Wow, know the card but never thought of running it in cube. This might have to change.
Yeah man, I can vouch that the card is really worth the cumbersome casting cost. Like I said before - Sneak Attack on steroids, and one of the best Academy Rector targets.
The fact that it is in G/R counts against it in terms of card competition in that duo, but on the other hand the biggest and best critters to put into play with haste for free are green and red...
As an aside: we play the errata that you search the creature first and then say its name. We can't always remember every creature in a deck.
Yeah most people are over the shock now and are realising that most cards and games aren't affected by the changes. I have made a couple of absolutely shocking play errors due to forgetting about the combat changes - "OK, with damage on the stack, I... oh s***" - but really, there's nothing to dislike about the new rules IMO. I'll iron out the lousy errors in time
There are a few others that are only... meh... but these are the ones that I've personally tested and can say that they're simply not worthy of inclusion, IMO.
I just added those and I'd heard good things on here about City of Solitude and Lightning Surge. I think City seems narrow but it got a really high vote from someone in the TURF and I wanted to see if it has a niche in a larger Cube. I can see it being bad, though. I genuinely thought Crypt Angel had promise though, also the recursion is uber narrow, a 3/3 Pro-white flyer is nice. Helps stave off that Exalted Angel at least.
The Giant Ambush Beetle is there to make up one gold hybrid for each trio, really. He looks OK on paper (psuedo removal, leaves a 4/3 behind) but there ins't too much choice in that colour trio in the gold hybrids.
@metamind: Hellfire is a terrific flavourful card. It just blows in comparison to Damnation, Bane of the Living and Kagemaro, but it has seen play and it's just too damn cool to cut
Which ones don't you like? You are normally right on the money with inclusions so I'd like a second opinion on the ones not to include.
As per my addendum at the end, I'll probably put a few back in eventually, Hearth Kami and Makeshift Mannequin being the main ones. Stupor is out because the only copy I have is an awful gold-bordered Champs one, and I will replace it with a proper copy
Viridian Zealot, I'm not so sure. If it were 1G, then I'm all for it. The GG is a bit of a pain, and it just looks horrible next to Qasali Pride-Mage. I also have a hunch that we might get an improved Zealot in Zendikar or M10... I'll wait and see. Sacrifice effects are going to to get a lot more powerful IMO.
Bear in mind some of the ARB stuff is there for testing purposes and may prove great or otherwise (Fight to the Death is one that may be really good... or just not)
I decided to stick with Artifact Mutation after a total blowout with it last game
Anyway, more huge updates that I have waited too long to implement into this thread. Mainly straight repalcements, plus a little trimming in some of the multicolour sections. I am slowly getting some of the old staples that I didn't already have. So without further ado:
I think they are a lot better than they seem at first glance. They generally won't need to come into play tapped as you'll drop a basic on turn one. If you can't, you should have mulliganned. They are basically 'free shocklands' after the point where you played a basic. With the lands subtypes too they would be really broken, trust me. They would be perilously close to Revised duals level goodness.
I think even if they are coming into play tapped, that isn't always a massive drawback. The main point is that they generally won't.
I'll be adding these come M10 release day (assuming I get any in my box).
I don't know if you run it already, but I got beaten on the back of this card twice yesterday when I was about to win. It's like a blue Wrath of God at times, plus it's a instant. People should try it out.
Yeah, I can see exactly the reasoning for the change to lifelink and the unerrata's to older cards. I would just like the simplicity and elegance of the new lifelink to apply across the board, that's all
I think we can move this discussion along. What about the new Deathtouch rules? Seems to have retained its old usefulness, as it now allows you to spread damage between blocking creatures rather than having to apply lethal on each one, like for other creatures. That gives an incentive for deathtouch on larger creatures.
@ colormage1: I think Jitte is loved by cubers and considered godly powerful is for the sheer choice it gives you. It can be run in any deck. Once you get those first counters on it, you have an instant speed wrecking tool for killing enemy creatures, pumping your equipped creature to avoid burn or win fights, or gaining life to keep you alive that extra turn. The versatility is key. Sure it gives you tough choices, but that's because it's so versatile. Although you can't really go wrong with it, as choosing which function to use at any given time is usually dictated by the game state. Draft it early!
The situation where you would burn the counters on a Jitte (that was previously empty before combat) to survive damage that would otherwise kill your creature is now not possible. That is a frequent scenario the first time you swing with it. I think that is what Warden was getting at.
You're a top contributer, wtwlf123, but I bet you could start a fistfight in an empty room...
I know it's different. Otherwise my post would have been redundant. I reiterate that I would rather have the old abilities errata'd to make them functionally slightly different i.e. GIVE them a static ability rather than a triggered ability, than treat two different rules. For what is now the fourth time of saying it, I find that the errata would make things more elegant. That's a personal opinion, you happen to disagree with it and prefer that they keep original functionality and the two separate abilities, I can absolutely live with that. Let's not be obtuse for the sake of it.
Yes, it loses a little bit mainly from the first combat when you go in guns blazing with no counters on it, and then lose one or two counters to survive whatever damage you might have sustained. In other words, I think we can say that the Jitte's power level is slightly fairer after these changes
Mana Drain, Gaea's Cradle, the Signets, the Karoos and Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary become even stronger with the new rules. I avoided six damage from Gaea's Cradle and a Signet alone in one game yesterday.
I think Venser will come back as a PW, but not in Zendikar. The only reason I have for thinking that is that I don't expect a third mono-blue PW just yet - the other colours have some catching up to do. Also, we just had Tezzeret the Seeker who deals with artifice too, so Venser might have to wait his turn...
Yeah man, I can vouch that the card is really worth the cumbersome casting cost. Like I said before - Sneak Attack on steroids, and one of the best Academy Rector targets.
The fact that it is in G/R counts against it in terms of card competition in that duo, but on the other hand the biggest and best critters to put into play with haste for free are green and red...
As an aside: we play the errata that you search the creature first and then say its name. We can't always remember every creature in a deck.
I just added those and I'd heard good things on here about City of Solitude and Lightning Surge. I think City seems narrow but it got a really high vote from someone in the TURF and I wanted to see if it has a niche in a larger Cube. I can see it being bad, though. I genuinely thought Crypt Angel had promise though, also the recursion is uber narrow, a 3/3 Pro-white flyer is nice. Helps stave off that Exalted Angel at least.
Fight to the Death will probably --> Soltari Guerillas if it doesn't perform. That guy wasn't bad at all for W/R aggro.
The Giant Ambush Beetle is there to make up one gold hybrid for each trio, really. He looks OK on paper (psuedo removal, leaves a 4/3 behind) but there ins't too much choice in that colour trio in the gold hybrids.
@metamind: Hellfire is a terrific flavourful card. It just blows in comparison to Damnation, Bane of the Living and Kagemaro, but it has seen play and it's just too damn cool to cut
Thanks for the input as always fellas!
As per my addendum at the end, I'll probably put a few back in eventually, Hearth Kami and Makeshift Mannequin being the main ones. Stupor is out because the only copy I have is an awful gold-bordered Champs one, and I will replace it with a proper copy
Viridian Zealot, I'm not so sure. If it were 1G, then I'm all for it. The GG is a bit of a pain, and it just looks horrible next to Qasali Pride-Mage. I also have a hunch that we might get an improved Zealot in Zendikar or M10... I'll wait and see. Sacrifice effects are going to to get a lot more powerful IMO.
Bear in mind some of the ARB stuff is there for testing purposes and may prove great or otherwise (Fight to the Death is one that may be really good... or just not)
Anyway, more huge updates that I have waited too long to implement into this thread. Mainly straight repalcements, plus a little trimming in some of the multicolour sections. I am slowly getting some of the old staples that I didn't already have. So without further ado:
IN:
OUT:
Whew...
Some of these may go back in (like Makeshift Mannequin) and some are in temporarily for testing.
I think even if they are coming into play tapped, that isn't always a massive drawback. The main point is that they generally won't.
I'll be adding these come M10 release day (assuming I get any in my box).
I don't know if you run it already, but I got beaten on the back of this card twice yesterday when I was about to win. It's like a blue Wrath of God at times, plus it's a instant. People should try it out.
I think we can move this discussion along. What about the new Deathtouch rules? Seems to have retained its old usefulness, as it now allows you to spread damage between blocking creatures rather than having to apply lethal on each one, like for other creatures. That gives an incentive for deathtouch on larger creatures.
@ colormage1: I think Jitte is loved by cubers and considered godly powerful is for the sheer choice it gives you. It can be run in any deck. Once you get those first counters on it, you have an instant speed wrecking tool for killing enemy creatures, pumping your equipped creature to avoid burn or win fights, or gaining life to keep you alive that extra turn. The versatility is key. Sure it gives you tough choices, but that's because it's so versatile. Although you can't really go wrong with it, as choosing which function to use at any given time is usually dictated by the game state. Draft it early!
You're a top contributer, wtwlf123, but I bet you could start a fistfight in an empty room...
Mana Drain, Gaea's Cradle, the Signets, the Karoos and Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary become even stronger with the new rules. I avoided six damage from Gaea's Cradle and a Signet alone in one game yesterday.