MTG Salvation

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 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.

Are MDFCs lands that count as spells or spells that count as lands?

Are the designs such that they’re lands that prevent mana flood or spells that prevent mana screw? Either way it’s a powerful ability to have access to, but how they get classified and used is an important concept to solve when it comes to limited formats.

Realistically, MDFCs are a mixture of both. And I think they can vary in function …not only from format to format, but also from deck to deck. And for me, the most important factor is whether or not the land is an Uncommon/Rare MDFC variant (where the land HAS to come into play tapped) or if they’re a Mythic MDFC variant (a “Boltland” that can enter untapped when you really need it to).

In retail limited, I think all the MDFCs might be able to freely replace lands during deckbuilding. The speed of the format might allow players to play tapped lands during their curve with more impunity than a format like the cube, which is fast, powerful, and volatile. I know that I’ve had to limit the quantity of lands that enter tapped in my cube decks before because they have a real cost in this format. And with that understanding in mind, the Tapland MDFCs (the Uncommon/Rare ones) I will be treating as spells when deckbuilding more often than not. I just can’t afford to riddle my 17-land manabase with a ton of lands that have to enter tapped without potentially wrecking a smooth curve-out.

The Mythic MDFCs (or Boltlands) on the other hand, have a lower opportunity cost to get into your final 40. Because they CAN enter the battlefield untapped whenever you need them to (even if that comes at a cost) I’m much more comfortable treating them as part of my core manabase.

Long story short, I’ll be treating the Tapland MDFCs as spells when deckbuilding and the Boltland MDFCs as lands. At least for initial testing until I get a better grasp on exactly how these cards can influence drafting and deckbuilding decisions. And, for what it’s worth, it’s been working out really well this way so far in testing. Boltlands are lands that secretly prevent flooding from costing you games, and Tapped MDFCs are spells that discreetly prevent losing games to mana screw. And I’ve been really happy to have access to both!

How does the land MDFC mechanic compare to cycling?

A lot of comparisons are being made to cycling, and for obvious reasons. Spells with cycling can be cycled away in an attempt to convert them into lands when you need to hit lands. But the cards function differently. Why? Because the spell side of a MDFC can’t be cycled into a different non-land card if that’s what you need, and because cycling a card when digging for a land can miss. In fact, cycling to dig for lands is not as efficient as people seem to think, since you’re statistically more likely to miss when cycling for a land than you are to hit. And that creates the biggest difference for me between the two mechanics.

When I’m cycling a non-land card, I’m doing so for one of only a couple of reasons. Either I currently can’t use the spell and I’m trying to exchange it for another non-land card, or I’m desperately looking for lands because I’m going to miss my land drops and fail to curve out properly. MDFCs can’t really do the former; their spell function is “fixed”, and it can’t be exchanged for a different spell. But to be fair, cycling would only hit you a different non-land card just over half the time anyways, so cycling’s not super reliable in that mode. But in the second mode (which, in my opinion, is the critically important one) cycling can brick. You can spend the available mana for your turn cycling a card away desperately looking for a land …and you can miss. MDFCs can’t. They’re 100% reliable at being lands when you need them to be. So not only are MDFCs better at securing land drops when you need to, but you don’t have to spend your other mana on a blind attempt at hitting that land.

Lastly, since cycling is unreliable at changing itself into either another spell or a land, it’s hard to properly evaluate how cycling might effect the structure of your opening hand. Whereas MDFCs’ unique ability to be both spells and lands 100% of the time allows you to keep hands you might be otherwise forced to mulligan, and you can prepare how your curve might unfold from the jump …increasing your consistency significantly. As much as it’s nice to be able to cycle an imperfect spell away in the late game when it’s not an ideal spell to be holding, it can’t consistently turn an unkeepable opening hand into a keepable one like an MDFC can. This has come up with regularity during testing so far with all the MDFCs, and it’s amazing what having access to a single one of them can do to the landscape of an opening hand. Really impressive.

My gut reaction is that land MDFCs are better than cycling overall. That’s not to say they’re “always” better, or that they’re “strictly” better or anything like that, because they’re obviously not. There are certainly situations where cycling is better. But I think the situations where it’s important to have an MDFC over a cycling card both occur more frequently AND are of significantly higher importance than the instances where cycling is superior. For this reason, where cycling might be a tiebreaker that takes a fringe card from being a miss and makes it good enough to include, an MDFC can take a card that would be completely unjustifiable as a spell and make it worthy of playing in your deck.

How do you quantify the value of an MDFC?

This is a question that will change from one person to the next, and will evolve over time as we develop a better understanding of how the mechanic works and what the real costs wind up being. But for me, there’s a difference between the Mythic Boltland MDFCs and the Tapland MDFCs.

For the Mythic Boltland MDFCs, the opportunity cost is so low to get them into my deck that the quality of the spell can be a lot worse and the card can still be great. I might not be willing to play the spell side at all, and the MDFC can still be awesome because it straight-up replaced a land when deckbuilding. Despite any level of overpayment associated with the spell, it still generates a hell of a lot more value than a basic land would at any point where the spell side is being cast.

Now the Tapland MDFCs are a bit different. Since I’m going to count them as spells, how do I evaluate the additional value that the land side brings? Obviously the spell would not be good enough to make the cut without the land option strapped to the back of it, so how do we determine how much that flexibility is worth? My first goal was to establish a baseline. A “tax” I would be willing to pay in order to have access to the land option. For testing purposes and consistencies’ sake, I set this baseline tax at 1. I asked the question “would I play (or at least test) this spell in my cube if it cost one less mana?”. If the answer was yes, then it passes the baseline “tax” test, and it has some potential to be very good. If the answer was “no”, I wanted to hold off on testing that Tapland MDFC until I saw how the upper-tier, cream-of-the-crop MDFCs (that did pass that test) perform in the cube. From there, I can decide if I need to cast a wider net; potentially expanding that 1 tax to a 2 tax if need-be, and include the next “tier” or “wave” of MDFCs for testing. But I can’t make that decision without being able to accurately measure the value as objectively as possible, which is why I went with the flat one-mana tax to start with.

I erred on the side of optimism with the Mythic Boltland MDFCs. They’re essentially replacing lands, they can enter tapped or untapped, and have bomb ceilings. I’m going to test them all. I erred on the side of caution with the Tapland MDFCs, requiring the spells to pass a 1 tax before adding them into the cube blindly. Once I have more reps under my belt, I can decide if I want to expand the tax and include more MDFCs, or tighten the tax and remove some of the ones I added in for testing.

Nullpriest of Oblivion

An evasive beater with some value reanimation.

What I Like: The baseline of being a 2-power 2-drop with evasion and lifelink is an acceptable rate. Aggro decks are happy to have the body, it’s solid in the aggro mirror, and it provides some extra flood protection since it can be kicked for value when you have access to the mana. 6 mana is too expensive for a dedicated reanimation spell, but the ability to be used for value in addition to potentially setting up some powerful plays is nice. It has the flexibility to be a value creature in a midrange deck, and even some control decks with high enough creature counts might be interested in it. The floor of trading away in combat with one of their attacking creatures and gaining some life is fine there, and the ability to be a 6cc lifelinking creature that brings back a Chupacabra or Solemn or something is great too.

What I Don't Like: 6 mana is a lot. While it is playable in a reanimation deck because it has some backdoor uses as a reanimation effect, it’s not the primary function of the card. Aggro won’t hit the 6 mana very often, and the body is the best in that deck.

Verdict: I like this creature. Playable baseline stats and a powerful kicker that can enable some great value plays. It can also function as a legitimate bomb in some cases too. The black 2cc creature section is getting pretty crowded, but I’d be happy with this at 630+ and would probably test it at 540. Maybe smaller too, if it really floats your playgroup’s boat.

Roil Eruption

A good Volcanic Hammer variant.

What I Like: 3 damage for 2 mana is a good rate. Some cubes play every Incinerate/Hammer variant they can get their hands on. Others only play the instant-speed variants. This is the first time that I’ve really been excited about one of the true sorcery-speed Hammer variants in the cube, because I think Kicker brings a lot to the table. 7 mana is a lot, but the ability to give red decks maindeck outs to 5-toughness creatures is nice, especially when strapped to a completely reasonable baseline. Even in comparison to some of the more fringe 2cc instant-speed burn spells like Magma Jet, I think this is comparable (if not better). I’d be willing to exchange the instant speed for the kicker and the scry for the 3rd consistent point of damage. Even in decks that aren’t engineered to hit 7 mana, flooding does happen sometimes, and the ability to go 5 to the face, kill Baneslayers or blast big loyalty ‘walkers is very nice for red to have access to. Occasionally, cards like Koth and Chandra can provide extra mana to help reach the kicker in decks that would typically have no business tapping 7 mana for a spell.

What I Don't Like: 7 mana is a lot of mana, and a lot of aggressive red decks won’t ever see that when it matters. So if you’re not willing to accept Volcanic Hammer as a floor for your spells, you won’t be happy with what you see from Eruption 9 times out of 10.

Verdict: I like this burn spell. It has a reliable and affordable floor that provides a perfectly acceptable rate. And when you can kick it, it does big damage. This is another card that feels like a slam dunk at 630+, and an easy test at 540. And, as always, if you’re a max Hammer density kind of cube designer, this is a slam-dunk at any size.

Hagra Mauling // Hagra Broodpit

Welcome to Murder Land. Population? My control decks.

What I Like: I had to stretch the definition of the one-mana “tax” a bit to squeeze this test in (I promise, it’s the only one) but a 3cc spell side of this card would offer at least some things that would be unprecedented and perhaps even warrant testing. For example, if this spell cost one less mana, it could conditionally be a 2cc, mono-color Terminate. Which is something we’ve never seen. Now my playgroup has a tendency to TAKE ALL THE LANDS when drafting, and sometimes we wind up with decks that have very few basic lands. I know I’m certainly guilty of this. This spell functioning as a true Murder//Land hybrid card in at least some of the cases interests me enough to make the inclusion for testing. It’s still instant-speed unconditional creature removal, and strapping it to a Tapland option is just so very sweet for my black midrange and control decks. Even though it fails the true one-mana tax test when it’s in it’s 4cc mode, I still think this is the best piece of 4cc removal in black that isn’t strapped to a body or sometimes free. The fact that it can cost 3 mana in some cases is just gravy.

What I Don't Like: The effect is good, but it will always feel fair. Unlike some of the other MDFCs worth exploring, this one isn’t “insanely high ceiling // safe floor” …it’s just all-around solid.

Verdict: This is the Tapland MDFC that is the farthest from consistently passing my self-imposed one-mana tax. The cost reduction will have to come into play in at least some observable cases in order to justify the card permanently. But I thought it warranted testing to see how often that comes up, and also serve as a good measuring stick to see if the one-mana tax evaluation on Tapland MDFCs is accurate or warrants expansion to a two-mana acceptable tax. If this card costs 4 mana every time I play it and it still feels like an amazing card, I’ll have my answer. I would test this at 540 for sure (perhaps even smaller depending on your playgroup’s opinion of MDFCs in general) and include it outright at 630+. If for no other reason than to more objectively measure what MDFCs are worth.

Sea Gate Restoration // Sea Gate, Reborn

The blue Mythic Boltland MDFC.

What I Like: Well, this card is certainly polarizing. Not only in folks’ opinions on it, but also in how it will play. I like the fact that this can be a tapped or untapped land, and therefore have the flexibility to comfortably replace a land when deckbuilding. I also like how there are situations where I can use a card that replaced a land to draw a bunch of cards. There are times I can play this on-curve after a Thran Dynamo to draw like 5 cards. There might be times I can play this post-Time Spiral and draw 6 more cards. Hell, there may even be times where I can cast this card after floating big time mana into an Upheaval and draw like 10+ cards, and keep all 20 cards in my hand after passing the turn because I have no maximum hand size anymore. Storm might enjoy the effect too; often holding spells to unload all at once, those decks have a higher hand count than others, and using some ramp to double my hand, and unload the turn after with like a 10+ cards available sounds really fun. Regardless of whether this ends up only drawing a couple cards or being a Braingeyser, the fact that it starts off its journey replacing a basic land during deckbuilding is the key. No matter how many cards it draws, it’s going to draw a hell of a lot more cards than that Island would have if I never put Sea Gate Restoration into my deck. Being able to search up a land with Mystical Tutor is cool. Being able to pitch a “land” to Force of Will and Force of Negation is even better. But for a more practical analysis, I’m going to crosspost the bit I spelled out in this card’s SCD thread:

Quote from wtwlf123 »

I think the philosophy behind liking this card is the same as that which is applied to a card like Boon of the Wish-Giver. The high ceiling when flooded + safe floor otherwise has some appeal to a lot of folks. The mythic Sea Gate design is that same concept, just dialed up to 11. In the spell mode, Boon is more consistent, and has a higher floor but lower ceiling than Sea Gate Restoration does in its spell mode. The opposite is true for the cycling half of the card. Boon's cycling has a higher ceiling, but a lower floor. With Sea Gate, Reborn you get a land 100% of the time. Which allows you to potentially keep opening hands that you might otherwise need to mulligan, and it guarantees you a blue source when you do it. For me, the consistency of the "islandcycling" mode is more important (especially since it can be Islandcycling: 1 or Islandcycling: Pay 3 life depending on your curve). The value from Boon is far more consistent as a spell, but I'm more willing to do a high-risk/high-reward design on the big mana side, and err on the side of more consistency with the "cycling" mode.

Not every cube will have room for an effect like Boon or Sea Gate, but I think medium- to large-sized cubes that are looking for a modal big draw/safe floor effect can find success with either of these cards, and I prefer this one to Boon for the reasons I just detailed above. Impact on opening 7 security and a true cycling safety net if you need to dig for lands ...those two advantages appeal more to me than the average value of the big-mana side of the card. Again, just my $0.02. I'm not calling this a 360 staple. But I do think this has appeal in a lot of lists, that are looking for a Boon-esque effect. I'm stoked to try it, and expect it to play well, but I understand the issues that small cubes have with making room. Cutting blue cards is painful, and I can't fault anyone for failing to find room.

What I Don't Like: The lack of consistency will hurt the expected value of the spell side of this Boltland MDFC. Situationally having no value or being a 7-mana cantrip is obviously an issue. We’ll have to watch for how often that winds up being the case when the opportunities to cast the card do come up. Ultimately it’s not worth dedicating a slot to it if it never draws cards in its 7cc mode, and therefore is never anything other than a bad land. I aim to playtest this and find out if that winds up being the case or not.

Verdict: This is my least favorite of the Mythic Boltland MDFCs, but due to the really low opportunity cost, I’m still more than happy to give it a shot to prove itself. I would test this at 540 or 630 and see how it does for your group. It might surprise you!

Tangled Florahedron // Tangled Vale

A mana dork MDFC!

What I Like: The effect of this MDFC is significantly more subtle than the other ones, since both sides are similar. They’re both permanents that tap for green mana. But which one is more valuable to you can change a lot as the gamestate changes. Have plenty of extra lands? Play it as a mana dork for the ramp. Going to miss your land drop? Play it as a tapped land (essentially like a free Rampant Growth for a forest if you’d otherwise be missing a land drop anyways) and spend your mana on something else. Need creatures for Cradle and Natural Order? Cast it as a mana dork. Afraid of your mana dorks dying to removal or being swept away by a wrath? Save it for a land. If you can play it as a tapped land and not have it interrupt your mana curve because you have something else to spend your mana on, do it. And so on. As things change, the way your curve out and play your hand changes, and the flexibility of a mana dork or a land rolled up into one card is pretty nice. Green is also saturated with effects that can search for creatures, and as long as this card is in your deck, you can Survival for a land. Mana dork dies? Use Excavator to replay it as a land. You can tutor for a land with Recruiter effects too as long as this is in your deck as a target. There are a lot of subtle uses and synergies that make Florahedron a competitive option.

What I Don't Like: It’s not an impressive mana dork or a good land, so you’re relying a lot on the versatility of it being either one to justify its inclusion in your deck.

Verdict: This one definitely passes the one-mana “tax” test I placed on the Tapland MDFCs, since this is just a Llanowar Elves with a land option. But I think all the small interactions will add up to enough extra value that the Florahedron will turn out to be a solid performer. I would test this out at 540 and include it at 630+ for sure …at least until we can see how the functionality plays out on this particularly subtle and unique design.

Glasspool Mimic // Glasspool Shore

A clone land.

What I Like: Clones have a high ceiling, but generally have a pretty low floor. Historically, clones that can only target your own guys have been pretty poor. That’s largely because you take an already inconsistent effect and make it even less consistent. But the consistency issues are partially addressed by this card, since it can always be used as a land in situations where the spell side is lacking in targets. But the ceiling on a 3-mana clone is really high. Whether copying creatures with ETB triggers or duplicating your bombs, there’s a lot to like about clone effects when they work. This can be as simple as being an extra Eternal Witness and as swingy as being an extra Inferno Titan, and unlike other clones, this can always be a land when the need arises. Tempo decks copying True-Name Nemesis, midrange decks copying Solemns and even control decks using this to randomly copy utility creatures when they don’t need the land …there’s a lot to like about the Mimic.

What I Don't Like: A lot of blue decks have low creature counts, and there’s certainly going to be a lot of times where I’ll have to settle with using it as an extra Tapland in situations where I don’t even really want one because I’m just lacking for clone targets.

Verdict: I like this card and I think it represents a really high ceiling for a card with an acceptable floor. I don’t like clones that can only target my own creatures (especially in blue) but I would certainly consider a cheap self-clone with cycling, since it mitigates a lot of the potential problems with this kind of effect …and we know how I feel about MDFCs vs cycling. This is a card I’m happy to include and comfortable in saying that it’ll be pretty good. I would test this in the 450/540 range, and I think it’s a slam dunk for anything bigger.

Pathway Lands

A new (partial) mana fixing cycle.

What I Like: The list of guild mana-fixing lands that can: A) Provide either color of mana of the turn that they’re played; and B) Never enter the battlefield tapped, is pretty short. There’s only like 4 or 5 others, depending on which guilds you’re looking at. And if you restrict those options to ones that don’t deal damage to you? …the list shrinks to 2. Dual Lands, Fetch Lands, Shock Lands, Horizon Lands, Pain Lands, and now Pathway Lands. That’s it. The way that these lands function in terms of mana fixing is kind of like having a personalized Prismatic Vista just for your guild. It only provides one color for the rest of the game, but it gets whatever color you need most and it never enters the battlefield tapped. These essentially exchange the fetchnald benefits for not taking any damage, but otherwise function pretty similar. They can also be picked up and replayed as the other color if you have cards like Kor Skyfisher or Meloku that can pick up lands for you. Never entering the battlefield tapped is a big deal, as even the fastlands entering tapped when drawn on T4+ can have severe drawbacks; playing that Wrath or Hellrider on curve can be the difference between winning and losing a game. Now where exactly these fit among your playgroup’s lands of choice will vary a lot from one group to another, but they’re definitely good lands and they’re in elite company depending on which qualities found on mana fixing lands are most important to you.

What I Don't Like: Having lands that always enter untapped and never deal damage to you need to come with a cost, however. The Pathway Lands “lock” themselves into one color for the whole game (most of the time). While this may not always be a problem, there are some lines of play that won’t be possible because of this. Being able to play an Inquisition of Kozilek on T1 and hold up Counterspell on T2 won’t be an option with the Pathway Land in the same way that it would be with a Pain Land, since the Pathway Land is “locked” on black to enable that play. Additionally, these lands are a little worse in 3+ color decks, since you fix less total colors with the same number of lands. In an Esper control deck, you can permanently fix all 3 colors of mana with a Plains and an Underground River, but if that Pain Land were the Pathway Land instead, you’d have to pick which color you can fix this game instead of getting all of them. Something else to consider when looking for “tiebreakers” based on your playgroup’s gravitation towards mana-greedy decks. Also, 6/10? What a drag! I want all 10 now.

Verdict: These lands are really good, and should jockey for position with all the other competitive lands available to us as cube managers. For example, I will be playing all 6 (and eventually all 10) of these at 720, and feel confident about their performance. As the cube size shrinks, some of them might be squeezed out based on each guild’s head-to-head land options. At 630, I’d be playing most of these. At 540, I’d probably test at least part of the set. Hell, depending on how highly you value these lands, they could be playable in some of the color combinations all the way down into 450. There’s even a situation where a 360-card cube running 4 land cycles might want 1-2 of these lands once the whole cycle of 10 is available. Ultimately I think they’re comparable to Pain Lands in terms of their design, and I like them more than the Fast Lands personally. Since there’s such a huge range of playability and a ton of different configurations they could fall into, I organized them somewhere close to the middle of my article. There’s something for everyone with these, I think, and they warrant a lot of testing.

Jace, Mirror Mage

A very solid 3cc planeswalker …with kicker!

What I Like: The easiest comparison is Jace Beleren. It’s a card most cubers are familiar with, and it’s a basic design. Compared to the 3cc mode, I like this new Jace’s {+} ability more, since it doesn’t concede cards to the opponent and can have a big impact on the quality of your draws. The {-} ability is similar, but better on the original Jace by a small margin. Mirror Jace’s draw ability is higher risk, higher reward. On average, it’ll die on it’s 3rd activation since the ACMC of cards in most decks is somewhere around 1.5. It runs the risk of spiking a 4+cc card if you blind draw, and killing himself …but it also has the potential to draw a bunch more cards if you get lucky and hit lots of blind lands. The only reason the nod goes to Beleren on the {-} draw effect is because Mirror has to reveal the draw, which is the slightest of bummers. In reality, you’ll cycle back and forth between scrying and drawing, and because there’s less “blind” drawing occurring, Mirror should average more card advantage over the long run than Beleren does, and draw the same amount of cards even if blind drawing. So it’s the same as Jace Beleren then, right? Oh ya, Mirror Jace has KICKER. And that kicker makes another copy of itself that starts at {1} loyalty. At the very worst, you can treat this kicker as “draw a card” …since you can always just blind draw with the copy and it will die off if you hit a non-land card. But the ceiling of the kicker is so much higher than that. Spike lands and draw multiple cards off the 2-mana kicker? Sign me up. Use the copy to {+} and scry so the bigger Jace can {-} draw with impunity? Sounds good to me. Man, 2 value planeswalkers for 5 mana is going to be a serious headache for the opponent, and you can search deep and generate a lot of card advantage with that combination of abilities available.

What I Don't Like: This Jace has a lower floor than Beleren does, since you might play it for 3 mana, blind draw, spike a Wrath or whatever and kill of Mirror Man. And that’ll be a bummer. And sometimes random value engine cards that are just card selection/draw that don’t impact the board end up being 24th cards because the deck needs more board interaction. And I’m going to miss Jace Beleren’s cute {+} interaction with Notion Thief. But those are minor nitpicks on an overall awesome ‘walker design.

Verdict: I love Jace Beleren and I’ve been cubing the OG version since my cube’s inception. I think it’s a great card …and as much as it pains me to say it, this Jace is simply better. A swap I would recommend if you still run OG Jace. But even if you don’t, this card is worth finding a cut for. It does a lot of card selection and card advantage shenanigans, and has kicker that can make a 2nd ‘walker. A solid inclusion at 540, and likely even worth a test at 450 or so.

Nighthawk Scavenger

A combination of Vampire Nighthawk and …power creep.

What I Like: Vampire Nighthawk was edged out of my cube not that long ago for being ever-so-slightly too inefficient (particularly on the aggressive side) to warrant inclusion. Well, those issues are fixed now. Since tracking, the average number of card types in a single player’s graveyard has been 2.6 on T4 (the turn Scavenger can attack for the 1st time). Occasionally only having a single card, and rarely being completely empty. That means that Scavenger should be able to attack as a 3- or 4-power creature with flying and lifelink with its first attack, for 3 mana. Which is obviously great. Decent power + evasion is good for aggro, the deathtough securing value is good for midrange, and the 3-toughness lifelinking body is good for control. Never a card that will be amazing in any deck, but it will always play solidly in everything. I mean, any card that has the Magical Christmasland ceiling of being a 9-power flying, lifelink, deathtouch creature for 3 mana is worth exploring, right?

What I Don't Like: There will always be some consistency issues with these kinds of creatures, and randomly being shrunk by opposing Delve effects and the like will be a small bummer. And while this card will always play respectably, it doesn’t have a specific archetype that it contributes to in a meaningful way. It’s just a …good card, which is more or less unexciting, despite being perfectly competitive.

Verdict: If you play the OG Nighthawk still, you have an easy swap. Otherwise, you’ll have to find something else to remove for it. I would be interested in cubing this creature at 450 for sure, and it might warrant testing even in smaller cubes too.

Luminarch Aspirant

A nice, flexible aggro beater.

What I Like: This creature can be a lot of different things. It can be an oversized beater; play it precombat on the turn it’s cast, and it can attack as a 3/3 on its own the turn after. It can also be used with pseudo “haste” by putting the +1/+1 counters on your other creatures in your team, adding immediate pressure and potentially unlocking attacks that would’ve otherwise been unavailable. It can even be used for value, adding counters to your Hangarback Walkers or resetting your Persist triggers. It’s extremely efficient as an aggro beater, grows out of control as the game goes on, bolsters your team, and never stops.

What I Don't Like: There’s nothing I really dislike about this creature, other than maybe a potential weakness to bounce and flicker effects resetting its counters in a way that doesn’t happen to other “fixed” oversized beaters. But that’s not really a big deal. It would’ve been cool if it was a Warrior instead of a Cleric maybe? Again, nitpicks. Creature’s real good.

Verdict: This is one of the most efficient 2cc beatdown creatures we’ve really ever seen. I would be super comfortable including this in pretty much every 450+ card cube, and it probably warrants testing all the way down into 360 as well.

Jwari Disruption // Jwari Ruins

An MDFC Force Spike!

What I Like: I like Censor just fine, and exchanging the ability to cycle it away late for the ability to have guaranteed access to an additional land and improving the keepability of my opening hands is more than worth it. It’s a playable early counterspell that can also be a land when I need it to be. I love this design. Simple, efficient, and valuable. And also tutorable by Spellseeker since it has a CMC of 2.

What I Don't Like: Cycling can be nice to have in the ultra-late game when both players are in topdeck mode, and both sides of this card are better in the early- and mid-game. I think the card is better as an MDFC than it would be with cycling, but there are some windows where it would be nice to be able to pitch this.

Verdict: I like this card quite a bit more than Censor, and Censor is a good Magic card. I expect this spell to impress, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it winds up as a common inclusion at 450+ card cubes. Testable in smaller lists too, if your playgroup is excited by the prospect of MDFCs in general.

Bala Ged Recovery // Bala Ged Sanctuary

An MDFC version of Regrowth.

What I Like: I’m a fan of Regrowth in the cube, but there are times in the early- and mid-game where the graveyard is small, and you’re lacking for great targets to get back. In those situations, the ability for this card to double as a land when you need it is an amazing upside. Regrowth effects are often “splash” effects in largely non-green decks, and I like this card’s ability to be used as a Regrowth when I already have my green source, or be a source of green mana to enable another splashed green card when that situation might arise.

What I Don't Like: One of the nice things about the original Regrowth is the super-cheap mana cost. It makes it slightly harder to double-spell on a Regrowth turn when the base effect costs 3 mana instead of 2.

Verdict: I like this card a lot, and I think it’s comparable with the best Regrowth effects we have available. I’d rank this card higher in my list for powered cubes, where the ceiling of Regrowth effects is pushed by access to Recall, Walk and other monster cards. In an unpowered cube I would rate it a little lower. Either way, I think that 450 is a good base size for considering this card. Again, maybe slightly higher (worth testing at 360 maybe) if powered, and slightly lower (could fall to the 540+ range) if unpowered. Either way, I expect it to be a solid performer.

Skyclave Shade

A new Bloodghast variant.

What I Like: While not exactly Bloodghast, this card is really cool. It has a splashable mana cost and 3 base power. It also has kicker, so it can be played as a 3-power 2-drop or a 5-power 5-drop from either your hand or from your graveyard with a landfall trigger. This contributes to black aggro in a huge way, and is also a great inclusion for sacrifice/aristocrats themed archetype decks too. And a blast with Skullclamp, since you’re bound to draw additional lands you can use to chain it back onto the battlefield.

What I Don't Like: Man, if this creature could block it would be the most amazingly versatile creature we’d seen in a long time. Unfortunately, this is relegated to aggressively-leaning decks due to the no block clause.

Verdict: This is a really flexible aggressive creature. Shoehorning an aggressive 5cc play into an aggro deck is really nice in case of flooding, and this can be played in both modes …from both zones. I think this card warrants testing in even the smallest of lists, and is an easy include at 450+ for sure. Unless you don’t support black aggro or a recursive strategy in black, this should find a home pretty comfortably.

Kazandu Mammoth // Kazandu Valley

A 3cc beater MDFC.

What I Like: When I think about the kinds of creatures I want in my aggressive green midrange deck …the ones that play the mana dorks into oversized threats… this is exactly the kind of design I want. If you have a hand with plenty of lands, run this out on T2 after a mana dork and start bashing for 5 on subsequent turns. Short on lands, and need to ensure you can get that 4- or 5-cc ‘walker to the board on the following turn? You can play the Mammoth as a land. It can also be used with Fetch Lands to bash for 7, and can increase your density of keepable opening hands when those kinds of plays aren’t available. At its very worst, it’s still a 3-mana 3/3 that can trump all the Lions, Pikers and Bears in the cube on both offense and defense, and increases the quality of all your topdecks by allowing your lands to unlock a 5/5 attacker. Great in aggro-Loam style decks too, where it can be a beater when you have lands to trigger landfall afterwards, or it can be played as a land to trigger all your other landfall cards you have out. Fantastic design.

What I Don't Like: This creature is “Trample” away from being a stone-cold cube staple for eternity.

Verdict: I like this creature a lot. I’m not big on the mana dork -> oversized attacking monsters green deck, but these kinds of cards make me want to explore that strategy more. I think this is a pretty safe inclusion at 450 as just a good card, and may be worth testing even at 360 if that attacking green mana dork deck is your jam.

Bloodchief's Thirst

A super flexible removal spell.

What I Like: The most obvious comparison to this spell is Fatal Push, since both of them kill cheap creatures for 1 mana. Push is an instant, and can also sometimes kill medium-sized creatures. Thirst downgrades to sorcery-speed, but gains the ability to hit planeswalkers (which admittedly only snags a few extra targets, but it’s nice to clear a W&6, flipped JVP or a flipped Kytheon for one mana when the need arises). More importantly, Thirst has kicker, and when kicked, it can kill any creature or any planeswalker of any size. The versatility of being a Push variant in the early game and a Contempt variant once you have 4-mana available is just so good. This is probably my favorite removal spell that you have to spend black mana on. The ability to kick it up in the late game and kill anything you want (creatures and ‘walkers alike) makes it better than the other 1cc removal options available, and the ability to play it as a 1-mana removal spell in the early game is a better upside than any of the ones found on the 4cc removal spells too.

What I Don't Like: I guess I could wish for instant speed or a kicker of 2-mana instead of 3 or something ridiculous, but that’s just not gonna happen. As is, this is arguably the most flexible removal spell black has at its disposal in the cube.

Verdict: I would test this at 360. I like it more than any of the Terror variants, and I also think it’s the best black 1cc removal spell option you have to spend black mana on. Outside of the removal spells that generate card advantage (like Murderous Rider and Ravenous Chupacabra) and the spells that are either colorless or free (Dismember & Snuff Out) …this might be black’s best targeted removal spell in a format like the cube where flexibility is often key.

Turntimber Symbiosis // Turntimber, Serpentine Wood

The green Mythic Boltland MDFC.

What I Like: Well, going back to how I was originally valuing Boltland MDFCs, you know that I’m pretty comfortable considering them lands with upsides, since they can enter untapped when it’s critical to do so. As a free inclusion in a green deck, Turntimber will feel right at home. It’s a land when you need it to be, and a card you can spend your ramp mana on in other situations. 7 cards looks pretty deep, and your odds of hitting are very good. Even in a deck with 12 creatures in it, you have more than a 70% chance of hitting multiple creatures to choose from. If you find a medium-costed higher impact creature, great. And if you hit a small creature, Turntimber adds 3 +1/+1 counters to the target to make the investment feel more “worth” the 7 mana (even though it’s a “free” hit anyways, since it replaced a land and all). But the ceiling on Turntimber goes up from there. I can drop big, giant monsters with this card, and if you have 4 7+cc monster “hits” in your deck, you’re actually more likely to hit one than to miss one with this spell (~56%), making it a relatively consistent conduit for ramp decks to drop giant monsters like Emrakuls and Blightsteels and the like. It’s on theme for what a lot of green decks are doing, so 7 mana is far from insurmountable for green, and there’s a really good chance that you get a meaningful result from this spell. And, of course, the inclusion in your deck has a very low cost, so it’s well worth it.

What I Don't Like: This card can whiff. And not just “hitting a 4/4 Llanowar Elves” kind of missing …it can miss completely. In the same 12-creature deck I outlined above, yes, you have a 70+% chance of hitting 2+ creatures and getting to pick one, but you also have a ~5% chance of hitting complete air and getting nothing for your 7 mana. This will be exceptionally rare, of course, but folks that have played D20 games before certainly know how often critical failure rolls of 1 can occur, and it’s just about the same odds here. While intellectually I know that the 7-mana investment “spinning the wheel” had a super low opportunity cost because it would’ve just been a forest anyways …it doesn’t change the fact that this will hurt my feelings when I spend 7 mana and reveal 0 creatures with it. It’s also worth noting that there are some decks that won’t benefit much from this. Unlike a lot of the other Boltland MDFCs, this card can be a poor inclusion in creatureless Storm decks and the like. It’s only a free inclusion if your deck is willing to play the spell side when you have the mana. I also play a lot of green aggro & tempo decks too, where the expected rate of return is much lower than it is for green midrange, ramp or even control.

Verdict: This is testable at 360 and I would expect it to stick around there. It’s perfectly in line with what green’s doing a lot of the time anyways, and it never hurts to shoehorn in extra ways to get giant monsters to the table. Card’s great, and I expect it to play well in our format.

Emeria's Call // Emeria, Shattered Skyclave

The white Mythic Boltland MDFC.

What I Like: Similarly to the green one, this is a tapped land, and untapped land, or a way to dump 7 mana into a creature-based threat. What I like more about the white one is that while the ceiling is lower (it can’t put Emrakuls into play) the floor is higher (it can’t whiff). And in fact, if I had to guess, I would wager that the expected rate of return is ever-so-slightly higher on Emeria than it is on Turntimber, since 8 power worth of flying angels and two turns worth of mass indestructibility is probably better than a random creature. I also like how well this plays into Moat shells, and how it can sneak extra win conditions into threat-light control decks. And white is full of lifelinking bodies to offset the Boltland’s drawback when that’s relevant. It’s true that reaching 7 mana is less “on-point” for white than it is for green, I think it can be a big advantage to be able to surprise the opponent with an effect they just didn’t expect to see. Tapping a bunch of green mana and winding up with a big monster is exactly what the opponent expects to see from the green deck. Tapping 7 mana to wind up with 8 power worth of flying bodies is the last thing the opponent expects to see out of a lower-to-the-ground white deck. And that can have its advantages. When the opponent figures your white agggro deck is flooding too hard to recover, you can cast Emeria and turn the tides. Of all the expensive fixed-cost Boltland MDFCs, Emeria’s effect is the most consistent. It’s not contingent upon hand size to determine how many cards are drawn, and it’s not dependent on being in a creature-heavy deck to maximize its efficiency.

What I Don't Like: 7 mana is a lot for most white decks, so the added consistency of the effect is offset by the frequency in which it will be cast.

Verdict: This card is legitimately great, and warrants extensive testing, even in the smallest of cubes. I would play this at 360 and feel pretty confidant about how well it can perform over time.

Thieving Skydiver

An artifact stealing blue creature.

What I Like: This card is great. Admittedly better for powered cubes than unpowered ones, but in any cube with a reasonable saturation of artifacts it’s going to play great. It’s important to keep in mind that while X cannot be 0 on the kicker, you can still play it unkicked. So if the curve demands a Stormfront Pegasus (or the opponent’s deck is just empty on targets) you can play one. But the ceiling of playing this at 3 mana, getting a 2-power flying creature and stealing a Mox, Sol Ring, Mana Vault, Mana Crypt or the like is just insanely good. And even the middle case of casting this with a kicker of 2 and stealing a Signet is still way above par. It’s an evasive 2-power creature that’s worth a card on its own, and when you steal a card, that’s essentially +2 card advantage, making any play where you take an artifact essentially a 3-for-1. And the fun starts at 3 mana for that. It’s always splashable, can be tutored by all the Recruiters and stuff, and is just a slam dunk into pretty much any blue deck. But ceilings aren’t just limited to the broken artifact mana either …stealing equipment with this thing is where it’s at. Taking a Sword from the opponent and attaching it to the Skydiver is amazing. And let’s not even mention Grafted Wargear, where you’ll kill their creature it gets unattached from, take their equipment, give it to you, and put a 5-power flying creature on the board. That’s a sick 4-for-1. And keep in mind, the theft is permanent. So If you can bounce this back to your hand and replay it, you can take something else next time, and hold onto that one too.

What I Don't Like: Man, if X could only be 0…

Verdict: While admittedly better for powered cubes than unpowered ones, I still think this card is going to be awesome everywhere. It might be a powered 360 staple. And even in unpowered cubes, it’s very likely worth testing even at 360 as long as there’s rocks and Swords to steal. This card is nuts.

Agadeem's Awakening // Agadeem, the Undercrypt

The black Mythic Boltland MDFC.

What I Like: Ok, what separates this one from the other three Mythic Boltland MDFCs we’ve discussed so far is the modality of the spell side. While certainly intended to be best used as a big, splashy Xcc spell, it can be a perfectly serviceable spell at 4- or 5-mana if you have a critical small creature target to get back from the ‘yard. Maybe you lost a Goblin Welder that you really want back, or your black aggro deck just really wants that Dark Confidant back. As a spell that replaced a Swamp, Agadeem’s Awakening unlocks plays that would otherwise be unavailable, even if they’re not the most mana efficient. But once you start being able to spend some real mana on the spell, it becomes plain absurd. Spending 7 mana on this thing might return 2-3 creatures in the range of Chupacabras, Revokers and Ophiomancers. Which is obviously great. But the fun doesn’t stop there, some of the Magical Christmasland scenarios with this card are just stupid good, reverse-podding your graveyard onto the battlefield from your Mother of Runes all the way up to your Wurmcoil Engine once you have access to some big time mana to spend. That secretly makes this one of the best Golgari Rock spells that we’ve seen in a long time. And, as always, this started the game as a Swamp, remember? Thanks Mythic Boltland MDFCs!

What I Don't Like: This needs to go into a deck with some creatures in it to be useable, and the higher and more diversified the creature count is, the higher the ceiling can get. In a creature-heavy midrange deck this can be a 7-mana 4-for-1 that brings back 4 bodies and gives you massive card advantage and you can completely rebuild your board from nothing. But not every deck can do this. In a creature-light control deck, this might not give you many options besides being a 7-mana Solemn or Sower of Temptation or something. Which, don’t get me wrong, is still preferable to not having access to this card at all, but it is ever-so-slightly less impressive.

Verdict: The combination of flexibility, ceiling and utility is unprecedented. This can range from getting back an aggro creature or two after the opponent wraths, to bringing back an entire 3-creature combo arrangement all on its own, to being cast for serious end-game mana and being some sort of legendary 6-for-1 that assembles an entire army on its own. This belongs in at 360 unless you don’t play black mana in decks that have creatures in them.

Shatterskull Smashing // Shatterskull, the Hammer Pass

The red Mythic Boltland MDFC.

What I Like: I think, now I’m not 100% positive, but I think, this is the single most flexible Magic card I’ve ever evaluated. It’s a tapped land, it’s an untapped land, and it’s a playable spell at every spot in the curve from the 3-mana slot all the way up to being an 8+ mana bomb. While the lower values won’t kill a ton of ‘walkers, it can be added onto combat damage to ensure they get killed off. But at 3-mana, I can kill any 1-toughness creature in the cube, which includes every Lion or Piker out there, but also has a range of premium targets like Rofellos’ and Confidants and stuff too. At 4 mana, you can expand your list to include all Bears and premium 2-toughness targets (or kill 2 targets in the 3-mana target pool). At 5 mana, you can kill all the Beasts and premium 3-toughness targets, or you can kill a target from each of the 3-mana and 4-mana target pools. 6 mana can kill 4-toughness targets, or 2 Bears, or a 3-mana target and a 1-mana target, and starts to add a meaningful amount of damage into ‘walker killing combat and range. This is the second red spell in this set that can be snuck into red decks and can allow you to spend 7 mana to kill a Baneslayer. This scales up from there, etc. etc. and becomes quite the valuable removal spell, since it replaced a Mountain and all. However, once you start talking about big-time mana, when X=6 or more, it doubles. So for 8 mana you get 12 dividable damage. Few red burn spells have a ceiling of killing off two Titans, or a Baneslayer and a Karn. Good stuff. This is my favorite MDFC because it’s the most versatile. As long as your opponent is playing with creatures and planeswalkers, this won’t ever be a dead card. And, as always, this can be a land of whatever type is critical at the time it’s played. As inefficient as it seems to be paying 3 mana to deal a damage …how many Rofellos’ are you able to kill with that Mountain that this would’ve otherwise been? How many times can you tap out in a ramp deck and deal 12+ dividable damage with that basic land you almost played instead of this? This kind of flexibility is insane, and it’s not even predicated on what kind of deck you’re playing. If your deck makes red mana, this goes into it. And that’s the end of the discussion.

What I Don't Like: I have no legitimate complaints about this card. A splashable casting cost? The ability to divide between any number of targets? I mean, this doesn’t need any kind of boost to be beyond great, so I feel bad asking, lol.

Verdict: I’m trying to think of a scenario where this isn’t one of the first red cards I elect to include into any red section I’m sculpting, and can’t really see any. This is a surefire auto-include even at 360, as far as I’m concerned.