Got my foil extended Leovold alter back today! Commissioned to Shivan Alter, I asked her a redo of a classical painting of Napoleon. As a frenchie it will probably be the signature card of my Vintage powered cube!
- calibretto
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Member for 17 years, 5 months, and 25 days
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BM_design posted a message on Card Æsthetics Evaluation ThreadPosted in: The Cube Forum -
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StrappedCasterMage posted a message on [[Peasant]] The Peasant Cube Discussion Thread (C/U/)I’ve found with the rise in retro foil printings at the peasant level that I liked the aesthetic of the dominaria remastered retro basics in foil. They hold pretty well from warping also. Easy to get large quantities of matching basics if that matters to youPosted in: Pauper & Peasant Discussion -
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Ulka posted a message on [[Peasant]] The Peasant Cube Discussion Thread (C/U/)Here is my basics. I actually currently only have nonfoil basics to help make the foiled and altered art cards I have in my cube pop more but I have been starting to collect foils to upgrade eventually.Posted in: Pauper & Peasant Discussion
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BrownDog5117 posted a message on [[Peasant]] The Peasant Cube Discussion Thread (C/U/)Basic lands. Star foils look so good. I do have some full art/extended border alters littered throughout each pile as well.Posted in: Pauper & Peasant Discussion
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wtwlf123 posted a message on [540][Powered] wtwlf123's CubeHere's a crosspost from my CubeCobra blog that discusses my thoughts on the increase to 630:Posted in: Cube Lists
..........
For those that have been following my content for years, you know that big shakeups in my cube are not something I’m afraid to do. I’ve run every size from 360 to 720, and have experimented with a lot of different archetypes and structural arrangements. I aim to find the best environment I can cultivate for my playgroup, regardless of what that takes to achieve.
In recent months, I had been observing a few things while drafting my cube that I wasn’t 100% happy with, but was unsure of how to go about solving the issues. Overall, the list still played great, and didn’t require any major changes to run smoothly, but I wanted to run some thought exercises to see if I could make some adjustments and see if it would improve gameplay overall.
The issues:
1. I wanted to reduce the density of 3+ color cards and 3+ color mana fixing. Decks were often deep into 3 or more colors, and it didn’t take much discipline to draft functional manabases to make them work. I want those decks to be draftable and competitive, but I want it to require effort to assemble them. But I really like the tri-lands and the 3+ color cards in the cube, and didn’t want to remove them.
2. I wanted to increase the concentration of mono-colored and colorless cards by percentage without sacrificing the suite of guild cards I had in the cube.
3. I wanted to reduce the density of mana rocks without sacrificing the infrastructure I had built around them. Basically, playing with both Signets and Talisman felt like too much at 540, but only running one of the two cycles didn’t feel like enough. The big rocks used for super-ramp, upheaval and wildfire shells are great in those decks, but were representing too much of the pool.
The solution that jumped out was an increase in size. By moving the cube to 630, I could keep my guild and multicolor infrastructure together, but by adding in mostly monocolored and colorless cards, and no additional 3+ color identity cards, I could keep the multicolored cards I wanted to play and decrease their density at the same time. By adding in only one more cycle of fixing lands, I could bolster the support for 2-color decks without adding to the fixing density for 4+ color control. Additionally, the includes could be free of additional mana rocks, allowing me to keep in the suite of cards I wanted to run but reduce the frequency in which they take up real estate in my packs.
Additional benefits showed up when I explored the size increase as well. I was gifted the real estate to re-include archetypes like lands and storm, which I couldn’t find room for before. It gave me the flexibility to include a few more powerful guild cards and another suite of guild fixing without tinkering with the suite of 3+ color cards. It provided me the room to smooth out the curve in various places that had become compressed due to the powerlevels of cards in given spots.
Overall, it’s been playing well at 630 and I’m enjoying the feel of the cube. Mana rocks are available, but not in a dominating density. Mana fixing is better for 2-color decks and decks that are splashing, and building 4+ color goodstuff/control is still viable (but now takes appropriate effort). I hope it has been playing well for those folks that closely follow my list too, and I’m always taking feedback.
As always, cheers, and happy cubing! -
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rantipole posted a message on [465][Powered] rantipole's cubeThanks Calibretto,Posted in: Cube Lists
It really does feel like I can support 4 per guild and in most cases not feel like I'm sacrificing power.
For Selesnya, I was thinking:
Dryad Militant
Knight of Autumn
Avacyn's Pilgrim
Torsten or maybe Kellan
Dimir:
Strix
Rona
Ertai
Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
Cheers,
rant -
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wtwlf123 posted a message on [540][Powered] wtwlf123's CubeI plan on doing a writeup soon that will explain the philosophy behind the change to 630.Posted in: Cube Lists -
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wtwlf123 posted a message on [540][Powered] wtwlf123's Cube
Cube Maxim
I aim to create the most fun, exciting, powerful and balanced custom limited environment
that I can for my playgroup within the confines of a Vintage legal and Singleton legal frame.
Basic Info
Cube Size: 450 Cards
Breakdown: 55 Each Color, 105 Guild/Multicolor, 70 Colorless
Standard or Theme Cube: Standard
Average Draft: 3-6 players
Cube CMC: 2.762
Design Restrictions
Powered?: Yes
Vintage Legal?: Yes
Singleton Legal?: Yes
The only cards I ban from the cube are cards that aren't Vintage legal (Ante cards, Dexterity cards, Un- Cards, Conspiracies & Holiday Promos, etc), cards that can't function within all game types (like draft manipulators that are blanks in Sealed Deck, or cards that would require a commander to function, etc) and cards thar reference "outside of the game" as a zone (Wishes, Companions, etc).
Color Balance?: Yes
Guild Balance?: Yes
Mana Support?: No
Mana Support?: No
Other Info
Here's a link to the cube on CubeCobra if you want to mock draft it:
https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/wtwlf123
I wrote a cube article about the fundamental cube design questions, and how I decided to build my cube to cater to my playgroup. The article was designed to help those folks that are still in the incipient phase of cube building, and may need some pointers on how to balance the cube for smoother drafts and gameplay. But hopefully even the veteran cube managers can find at least some useful information on how to streamline the cube and better enable aggressive archetypes. Here's a link:
"Cube Design Philosophy"
I also wrote an article that deals with managing your manabase when cubing, and the impact those mana demands have on drafting, deck-building and constructing the cube. Here's a link to that one:
"Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
Feel free to post comments on the article page or here in this thread with any questions or comments!
Additionally, I've written some Set Reviews in the form of top 20 countdowns based on set previews. Note, these are written as set previews, not necessarily set reviews, but here's the links to them anyways:
My Review #01 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from AVR!
My Review #02 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from M13!
My Review #03 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from RTR!
My Review #04 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from GTC!
My Review #05 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from DGM!
My Review #06 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from M14!
My Review #07 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from THS!
My Review #08 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from BNG!
My Review #09 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from JOU!
My Review #10 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from M15!
My Review #11 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from KTK!
My Review #12 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from FRF!
My Review #13 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from DTK!
My Review #14 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from ORI!
My Review #15 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from BFZ!
My Review #16 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from OGW!
My Review #17 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from SOI!
My Review #18 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from EMN!
My Review #19 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from KLD!
My Review #20 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from AER!
My Review #21 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from AKH!
My Review #22 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from HOU!
My Review #23 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from XLN!
My Review #24 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from RIX!
My Review #25 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from DOM!
My Review #26 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from M19!
My Review #27 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from GRN!
My Review #28 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from RNA!
My Review #29 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from WAR!
My Review #30 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from M20!
My Review #31 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from ELD!
My Review #32 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from THB!
My Review #33 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from IKO!
My Review #34 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from M21!
My Review #35 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from ZNR!
My Review #36 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from KHM!
My Review #37 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from STX!
My Review #38 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from AFR!
My Review #39 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from MID!
My Review #40 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from VOW!
My Review #41 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from NEO!
My Review #42 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from SNC!
My Review #43 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from DMU!
My Review #44 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from BRO!
My Review #45 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from ONE!
My Review #46 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from MOM!
My Review #47 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from WOE!
My Review #48 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from LCI!
My Review #49 - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from MKM!
Enjoy!
I was invited to be a guest on the MTGin3D Podcast with Liam and Pedro. Here's a link to that episode ...give it a listen!
MTGin3D Episode #5 - Exploration
I was invited on as a guest for the "What's In The Box!?" Podcast with Zakeel and Drew. Here's a link to that episode:
What's in the Box EP8 - Community Spotlight: wtwlf123
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wtwlf123 posted a message on Set (P)review - My top 20 Lost Murders at Karlov Manor (MKM) cards for the cube!Hello again fellow cube enthusiasts!Posted in: Articles, Podcasts, and Guides
This is my 49th installment of the "top 20" set (P)review articles! Just like the previous reviews, it will be in a spoiled top X countdown format, with each section having an image, a brief summary/description, and my verdict on what cubes I think it could potentially see some play in. I got a lot of positive feedback on the format from the last few articles, so I’m going to keep the “what I like” and “what I don’t like” sections.
Keep in mind (just like the others) that this is a set preview. Similar to draft predictions in professional sports, this list is an educated guess at best. Some cards I value highly in here may turn out to not last long in the cube. Other cards that are lower down on the list (or even missed entirely!) could (well, very likely may) turn out to be great cards. Even the great Tom Brady was drafted in the 6th round! Again, this is not intended to be gospel, set in stone, or written as a review for posterity. This is simply written to be an enjoyable guess at cards I like for cubes, and hopefully it'll allow some cube managers to evaluate cards they may have otherwise overlooked and/or put some cards in perspective that may've been overhyped. Nothing more.
Murders at Karlov Manor is honestly a pretty disappointing set for the cube. Not because the set is bad or poorly designed, or even because the cards are underpowered, it just happens to be centered around a couple of new mechanics that don’t translate particularly well to typical cube environments. Collect Evidence is an ability that requires you to exile high mana values worth of cards from graveyards, which isn’t particularly consistent in typical limited environments, and Disguise is a new take on Morph that makes for very cool cards, but can be difficult to make them mana-efficient plays in today’s fast-paced cube environments. But there are still a lot of cards worth exploring, and several cards that can be good role-players for cubes supporting specific themes and archetypes.
Without further ado, here’s the countdown!
Outrageous Robbery
A black Braingeyser variant!
What I Like: Robbery can work as an instant-speed Braingeyser effect of sorts to generate card advantage, and it can also double as a mill support card and an infinite mana sink to win games. Effects like this also tend to be loads of fun, since playing your opponent’s cards can be an absolute blast, and allows play patterns that are rare to explore.
What I Don't Like: Generally speaking, it’s better to draw your own cards than try and use your opponent’s, since the cards in your deck will be more on-theme and working towards the same goal. Not only that, but this is quite inefficient as a draw spell, even in black; you have to spend 5+ mana before this gives you access to more cards than Night’s Whisper, and you’re still not drawing your own cards when you do so.
Verdict: If your cube supports mill, has a use for an infinite mana sink, and is excited about the prospect of playing a big, splashy “draw” spell in black, Robbery might be worth a close look. But on face value, I can’t see this cracking into cube lists that have a generally low-to-the-ground mana curve.
Lazav, Wearer of Faces
A disruptive Dimir beater.
What I Like: A 2-power 2-drop that can generate card advantage over time with clue generation and provides maindeckable graveyard hate might be exactly what some cubes are looking for. It can swing into lions, pikers, and bears (oh my!), exile critical cards from graveyards, and create clues in the process. It also has the potential to be a very powerful threat when you can exile big threats from a ‘yard, and then crack clues to transform Lazav into a beastly threat until the end of the turn.
What I Don't Like: The threat copying ability runs into a lot of consistency issues. But I think the bigger problem will be survivability and the limited window in which you’re forced to crack the clues to get the trigger to work right. Tempo decks with reactive spells want to keep mana up and crack clues at the end of the opponent’s turn, and that directly conflicts with Lazav’s ability to copy threats. Not the end of the world, but it will be annoying in a lot of board states. More critically, I’m unsure if this has the legs to push out other more important role players and more powerful cards from the typical Dimir suite.
Verdict: If your cube is looking for more maindeckable graveyard hate and likes seeing sequences come together that make for memorable stories, Lazav might be worth a spin, if you can find the room.
Unyielding Gatekeeper
A disruptive blink support monster.
What I Like: You always have the ability to run this out as a 3-power 2-drop if that’s what the curve asks for, which is a nice upside. But the main reason to include it will be for the Disguise trigger. This creature can either flicker a permanent of yours to abuse a valuable ETB trigger, but it also has the flexibility of being able to be used against an opponent’s scariest threat to turn it into a mundane bear. The flexibility of those three modes is what makes this creature appealing. The ward 2 ability when face-down will help ensure the transform ability that will hopefully result in good value for you.
What I Don't Like: In a world of Flickerwisps, paying 5 total mana to flicker a permanent isn’t exactly cost-effective by today’s standards, so the Gatekeeper is really relying on that flexibility to pull some weight.
Verdict: If your cube is looking for more Disguise triggers for a small guessing game subtheme, Gatekeeper is one of the better options worth investigating. But overall, I think this simply costs too much mana overall to crack most small- to medium-sized cube lists.
Anzrag, the Quake-Mole
A legendary …Mole God?!
What I Like: Years ago, an 8-power 4-drop with two upsides would’ve been an insane proposition. 8 power is a lot, and this card brings in two mechanics we don’t see often: a Relentless Assault effect, and a forced blocking mechanism. This creature is a nightmare to chump, and if you can hit 7 mana, it’ll likely win the game for you if you have other creatures to take advantage of the extra combat. Where this will really shine is in cubes that support a Fires subtheme. If you can manipulate ways to give the Mole haste, it’s a ridiculous beater.
What I Don't Like: In general, I think the 4-power creatures for 4 mana with a trample effect and haste are going to consistently be better performers …and there’s multiple creatures that fit that description in both of this creature’s colors.
Verdict: If your cube supports a subtheme that provides haste with multiple enablers, this Mole God may be worth close examination. It’s a savage monster with that one additional keyword. But I think that the competition in Gruul and the respective 4-drop slots in its two colors are too stacked for this to make the cut entirely on its own merits.
Archdruid's Charm
A powerful modal green spell.
What I Like: The bulk of this card’s ceiling comes from the first mode. In cubes that support creature-based combos AND land-based combos, the tutor effect is really powerful. It can be a mono green Eldamri’s Call when you’re looking for the missing piece of a creature combo, and it can search up ANY land (and put it right on the battlefield) if you support Depths/Valakut/Field combos in your environment. Additionally, the presence of this card shoehorns in an additional fight spell and an additional Naturalize effect, which are both nice effects to have around when they don’t consume a full slot dedicated specifically for them.
What I Don't Like: The triple-green cost is tough if you’re just trying to run the card for value, so I think it really relies on the ceiling of the tutor effect to justify the slot in the cube.
Verdict: If your cube supports both creature-based combos and land-based combos in your heavy green decks, I think the Charm is worth careful consideration. But for cubes where that’s not the case, it’s a pretty safe pass.
Proft's Eidetic Memory
A blue beatdown counter engine.
What I Like: The fact that this card replaces itself and provides a +1/+1 counter as a floor is solid. Where it’s intended to shine is in beatdown decks with some draw support, or in +1/+1 counters matters shells that can make exceptional use of the counters. Playing an early beater into this card into something like a Brainstorm for 3 +1/+1 counters, or gods willing a Timetwister or the like to put 7 +1/+1 counters on a threat is where you want to be. If you can find decks that can do that with any consistency, this card can shine. It will sometimes place counters where they can be really meaningful too, like onto a Hangarback or Ballista and have things get out of hand quickly. Alternatively, being able to flicker the permanent for more draws and more counters will be really cool in some builds.
What I Don't Like: In decks that can’t flicker it for value or can’t get anything more than face value out of the effect, I think it will fall short. I think cubes need to be supporting blue tempo, a counters-matters theme, and an above-average number of multi-draw effects that can see play in aggressively-leaning decks before Memory will really shine.
Verdict: If your cube supports hardened scales decks, aggressive blue shells, and big draw mechanics, I would take a hard look at Memory, because it fits right at home there. In most other cubes, I think it’ll be significantly harder to justify the slot.
Warleader's Call
A glorious and suddenly impactful anthem effect.
What I Like: Anthem effects on their own can be hard to justify, and Sudden Impact effects even moreso. But in cubes that want both of these effects, you can save some slot equity by combining inclusions on one card. Anthem effects are good in attacking token decks and go-wide aggro shells. Impact effects are good in token-engine decks and creature-based combo decks that can demonstrate non-lethal infinite loops. In cubes doing all of those things, a combination effect like this can look quite appealing.
What I Don't Like: Boros is stacked to the gills with some of the strongest multicolor cards in the cube. So unless your cube is DEEP on go-wide attacking token themes AND supports creature-based loops looking to turn themselves lethal, I think it’s going to be really hard to find room for this card.
Verdict: If your cube supports both mass token generation shells and creature-based loop combo, don’t lose track of this card. But outside of that, I think the competition in Boros is simply too stacked.
Sharp-Eyed Rookie
An evolving clue engine.
What I Like: 2-drops that can grow and represent card advantage are nothing to scoff at. Over the course of the game, if you can get a couple triggers with the rookie, you’ll have a decent-sized beater and a couple replacement clues to go with it.
What I Don't Like: This is an aggressively-leaning effect, but it can be hard to get more than one or two triggers at most off of an evolve creature that starts as a 2/2 in an aggro shell. Unlike Tireless Tracker which triggers off lands, Rookie will have far fewer cards in your library that will equate to a +1/+1 counter and a clue. As steve_man pointed out in the SCD, unlike the Tracker, bigger creatures (instead of lands) are tied to the clue generation, so it’s harder to generate the clues and crack them in the same turn cycle. Ultimately, the play patterns with the Rookie will be far less fluid.
Verdict: This is a solid value 2-drop in aggressive midrange decks, but this is no Tireless Tracker. I would probably test this out at 720 if I was playing the kinds of decks that could reliably get lots of triggers stacked onto this creature.
Forensic Gadgeteer
An artifacts-matter/combo hybrid card.
What I Like: Creating an extra clue with every artifact is powerful, especially in decks with lots of scaling construct tokens floating around. These clues are especially valuable when they can be cracked for only a single mana. In addition to the clue interactions, the cost reduction ability works with several artifacts in the cube, including being able to create infinite mana with Basalt Monolith.
What I Don't Like: Blue’s 3cc creatures are pretty stacked, and it can be hard to find room for simple solid support creatures like this. Especially with similar cards like Sai and Seedshark that might just be better even in the same decks.
Verdict: If you support the artifact.dec heavily and you’re looking for an additional Monolith combo card to make infinite mana with, I’d give the Gadgeteer careful consideration. I might be able to find room in artifact-themed cubes or at 720+ with the right support, but I think it’s overall a miss for most medium-sized cubes or smaller.
Case of the Stashed Skeleton
An evasive 2-drop that generates value on death.
What I Like: A 2-power creature with menace for 2 mana isn’t the worst baseline. And it generates card advantage when it dies too, in the form of what equates to “drawing” an uncounterable Demonic Tutor, which is super sweet. While it’s on the battlefield, the Case can also be flickered to make extra skeletons, even if that does make it harder to “solve” later on down the line.
What I Don't Like: 2-drops are pretty competitive these days, and even ones that can generate card advantage when they die aren’t auto-include. Being unable to block while suspected limits this card to being included in attacking decks, which might not be the best decks to take advantage of the Tutor effect. If it could block, it would be a great Tutor effect for all kinds of shells, but this one is limited in application due to that one restriction.
Verdict: This card is very thematic and is super cool. I would try to find room at 720 to test it because it looks fun and powerful in the right decks, but I think it will be hard to find a slot for it in smaller cubes.
Intrude on the Mind
Instant-speed threat + cards.
What I Like: This is sort of a build-your-own instant-speed Mulldrifter effect of sorts. You can arrange the piles in a way that can get you a body + cards that will be ≥ the body & value from a ‘drifter by saying you will get a 2-card pile and a 3/3 flying or a 3-card pile and a 2/2 flying …either option at instant speed. I like spells that create bodies in my spells matters decks, so I can get this effect and trigger my Pyromancers at the same time. You can also create swingier piles based on how complicated the board state can make the choice for the opponent, but those splits will be tricky.
What I Don't Like: This is a Steam Augury effect, not a Fact or Fiction effect. Ultimately your opponent will have the final choice over the size of the threat or the specific cards drawn, and that can kill the viability of a 5-mana investment. If you NEED a 4/4 flier, you’ll never get it. If you NEED to draw a specific card to stabilize, you never will. And ultimately that will be the thing that kills this card, IMHO.
Verdict: If this was a Fact or Fiction that made the body, it’d be something I’d strongly consider even at the smallest of sizes. But as an Augury effect, I think it’ll be limited to 720+ card cubes, and even then, it’ll only be ones that are deep on a spells-triggering package.
Demand Answers
This set’s Thrill of Possibility effect.
What I Like: Thrill has shown that this kind of effect at instant-speed can be valuable. A surprise discard effect so you don’t telegraph your specific reanimation threat early is good, and it allows it to be a more effective role-player in reactive goodstuff decks. Demand adds the ability to sacrifice an artifact instead of discarding a card when that is a more palatable cost. With treasures, blood tokens, maps, food, and clues abound, finding a disposable artifact is easier than ever, which can make this card feel like a 2-for-1 in situations where no other Thrill variant has been able to.
What I Don't Like: This still has to overcome the similar effects that find themselves into cubes before it’s worth including. Whether it’s the haste from Bitter Reunion or the transforming effect of the Battle, other Thrill variants have important upsides to offer, so you’ll have to decide both if you want this kind of effect at all, and if you do, which of all the decently playable ones is the best for your environment.
Verdict: This has a chance of being the best Thrill variant for cubes, and with the right support, I would play this card in the 630-720 range depending on the construction of my red section.
Surveil Lands
A new full cycle of Surveil duals!
What I Like: In comparison to the Temple cycle, these both upgrade to Surveil for graveyard shenanigans, and they’re true fetchhable duals! There are some color combinations that depending on the roles the colors play in the cube could take great advantage of the Surveil trigger, and these lands should be given careful consideration depending on how you have your cube constructed.
What I Don't Like: Despite being better than Temples in multiple ways, these lands still always enter the battlefield tapped, and because of that, there will be limitations on where they’ll play well. It’s hard to play them over lands that can provide colored mana on T1, and unlike manlands that also enter tapped, they don’t double as win conditions or pressure planeswalkers.
Verdict: I think that these lands can be anywhere between the 8th best to the 10th best lands in given guilds based on the color composition, which will relegate these to larger cubes for most of the combinations. I could see some of these cracking into the 630+ range, but most of them will be on the outside looking in for most cubes smaller than 720+.
Long Goodbye
A solid removal spell.
What I Like: I like this more than the Terror variants that are still played in some of the medium- to large-sized cube lists out there. The ability to hit both creatures and ‘walkers is important, and the uncounterability will occasionally prove invaluable.
What I Don't Like: I think that there is steep competition for removal spells that cost more than one mana nowadays, and this feels replacement-level compared to something like Bitter Triumph. Plus, there are a lot of threats that cost 4+ mana that demand answers now, and as things were trending cheaper and cheaper, those medium-sized threats have less and less removal that can deal with them now.
Verdict: This is a solid spell, and I expect a lot of cubes, especially lower-to-the-ground aggressive midrange cubes, to get good mileage out of a universally-playable cheap, instant-speed removal spell like this. I would play this at 720 for sure, and maybe into some 630 or 540 lists depending on cube composition and your current demand for answers.
Cryptic Coat
A solid cloaked threat engine.
What I Like: A 3-power unblockable threat with ward 2 for 3 mana isn’t too bad a baseline, especially considering you’re getting 2 permanents and the additional potential upside of flipping your cloaked threat as part of the package. But what sells me on this card is the reliability and the eventuality. The ability to return the Cloak to your hand and replay it to make a new threat is super nice, since every recast will essentially net you an extra 2/2 with ward 2 that can potentially transform. In reactive decks, you can leave up your mana for countermagic, and bounce the Cloak at will. Making it hard to permanently eliminate the threat. Unblockability is good in the era of monarch and initiative, and you can repeatedly bounce and replay this card for a very hard-to-remove engine that will fill your board with potentially flippable bears with ward.
What I Don't Like: While the eventuality is great, and the resiliency is safe, the efficiency when creating your additional threats isn’t there. It’s effectively 5 mana per loop cycle, and each loop generates one more cloaked 2/2. While this means this card will be a savage monster in retail limited, I’m unsure how that will translate to the cube exactly. The play patterns will the instant-speed bounce is also a bit problematic, since if I bounce this at my opponent’s EOT with the intention of replaying it on my turn, the unblockable cloaked body will always have summoning sickness. The only way to avoid that and build your board at the same time is to bounce and replay on your turn, which eliminates the ability to hold up countermagic and protect the Cloak from removal. It’ll be quite the conundrum sometimes.
Verdict: Way better than it looks, and not generating nearly enough buzz for how good it will be. This is my projected sleeper for the set. I’d slam this at 720, and I’d give it careful consideration at 630. Hard to find room at 540, but it might get there depending on the composition of your cube and how important an unblockable, inevitable threat engine can be in that environment.
Kellan, Inquisitive Prodigy
An Explore + Trygon Predator adventure?
What I Like: The 2-mana mode is similar to Explore/Growth Spiral in that it plays an extra land and replaces itself. This card does it differently than its predecessors do though; instead of outright drawing a card, you essentially “draw” Kellan (as Sliver Lord pointed out in the SCD) as your card, AND you make a clue to draw a second card later. Kellan itself is like a bigger Trygon Predator with vigilance that can also eat your own disposable artifacts to draw more cards down the line (or eat his own clue to bypass the 2-mana activation and draw for free). When you have the extra land in hand already, you can make your extra land drop on T2, and make your 4th land on T3 and cast him from exile. This allows Kellan to follow the powerful precedent set by the more competitive adventure creatures, of curving directly from the adventure into the threat in some cases.
What I Don't Like: Having the draws from the explore effect be delayed hurts the reliability of the additional land drop. In some draws without extra lands available, it may be better to skip the adventure altogether and just cast Kellan as a 4-drop. Additionally, as steve_man points out in the SCD, there are decks that might want Explore or Growth Spiral that don’t want to play Kellan. Decks centered around Oath of Druids or Sevalla’s Stampede don’t want Kellan floating around in the library as a bad “hit”.
Verdict: I think Kellan can compete for the 5th or 6th true gold slot in Simic, which puts it as a reasonable include in the 630-720 range. There’s a chance that it could be worth including in some smaller cubes too, if midrangey value piles with lots of targets for Kellan are commonplace in your playgroup.
No More Lies
An Azorius Mana Leak!
What I Like: True Mana Leaks are hard to come by, and if you can stomach dedicating a gold slot to a “filler” spell, No More Lies is worth a close look. Not as flashy and exciting as some of the powerful multicolor cards out there, but this is absolutely a good enough counterspell if you can find room. Exiling the spell is a good upside, and more playable 2cc counterspells is always welcome.
What I Don't Like: In smaller cubes, the competition given how powerful most gold spells are nowadays is too stiff to allow in solid playable inclusions.
Verdict: I don’t mind giving each guild access to one generic playable goodstuff spell in the multicolor section, even if I prefer to dedicated those slots to things that are more unique and powerful when I can. If you can live with the less-than-exciting inclusion eating up a gold card slot, I think No More Lies is a card that will be playable in pretty much every W/U shell in the cube. I would test it in the #5 or #6 gold slot, so it will probably make for a good inclusion at 630 or 720. Perhaps even 540 if you’re looking for another cheap counterspell.
Fugitive Codebreaker
A flexible Bedlam Reveler variant.
What I Like: A 2-power creature with prowess and haste for 1R is a good baseline. There will be a lot of instances where that will be good enough, and will likely be where it resolves in the curve a lot. But the Disguise ability is also quite good. In spells matters decks loaded with instants and sorceries, flipping this creature face-up will be cheap, and then you can immediately refill your hand with more gas, and maybe even trigger prowess more and bash in. Unlike Bedlam Reveler, this card can be flipped face-up at instant speed, so you can draw your 3 cards before drawing for the turn and potentially keep an extra card.
What I Don't Like: In cubes that do elect to run this creature, it’ll be pretty obvious what it is. Despite the ward, the opponent will know to kill this card before it can flip face-up and draw a bunch of cards.
Verdict: I think there’s a lot of additive distraction with this card. Disguise feels bad with no mystery, and the face-up flip payoff distracts from the floor of being a 2/1 prowess with haste for 2 mana. This will present quite the proverbial Kavu Titan problem for a lot of evaluators that are afraid to just ignore the value and bash in with this as a Swiftspear-esque beater. A solid 630+ inclusion for cubes supporting a spells matters theme that extends into red, IMO.
Escape Tunnel
A strictly better Evolving Wilds?
What I Like: Evolving Wilds and Terramorphic Expanse are solid lands. By now, pretty much every cube manager understands how they play and what to expect from them. Fill the ‘yard, shuffle effect, mana fixing, works with Crucible effects, etc. This land has an additional ability that can make cheap creatures unblockable. In the era of monarch and initiative running around, that might prove to be more valuable than ever before, and it’s strapped to a baseline land that we know to be serviceable. Might be fun to explore ways to make small creatures unblockable and then grow them post activation to squeeze in big damage while dodging blockers.
What I Don't Like: A small upside over an existing fringe playable. Nothing exciting to see here but some slight added utility. I wish the size restriction was removed from the creature target. Let me bash in with BIG unblockable monsters!
Verdict: Not better enough to make Evolving Wilds desirable where it wasn’t before (unless you have a really big initiative/monarch presence) but certainly a valuable enough upside to be the first version of this effect that you would play if you wanted to bring one in. For me, that’s at 630.
Novice Inspector
A second Thraben Inspector.
What I Like: Thraben Inspector kills X/1 creatures in combat, carries equipment, crews copters, makes 2 game objects for 1 mana, and provides filler ETB triggers all in one small package. Nothing exciting, but it can be quite serviceable in the right decks.
What I Don't Like: Kinda a bummer that the best card in this set seems to be a functional reprint of a relatively middling existing card.
Verdict: If you like Thraben Inspector a lot, you can play this card alongside it at whatever size that happens to be for you. For me, I only like it a little bit. I would play both at 630, personally, but I could see only running one of them (or none) at any sizes smaller than that.
Thanks for taking the time to read through the article! Feel free to post your comments here for discussion and share your feedback.
Cheers, and happy cubing!
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rancoredmalone posted a message on Murder at Karlov Manor for Peasant CubeBack to back Standard sets as we investigate the Murders at Karlov Manor. This is also our first set with the advent of Play Boosters and a noted design change for commons/uncommons. I do believe the number of highly modal/flexible commons in this set is a sign of the times ahead. We also got a few bonus Peasant cards in the supplemental Clue/do set, which will be included below. Beyond the very specific mechanical theming of the set, I also felt a lot of the best cards are very similar to existing Cube cards, making it hard to be too excited.Posted in: Pauper & Peasant Discussion
As always, I cube 512 cards, maximized for power with 6 spells and 3 lands per guild. Here is my Too Early Top 20 for Murders at Karlov Manor.
20) Nightdrinker Moroii- Nightdrinker can attack as a 4/2 flier on turn 4 for five total mana or get cast for four mana and three life to attack turn 5.
19) Tribune of Rot- A hybrid 3/3 that makes at least one 1/1 per attack ~60% of the time in a 15 creature deck. A decent engine, but needs a specific home.
18) Ecstatic Electromancer- Izzet hybrid that matches up okay with other three-mana 2-power Prowess creatures in those colors. The extra color and the rummaging may get it over the hump.
17) Ordruun Mentor- A good attacking Boros hybrid, but a lot of those already exist in both colors.
16) Push // Pull - A card that may be over-priced on both sides, but fits really well into the black-based graveyard decks.
15) Demand Answers- Considering the trend of spells making incidental permanents, the usefulness is bound to increase over time.
14) Repulsive Mutation- I am not worried about getting blown out by renewal since the opponent has already cast a different spell, but things have to line up correctly to get big value.
13) Sudden Setback- Versions of this spell have been useful in draft and the versatility to hit spells too means it will always have something to do. Is that worth paying for twice a Remand?
12) Case of the Gateway Express- A lot of things have to line up here as well, but there is a welcome spot in the token deck for removal/anthem.
Deck Dopplegangers
11) Scene of the Crime- Probable slight upgrade over Cryptic Caves, with cheaper card draw and the ability to generate colored mana. ETB tapped is rough.
10) The Dining Room cycle- A decisively tier 2 or 3 fixing option for guild sections.
9) Aftermath Analyst- Trades off the ability to immediately generate value for a larger body and a hopeful ramp ability.
8) Gearbane Orangutan- Continuing the fine tradition of Apes that hate artifacts. Reach is a decent upside for this creature.
7) Pick Your Poison- My favorite of the non-creature versions of this effect but there are a lot of creature versions, although those creatures miss fliers.
6) Leering Onlooker- Black has plenty of two-drops that make another body after they die for free, but most of those are worse initial bodies and worse post-death bodies. Also get some graveyard value here.
Unusual Suspects
5) Reckless Detective- A pretty interesting red two-drop that attacks for 2 damage while rummaging.
4) Frantic Scapegoat- Compares to Phoenix Chick pretty well as a 1/1 haste menace that can suspect another creature later for extra upside.
3) Scuttling Sentinel- A very strong option in a shallow guild that represents 4 power for three-mana along with the upside of saving another creature.
Repeat Offenders-
2) Novice Inspector- A welcome 2nd copy of an all-time Peasant Cube stable.
1) Escape Tunnel- Another Peasant Cube stable and good fixing is harder to find than good white one-drops.
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To answer the question, yes, I think a 465 cube can support 4 per guild at this point without sacrificing power level or having gold cards go last pick. There's some powerful stuff available in most guilds these days, some even first pickable.
At 540 here are my Dimir and Selesnya sections:
Voice of Resurgence (probably going to try Torsten in the slot)
Kitchen Finks (more of a pet card these days, but I support persist combo, so it plays there)
Knight of Autumn (staple)
Knight of the Reliquary (a favorite among my group)
Mirari's Wake (a favorite among my group)
Baleful Strix (staple)
Rona, Herald of Invasion (solid looter, powerful flip side)
Sauron's Ransom (new addition)
Ertai Resurrected (solid role player)
Fallen Shinobi (a favorite among my group)
I'd also agree that cube threads feel like a thing of the past with utilities like CubeCobra around. We're no longer limited to posting our updates only on our cube threads or having cube pics here. I am nostalgic for those forum days, but I accept reality. You'll get more conversation in single card discussion or This or That threads.
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This is exactly what I want to do in cube, though.
Monarch and Initiative seem to be a point where the cube community, in general, is split. I'm not interested in running a card in my powered cube just because it provides Initiative/Monarch. If the two halves together equal out to be a card that I think makes the cut, then it makes the cut. I'm not interested in Passageway Seer, for example, because I don't think a slowly growing four mana 2/2 lifelinker is worth it - regardless of how powerful goining through The Undercity can be.
I'm much more interested in an enabler like Court of Locthwain (and Court of Garenbrig), because even if you lose Monarch, the cards themselves are still doing pretty powerful things - even by Vintage cube standards.
My group has also been very happy with Monarch/Initiative enablers in our environment(s), so it's probably just a matter of taste. If turn two Tinker into Blightsteel is fine, then these Monarch Courts are probably fine as well. Perhaps even more so as it pertains to how "fair" they are.
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This sounds like a very specific synergy that wouldn't come up very often. Not to mention that Wishclaw, in general, is a fringe card itself. If you look at Agent in the grand scheme of cube and the commonly ran library searchers, you're looking more at fetch lands, green ramp spells, and tutors. Stealing that search with Agent can certainly be a powerful disruptive play, but it being three mana was a huge negative. Flash creatures shouldn't be underrated, but I'm not running Hired Blade just because it can be flashed in at EOT, which is what Agent ended up being more often than not.
While I do agree with this to some extent, you have to evaluate creatures on more than just stats alone. Even if you compare the two based solely on their stats, you're comparing a 3/3 to a 3/2, which has the Trespasser coming out on top. In addition Trespasser is harder to deal with due to the ward and flips into a 4/4. I also think Trespasser has a much more consistent disruptive ability with the graveyard hate getting increasingly more relevant in today's cube environments and the life gain is nothing to sneeze at.
The only bad thing the Trespasser has going for it is the god-awful Day/Night mechanic. Full disclosure, I'm not running Trespasser and this is the only reason why. Keeping track of Day/Night in paper is such a distracting pain in the neck and it's so easy to forget.
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First, the links:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1aGNGVQPoxwybJxJRrLjpzXQsQwgYbatSw-JxPvi-tRY/edit?usp=sharing
https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/mtgs2023
The rules I used for inclusion:
Must be updated through LCI (with a full update - one Geological Appraiser didn't count)
Must be regularly updated (if not with each set release, at least a few times a year to bring the cube up to speed)
I know this is technically a CubeCobra average peasant list, but a large chunk of those lists are from regular MTGS users. Since the project stems from this forum, I think MTGS Average still makes sense.
One thing to note is that because CubeCobra only offers a specific number of color coding options for tags, I had to tag by tens instead of the normal fives. This doesn't really change much until you get to the more fringe choices in larger cubes, but I thought it worth mentioning. If your choice is close, you can always get the exact numbers from the Google doc.
The first thing that stood out to me this year is that Shock Lands made their way into the average list. I guess more and more people are updating their mana bases to include rare lands. Last year I think there were a couple random rare duals that made it in, but I cut them from the list before uploading since it was weird to have just one or two. All ten shocks were there this year, so they're also in the list.
While browsing the finished list, the next thing I noticed is just how good Lord of the Rings was to cubes of all shapes and sizes. What a great cube set.
The last thing that popped out at me is how people are leaning into archetype support rather than just good commons and uncommons. I see lots of support for self-mill and graveyard strategies, persist combo, and some others. Very cool to see.
I'm sure there's a ton of data comparison between last year's list and this year's, but I'm spent so I'll let others do that if they're so inclined.
Anyway, happy holidays, friends, and I hope this list is useful for you. May 2024 give you all many chances to cube!
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Speaking from a bit of experience with this exact thing, this is completely true. We have an add-on that includes Storm, Combo, Un cards, Conspiracies, etc that we sometimes add and brings the cube up to 720 or so. Saheeli Combo is in that mix and it's literally never come together. It's on the docket to be cut in an upcoming update.
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For example, here is the 2022 list filtered down to as close to 360 as you can get without going over.
NOTE: Copy/Paste this. Clicking it won't work.
https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/mtgs2022?f=tag:"40-44 Lists" or tag:"45-50 Lists" or tag:"35-39 Lists" or tag:"30-34 Lists" or tag:"25-29 Lists" or tag:"20-24 Lists"
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