You're missing everything! Undying is a super powerful key word, with the potentual to just be nuts. You play in a deck with creatures. It might seem sort of obvious, but Undying Evil is not the sort of card that you can just throw in any deck. Also if you are playing with creatures your creatures should die at some point. This is an oppertuity to just straight up save a creature plus give it a long lasting bonus, and a good one at that. Most players won't be expecting a black combat trip. Now you creature is bigger, and more bad arse, and demands for your opponant to deal with him. This alone whould be acceptable in black, where there are no similar effects.
Remember unique effects should be rated higher than other cards that are of a similar power level, because, they are, well unique.
Lastly while this isn't going to happen all the time, it will happen frequentally, is that you're creature with is new found ability of undying happens to have a ETB trigger, then you're opponent is in for a world of hurt. especially if said trigger is going to net a card in some way. Boom, and decent 1-1 has just turned into a 2-1. Not just that it's bigger, which means that your opponent may have to spend more than one card to deal with it, not to mention that extra point of power is just going to get there.
For one, black literally has nothing else like it, which should make it even better. It is likely to have just been a very good effect is something like green, but it black it looks pretty house.
Undying Evil may not end up being the nuts pre-say, although I doubt it, but it's going to be very good regardless. At least test it Izor.
In Magical Christmasland you cast Undying Evil on an envoked Mulldrifter... Oh god, that would be awesome!!!
If you don't take anything else out of this: Play Undying Evil!
I'm glad to see someone else is as excited about this card as I am. The card may appear very innocuous but I think it will eventually become a Commons Cube staple. I could be reaching but I feel pretty strongly that this card won't be coming out of my Cube (and many others) anytime soon. The best part is that in Cube people will rarely be expecting it & you can get super-value.
So I did the pre-release for DKA last night. My deck was very mediocre but one card that was really good was Undying Evil. I know it will be even better in a format where there are even more 187 creatures AND it won't be an "expected" trick. I'm really excited to add it to my Cube.
So I'm pretty bad at adding too many new cards to test (don't ask me how many Souleaters from New Phyrexia were once in my Cube...). Anyway, here are the changes I'm making to my 500-card Cube:
IN for OUT
Loyal Cathar for Order of Leitbur
Headless Skaab for Augury Owl
Stormbound Geist for Sky Ruin Drake
Tragic Slip for Order of the Ebon Hand
Highborn Ghoul for Wei Strike Force
Undying Evil for Tendrils of Corruption
Forge Devil for Crested Craghorn
Torch Fiend for Flamewave Invoker
Hinterland Hermit for Village Ironsmith
Faithless Looting for Fire Juggler
Dawntreader Elk for Ondu Giant
Young Wolf for Ember Weaver
Ulvenwald Bear for Elvish Warrior
Hunger of the Howlpack for Death-Hood Cobra
Haunted Fengraf for Fire at Will
I'm trying to phase out unnecessary 1-toughness guys if I can (because of the super-Tim presence my Cube has). I'm also looking for underpowered guys for their cost to cut as well. The best card I'm cutting is Tendrils of Corruption but with the number of people we usually have it's not nearly as good as it should be. I really think that Undying Evil's surprise factor will win some games for people. Seriously.
The good thing about Cube is that I can always bring cards back
What about Torch Fiend? It's a 2/1 for 1R with R, Sacrifice ~: Destroy Target Artifact. Seems like an upgrade to Hearth Kami. Kami will be better for like half-a-dozen power Cube cards that cost zero but otherwise the Fiend will be better. I was looking for one more artifact destruction spell in my Cube & this will do nicely. I'm not going to replace the Kami but rather I'm going to give this one a try in addition to it. Giving red another (okay) 2-drop couldn't hurt either. Not sure if this kind of effect deserves two spots in the Cube but we'll see.
(EDIT: Beaten out...not used to making "timely" posts at midnight :))
Otherwise I don't see anything else for powered Cubes. But man...the Commons Cube upgrade is going to be sweet!
Here are the cards I'm definitely adding to the Commons Cube:
Loyal Cathar for Order of Leitbur
Headless Skaab for Augury Owl
Stormbound Geist
Tragic Slip for Order of the Ebon Hand
Forge Devil for Crested Craghorn
Faithless Looting for Fire Juggler
Ulvenwald Bear
Hunger of the Howlpack for Death-Hood Cobra
Here are the cards that (at first glance) may end up in the Commons Cube:
Break of Day
Elgaud Inquisitor
Midnight Guard
Skillful Lunge
Bone to Ash
Griptide
Nephalia Seakite
Gruesome Discovery
Highborn Ghoul
Undying Evil
Hinterland Hermit
Torch Fiend
Dawntreader Elk
Hollowhenge Beast
Kessig Recluse
Somberwald Dryad
Young Wolf
Haunted Fengraf
I need more time to digest these cards before deciding on other changes. All in all this was a great set for every type of Cube.
I think Tragic Slip is going to be quite good. It is conditional removal but creatures die so much in the Commons Cube that I think it will usually kill almost every creature (sorry Guardian of the Guildpact).
This conversation is good enough for 360 but not for 450
Something that would help me a lot would be to have people's Cube links in their signatures say how many cards are in their Cube. "I'm definitely playing this" can have so many different meanings depending on Cube size. I know when I read a sentence to this effect I immediately look at the person's signature to see how big their Cube is. It helps me with my evaluation of the person's opinion relative to my Cube.
You might as well staple your Vindicate to your cube's box because unless someone steals it, it shouldn't ever ever leave.
I can go on and on for days about how much I love Vindicate but whats not to love? It's one of the older cards that gets a high five for interacting with Planeswalkers! And the card is nothing but fair. I don't usually feel cheated after my opponent casts Vindicate.
These are the reasons why Vindicate is awesome. Excellent post.
It's hard to believe that Hellrider may not cut in Cube...but like you said, the 4-drops at Red are just loaded. Argh. It's the kind of effect that red would love to have redundancy of so I don't want to cut Keldon Champion. Regardless of the echo cost, Champion gives you a hasty 3-power dude & you bolt them for 4 mana. Hellrider will most definitely be better if it sticks but if you drop it on an empty board or he dies before attacks then Champion would have been better. When searching for a cut for this I may have to cut something with a lower cost. Here are the 4-drops I'm running at 500:
No obvious cuts there. I think Hellrider *does* need to be in the Cube (even if it gluts up the 4-drop slot a little bit). I think I'm going to cut Magus of the Scroll for it.
Seriously an amazing set for Cube owners...and I don't think we're done.
Don't expect most of the commons to get spoiled until the entire spoiler is released here in 9 days. Look on the bright side...that's not too far away
Edit: I guess it's time to retire the fallen empires pro-guys. Fallen Empires was the last set I played with back in high school so it will be hard to say goodbye. At least I still have Hymn to Tourach in all its brokenness. I don't have any planned inclusions yet but I'm sure we'll see some worthwhile undying guys in the new set. The "undying" ability will be really strong in the Commons Cube.
Disappointed with the new Mikaeus as far as Cube is concerned. No way it comes close to making the cut with me. Hopefully we get some more interesting cards later this week. To be fair, we've been really spoiled by DKA's Cube quality so far. There are entire *blocks* that don't have as many Cube cards as DKA will end up having.
Putting Grave Titan above Demonic Tutor may seem insane but in my experience when Grave Titan hits the board, his controller wins. Like, every time. I don't think anyone has ever won after a Grave Titan hit the opponent's board. Demonic Tutor is one of my all-time favorite cards but I feel like it's at the right spot at #4. I'm not as sure about Liliana & Braids...I may have those flipped. Since we're talking P1p1 I would rather build around Braids instead of Liliana.
BSZ has been a tremendous wrath since it was added and Consuming Vapors is an all-star versus aggro (and merely great against other decks). Bloodgift Demon usually doesn't live for very long but when he does it's pretty nuts. Nether Void hasn't seen as much play as I expected but I think that's due to where it's been drafted in our 2-mans (either when nobody is in black or it gets hate-drafted). I expect it to have an Armageddon-life effect on the board.
Mold Shambler is worth getting cut? I guess my judgment is clouded by how awesome he is in the Commons Cube. Come to think of it he's rarely been played in the big Cube...but being able to destroy any non-creature is pretty sweet. I think Krosan Grip will be the cut with an eye on Mold Shambler & these other cards in the future. I kind of hope there's not another cubeable green card in DKA. Cuts are getting tougher & tougher.
Thanks for all the feedback. The great thing about the Cube is that even if you cut something you can always bring it back.
I'm glad to see someone else is as excited about this card as I am. The card may appear very innocuous but I think it will eventually become a Commons Cube staple. I could be reaching but I feel pretty strongly that this card won't be coming out of my Cube (and many others) anytime soon. The best part is that in Cube people will rarely be expecting it & you can get super-value.
I can't wait to get a foil one of these
2 Garruk, Primal Hunter
3 Garruk Relentless
4 Survival of the Fittest
5 Genesis
6 Tarmogoyf
7 Sylvan Library
8 Garruk Wildspeaker
9 Vengevine
10 Lotus Cobra
11 Birds of Paradise
12 Fauna Shaman
13 Regrowth
14 Joraga Treespeaker
15 Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary
16 Wild Mongrel
17 Rancor
18 Noble Hierarch
19 Call of the Herd
20 Plow Under
IN for OUT
Loyal Cathar for Order of Leitbur
Headless Skaab for Augury Owl
Stormbound Geist for Sky Ruin Drake
Tragic Slip for Order of the Ebon Hand
Highborn Ghoul for Wei Strike Force
Undying Evil for Tendrils of Corruption
Forge Devil for Crested Craghorn
Torch Fiend for Flamewave Invoker
Hinterland Hermit for Village Ironsmith
Faithless Looting for Fire Juggler
Dawntreader Elk for Ondu Giant
Young Wolf for Ember Weaver
Ulvenwald Bear for Elvish Warrior
Hunger of the Howlpack for Death-Hood Cobra
Haunted Fengraf for Fire at Will
I'm trying to phase out unnecessary 1-toughness guys if I can (because of the super-Tim presence my Cube has). I'm also looking for underpowered guys for their cost to cut as well. The best card I'm cutting is Tendrils of Corruption but with the number of people we usually have it's not nearly as good as it should be. I really think that Undying Evil's surprise factor will win some games for people. Seriously.
The good thing about Cube is that I can always bring cards back
(EDIT: Beaten out...not used to making "timely" posts at midnight :))
Otherwise I don't see anything else for powered Cubes. But man...the Commons Cube upgrade is going to be sweet!
Here are the cards I'm definitely adding to the Commons Cube:
Loyal Cathar for Order of Leitbur
Headless Skaab for Augury Owl
Stormbound Geist
Tragic Slip for Order of the Ebon Hand
Forge Devil for Crested Craghorn
Faithless Looting for Fire Juggler
Ulvenwald Bear
Hunger of the Howlpack for Death-Hood Cobra
Here are the cards that (at first glance) may end up in the Commons Cube:
Break of Day
Elgaud Inquisitor
Midnight Guard
Skillful Lunge
Bone to Ash
Griptide
Nephalia Seakite
Gruesome Discovery
Highborn Ghoul
Undying Evil
Hinterland Hermit
Torch Fiend
Dawntreader Elk
Hollowhenge Beast
Kessig Recluse
Somberwald Dryad
Young Wolf
Haunted Fengraf
I need more time to digest these cards before deciding on other changes. All in all this was a great set for every type of Cube.
Something that would help me a lot would be to have people's Cube links in their signatures say how many cards are in their Cube. "I'm definitely playing this" can have so many different meanings depending on Cube size. I know when I read a sentence to this effect I immediately look at the person's signature to see how big their Cube is. It helps me with my evaluation of the person's opinion relative to my Cube.
These are the reasons why Vindicate is awesome. Excellent post.
No obvious cuts there. I think Hellrider *does* need to be in the Cube (even if it gluts up the 4-drop slot a little bit). I think I'm going to cut Magus of the Scroll for it.
Seriously an amazing set for Cube owners...and I don't think we're done.
Edit: I guess it's time to retire the fallen empires pro-guys. Fallen Empires was the last set I played with back in high school so it will be hard to say goodbye. At least I still have Hymn to Tourach in all its brokenness. I don't have any planned inclusions yet but I'm sure we'll see some worthwhile undying guys in the new set. The "undying" ability will be really strong in the Commons Cube.
Putting Grave Titan above Demonic Tutor may seem insane but in my experience when Grave Titan hits the board, his controller wins. Like, every time. I don't think anyone has ever won after a Grave Titan hit the opponent's board. Demonic Tutor is one of my all-time favorite cards but I feel like it's at the right spot at #4. I'm not as sure about Liliana & Braids...I may have those flipped. Since we're talking P1p1 I would rather build around Braids instead of Liliana.
BSZ has been a tremendous wrath since it was added and Consuming Vapors is an all-star versus aggro (and merely great against other decks). Bloodgift Demon usually doesn't live for very long but when he does it's pretty nuts. Nether Void hasn't seen as much play as I expected but I think that's due to where it's been drafted in our 2-mans (either when nobody is in black or it gets hate-drafted). I expect it to have an Armageddon-life effect on the board.
Thanks for all the feedback. The great thing about the Cube is that even if you cut something you can always bring it back.