When I built my cube I believe I had a total of 4 proxies. All of them were Duals. I ran some less than ideal cards, but I slowly acquired the cards to get my cube to where I wanted it. As of now I have 4 proxies in my cube, but they are all Theros cards that are getting tested before I buy or trade for them.
Actual Bolas was never played and Slave has been good. It goes middle of the pack around here and doesn't force you into 3 colors.
I push Reanimator in my black section so Sphinx isn't going anywhere (Tinker is also around), so I would put this into the artifact section before I got rid of it.
Nacatl is the least played of the 3. All of my players try to go big when playing green so my aggro support in green is slowly fading to keep them happy. I could easily see myself just cutting this for a random utility land or artifact in the future.
I used to run all of the shards and a couple of wedge cards. They were usually late picks and I feel like my cube has extremely good fixing. They are just too narrow to ever be great in my opinion. If someone does run all of the shards/wedges and can't find a Bant card that they like then I feel like Noble Hierarch is more than fine to consider one. Of course the more flexible these things are the more likely they will be played.
Sphinx's Revelation, Lavinia, and Venser are the only things that I would think about running. Drogskol Reaver is fine I guess, but White has better top end creatures and blue's are as good as Reaver.
I can see the comparison to KoM, but I am not really sure why the Paladin is being compared to it in here. Are people going to cut KoM for this guy? I typically compare 3 drops to 3 drops as opposed to 2 drops when making my decision on including a card.
That said, I don't think this is as good as the 3s I run. I think it is closer than what people in this thread are making it out to be though, especially in bigger cubes, but it could just be my love of en-Vec speaking.
I have a 270 card Mono-Blue cube. I support Merfolk, Tempo/aggro, Artifact.dec, and obviously control and midrange. Wizards can be a deck, but they aren't really based around a typical tribal base. Azami and Riptide Lab are the main reasons to take a bunch of them. There are a lot of weird cards in my cube to try to keep things from getting out of control. Master Thief, Annul, and Steel Sabotage are a few. Dandan is a stud which makes me happy.
I do allow artifacts, because I enjoy Academy and my copy had nowhere else to go.
I only play cards that can be cast off of basic Island. So hybrids and Phyrexian mana cards are in there
I've only had the chance to draft it a few times, and there are some cards that I'm not happy with, but it is a blast to play. Also, 3-15 or 4-11 card packs are way too big. If you draft with that big of packs everyone will have over 30 playable cards and usually around 35.
I'll post my list when I get a chance to (probably Friday sometime).
There is also Writ of Passage that can play like Artful Dodge. Forecast it then pitch it to Tog after blocks. Or just keep it around to do it as much as you want.
Also the > CMC 3 limitation is a real consideration. My Cube average cmc is > 3, so that means this 1 card can't touch more than half the cube. Pass for me!
umm...Average doesn't mean that half is above that number.
Anywho, I think that this card is better than Putrefy in a powered cube or a cube that takes aggro to the extreme. Golgari is definitely getting love in this set.
I personally wouldn't do it unless it is an enormous cube or you didn't have the original duals. That said, I would rather have another cycle of the fetches than another cycle of Shocks or ABUR. If your players want more/better fixing then I can't say I would have a problem with it, but it would probably decrease the value of fixing in your cube.
B) Since when do two drops trade down? If my wolf dies and their man dies, it's because I made a decision to trade up in value. Otherwise, I'm going down in a blaze of burn spell glory.
Hence why I continue to say that if they have a removal spell and a creature Wolf and Beastbreaker will die regardless of when you choose to put 3 mana into it. I even agreed that Wolf is better early in the game. I was arguing about the situation that you presented and never that Beastbreaker is the better creature in the early game.
As for trading down with other 2 drops I would argue that there are only a handful of 2 drops that I would ever willingly trade Wolf for that it actually could trade with (going by Klug's list): Stormfront Pegasus, Mistral Charger, Fledgling Djinn, Ember Hauler, Lightning Mauler, and Wild Mongrel. Occasionally I would be alright with Kami of Ancient Law and Nezumi Graverobber. Everything else is a terrible trade or it won't actually trade with without a pump. So you will be trading your wolf for a burn spell and a turn of not playing anything most of the time in this situation.
Most creatures have 2 or less toughness, especially early.
When your opponent's bear blocks your wolf (your opponent wont be blocking him with no tricks) the combat is now entirely your decision. To let their man die, do nothing. They can't burn him since you'll pump your way to a 2 for 1. Or if you want, force the trick out by pumping to keep it away from later threats. This has been known to happen, and is just one more example of how effective the ability to threaten for damage without being forced to commit actually is.
If they are blocking then they are probably more than willing to throw away their bear to trade. So you are probably trading down on this anyways, not to mention you don't get to see the trick. If you do pump, then you just get blown out.
Rare, but also possible is the chance to blow them out with a trick of your own. For example
Block>pump>bolt>shelter is a 3 for 1, or mutagenic growth here is a 2 for 1. Like I said, this isn't common but darkthicket wolf allows things like this to happen in the first place. It is an unbelievably strong 2/2 considering all it does is pump.
At least you said that it is rare, but yes, this is possible. Although, you can Shelter or growth Beastbreaker. You won't blow them out as much, but you still get the pump and have a 4/4.
I agree that Wolf is better early game, but I am just arguing that if someone has a removal spell they are going to get you anyways. Once you get to 5 mana Beastbreaker is better since it will threaten more damage.
The problem here is this
If my opponent has a dude and I want to play amything at all on turns 3-5, I cant swing with beastbreaker. Not without spending my turn setting myself up to be potentially blown out by virtually every removal spell. Darkthicket wolf gets in effectively unblockable for this whole time. Interestingly, he also gets free combats against burn and flash creatures too.
Percentage-wise, I spend waaaaaaaaaay more of the game in a situation where both players have stuff to play. I assume everyone does.
Beastbreaker is better when you have no gas left. I'm not planning on running out of gas on turns 3-4 and hopefully not 5. It takes too long under normal circumstames to get better. Or if it is better early, thats because you were in a bad spot to begin with. I'm not playing my 2 drop so my curve let's him be effective on turn 5.
As for pumping precombat instead of playing stuff... Honestly, I'm happier to see a 4/4 vanilla dude swinging at me than a 2/2 who can be a 4/4 next turn + a cathodion or any other 3 drop.
As for when beastbreaker is a better topdeck, yeah it is. But i can think of a time that almost any card is better than any other card.
Beastbreaker isn't bad, but he just doesn't compare well to the wolf 7/10 of the time.
Also wooo page 50
The problem with saying that Wolf is better than Beastbreaker in those situations hands down is misleading. If your opponent has a removal spell in hand don't they block, make you pump, then kill your guy? I can see how wolf can swing in situations that allow you to advance your board better than Beastbreaker, but you are talking about a situation where they are the same creature for the most part. Wolf is better when it is creature vs creature early on, but if you throw removal spells into the equation you will get blown out with either one.
Chancellor is pretty naughty when someone has a Rite of Replication in their graveyard. I think the Sphinx is a better card, but the Chancellor will sometimes just win the game on its own. If you are trying to pod into 8 then I would say try to find room for both if possible, but FoF Sphinx would be my call if I had to go with 1.
Speaking of Loam, Scroll Rack has a pretty insane interaction with it. So does Spitting Image for that matter, but it isn't draw. Trade Routes is pretty good with Loam as well.
Yes, I do think that Loam is the best card draw in the format because of the interactions that it gives you, like Genesis and Praetor's Council and such. Not to forget Wasteland and Strip Mine as well.
If you are that worried about the tokens there is always Ratchet Bomb and Powder Keg. Which outside of token hordes are pretty slow, but they do make people slow about playing some cards into it
That is pretty sweet. I have all of my drops in different sleeves to make it easier to return them to the correct spot without much effort. My favorite has to be that I have the 15 drops in I love fatties sleeves. Thanks for the info on the MoJho app. I might have to try that out at some point.
Actual Bolas was never played and Slave has been good. It goes middle of the pack around here and doesn't force you into 3 colors.
I push Reanimator in my black section so Sphinx isn't going anywhere (Tinker is also around), so I would put this into the artifact section before I got rid of it.
Nacatl is the least played of the 3. All of my players try to go big when playing green so my aggro support in green is slowly fading to keep them happy. I could easily see myself just cutting this for a random utility land or artifact in the future.
I used to run all of the shards and a couple of wedge cards. They were usually late picks and I feel like my cube has extremely good fixing. They are just too narrow to ever be great in my opinion. If someone does run all of the shards/wedges and can't find a Bant card that they like then I feel like Noble Hierarch is more than fine to consider one. Of course the more flexible these things are the more likely they will be played.
That said, I don't think this is as good as the 3s I run. I think it is closer than what people in this thread are making it out to be though, especially in bigger cubes, but it could just be my love of en-Vec speaking.
I do allow artifacts, because I enjoy Academy and my copy had nowhere else to go.
I only play cards that can be cast off of basic Island. So hybrids and Phyrexian mana cards are in there
I've only had the chance to draft it a few times, and there are some cards that I'm not happy with, but it is a blast to play. Also, 3-15 or 4-11 card packs are way too big. If you draft with that big of packs everyone will have over 30 playable cards and usually around 35.
I'll post my list when I get a chance to (probably Friday sometime).
EDIT: Mono-Blue Cube
It is in Google Docs fyi
umm...Average doesn't mean that half is above that number.
Anywho, I think that this card is better than Putrefy in a powered cube or a cube that takes aggro to the extreme. Golgari is definitely getting love in this set.
Hence why I continue to say that if they have a removal spell and a creature Wolf and Beastbreaker will die regardless of when you choose to put 3 mana into it. I even agreed that Wolf is better early in the game. I was arguing about the situation that you presented and never that Beastbreaker is the better creature in the early game.
As for trading down with other 2 drops I would argue that there are only a handful of 2 drops that I would ever willingly trade Wolf for that it actually could trade with (going by Klug's list): Stormfront Pegasus, Mistral Charger, Fledgling Djinn, Ember Hauler, Lightning Mauler, and Wild Mongrel. Occasionally I would be alright with Kami of Ancient Law and Nezumi Graverobber. Everything else is a terrible trade or it won't actually trade with without a pump. So you will be trading your wolf for a burn spell and a turn of not playing anything most of the time in this situation.
If they are blocking then they are probably more than willing to throw away their bear to trade. So you are probably trading down on this anyways, not to mention you don't get to see the trick. If you do pump, then you just get blown out.
At least you said that it is rare, but yes, this is possible. Although, you can Shelter or growth Beastbreaker. You won't blow them out as much, but you still get the pump and have a 4/4.
I agree that Wolf is better early game, but I am just arguing that if someone has a removal spell they are going to get you anyways. Once you get to 5 mana Beastbreaker is better since it will threaten more damage.
The problem with saying that Wolf is better than Beastbreaker in those situations hands down is misleading. If your opponent has a removal spell in hand don't they block, make you pump, then kill your guy? I can see how wolf can swing in situations that allow you to advance your board better than Beastbreaker, but you are talking about a situation where they are the same creature for the most part. Wolf is better when it is creature vs creature early on, but if you throw removal spells into the equation you will get blown out with either one.
Speaking of Loam, Scroll Rack has a pretty insane interaction with it. So does Spitting Image for that matter, but it isn't draw. Trade Routes is pretty good with Loam as well.
Yes, I do think that Loam is the best card draw in the format because of the interactions that it gives you, like Genesis and Praetor's Council and such. Not to forget Wasteland and Strip Mine as well.
If you are that worried about the tokens there is always Ratchet Bomb and Powder Keg. Which outside of token hordes are pretty slow, but they do make people slow about playing some cards into it