I personally find it surprising that not all cubes run cards like these. For reference: Overrun Eldrazi Monument
Obviously Garruk's ultimates are staples (Garruk Wildspeaker, Garruk, the Veil-Cursed) but they take time to set up--one unmolested turn for Wildspeaker and two to three unmolested turns for Veil-Cursed. They are, I find, significantly more fragile as a result. Sweepers, evasive creatures, and planeswalker removal effects answer them quite handily (among other solutions).
The main questions:
-- Are Overrun and Eldrazi Monument in your cube? One and not the other? What about the more marginal cards?
-- If so, why? How have they fared? Have they found decks? Do they see regular play?
-- If not, why not? Are the cards too specific? Not powerful enough?
--
I do not run these currently. They were both in my initial Cube list but were quickly replaced based on feedback in this forum. However, I am currently looking to support a number of specific archetypes, including Tokens. The two you mention specifically (Overrun and Eldrazi Monument) I'm considering putting back into the Cube as part of that support.
There are just more effective and permanent ways to pump your team nowadays. All the better Anthem and Battle Cry effects are typically strapped to threats themselves, making them more flexible choices.
The Garruks are staples, not their ultimates (is that even possible?). Their strength is the ability to produce multiple decent creatures for no further investment. Their Overruns rarely come up, but are much better than the spell equivalent because they guarantee you some creatures before hand. Five mana invested for a card that has literally no effect on an empty board is not worth it, in any case. That's the same reason you don't see many Venser, the Sojourners around, either. Overrun is worse, though, because you require a good board position already. Monument is better, but is far too narrow to run, only being good in token decks, and even then doing nothing on an empty board and actually hampering your further development.
I do include Overrun in my green section. I tried Gaea's Anthem and Beastmaster in the past without much success. Overrun can add a lot of evasive power to the board to help win the game. It fits well in ramp decks where it can turn mana producers into worthwhile threats, and of course helps token strategies. It is something of a pet card, and I like it a lot because of how well it fits with how I see green's identity.
Eldrazi Monument, despite being an artifact, feels like a narrower card. The sacrifice is harder to build around, and adding only +1/+1 makes it less good as a finisher.
"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean - neither more nor less." -Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass
Both of these cards have been really good in token strategies here. If you have a reasonable amount of support for that archetype then I recommend these cards...if not, then don't as they'll be very late picks as a result.
I like Burn at the Stake even more, because it can double as removal and kill through Moat.
The problem with this card is that red doesn't play as well with the token-based themes as white and green, and the triple-red basically demands a heavy mountain presence. In addition, a sizable portion of red's creature-base is comprised of creatures that don't stay around (Keldon Marauders, Hellspark Elemental, etc), and the color as a whole doesn't play into the swarm the board strategy. I think it's very powerful in the decks it's intended to be played in, similar to Opposition in that it's a bit out of place otherwise...unlike Opposition though triple-colored mana might just be asking too much.
All this being said, it's very likely I'll give it a run for at least few weeks in my cube since I'm always switching cards in and out to get a feel for what works.
It's not identical but in early testing Revenge of the Hunted has been a very interesting quasi overrun effect. It gives all your dudes evasion, and can in most situations wrath their board if they don't have removal.
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Overrun
Eldrazi Monument
Obviously Garruk's ultimates are staples (Garruk Wildspeaker, Garruk, the Veil-Cursed) but they take time to set up--one unmolested turn for Wildspeaker and two to three unmolested turns for Veil-Cursed. They are, I find, significantly more fragile as a result. Sweepers, evasive creatures, and planeswalker removal effects answer them quite handily (among other solutions).
Other related but more marginal cards include:
Kamahl, Fist of Krosa
Tromp the Domains
Overwhelming Stampede
Triumph of the Horde
Craterhoof Behemoth
The main questions:
-- Are Overrun and Eldrazi Monument in your cube? One and not the other? What about the more marginal cards?
-- If so, why? How have they fared? Have they found decks? Do they see regular play?
-- If not, why not? Are the cards too specific? Not powerful enough?
--
I'd be keen to see what others think, though.
Good question.
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The Garruks are staples, not their ultimates (is that even possible?). Their strength is the ability to produce multiple decent creatures for no further investment. Their Overruns rarely come up, but are much better than the spell equivalent because they guarantee you some creatures before hand. Five mana invested for a card that has literally no effect on an empty board is not worth it, in any case. That's the same reason you don't see many Venser, the Sojourners around, either. Overrun is worse, though, because you require a good board position already. Monument is better, but is far too narrow to run, only being good in token decks, and even then doing nothing on an empty board and actually hampering your further development.
On spoiled card wishlisting and 'should-have-had'-isms:
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 50th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from OTJ!
Eldrazi Monument, despite being an artifact, feels like a narrower card. The sacrifice is harder to build around, and adding only +1/+1 makes it less good as a finisher.
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"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean - neither more nor less." -Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass
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Give it a try. Worst case is you take it out.
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My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 50th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from OTJ!
The problem with this card is that red doesn't play as well with the token-based themes as white and green, and the triple-red basically demands a heavy mountain presence. In addition, a sizable portion of red's creature-base is comprised of creatures that don't stay around (Keldon Marauders, Hellspark Elemental, etc), and the color as a whole doesn't play into the swarm the board strategy. I think it's very powerful in the decks it's intended to be played in, similar to Opposition in that it's a bit out of place otherwise...unlike Opposition though triple-colored mana might just be asking too much.
All this being said, it's very likely I'll give it a run for at least few weeks in my cube since I'm always switching cards in and out to get a feel for what works.
BTW, Eldrazi Monument can also kill through a Moat as well
(list not current)
My Cube Google Docs Spreadsheet: https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AibgWfz0ukmOdDNhOHlucjcxUi1wVy00NDhLbDUtUlE&hl=en_US#gid=8
(list is always current)