MTG Salvation

Yea this is a pretty good 6 drop. The last remaining green 6 in my list is Carnage Tryant and I think this is pretty close.

Only one of them? Gosh thats tough. I'd probably go with Oko, that walker is crazy good. I run all three of those cards and am happy about it.

Does your cube require discard outlets? If so I agree w/ wtwlf123, otherwise I'd probably cut Pyromancer.

I run over 30 draw spells that cost less than 2 mana and a bunch of creatures that draw cards when they EtB. Even with that much draw density I think this card is a pass.

Neither the creature half nor the spell half gets there on their own merits, but I do think y'all are undervaluing the flexibility of being a 1 mana instant, a 2 mana creature, or both. Successful aggro decks want effect density more than they care about card quality. If I can jam in a creature that provides a little extra flexibility while fulfilling it's primary purpose of being a cheap attacker, I'm in. At least for testing.

I wish this guy had 4 toughness, but it's not a deal breaker. We run several X/1 aggro dudes at 2 mana.

Creature - Dwarf Knight (1R)
Rimrock Knight can't block.
—
Boulder Rush R
Instant — Adventure
Target creature gets +2/+0 until end of turn.

3/1

Seems like a great red aggro beater. It's not that long ago that many of us were running Borderland Marauder, and this seems like a pretty meaningful upgrade.

I totally agree with you about the creature stats. They are at average common stat lines for their mana costs, which definitely keeps them out of cube on the basis of their combat prowess. In each case I feel like you want to be casting the adventure mode first as often as possible. That said, I think the ability to drop a creature only in the rare cases where a creature is needed is extremely valuable. The modality of being a creature, or a spell, or both, and having full control over when you cast each half elevates these cards above their base stats significantly.

I think Shepherd is cool, i’ll Be curious to hear how he does for you. I’m all about having a fluid list where you can try new things on a whim. It’s how we learn

This set has ended up being one of the best of all time for my cube, at least in terms of initial inclusions. MH1 was higher, but a lot of that stuff didn't stick around (sorry, Urza!). My inclusions are as follows:

WHITE
Ardenvale Tactician - going deep on adventure cards to see if the mechanic makes combat tricks playable.
Charming Prince - Not super high on this guy, but he does so many goofy little things I have to try him out.
Faerie Guidemother - reach in white is
Giant Killer - been very impressed with the 1 mana tappers in white. I'll try stapling a conditional removal spell to one in exchange for an extra mana to activate.
Realm-Cloaked Giant - I think this guy is being sorely underrated. Sweeper + finisher is a dream for control decks.
Silverflame Squire - see my note on Ardenvale Tactician
Venerable Knight - At 18 one drops in white, I have room

BLUE
Brazen Borrower - likely the strongest card of the set.
Fae of Wishes - pushed defensive stats, sweet adventure mode, ability to grind. This is a great control creature.
Gadwick, the Wizened - Mulldrifter-esque creature with plenty of upside.
Hypnotic Sprite - Another adventure card I feel is being criminally underrated. This is going to play out like a 3 mana Dismiss in a lot of games.
Witching Well - Dig for lands early, refill late. This little artifact is a house.

BLACK
Blacklance Paragon - Flexible aggro beater than can see play in other archetypes.
Foulmire Knight - ^^^^^
Murderous Rider - Another candidate for best card in the set.
Order of Midnight - Aggro beater, late game utility, flying Gravedigger. However you slice it this creature delivers.
Rankle, Master of Pranks - Who cares about black 5 drops when we get creatures this pushed!

RED
Bonecrusher Giant - The best burn spell we've seen in a while.
Embereth Shieldbreaker - He may not make it into my cube, which finds itself with less artifacts every update, but this is my favorite Shatter variant.
Fervent Champion - Red 1 drop #16 for me. Will likely be the first to go when we get something better, but he's in for now.
Robber of the Rich - Hasty bear is a fine floor, the upside is gravy. I like this critter.
EDIT: Rimrock Knight - Combat trick + aggro beater. Sick.

GREEN
Gilded Goose - Even the worst 1 mana dork is worth playing.
Once Upon a Time - Seems fun. I like free spells.
Questing Beast - Green 4's are officially no longer a weak spot in cube.
Wicked Wolf - See note on Questing Beast. Mono green removal that doesn't break the color pie makes me happy.
Wildborn Preserver - My new favorite green 2 drop beater. I'm playing this guy over Scooze and Goyf.

MULTICOLOR
Garruk, Cursed Huntsman - What a beast. My new favorite Golgari walker.
Oko, Thief of Crowns - I've heard some extremely positive testing results from Oko so far. I think he's going to be unexpectedly good.
The Royal Scions - Kind of a funky walker, but I love tempo decks and 6 loyalty for 3 mana is tough for me to ignore.

COLORLESS
Gingerbrute - Colorless Raging Goblin with evasion and upside just gets there for me.
Stonecoil Serpent - I was already playing (and loving) Endless One. This is a no brainer for me.
Fabled Passage - Closer to Evolving Wilds than Prismatic Vista, but a slam dunk nonetheless. I want 4 more please.

Thats.... 32 33 cards. Woah, I knew I was going deep on this set but that number surprises me.

I missed Workshop in that list, so you have a good point. I'm less into Wasteland in cubes without broken lands like those, or dedicated ways reuse the effect. I'm actually on the verge of cutting Strip Mine from my cube. I've found it's power greatly reduced since I cut broken lands and significantly tightened my curve.

Is personally cut Wasteland. Do you run Crucible?

Guidemother and Silverflame definitely open you up to a 2-for-1s against, but if you resolve them the result is effective card and tempo advantage. Also, fair point about Guidemother being more of a burn spell than a combat trick. I'll take that in white.

I'm not saying these guys are stone cold staples but I do think they have a solid shot of being good performers. The creature/spell modality and card advantage baked into the Adventure mechanic is easy to undervalue.

Also, "wah! I want interesting combat tricks" is a complaint I've seen often on these boards. These adventure creatures are likely as close as we're ever going to get

I think these three white creatures pack a serious punch and are worth considering in even the strongest cube environments that support white aggro. In each case neither the creature, nor the adventure, is worth playing on their own but when taken together I think we (FINALLY) have some solid combat tricks that can hack it in cube.

Faerie Guidemother
Jumping one of your aggro guys is a fine value for 2 mana. Kill that Garruk on the other side of the field! Get those last couple points of damage in to close out the game! Surprise evasion is a powerful effect. A flying men in white is not Plan A for turn 1, but if you find yourself with an opening hand where this is your only one drop, you will be happy to have it. I think the average damage output of this creature is going to be about on par with more commonly played 2/1 Savannah Lion variants when you factor in the jump spell and the evasive body. It's also a mighty fine topdeck for any aggro deck in the mid/late game. This is a potent little package.

Silverflame Squire
In creature heavy matchups this will often play out like a removal spell followed by a 2/1. Surprise block, eat it! Your opponent blocks your Venerable Knight with a 3/3 thinking they are safe, eat it! Against creature light strategies like control or combo, this just speeds up your clock. The creature half of this card is not at all impressive, but in games where you need to curve out and keep the pressure on, even a lowly Piker can make the difference.

Ardenvale Tactician
Tapping down two blockers can open the path for significant damage output in aggro decks. Think of this like a white Ahn Crop Crasher. A 3 mana flying 2/3 is not great, but it is on rate. This is a Kinjalli's Sunwing that can take care of creatures already on the field. It also isn't a bad play out of the sideboard for controlling decks. Tap down two attackers to save a planeswalker or Fog for a turn, then drop a 3 toughness blocker to gum up the board.

All three of these creatures help white aggro with one of it's biggest weaknesses: reach.

The issue with combat tricks in cube is two fold. 1) Non-removal tricks are narrow. The window where you can use them is not always open. Why play a pump spell when you can just kill the blocker? 2) Temporary effects ultimately lead to card disadvantage. The adventure mechanic solves these issues handily. While the adventures may not always be relevant, playing a creature almost always is. These are modal spells. When you resolve an adventure you effectively draw a creature, thus mitigating the card disadvantage inherent in combat tricks.

I plan to test all three of these creatures and I think you should too!

Ambush Viper + healing salve or a pseudo hasty Blade of the Sixth Pride. I push black aggro and I'm stoked for this creature.

Love this. I’d happily run 4 more functional reprints of this card alongside barrens, expanse, wilds, and vista. I’d loooove to not have to run Vivids.

Slam dunk, this card is super pushed

I look forward to piloting white blue control decks in my cube where the only win con's are this, Hypnotic Sprite, and Realm-Cloaked Giant