I'd also have a look at other reasons Storm wasn't working before adding another card that only works in one specific deck - lack of redundancy in other areas (More tutors? Rituals? Ways to cast from the gy? Card selection? Anything else that goes in more than just Storm) or overabundance of other things that beat the deck.
I agree. I think win conditions are the lowest priority on what storm needs to function well. For example, if your storm decks are able to generate infinite mana, Fireball-effects also become a possible storm wincon. I'm also reminded of the draft Gaby and LSV had where their storm deck won with Siege-Gang Commander and Corpse Dance. Several times I've tried drafting storm on the MTGO cube, I ended up with only Draw 7s + Narset/Leovold, and that interaction was strong enough to not need Tendrils. I've also drafted storm/sneak attack hybrids where the deck used Mind's Desire to cast Eldrazi. Generally, if everything else is working, the storm drafter can find a way to win, even if none of the cards in the deck have the Storm keyword.
I've been thinking about this in my own cube, and I think I've come up with the answer for me.
Barbed Spike > Crowbar > Ancestral Blade
A Stormfront Pegasus is just a much better creature than a Grizzly Bears, so Barbed Spike wins imo. I'd put Crowbar as #1 if it didn't have to tap to sac itself, but needing to wait a turn to deal with an artifact/enchantment hurts too much I think. I think the utility of being able to hit artifacts/enchantments does make it better than Ancestral Blade's lower equip cost, though.
I like it. I don't think I like it more than Skyclave Shade, since the shade scales better in the late-game. Still looks like a reasonable black aggro 2drop. Being a warrior is nice.
With my NEO update, I'm planning to add Devoted Druid to go with Swift Reconfiguration. I'm also aware Devoted Druid can combo with Vizier of Remedies. Are there any other cards Devoted Druid pairs with that are worth considering?
I like Skyclave Shade over Scrapheap for the 5 mana option. I think being able to fit 2 spots in the curve is worth being a little harder to recur and being a little worse in the 2 mana mode.
This looks great. I don't like it more than Bonecrusher Giant or Flametounge Yearling, but I'm still running Arc trail, and think I can slot this in that place.
As a general statement about the card, and not it's playablity in cube, I really don't like that the 2 abilities don't work with each other. You should be able to pay 3RRR to make a 5/5 with haste
I like this card better in aggro decks since opponents have a harder time finding a spot to pay the 2. I'd still play this in any deck, though. Trading an opponent's biggest threat for a random card is good. But I pick it less highly when drafting control than when I do drafting aggro.
The Recruiters are fantastic. I do like that Recruiter of the Guard can also find Solitude now, as well. And yeah, Recruiter for Soulherder -> Soulherder blink Recruiter -> Recruiter for Solitude -> Soulherder blink Solitude is wonderful.
Massacre Wurm's still good, but a few cards take up it's slot better. Grave Titan is the premier black six drop that is good to reanimate but also castable. Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite is better for reanimator as the anti-go-wide target. Archon of Cruelty is the best black reanimate target not named Griselbrand or Grave Titan. I imagine somewhere between 540 and 720, there's still room for Massacre Wurm. The latest iteration of the MTGO Vintage cube was still playing Massacre Wurm, and that's a 540. So yeah, a few cards take it's slot up better, but still a fine card.
I did give this a test in 2017. It's definitely a fun card. I saw the 4-color Ascendancy deck come together a few times. I could see that deck having more support now with Omnath, Locus of Creation and Golos, Tireless Pilgrim supporting 4 and 5 color decks.
There's definitely a difference between Peek and Gitaxian Probe. I wouldn't want to play Peek in a completely proactive deck, but I'd play Gitaxian Probe in any deck. Being able to cast for 2 life changes the card by a lot.
I do understand the comparisons to Opt since it takes up the same slot in a cube, but I don't think of Peek as a Xerox Theory card. I think the strength of the card is in "Look at target player's hand" not "Draw a card." It says draw a card because if you sacrificed card parity for the information, it'd be terrible.
But I do think reactive decks and decks playing powerful but easily disrupted strategies do benefit from having access to Peek.
I agree. I think win conditions are the lowest priority on what storm needs to function well. For example, if your storm decks are able to generate infinite mana, Fireball-effects also become a possible storm wincon. I'm also reminded of the draft Gaby and LSV had where their storm deck won with Siege-Gang Commander and Corpse Dance. Several times I've tried drafting storm on the MTGO cube, I ended up with only Draw 7s + Narset/Leovold, and that interaction was strong enough to not need Tendrils. I've also drafted storm/sneak attack hybrids where the deck used Mind's Desire to cast Eldrazi. Generally, if everything else is working, the storm drafter can find a way to win, even if none of the cards in the deck have the Storm keyword.
I've been thinking about this in my own cube, and I think I've come up with the answer for me.
Barbed Spike > Crowbar > Ancestral Blade
A Stormfront Pegasus is just a much better creature than a Grizzly Bears, so Barbed Spike wins imo. I'd put Crowbar as #1 if it didn't have to tap to sac itself, but needing to wait a turn to deal with an artifact/enchantment hurts too much I think. I think the utility of being able to hit artifacts/enchantments does make it better than Ancestral Blade's lower equip cost, though.
I do understand the comparisons to Opt since it takes up the same slot in a cube, but I don't think of Peek as a Xerox Theory card. I think the strength of the card is in "Look at target player's hand" not "Draw a card." It says draw a card because if you sacrificed card parity for the information, it'd be terrible.
But I do think reactive decks and decks playing powerful but easily disrupted strategies do benefit from having access to Peek.