MTG Salvation

This guy seems pretty aggressive being a 3 power 3 drop that puts 2 power tokens into play. I think I like him better than Curse of Shallow Graves as well, and will likely be my cut.

+ Token enters the battlefield untapped
+ Doesn't require other creatures to produce tokens
+ Pairs well with blacks removal suite
+ Dash provides a nice alternate option that could force a board wipe without losing a card.
= Produces token on attack instead of damage
- Dies to most 1 and 2 drops
- Tokens -1 Toughness
- More fragile engine

I like cursed of shallow grave more than him. I think he's a fine option for 450+ cube, but I don't like him enough for 360.

Yea, I wouldn't cut Curse either, but I do like this card. I just don't know if he's necessary with Curse and Ophiomancer already as solid token producing 3 drops. It will be interesting to see how often Dash is relevant. Intrigued but skeptical.

Hmm, I've never been that impressed with Curse. Interesting that others have a different view on it.

I love this card. Adding it, no question. Seems great WITH Curse of Shallow Graves, so won't be cutting that for him.

Unless it's removed within one turn cycle, you WILL be getting 5 power for your 2B, which is a great deal. 3 power is also likely to trade with something and leave you with the 2/1 and obviously if it's not killed somehow, you start getting a cheap Hero of Bladehold impression. Pretty cool. Dash is hard to evaluate in this instance, but I think it could be a really nice option for later in the game to get a bunch of partially hasty power on the board all at once. I think this would be a shoe-in for us at 450, but black's 3 drops are stellar now... Also, yet another Human for those shenanigans.

Curse might be a cut, yes. It's very strong but being a creature off the bat is often preferable.

Yup, this is another strong 3-drop, definitely cube worthy. Black is so spoiled in that department.

I'll likely be testing this guy too. Another token generating 3-drop with solid base stats. Black can use the created tokens for Pox/Stax shenanigans too.

So what gets cut in favor of the Strike Leader?

My black 3's at 450:

• Vampire Nighthawk
  
• Hypnotic Specter
  
• Ophiomancer
  
• Flesh Carver
  
• Fleshbag Marauder

Also, Curse of Shallow Graves

I guess the obvious cut is Fleshbag, but I am a huge fan of that card and I think it provides something unique for black's 3 drops. I like Curse better in that it is harder to remove, but I guess on an empty board Stike Leader is an infinitely better top deck and can start generating value immediately. This is a rough one!

Not much to add to what's been said, but I like this card and will test it. I don't think I'll cut Curse for it though because I'd like more token generators not fewer.

Cheers,
rant

Fleshbag for sure of those, but I think Bone Shredder is stronger than that card already. You didn't mention Geralf's Messenger as a black 3-drop in your cube, but that would actually be my cut for this. Triple black is ROUGH, especially for a card that's best on turn 3.

I cut Messenger for Flesh Carver, just haven't updated cubetutor.

At first I was ho hum, as I like curse better because it's hard to remove and I get a token on turn 3 with more toughness. Then I realized it does a moderate impression of rabblemaster so I think i'll buy a foil quick on the off chance this works out.

No idea what to cut in my black section for this guy. All of my 3-drop creatures are guys I want to keep in the list, and I'm hesitant to drop Reassembling Skeleton for curve purposes and its synergy with my graveyard decks.

I also prefer Curse of Shallow Graves to this new guy. Curse is more resilient and usually gives starts producing tokens on turn three. New guy is still good though. Might try him over Bone Shredder or Grim Haruspex. Black surely got a lot of strong options for its 3-drop slot over the last two years.

Im trying to get more and more Humans in my cube. I might try this over Geralf's Messenger, the triple black is really prohibitive at times.

I suspect I'll be casting this for its dash cost more often than not, so I see this as a 4-drop, not a 3-drop. I'll be trying this out over Bloodline Keeper.

The main advantage of this card over Curse are the two areas where Curse is bad. First, this guy can create threats without threats, and Second, it has an ability that is good against sorcery mass removal. The two biggest downsides that Curse has are both mitigated by this card.

Quote from wtwlf123 »

The main advantage of this card over Curse are the two areas where Curse is bad. First, this guy can create threats without threats, and Second, it has an ability that is good against sorcery mass removal. The two biggest downsides that Curse has are both mitigated by this card.

Excellent reasons to run both, as Curse offsets the Striker's main downside in that it is fragile.

I'm not sure on this guy - he doesn't provide value until he attacks and even when he does, he'll likely just die so he just replaced himself. Are we really that excited for a 3 drop Penumbra creature?

If it didn't get the creature unless it died, then no, we wouldn't want it. But since all you'll likely need is 1 removal spell to create 7+ power with this guy, the ceiling adds a lot of value to his overall evaluation. And don't forget the value his haste mode can have against wraths and 'walker boards.

Quote from wtwlf123 »

If it didn't get the creature unless it died, then no, we wouldn't want it. But since all you'll likely need is 1 removal spell to create 7+ power with this guy, the ceiling adds a lot of value to his overall evaluation. And don't forget the value his haste mode can have against wraths and 'walker boards.

You are spot on with your evaluation. This is one dash creature that I really like so far.

not quite as high on this card as people here. A 3/2 body is going to get blocked favourably way too often for my liking. As well as vulnerable to removal without extracting value. A 3/2 for 3 body that HAS to attack to generate value so it's body being outclassed is very very relevant.
He has a lot of similarities to brimaz and I can't imagine how much worse brimaz would be without his 4 toughness butt

The dash is very expensive and doesn't add much utility to the card imo, but could see me underestimating the dash.

It has to generate MINIMUM 1 token of value to be close to curve, and I'm skeptical how often it'll run away with a game unimpeded.

It's a fine card, but don't tank I'll run it. Might test tho

This guy looks pretty amazing but I don't know if I can cut one of my 3-drops for him. I'll definitely be watching him.