Gatekeeper of Malakir: The restrictive mana cost has been surprisingly unproblematic. Casting for BB is a good backup for a BBB card. Obviously, this still can't go in any black deck.
Vault Skirge: This is an aggressively costed one drop that can backup cast for 1B. As a colorless card favoring black, I think it's good. It's only great with pants, but it's worth the cost.
Pawn of Ulamog: This is one of the better support cards out there for aristocrats. Sweet spawnlings.
Plague Spitter: It's nice to make the whole game about you. Mopping tokens is just one of this stinky fellow's many duties. In the old days of suicide black, there weren't a lot of efficient black sources of life-gain. That's no longer the case.
Crypt Ghast: This is the reason the Pestilence deck has enough life and mana to kill everyone else.
Grim Affliction: 2 -1/-1 counters at three isn't great, but it's a fair start, and proliferate works with many things.
Necrologia: I adore this card. It's true that you can be out of health by the time it comes up, but the number of times I've drawn 8+ cards and just won compensates for that. This is as close to Necropotence as I'm willing to get.
Wander in Death: Cycling makes this a great draw engine. It's either two creatures you really want, or it's an easy cantrip. Graveyard decks always play this card.
Moltensteel Dragon: I don't know if people play this or not, but they probably should.
Hungry Flames: This probably slipped under some radars, but it's a very real spell.
Puncture Blast: One of red's main problems is dealing with creatures of high toughness. This is one of a very small number of red cards that can let you diminish a creature to help kill it later.
Sarkhan's Rage: There are those in my playgroup who still say "This is Lava Axe, therefore bad", but it hits a creature OR player, and does so at an almost unprecedented rate in instant speed. This is fabulous at killing players, and kills a lot of the high-toughness creatures that red has trouble with. Brimstone Volley is the only non-X spell that does 5+ damage better as far as I know.
Dark Tutelage: This is a lot more risky than creature versions of the effects, as enchantments are harder to get rid of if you're in need. Underworld Connections is far better.
Flamerush Rider is an interesting card that I've been playing, and needs a lot more testing. It's been rats awful, and it's also been fabulous. It's a strange card, and I'm not sure how to review it.
Hey (Alice) Mergatroid, did you get around to collecting your unusual green cards? For my Peasant++ cube, some of your suggestions have tested pretty well or were cards I had never heard of that were fun. If anyone else has more odd but fun cards, I'd love to hear them! One interesting black aggro card I've had fun with is Master of the Feast, which works well with one of my favorite pet cards: Blightning.
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~400 Peasant++ : List : Draft
Warning: Not for the durdly-hearted!
Master of Feast can do solid work, a 5/5 flier for 1BB is no joke even if it does give your opponent cards. It can be pretty insane when you get to 9 mana in wildfire decks and you can cast both on the same turn for that surprise factor.
Sorry guys. I really thought I had posted the green cards (etc.) to finish my list. I definitely typed it up shortly after the last one. Obviously, I haven't been back here for a bit.
Oviya Pashiri, Sage Lifecrafter: This has a lot of mid-late game power for a one drop. It usually gets removed before it gets out of hand, but that's just because your opponent is afraid of it.
Bloom Tender: This thing taps for unreal amounts of mana.
Deadly Recluse: It might be low tech, but it works. They keep cranking out more efficient deathtouch bodies, so this might get directly outclassed soon, but it still demands the respect of dragons.
Skyshroud Elf: I really wish there was a GUB version of this card.
Eyeless Watcher: This is one of the cheapest armies in a can, and bant blink strategies are somewhat popular.
Tangle: While fogs are not all that much of a thing in cube, this is about the best one you can get. It's a pretty huge tempo gain, particularly in mid-range creature-based match-ups, which green is famous for.
Desert Twister: Yes, I'm willing to pay six for my Vindicates. It's a backup removal spell to be sure, but it's one I've grown accustomed to having, and don't mind keeping.
Awakening Zone/ From Beyond: I have an unholy love for both of thee cards. There's no roof on the value.
Manamorphose: I am never ever sad to see this. It's a neutral card, so hardly worth a guild slot, but it lets me keep a lot of hands I would have to mulligan.
Savage Ventmaw: First you ramp with elves, then you ramp with dragons! Six is quite a harvest, and if you aren't casting Ulamog on turn five off of it, attacking with a 4/4 flying can get you there too.
Drana's Emissary: Compared to Agent of Masks, this is insanely efficient. It's a great source of aggressive pressure, and a great source of incremental advantage.
Spark Trooper: This card isn't known for good times and fun games of Magic, but it gets the job done with terrifying efficiency.
Spitemare: I know Boros Reckoner exists, but I don't have it, and I've never felt the need for an upgrade. Spitemare is already a nightmare for the opponent.
Meekstone: One of my first favorite cards still plays pretty well for me. A lot of decks fold to this.
Sands of Delirium: This is an important win-con for any color. Slow decks desperately need something like this. Snake Basket fills this roll in a different way, and is also sweet.
Tangle Wire: This card is known mostly as a stax piece, but works on its own as a powerful control engine. It stops aggro just long enough for them to be screwed.
Helm of Possession: The secret best card ever. I would basically pick this over anything in my cube.
Portcullis: Another great card to slow things down a bit. This card is great in aggro as well control, as you can play some early guys, then lock them out of getting blockers.
Obelisk of Alara: This card is gross. It's a little below Helm of Possession, because it does occasionally come down too late to save you.
Iron Myr and friends: I'm never sorry to see these guys. Copper Myr is less important than the others, but I have it in for symmetry.
I can at least vouch for Bloom Tender in green as well as both Meekstone and Helm of Possession in colorless there. Bloom Tender and Meekstone are both great in my lower power list. Bloom Tender does a great Rofellos impression if you want that kind of effect, but a little less powerful. Drafting a Meekstone is like it's own little sub-game. It's kind of like a Conspiracy card in that way. As someone who typically drafts aggressive decks, it's been great for me. Helm of Possession put in some solid work in my powered cube up until just recently when I cut it with the Ixalan update. Vedalken Shackles has been pulling its weight for years against creature heavy decks and Helm served that role for the Braids/Pox token decks. It's certainly a fringe playable card, but it was solid and I'd definitely still be running it if I were at a larger size.
Here's a game play anecdote with Helm to kind of show its power and how risky it is when compared to something like Shackles. My opponent plays Helm in a Gx creature deck. On my turn I play Thought-Knot Seer and resolve the trigger, exiling a card from my opponent's hand. On his turn, he sacrifices a mana dork to gain control of my Seer. On my turn I play Eldrazi Displacer and blink my Seer. Since I'm now in the opponent's chair from the Seer's POV, I draw the card. I know this is not a glowing praise for Helm, but it was an interesting game interaction. Obviously the Displacer was a bit of a blowout here, but without that creature, my opponent was able to turn his 1/1 into a 4/4 and remove a threat on my side of the table.
I remember someone in a dragony cube said that Crackdown was "too good" and had to take it out, but Meekstone seems solid.
My unpopulars:
Thraben Inspector - I honestly have no idea how popular it is nowadays but I've been a fan since day 1. So much value for 1 mana, and being a roadblock 1/2 isn't the worst at either being a chump blocker or picking something up. Heirloom Blade - I went in depth on it in my Commander 2017 review and on my blog, but it's a fantastic card that isn't just a tribal card, but fits naturally into aggressive strategies very well with a very cheap equip cost. Obvious analogue is Grafted Wargear with a 0 equip cost, but that doesn't make it bad, it just behaves differently. Someone who had it in a 3-0 deck said it was kinda like Skullclamp at drawing gas. It requires some figuring out which creatures are dead ends and how deep the chains are, but that usually just means to remember it so you don't just reveal your deck to your opponent. Searing Blaze - one of the more efficient damage dealers and a great way to push forward momentum, haven't seen it lack for targets or landfall triggers. Craterhoof Behemoth - typically one of the hallmark cards of 3-0 ramp decks. Gifted Aetherborn - cheaper casting cost more than makes up for lack of flying with Nighthawk, I've found. Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit - can't trigger off tokens but generally more than makes up for that + vanilla stats over the course of the game. Burning-Tree Emissary - pretty absurd rate and extremely efficient, plays well in red beatdown. One of my favorite Gruul cards. Gurmag Angler - a big dumb beater, but reasonably costed, usually.
I remember someone in a dragony cube said that Crackdown was "too good" and had to take it out, but Meekstone seems solid.
Those cards are weird since they're either brokenly powerful or completely useless and it almost has nothing to do with your land deckbuilding decisions. Like, against blue Choke and Boil are absurd, but otherwise they are do nothing cards.
I'm in the process of overhauling a substantial portion of my cube (about 10%) and as part of that I'm looking to make a few swaps that run afoul of popular opinion and I'm gonna share those section by section over the next few days.
Thoughts:
- Putting Seal of Cleansing back in for Forsake the Worldly is the easiest change. A cycling backup option just doesn't justify the three mana cost for the spell in my cubing experience.
- While Hallowed Spiritkeeper may seem like the natural cut for Eldrazi Displacer, I'm actually leaning more towards cutting Spectral Procession. Both Displacer and Procession present mana challenges. Displacer requires colorless to activate, procession requires triple white to get the best value from the card. With all of the talk about cutting cards with double colored costs it surprises me that procession has largely avoided talk of being cut from most lists. When you can manage the triple white for procession it is exceptional, but often this is getting cast for four competing with several better four-drops in white and providing only above-average value. I think this might be the right cut for Displacer since I think it has an easier mana burden to get its maximum value while supporting the blink archetype.
- Reveillark (this forum's baby) just hasn't worked out for me. It is the only card I could swap for Thalia's Lancers but even with the new PW rule, I'm still not quite convinced Lancers is good enough at 450.
- Ravages of War. I am just not sure how badly I want to double up on Armageddon. Even without factoring in the price-tag this is one effect I'm not sure I want to triple up on (I also run Catastrophe).
- Karakas and Kor Haven. Do either of these strike you as 450 staples? Karakas certainly got better with the PW rule. Not sure what switch I would make if I should incorporate these.
I'm running with Forsake the Worldly now and might swap it out for Seal of Cleansing or regular old Disenchant. Each has its upsides.
Hallowed Spiritkeeper came out of my cube once, but that was a mistake. I agree that Spectral Procession is a cut. I ran it briefly and had the same issues. Way too often it was 2WW. No thanks.
Lark is not cuttable for us. But Lancer's has been fun at 450. A 4/4 first striker plus a great card in hand is fun.
Ravages is a 360 staple to me. Judge foil can be had for a reasonable price.
I recently swapped Kor Haven out for Karakas. It's no staple but it's a fun card, especially with Karakas and stuff like Venser or Clique.
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I can't say I'm pleased to see you and must warn you I may have to do something about it.
EDH: UGEdric
Pauper: URDelver
Modern: UGRDelver
Draft my cube: Eric's 390 Unpowered
Thoughts:
- I'm thinking about cutting Stratus Dancer for Thing in the Ice. Stratus Dancer is part of a small tempo package that has failed to impress. Speaking of tempo cards, I'm quite attached to Serendib Efreet but that will likely go soon as well. Baral is another potential cut for Thing, but these cards work together somewhat well and Baral has a more useful body and control friendly ability.
- The three drop slot in blue is riddled with problems. Efreet, Kira, and Thassa are all cards that have fallen out of favor. I'm not wildly convinced that the newly popular Search for Azcanta is better than Thassa. Yes, Azcanta does cost 1 less and there are some added graveyard synergies, but for that 1 more mana you are getting Indestructibility, the potential to swing for 5 (albeit rarely), and an activated ability that makes a creature unblockable for 1U. Azcanta can flip into a card that has a pseudo-impulse effect for effectively four mana but that seems rather expensive. If anything I may run Search for Azcanta alongside Thassa in place of one of my other cuts.
- No love for bounce. Many lists seem to have done away with Cyclonic Rift and Into the Roil. I'd like to keep one or the other but I could do away with one of these to make room for one of the additions.
- Big guns. I have long shied away from Inkwell Leviathan for how incredibly non-interactive the card is but may reconsider it as I'm hoping to add an option or two to each color on the high end of the CC scale. I may just opt for Torrential Gearhulk though as they both fit the tinkerable, reanimation-fodder role even if its a less sexy target.
- Show and Tell. Okay, this just looks fun and there are quite a few cards in the cube already that have the symmetrical "in theory" thing going for it and this is one more example of that.
- Censor will likely be cut for Chart a Course. Censor is a good card, but it is no miscalculation and Chart a Course looks like a great swap for it.
- Blue lands. I own Conclave and Ruins. I don't have an Academy and I don't think I support artifacts enough to justify it anyhow. Ruins looks like it will be in soon, Conclave I'm less sure on for a 450 cube.
- Can we please get a better blue walker than Tezzeret the Seeker. The drop off between the two Jaces and this guy is huge.
I like List B a lot better than list A, so that round of changes looks great. Except for losing Tezzeret; he's downright godly in the right builds. Easily one of my favorite planeswalkers in the cube.
Thoughts:
-Black is definitely the easiest section for me when it comes to making changes at the moment. Sure it could use a more impressive 3 drop and desperately needs a five drop black creature, but there isn't much that needs cutting.
- Liliana, Heretical Healer is an underwhelming three drop but I don't like the other options here either. I still consider one of the Ammit's occasionally, but right now I'm not sure there is a good swap for her. I also don't want to exchange her for Sinkhole or Languish so...to be continued....
- Nekrataal continues to be my least favorite four-drop. Yes, terror on a body is nothing to sneeze at but absent blink or recursion it is pretty fair for its price. Granted Black does have a lot of means to recur this so that helps keeps this guy in. Abyssal Persecutor is my unpopular MVP in the four slot and it continues to do great work outmatching anything else on the board of the same CC or lower and even some 5-6 drops. Removing it yourself has yet to be problematic and eating removal is excusable for four mana. More often than not this is a must answer or lose card for four mana and you can't beat that.
- Sinkhole and Languish are both on my radar for inclusion. I like that Sinkhole gives black away to handle annoying utility lands or greedy splashes and Languish is an excellent wrath. I'm not sure I need a third wrath variant though (after Damnation and Deluge) and Sinkhole can be situational. Ultimately, I think I will be leaving black unchanged for the time being.
Thoughts:
- Jackal Pup is the only 1CC card I know for certain I should be running and currently am not. Beyond that there are several options I see in other cubes that still are a miss for me. Cards like Greater Gargadon, Goblin Welder, Soul-Scar Mage, and Monastery Swiftspear at 1CC all fall a bit flat. The line of play for Gargadon is generally to wrath/wildfire/etc and just sac the permanents you would lose to the Gargadon's suspend trigger to break the symmetry and accelerate out a 9/7. It's a bit to gimmicky for my liking and the vanilla nature of Gargadon also reduces my interest in this strategy. Welder requires a setup of resolving Welder, it surviving for a turn, having another artifact, and having a better artifact in your graveyard. In some more artifact heavy cubes this might be a good option, but I find the setup to be overly cumbersome for the payoff. Soul-Scar Mage and Swiftspear are both excellent cards, but I'm not yet convinced they are 450 material.
- At other CC's there are also a few cards that are plausible swaps but not compelling options. Earthshaker Khenra and Harsh Mentor are both underwhelming. Plated Geopede is better, but just barely misses for me. Keldon Marauders has been cut for a long time because of the inability to maintain a board presence with it. Really could use some better options here....At 3CC Feldon of the Third Path feels a bit lackluster, I can't afford Imperial Recruiter (and I'm okay with just running its better White counterpart), and I think Squee is terrible. At 4CC Hazoret, the Fervent didn't impress and Avalanche Riders has never been wanted.
- Basically there are a ton of alternative options out there, I just don't like them. =P So I wait. I do think that Bosh is a prefect candidate for a red high CC inclusion to the cube though. I think I'll pick one up for testing.
- I did notice that my instant/sorcery count is a bit high compared to other red sections of the same size or slightly larger so that may also be a future area for a cut or two. Also, may reinclude Burning of Xinye for the time being, but hope to be able to replace at least one of the wildfire variants in the near future.
The red cuts/additions aren't too crazy. The main reason I run Kiki Jikki is due to the combo, so if you aren't running that it's tough to justify its inclusion. Otherwise the other three are either in tight slots or have been outclassed.
Thoughts:
- Yavimaya Elder is likely the least popular cut choice I have here, but I have found some support even within these forums for cutting it citing concerns about how slow the card can be despite its potential card advantage. I spent a while touting Sifter Wurm's benefits over the more popular Pelakka Wurm, but ultimately I decided its a moot point because at 450 I shouldn't be running either of these now that we have Carnage Tyrant and I've come around on Craterhoof Behemoth. Eldritch Evolution is such an interesting card, I'd love to see it as 1 mode of a modal spell but as is it just didn't work out. Primal Command is just too much mana for too little impact.
- Noose Constrictor doesn't really fit the ramp/utility mold of my early green drops but it does provide a discard outlet in green that can block flyers and occasionally swing for unexpected amounts of damage. Oath of Druids has been on my radar for a while but I always felt it was a bit on the strong side for my cube. Want to test anyhow. Still undecided as to whether Treetop Village is 450 material.
Vault Skirge: This is an aggressively costed one drop that can backup cast for 1B. As a colorless card favoring black, I think it's good. It's only great with pants, but it's worth the cost.
Pawn of Ulamog: This is one of the better support cards out there for aristocrats. Sweet spawnlings.
Plague Spitter: It's nice to make the whole game about you. Mopping tokens is just one of this stinky fellow's many duties. In the old days of suicide black, there weren't a lot of efficient black sources of life-gain. That's no longer the case.
Crypt Ghast: This is the reason the Pestilence deck has enough life and mana to kill everyone else.
Hell's Caretaker: This is extremely fragile, but the ability is essentially Recurring Nightmare. It's as close as I'm willing to get.
Grim Affliction: 2 -1/-1 counters at three isn't great, but it's a fair start, and proliferate works with many things.
Necrologia: I adore this card. It's true that you can be out of health by the time it comes up, but the number of times I've drawn 8+ cards and just won compensates for that. This is as close to Necropotence as I'm willing to get.
Wander in Death: Cycling makes this a great draw engine. It's either two creatures you really want, or it's an easy cantrip. Graveyard decks always play this card.
Agonizing Memories: When this card works, it's brutal.
Stir the Sands and Moan of the Unhallowed: These are bread and butter cards that black decks are always satisfied with.
Tortured Existence: This is a hell of an engine for one black mana.
Stab Wound: It's Sulfuric Vortex,and it's a removal spell, and it's a common! You guys really need to try this one.
Thermo-Alchemist: I LOVE this card.
Cunning Sparkmage: This has always been a staple.
Fanatic of Mogis: This is the deciding factor of a lot of games.
Embermaw Hellion: This card is not spectacular, but it has so many cool interactions that it can become really deceptively powerful.
Charmbreaker Devils: Quite charming. This is where things like Exhaustion really get going.
Moltensteel Dragon: I don't know if people play this or not, but they probably should.
Hungry Flames: This probably slipped under some radars, but it's a very real spell.
Puncture Blast: One of red's main problems is dealing with creatures of high toughness. This is one of a very small number of red cards that can let you diminish a creature to help kill it later.
Sarkhan's Rage: There are those in my playgroup who still say "This is Lava Axe, therefore bad", but it hits a creature OR player, and does so at an almost unprecedented rate in instant speed. This is fabulous at killing players, and kills a lot of the high-toughness creatures that red has trouble with. Brimstone Volley is the only non-X spell that does 5+ damage better as far as I know.
Jokulhaups: Few things are so satisfying to cast.
Sudden Demise: Blowouts, blowouts, and more blowouts. You feel cheated if you only get a Heat Ray out of this, and that's not a bad back up.
Dual Casting: This is vulnerable, but leads to some memorable forks.
Impending Disaster: This takes more set up than Armageddon, but is skill intensive, and is certainly powerful, especially in multiplayer.
Aether Flash and Circle of Flame: Just to point out some of my favorite, and lesser used red-control tools.
Mob Rule: This seems like a blowout, but nobody ever casts it.
Act of Aggression: I thought a three mana instant speed Threaten would be great. It occasionally is, but the life cost is too dear.
Arcbond: This isn't bad, but it's been harder to set up than I'd hoped.
Rathi Dragon: I think I just added this because of how cool I thought it was when I was a kid.
Skirsdag Flayer: This is okay, but it doesn't justify a 1/1 for 2.
Notorious Assassin: A discard outlet plus repeatable removal sounds good, but I guess the body won't support it.
Ogre Slumlord: I've been trying this in a notoriously weak slot, since I love Pawn of Ulamog effects, but the body doesn't work here.
Remorseless Punishment: Yeah, I kinda knew this wouldn't work out.
Dark Tutelage: This is a lot more risky than creature versions of the effects, as enchantments are harder to get rid of if you're in need. Underworld Connections is far better.
Flamerush Rider is an interesting card that I've been playing, and needs a lot more testing. It's been rats awful, and it's also been fabulous. It's a strange card, and I'm not sure how to review it.
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.
Warning: Not for the durdly-hearted!
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Quirion Ranger: I've spoken before of a tap/untap theme, and this is one of the better cards for it alongside things like Seeker of Skybreak and Nature's Chosen.
Bloom Tender: This thing taps for unreal amounts of mana.
Deadly Recluse: It might be low tech, but it works. They keep cranking out more efficient deathtouch bodies, so this might get directly outclassed soon, but it still demands the respect of dragons.
Skyshroud Elf: I really wish there was a GUB version of this card.
Eyeless Watcher: This is one of the cheapest armies in a can, and bant blink strategies are somewhat popular.
Thundering Tanadon: WHOMP!
Tangle: While fogs are not all that much of a thing in cube, this is about the best one you can get. It's a pretty huge tempo gain, particularly in mid-range creature-based match-ups, which green is famous for.
Pulse of Murasa: This card does just enough.
Desert Twister: Yes, I'm willing to pay six for my Vindicates. It's a backup removal spell to be sure, but it's one I've grown accustomed to having, and don't mind keeping.
Awakening Zone/ From Beyond: I have an unholy love for both of thee cards. There's no roof on the value.
Army Ants: I always have to plug this card.
Manamorphose: I am never ever sad to see this. It's a neutral card, so hardly worth a guild slot, but it lets me keep a lot of hands I would have to mulligan.
Savage Ventmaw: First you ramp with elves, then you ramp with dragons! Six is quite a harvest, and if you aren't casting Ulamog on turn five off of it, attacking with a 4/4 flying can get you there too.
Savage Twister: The wrath that time forgot.
Drana's Emissary: Compared to Agent of Masks, this is insanely efficient. It's a great source of aggressive pressure, and a great source of incremental advantage.
Merciless Eviction: Blammo.
Spark Trooper: This card isn't known for good times and fun games of Magic, but it gets the job done with terrifying efficiency.
Spitemare: I know Boros Reckoner exists, but I don't have it, and I've never felt the need for an upgrade. Spitemare is already a nightmare for the opponent.
Meekstone: One of my first favorite cards still plays pretty well for me. A lot of decks fold to this.
Sands of Delirium: This is an important win-con for any color. Slow decks desperately need something like this. Snake Basket fills this roll in a different way, and is also sweet.
Tangle Wire: This card is known mostly as a stax piece, but works on its own as a powerful control engine. It stops aggro just long enough for them to be screwed.
Helm of Possession: The secret best card ever. I would basically pick this over anything in my cube.
Portcullis: Another great card to slow things down a bit. This card is great in aggro as well control, as you can play some early guys, then lock them out of getting blockers.
Obelisk of Alara: This card is gross. It's a little below Helm of Possession, because it does occasionally come down too late to save you.
Iron Myr and friends: I'm never sorry to see these guys. Copper Myr is less important than the others, but I have it in for symmetry.
Scuttlemutt: I love this card so damn much.
Ghoultree: Sadly this has gone nowhere. Karador, Ghost Chieftain on the other hand has been a resounding success.
Dwynen's Elite: Elves are quite common in my cube. Value off of this is not.
Hua Tuo, Honored Physician: Well, I tried.
Aven Mimeomancer: Apparently, this doesn't make an unstoppable bird army.
Crackleburr: It was a fun idea, but I don't think this has ever activated.
Grappling Hook: This is not worth the investment.
Ornithopter: Well, there's not really a reason to cube this card, regardless of its timelessness. Maybe with heavier artifact/voltron theme...
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.
Here's a game play anecdote with Helm to kind of show its power and how risky it is when compared to something like Shackles. My opponent plays Helm in a Gx creature deck. On my turn I play Thought-Knot Seer and resolve the trigger, exiling a card from my opponent's hand. On his turn, he sacrifices a mana dork to gain control of my Seer. On my turn I play Eldrazi Displacer and blink my Seer. Since I'm now in the opponent's chair from the Seer's POV, I draw the card. I know this is not a glowing praise for Helm, but it was an interesting game interaction. Obviously the Displacer was a bit of a blowout here, but without that creature, my opponent was able to turn his 1/1 into a 4/4 and remove a threat on my side of the table.
MTGS Average Peasant Cube 2023 Edition
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My unpopulars:
Thraben Inspector - I honestly have no idea how popular it is nowadays but I've been a fan since day 1. So much value for 1 mana, and being a roadblock 1/2 isn't the worst at either being a chump blocker or picking something up.
Heirloom Blade - I went in depth on it in my Commander 2017 review and on my blog, but it's a fantastic card that isn't just a tribal card, but fits naturally into aggressive strategies very well with a very cheap equip cost. Obvious analogue is Grafted Wargear with a 0 equip cost, but that doesn't make it bad, it just behaves differently. Someone who had it in a 3-0 deck said it was kinda like Skullclamp at drawing gas. It requires some figuring out which creatures are dead ends and how deep the chains are, but that usually just means to remember it so you don't just reveal your deck to your opponent.
Searing Blaze - one of the more efficient damage dealers and a great way to push forward momentum, haven't seen it lack for targets or landfall triggers.
Craterhoof Behemoth - typically one of the hallmark cards of 3-0 ramp decks.
Gifted Aetherborn - cheaper casting cost more than makes up for lack of flying with Nighthawk, I've found.
Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit - can't trigger off tokens but generally more than makes up for that + vanilla stats over the course of the game.
Burning-Tree Emissary - pretty absurd rate and extremely efficient, plays well in red beatdown. One of my favorite Gruul cards.
Gurmag Angler - a big dumb beater, but reasonably costed, usually.
I used to write cube articles on StarCityGames, now for GatheringMagic and podcast about cube (w/Antknee42.)
Those cards are weird since they're either brokenly powerful or completely useless and it almost has nothing to do with your land deckbuilding decisions. Like, against blue Choke and Boil are absurd, but otherwise they are do nothing cards.
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My cube for reference.
White
Cards I'm looking to cut - Kor Skyfisher, Hallowed Spiritkeeper, Reveillark, Forsake the Worldly, Spectral Procession
Cards I'm thinking about adding - Thalia's Lancers, Ravages of War, Seal of Cleansing, Eldrazi Displacer, Karakas, Kor Haven
Thoughts:
- Putting Seal of Cleansing back in for Forsake the Worldly is the easiest change. A cycling backup option just doesn't justify the three mana cost for the spell in my cubing experience.
- While Hallowed Spiritkeeper may seem like the natural cut for Eldrazi Displacer, I'm actually leaning more towards cutting Spectral Procession. Both Displacer and Procession present mana challenges. Displacer requires colorless to activate, procession requires triple white to get the best value from the card. With all of the talk about cutting cards with double colored costs it surprises me that procession has largely avoided talk of being cut from most lists. When you can manage the triple white for procession it is exceptional, but often this is getting cast for four competing with several better four-drops in white and providing only above-average value. I think this might be the right cut for Displacer since I think it has an easier mana burden to get its maximum value while supporting the blink archetype.
- Reveillark (this forum's baby) just hasn't worked out for me. It is the only card I could swap for Thalia's Lancers but even with the new PW rule, I'm still not quite convinced Lancers is good enough at 450.
- Ravages of War. I am just not sure how badly I want to double up on Armageddon. Even without factoring in the price-tag this is one effect I'm not sure I want to triple up on (I also run Catastrophe).
- Karakas and Kor Haven. Do either of these strike you as 450 staples? Karakas certainly got better with the PW rule. Not sure what switch I would make if I should incorporate these.
Hallowed Spiritkeeper came out of my cube once, but that was a mistake. I agree that Spectral Procession is a cut. I ran it briefly and had the same issues. Way too often it was 2WW. No thanks.
Lark is not cuttable for us. But Lancer's has been fun at 450. A 4/4 first striker plus a great card in hand is fun.
Ravages is a 360 staple to me. Judge foil can be had for a reasonable price.
I recently swapped Kor Haven out for Karakas. It's no staple but it's a fun card, especially with Karakas and stuff like Venser or Clique.
EDH: UGEdric
Pauper: UR Delver
Modern: UGR Delver
Draft my cube: Eric's 390 Unpowered
Cards I'm looking to cut: Baral, Chief of Compliance, Stratus Dancer, Serendib Efreet, Kira, Great Glass-Spinner, Thassa, God of the Sea, Tezzeret the Seeker, Censor, Cyclonic Rift, Into the Roil, Baral's Expertise, Imprisoned in the Moon.
Cards I'm thinking about adding: Thing in the Ice, Torrential Gearhulk, Inkwell Leviathan, Show and Tell, Academy Ruins, Tolarian Academy, Faerie Conclave, Chart a Course, Search for Azcanta
Thoughts:
- I'm thinking about cutting Stratus Dancer for Thing in the Ice. Stratus Dancer is part of a small tempo package that has failed to impress. Speaking of tempo cards, I'm quite attached to Serendib Efreet but that will likely go soon as well. Baral is another potential cut for Thing, but these cards work together somewhat well and Baral has a more useful body and control friendly ability.
- The three drop slot in blue is riddled with problems. Efreet, Kira, and Thassa are all cards that have fallen out of favor. I'm not wildly convinced that the newly popular Search for Azcanta is better than Thassa. Yes, Azcanta does cost 1 less and there are some added graveyard synergies, but for that 1 more mana you are getting Indestructibility, the potential to swing for 5 (albeit rarely), and an activated ability that makes a creature unblockable for 1U. Azcanta can flip into a card that has a pseudo-impulse effect for effectively four mana but that seems rather expensive. If anything I may run Search for Azcanta alongside Thassa in place of one of my other cuts.
- No love for bounce. Many lists seem to have done away with Cyclonic Rift and Into the Roil. I'd like to keep one or the other but I could do away with one of these to make room for one of the additions.
- Big guns. I have long shied away from Inkwell Leviathan for how incredibly non-interactive the card is but may reconsider it as I'm hoping to add an option or two to each color on the high end of the CC scale. I may just opt for Torrential Gearhulk though as they both fit the tinkerable, reanimation-fodder role even if its a less sexy target.
- Show and Tell. Okay, this just looks fun and there are quite a few cards in the cube already that have the symmetrical "in theory" thing going for it and this is one more example of that.
- Censor will likely be cut for Chart a Course. Censor is a good card, but it is no miscalculation and Chart a Course looks like a great swap for it.
- Blue lands. I own Conclave and Ruins. I don't have an Academy and I don't think I support artifacts enough to justify it anyhow. Ruins looks like it will be in soon, Conclave I'm less sure on for a 450 cube.
- Can we please get a better blue walker than Tezzeret the Seeker. The drop off between the two Jaces and this guy is huge.
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Cards I'm looking to cut - Liliana, Heretical Healer, Nekrataal (maybe)
Cards I'm thinking about adding - Sinkhole, Languish, Braids, Cabal Minion
Thoughts:
-Black is definitely the easiest section for me when it comes to making changes at the moment. Sure it could use a more impressive 3 drop and desperately needs a five drop black creature, but there isn't much that needs cutting.
- Liliana, Heretical Healer is an underwhelming three drop but I don't like the other options here either. I still consider one of the Ammit's occasionally, but right now I'm not sure there is a good swap for her. I also don't want to exchange her for Sinkhole or Languish so...to be continued....
- Nekrataal continues to be my least favorite four-drop. Yes, terror on a body is nothing to sneeze at but absent blink or recursion it is pretty fair for its price. Granted Black does have a lot of means to recur this so that helps keeps this guy in. Abyssal Persecutor is my unpopular MVP in the four slot and it continues to do great work outmatching anything else on the board of the same CC or lower and even some 5-6 drops. Removing it yourself has yet to be problematic and eating removal is excusable for four mana. More often than not this is a must answer or lose card for four mana and you can't beat that.
- Sinkhole and Languish are both on my radar for inclusion. I like that Sinkhole gives black away to handle annoying utility lands or greedy splashes and Languish is an excellent wrath. I'm not sure I need a third wrath variant though (after Damnation and Deluge) and Sinkhole can be situational. Ultimately, I think I will be leaving black unchanged for the time being.
Cards I'm looking to cut: Ash Zealot, Combat Celebrant, Hero of Oxid Ridge, Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
Cards I'm thinking about adding: Jackal Pup, Bosh, Iron Golem, Burning of Xinye
Thoughts:
- Jackal Pup is the only 1CC card I know for certain I should be running and currently am not. Beyond that there are several options I see in other cubes that still are a miss for me. Cards like Greater Gargadon, Goblin Welder, Soul-Scar Mage, and Monastery Swiftspear at 1CC all fall a bit flat. The line of play for Gargadon is generally to wrath/wildfire/etc and just sac the permanents you would lose to the Gargadon's suspend trigger to break the symmetry and accelerate out a 9/7. It's a bit to gimmicky for my liking and the vanilla nature of Gargadon also reduces my interest in this strategy. Welder requires a setup of resolving Welder, it surviving for a turn, having another artifact, and having a better artifact in your graveyard. In some more artifact heavy cubes this might be a good option, but I find the setup to be overly cumbersome for the payoff. Soul-Scar Mage and Swiftspear are both excellent cards, but I'm not yet convinced they are 450 material.
- At other CC's there are also a few cards that are plausible swaps but not compelling options. Earthshaker Khenra and Harsh Mentor are both underwhelming. Plated Geopede is better, but just barely misses for me. Keldon Marauders has been cut for a long time because of the inability to maintain a board presence with it. Really could use some better options here....At 3CC Feldon of the Third Path feels a bit lackluster, I can't afford Imperial Recruiter (and I'm okay with just running its better White counterpart), and I think Squee is terrible. At 4CC Hazoret, the Fervent didn't impress and Avalanche Riders has never been wanted.
- Basically there are a ton of alternative options out there, I just don't like them. =P So I wait. I do think that Bosh is a prefect candidate for a red high CC inclusion to the cube though. I think I'll pick one up for testing.
- I did notice that my instant/sorcery count is a bit high compared to other red sections of the same size or slightly larger so that may also be a future area for a cut or two. Also, may reinclude Burning of Xinye for the time being, but hope to be able to replace at least one of the wildfire variants in the near future.
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Cards I'm looking to cut: Yavimaya Elder, Sifter Wurm, Eldritch Evolution, Primal Command
Cards I'm thinking about adding: Noose Constrictor, Craterhoof Behemoth, Oath of Druids, Carnage Tyrant, Treetop Village
Thoughts:
- Yavimaya Elder is likely the least popular cut choice I have here, but I have found some support even within these forums for cutting it citing concerns about how slow the card can be despite its potential card advantage. I spent a while touting Sifter Wurm's benefits over the more popular Pelakka Wurm, but ultimately I decided its a moot point because at 450 I shouldn't be running either of these now that we have Carnage Tyrant and I've come around on Craterhoof Behemoth. Eldritch Evolution is such an interesting card, I'd love to see it as 1 mode of a modal spell but as is it just didn't work out. Primal Command is just too much mana for too little impact.
- Noose Constrictor doesn't really fit the ramp/utility mold of my early green drops but it does provide a discard outlet in green that can block flyers and occasionally swing for unexpected amounts of damage. Oath of Druids has been on my radar for a while but I always felt it was a bit on the strong side for my cube. Want to test anyhow. Still undecided as to whether Treetop Village is 450 material.
Other than cutting Elder, all of that looks good. Elder is fantastic though.
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