Of course, we have a new goody being printed in Rankle, Master of Pranks.
I am excited to have a 4 mana beater that can play well in a variety of decks.
There has been some discussion on what to cut for Rankle with some thoughts on Skinrender.
How does everyone else feel about there 4 drops?
Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet is also a very good monster, but right now he's at the bottom of my 4cc creature section and will likely be my cut for Rankle.
Braids, Cabal Minion, Ravenous Chupacabra, Yawgmoth, Thran Physician and Gonti, Lord of Luxury it is for me. I do not quite get why people are so hyped by Rankle, Master of Pranks, but I am surely missing something.
Braids, Cabal Minion - Excellent on curve, usually lackluster afterwards. Has a unique and interesting win condition that makes for memorable games. I'm very neutral on this card, I don't think its as good or bad as people think. I'm near certain this will be cut in the coming years, but it is still alright for now. Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet - Lifelink is very helpful in black to offset other cards which cost life. Adding create a 2/2 black zombie to every kill spell or everytime an opponent's creature dies in combat is also great. The final ability isn't flavor text either being both instant speed, creating a larger lifelink threat, and potentially netting you a zombie in the process. This guy is safe in my cube. Ravenous Chupacabra - Any-target creature kill spell ETB on a 2/2 body. Yeah. Card is great. Spawn of Mayhem - Arguably and preferably a 3 drop, but literally a 4 drop. If you're casting this for four it's just okay. The alternate casting mode is what makes this good. At 3, it is a Master of the Feast with additional evasion against flying blockers and without the ridiculously bad drawback. This is a great Black Aggro card.
Thoughts on other black 4 drop creatures...
Rankle, Master of Pranks - This card is very, very good. Flying and haste on a 3/3 body for 2BB is already a decent baseline. Then you add three parity abilities and you always get to choose which ones (if any) trigger when you connect? If Liliana of the Veil should have taught you anything it is this, "Parity is not parity" and Rankle only exacerbates this lesson by giving you the parity effect or effects of your choice as needed for the board state you are facing.
Nekrataal - If your cube needs a secondary black kill spell on a body, this is your guy. He also has a slightly better body for combat than Chupacabra thanks to first strike. Still the targeting restrictions and the fact that he must target if able are liabilities.
Skinrender - Unless you are really pushing zombie tribal, I don't think this cuts it when you have two better options. The bigger body doesn't make up for the inability to remove larger threats and the fact that on an empty board it kills itself.
Phyrexian Obliterator - Quad-black in the cc is an extremely tough barrier to overcome. Obviously unchecked this card is disgusting, but by the time you can cast this most non-mono-red decks can deal with it.
Gonti, Lord of Luxury - Definitely had an eye on this because of how unique it is, but ultimately 2BB for a 2/3 deathtouch and a card that might be useful to you isn't enough.
Yawgmoth, Thran Physician - I just recently picked up this card to test it. My gut feeling is that the costs are too intensive for the payoffs they provide. Also cubes have such potential for explosive plays and this kind of grindy incremental benefit isn't enough to combat this.
TL;DR
Rankle Master of Pranks ++
Kalitas +
Chupacabra +
Braids = (++ on curve or early, -- later)
Nekrataal =
Spawn of Mayhem + when cast for 1BB / - when cast for 2BB
Skinrender -
Gonti, Lord of Luxury -
Yawgmoth, Thran Physician -
Phyrexian Obliterator --
Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet is also a very good monster, but right now he's at the bottom of my 4cc creature section and will likely be my cut for Rankle.
So you'd put Nekrataal over Kalitas? Interesting. I've currently got Nekrataal on the block as my current cut for Rankle. Mostly that's because I don't want black 4's to just be all Nekrataal variants. It's nice to have a bit of variety there. Kalitas is a powerful four drop.
For me it's sadly Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet vs Rankle, Master of Pranks in a multiplayer cube and it's one of these rare occasions where it's not even changing much that I do the consideration with multiplayer in mind.
I have a weakness for token producers, and Kalitas provides a bit of that function. On the other hand Rankle will be devastating if not disrupted. Decisions, decisions...
I currently run the following:
Braids, Cabal Minion
Nekrataal
Ravenous Chupacabra
Skinrender
Of course, we have a new goody being printed in Rankle, Master of Pranks.
I am excited to have a 4 mana beater that can play well in a variety of decks.
There has been some discussion on what to cut for Rankle with some thoughts on Skinrender.
How does everyone else feel about there 4 drops?
http://www.cubetutor.com/cubeblog/63569
Braids
Ravenous Chupacabra
Phyrexian Obliterator
I am currently debating replacing Braids for Gonti, Lord of Luxury. Not sure if I will, but I've been wanting to get Gonti in for a while.
[180 classic cube]
How has Yawgmoth been for others? No clear aristocrats support in my cube.
Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet is also a very good monster, but right now he's at the bottom of my 4cc creature section and will likely be my cut for Rankle.
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Braids, Cabal Minion - Excellent on curve, usually lackluster afterwards. Has a unique and interesting win condition that makes for memorable games. I'm very neutral on this card, I don't think its as good or bad as people think. I'm near certain this will be cut in the coming years, but it is still alright for now.
Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet - Lifelink is very helpful in black to offset other cards which cost life. Adding create a 2/2 black zombie to every kill spell or everytime an opponent's creature dies in combat is also great. The final ability isn't flavor text either being both instant speed, creating a larger lifelink threat, and potentially netting you a zombie in the process. This guy is safe in my cube.
Ravenous Chupacabra - Any-target creature kill spell ETB on a 2/2 body. Yeah. Card is great.
Spawn of Mayhem - Arguably and preferably a 3 drop, but literally a 4 drop. If you're casting this for four it's just okay. The alternate casting mode is what makes this good. At 3, it is a Master of the Feast with additional evasion against flying blockers and without the ridiculously bad drawback. This is a great Black Aggro card.
Thoughts on other black 4 drop creatures...
Rankle, Master of Pranks - This card is very, very good. Flying and haste on a 3/3 body for 2BB is already a decent baseline. Then you add three parity abilities and you always get to choose which ones (if any) trigger when you connect? If Liliana of the Veil should have taught you anything it is this, "Parity is not parity" and Rankle only exacerbates this lesson by giving you the parity effect or effects of your choice as needed for the board state you are facing.
Nekrataal - If your cube needs a secondary black kill spell on a body, this is your guy. He also has a slightly better body for combat than Chupacabra thanks to first strike. Still the targeting restrictions and the fact that he must target if able are liabilities.
Skinrender - Unless you are really pushing zombie tribal, I don't think this cuts it when you have two better options. The bigger body doesn't make up for the inability to remove larger threats and the fact that on an empty board it kills itself.
Phyrexian Obliterator - Quad-black in the cc is an extremely tough barrier to overcome. Obviously unchecked this card is disgusting, but by the time you can cast this most non-mono-red decks can deal with it.
Gonti, Lord of Luxury - Definitely had an eye on this because of how unique it is, but ultimately 2BB for a 2/3 deathtouch and a card that might be useful to you isn't enough.
Yawgmoth, Thran Physician - I just recently picked up this card to test it. My gut feeling is that the costs are too intensive for the payoffs they provide. Also cubes have such potential for explosive plays and this kind of grindy incremental benefit isn't enough to combat this.
TL;DR
Rankle Master of Pranks ++
Kalitas +
Chupacabra +
Braids = (++ on curve or early, -- later)
Nekrataal =
Spawn of Mayhem + when cast for 1BB / - when cast for 2BB
Skinrender -
Gonti, Lord of Luxury -
Yawgmoth, Thran Physician -
Phyrexian Obliterator --
So you'd put Nekrataal over Kalitas? Interesting. I've currently got Nekrataal on the block as my current cut for Rankle. Mostly that's because I don't want black 4's to just be all Nekrataal variants. It's nice to have a bit of variety there. Kalitas is a powerful four drop.
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I have a weakness for token producers, and Kalitas provides a bit of that function. On the other hand Rankle will be devastating if not disrupted. Decisions, decisions...