I'm not concerned with having a slot for each wedge or shard. If a card is cubeworthy, I'll run it. I'm not going to be so obsessed with balancing the color combinations that I force myself to omit or include cards that I shouldn't.
For reference, my 3color cards are Nicol Bolas, maelstrom wanderer, Rafiq, nightscape familiar, and wild Nacatl. I'm also probably going to add the new Mardu demon
I don't currently have a section, but if my cube was still at 540, I'd go for it at this point. Tri-land cycle and Shard/Wedge cycle both.
Why trilands? They're barely better than Invasion taplands. They're no Paliano; with ten of them, getting the actual third color you want is a crapshoot. Mostly they encourage bad four-color decks
I don't bother at 450. If I did, wedge cards would have to be very, very powerful. Right now there's nothing on the level of Mana Drain, Mindtwist, or Armageddon. Until there is, there's no need to go to the extra effort to support wedges.
I don't currently have a section, but if my cube was still at 540, I'd go for it at this point. Tri-land cycle and Shard/Wedge cycle both.
Why trilands? They're barely better than Invasion taplands. They're no Paliano; with ten of them, getting the actual third color you want is a crapshoot. Mostly they encourage bad four-color decks
They do help to support 4 and 5-color decks, which can be a drawback depending on what you're trying to support. But at the 540-630 range, the colorless land options for fixing take a huge dive in quality, and these lands are pretty flexible when it comes to getting reasonable value from them. They're not great 2-color fixers, but they can be a Coastal Tower for 3 different decks at the very least. I think that if I was trying to support 10 cards with tri-color mana costs, I'd be looking to increase fixing that will help those decks alongside the narrow spells themselves. I'm not positive they'd stay, but I'd test their value again in an environment trying to support 10 new tricolor cards. It's hard to beat the quality if all three colors are relevant for your deck.
At 600 cards, I am currently running 5 shard/wedge cards:
S WUBSphinx of the Steel Wind - Great in reanimator, with Tinker and even just as a control finisher.
S UBRNicol Bolas, Planeswalker - Mostly for control decks, but too cool not to run.
S BRGBroodmate Dragon - Decent in reanimator, but is also cheap enough to hardcast and can be run in midrange.
W URWLightning Angel - For tempo decks and control decks.
W GURMaelstrom Wanderer - Fun finisher for 3+ color ramp decks.
With Khans, I might bring this up to a full 10 card cycle. The two remaining shards are rather empty though and I am still not sure about two of the wedge cards.
S GWUEmpyrial Archangel - Don't like this guy much, but might be good enough as a splashed finisher for control and in reanimator?
S RGWUril, the Miststalker - Seriously, this shard has NOTHING. This guy could work in midrange or in a Wildfire deck?
W WBGSiege Rhino - Perfect creature for The Rock midrange decks.
W BGUSultai Charm - Great charm, but will it push anyone into its colors?
W RWBButcher of the Horde - Not entirely sold on this guy, since aggro decks rarely want to splash a third color.
(Obviously, I am only considering true multicolor cards for the shard/wedge slots here, so no Nacatl and Hierarch.)
I really like the tri-lands. I think I'd play them at 540 if I were supporting wedges. They're fine fixers for two color decks with a splash, and they're superb in 4 and 5 color control, in addition to the wedges that you may or may not be supporting (but I would at 540 most likely).
Could OP or a mod edit this into the OP? Kind of want to expand my list to fit in Wedge cards if we get more Butcher of the Horde type cards. I think it's very possible we'll get some really awesome wedge cards through the block... even if it's not a wedge block.
WUBSphinx of the Steel Wind - For Tinker and Reanimate. Sometimes it is hardcast, so we don't consider it to be colorless. UBRNicol Bolas, Planeswalker - Splashy control finisher. BRGBroodmate Dragon - For Reanimate and Natural Order. Gets the nod over Hellkite Overlord for being easier to hardcast. RGWWild Nacatl - Zoo aggro, even if rarely drafted. GWUNoble Hierach - Awesome card is awesome. We play it as a Bant card, because we play card where they are intrinsically best. (thanks, wtwlf for the word ;))
And these are currently the best wedge contenders, IMO: URWLightning Angel - Solid creature, goes in any deck that runs these colors. RWBButcher of the Horde - Not for control, but good for aggressive and token decks. WBGSiege Rhino - Good value and fits perfect into the colors. BGU (Sultai Charm) GURSurrak Dragonclaw - Strong card. Flash and his Trample-granting ability makes him pass the Vindicate test somehow, as it should usually be possible to get some value from him right away (drop him to kill an attacker, or before/during your combat to push more damage through.)
Another option would be Rattleclaw Mystic, which would make it if Morph becomes a theme again, but I kind of doubt that at the moment.
There's also Maelstorm Wanderer, but ramp decks aren't very popular here.
The wedge cards we got from KTK are not quite as strong as I hoped: They don't really pull you into the colors. So I wouldn't run those in a small list that tries to play strictly the best, but in larger cubes to make 3+ color decks more attractive I would be happy with those. Except for Sultai Charm. I don't really want to run reactive 3CMC tri-colored cards, even if they're powerful. I'm still hoping for a better Sultai card.
I actually have Progenitus in my Naya slot, mostly because green/red/blue have most/best of my cheat into play effects, but Maelstrom Wanderer is really good in that slot... and Naya's playables aren't earthshattering.
I know some people hate the swinginess of "cheat a giant thing into play", but at 720 it's something that I like having available.
Thankfully, I can support it reasonably well, with each color having a few ways to go about it (in the way those colors do it). Primary in Green, Secondary in Blue, Tertiary in Red, White and Black, though white and black get it most frequently via reanimation. Colorless options like Quicksilver Amulet are added to help round it out.
But, I am at 720. That gives me quite a bit more room for massive giant things TO be cheated in.
Where's the love for Fiery Justice? I experimented with shards for a little and as my Naya representative, it showed me how much better Arc Lightning gets when you have an additional two damage to play with.
Which do you guys prefer, Hellkite Overlord or Broodmate Dragon? We have been playing Broodmate in the Jund slot for awhile now, but I'm thinking of switching over to the splashier Overlord when I add in Tarkir's new tricolor cards.
I give the Overlord a slight nod over Broodmate because it's better when cheated. I run Sneak Attack, Natural Order, and fast reanimator, and the Overlord is just so great in those decks.
I like Broodmate Dragon more, but I don't have Natural Order in my cube. It is just more resilient to removal, you sometimes get to trigger its etb effect multiple times over the course of a game and a reanimator deck that draws it later can actually just cast it.
I always forget about Fiery Justice. It might actually be a decent candidate for the Naya slot. 5 devidable damage is a lot. If you are playing a slower deck against an aggro deck, it is pretty much a one-sided Wrath. It is less interesting in an aggressive deck though, since the life gain actually matters there.
Where's the love for Fiery Justice? I experimented with shards for a little and as my Naya representative, it showed me how much better Arc Lightning gets when you have an additional two damage to play with.
My Naya decks don't want to give my opponent 5 extra life.
I gotta agree with wtwklf123, Fiery Justice is the last thing I would want in my Naya decks. If I was going to run a specific spell slot for Naya, I would run Naya Charm. Tapping out your opponent's creatures for an alpha strike wins games, and the other modes aren't bad either.
My Naya decks are almost never aggro decks (which is one of the reasons why I don't want to classify Wild Nacatl as a Naya card - it's more like a Gruul or Selesnya card). They are usually Wildfire or Ramp or at least some midrange variant. I think most of those decks would be fine with giving the opponent 5 extra life while taking out two or three creatures. I am seriously considering Fiery Justice now.
If you don't play any Naya aggro (which is what most of our Naya decks are) Fiery Justice is a pretty strong card.
But Wild Nacatl being a hybrid and combo card is what makes it the perfect choice for the Naya shard option, IMO. You get to include a card in that slot that's nowhere near as narrow as a true 3-color card is, which is nothing but a good thing.
It is funny to see how different cubes that follow similar principles and share many of their cards are drafted. I suppose we see so many strict two color aggro decks in my cube because in a booster draft with 6-8 players, we get enough good cards without having to dip into a third color?
Including Nacatl as a tricolor card despite it going into more decks than a guild card would be unfair for the other shards and wedges that are stuck with their hard to cast cards.
Including Nacatl as a tricolor card despite it going into more decks than a guild card would be unfair for the other shards and wedges that are stuck with their hard to cast cards.
If the tri colour cards are in on merit, then it's OK that some of the other ones are easier to cast. It's only a real issue if you have to include really bad CDE cards, I think, if you're going for a balanced wedge/shard section. Having Wild Nacatl, Catch//Release and Butcher of the Horde competing within a given section isn't that jarring to me. Even if they all play differently.
Including Nacatl as a tricolor card despite it going into more decks than a guild card would be unfair for the other shards and wedges that are stuck with their hard to cast cards.
No more unfair than it would be to include Doran, the Siege Tower in its wedge and Sphinx of the Steel Wind in its shard considering how much harder it is to cast a 3-color 3cc card than one that costs 8 mana.
Not every section in the cube has to contain cards that are as equally hard/easy to cast as every other section in the cube. Just play what's best for that section.
Also, will the wedge cards in Khans cause you to adopt a wedge/shard slot in your cube?
For reference, my 3color cards are Nicol Bolas, maelstrom wanderer, Rafiq, nightscape familiar, and wild Nacatl. I'm also probably going to add the new Mardu demon
Currently no 3-color cards in my 720 Unpowered list, will be adding a cycle of ten after Khans.
Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker
Sphinx of the Steel Wind
Hellkite Overlord
Wild Nacatl (reclassification)
Rafiq of the Many
Sultai Charm
Butcher of the Horde
Savage Knuckleblade
Lightning Angel
Doran, the Siege Tower or Crime // Punishment or Siege Rhino
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Why trilands? They're barely better than Invasion taplands. They're no Paliano; with ten of them, getting the actual third color you want is a crapshoot. Mostly they encourage bad four-color decks
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They do help to support 4 and 5-color decks, which can be a drawback depending on what you're trying to support. But at the 540-630 range, the colorless land options for fixing take a huge dive in quality, and these lands are pretty flexible when it comes to getting reasonable value from them. They're not great 2-color fixers, but they can be a Coastal Tower for 3 different decks at the very least. I think that if I was trying to support 10 cards with tri-color mana costs, I'd be looking to increase fixing that will help those decks alongside the narrow spells themselves. I'm not positive they'd stay, but I'd test their value again in an environment trying to support 10 new tricolor cards. It's hard to beat the quality if all three colors are relevant for your deck.
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S WUB Sphinx of the Steel Wind - Great in reanimator, with Tinker and even just as a control finisher.
S UBR Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker - Mostly for control decks, but too cool not to run.
S BRG Broodmate Dragon - Decent in reanimator, but is also cheap enough to hardcast and can be run in midrange.
W URW Lightning Angel - For tempo decks and control decks.
W GUR Maelstrom Wanderer - Fun finisher for 3+ color ramp decks.
With Khans, I might bring this up to a full 10 card cycle. The two remaining shards are rather empty though and I am still not sure about two of the wedge cards.
S GWU Empyrial Archangel - Don't like this guy much, but might be good enough as a splashed finisher for control and in reanimator?
S RGW Uril, the Miststalker - Seriously, this shard has NOTHING. This guy could work in midrange or in a Wildfire deck?
W WBG Siege Rhino - Perfect creature for The Rock midrange decks.
W BGU Sultai Charm - Great charm, but will it push anyone into its colors?
W RWB Butcher of the Horde - Not entirely sold on this guy, since aggro decks rarely want to splash a third color.
(Obviously, I am only considering true multicolor cards for the shard/wedge slots here, so no Nacatl and Hierarch.)
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
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Bant GWU
Rafiq of the Many
Roon of the Hidden Realm
Rhox War Monk
Bant Charm
Empyrial Archangel
Supply // Demand (?)
Treva's Charm
Esper WUB
Sphinx of the Steel Wind
Esper Charm
Dromar's Charm
Thopter Foundry
Grixis UBR
Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker
Cruel Ultimatum
Thraximundar
Nekusar, the Mindrazer
Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge
Slave of Bolas
Nightscape Familiar (?)
Sedraxis Specter
Grixis Charm
Crosis's Charm
Jund BRG
Broodmate Dragon
Hellkite Overlord
Prossh, Skyraider of Kher
Viashino Slaughtermaster (?)
Madrush Cyclops
Darigaaz's Charm
Jund Charm
Shattergang Brothers
Sprouting Thrinax
Naya RGW
Marath, Will of the Wild
Gahiji, Honored One
Fiery Justice
Wild Nacatl (?)
Trace of Abundance
Naya Charm
Woolly Thoctar
Realm Razer
Rith's Charm
Abzan WBG
Siege Rhino
Crime // Punishment (?)
Doran, the Siege Tower
Anafenza, the Foremost
Abzan Ascendancy
Abzan Charm
Duneblast
Ghave, Guru of Spores
Jeskai URW
Lightning Angel
Jeskai Charm
Narset, Enlightened Master
Mantis Rider
Sage of the Inward Eye
Flying Crane Technique
Mardu RWB
Butcher of the Horde
Mardu Charm
Ankle Shanker
Crackling Doom
Zurgo Helmsmasher
Mardu Ascendancy
Sultai BGU
Villainous Wealth
Sultai Charm
Sidisi, Brood Tyrant
Sultai Ascendancy
Rakshasa Vizier
Temur GUR
Maelstrom Wanderer
Surrak Dragonclaw
Rattleclaw Mystic (?)
Savage Knuckleblade
Temur Charm
Temur Ascendancy
Riku of Two Reflections
Animar, Soul of Elements
WUB Sphinx of the Steel Wind - For Tinker and Reanimate. Sometimes it is hardcast, so we don't consider it to be colorless.
UBR Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker - Splashy control finisher.
BRG Broodmate Dragon - For Reanimate and Natural Order. Gets the nod over Hellkite Overlord for being easier to hardcast.
RGW Wild Nacatl - Zoo aggro, even if rarely drafted.
GWU Noble Hierach - Awesome card is awesome. We play it as a Bant card, because we play card where they are intrinsically best. (thanks, wtwlf for the word ;))
And these are currently the best wedge contenders, IMO:
URW Lightning Angel - Solid creature, goes in any deck that runs these colors.
RWB Butcher of the Horde - Not for control, but good for aggressive and token decks.
WBG Siege Rhino - Good value and fits perfect into the colors.
BGU (Sultai Charm)
GUR Surrak Dragonclaw - Strong card. Flash and his Trample-granting ability makes him pass the Vindicate test somehow, as it should usually be possible to get some value from him right away (drop him to kill an attacker, or before/during your combat to push more damage through.)
Another option would be Rattleclaw Mystic, which would make it if Morph becomes a theme again, but I kind of doubt that at the moment.
There's also Maelstorm Wanderer, but ramp decks aren't very popular here.
The wedge cards we got from KTK are not quite as strong as I hoped: They don't really pull you into the colors. So I wouldn't run those in a small list that tries to play strictly the best, but in larger cubes to make 3+ color decks more attractive I would be happy with those. Except for Sultai Charm. I don't really want to run reactive 3CMC tri-colored cards, even if they're powerful. I'm still hoping for a better Sultai card.
I actually have Progenitus in my Naya slot, mostly because green/red/blue have most/best of my cheat into play effects, but Maelstrom Wanderer is really good in that slot... and Naya's playables aren't earthshattering.
I know some people hate the swinginess of "cheat a giant thing into play", but at 720 it's something that I like having available.
Thankfully, I can support it reasonably well, with each color having a few ways to go about it (in the way those colors do it). Primary in Green, Secondary in Blue, Tertiary in Red, White and Black, though white and black get it most frequently via reanimation. Colorless options like Quicksilver Amulet are added to help round it out.
But, I am at 720. That gives me quite a bit more room for massive giant things TO be cheated in.
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I always forget about Fiery Justice. It might actually be a decent candidate for the Naya slot. 5 devidable damage is a lot. If you are playing a slower deck against an aggro deck, it is pretty much a one-sided Wrath. It is less interesting in an aggressive deck though, since the life gain actually matters there.
Uril, the Miststalker RGW -- Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre C -- Vhati il-Dal BG -- Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer RW -- Animar, Soul of Elements URG
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My Naya decks don't want to give my opponent 5 extra life.
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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
But Wild Nacatl being a hybrid
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Including Nacatl as a tricolor card despite it going into more decks than a guild card would be unfair for the other shards and wedges that are stuck with their hard to cast cards.
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
If the tri colour cards are in on merit, then it's OK that some of the other ones are easier to cast. It's only a real issue if you have to include really bad CDE cards, I think, if you're going for a balanced wedge/shard section. Having Wild Nacatl, Catch//Release and Butcher of the Horde competing within a given section isn't that jarring to me. Even if they all play differently.
On spoiled card wishlisting and 'should-have-had'-isms:
No more unfair than it would be to include Doran, the Siege Tower in its wedge and Sphinx of the Steel Wind in its shard considering how much harder it is to cast a 3-color 3cc card than one that costs 8 mana.
Not every section in the cube has to contain cards that are as equally hard/easy to cast as every other section in the cube. Just play what's best for that section.
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