Draw-go is probably my favorite deck of all time, and I still regularly draft wrath-heavy control decks. Maybe it's my nostalgia for the era of Weisman, but there it is. This new blue fatty will definitely get some testing in my cube!
Yeah I was being a bit glib.
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Probably not, but I just wanted to clarify. Some people do weigh that into card evaluations for the cube, but I'm not one of them.
I have my fair share of pet cards and cards I've become attached to through years of cube play, but how they used to perform outside of the cube isn't one of the things that draws cards into being "pet" cards for me.
Probably not, but I just wanted to clarify. Some people do weigh that into card evaluations for the cube, but I'm not one of them.
I have my fair share of pet cards and cards I've become attached to through years of cube play, but how they used to perform outside of the cube isn't one of the things that draws cards into being "pet" cards for me.
Two words... desolation angel =P. Its a pet card of mine too. Helps that its awesome in the right deck.
One thing I noticed about this card when we briefly tested it is that if you absolutely MUST block with it, then it only costs 6 mana since if they have a removal spell then his protection ability is nullified.
I imagine thats going to come up from time to time
When this card was spoiled, I instantly realized three things:
1. I didn't like the card (for cube).
2. I knew that the majority of the cube forum would go nuts over it.
3. Not cubing with it despite point 2 would make me feel guilty.
It came exactly as predicted and I downright hate the card now for this situation.
When this card was spoiled, I instantly realized three things:
1. I didn't like the card (for cube).
2. I knew that the majority of the cube forum would go nuts over it.
3. Not cubing with it despite point 2 would make me feel guilty.
It came exactly as predicted and I downright hate the card now for this situation.
So don't run it.:D
I'll run this card. But not running it doesn't make me feel guilty. I don't run Silverblade or Thragtusk either.
It is mostly a matter of personal prefence. I am not a huge fan of creatures that need multiple mana each turn to operate.
Yeah, and that's fine. I myself feels Silverblade to be disappointing in his testing and I don't feels Thragtusk is as strong as other 5 drop I run, so I don't even test him at all. Cubes are different after all.
I do think that by the time you got this guy out, mana shouldn't be that big of a problem anymore, though. Cube curve are normally low. Just don't use too much mana on him and you'll be fine.
It is mostly a matter of personal prefence. I am not a huge fan of creatures that need multiple mana each turn to operate.
I don't mind dumping mana into this card. Because, I don't need mana for anything else after it's out. It's a much bigger drawback for something like Sphinx, that can't function as a finisher and a defensive creature at the same time. When that's played, I'll still need mana to cast other defensive cards.
All of the mana consuming creatures (Morphling, Aetherling, Masticores, etc) all share that same function. They're mana sinks, but they're dealing damage and protecting you at the same time, reducing the need for other spells to be played.
I like optional mana sinks. I don't like cards that rely on constantly sinking mana into them.
It really only requires one blue mana. Everything else it optional. How many turns are you honestly going to curve out after turn 7 anyway? It leaves plenty of opportunity to cast whatever you need to cast and let's you spend the rest on damage and blocking.
When I see Healing Salve, I'm often like "Oh girl, I wish I could turn every card into this." Thanks they removed the gain life part, otherwise this would have been broken.
@BK: The card was awful. Just completely terrible garbage. It never did anything relevant, and it's pretty much the definition of an unnecessary win-more card. It was bad all three times it was in the cube, and I was stoked to windmill slam that cut from the cube once and for all.
It really only requires one blue mana. Everything else it optional.
It needs more than one blue mana to be cost effective. Aetherling is not good because it is a 4/5 for 6 mana. Everybody agrees that it is good because it is an unblockable 8/1 that can also block and dodge removal. Getting value out of the card and actually using at as a finisher means that you have to spent much more than only one mana each turn.
I am not arguing that this makes him bad though. And yes, often you don't need that much free mana at that point of the game, anyway. I am just saying that I really don't like cards like this. Morphling has been close to the chopping block for this very reason on multiple occasions. He has nostalgic value though, something that Aetherling does not have.
(off topic: I think Shelldock Isle is one of the best non-fixing lands for cube.)
It is mostly a matter of personal prefence. I am not a huge fan of creatures that need multiple mana each turn to operate.
Personal preference indeed. The main thing I disliked about Jwar Isle Sphinx was not that it was an ineffective finisher (it did this quite well) but that it was so boring. Neither its controller nor its opponent could interact with it, whereas Morphling and Aetherling allow you to be continually fiddling with their stats.
"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
This guy kills your opponent in 3 turns after you cast him (assuming they are at 20 life). That is pretty big game! When playing your Blue finishers, you really need them to end the game quickly for you while also being resilient to their effects. This guy dodges them all and then pacifies your opponent with extreme prejudice. The only other blue finisher that gets the job done this quickly is Inkwell and that guy is only applicable as a tinker/reanimation target.
He may not block fliers like Morphling does but he blocks all the big ground guys that Morphling can't, and does a better job at it too. This guy actually kills 3/3s and 4/4s while Morphling would eat a bunch of your mana just to stay alive against those guys.
Morphling also cannot dodge your own wrath effects which most blue decks will be running.
Comparing a new card to an old card and using the worlds "iconic" and "nostalgic" as reasons to not include the new card is very disingenuous. I feel like these 2 guys are both good at what they do and Aetherling will probably end up being among the top blue closers. Using some baseball terminology here but just because Mariano Rivera is the greatest closer ever, doesn't mean that Craig Krimbel isn't a phenominal talent. Not all closers are created the same and the best part about cube is the fact that we can try them out.
How can you think of replacing Morphling with this?
1. Morphling is better: it can block fliers and costs less.
2. Morphling is iconic, where this new one is an unexciting version of an old staple.
And I think having both Morphling and Aetherling in your Cube is bad for diversity. I'd rather have a unique effect even if a little less powerfull, like Keiga for example.
What if I want to kill and my opponent has a couple fliers? Aetherling clearly seems better then. Creeping tar pit has won me a lot of games i had no business winning, as deadlocked boards were opened up with 3dmg a turn; this guy could end games quicker than that.
I just had an epiphany how insane this card is in a dedicated control deck.
If you get a lot of mana and can effectivly control the board with your other cards, you basically can't lose.
Only takes a few turns to win the game.
I just had an epiphany how insane this card is in a dedicated control deck.
If you get a lot of mana and can effectivly control the board with your other cards, you basically can't lose.
Only takes a few turns to win the game.
This should be an auto include IMO
This is all true and the reason why many in this thread are excited to play with AEtherling. Others, like me for example, are a bit more skeptical. The reason is this:
Consider a game where you play dedicated control. You develop your mana and in the process you take a couple of hits. Say you play a wrath, your opponent plays a new threat and attacks you to 5. Now you play AEtherling and keep U open to save it from removal. You are now dead to Zealous Conscripts, Chandra's Phoenix + Reckless Charge, Thundermaw Hellkite, haste creature + removal spell or removal spell + burn spell.
In other words, the value of AEtherling vs. Sphinx of Jwar Isle for example depends on whether closing out games or staying alive long enough are the more pressing matter for your typical dedicated control deck. I know for us it often is the latter, and there AEtherling is not as good as other options.
I don't think jar jar is that great at keeping you alive. He blocks some stuff aetherling doesn't, but aetherling blocks dudes jar jar can't as well. And while you're using jar jar to block you're not closing out the game, which just gives your opponent more time to kill you.
When I see Healing Salve, I'm often like "Oh girl, I wish I could turn every card into this." Thanks they removed the gain life part, otherwise this would have been broken.
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Now those are hardly making the list.
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Other than Spiritmonger which I don't run, all of those cards are still outstanding and are nowhere close to being cut from my cube.
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Just wanted to chime in and say that I play those cards because they're good in the cube. Not because of their historical significance.
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I have my fair share of pet cards and cards I've become attached to through years of cube play, but how they used to perform outside of the cube isn't one of the things that draws cards into being "pet" cards for me.
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Two words... desolation angel =P. Its a pet card of mine too. Helps that its awesome in the right deck.
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I imagine thats going to come up from time to time
1. I didn't like the card (for cube).
2. I knew that the majority of the cube forum would go nuts over it.
3. Not cubing with it despite point 2 would make me feel guilty.
It came exactly as predicted and I downright hate the card now for this situation.
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So don't run it.:D
I'll run this card. But not running it doesn't make me feel guilty. I don't run Silverblade or Thragtusk either.
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This guy on the other hand, I can't wait to cast this guy in the cube.
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Yeah, and that's fine. I myself feels Silverblade to be disappointing in his testing and I don't feels Thragtusk is as strong as other 5 drop I run, so I don't even test him at all. Cubes are different after all.
I do think that by the time you got this guy out, mana shouldn't be that big of a problem anymore, though. Cube curve are normally low. Just don't use too much mana on him and you'll be fine.
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I don't mind dumping mana into this card. Because, I don't need mana for anything else after it's out. It's a much bigger drawback for something like Sphinx, that can't function as a finisher and a defensive creature at the same time. When that's played, I'll still need mana to cast other defensive cards.
All of the mana consuming creatures (Morphling, Aetherling, Masticores, etc) all share that same function. They're mana sinks, but they're dealing damage and protecting you at the same time, reducing the need for other spells to be played.
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It really only requires one blue mana. Everything else it optional. How many turns are you honestly going to curve out after turn 7 anyway? It leaves plenty of opportunity to cast whatever you need to cast and let's you spend the rest on damage and blocking.
Like I said, I don't care if I'm putting mana into the only thing I need to win the game. It's pretty much irrelevant.
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It needs more than one blue mana to be cost effective. Aetherling is not good because it is a 4/5 for 6 mana. Everybody agrees that it is good because it is an unblockable 8/1 that can also block and dodge removal. Getting value out of the card and actually using at as a finisher means that you have to spent much more than only one mana each turn.
I am not arguing that this makes him bad though. And yes, often you don't need that much free mana at that point of the game, anyway. I am just saying that I really don't like cards like this. Morphling has been close to the chopping block for this very reason on multiple occasions. He has nostalgic value though, something that Aetherling does not have.
(off topic: I think Shelldock Isle is one of the best non-fixing lands for cube.)
Uril, the Miststalker RGW -- Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre C -- Vhati il-Dal BG -- Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer RW -- Animar, Soul of Elements URG
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker R -- Maga, Traitor to Mortals B -- Ghave, Guru of Spores BGW -- Sliver Hivelord WUBRG
Personal preference indeed. The main thing I disliked about Jwar Isle Sphinx was not that it was an ineffective finisher (it did this quite well) but that it was so boring. Neither its controller nor its opponent could interact with it, whereas Morphling and Aetherling allow you to be continually fiddling with their stats.
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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
He may not block fliers like Morphling does but he blocks all the big ground guys that Morphling can't, and does a better job at it too. This guy actually kills 3/3s and 4/4s while Morphling would eat a bunch of your mana just to stay alive against those guys.
Morphling also cannot dodge your own wrath effects which most blue decks will be running.
Comparing a new card to an old card and using the worlds "iconic" and "nostalgic" as reasons to not include the new card is very disingenuous. I feel like these 2 guys are both good at what they do and Aetherling will probably end up being among the top blue closers. Using some baseball terminology here but just because Mariano Rivera is the greatest closer ever, doesn't mean that Craig Krimbel isn't a phenominal talent. Not all closers are created the same and the best part about cube is the fact that we can try them out.
What if I want to kill and my opponent has a couple fliers? Aetherling clearly seems better then. Creeping tar pit has won me a lot of games i had no business winning, as deadlocked boards were opened up with 3dmg a turn; this guy could end games quicker than that.
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If you get a lot of mana and can effectivly control the board with your other cards, you basically can't lose.
Only takes a few turns to win the game.
This should be an auto include IMO
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Consider a game where you play dedicated control. You develop your mana and in the process you take a couple of hits. Say you play a wrath, your opponent plays a new threat and attacks you to 5. Now you play AEtherling and keep U open to save it from removal. You are now dead to Zealous Conscripts, Chandra's Phoenix + Reckless Charge, Thundermaw Hellkite, haste creature + removal spell or removal spell + burn spell.
In other words, the value of AEtherling vs. Sphinx of Jwar Isle for example depends on whether closing out games or staying alive long enough are the more pressing matter for your typical dedicated control deck. I know for us it often is the latter, and there AEtherling is not as good as other options.
"What am I looking at? Ashes, dead man."