacker on turn 3 as compared to two damage and a 2/3 attacker if you hit both land drops. I like Kumano Faces there, although a lot of that depends on following up the next turn with another creature. Also, Hellhound is an awful topdeck like Kumano Faces.
4) Okiba Reckoner Raid / Nezumi Road Captain- I came around on Diregraf Ghoul being better than Okiba Reckoner Raid, but I feel strongly Raid over Carnophage or Vampire Lacerator. Comparing to Carnophage, Raid would drain for 2, give you a 2/2 blocker on turn 3 before attacking as a 2/2 menace on turn 4 whereas Carnophage would deal 4 to the opponent, lose you 2 life, and then have a constant 1 life upkeep to keep it impacting the board.
3) Reinforced Ronin- I honestly have no idea how good this will be. A 2/2 haste for R that you can eventually cycle away is amazing, but investing R every turn you want to attack is a lot in addition to never being able to block. I love the upside enough to add this in for now, but I would not be surprised to see this go the way of Orcish Hellraiser, a powerful creature that disrupted the curve too much to be worth it.
2) Rabbit Battery- This, on the other hand, gets to attack early and then impact the board in a very strong way when the creature no longer can. The upside this card offers when attaching to a top-decked creature late game, or growing your smaller creatures into worthy attackers is tremendous. A cheap mono-colored version of Rhythm of the Wild that also attacks on turn 1.
Number 1 With a BulletArrow Arrows
1) Twinshot Sniper- In the Single Card Discussion for Twinshot Sniper, user Steve_Man called this "red's Shriekmaw." I am not willing to go that far, although I find it funny that this can kill Shriekmaw while Shriekmaw cannot kill this. I like this more than Magma Jet in most cases, as I find the creature option better than incidental Scry 2. It even has some extra value by discarding itself in a value reanimator deck. Overall, a very solid card that should make the cut in every red deck.
Don't read too much into my swaps, I haven't played a game of magic in over a year and a game of cube in about 5 years lmao. If I were to actually purchase the cards to update my list (not done since Ixalan), I'd probably rework the whole list since I think a lot of big changes are overdue.
I will not go into every change that I made since there were quite a few. I really like this set.
Some of the additions that I made that most seem not to have made include, though:
Hotshot Mechanic: I am not currently big on vehicles but the creature types help with Valiant Changeling and I have some artifact synergies.
Selfless Samurai: Since I have quite a few available pants, this can occasionally attack by itself (or just naturally be the only attacker). I also just value the kind of protection value cards like this provide since it makes combat math and timing removal that much more painful for opponents.
Bronzeplate Boar: Somewhat comparable to Dwarven Hammer for me, still. The extra toughness is also great, and that point, the equip cost should be bearable.
Walking Skyscraper: Replaced Ulamog's Crusher. Some protection, benefits from incidental cost reduction, and still closes out games. (And does not suicide into deathtouchers.)
Behold the Unspeakable: My reasoning was provided earlier. It is just good value and can even act as a finisher in a pinch.
Network Terminal: With the new artifacts in particular, this providing card selection is a very welcome alternative mode for a mana rock.
Towashi Guide-Bot: 3/2 that draws a card with a tap and 3 mana is not the worst value for 4 colorless and its value goes up from there. In particular, since I support equipment in RW, it can give those colours more value in the form of a draw engine.
Illusory Angel > Mirrorshell Crab: Still considering, but the channel ability is strong and I want to include it. Not sure if this is too many finishers for blue.
Honorable Mentions Gravelighter: Sticking with Plaguecrafter for now. Giving the opponent the chance to turn off the sacrifice mode won't matter most of the time, but I think I still prefer the reliability of Plaguecrafter and the ability to hit planeswalkers/hands. Dockside Chef: Great sacrifice outlet.
Multiple Sagas: There are several interesting sagas, but they are slow and add additional complexity to the cube (more flip cards) that I am not looking for right now. Greater Tanuki: Close, but I still prefer the card draw from Krosan Tusker. Blossom Prancer: Flexible card with a good effect for green. Do not currently have a spot.
Tell me if something is an egregious mistake, I am not sure about the Heelcutter vs my other 4 drops or basically swapping lighting greaves for rabbit battery. I am going the opposite way to everyone else and just trying the tanuki over tusker.
I haven't figured out cuts yet, but I think these are my potential 360 includes. Not sure on Touch the Spirit Realm or Invigorating Hot Spring. In a vacuum I like Hot Spring more than Rhythm (the obvious swap), but with the Persist Deck in my cube, I'm not sure I want to make that swap.
Let's all give it up for red in this set. Some real bangers there.
Touch the Spirit Realm
Gravelighter
Rabbit Battery
Reinforced Ronin
Twinshot Sniper
Invigorating Hot Spring
Colossal Skyturtle
Circuit Mender
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
Containment Construct has that Bag of Holding-type replacement text and I am not sure if the 2/1 for 2 or Bag of Holding is preferred there.
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
Containment Construct's exile is optional, which makes it easier to run in reanimator where you want to bin your big creatures, but potentially exile your lands/cheap spells while rummaging. The Construct is much easier to remove, but you never lose your exiled cards and sometimes you just need a 2/1 to throw in front of an attacker or carry equipment.
My 2-Player Signed Legacy Cube
My Lord of the Rings Cube
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 had the exact same thought. And I just got my DCI promo hippie too.
My C/Ube on Cube Cobra
While this is true, it also means that the bunny is (almost) never a truly dead draw. Personally, I consider that a larger upside than it drawing removal - especially when we are talking of a 1-drop.
WiJ
Peasant 540 Cube
On a side note, I'm more and more convinced that cutting the original Regrowth is the way to go with all of these other options. It's just not that unique of an effect anymore.
Considering playing this over Striped Riverwinder.
My 2-Player Signed Legacy Cube
My Lord of the Rings Cube
My C/Ube on Cube Cobra
Rabbit Battery - A Raging Goblin that is also a very reasonably priced equipment? Yes please. It won't feel bad to play this on turn 1 and it won't feel bad if you draw it on turn 5 either. Which is all you could ever want from a one drop.
Reinforced Ronin - Another playable red one drop. Dash isn't always ideal in aggressive decks that need all the mana they can get in the early game, but if you can get in for 2 damage on the first turn and then either occassionally fill your curve with it or cycle it away that's great value. Just like Rabbit Battery it's a one drop that is good on turn 1 and good later in the game as well.
Invigorating Hot Spring - Apart from fringe cases (like persist combo, which I don't care about even though it theoretically works in my cube) a mostly superior version of Rhythm of the Wild.
Gravelighter - Imo the best Fleshbag Marauder variant available for CU/be. In an aristocrats deck you often have full control over the ability.
Circuit Mender - A better Filigree Familiar. Familiar was always a bit too weak and there is no need for a 3 cmc filler in most decks, but Circuit Mender has a better body and can be abused with blink/bounce effects. I can see him do good work in any non-aggressive deck and especially in flicker decks, and not just as a filler.
Twinshot Sniper - Another efficient kill creature with options. Red has plenty of similar cards already, but I will find room for it somewhere I guess - it's just too good and versatile to ignore it.
Touch the Spirit Realm - I have enough room to remove one of the more boring Oblivion Ring variants for this. Even though it doesn't hit enchantments the option for a flicker effect makes the card really versatile and it's always fun to play with cards that give you a lot of options.
Colossal Skyturtle - A lot of versatile Regrowth effects lately. When you consider that Regrowth used to be a somewhat broken card back in the day that's quite fascinating to see. This card is just what Simic wants and any big ramp target that is useful in the earlier game as well is always worth considering.
Honorable mentions:
Blossom Prancer - Efficient creature and the ability never whiffs. I still like Arborback Stomper a bit more against aggressive decks since it has a better body and gives +1 life, but this is certainly not worse, just different.
Mirrorshell Crab - A useful finisher for control and midrange decks. The ward won't help that much though, if you play few creatures and have seven mana then it won't matter for your opponent whether he has to pay 3 mana more to get rid of it. Still a decent card.
Greater Tanuki - Better creature, but weaker ability than Krosan Tusker. Since the 3 mana part is the main mode of either card I'll keep Krosan Tusker for now.
My Old School Battlebox
My Premodern Battlebox
Gravelighter
Rabbit Battery
Reinforced Ronin
Twinshot Sniper
Circuit Mender
CONSIDERING:
Colossal Skyturtle
Greater Tanuki
Mirrorshell Crab
Those three make me want to beef up reanimator in my cube, which is something I've been considering anyway. I'll have to look at my options and see what the top reanimator cards are.
Discover the Impossible
High-speed Hoverbike - I don't mind the card mechanically, but I can't stand the thought of that flavor/name/art in my cube.
Tamiyo's Safekeeping - Essentially a colorshift of Blacksmith's Skill, usually better.
2023 Average Peasant Cube|and Discussion
Because I have more decks than fit in a signature
Useful Resources:
MTGSalvation tags
EDHREC
ManabaseCrafter
In:
Imperial Recovering Unit
Touch the spirit Realm
Acquisition Octopus
Mirrorshell Crab
Dockside Chef
Gravelighter
Akki Ember-Keeper
Rabbit Battery
Reinforced Ronin
Twinshot Sniper
Blossom Prancer
Greater Tanuki
Roaring Earth
Colossal Skyturtle
Invigorating Hot Springs
Circut Mender
Containment Construct
High-Speed Hoverbike
Iron Apprentice
Patchwork Automation
Roadside Reliquary
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
Do you play Otherworldly Journey? Well this does the same thing only it's blue and can hit artifacts (probably not a big deal, since I can't think of any noncreature artifacts that I want to blink and put a +1/+1 counter on off the top of my head). Blue is definitely as much blink color as white, so logic says this is definitely cubeable.
---------------------
Even this Mnemonic Sphere seems worth a look if you're interested in artifacts, as 1cmc cycling attached to anything means the floor is never bad. For reference, a few years ago, before the proliferation of good, cheap blue card-draw options, while I was trying to support an artifacts matter theme, I ran Courier's Capsule.
My bad. For some reason I was unfamiliar with the existence of that card. That said, they're all very similar - minor difference between all three which are probably negligible.
Considering
The one mechanic I want to talk about broadly first are double-faced Sagas which transform into creatures. When thinking about these cards, I think it is worth being very specific about the card you would be replacing with a Saga. Sometimes that is about a turn-by-turn comparison of how each card impacts the board and sometimes that is theory-crafting, but both are worth considering as opposed to "this does not impact the board until two turns later."
As always, I remind you that my Cube is 512 cards, 6 spells per guild, and maximized for power. Here we go.
20) Prodigy's Prototype- There are very few repeating token generators like this in Peasant, especially as 3/4 creatures for 3 mana. There are some conditions and set-up cost, but at least the first token can continue to crew the Prototype into the future. Bonus if you have other vehicles too.
19) Behold the Unspeakable / Vision of the Unspeakable- This has potential to be a game-ending threat for controlling decks, if you can get there. The first chapter buys time and the second chapter finds answers, before becoming a huge creature while you are fully untapped. It is hard for me to find a specific card that compares to this package. Maybe a Vampire Sovereign? That card makes a lot of impact upfront, which matter a lot more on a 5-mana spell than it might on a 1- or 2-mana spell, since 5-mana spells are often cast off-curve already.
18) Discover the Impossible- Deep card selection like this becomes more appealing as Peasant cards get more powerful. We are not there yet, and there is a lot of competition for this slot. The upside is pretty cute if you can counter a big spell while tapped out, too.
17) Containment Construct- I am very curious exactly how much self-discard you need to have to make this worth playing in a deck. Do you need multiple repeatable engines like Thought Courier? Would you be happy with this plus a few Channel abilites and nothing else? Unfortunately, this is basically just a blue support card right now, which hinders the upside.
16) Walking Skyscraper- A giant artifact creature with some built-in protection along with cost-reduction through +1/+1 counter synergies. There could be a fun green-based ramp/counter deck that this would slot into nicely.
15) Colossal Skyturtle- An extremely versatile creature with tons of modes built-in. My most interesting question is whether or not this is good enough for a Blue/Black or Black/Green Reanimation deck that has no (or limited) ability to cast the spell. Guild sections are tight, but I might give this a chance to answer my question.
Cool Variations of Cards I Don't Play
14) Moon-Circuit Hacker- Someone mentioned that Ninja of the Deep Hours usually only hits once before it starts getting blocked or killed. If that is true, this is the same upside, except cheaper to ninjutsu in. It certainly leaves behind a much worse creature than Ninja of the Deep Hours, but a two-drop 2/1 creature that loots on damage to players may sometimes just hit on its own too.
13) Greater Tanuki- I have this as a slightly better creature and an even/slightly worse discard ability to Krosan Tusker. For my money, that makes this better than Tusker.
12) Gravelighter- I have never been a fan of Plaguecrafter-type creatures for being unplayable on an empty board and not good against small tokens. Of course, those creatures are very good with small tokens, which black can produce. Also, you can combine this with black removal to obtain the best total effect. I am treating this like a 2/2 flier for 2B with Morbid- Draw a card and minor downside.
11) Circuit Mender- Filigree Familiar always struck me as both underpowered overall while being overpowered against aggro as an easy to cast roadblock. Being a 2/3 makes me feel a lot better about the overall power of this card, instead of it feeling like a specialist. Still has a chance to feel like Filler-gree in decks.
Twists on Cards I Do Play
10) Mirrorshell Crab- I have this just slightly behind Striped Riverwinder and Waker of Waves in the reanimator slot. Heck, it might even slide behind Colossal Skyturtle in that deck. That said, the Channel ability is probably the strongest of the mono-blue cards mentioned and a hard-cast Mirrorshell is also hard to shatter.
9) The Modern Age / Vector Glider- Compared to two turns of your standard Merfolk Looter, you will get to loot twice before trading in your looter for a fresh 2/3 flier. I can imagine a situation where you would rather have either one, to be honest. And even though this takes extra time to impact the board, you do get a loot immediately, as compared to Merfolk Looter itself.
8) Uncharted Haven- Back when discussing Temple of the Dragon Queen, I said I would "take another one or two of these before I have had my fill." Well, consider this my fill, because this will make it into my land section for now, but on a short leash.
7) Touch the Spirit Realm- While I do hate missing out nearly 30 relevant enchantments and planeswalkers as compared to Borrowed Time, I like the ability to protect my creature/artifact if that happens to be the best permanent on the board. I doubt it is very likely I would rather blink a creature compared to exiling a creature/artifact, but there are some very powerful ETB abilities in the cube.
The One-Man(a) Gang
6) Dockside Chef- A very cheap enabler for sacrifice synergies. When it comes to repeatedly sacrificing creatures for card draw, the activations do not get any cheaper, even on more expensive spells. Also nice that it can sacrifice itself in a pinch (of salt).
5) Kumano Faces Kakkazan / Etching of Kumano- A lot of red one-drops are conditional in some way already, like an Akoum Hellhound, Goblin Glory Chaser, or Village Messenger. Compared to Hellhound, Kumano Faces would give you 1 damage, a possible +1/+1 counter and a 2/2 attacker on turn 3 as compared to two damage and a 2/3 attacker if you hit both land drops. I like Kumano Faces there, although a lot of that depends on following up the next turn with another creature. Also, Hellhound is an awful topdeck like Kumano Faces.
4) Okiba Reckoner Raid / Nezumi Road Captain- I came around on Diregraf Ghoul being better than Okiba Reckoner Raid, but I feel strongly Raid over Carnophage or Vampire Lacerator. Comparing to Carnophage, Raid would drain for 2, give you a 2/2 blocker on turn 3 before attacking as a 2/2 menace on turn 4 whereas Carnophage would deal 4 to the opponent, lose you 2 life, and then have a constant 1 life upkeep to keep it impacting the board.
3) Reinforced Ronin- I honestly have no idea how good this will be. A 2/2 haste for R that you can eventually cycle away is amazing, but investing R every turn you want to attack is a lot in addition to never being able to block. I love the upside enough to add this in for now, but I would not be surprised to see this go the way of Orcish Hellraiser, a powerful creature that disrupted the curve too much to be worth it.
2) Rabbit Battery- This, on the other hand, gets to attack early and then impact the board in a very strong way when the creature no longer can. The upside this card offers when attaching to a top-decked creature late game, or growing your smaller creatures into worthy attackers is tremendous. A cheap mono-colored version of Rhythm of the Wild that also attacks on turn 1.
Number 1 With a
BulletArrowArrows1) Twinshot Sniper- In the Single Card Discussion for Twinshot Sniper, user Steve_Man called this "red's Shriekmaw." I am not willing to go that far, although I find it funny that this can kill Shriekmaw while Shriekmaw cannot kill this. I like this more than Magma Jet in most cases, as I find the creature option better than incidental Scry 2. It even has some extra value by discarding itself in a value reanimator deck. Overall, a very solid card that should make the cut in every red deck.
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
Goblin Motivator > Rabbit Battery
Vermin Gorger > Dockside Chef
Goblin Traprunner > Twinshot Sniper - Coinflips are a little silly, don't want to cut a spell for Twinshot since spells matter is a thing in UR.
Drownyard Behemoth > Waker of Waves - overdue, thanks for the reminder rancoredmalone
Curse of Chains > The Modern Age - we don't really need more removal and this is the worst in the cube as well.
Parcelbeast > Colossal Skyturtle - It's whatever
Plaguecrafter > Gravelighter
Spare Supplies > High-Speed Hoverbike - zoom zoom lol
Rhythm of the Wild > Invigorating Hot Spring
Filigree Familiar > Containment Construct - Filligree Familiar is filler, Construct is niche but interesting.
Don't read too much into my swaps, I haven't played a game of magic in over a year and a game of cube in about 5 years lmao. If I were to actually purchase the cards to update my list (not done since Ixalan), I'd probably rework the whole list since I think a lot of big changes are overdue.
Draft it on Cubetutor here, and CubeCobra here.
Treasure Cruise did nothing wrong.
Some of the additions that I made that most seem not to have made include, though:
Hotshot Mechanic: I am not currently big on vehicles but the creature types help with Valiant Changeling and I have some artifact synergies.
Selfless Samurai: Since I have quite a few available pants, this can occasionally attack by itself (or just naturally be the only attacker). I also just value the kind of protection value cards like this provide since it makes combat math and timing removal that much more painful for opponents.
Bronzeplate Boar: Somewhat comparable to Dwarven Hammer for me, still. The extra toughness is also great, and that point, the equip cost should be bearable.
Walking Skyscraper: Replaced Ulamog's Crusher. Some protection, benefits from incidental cost reduction, and still closes out games. (And does not suicide into deathtouchers.)
Behold the Unspeakable: My reasoning was provided earlier. It is just good value and can even act as a finisher in a pinch.
Network Terminal: With the new artifacts in particular, this providing card selection is a very welcome alternative mode for a mana rock.
Towashi Guide-Bot: 3/2 that draws a card with a tap and 3 mana is not the worst value for 4 colorless and its value goes up from there. In particular, since I support equipment in RW, it can give those colours more value in the form of a draw engine.
Banishing Light > Touch the Spirit Realm: Touch the Spirit Realm provides greater flexibility and I like diversity.
Illusory Angel > Mirrorshell Crab: Still considering, but the channel ability is strong and I want to include it. Not sure if this is too many finishers for blue.
Stonewright > Rabbit Battery: I think I prefer haste over fire breathing.
Hellspark Elemental > Reinforced Ronin: I like the play pattern of Ronin better.
Keldon Champion > Twinshot Sniper: Champion is strong, but I like the flexibility of Sniper.
Arc Lightning > Seismic Wave: Most of this time this will be an upgrade outside of not hitting artifact tokens.
Song of Freyalise > Roaring Earth: Going to test this change. Less of a dead draw in the late game, but may not impactful enough.
Rhythm of the Wild > Invigorating Hot Spring: Better signpost.
Shardless Agent > Colossal Skyturtle: Skyturtle fits in reanimator and ramp. Shardless agent is good, but does not signpost anything and has a fair number of bad hits.
Filigree Familiar > Circuit Mender: Easy swap.
Shimmerdrift Vale > Containment Construct: Vale is redundant - I would rather see what the construct can do.
Honorable Mentions
Gravelighter: Sticking with Plaguecrafter for now. Giving the opponent the chance to turn off the sacrifice mode won't matter most of the time, but I think I still prefer the reliability of Plaguecrafter and the ability to hit planeswalkers/hands.
Dockside Chef: Great sacrifice outlet.
Multiple Sagas: There are several interesting sagas, but they are slow and add additional complexity to the cube (more flip cards) that I am not looking for right now.
Greater Tanuki: Close, but I still prefer the card draw from Krosan Tusker.
Blossom Prancer: Flexible card with a good effect for green. Do not currently have a spot.
My 2-Player Signed Legacy Cube
My Lord of the Rings Cube
→ Condemn > Imperial Recovery Unit
→ Oblivion Ring > Touch the Spirit Realm
→ Sage of Fables > Acquisition Octopus
→ Skyship Plunderer > Mirrorshell Crab
→ Unearth > Dockside Chef
→ Nantuko Husk > Gravelighter
→ Voltaic Visionary > Akki Ember-Keeper
→ Stoke the Flames > Rabbit Battery
→ Ghitu Lavarunner > Reinforced Ronin
→ Goblin Heelcutter > Twinshot Sniper
→ Herd Baloth > Blossom Prancer
→ Krosan Tusker > Greater Tanuki
→ Song of Freyalise > Roaring Earth
→ Sharktocrab > Colossal Skyturtle
→ Rhythim of the wild > Invigorating Hot Spring
→ Filigree Familiar > Circuit Mender
→ Lightning Greaves > Containment Construct
→ Spined Thopter > High-Speed Hoverbike
→ Chronomaton > Iron Apprentice
→ Bloodline Pretender > Patchwork Automaton
→ Treasure Keeper > Towashi Guide-Bot
→ Cryptic Caves > Roadside Reliquary
→ Tezzeret's Gambit > Behold the Multiverse
Tell me if something is an egregious mistake, I am not sure about the Heelcutter vs my other 4 drops or basically swapping lighting greaves for rabbit battery. I am going the opposite way to everyone else and just trying the tanuki over tusker.
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
Let's all give it up for red in this set. Some real bangers there.
Touch the Spirit Realm
Gravelighter
Rabbit Battery
Reinforced Ronin
Twinshot Sniper
Invigorating Hot Spring
Colossal Skyturtle
Circuit Mender
MTGS Average Peasant Cube 2023 Edition
Follow me. I tweet.