It really depends on the card. I like to think of kicker cards more like split cards; and like most modular spells you're paying a premium for the choice.
Take a look at a card like Ghitu Chronicler
1/3 for 2? ehh. Archaeomancer for 6? its ok, but not great. Pretty niche.
So for this card id say theres only really 1 mode id be happy to play, and even then i could probably find something better.
whereas something like Burst Lightning Shock is already fine on its own, and the kicked version can be game winning.
Ones pretty underwhelming, and ones pretty great, both have a kicker of 4
Syr Alin's not terrible however, the times you do get him out and have a couple tokens out he can pull you way ahead on the attack; just feels a bit win-more.
I CAN however vouch for Syr Konrad, the Grim. This guy just does so much work. Surveil? take damage. Gravedigger effect? take damage. Don't get me started on dredgers. His damage really adds up, and fits right in with an archetype that likes to grind out the game, so youre going to get a lot of mileage out of him. Also being a 5/4, he's no slouch either, and can really gum up the board.
One thing you may want to consider is what the start of games looks like. A lot of commanders can be built many different ways, but when you sit down and see something like daretti v talrand v meren v golos you have a vague idea of what youre getting into. Whereas Oko would represent 100s of different 'walkers, all being completely different decks. I like the versions you have where its clear from the get-go who the real commander is
Syr Alin has been a good, not great curve topper for aggressive token decks in my cube. If you're in the archetype you'll run him, but he's far from vital to the strategy. He typically gets picked up in the latter half of the pack
Human Form 2
Creature- construct
Before the game begins, choose a planeswalker you own from outside the game.
~ has the color identity of the chosen planeswalker
As an additional cost to cast ~, pay the mana cost of the chosen planeswalker
~ comes into play as a copy of the chosen planeswalker, except its a creature in addition to its other types
~'s power and toughness is equal to the number of loyalty counters on it.
X/X
14 seems low as it is; it could be do-able if you added something like "Whenever you;re dealt damage, if you have 1 or more cards in hand, discard that many cards instead"
Or even go super deep and make it draw 2, and add "if you have no cards in hand, you lose the game" ontop.
In a recent article about designing Eldraine, Mike Rosewater mentioned what defines Lorwyn is a plane that switches back and forth between night and day.
Running with that idea, lets say the magics that power the great aurora are stuck on overdrive, cause teferi broke it or something. The plane "flips" almost daily. You start the game with an "Aurora" coin set to day. Different effects turn the coin over, affecting different creatures and spells.
1W Meadowgrain Patrol
Creature-kithkin
First Strike
If the aurora is set to night, ~ gains +0/+2 and defender
2/1
2BB Twilight Predator
Creature- Ouphe
Whenever the aurora is flipped, destroy target creature
2/2
1W Golden Dawn
Instant
Target creature gains +2/+2 until end of turn
Flip the Aurora to Day
1BB Lost in the Dark
Sorcery
Destory target creature
Flip the Aurora to Night
Could also incorperate flip cards or split cards, that can only be cast depending on the aurora.
Thoughts?
Hey all, ran my first cube this weekend and it was a riot. Peasant is a really fun format
I got hooked up in UW blink, Soulherder plus Nevermaker combo won me 3 games on its own. Ended up losing in the finals to jund boardwipes + fatties.
BW aristocrats came 3rd, but there was a lack of lifegain payoffs. Ive since added Sanguine Bond and Serene Steward so the archetype isn't a trap.
2 players fought over BG graveyard archetype and ended up with decent, not overpowered decks. Syr Konrad, the Grim and Phyrexian Reclamation being the lynchpins in respective decks.
Boros tokens and izzet spells had medium results. Surprisingly nobody ended up going for +1/+1 counters
The cube was fun, but i feel like theres some wiggle room for improvement before i run it again. Only having 1 playthrough to go off i dont feel is enough info to go off to make changes. I was hoping to get some help; any archetypes seem over/under supported? Any glaring omissions or powerlevel concerns? I tried to keep the power curve pretty flat, so that every card is viabale
I've also removed a lot of the good, but not great/exciting cards. I found that everyone ended up with more than enough playables, and things like Cloudkin Seer and Sandsteppe Outcast didn't inspire enough. I'm looking at replacing more of the "medium" cards with more role-players
Weather the Storm is a new one for storm in green, not sure if its worthwhile.
I've had some success with Quickling and Hour of Need in the flash archetype. Evoked Briarhorn -> quickling -> briarhorn can smash through for a lot of damage, similarly hour of need on their end of turn and then swinging for 8 to 12 in the air is GG
You could also put 1 snow basics in each pack, similar to how MH1 was drafted.
It wouldnt be enough for everyone to go snow, but you could possibly choose a colour pair/wedge and make it one of the archetypes of your cube. That way drafting a critical number of snow basics is part of the fun.
You could also run the snow duals, astrolabe, and boreal druid to help reach that critical mass.
Take a look at a card like Ghitu Chronicler
1/3 for 2? ehh. Archaeomancer for 6? its ok, but not great. Pretty niche.
So for this card id say theres only really 1 mode id be happy to play, and even then i could probably find something better.
whereas something like Burst Lightning
Shock is already fine on its own, and the kicked version can be game winning.
Ones pretty underwhelming, and ones pretty great, both have a kicker of 4
You're a madman in a good way
I CAN however vouch for Syr Konrad, the Grim. This guy just does so much work. Surveil? take damage. Gravedigger effect? take damage. Don't get me started on dredgers. His damage really adds up, and fits right in with an archetype that likes to grind out the game, so youre going to get a lot of mileage out of him. Also being a 5/4, he's no slouch either, and can really gum up the board.
One thing you may want to consider is what the start of games looks like. A lot of commanders can be built many different ways, but when you sit down and see something like daretti v talrand v meren v golos you have a vague idea of what youre getting into. Whereas Oko would represent 100s of different 'walkers, all being completely different decks. I like the versions you have where its clear from the get-go who the real commander is
Human Form 2
Creature- construct
Before the game begins, choose a planeswalker you own from outside the game.
~ has the color identity of the chosen planeswalker
As an additional cost to cast ~, pay the mana cost of the chosen planeswalker
~ comes into play as a copy of the chosen planeswalker, except its a creature in addition to its other types
~'s power and toughness is equal to the number of loyalty counters on it.
X/X
Or even go super deep and make it draw 2, and add "if you have no cards in hand, you lose the game" ontop.
Running with that idea, lets say the magics that power the great aurora are stuck on overdrive, cause teferi broke it or something. The plane "flips" almost daily. You start the game with an "Aurora" coin set to day. Different effects turn the coin over, affecting different creatures and spells.
1W Meadowgrain Patrol
Creature-kithkin
First Strike
If the aurora is set to night, ~ gains +0/+2 and defender
2/1
2BB Twilight Predator
Creature- Ouphe
Whenever the aurora is flipped, destroy target creature
2/2
1W Golden Dawn
Instant
Target creature gains +2/+2 until end of turn
Flip the Aurora to Day
1BB Lost in the Dark
Sorcery
Destory target creature
Flip the Aurora to Night
Could also incorperate flip cards or split cards, that can only be cast depending on the aurora.
Thoughts?
I got hooked up in UW blink, Soulherder plus Nevermaker combo won me 3 games on its own. Ended up losing in the finals to jund boardwipes + fatties.
BW aristocrats came 3rd, but there was a lack of lifegain payoffs. Ive since added Sanguine Bond and Serene Steward so the archetype isn't a trap.
2 players fought over BG graveyard archetype and ended up with decent, not overpowered decks. Syr Konrad, the Grim and Phyrexian Reclamation being the lynchpins in respective decks.
Boros tokens and izzet spells had medium results. Surprisingly nobody ended up going for +1/+1 counters
The cube was fun, but i feel like theres some wiggle room for improvement before i run it again. Only having 1 playthrough to go off i dont feel is enough info to go off to make changes. I was hoping to get some help; any archetypes seem over/under supported? Any glaring omissions or powerlevel concerns? I tried to keep the power curve pretty flat, so that every card is viabale
I've also removed a lot of the good, but not great/exciting cards. I found that everyone ended up with more than enough playables, and things like Cloudkin Seer and Sandsteppe Outcast didn't inspire enough. I'm looking at replacing more of the "medium" cards with more role-players
Here's the list so far;
https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/1mz
Appreciate the help!
Weather the Storm is a new one for storm in green, not sure if its worthwhile.
I've had some success with Quickling and Hour of Need in the flash archetype. Evoked Briarhorn -> quickling -> briarhorn can smash through for a lot of damage, similarly hour of need on their end of turn and then swinging for 8 to 12 in the air is GG
It wouldnt be enough for everyone to go snow, but you could possibly choose a colour pair/wedge and make it one of the archetypes of your cube. That way drafting a critical number of snow basics is part of the fun.
You could also run the snow duals, astrolabe, and boreal druid to help reach that critical mass.
I put 8 terramorphic expanses in my cube in lieu of guildgates and it seems to work fine