MTG Salvation

Wait, you're supposed to be the expedition's healer, but you can't use healing magic unless there's another cleric in the party??
------

The set's fine. I think the party mechanic takes up too much space overall, and a few stray traps would have been nice. Mostly people complain because that's their job.

As far as fetches go, we knew full well we weren't getting them. I just wish they'd given us enemy Bad River fetches. They aren't overly powerful, but can allow sweet double landfall triggers in a turn.

I didn't figure you'd be able to use them with Crucible. That's upside. And it's not exactly intuitive. In fact it's kinda confusing that you can get it with crucible but you can't find it with Expedition Map, at least from the perspective of players who aren't the most steeped in rules minutia.

Wait, what is this? Why is it tagged ZNR? What's going on here?

Red has worse utility lands than other colors. This has a lot of options: 2R cycle. 2R Tormenting Voice. 2R Cathartic Reunion. Pseudo Windfall. Or Tapland.

(Obviously this doesn't send cards to the graveyard like Tormenting Voice. Small downside)

Yep. Seems great. I'll play any of these I get, except maybe the blue one. I prefer some of the blue taplands to that one.

I think the red, green, and black ones are all fantastic. The white one is a bit behind, but still great, and the blue one is a ways behind that.

The upside on these comes up way more often than Flagstones. I think Minamo, School at Water's Edge and Shizo, Death's Storehouse are better comparisons, as the upside is fairly likely to be relevant. That comparison is more germane to the conversation of the mythic cycle since they can etb untapped.

I think this card, along with a lot of the other mdfc lands is fantastic, and like the others I think it should be evaluated as a tapland with upside. This is a land that can do a thing, not a thing that can be a land.

This is the kind of slow, fun jank that I love to throw into my cube. Sometimes it works. I have to fight these kinds of instincts though.

And 8 mana Planar Cleansing or a tapland. I wish this were the mythic instead so it could etb untapped, but oh well. I love this card if nobody else does.

There are a lot of Manalith variants. This goes alongside the best of them:

Chromatic Lantern
Coalition Relic
Cultivator's Caravan
Skyclave Relic

Then the runners up:

Vessel of Endless Rest
Spinning Wheel
Cryptolith Fragment
Fountain of Ichor

Yeah, this one rolls in at the perfect place. Green gets to 7 no problem, and can handle paying 3 life better than blue or even black (since black pays life all the time).

Also Hangarback Walker and friends are 3/3s instead of whiffs, which is sweet, since scalable costs are ideal in ramp decks.

Weirdly, I think the most similar card is Torpid Moloch. This can actually attack reliably after a time unlike Moloch, but by then a 2/2 trample is gonna be a chump attack pretty often, unlike Living Tsunami. Unless your deck is all Steppe Lynx and Akoum Hellhound (which it isn't), you can't make full use outta this.

I dig the design though.

Malakir Rebirth B
Instant (Uncommon)
Chose target creature. You lose 2 life. Until end of turn, that creature gains "When this creature dies, return it to the battlefield tapped under it's owner's control."
//
Malakir Mire
Land
Malakir Mire enters the battlefiled tapped.
T: Add B.


An Undying Evil variant is a pretty interesting place to take this. Versatility goes a long way on an effect like that. Probably too low impact for most, but pretty unique.

I find this debate interesting, and I don't have particularly strong feelings. I'd be eager to be shown that this card is worth its weight.

Low opportunity cost is huge, but what about Minamo, School at Water's Edge? I don't think that sees a lot of cube play, but it's got no opportunity cost and a pretty major upside. Maybe that means people should be playing Minamo. But it certainly means the flip side needs to actually be worthwhile. I'm not saying this isn't though. I'm willing to be convinced.

P.S.
Urborg is sweet.

Cards I mean to seek out:
Bala Ged Recovery
As many Pathways as I can get


Nonrares I'm highly interested in:

• Fearless Fledgling
  
• Sejiri Shelter
  
• Skyclave Cleric
  
• Bubble Snare
  
• Ruin Crab
  
• Bloodchief's Thirst
  
• Hagra Mauling
  
• Pelakka Predation
  
• Akoum Hellhound
  
• Khalni Ambush
  
• Jwar Isle Disturbance

Rares/mythics I'm interested to try if I get them:

• Archon of Emeria
  
• Emeria's Call
  
• Jace, Mirror Mage
  
• Sea Gate Stormcaller
  
• Thieving Skydiver
  
• Taborax, Hope's Demise
  
• Relic Robber
  
• Shatterskull Smashing
  
• Valakut Awakening

Powerful cards I'm actively not interested in:
Nighthawk Scavenger

I'll be adding a slot to my utility lands section. Right now I've got two utility lands and a Vivid in each color, plus an extra in black. I think I'll just add an extra slot in each color. Black can replace Ifnir Deadlands with Hagra Mauling // Hagra Broodpit. Mayyyyyybe I could even add a second slot if they come out with more great ones, or if I end up getting the mythics.

TorontoJock makes a good point, but I sure like countering spells with lands, and there aren't that many cards that let me do that.