Tajic is the better card in a vacuum, but the 3-drops in RW aggro are absolutely stacked, so at a smaller size, Tajic feels superfluous. With all the nuts red 3-drops they've printed over the last year or so, plus all the swords, plus Thalia/Flickerwisp/Brimaz, I'd decline to swap.
My gut tells me they meant Teferi, Hero of Dominaria. I get Teferi and Venser confused all the time, I figure it happens to others, too. It was probably a sneaky way of getting you to unpack the rest of your UW power rankings, since you said Dovin was #4.
Anyway, nice writeup! I'll second Fredo's surprise at the #2 card here, since you always seem to be really tough on gold cards in your evaluations. I guess it's time to give it a whirl.
My only disagreement is that Thoughtseize should have made the list
Just take a look at his recent cuts; that's a proxy for what he thinks are some of the best cards he's not running.
FWIW I didn't detect any snark; I'm sure you thought it was a simple request, but it actually isn't. Thinking about archetype synergy and all the interlocking pieces of a cube is a lot of hard work, and would take a good deal of consideration.
Yeah, I'm really confused at the tepid enthusiasm that's in this thread. This card is the stone-cold nuts.
I wonder just how many more good goblins we're going to need before cubes might want to consider cards like Goblin Matron and Goblin Piledriver. We've got to be getting close, right?
Nothing really to add to the discussion beyond a hearty thanks for the set review, wtwlf! Sorry that you had to spend so much time on such a disappointing set, but rest assured that we're all grateful
Hey look, an Easter present! We folks too busy to playtest thank you.
I was fully on board the Pale Rider of Trostad bandwagon, but I think you may have convinced me to instead roll with Relentless Dead, despite the ugly BB mana cost. Doesn't look like there were any big surprises from your playtesting, I guess.
We're running Nature's Claim and like it a lot; this is much better, and likely will be in my 405 powered cube for what I assume will be a long time. Sure, it doesn't hit like, three important cards that Claim can (Batterskull, Opposition, Moat), but it goes in every deck! And there are so many danged targets at 3 CMC or less that I don't really care about not hitting those cards, anyway, since it's almost always going to be useful. For one mana.
Ahadabans, supposing there were no limits on the number of copies you would be able to run, would you ever play a deck in which every creature was an Endless One?
I'm not invested one way or the other, but it seems like that's the logical conclusion to draw from your full-throated advocacy of the card.
I think it'd be fun, but there's gotta be some serious thought about avoiding some fights (support black aggro? combo?) that are sure to rival the great Absorb wars of 2011.
How would everyone rank the six 3CC equipment cards (the Sword cycle and Grafted Wargear)? For me, Sword of Fire and Ice is clearly on top, but I'm not sure where the others fall.
Goodking's going to be delighted to see the drama he stirred up when he checks in on this thread. Such passion from everyone, I love it!
In any event, I guess discussing this is (just barely) on topic, since the result of my BFZ testing is, "Whoa, I have way too many 3CC cards". I'll bring my hierarchy questions to the This or That thread, though.
Goodking, that Grafted Wargear cut is so obvious I'm upset I didn't think of it before you. Wargear has been such a staple for so long that I never even thought of cutting it. The three-drop slot has gotten just disgustingly crowded lately.
Anyway, nice writeup! I'll second Fredo's surprise at the #2 card here, since you always seem to be really tough on gold cards in your evaluations. I guess it's time to give it a whirl.
My only disagreement is that Thoughtseize should have made the list
FWIW I didn't detect any snark; I'm sure you thought it was a simple request, but it actually isn't. Thinking about archetype synergy and all the interlocking pieces of a cube is a lot of hard work, and would take a good deal of consideration.
I wonder just how many more good goblins we're going to need before cubes might want to consider cards like Goblin Matron and Goblin Piledriver. We've got to be getting close, right?
2. Excluded
3. Excluded
4. Excluded
I was fully on board the Pale Rider of Trostad bandwagon, but I think you may have convinced me to instead roll with Relentless Dead, despite the ugly BB mana cost. Doesn't look like there were any big surprises from your playtesting, I guess.
Help appreciated!
I'm not invested one way or the other, but it seems like that's the logical conclusion to draw from your full-throated advocacy of the card.
In any event, I guess discussing this is (just barely) on topic, since the result of my BFZ testing is, "Whoa, I have way too many 3CC cards". I'll bring my hierarchy questions to the This or That thread, though.