Hoo boy, I should pay closer attention to the commander sets. Here we're looking at an ACS of sacrificing your 2-drop to get rid of an X/4 blocker, swinging for 2, and threatening 6+ damage on the following turn. That's already unprecedented for 2R, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. The card doubles as burn for aggro decks, acts as removal for artifact decks, performs OTKs in Sneak decks. And this with Greater Gargadon? Total blowout. The only complaint would be its weakness post-Wrath, but I don't consider that much of a knock on a 3-cost card. I definitely should have been cubing the Bombardiers this past month.
My two cents on Sulfuric Vortex: Only about 10-15% of decks are willing to maindeck it, and in those decks it's about the 3rd-5th best card. Still a great card to board in against control, but it's not a high priority pick for me. Not an unreasonable cut.
I think it comes down to how much you want to support 3+ color decks. If I'm only playing 2 colors, I wouldn't touch this card with a 10-ft pole. The upside of being attached to a severely overcosted W creature is practically nonexistent.
I think the strength of Gix's Command in Standard is giving Bx decks a maindeckable tool against go-wide strategies, which they would otherwise struggle with. In cube, the card is a lot less maindeckable, as the non-sweeping modes are too overcosted. In addition, go-wide strategies are likely less threatening in a cube environment, at least relative to the power level of other cube archetypes. Gix's Command really needed to be an instant to be worth considering for cube, and even then the card might still be too expensive.
Has this stuck around for anyone? Im looking for an aggressive, beefy, green 3 drops ideally with value and this seems to fit that perfectly, but I dont see it in many lists. Ive found that t1 elf -> t2 goblin rabblemaster has been a consistently strong play, and Im looking for more green cards to fill that role. As it stands, caldaia guardian is really the only aggressive green 3 drop I see played, and even that only leaves 2 power on board, so its not at its best on t2. Has this worked well for anyone or does it not play out well? Another cards Im looking at is Briarbridge Tracker, if anyone has thoughts on that as an alternative.
Bloated Contaminator might be the card you're looking for. Beats over pretty much everything at or below its MV, and the proliferate can be relevant when paired with Experiment One types or planeswalkers.
This is two sets in a row now where I judged a set by its plane and ended up being wrong. But this time around, I was pleasantly surprised instead of disappointed. I can't wait to cube with the new cards.
If Bone Shards has taught me anything, it's that it's a supplemental discard outlet since it requires your opponent to have a creature and that those are not substitutes for dedicated discard outlets. I'd much rather have Collective Brutality in any reanimator / Recurring Nightmare shell since I can always target my opponent on turn 2, is modal, and clears the way for removal / counters. As far as like for like swaps goes, I'd much rather swap a dedicated removal for this than a dedicated discard outlet.
Aaaannd now I'm second guessing myself. There's going to be a cut somewhere, it's just a matter of what
Krenko 2.0. Unlike Krenko, you can't make more tokens by simply attaching equipment. But in return, Anim Pakal can trigger the turn she comes down, and more importantly, her tokens come in tapped and attacking. Rabblemasters are still as effective as ever at beating down, and Anim Pakal is the most dangerous one to date. has so many good options nowadays, but I will still gladly make room for a pure aggro card in these colors.
Infernal Grasp+ would have been great already, but throw in the option to discard and Bitter Triumph becomes a windmill slam. I'm thrilled that I can swap this in for Collective Brutality without fretting over losing discard outlets.
I'm perturbed that basically got a powercrept Hissing Quagmire as their manland. It's undoubtedly one of the stronger manlands despite being overshadowed by Creeping Tar Pit, so the only question is whether you're willing to run multiple manlands of the same color.
The body of a Cemetery Prowler with a more splashable mana cost is a promising place to start. The Map tokens are almost certainly not as good as Prowler's graveyard hate and cost reduction, but in Green alone they're quite powerful with the likes of Courser of Kruphix and its ilk. I feel like there are mostly middling options for Green at 3 MV, and I think Sentinel of the Nameless City will ultimately be another member of that lot. But it has enough interesting synergies (like being a Warrior!) that I'm willing to include it over its competition.
A 1 mana discard outlet is intriguing, but requiring a creature to equip to kills the card on that front. And if we set the discard applications aside, all you're doing is turning cards in your hand into free Unholy Strengths, which doesn't feel very impactful. Having the option to pay mana to equip is a huge step up from its predecessor, but that cost is way too steep for cube.
Oof, another 2-power manland for . Still, the extra toughness, menace, and the sweet rummage ability put it head and shoulders above Lavaclaw Reaches. Maybe now I'll finally stop receiving manlands P15 .
My two cents on Sulfuric Vortex: Only about 10-15% of decks are willing to maindeck it, and in those decks it's about the 3rd-5th best card. Still a great card to board in against control, but it's not a high priority pick for me. Not an unreasonable cut.
Bloated Contaminator might be the card you're looking for. Beats over pretty much everything at or below its MV, and the proliferate can be relevant when paired with Experiment One types or planeswalkers.
Get Lost
Malcolm, Alluring Scoundrel
Bitter Triumph
Sentinel of the Nameless City
Molten Collapse
Anim Pakal, Thousandth Moon
Restless Anchorage
Restless Reef
Restless Vents
Testing:
Sanguine Evangelist
Confounding Riddle
Restless Prairie
Matzalantli, the Great Door
Watching:
Deep-Cavern Bat
Cenote Scout
Restless Ridgeline
This is two sets in a row now where I judged a set by its plane and ended up being wrong. But this time around, I was pleasantly surprised instead of disappointed. I can't wait to cube with the new cards.
Aaaannd now I'm second guessing myself. There's going to be a cut somewhere, it's just a matter of what
Krenko 2.0. Unlike Krenko, you can't make more tokens by simply attaching equipment. But in return, Anim Pakal can trigger the turn she comes down, and more importantly, her tokens come in tapped and attacking. Rabblemasters are still as effective as ever at beating down, and Anim Pakal is the most dangerous one to date. has so many good options nowadays, but I will still gladly make room for a pure aggro card in these colors.