Also happy to see the changes! I rigorously followed your cube updates back when you had 450 list for inspiration, but once you upgraded to 720 it became pretty pointless since I maintain a 360 cube.
I haven't had the chance to try out the cards yet but to me, most of these cards seems absurdly good and helps to combat one of magics main problem: mana screws or flooding. This mechanic could very well be the best thing that's been added to MtG. Even if the cards themselves are slightly underpowered compared to corresponding cards without the land ability, they should IMO be an auto-include in unpowered cubes. Here are the benefits, as I see it:
* You essentially play more spells in your deck with low to no downsides (for aggro decks this might be different, since they generally want lands untapped early on reliably)
* They reduce the number of games that are decided by mana-scew since they can act as additional basic lands
* They reduce the number of games that are decided by flooding since they can act as additional spells
My philosophy of cube'ing is to have fair games where skill is rewarded more than chance. Of course there will always be an element of randomness in MtG, and it's also part of the fun, however losing due to mana-scews or mana-flood just isn't fun.
The main downside of the cards is it's slightly inconvenient to keep flipping the cards back and forth from the sleeves.
I'll report back when I've had the chance to try them.
My main issue with cubing, or just magic in general (reason why I don't play competitive anymore) is losing games simply because of mana issues (specifically when you're stuck on 2 - 3 lands).
These cards that can play as either land or spell, seem like a very good way to combat this issue. For that reason, even though the spells themselves might not be the most powerful, it feels like I should auto include almost all, if not all, of them for this reason. My only concern really is that it's bit of a hassle to keep switching the modes with paper cards...
Thoughts?
Edit: Also these spell/land cards doesn't need to take up a spell slot in the deck, rather they can replace a land, which makes building decks more interesting.
Thank for the review as always. For me though it was a very disappointing set. Don't like the companion mechanic, mutate or just the flavor of the cards in general. The first set in a long time where I probably wont be adding any cards (450 cube).
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I'm not adding any cards at all to my 400 unpowered cube. I think this set was lackluster for cube.
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Maybe try to find room for Angel of Mercy?
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I won't add any cards to my 360 list.
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https://www.twitch.tv/videos/806657087 4h 06m
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* You essentially play more spells in your deck with low to no downsides (for aggro decks this might be different, since they generally want lands untapped early on reliably)
* They reduce the number of games that are decided by mana-scew since they can act as additional basic lands
* They reduce the number of games that are decided by flooding since they can act as additional spells
My philosophy of cube'ing is to have fair games where skill is rewarded more than chance. Of course there will always be an element of randomness in MtG, and it's also part of the fun, however losing due to mana-scews or mana-flood just isn't fun.
The main downside of the cards is it's slightly inconvenient to keep flipping the cards back and forth from the sleeves.
I'll report back when I've had the chance to try them.
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These cards that can play as either land or spell, seem like a very good way to combat this issue. For that reason, even though the spells themselves might not be the most powerful, it feels like I should auto include almost all, if not all, of them for this reason. My only concern really is that it's bit of a hassle to keep switching the modes with paper cards...
Thoughts?
Edit: Also these spell/land cards doesn't need to take up a spell slot in the deck, rather they can replace a land, which makes building decks more interesting.
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