Not as impactful as NEO, but ended up being a little better set than I expected. I would point out that if you happen to run Power Word Kill it is worth re-evaluating if you add a fair number of cards from SNC - there are a lot of demons/devils/angels.
Changes I will Test Ancestral Blade > Citizen's Crowbar: More mana intensive, but the flexibility of destroying an enchantment/artifact is a big deal in my cube. Ainok Bond-Kin > Inspiring Overseer: Just good. Power creep is real. Militia Bugler > Rumor Gatherer: Fits into white/X weenie well. 2/1 body is underwhelming sadly. Otherworldly Journey > Patch Up: I think it is worth it to bring reanimation into a second color. Black will always have better options, but there a lot of W/X decks that would like to bring back a key support creature after a sweeper.
Tireless Provisioner > Jewel Thief: I want to see how this plays out. Tireless Provisoner is best when you can quickly ramp - otherwise, it is pretty underwelming. Jewel Thief has a much lower ceiling, but immediately ramps, carries equipment/counters better, and wants to pressure your opponent.
Other Good Stuff Raffine's Informant: A bit of a filler card. Mage's Attendant: I do not have room and I am not sure how often the Mana Tithe effect will be relevant. A Little Chat: A good Altar's Reap variant, but U/X sacrifice is not really a thing in my cube. Sticky Fingers: Does a lot, but auras have a high barrier for inclusion.
Jewel Thief : A 3/3 trample/vigilance creature for 3 that also makes a treasure seems pretty solid. Does not really fit any of my cube themes, but seems really pushed. Surprised this is not a 4 mana creature.
Patch Up: This seems good in W/X weenie. Not as good as Call of the Death-Dweller, but multiple creature reanimation is an effect we do not often see out of black.
Mayhem Patrol: Another good value card. 2/2 menace for 2 is good statline and the blitz will often be two to the opponent and a new card.
Also, Caldaia Strongarm, which got spoiled today, is kind of interesting if you support +1/+1 counters matters in GW and/or Fires in RG. At 4G, it compares really poorly to something like Ridgescale Tusker and other green fatties. But, being able to Blitz this out with haste for 4 mana, buff up a 2-3 drop, and then draw a card seems like it could be good enough. Curious what everyone else here thinks.
I like the flexibility and I think there will be situations where the Blitz will be a blowout. However, the high mana cost means there will be a lot of times where the blitz will be easily blocked and spending 5 on a vanilla 2/3 that pumps one creature or a single 4/5 is pretty underwhelming.
Witty Jokester (name might not be 100% right) seems pretty good. Impact tremors on a 3/2 creature for 3 fits R/X tokens.
Destruction Demon is an interesting reanimation/blink target. 7 mana is a bit rough and I like Archfiend of Sorrows a bit better because of the evasion.
Fatal Grudge as an Innocent Blood that draws a card and sometimes instead hits enchantments, artifacts, or planeswalkers is kind of neat.
Exotic Pets: Probably not good enough, but if you have enough +1/+1 counters in your cube, the potential for two unblockable 2/2s at instant speed for three mana is not a bad rate.
I don't think it works that way. I believe you'd only get to put a +1/+1 on a single one of the fish.
Sorry - you are correct. I missed the "either" in the text. Will fix.
Yes, but is it better than Twinblade Geist? The ability to loot and potentially put a +1/+1 counter on a double-striker is great, but I'm not super well set up to support a Heroic archetype in my cube. I do have an aura/enchantment subtheme in white though, and besides, Twinblade Invocation (the flip-side of Twinblade Geist), can be good on it's own).
I prefer Twinblade Geist as well - Heroic is not really supported in my cube. However, I know some others in the forum do not like double-sided cards and Illuminator Virtuoso may have more upside than Kor Blademaster.
A Little Chat: As everyone has pointed out, this is a solid card that allows you to cast without a creature, unlike Altar's Reap and friends. Sacrifice is not something I support in blue, so it feels a little awkward to include.
Rumor Gatherer: The effect is great and fits my cube's go wide theme. The 2/1 body is extremely fragile.
Mage's Attendant: Sort of Sandsteppe Outcast where you get slightly worse versions of both modes. The activation cost of the token makes the tax symmetrical (arguably worse for you unless you know your opponents hand), but it is a pretty unique effect.
Metropolis Angel: Interesting payoff for counters and a support card for U/W fliers. 1 toughness for the mana cost is a limitation.
Exotic Pets: Probably not good enough, but if you have enough +1/+1 counters in your cube, the potential for two unblockable 2/2s at instant speed for three mana is not a bad rate.
Arcfire Discharger
{1}
Artifact - Equipment
Equipped creature has "{1}: This creature deals 1 damage to target creature blocking."
Equip {1}
This is crazy with any creature with deathtouch.
Just want to point out that the translations I saw restricted damage only to creatures blocking the equipped creature, not all blocking creatures. Seems a bit narrow.
Of the listed red sweepers, I run two Pyroclasm and Fast // Furious. I dropped Slice and Dice for Fast//Furious since it can be a red divination in aggro decks.
I am also testing Seismic Wave. The fact it only hits your opponent's creatures makes it easier to run in aggro and token (like Young Pyromancer) decks.
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My opinion on the cards you listed Vannatar:
Roaring Earth - Currently testing. It is a bit underpowered, but fits the counter theme I have in my cube as well. I like that it is not a dead draw late game as you can always channel it. Also, turns Herd Baloth into a Rampaging Baloths.
Song of Freyalise - Situationally very good. When used early, you can more quickly empty your hand and then pump for a large attack. Unfortunately, it can be a pretty weak top deck and the mass attack is broadcasted, so your opponent has some time to respond.
Gaea's Anthem - Was in my cube for a while, but I removed it in part that it is fairly boring to me. Overall a good card, but I would rather move around counters.
Curse of Predation (spoiler alert, this is the strongest) - 100% agree. I understand why some folks do not run this.
Jiang Yanggu, Wildcrafter - May be just me, but I prefer Song of Freyalise over Jiang. 3 counters over three turns is pretty underwhelming and the static ability is not that exciting unless your cube naturally supports early game counters on creatures.
Illusory Angel > Mirrorshell Crab: Still considering, but the channel ability is strong and I want to include it. Not sure if this is too many finishers for blue.
Honorable Mentions Gravelighter: Sticking with Plaguecrafter for now. Giving the opponent the chance to turn off the sacrifice mode won't matter most of the time, but I think I still prefer the reliability of Plaguecrafter and the ability to hit planeswalkers/hands. Dockside Chef: Great sacrifice outlet.
Multiple Sagas: There are several interesting sagas, but they are slow and add additional complexity to the cube (more flip cards) that I am not looking for right now. Greater Tanuki: Close, but I still prefer the card draw from Krosan Tusker. Blossom Prancer: Flexible card with a good effect for green. Do not currently have a spot.
How good is Seismic Wave? It seems like an upgrade to Arc Lightning outside of the times when your opponent has a lot of artifact creatures or you want all 3 damage to go to a planeswalker or player.
Containment Construct has that Bag of Holding-type replacement text and I am not sure if the 2/1 for 2 or Bag of Holding is preferred there.
Containment Construct's exile is optional, which makes it easier to run in reanimator where you want to bin your big creatures, but potentially exile your lands/cheap spells while rummaging. The Construct is much easier to remove, but you never lose your exiled cards and sometimes you just need a 2/1 to throw in front of an attacker or carry equipment.
Containment Construct is very exciting and has a really unique ability. Makes looting, cycling, and channeling much more powerful. Very reasonable mana cost as well.
I'm actually liking the look of this Blooming Stag a ton - probably my second favorite card so far after Reinforced Ronin.
A 4/4 Reach for 3GG is a good body, and having a CIP ability that says "look at the top five cards of your library. You may reveal a creature or enchantment card from among them and put it into your hand" is almost guaranteed to hit provided you constructed your deck appropriately. And on the very rare occasion that you don't hit, well "you gain 4 life."
I could see it as a replacement for Arborback Stomper. Losing trample is a bummer, but it digs pretty far and gives you the option for life gain as well. Good catch.
I also like the flexibility of Touch the Spirit Realm. Not sure how many enchantment removal cards I want to carry though.
Like TyranidBill, I think Looter il-kor is the best of the four due to its ability to carry equipment. Merfolk Looter is probably more reliable of the remaining three - it puts a body on the board and lets you unconditionally cycle your cards. Moon-Circuit Hacker is a good choice if you emphasize bounce/blink in your cube, but does not outright replace the reliability of the two Looters for card filtering/reanimator. The Modern Age seems pretty slow to me.
Changes I will Test
Ancestral Blade > Citizen's Crowbar: More mana intensive, but the flexibility of destroying an enchantment/artifact is a big deal in my cube.
Ainok Bond-Kin > Inspiring Overseer: Just good. Power creep is real.
Militia Bugler > Rumor Gatherer: Fits into white/X weenie well. 2/1 body is underwhelming sadly.
Otherworldly Journey > Patch Up: I think it is worth it to bring reanimation into a second color. Black will always have better options, but there a lot of W/X decks that would like to bring back a key support creature after a sweeper.
Skinrender > Night Clubber: Removal diversity.
Embereth Shieldbreaker > Mayhem Patrol: Menace is a nice upgrade and Blitz means it can be cycled if drawn later in the game.
Bolt Hound > Witty Roastmaster: Helps token strategies when attacking is not profitable.
Tireless Provisioner > Jewel Thief: I want to see how this plays out. Tireless Provisoner is best when you can quickly ramp - otherwise, it is pretty underwelming. Jewel Thief has a much lower ceiling, but immediately ramps, carries equipment/counters better, and wants to pressure your opponent.
Other Good Stuff
Raffine's Informant: A bit of a filler card.
Mage's Attendant: I do not have room and I am not sure how often the Mana Tithe effect will be relevant.
A Little Chat: A good Altar's Reap variant, but U/X sacrifice is not really a thing in my cube.
Sticky Fingers: Does a lot, but auras have a high barrier for inclusion.
I don't think I would run Slip Out the Back, but the fact it can hit your opponent's creatures opens a few interesting play lines.
Patch Up: This seems good in W/X weenie. Not as good as Call of the Death-Dweller, but multiple creature reanimation is an effect we do not often see out of black.
Mayhem Patrol: Another good value card. 2/2 menace for 2 is good statline and the blitz will often be two to the opponent and a new card.
I like the flexibility and I think there will be situations where the Blitz will be a blowout. However, the high mana cost means there will be a lot of times where the blitz will be easily blocked and spending 5 on a vanilla 2/3 that pumps one creature or a single 4/5 is pretty underwhelming.
Destruction Demon is an interesting reanimation/blink target. 7 mana is a bit rough and I like Archfiend of Sorrows a bit better because of the evasion.
Fatal Grudge as an Innocent Blood that draws a card and sometimes instead hits enchantments, artifacts, or planeswalkers is kind of neat.
Sorry - you are correct. I missed the "either" in the text. Will fix.
I prefer Twinblade Geist as well - Heroic is not really supported in my cube. However, I know some others in the forum do not like double-sided cards and Illuminator Virtuoso may have more upside than Kor Blademaster.
A Little Chat: As everyone has pointed out, this is a solid card that allows you to cast without a creature, unlike Altar's Reap and friends. Sacrifice is not something I support in blue, so it feels a little awkward to include.
Rumor Gatherer: The effect is great and fits my cube's go wide theme. The 2/1 body is extremely fragile.
Mage's Attendant: Sort of Sandsteppe Outcast where you get slightly worse versions of both modes. The activation cost of the token makes the tax symmetrical (arguably worse for you unless you know your opponents hand), but it is a pretty unique effect.
Metropolis Angel: Interesting payoff for counters and a support card for U/W fliers. 1 toughness for the mana cost is a limitation.
Exotic Pets: Probably not good enough,
but if you have enough +1/+1 counters in your cube, the potential for two unblockable 2/2s at instant speed for three mana is not a bad rate.Illuminator Virtuoso: A better Fencing Ace and card filtering in white.
Just want to point out that the translations I saw restricted damage only to creatures blocking the equipped creature, not all blocking creatures. Seems a bit narrow.
I am also testing Seismic Wave. The fact it only hits your opponent's creatures makes it easier to run in aggro and token (like Young Pyromancer) decks.
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My opinion on the cards you listed Vannatar:
Roaring Earth - Currently testing. It is a bit underpowered, but fits the counter theme I have in my cube as well. I like that it is not a dead draw late game as you can always channel it. Also, turns Herd Baloth into a Rampaging Baloths.
Song of Freyalise - Situationally very good. When used early, you can more quickly empty your hand and then pump for a large attack. Unfortunately, it can be a pretty weak top deck and the mass attack is broadcasted, so your opponent has some time to respond.
Gaea's Anthem - Was in my cube for a while, but I removed it in part that it is fairly boring to me. Overall a good card, but I would rather move around counters.
Curse of Predation (spoiler alert, this is the strongest) - 100% agree. I understand why some folks do not run this.
Jiang Yanggu, Wildcrafter - May be just me, but I prefer Song of Freyalise over Jiang. 3 counters over three turns is pretty underwhelming and the static ability is not that exciting unless your cube naturally supports early game counters on creatures.
Banishing Light > Touch the Spirit Realm: Touch the Spirit Realm provides greater flexibility and I like diversity.
Illusory Angel > Mirrorshell Crab: Still considering, but the channel ability is strong and I want to include it. Not sure if this is too many finishers for blue.
Stonewright > Rabbit Battery: I think I prefer haste over fire breathing.
Hellspark Elemental > Reinforced Ronin: I like the play pattern of Ronin better.
Keldon Champion > Twinshot Sniper: Champion is strong, but I like the flexibility of Sniper.
Arc Lightning > Seismic Wave: Most of this time this will be an upgrade outside of not hitting artifact tokens.
Song of Freyalise > Roaring Earth: Going to test this change. Less of a dead draw in the late game, but may not impactful enough.
Rhythm of the Wild > Invigorating Hot Spring: Better signpost.
Shardless Agent > Colossal Skyturtle: Skyturtle fits in reanimator and ramp. Shardless agent is good, but does not signpost anything and has a fair number of bad hits.
Filigree Familiar > Circuit Mender: Easy swap.
Shimmerdrift Vale > Containment Construct: Vale is redundant - I would rather see what the construct can do.
Honorable Mentions
Gravelighter: Sticking with Plaguecrafter for now. Giving the opponent the chance to turn off the sacrifice mode won't matter most of the time, but I think I still prefer the reliability of Plaguecrafter and the ability to hit planeswalkers/hands.
Dockside Chef: Great sacrifice outlet.
Multiple Sagas: There are several interesting sagas, but they are slow and add additional complexity to the cube (more flip cards) that I am not looking for right now.
Greater Tanuki: Close, but I still prefer the card draw from Krosan Tusker.
Blossom Prancer: Flexible card with a good effect for green. Do not currently have a spot.
Considering playing this over Striped Riverwinder.
Containment Construct's exile is optional, which makes it easier to run in reanimator where you want to bin your big creatures, but potentially exile your lands/cheap spells while rummaging. The Construct is much easier to remove, but you never lose your exiled cards and sometimes you just need a 2/1 to throw in front of an attacker or carry equipment.
Rhythmn of the Wild and Grumgully, the Generous are still better if you support Persist combo or go wide, but Invigorating Hotsprings is a much better +1/+1 signpost.
I also really like the flexibility of Rabbit Battery. Good to see Red aggro get some new toys.
After a slow start, the set seems to be improving.
I could see it as a replacement for Arborback Stomper. Losing trample is a bummer, but it digs pretty far and gives you the option for life gain as well. Good catch.
I also like the flexibility of Touch the Spirit Realm. Not sure how many enchantment removal cards I want to carry though.
Like TyranidBill, I think Looter il-kor is the best of the four due to its ability to carry equipment. Merfolk Looter is probably more reliable of the remaining three - it puts a body on the board and lets you unconditionally cycle your cards. Moon-Circuit Hacker is a good choice if you emphasize bounce/blink in your cube, but does not outright replace the reliability of the two Looters for card filtering/reanimator. The Modern Age seems pretty slow to me.
I think Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator might be a little better, unless you are all in on Ninja/Rogues.