I found that losing the opponents' deaths was a bigger loss from Blood Artist than I imagined. This is definitely a niche card, only needed to really push the effect. It's one of the most interesting allies, but I don't think that many people care.
I see no real reason to run this dude over Blood Artist. Being a 1/1 might let you kill x/1s and chip a few points of damage, but Blood Artist more than makes up for that by triggering of your opponents stuff dieing as well as your own.
Thieving Magpie was always a decent card but too fair for most cubes, Lu Xun, Scholar General being essentially unblockable is definitely a big upgrade but he has been showing his age in my cube.
Are you a scholar? Have you got a degree in anything?
I went 3-0 with my first oath deck the other night and it was more fun and better than I expected! I am on the fence about adding it to my cube, but i definitely see the appeal!
I like Oath of Druids but it didn't work as well as I hoped in cube, but that was because we end up playing 3-man games often enough and it played pretty terribly for us in 3 player. In multiplayer the Oath deck just doesn't work; it's much harder to guarantee your opponents don't get an activation, you have twice as many threats to deal with and your targets have to work twice as hard to end games.
1-on-1 it is a pretty fun card, I tend to run it in a hard control shell with a couple of big threats. It fuels your graveyard pretty well also and that can give you a nice toolbox for regrowth effects, infact it does it's job almost too well sometimes but that is part of the tension/fun, there is always the chance you wont have time to close out the game before you deck yourself. I dunno about you but there is something exciting about just dumping 15-20 cards into my graveyard and winning with a couple of cards left, it's a bit like winning with 5 health and no cards in hand with an agro deck.
Some decks are just unable to beat Oath. One of my favorite decks I've drafted in a past iteration of the MTGO Vintage Cube was a Temur Storm deck with Oath of Druids, Sneak Attack, Mind's Desire, and a handful of Eldrazi Titans as the win condition. Oath won at least half of those games. It's just a really strong card when built around.
A friend of mine begged me to include Oath and Forbidden Orchard when they were both reprinted. I didn't think a two card combo would be feasible in my 720 cube with no tutors (and at a power level that see's no Eldrazi titans et. al.), but I wanted to indulged him for at least one update cycle. To be fair he pulled it of thrice now, drafting the deck without it being a train wreck. And when the deck works IT WORKS. I drafted it a few times on cube tutor now myself, a Temur control shell with maybe some off color fatties seems the best place for the deck. So I think Oath will be staying for a while.
As for Lu Xun, I like the evasion and the draw ability, but there so many other blue four drops I'd rather run, so he's never been a consideration for me so far.
I don't think I've ever taken a formal oath, but I feel a little bit scholary: I've a degree in software engineering and almost went to get my PhD in the field after, but took up a normal job offer instead.
The thing about Oath is that most decks feature creatures, so you really don't even need to play Orchid--just play it on t2 and wait from there. It plays a lot like Standstill in that regard sometimes, as your opponent will sometimes warp their play around awful lines just to avoid a trigger.
Luckily, you don't need to run Orchard to make Oath work in most cube environments, since 90+% of the decks win through the red zone anyways. Oath is good, and has gotten better over the years, as the targets it fetches up are stronger, and it can slide into mode decks since Superfriends shells are more feasible.
Lu Xun is also a cool card. I'd like to have room for it, but ultimately it just can't compete anymore.
Oath is a fun card - powerful enough for cube, but not so powerful you'll feel bad leaving it out. I like personal preference cards like that - I run oath, but would never fault someone for not doing it.
I wasn't sure I'd like Oath until I drafted it. The most fun cube deck I've drafted so far was a UB control shell with Reanimate and Oath as win conditions.
Granted, Oath rarely makes it to main decks. There are too many good small creatures that you wouldn't want to hit with Oath. You have to get a certain critical mass of good noncreature spells.
Does it bother you that some otherwise perfectly playable cards have rules text or mechanics that never comes up in cube? Are there some cards you don't run because they have text/mechanics that you don't want to support on only one card?
Falkenrath is awesome, feels better than the random 2/1s for W as I feel mono red was the best aggressive deck anyways and we've been in a world where Jackal Pup has been elite. (Or it hasn't, depending on who you ask.)
I don't mind cards still being playable but having mechanics not used, as it represents potential futures to consider. If we were to ever hit a critical mass of consistent vampire aggro creatures that are good without needing to be a Vampire or surrounded by them--like Gorger here--then something like Oona's Prowler will become that much better when you can flash in vampires essentially for free in Rakdos, or whatever other discard outlets there are for a deck Falkenrath could want.
It's the best part of cube--being a modular game, every new set has potential to warp cube in the best way, and when it does it's really exciting and fresh. Old cards that might've been far off the radar come back into the spotlight with certain support, or something new can add a whole new dimension to an archetype. Even small stuff like Selfless Spirit can give an entire archetype an extra degree of resiliency, and it's really cool to look back to where cube was, look now where it is, and ahead to where it'll be.
Falkenrath Gorger is great; being a 2/1 for R with no drawback basically makes you a staple.
I actually enjoy when cards have trinket text like this, it add a bit of extra variety to games as well as cube list and discussion. Falkenrath Gorgeris a good example of a card that gets in on its own merits and its trinket text will vary in relevance from cube to cube. They are also the kind of card that could get much better over time as cubes change, I could see a world where red gets 5-6 more aggressive vampires and this guy starts to get a lot more exciting.
It also makes for fun stories; whether its holding back a dragon with Dragon Hunter or flashing in your Vampire Nighthawk to block a fatty, these are the fun interactions I like to see come up. I have recently had Sword of Dungeons and Dragons protection matter (Gonti, Lord of Luxury was my opponents only blocker), it was interesting.
I do dislike cards that have keywords like Partner that have no way of mattering in a cube setting, but it would never put me off including it.
A lot of the people I played with asked what the backside to Hanweir Garrison was, the answer is always 'don't worry about it, mini Hero of Bladehold is all that matters.'
Haven't played any Magpie variants in cube but I played 4 in a mono-blue control standard deck back in the day. I had a 20ish game win streak at FNMs with that deck!
A 2/1 for R with no drawback is great for that color, so even if the ability is rarely ever useful, it's still a great card.
I don't like it when cards have irrelevant text, but it wouldn't prevent me from including a card that was good enough. I got my Gisela and Garrison altered so that players don't have to worry about whether or not the other half is in the cube.
It really does not annoy me if there are near irrelevant text in some cards, but it does confuse my fellow drafters, who are longtime players which are not familiar with all the cards. They will read all the text only to realize much later that it is all irrelevant. It also distracts from the fact that it is simply a good two power 1 drop. Overall this is fine, as cube is designed for experienced players and is much much complex than your average draft.
I’m ok with trinket text like this when it’s a minor upside, although I try to reduce text clutter in my cube wherever possible. I’ve considered cutting Mardu Woe-Reaper for a Savannah Lions variant in the past to not deceive drafters into thinking Warriors is a dedicated archetype or make them read too much before getting the gist of the card. Maximizing power level is generally a good thing, but there’s value in legibility. I’d like players completely unfamiliar with my cube to be able to look at their pack and understand what’s going on.
Where I really take issue is on cards like Parting Thoughts, where the ability is a very powerful hoser against a narrow range of cards. It’s swingy in a way that isn’t strategic or exciting, and really messes with your perception of the card’s actual value.
Carrying a bunch of cash is a little unnerving. Not because I'm afraid I'll get robbed or anything, but just because losing it would be really crappy.
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 49th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from MKM!
[180 classic cube]
Low-power cube enthusiast!
My 1570 card cube (no longer updated)
My 415 Peasant+ Artifact and Enchantment Cube
Ever-Expanding "Just throw it in" cube.
Oath of Druids
Have you ever taken an oath of some sort? Did you keep it?
Look like Radiant Dragon is Unexpectedly Absent, unfortunately we have discuses that card already...
Here is one I don't see too often and is most likely a holdover from an earlier day of my cube.
Lu Xun, Scholar General
Thieving Magpie was always a decent card but too fair for most cubes, Lu Xun, Scholar General being essentially unblockable is definitely a big upgrade but he has been showing his age in my cube.
Are you a scholar? Have you got a degree in anything?
1-on-1 it is a pretty fun card, I tend to run it in a hard control shell with a couple of big threats. It fuels your graveyard pretty well also and that can give you a nice toolbox for regrowth effects, infact it does it's job almost too well sometimes but that is part of the tension/fun, there is always the chance you wont have time to close out the game before you deck yourself. I dunno about you but there is something exciting about just dumping 15-20 cards into my graveyard and winning with a couple of cards left, it's a bit like winning with 5 health and no cards in hand with an agro deck.
[180 classic cube]
As for Lu Xun, I like the evasion and the draw ability, but there so many other blue four drops I'd rather run, so he's never been a consideration for me so far.
I don't think I've ever taken a formal oath, but I feel a little bit scholary: I've a degree in software engineering and almost went to get my PhD in the field after, but took up a normal job offer instead.
No oaths, no degrees
Also, follow us on twitter! @TurnOneMagic
Lu Xun is also a cool card. I'd like to have room for it, but ultimately it just can't compete anymore.
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 49th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from MKM!
I've never played Lu Xun, but Thieving Magpie is still putting in great work here.
Low-power cube enthusiast!
My 1570 card cube (no longer updated)
My 415 Peasant+ Artifact and Enchantment Cube
Ever-Expanding "Just throw it in" cube.
I never played with any magpie variant.
375 unpowered cube - https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/601ac624832cdf1039947588
Granted, Oath rarely makes it to main decks. There are too many good small creatures that you wouldn't want to hit with Oath. You have to get a certain critical mass of good noncreature spells.
Falkenrath Gorger
Does it bother you that some otherwise perfectly playable cards have rules text or mechanics that never comes up in cube? Are there some cards you don't run because they have text/mechanics that you don't want to support on only one card?
I don't mind cards still being playable but having mechanics not used, as it represents potential futures to consider. If we were to ever hit a critical mass of consistent vampire aggro creatures that are good without needing to be a Vampire or surrounded by them--like Gorger here--then something like Oona's Prowler will become that much better when you can flash in vampires essentially for free in Rakdos, or whatever other discard outlets there are for a deck Falkenrath could want.
It's the best part of cube--being a modular game, every new set has potential to warp cube in the best way, and when it does it's really exciting and fresh. Old cards that might've been far off the radar come back into the spotlight with certain support, or something new can add a whole new dimension to an archetype. Even small stuff like Selfless Spirit can give an entire archetype an extra degree of resiliency, and it's really cool to look back to where cube was, look now where it is, and ahead to where it'll be.
Also, follow us on twitter! @TurnOneMagic
I actually enjoy when cards have trinket text like this, it add a bit of extra variety to games as well as cube list and discussion. Falkenrath Gorgeris a good example of a card that gets in on its own merits and its trinket text will vary in relevance from cube to cube. They are also the kind of card that could get much better over time as cubes change, I could see a world where red gets 5-6 more aggressive vampires and this guy starts to get a lot more exciting.
It also makes for fun stories; whether its holding back a dragon with Dragon Hunter or flashing in your Vampire Nighthawk to block a fatty, these are the fun interactions I like to see come up. I have recently had Sword of Dungeons and Dragons protection matter (Gonti, Lord of Luxury was my opponents only blocker), it was interesting.
I do dislike cards that have keywords like Partner that have no way of mattering in a cube setting, but it would never put me off including it.
Also, follow us on twitter! @TurnOneMagic
I don't like it when cards have irrelevant text, but it wouldn't prevent me from including a card that was good enough. I got my Gisela and Garrison altered so that players don't have to worry about whether or not the other half is in the cube.
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 49th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from MKM!
It really does not annoy me if there are near irrelevant text in some cards, but it does confuse my fellow drafters, who are longtime players which are not familiar with all the cards. They will read all the text only to realize much later that it is all irrelevant. It also distracts from the fact that it is simply a good two power 1 drop. Overall this is fine, as cube is designed for experienced players and is much much complex than your average draft.
Where I really take issue is on cards like Parting Thoughts, where the ability is a very powerful hoser against a narrow range of cards. It’s swingy in a way that isn’t strategic or exciting, and really messes with your perception of the card’s actual value.
Cubetutor Link
I really don't find dedicated red aggro to be an archetype that I need to spend a lot of slots supporting. It's always a fine deck anyway.
Low-power cube enthusiast!
My 1570 card cube (no longer updated)
My 415 Peasant+ Artifact and Enchantment Cube
Ever-Expanding "Just throw it in" cube.
Reckless Bushwhacker
Do you ever play 2-Headed Giant or other multiplayer variants with cube?