So, I'm thinking of having a bUG Morph theme in my cube. It is a lot of value, some "got you" factor, synergies with flicker, some graveyard stuff, deck manipulation etc. Only using modern cards.
So the pay off cards are Deathmist Raptor and hoodedHooded Hydra and Sagu Mauler. Deathmist is a 3/3 for 3 with deathtouch, which isn't too bad. The fact you can sometimes recurr or grow it is OK. Hooded Hydra is an XGG creature who makes more creatures when it dies, so it can go into the ramp decks. Sagu is another got ya card for playing with Morph and fine on its own.
Value wise, you have Ainok Survivalist, Den Protector, Silumgar Assassin and Stratus Dancer. Ainok is another naturalize effect on a dude. Den is E wit on a dude. Silumgar's Assassin is smother on a dude. Stratus Dancer is negate on a dude. All of them, in turn trigger Deathmist Raptor recurring him, as well as providing ambiguity on Hydra, Sagu and each other.
Other OK morph cards in modern are: Thelonite Hermit. 8 mana for 9 power spread over 5 dudes. Payable over 2 turns. The Hermit body is weak on its own though. Becomes 7 mana with Manifest. Possible tokens support too? Shorecrasher Elemental. Triple blue oww, can be repeatedly flipped for 6 mana. Can block as a 0/8 or attack as a 7/1. Fathom Sage. 1 time gush for 3 mana and bounce 2. Unimpressive body, but a morph flip for 0 mana can be useful. Grim Haruspex. I love the got ya element of this card in a deck or morphs. 3/2 for 3B when morphed, with 2 relevant types and an ability that is good versus control or midrange. Works in Aristocrats style decks as well. Icefeather Aven Bounces a card to hand so helps with Manifest cards. 2/2 flyer. Does some work. Rattleclaw Mystic A mana dork who gives you a decentish payoff for flipping. Basically can give you 6 mana on turn 4. Good types. Not horrible when face up. Vesuvan Shapeshifter 3UU clone or 3 and 1u clone. Can be turned face down and face up repeatedly to change what it copies over time. Willbender Another got you card. Misdirection on a creature. Wildcall 2/2 for GG. Gets bigger in the mid to late game. If you flip it, big pay off of a larger dude. Ethereal Ambush 2 2/2s for 5 mana at instant speed which possible pay off if a creature is OK and a fine enabler. Cloudform The potential pay off is pretty cool in my opinion. A 5/5 flying hexproofing hydra that makes 5 1/1s when it dies for 1UUGG is pretty cool. Temur War Shaman I don't like my modern 6 drop slot, as there is just value creatures there and Primeval Titan is always the best. This gives you 6 power, 7 toughness over 2 bodies and you can turn flipped cards into removal too with it. Whisperwood Elemental I would be including this card in my cube anyway. A 4/4 for 5 who gets a psudo card advantage 2/2 every upkeep and makes boardwipes hurt you less. Write into Being Despite being a sorcery, I like the filtering this gives.
So what do people thing. bUG morph/manifest in a modern cube?
I've avoided morph because I started playing during Khans and hated looking at face-down cards. I don't really like the mechanic, but as my cube expands, I'm finding it hard not to put in at least Stratus Dancer and Den Protector. Exalted Angel is an easy enough include in W, and it'll help W-based control. I'll replace Simic Sky Swallower with Sagu Mauler in . Bane of the Living seems like a decent include, too, as my B section is a too aggro-based right now and could use some larger cards, and it would also be another tool against the token and go-wide aggro decks.
My problem is that just looking at them, I don't much care for Ire Shaman or Blistering Firecat. Shaman seems too durdly for an aggressive deck, and Firecat seems super narrow. Which should I include? Or should I just not worry about there being a morph card in R?
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
Ire Shaman plays better than you might expect it to in an aggro deck. As a 2/1 Menace for 1R, it gets in for damage in the early game, and even if you Morph it on curve, you'll untap with it as a 3/2 menance and get a card out of the deal. If your curve is low enough, using your top card shouldn't usually be a problem in the early game and it makes a great top-deck when you're low on gas. I've been pretty happy with it.
That said, if you really don't care for the Morph mechanic, I don't consider most of the Morph creatures all that essential. Den Protector is the only one I expect to last more than a year, and a lot of that is because the bench for green 3-drops just isn't all that deep.
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465 card Unpowered cube thread. Draft it here and I'll be happy to return the favor.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
Right now, at 450 cards, I run Den Protector, Exalted Angel, and Stratus Dancer, with the Dancer near the chopping block. I've never been a fan of morph, so I'll be happy when I can replace all of these creatures, even if I have some nostalgia for the Angel.
I really like Morph, and enjoy having a slot dedicated to it in each color. We got some good new ones from the last block that visited it; I'd love to have more in the future when they revisit it again.
Love having the morph subtheme in my cube... only takes up a few spots, but really adds a nice dimension. It's centered in blue and green, but touches in other colors as well.
I'd always like to add more morph creatures, but reds morphs feel kinda shallow to me.
Behind Blistering Firecat and Ire Shaman, what are the best morph options it has?
Ashcloud Phoenix wasn't bad as an aggro curve-topper when I tried it, it's resilient and it gets damage through. It doesn't really beat out other competition four 4-drops in the typical cube that isn't pushing a morph theme, but it'll probably see play. Gathan Raiders is decent too, reanimator decks will want it for its discard ability, and in a fast enough deck it can play out as a 5/5 on turn 3. Horde Ambusher was decent in its native limited environment as a 2-drop with added late game utility, so it might work if you need more red morphs, but there are certainly more efficient non-morph Falter-critters.
I did run Quicksilver Dragon in a very early build of my cube, and it was a decent control finisher with virtual hexproof as long as you had U open and your opponent had a creature as well. However, I wasn't pushing morph in any way and only ran it because I had it on hand. If you don't care about morph (and I didn't), Sphinx of Jwar Isle is more efficient and reliable, so I replaced it with that as soon as I could. Also, I can't imagine that the kinds of decks that want it will be playing Quicksilver Dragon for its morph cost very often.
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465 card Unpowered cube thread. Draft it here and I'll be happy to return the favor.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
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I think you're underrating him as a 2-drop, and underrating his megamorph ability too.
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!
So the pay off cards are Deathmist Raptor and hoodedHooded Hydra and Sagu Mauler. Deathmist is a 3/3 for 3 with deathtouch, which isn't too bad. The fact you can sometimes recurr or grow it is OK. Hooded Hydra is an XGG creature who makes more creatures when it dies, so it can go into the ramp decks. Sagu is another got ya card for playing with Morph and fine on its own.
Value wise, you have Ainok Survivalist, Den Protector, Silumgar Assassin and Stratus Dancer. Ainok is another naturalize effect on a dude. Den is E wit on a dude. Silumgar's Assassin is smother on a dude. Stratus Dancer is negate on a dude. All of them, in turn trigger Deathmist Raptor recurring him, as well as providing ambiguity on Hydra, Sagu and each other.
Other OK morph cards in modern are:
Thelonite Hermit. 8 mana for 9 power spread over 5 dudes. Payable over 2 turns. The Hermit body is weak on its own though. Becomes 7 mana with Manifest. Possible tokens support too?
Shorecrasher Elemental. Triple blue oww, can be repeatedly flipped for 6 mana. Can block as a 0/8 or attack as a 7/1.
Fathom Sage. 1 time gush for 3 mana and bounce 2. Unimpressive body, but a morph flip for 0 mana can be useful.
Grim Haruspex. I love the got ya element of this card in a deck or morphs. 3/2 for 3B when morphed, with 2 relevant types and an ability that is good versus control or midrange. Works in Aristocrats style decks as well.
Icefeather Aven Bounces a card to hand so helps with Manifest cards. 2/2 flyer. Does some work.
Rattleclaw Mystic A mana dork who gives you a decentish payoff for flipping. Basically can give you 6 mana on turn 4. Good types. Not horrible when face up.
Vesuvan Shapeshifter 3UU clone or 3 and 1u clone. Can be turned face down and face up repeatedly to change what it copies over time.
Willbender Another got you card. Misdirection on a creature.
Wildcall 2/2 for GG. Gets bigger in the mid to late game. If you flip it, big pay off of a larger dude.
Ethereal Ambush 2 2/2s for 5 mana at instant speed which possible pay off if a creature is OK and a fine enabler.
Cloudform The potential pay off is pretty cool in my opinion. A 5/5 flying hexproofing hydra that makes 5 1/1s when it dies for 1UUGG is pretty cool.
Temur War Shaman I don't like my modern 6 drop slot, as there is just value creatures there and Primeval Titan is always the best. This gives you 6 power, 7 toughness over 2 bodies and you can turn flipped cards into removal too with it.
Whisperwood Elemental I would be including this card in my cube anyway. A 4/4 for 5 who gets a psudo card advantage 2/2 every upkeep and makes boardwipes hurt you less.
Write into Being Despite being a sorcery, I like the filtering this gives.
So what do people thing. bUG morph/manifest in a modern cube?
540 card Unpowered Cube
My problem is that just looking at them, I don't much care for Ire Shaman or Blistering Firecat. Shaman seems too durdly for an aggressive deck, and Firecat seems super narrow. Which should I include? Or should I just not worry about there being a morph card in R?
EDH: UGEdric
Pauper: UR Delver
Modern: UGR Delver
Draft my cube: Eric's 390 Unpowered
That said, if you really don't care for the Morph mechanic, I don't consider most of the Morph creatures all that essential. Den Protector is the only one I expect to last more than a year, and a lot of that is because the bench for green 3-drops just isn't all that deep.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
Right now, at 450 cards, I run Den Protector, Exalted Angel, and Stratus Dancer, with the Dancer near the chopping block. I've never been a fan of morph, so I'll be happy when I can replace all of these creatures, even if I have some nostalgia for the Angel.
Cheers,
rant
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I really like Morph, and enjoy having a slot dedicated to it in each color. We got some good new ones from the last block that visited it; I'd love to have more in the future when they revisit it again.
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!
Ashcloud Phoenix wasn't bad as an aggro curve-topper when I tried it, it's resilient and it gets damage through. It doesn't really beat out other competition four 4-drops in the typical cube that isn't pushing a morph theme, but it'll probably see play. Gathan Raiders is decent too, reanimator decks will want it for its discard ability, and in a fast enough deck it can play out as a 5/5 on turn 3. Horde Ambusher was decent in its native limited environment as a 2-drop with added late game utility, so it might work if you need more red morphs, but there are certainly more efficient non-morph Falter-critters.
I did run Quicksilver Dragon in a very early build of my cube, and it was a decent control finisher with virtual hexproof as long as you had U open and your opponent had a creature as well. However, I wasn't pushing morph in any way and only ran it because I had it on hand. If you don't care about morph (and I didn't), Sphinx of Jwar Isle is more efficient and reliable, so I replaced it with that as soon as I could. Also, I can't imagine that the kinds of decks that want it will be playing Quicksilver Dragon for its morph cost very often.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.