Some more potentially parasitic cards that I am particularly pleased to ponder.
A few months back I rediscovered an old combo deck by the name of ProsBloom. It used cards like Cadaverous Bloom, Prosperity, Drain Life, Natural Balance and Squandered Resources to sac a bunch of land for mana, get more mana, then draw a bunch of cards, pitch that for even more mana, and knock out the opponent's life total. And although I'm not sure this can really come together in cube, there are some aspects here that I think are really cool and worth thinking about.
Lately I've been trying to get a really dedicated loam archetype going, looking for more ways to play with lands and the graveyard to get some unfair advantages. I quickly came upon Squandered Resources and was intrigued ... but I seem to have this problem of being drawn to cards that don't have any kind of redundancy in a cube environment (see my recent thread about Enduring Renewal). But! Sacrificing lands itself is not unique; there are a few interesting cards out there like Zuran Orb that can do this to get some interesting results. I'm sure most of you know the infinite mana/life combo with Zuran Orb, Fastbond and Crucible of Worlds... well, although as a substitute for Zuran Orb, Squandered Resources can't actually go infinite (because fastbond hurts), you can still generate a huge chunk of mana this way. For decks that want to cast big spells but not necessarily go infinite, I think it's worth considering the partial-redundancy.
SR is also capable of its own independent (but incredibly risky) plays that still might be fun at the table. Play it on an empty board turn 2, and you have the option of a turn 3 Primeval Titan, if you choose. It might be very all-or-nothing when this is your style, but I think the potential for big plays can drive some interesting tension. You could even do something of a pseudo-Upheaval if you sac a bunch of lands and then cast Balance before plopping down whatever monster you can afford. SR also happens to be a way to activate Titania, Protector of Argoth, but I know this is a fringe card for most and only mention it for those who want to go deep on sacrificing lands.
Cadaverous Bloom itself is a bit tricky to use. When do you want to exile a card in hand for BB or GG? In shells that are gunning for huge amounts of mana and/or have access to strong drawpower, I think there's a chance for it to shine. In particular, I notice some folks have been playing a bit more with Yawgmoth's Bargain, a card close to my own heart. With some ramp you could drop Bloom as early as turn 3, exile three cards from your hand to drop Bargain, and then proceed to draw your deck and immediately have mana to cast whatever you want, not unlike ProsBloom (instead of Drain Life you might instead cast Profane Command, Exsanguinate, or my preference, Damnable Pact (which can be used to fuel Bloom or KO your opponent). Or just an Emrakul or what have you.
Outside of draw-your-whole-deck contexts, I think a few folks have been experimenting with additional Draw 7s, to play along with Narset, Leovold or the new blue 3-drop in Commander Legends. Although mana may be restrictive, pitching a few cards before wheeling/twistering and pitching a bunch more for big mana could also line up exciting plays. And Bloom fits into Leovold's colors! I dunno if this in itself is sufficient for people to want to experiment with, but I feel like there is some greater potential for its appeal if you've already included this package.
I have some more thoughts about these cards, and how they entice me to try yet more unusual cards to see them fully shine, but I know this is already long and soon to devolve into the desperate ravings of a madman and I figured I'd end there. I'm curious to see if anyone has their eye on how these effects might be worth playing if we had another 1 or 2 redundant effects, or have a really cool shell where they'd fit in nicely, or any other thoughts they'd like to share. Hope to read your comments soon!
Hey. I think its great that people are experimenting in cube.
Cadaverous Bloom and Squandered Resources are both cards I've thought about before, but I just feel they're a bit too narrow and there a slightly stronger alternatives.
These cards are a slightly better improvement over Squandered Resource. I've thought about playing a 1 off Rain of Filth and Lake of the Dead before to help with the storm/ reanimator decks but eventually dropped these two as I realized the fast mana for cube is already sufficient and if I really wanted to push storm +1 Grim Tutor was the better option to go.
For Cadaverous Bloom:
This is an interesting card and I was looking for a second card to supplement Dream Halls - a card I really like. However, being in Black-Green is already a problem - you really need to be a blue deck to be able to fully use these cards.
I've been really wanting a Yawgmoth's Bargain/ Necropotenance in my cube for a while ... but the problem is just does worse than the new blue draw 7. (Echoes of Econs, Commit - Memory)
I might bring yawgmoth;s bargain back as a payoff for black-white lifegain.
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I'm actively maintaining a comprehensive article to help explain to new cube players how some complex vintage level cards work in a cube environment. Vintage Cube Cards Explained
Cadaverous Bloom I see as a pure combo card, worth trying if you are deep into Storm.
Squandered Resources is far more versatile and has strong (even busted) interactions with lots of my favorite Cube Cards, namely those that blow up all the lands. Resources into Balance, Death Cloud, Jokulhaups or Wildfires is hilarious and super powerful, the main problem is making the mana work. I used to run it in my Cube but ultimately decided to cut it as I wasn't supporting Storm (which is another deck it would be good in), making it a little too narrow for my tastes.
- I could see Squandered Resources being a much stronger enabler with Titania as someone can easily turn 2 Squandered Resources, turn 3/4 Titania sacrificing 1-2 lands, returning the land and setting up for a combo. I could see this as a much stronger enabler than Zuran Orb
- Adding 5+ lands to your graveyard can have upsides with cards like Cabal Ritual / Dig Through Time / Underworld Breach, which often have difficulty hitting the necessary threshold.
Cadaverous Bloom
Some more potentially parasitic cards that I am particularly pleased to ponder.
A few months back I rediscovered an old combo deck by the name of ProsBloom. It used cards like Cadaverous Bloom, Prosperity, Drain Life, Natural Balance and Squandered Resources to sac a bunch of land for mana, get more mana, then draw a bunch of cards, pitch that for even more mana, and knock out the opponent's life total. And although I'm not sure this can really come together in cube, there are some aspects here that I think are really cool and worth thinking about.
Lately I've been trying to get a really dedicated loam archetype going, looking for more ways to play with lands and the graveyard to get some unfair advantages. I quickly came upon Squandered Resources and was intrigued ... but I seem to have this problem of being drawn to cards that don't have any kind of redundancy in a cube environment (see my recent thread about Enduring Renewal). But! Sacrificing lands itself is not unique; there are a few interesting cards out there like Zuran Orb that can do this to get some interesting results. I'm sure most of you know the infinite mana/life combo with Zuran Orb, Fastbond and Crucible of Worlds... well, although as a substitute for Zuran Orb, Squandered Resources can't actually go infinite (because fastbond hurts), you can still generate a huge chunk of mana this way. For decks that want to cast big spells but not necessarily go infinite, I think it's worth considering the partial-redundancy.
SR is also capable of its own independent (but incredibly risky) plays that still might be fun at the table. Play it on an empty board turn 2, and you have the option of a turn 3 Primeval Titan, if you choose. It might be very all-or-nothing when this is your style, but I think the potential for big plays can drive some interesting tension. You could even do something of a pseudo-Upheaval if you sac a bunch of lands and then cast Balance before plopping down whatever monster you can afford. SR also happens to be a way to activate Titania, Protector of Argoth, but I know this is a fringe card for most and only mention it for those who want to go deep on sacrificing lands.
Cadaverous Bloom itself is a bit tricky to use. When do you want to exile a card in hand for BB or GG? In shells that are gunning for huge amounts of mana and/or have access to strong drawpower, I think there's a chance for it to shine. In particular, I notice some folks have been playing a bit more with Yawgmoth's Bargain, a card close to my own heart. With some ramp you could drop Bloom as early as turn 3, exile three cards from your hand to drop Bargain, and then proceed to draw your deck and immediately have mana to cast whatever you want, not unlike ProsBloom (instead of Drain Life you might instead cast Profane Command, Exsanguinate, or my preference, Damnable Pact (which can be used to fuel Bloom or KO your opponent). Or just an Emrakul or what have you.
Outside of draw-your-whole-deck contexts, I think a few folks have been experimenting with additional Draw 7s, to play along with Narset, Leovold or the new blue 3-drop in Commander Legends. Although mana may be restrictive, pitching a few cards before wheeling/twistering and pitching a bunch more for big mana could also line up exciting plays. And Bloom fits into Leovold's colors! I dunno if this in itself is sufficient for people to want to experiment with, but I feel like there is some greater potential for its appeal if you've already included this package.
I have some more thoughts about these cards, and how they entice me to try yet more unusual cards to see them fully shine, but I know this is already long and soon to devolve into the desperate ravings of a madman and I figured I'd end there. I'm curious to see if anyone has their eye on how these effects might be worth playing if we had another 1 or 2 redundant effects, or have a really cool shell where they'd fit in nicely, or any other thoughts they'd like to share. Hope to read your comments soon!
Cadaverous Bloom and Squandered Resources are both cards I've thought about before, but I just feel they're a bit too narrow and there a slightly stronger alternatives.
For Squandered Resource:
Rain of Filth
mana seism
Lake of the Dead
These cards are a slightly better improvement over Squandered Resource. I've thought about playing a 1 off Rain of Filth and Lake of the Dead before to help with the storm/ reanimator decks but eventually dropped these two as I realized the fast mana for cube is already sufficient and if I really wanted to push storm +1 Grim Tutor was the better option to go.
For Cadaverous Bloom:
This is an interesting card and I was looking for a second card to supplement Dream Halls - a card I really like. However, being in Black-Green is already a problem - you really need to be a blue deck to be able to fully use these cards.
Fortunately, there are several similar effects:
Wilderness Reclamation - Good for X spells - Nexus of Fate
Dictate of Karametra - good for Blue-Green Hide Tide/ Hyper Ramp
I've been really wanting a Yawgmoth's Bargain/ Necropotenance in my cube for a while ... but the problem is just does worse than the new blue draw 7. (Echoes of Econs, Commit - Memory)
I might bring yawgmoth;s bargain back as a payoff for black-white lifegain.
Vintage Cube Cards Explained
Here are some other articles I've written about fine tuning your cube:
1. Minimum Archetype Support
2. Improving Green Archetypes
3. Improving White Archetypes
4. Matchup Analysis
5. Cube Combos (Work in Progress)
Draft my Cube - https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/d8i
Squandered Resources is far more versatile and has strong (even busted) interactions with lots of my favorite Cube Cards, namely those that blow up all the lands. Resources into Balance, Death Cloud, Jokulhaups or Wildfires is hilarious and super powerful, the main problem is making the mana work. I used to run it in my Cube but ultimately decided to cut it as I wasn't supporting Storm (which is another deck it would be good in), making it a little too narrow for my tastes.
- I could see Squandered Resources being a much stronger enabler with Titania as someone can easily turn 2 Squandered Resources, turn 3/4 Titania sacrificing 1-2 lands, returning the land and setting up for a combo. I could see this as a much stronger enabler than Zuran Orb
- Adding 5+ lands to your graveyard can have upsides with cards like Cabal Ritual / Dig Through Time / Underworld Breach, which often have difficulty hitting the necessary threshold.