It certainly has potential, but a below the curve 3-drop that needs other creatures to become good (while making them more expensive) it's too niche and situational to see play in cubes under 500 cards IMO.
I play him in my 720. I would agree that he would not make the cut in most cubes under 500, though.
Please continue with the discussion, I have found new interactions that have made me consider card choices. I haven't taken part of the discussion due to the fact that I don't right now have a 'normal' cube, only the classic. I am in the process of acquiring cards to that end, so this is quite valuable thread, at least for me.
Please continue with the discussion, I have found new interactions that have made me consider card choices. I haven't taken part of the discussion due to the fact that I don't right now have a 'normal' cube, only the classic. I am in the process of acquiring cards to that end, so this is quite valuable thread, at least for me.
Good point, looks like we collectively forgot to feed this thread. I'll pitch in.
White 4-drops in our cube:
Calciderm: this creature puts a lot of pressure on the opponent, if unopposed it does a lot of damage before it fades away and the shroud means it's quite hard to deal with. Its temporary nature is mitigated by its sheer damage potential and the fact that it will probably lead to card advantage through chump blocks. Hero of Bladehold: this creature is waaaayyy over the curve. On an empty board it gets out of control very fast, and if you have any other creatures it's worse. Its only downside is its relative fragility, but really that's only when comparing to 'derm. Kor Sanctifiers: a very desirable effect on a stick. This creature doesn't look very powerful but it has a very important role in cube for a reasonable cost.
Ranger of Eos - Comes with a decent sized body and provides wrath protection and card advantage which are very helpful for white aggressive and midrange decks. Cube has a lot of great targets for him with notables such as Mother of Runes, Grim Lavamancer, Wild Nacatl and Student of Warfare however simply grabbing Savannah Lions and Elite Vanguard is a perfectly fine play. Any red creature that deals damage is also good for giving you some extra reach.
Wall of Reverence is good against any archetype. Against Aggro, the lifegain is killer. Same against midrange, since it knocks out one of their best threats while gaining life back. Against control, it can potentially block their finishers, and if you have a good creature to go with it, you're gaining a ton of life each turn.
I'm a big fan of Ranger of Eos. At worst, he's usually fetching a couple of 2/1s. On a good day, he's grabbing something like Mother of Runes + Figure of Destiny. Half the reason I run Scute Mob is because its a fun Ranger target.
Galepowder Mage: Blink on a stick, but unlike most of these effects the mage is splashable, and can be use every turn on either your own creatures or your opponents. Always in contension depending on what you want in your 4 drop.
Guardian Seraph: Another very underrated card, it really makes a difference in a race, has evasion, and dodges bolts.
Linvala, Keeper of Silence: I've never used this card personally but I feel like it has merrits in the right situation. You really need to do a count on activated vs. triggered abilities in your cube to see if Linvala actually does enough to be worth the slot. That being said 3/4 flyers for 4 are sexy.
Exalted Angel: I am assuming the reason people are not listing her is that they are going to rate her as a 6 drop. That being said, it is rare that I will actually hard cast it except against decks with tons of burn. the beauty of her abilities is she comes out on turn 3 vs control, getting under some counterspells, or with 6 mana vs burn decks.
I'll add for Kor Sanctifiers that just playing it as a 2/3 for 3 in a pinch is quite a good play against aggro's 2/x creatures if you're under the cosh a bit. It's a very relevant body to have early on if you really need a creature and she's saved me a number of times like that.
Hero of Bladehold - Just a great enabler and finisher, that is both synergystic and independently powerful. Kor Sanctifiers - A must have for even the smallest cube. What is lacks in reanimation/blink tricks, it makes up for in versatility. Calciderm - Has been decreasing in value for us, but still a beast. The only time you really don't want it is if they have a larger creature. Emeria Angel - Solid, and getting better as the token theme progresses. Ranger of Eos - I always think he is going to be better than he is. Too many times i cast him and the one drops are going to have no effect on the board, because I am either going to win big or lose big at that point. Was helped by some solid recent one drops though. Galepowder Mage - Seemingly always better than it looks on paper (a four drop that fails the Chain Lightning test, and can't attack with a friend against an empty board?). Abuses enter play effects, and is damn near impossible to block. Celestial Crusader - Seems to gain an ability every time I look at it. Those abilities, plus the growth of tokens, make Crusader playable. Hokori, Dust Drinker - Too small; too easy to remove; wrong color for the effect. Give me a 3/4 with this and we'll talk. Academy Rector - I am a Rector (damn near killed'er!) defender, but she is getting a bit slow in her old age. Grabs Moat, Fetters, Vortex, Survival, Future Sight, Stormbind, Deed, and a decent amount of other awesome cards. Linvala, Keeper of Silence - I have never played her, but she seems a bit cute. Could use some sort of protections, beyond the 4 toughness. Wall of Reverence - I have never played the card, but it seems to me that four cost cards that are only good against aggro aren't that good at all.
Baneslayer Angel: Most 5+ CMC creatures that don't have spot removal protection or a good ETB ability don't make the cut, but BSA is real house for five mana - it gives a ten point life swing after just one turn, or even fifteen if it blocks. It wins nearly every combat and has protection from two relevant creature types.
Eternal Dragon: Similar to Krosan Tusker, its role as a big creature is only really secondary - a 5/5 flier for 7 is a poor deal - its primary value is the fact it's not a dead card early on and can fix mana and fetch dual lands. Late in the game it ensures you have a play to make every turn and a 5/5 flier is always a threat. It is also quite good with reanimator spells as a self-discard outlet.
Those are the ones I felt about writing about. Sun Titan is the best white finisher by a large margin so he's easy to discuss!
Reveillark - Combo king on a relevant, evasive body. Baneslayer Angel - Too big and awesome to care about the Terminate Test. Cloudgoat Ranger - A lot of versatility and synergy here. Good in aggro, tokens, control, Moat control, Stax control, bounce control, ramp, and just about anything else. Karmic Guide - Resurrection on a stick that can either put itself into the graveyard for shenanigans, or hang around as a pro black flyer. Archon of Justice - Captain of the "enter the battlefield effects are better than leave the battlefield effects" team.
Sun Titan - Third best Titan is still good enough for best white finisher. Exalted Angel - Versatility and power. Yosei, the Morning Star - Losing a bit of relative power these days thanks to some awesome printings (Titan and BSA, namely). Yosei is still a great finisher though. Captain of the Watch - Certainly gaining steam with tokens on the rise, but still feels like one mana too much (I would almost always rather play Cloudgoat in any deck).
Eternal Dragon - Think about this. How many of the creatures listed here would you like to see in your opening hand (2-3 lands)? Eternal Dragon and Ex Angel and that is it. A must have if you run any sort of duals. Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite - I would like to hear some discussion about Elesh Norn. Seven mana is almost out of bounds for non green colors, and not having any sort of protection made me skip him (?) all together. The latest 3rd power podcast made some good points about his board impact though, so I'm curious if I have overlooked something here. Would the fans of this card cut Yosei for it? Akroma, Angel of Wrath - I don't think there is room for Akroma in cubes these days. Too expensive for that little amount of protection.
Geist-honored monk: certainly comparable to cloudgoat ranger, but in many ways it fits in a bigger variety of decks. Normally hitting the board at a toughness of greater than 4 it is very difficult to remove, its tokens have evasion and it blockes like a champ. Quite impressive on defense.
Sunblast Angel: 90% of the time this is a one sided wrath when it hits, 4/5 flyers for 6 with really good ability.
Pristine Angel: one of the most annoying to kill creatures ever, would have been insane at 5cc, but is still playable at 6cc.
I think we might be better off opening threads for each card in keeping with the new organisation. That way seems to be working very well in my opinion. The relevant bits can be kept from this thread too, as everyone did a fine job up till now.
I play him in my 720. I would agree that he would not make the cut in most cubes under 500, though.
My 360 Commons Cube
Good point, looks like we collectively forgot to feed this thread. I'll pitch in.
White 4-drops in our cube:
Calciderm: this creature puts a lot of pressure on the opponent, if unopposed it does a lot of damage before it fades away and the shroud means it's quite hard to deal with. Its temporary nature is mitigated by its sheer damage potential and the fact that it will probably lead to card advantage through chump blocks.
Hero of Bladehold: this creature is waaaayyy over the curve. On an empty board it gets out of control very fast, and if you have any other creatures it's worse. Its only downside is its relative fragility, but really that's only when comparing to 'derm.
Kor Sanctifiers: a very desirable effect on a stick. This creature doesn't look very powerful but it has a very important role in cube for a reasonable cost.
Emeria Angel: This creature creates an army of flyers that can be quite good on its own, but is also strong with cards like Glorious Anthem, Ajani Goldmane, etc.
My 360 Commons Cube
My 360 Commons Cube
Wall of Reverence is good against any archetype. Against Aggro, the lifegain is killer. Same against midrange, since it knocks out one of their best threats while gaining life back. Against control, it can potentially block their finishers, and if you have a good creature to go with it, you're gaining a ton of life each turn.
Galepowder Mage: Blink on a stick, but unlike most of these effects the mage is splashable, and can be use every turn on either your own creatures or your opponents. Always in contension depending on what you want in your 4 drop.
Guardian Seraph: Another very underrated card, it really makes a difference in a race, has evasion, and dodges bolts.
Linvala, Keeper of Silence: I've never used this card personally but I feel like it has merrits in the right situation. You really need to do a count on activated vs. triggered abilities in your cube to see if Linvala actually does enough to be worth the slot. That being said 3/4 flyers for 4 are sexy.
Exalted Angel: I am assuming the reason people are not listing her is that they are going to rate her as a 6 drop. That being said, it is rare that I will actually hard cast it except against decks with tons of burn. the beauty of her abilities is she comes out on turn 3 vs control, getting under some counterspells, or with 6 mana vs burn decks.
http://hgcube.blogspot.com/ (help me Make my Custom CUBE!)
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=382498
The "Make a Proxy Thread
Redit Proxy Article "current gallery"
MY LEGACY ALTERS
On spoiled card wishlisting and 'should-have-had'-isms:
Kor Sanctifiers - A must have for even the smallest cube. What is lacks in reanimation/blink tricks, it makes up for in versatility.
Calciderm - Has been decreasing in value for us, but still a beast. The only time you really don't want it is if they have a larger creature.
Emeria Angel - Solid, and getting better as the token theme progresses.
Ranger of Eos - I always think he is going to be better than he is. Too many times i cast him and the one drops are going to have no effect on the board, because I am either going to win big or lose big at that point. Was helped by some solid recent one drops though.
Galepowder Mage - Seemingly always better than it looks on paper (a four drop that fails the Chain Lightning test, and can't attack with a friend against an empty board?). Abuses enter play effects, and is damn near impossible to block.
Celestial Crusader - Seems to gain an ability every time I look at it. Those abilities, plus the growth of tokens, make Crusader playable.
Hokori, Dust Drinker - Too small; too easy to remove; wrong color for the effect. Give me a 3/4 with this and we'll talk.
Academy Rector - I am a Rector (damn near killed'er!) defender, but she is getting a bit slow in her old age. Grabs Moat, Fetters, Vortex, Survival, Future Sight, Stormbind, Deed, and a decent amount of other awesome cards.
Linvala, Keeper of Silence - I have never played her, but she seems a bit cute. Could use some sort of protections, beyond the 4 toughness.
Wall of Reverence - I have never played the card, but it seems to me that four cost cards that are only good against aggro aren't that good at all.
My 360 Commons Cube
Eternal Dragon: Similar to Krosan Tusker, its role as a big creature is only really secondary - a 5/5 flier for 7 is a poor deal - its primary value is the fact it's not a dead card early on and can fix mana and fetch dual lands. Late in the game it ensures you have a play to make every turn and a 5/5 flier is always a threat. It is also quite good with reanimator spells as a self-discard outlet.
Those are the ones I felt about writing about. Sun Titan is the best white finisher by a large margin so he's easy to discuss!
On spoiled card wishlisting and 'should-have-had'-isms:
I think Gideon is the best white finisher
Baneslayer Angel - Too big and awesome to care about the Terminate Test.
Cloudgoat Ranger - A lot of versatility and synergy here. Good in aggro, tokens, control, Moat control, Stax control, bounce control, ramp, and just about anything else.
Karmic Guide - Resurrection on a stick that can either put itself into the graveyard for shenanigans, or hang around as a pro black flyer.
Archon of Justice - Captain of the "enter the battlefield effects are better than leave the battlefield effects" team.
Sun Titan - Third best Titan is still good enough for best white finisher.
Exalted Angel - Versatility and power.
Yosei, the Morning Star - Losing a bit of relative power these days thanks to some awesome printings (Titan and BSA, namely). Yosei is still a great finisher though.
Captain of the Watch - Certainly gaining steam with tokens on the rise, but still feels like one mana too much (I would almost always rather play Cloudgoat in any deck).
Eternal Dragon - Think about this. How many of the creatures listed here would you like to see in your opening hand (2-3 lands)? Eternal Dragon and Ex Angel and that is it. A must have if you run any sort of duals.
Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite - I would like to hear some discussion about Elesh Norn. Seven mana is almost out of bounds for non green colors, and not having any sort of protection made me skip him (?) all together. The latest 3rd power podcast made some good points about his board impact though, so I'm curious if I have overlooked something here. Would the fans of this card cut Yosei for it?
Akroma, Angel of Wrath - I don't think there is room for Akroma in cubes these days. Too expensive for that little amount of protection.
Geist-honored monk: certainly comparable to cloudgoat ranger, but in many ways it fits in a bigger variety of decks. Normally hitting the board at a toughness of greater than 4 it is very difficult to remove, its tokens have evasion and it blockes like a champ. Quite impressive on defense.
Sunblast Angel: 90% of the time this is a one sided wrath when it hits, 4/5 flyers for 6 with really good ability.
Pristine Angel: one of the most annoying to kill creatures ever, would have been insane at 5cc, but is still playable at 6cc.
http://hgcube.blogspot.com/ (help me Make my Custom CUBE!)
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=382498
The "Make a Proxy Thread
Redit Proxy Article "current gallery"
MY LEGACY ALTERS
My 360 Commons Cube
On spoiled card wishlisting and 'should-have-had'-isms: