At 360 and non-snow, it's looking like Usher of the Fallen is the only include from Kaldheim for me. I'm not made about it, though. And I don't necessarily think that makes the set disappointing or bad. It's a snow themed set and snow just tends to not make the cut in most cubes.
Let's see now... I will proceed under the assumption that I would be changing to a snow cube now.
Will include: Usher of the Fallen: I mean... It's all been said before. Avalanche Caller: Indeed does some nasty things when you have mana open or when you drop this late. Also blocks in the early game. Shimmerdrift Vale: Comparable to Evolving Wilds, as has been pointed out. Solid.
Under Consideration: Clarion Spirit: If you can cast this and something else, it's already good. Might test to see how many activations you can get with some ease. Stalwart Valkyrie: When you get it as a 2-mana white pseudo-Stitched Drake, even if it's not on curve, it's a very decent rate. Starnheim Courser: Not a bad body at all for a pretty nice mana reduction ability. Giant's Amulet: I like even limited protection from removal and this has a rather usable alternative mode. Well, probably the primary mode in actual play. Bloodsky Berserker: See Clarion Spirit. Priest of the Haunted Edge: I certainly would not mind some decent black control support like an early wall that becomes a kill spell. Crush the Weak: Not a bad red sweeper. Blizzard Brawl: I think Indestructible is the best thing you can get when fighting because it still allows you to attack freely that turn. Icehide Troll: Now, that pump feels more like a Wolfir Avenger without Flash and admittedly worse base stats but that stays relevant longer and can get really dangerous with time. Masked Vandal: I like more of this in green on a cheaper creature. Exile is also semi-relevant. Sculptor of Winter: Does not fix with new colours but would untap any basic land while having relevant stats. Spirit of the Aldergard: Helps get those last few land drops for your finishers and turns dangerous in the late game. Ascent of the Worthy: Interesting reanimator card despite its slowness. That can also be a boon if you did not already get a finisher ready in the GY early. Firja, Judge of Valor: A CA engine in colours that might struggle to have one. But I think I like my current one more. Koll, the Forgemaster: Similarly, lets you have an insurance policy in colours that need one. But has competition for the same role of a two-mana pants supporter. Narfi, Betrayer King: Just the ability to return repeatedly is good. The other one is incidentally nice. Bloodline Pretender: Does not need many triggers to be good. Scorn Effigy: Might be a tad slow but interesting enough to consider. Axgard Armory: Looking for two things is not bad at all, especially on a land and relatively cheaply. Not even 'only as a sorcery'.
Interesting: Battershield Warrior: It's not a terrible rate but probably needed a keyword like Vigilance. Gods' Hall Guardian: If you Foretell this, you actually get a pretty damn nice body relatively early. Spectral Steel: CA and GY-synergies. I like Auras that have things like this going for them. Bind the Monster: Decent blue removal but I do not think I am on the market for it. Draugr's Helmet: The equip cost feels too high but then, you also get a pretty big boost from this and the alt mode is at least average. Grim Draugr: Probably not good good enough rate despite pseudo-evasion when pumped. Hailstorm Valkyrie: Hard to block into open mana. But the base stats are just subpar enough not to be exciting. Jarl of the Forsaken: If you pull it off with the standard cost, it's still a solid card. Foretell is really good on this effect. Karfell Kennel-Master: I like this kind of ETB but lack of haste kills it (compared to Mogis's Marauder). Poison the Cup: Decently interesting universal removal but not for me. Tergrid's Shadow: Being instant makes this kind of effect a lot better but too much mana to keep up. Vengeful Reaper: Reverse those stats and we'd be talking. Rune of Speed: I think that this would actively make a lot of equipments a lot better compared to the rest. Vault Robber: I am not opposed to a mana bank that can block like this but hardly have room for it. Boreal Outrider: It's a pretty good way to get those counters around despite its limitations. Elven Bow: Over-costed equip and slightly sub-par body for alternative mode. Horizon Seeker: I still like the idea of being able to find multiple lands but maybe that is the EDH player talking. Rootless Yew: Not terrible stats and can find a ramp finisher. Arni Slays the Troll: Would be pretty good if Gruul was less stacked. Maja, Bretegard Protector: Pretty good but does not quite breach the top two. Moritte of the Frost: Being limited to your own stuff is pretty annoying and does not directly support any strategy. Vega, the Watcher: Easy to trigger but still conditional. Replicating Ring: A must-have for EDH; just a flavourful Manalith for CU/be.
Usher of the Fallen - Really good. Clarion Spirit - I suppose it rewards cheap spellslinger while supporting tokens and flying. Just not sure how reliable it will be. Wings of the Cosmos - Cheap combat trick that offers multiple points of value (pump, flying, untap). Good both offensively and defensively.
Blizzard Brawl - I love everything about it except requiring snow lands (the only way they'd have enough to get full value). And I don't think I'll be switching to snow lands. Snakeskin Veil - Smaller pump than Blossoming Defense, but more permanent and supports +1/+1 counters (also covered by Burst of Strength). Not sure if I want to switch, though.
A couple of the Sagas have interesting abilities, but I'm not really feeling like I have to run any of them. Anybody got some favorite Sagas? Guild slots are tough.
So, I'll probably only add three or four of these to my peasant cube. I feel like foretell just costs too much or demands too much opportunity cost (paying 2 another turn), plus it loses the element of surprise if you aren't running a critical mass - if all you run is a couple foretell cards, they'll know exactly what is exiled. There aren't enough snow payouts for me to replace all my lands. And there are some decently powerful cards that I look forward to using in my other cubes or in Commander, but peasant cube is in a good place and gets to be pretty picky about what it adds.
Updated after looking over cards again, here are cards I am interested in.
Notes:
I am not adding the snow land/snow requirement cards.
I am onboard with what others are saying about foretell, just seems that the element of surprise is taken out when only playing limited cards, so those are unlikely to make it in my cube.
The "do this if second spell" I feel like is a trap and I am not sure you will get more than one activation of said triggers without purposefully playing your hand in a non-optimal way 9 times out of 10. So, I will wait until others test and give their results.
White: Usher of the Fallen - Enough has been said about this. Super solid. Axgard Braggart - Definitely slow, but I like the idea of it. Wish it was a 3/4 to begin with or just slightly better stats, probably wont even test it, but you never know. Battershield Warrior - I don't play rarity downshifts from MTGO, so this is the only available pump at 3CMC for me. Its definitely not the worst, pumps itself too so 3/3 and pump the team. Again, probably won't test it, but its something to consider.
Blue: Bind the Monster - As others have said, competes with Bubble Snare and I feel like I like snare better. Giant's Amulet - I do actually like this looking at it again. A lot of early vulnerable cards in my blue section that could utilize this, and late game its not bad either. I like the flexibility for the color.
Black:
Nothing
Red: Dual Strike - I hope one day storm is more of a thing, but too parasitic at this point Tormentor's Helm - Seems strong to me, red gets chumped a lot or trades mid game, this is another way to get those few extra points of damage through, might test.
Green: Snakeskin Veil - Fits the counters theme I have in green and the protection is nice. Reminds me of Feat of Resistance, which I do play. Rootless Yew - Kind of nice cards, gets a "stronger" card if this gets killed. Probably not good enough.
Multicolor: Fall of the Impostor - Last phase is solid, however very slow and the counters are probably not good enough compared to other options in the same colors. Kardur, Doomscourge - Wish this wasn't "attacking creature" or else it'd be in. With that wording, it's not good enough for me. Kardur's Vicious Return - I think I will test this, fit's what my RB wants to do and is the best of the uncommon cycle in my opinion.
here i am with my thoughts on the full spoiler. i remember liking a lot of the cards as they were spoiler, but didn't read too much into them before now.
clarion spirit: this feels like one of the better value bears in white. man, would be great if i actually played mtg so i have more of an idea how often double spelling is in a w/x deck. but flying tokens is great value, and i can't imagine double spelling in an aggressive deck is super hard? might just look way better than it plays, but i'll never know haha.
usher of the fallen: obvious staple. surprised to see this wasn't rare when it was spoiled.
avalanche caller: this looks like a stupidly strong defensive card, and a pretty reasonable aggressive card too. hexproof on this effect is massive, as it dodges land destruction potential, and 4/4 on turn 3 is large. obviously snow is the limiting factor here.
behold the multiverse: considering the base card without foretell is probably fringe cubeable, having the option to spread this out for cheaper later feels like pure upside. really depends on how one wants to design their card draw suite really.
bind the monster: this is a staple right? this is miles ahead of any blue removal spell. but going back itt, nobody is really talking about this card? am i overvaluing it?
frost augur: feels like drawing through lands in a cube that supports snow on your 1 mana creature is nuts. bonus wizard synergy.
bloodsky berserker: i feel like triggering this once is great. how easy is that to do? i have no idea.
draugr's helm: looking at this as a 4/4 menace for 5 that leaves behind equipment, doesn't seem too bad as an aggressive curve topper. the equip cost is very expensive, but also +2/+2 and menace is kinda of really strong, so this might actually be sick.
feed the serpent: how desperate are we for planeswalker removal i guess? because this is as good as we've gotten, and it exiles creatures too.
poison the cup: murder with a decent whack of upside, seems good to me.
no red cards
boreal outrider: seems good in a snow environment. full of value.
masked vandal: i missed the exile on this first time around. definitely worth playing if you want to change up your noncreature removal suite, as 2 mana for this is pretty decent.
spirit of the aldergard: kind of like abominable treefolk #2 but monocolour, which is definitely worth playing in the snow cubes.
kardur's vicious return: this does a LOT for 4 mana, and in an aristocrat style deck, all of it is super relevant. love it.
maja, bretagard protector: 5 mana 2/3 sure is bad, but this is inevitability in spades. very powerful if it has any time, but coming down that late makes it very unreliable.
moritte of the frost: simic is kind of uninteresting, and despite being a 5 mana clone, it does copy any permanent you control, and gets way bigger than what it copies.
testing: Clarion Spirit I think I have to test this card to evaluate it. Littjara Mirrorlake I am not very happy with my current Simic cards so I'll try this. Poison the Cup Seems interesting but I don't like that is would be the only foretell card in my cube.
Ordering a copy but not testing right away: Aegar, the Freezing Flame seems much more interesting then stuff like Electrolyze etc. Behold the Multiverse I don't like that it would be the one of the few Foretell cards and I like the graveyard synergies of Chemister's Insight more. Bind the Monster If blue tempo becomes a thing again in my cube. Binding the Old Gods I don't like random good stuff in guilds but this might be a bit more interesting. Bloodsky Berserker Not good enough but interesting in the future maybe. Firja, Judge of Valor Same as Berserker above. Giant's Amulet Probably not good enough but I if I ever consider Benthic Giant again I think I prefer this. Inga Rune-Eyes Mostly because I like the alternative art version and the effect is unique in blue. Kardur's Vicious Return If you can use all three chapters effectively it's great but I'll let other test this for me. Koll, the Forgemaster For if Boros Equip/Enchant ever comes together. Maja, Bretagard Protector Not good enough but I like the alternative art version and you never know. Raise the Draugr Instant speed is what makes this card interesting. Ravenform Unique effect in blue but don't like to have only a few fortell cards in my cube. Renegade Reaper For if I decide black self-mill needs more support. Replicating Ring For if Bonder's Ornament doesn't turn out to be good, i'll test this. Saw It Coming For if I ever decide to need more foretell cards. Spectral Steel Same as Koll, the Forgemaster Vega, the Watcher I like the alternative art version and the effect is unique. Village Rites I like this version's art a lot.
ETB tapped snow duals: If I ever remove rare landfixing these are going in. Shimmerdrift Vale Same as ETB tapped snow duals.
I like Kardur, Doomscourge as a card. I am currently running Juri, Master of the Revue from Commander Legends and he has been a dead card. I have been adding more deathtouch, and Kardur has some nice synergies with that, along with BR aggro decks that don't really care about their own life total.
I think Spectral Steel is a lot better than people are giving it credit. It doesn't just return stuff like Griffin Guide or Madcap Skills, but it also allows you to return Animate Dead and co in a dredge shell, which I think is a pretty powerful effect.
Not to mention the fact that it recurs curses as well, and you have a solid card that fits into a couple archetypes quite nicely, I think.
Other than that I'll be adding the two spirits that make tokens, and maybe the Simic land (Imoti, Celebrant of Bounty has been a huge whiff). I personally do not like snow in cube.
EDIT: Oh, and I like Tergrid's Shadow slightly more than Barter in Blood, I think, if only because it is the more interesting card.
And I think Tormentor's Helm is a neat card, I will probgably find a place for it and be happy to have it as the 23rd/24th card.
I think Spectral Steel is a lot better than people are giving it credit. It doesn't just return stuff like Griffin Guide or Madcap Skills, but it also allows you to return Animate Dead and co in a dredge shell, which I think is a pretty powerful effect.
Not to mention the fact that it recurs curses as well, and you have a solid card that fits into a couple archetypes quite nicely, I think.
I didn't consider Animate Dead and co. I might reconsider Spectral Steel. Unfortunately white is not a color that is often used in the graveyard matters/reanimate decks that focus on self mill in my cube (they are mostly B/U/g). It does sometimes splash white for Unburial Rites though.
In: Usher of the Fallen Clarion Spirit, I have Myrsmith and I feel like I should definitely replace her (artifact deck can abuse this as well) Basalt Ravager I have wizard tribal (warrior and goblin tokens in red) and as modern pesant no flametounge. not 100 on what to cut yet. Masked Vandal efficency is good. also shapeshifting really helps tribal Firja, Judge of Valor like I know Maw of the Obzedat is powerful but it is also very narrow, I like enabling BW control. Moritte of the Frost I know technically Clone counts for Pesant but since it hasn't been printed at uncommon in modern era I ignored it, copy something you have but make it bigger is nice very versitile (I still wish it could copy your enemies things) Bloodline Pretender quickly becomes good with a little tribal support Funeral Longboat not sure what to cut but I like 1 crew vehicles
I'm not a fan of snow, so I'm not going to include anything that relies on snow. Without snow cards, this set was very weak. Fortell also loses some value if you only have a few cards with it. It's a good ability though so I hope it sees more use in future sets.
I am happy to see everyone's thoughts on cards in this new set. 5 cards I wanted to either start extra discussion on are expand discussion on:
Clarion Spirit- Does anyone have a sense of where they would place this among commonly played two drops? Of the cards in my Cube, I think it might be close to Sunhome Stalwart, but that card has a better body and a similar type of upside, adding 1 power and toughness to the board. The better question might be what would you swap out for it?
Dwarven Hammer- I still think this is being overlooked. I get that 5/1 trample for 4R is not great (although the list of 5-power tramples for 5-mana is pretty short in red), but the fact that it also leaves behind equipment means a lot to me. Trample pushes through big creatures without trample and makes small creatures relevant late. I honestly think it is a top 5 red 5-drop.
Rune of Might- I started valuing trample a little more for my Gruul pump decks to push through damage, and this is something. I know we have the same effect minus one toughness, but the extra toughness and the random cycling potential make it okay-ish.
Rampage of the Valkyries- Another weird Set Booster card, but it is kind of a weird reverse The Eldest Reborn where you get the creature first and then maybe the sacrifice effect later.
Funeral Longboat- It is a decently sized 1 crew equipment. 2 people were playing Sky Skiff as of the 2020 Average Cube and I wonder if people generally think this is better or worse than that card.
I'm not a fan of snow, so I'm not going to include anything that relies on snow. Without snow cards, this set was very weak. Fortell also loses some value if you only have a few cards with it. It's a good ability though so I hope it sees more use in future sets.
I’ll be honest I totally skipped over this card assuming it was enchant creature, and I think you are right. I am going to test replacing fetters with this. Getting in on t3 or 3cmc is likely better than the 4 life gain
I am happy to see everyone's thoughts on cards in this new set. 5 cards I wanted to either start extra discussion on are expand discussion on:
Clarion Spirit- Does anyone have a sense of where they would place this among commonly played two drops? Of the cards in my Cube, I think it might be close to Sunhome Stalwart, but that card has a better body and a similar type of upside, adding 1 power and toughness to the board. The better question might be what would you swap out for it?
Dwarven Hammer- I still think this is being overlooked. I get that 5/1 trample for 4R is not great (although the list of 5-power tramples for 5-mana is pretty short in red), but the fact that it also leaves behind equipment means a lot to me. Trample pushes through big creatures without trample and makes small creatures relevant late. I honestly think it is a top 5 red 5-drop.
Rune of Might- I started valuing trample a little more for my Gruul pump decks to push through damage, and this is something. I know we have the same effect minus one toughness, but the extra toughness and the random cycling potential make it okay-ish.
Rampage of the Valkyries- Another weird Set Booster card, but it is kind of a weird reverse The Eldest Reborn where you get the creature first and then maybe the sacrifice effect later.
Funeral Longboat- It is a decently sized 1 crew equipment. 2 people were playing Sky Skiff as of the 2020 Average Cube and I wonder if people generally think this is better or worse than that card.
With respect to the spirit, I don’t think it will play out that well. I’m sure 1 trigger can happen frequently, but more than one, I’m not so sure. Additionally, I think people will over value the 1/1 to play non-optimally when the better value is a different 2cmc card and playing your cards out on curve. Just my gut reaction.
For the hammer, I think Tormentor's Helm is better. The hammer cost without the creature is 3cmc and equip is 3cmc which is a lot for a red deck trying to push through damage with a 5/1 trampled. The helm though is 1cmc and 1 equip, pumps your creature and gets to ping your opponent in case of a block.
Rampage seems okay, but it’s BW and doesn’t really fit my theme. Comparison the eldest reborn which is on theme, for me, and mono black.
The vehicle, seems fine, but I play a few vehicles already and I think those are stronger. I don’t want to flood my cube with too many and the comparison to the flier is also a little weak as the other has evasion.
Looking forward to discussion, especially on bound in gold
Bind the Monster may be better than the lukewarm ratings it's been getting. Single mana sorcery "destroy target creature, lose life equal to its power" is a card I'd play in any aggro deck. But it wouldn't make the cut in the colors with access to better removal. Between its blue-ness and the fact that my cube has depowered removal, I am probably going to run it* alongside bubble snare as the more aggressively-minded option.
*And by run it, I mean not find any space for it because I can't find a single blue card I want to cut and the blue guy that animates lands needs a spot first.
I still like healer's hawk more than the first strike raptor. Without help, the new card doesn't amount to enough, and the Average Case Scenario is probably "no help".
Aside from Dwarven Hammer, the equipment all seem very poor to me.
Let's talk about Giant's Amulet, for example. Giving a blocker hexproof (in a way that doesn't even counter an opponent's kill spell) is not worth a card, and certainly not worth mana. The alternate mode of having a 4/5 creature that once again doesn't have hexproof when it's time to get down to business is merely an average retail limited card. Normally, stapling two cards with very different value at different stages of the game is good. But the equipment half just doesn't have value in the early game. It doesn't block, it doesn't help you block in a cost effective way, and it sure as hell doesn't count for much on the attacking plan. I feel similarly about the black one, Draugr's Helm.
I'm legitimately surprised to see Tormentor's helm see any attention. Was the thing holding short sword back a couple of points of non-guaranteed face damage?
I also thought Bound in Gold cost 4 mana this whole time.
//
About Rancored Malone's 5:
Clarion Spirit: One thing I think deserves emphasis is that while a bear that makes a flying token would be great value at 2 mana, I assume that the ACS is realistically getting you a token on turn 4, or 4.5. The number of games where it is just a grizzly bear are likely going to be too high, and a 1/1 at some indeterminate future just isn't worth enough.
Dwarven Hammer
Something that hasn't been mentioned is that this card is Loxodon Warhammer when your opponent is on the backfoot. Knowing how much pressure that can be, it's not entirely impossible that the tradeoff of lifelink for an extra body/free equip is enough to make the card at least competitive.
Rune of Might
I don't know where the line is between a playable aura and an unplayable one, but I don't think that the line is mediocre stats + draw a card for 2 mana. Cartouche of knowledge is a better magic card but I don't think it's in a lot of lists.
Note: I wish they would change these cantrips on auras to trigger when cast.
Rampage of the Valkyries
Serra angel with an edict on death is a perfectly fine magic card, but orzhov is really stacked. A card that doesn't interact with any archetypes needs to be exceptionally strong to push out strong archetype-driven gold cards. This is merely good.
Funeral Longboat
Well, a 3/3 vigilance and a 2/3 flier are probably about the same cost (more than 2 mana, less than 2 and a half), but in order to get the value out of the vigilance keyword you need a second creature you're willing to tap. So Skiff is going to be the better card, and that's on the cusp of not being cubable.
Bind the Monster may be better than the lukewarm ratings it's been getting. Single mana sorcery "destroy target creature, lose life equal to its power" is a card I'd play in any aggro deck. But it wouldn't make the cut in the colors with access to better removal. Between its blue-ness and the fact that my cube has depowered removal, I am probably going to run it* alongside bubble snare as the more aggressively-minded option.
*And by run it, I mean not find any space for it because I can't find a single blue card I want to cut and the blue guy that animates lands needs a spot first.
I still like healer's hawk more than the first strike raptor. Without help, the new card doesn't amount to enough, and the Average Case Scenario is probably "no help".
Aside from Dwarven Hammer, the equipment all seem very poor to me.
Let's talk about Giant's Amulet, for example. Giving a blocker hexproof (in a way that doesn't even counter an opponent's kill spell) is not worth a card, and certainly not worth mana. The alternate mode of having a 4/5 creature that once again doesn't have hexproof when it's time to get down to business is merely an average retail limited card. Normally, stapling two cards with very different value at different stages of the game is good. But the equipment half just doesn't have value in the early game. It doesn't block, it doesn't help you block in a cost effective way, and it sure as hell doesn't count for much on the attacking plan. I feel similarly about the black one, Draugr's Helm.
I'm legitimately surprised to see Tormentor's helm see any attention. Was the thing holding short sword back a couple of points of non-guaranteed face damage?
I also thought Bound in Gold cost 4 mana this whole time.
//
About Rancored Malone's 5:
Clarion Spirit: One thing I think deserves emphasis is that while a bear that makes a flying token would be great value at 2 mana, I assume that the ACS is realistically getting you a token on turn 4, or 4.5. The number of games where it is just a grizzly bear are likely going to be too high, and a 1/1 at some indeterminate future just isn't worth enough.
Dwarven Hammer
Something that hasn't been mentioned is that this card is Loxodon Warhammer when your opponent is on the backfoot. Knowing how much pressure that can be, it's not entirely impossible that the tradeoff of lifelink for an extra body/free equip is enough to make the card at least competitive.
Rune of Might
I don't know where the line is between a playable aura and an unplayable one, but I don't think that the line is mediocre stats + draw a card for 2 mana. Cartouche of knowledge is a better magic card but I don't think it's in a lot of lists.
Note: I wish they would change these cantrips on auras to trigger when cast.
Rampage of the Valkyries
Serra angel with an edict on death is a perfectly fine magic card, but orzhov is really stacked. A card that doesn't interact with any archetypes needs to be exceptionally strong to push out strong archetype-driven gold cards. This is merely good.
Funeral Longboat
Well, a 3/3 vigilance and a 2/3 flier are probably about the same cost (more than 2 mana, less than 2 and a half), but in order to get the value out of the vigilance keyword you need a second creature you're willing to tap. So Skiff is going to be the better card, and that's on the cusp of not being cubable.
I don't think that Bind the Monster is getting bad reviews, however versus bubble snare it just depends on preference and I think they are both close, but at this time I am going to keep bubble snare over it.
Dwarven Hammer versus Loxodon Warhammer seems like a poor comparison to me. In my experience, lifelink was the only reason warhammer was so overpowered. Without it, I wouldn't cube it and with it its just too much.
Giant's Amulet - I like this card the more I look at it, because in my reanimator decks etc... I can put it on some of my looters or related cards that are easily targeted I can tap end of opponents turn. So bare minimum I still likely get 1 activation before a kill spell. Later draws it can make a 4/4 for 4 and I can either keep the equipment on it or move it else where. I like the flexibility for different decks and thing it will do well. I dont think its top 5 by any means, but definitely could be 22/23 in a deck.
I am more surprised that Tormentor's helm hasn't gotten more discussion. Its definitely a close card for me. It compares well enough to Bonesplitter in my opinion. Yes, bonesplitter gives +1 more power so makes it harder for blocks and allows for trading up more often, but this also gives +1 toughness making your creatures stronger in a different way and allows can still get your damage when being chumped. Some cases, it allows you also to have more all out attacks in red even when its not advantageous and get those last points of dmg because combat can be more tricky with dmg definitely getting in one way or another.
I do find it interesting that people may avoid playing Bind the Monster because we have another blue removal spell at this cost. Meanwhile, we run multiple Oblivion ring variants, terrors, and incinerates. Maybe this card is worse than I think because I've been playing with down-tuned removal for so many years.
/
I'm not trying to compare the power level of loxodon warhammer and dwarven hammer. One is insane, the other doesn't gain 20 life for no reason. I'm just trying to say that, in select games, the hammer's relevant text isn't lifelink. And it's still a good card in those games.
As you alluded to, Loxodon warhammer was good enough to be banned by many people. A card that can mirror the warhammer's performance, in select games, with the upside of actually bringing card advantage into the picture (patching one of the hammer's few weaknesses) may ultimately result in a card worth trying.
/
Giant's amulet doesn't actually protect your creatures in a meaningful way, at least not in a time-efficient way. If you play Merfolk looter on turn 2, it's still vulnerable through the opponent's turn of sorcery speed answers. Maybe you can play the looter on turn four and equip, but that's as antitempo as a play can be.
I suppose it will protect your looter from 4 mana creatures like skinrender. But the majority of games, even with two looters in the deck, you don't draw your looter... then when is this card worth the mana?
I assume that swiftfoot boots is just better at its main job by so much that being able to get a 4/4 as a plan b doesn't make up for its inefficiencies.
/
Short sword is frequently unplayable in regular draft formats. I am struggling to believe that stapling it onto a much worse curse of the pierced heart makes it a good draft card, much less a good cube card.
I don't know what I didn't read when I looked at Dwarven Hammer, but looking at it now I will definitely give it a try. In red there is always room for a card that isn't burn/aggro and it's actually a great card for the equipment archetype I support. 5 mana for a 5/1 trample that leaves a good equipment behind is a good rate. And if you have nothing better to do you can just play the equipment for 3 mana. If it was colorless it would be a no-brainer and I agree that you could see it as a fixed version of Loxodon Warhammer.
I don't think Bind the Monster is bad for blue removal and I can see it play very well in aggressive decks. But I generally dislike removal in blue, the only true removal I run is Psionic Blast because it's Psionic Blast. There are so many powerful things blue does best (mainly counterspells/card draw and filtering) that I don't want to waste any space for mediocre removal. There are other colors like white or red that have plenty of space for removal. I assume that's why other people don't want to run too much blue removal either. I don't run a lot of green removal for similar reasons, even though there is a decent amount of playable cards by now as well.
It is super easy to miss things on Dwarven Hammer, as I also totally missed things on Bound in Gold. I will still keep playing Faith's Fetters over it, as I think there are a lot of situations in which the extra 1 mana and 4 life is well worth it. That said, I could totally see making the swap of Bound in Gold for Faith's Fetters if I wanted to tone down the anti-aggro a little bit more.
When I looked at Bind the Monster, I mostly thought it was outclassed by all the 2-mana tapping removal, not necessarily Bubble Snare. I do get Winter's Rest being a Snow Cube, but I also think Narcolepsy and Singing Bell Strike are cards I would rather play. In addition, blue also got Fall from Favor recently, which is another piece of similar removal.
I do think Giant's Amulet is decent as a more defensive card, but I think using it as part of anything quick- whether that be protecting looters to turbo out reanimation or later protecting those turboed reanimated targets- is not ideal since you do not have that full protection. As a 5-mana 4/5 that also leaves behind something small, I think you have a card on the fringes of Cube.
As for Tormentor's Helm, it is only ever adding 1 damage either way, which keeps it out of contention with Bonesplitter for me. There are some grindier red-based decks where going wide and combining this with cards like Weaponize the Monsters or Goblin Bombardment seems nice. Dealing good damage either way helps with inevitability in those cases.
Otherwise, I feel like if you get the damage because they are chump blocking, you might not need the damage since you are ahead. If you get the damage because they are eating your creature, was it worth sacrificing your creature?
It is super easy to miss things on Dwarven Hammer, as I also totally missed things on Bound in Gold. I will still keep playing Faith's Fetters over it, as I think there are a lot of situations in which the extra 1 mana and 4 life is well worth it. That said, I could totally see making the swap of Bound in Gold for Faith's Fetters if I wanted to tone down the anti-aggro a little bit more.
When I looked at Bind the Monster, I mostly thought it was outclassed by all the 2-mana tapping removal, not necessarily Bubble Snare. I do get Winter's Rest being a Snow Cube, but I also think Narcolepsy and Singing Bell Strike are cards I would rather play. In addition, blue also got Fall from Favor recently, which is another piece of similar removal.
I do think Giant's Amulet is decent as a more defensive card, but I think using it as part of anything quick- whether that be protecting looters to turbo out reanimation or later protecting those turboed reanimated targets- is not ideal since you do not have that full protection. As a 5-mana 4/5 that also leaves behind something small, I think you have a card on the fringes of Cube.
As for Tormentor's Helm, it is only ever adding 1 damage either way, which keeps it out of contention with Bonesplitter for me. There are some grindier red-based decks where going wide and combining this with cards like Weaponize the Monsters or Goblin Bombardment seems nice. Dealing good damage either way helps with inevitability in those cases.
Otherwise, I feel like if you get the damage because they are chump blocking, you might not need the damage since you are ahead. If you get the damage because they are eating your creature, was it worth sacrificing your creature?
In the end, I probably won't even test Tormentor's Helm, however I am not sure how your guys games go with red aggro, but they are typically really close in my environment (definitely draws where red just plows through, dont get me wrong). The last few points of dmg (say 2-3) decide if the red deck is going to win or get overrun by bigger creatures, potential life gain, etc. So, at some point, games end up with the feeling of just getting further and further from possibly winning with swinging in from the red side and this card is something that might help get a few extra points of dmg when you are that close and will be having to sacrifice a creature anyway. Dwarven Hammer, just seems so slow to me. If not playing it as a creature for 5 mana, 3 mana for the equipment and then 3 mana to equip is 2 turns which id rather get a bigger board or play a burn spell etc. And again, in my environment, 5 mana for red is a bigger ask than other decks and archetypes. I will wait to hear from those testing it to see if it plays out well or not.
Giant's amulet doesn't actually protect your creatures in a meaningful way, at least not in a time-efficient way. If you play Merfolk looter on turn 2, it's still vulnerable through the opponent's turn of sorcery speed answers. Maybe you can play the looter on turn four and equip, but that's as antitempo as a play can be.
I suppose it will protect your looter from 4 mana creatures like skinrender. But the majority of games, even with two looters in the deck, you don't draw your looter... then when is this card worth the mana?
I assume that swiftfoot boots is just better at its main job by so much that being able to get a 4/4 as a plan b doesn't make up for its inefficiencies.
I think the point you are trying to make with the looter is a little lost, I agree its not the best protection for the smaller cards like a looter however neither swiftfoot boots or Giant's amulet will help looter played on turn 2. Both would need to be equipped on turn 3 with the looter played on turn 2. The difference here is that amulet drawn later can also be played with a 4/4 while only giving temporary protection and boots is only an equipment, however gives full time protection. They are both "fine" cards, but in my experience, even mediocre cards which have two mana costs with mediocre effects are pretty good value. Everyone always talks about the exact case of "If I get this on the exact turn I can play it, how will it work compared to the best card in slot on the same turn/with the same cost" and I think that's why a lot of people get surprised in limited or testing when these flexible cards play well, because 9 times out of 10, you don't play it "optimally".
I don't think Giant's amulet is the cream of the crop, but it might be worth testing.
I always considered the most important part of Loxodon Warhammer to be the lifelink since it gives you all the time in the world to re-equip it. Obviously the trample is important inevitability and makes the lifelink harder to stop, but if its just the trample Dwarven Hammer is close to an expensive Rancor. I also don't really think red decks in particular can afford paying so much without the lifelink.
I always considered the most important part of Loxodon Warhammer to be the lifelink since it gives you all the time in the world to re-equip it. Obviously the trample is important inevitability and makes the lifelink harder to stop, but if its just the trample Dwarven Hammer is close to an expensive Rancor. I also don't really think red decks in particular can afford paying so much without the lifelink.
Of course it's the lifelink that makes Loxodon Warhammer so powerful, but that's why Loxodon Warhammer is so broken and banned from my cube. So I don't mind a fixed version. If Dwarven Hammer was just the equipment it would be unplayable, but for 5 mana you get the equipment, the 2/1 creature and the equip cost, which is a very good deal. You should see it as a 5/1 trample creature for 5 that leaves a good equipment behind and that has an alternate casting mode (as you can play only the equipment for 3, which can be helpful in some specific situations, though it's not how you will play it usually), not as an overcosted Rancor.
And I don't see it as a typical red low curve aggro card, just like the 'real' warhammer it's a card for midrange decks and equipment decks if you support that archetype with double strikers, first strikers and the like (Kor Blademaster, Scrapper Champion, Danitha Capashen, Paragon, Reyav, Master Smith are only the most obvious cards in my cube to support that archetype and all of them are awesome in combination with the hammer).
I think the point you are trying to make with the looter is a little lost, I agree its not the best protection for the smaller cards like a looter however neither swiftfoot boots or Giant's amulet will help looter played on turn 2. Both would need to be equipped on turn 3 with the looter played on turn 2.
No? Swiftfoot boots can be played on turn 2, with the looter played and equipped on turn 3. The amulet can't do that.
And yes, the boots offer full-time protection. I don't understand why the average case scenario of "no looter, just regular dudes in play" isn't being given more weight here. When the targets in play are just random fliers or finishers, real hexproof makes the difference.
I think the point you are trying to make with the looter is a little lost, I agree its not the best protection for the smaller cards like a looter however neither swiftfoot boots or Giant's amulet will help looter played on turn 2. Both would need to be equipped on turn 3 with the looter played on turn 2.
No? Swiftfoot boots can be played on turn 2, with the looter played and equipped on turn 3. The amulet can't do that.
And yes, the boots offer full-time protection. I don't understand why the average case scenario of "no looter, just regular dudes in play" isn't being given more weight here. When the targets in play are just random fliers or finishers, real hexproof makes the difference.
I think you misread what was stated, you were originally talking about a looter played on turn 2, which in that scenario neither equipment helps.
The average case of full protection for a single finisher or half protection with that same finisher + a 4/4 or flexibility of playing the equipment early game is what is being truly being evaluated. I think depending on the game either option is fine, but I like the flexibility and think it could lead to more wins.
My original statement was about the amulet, and since there's no alternative play with the amulet other than to play the looter on 2, that's what I said.
But the boots allow for a different plan altogether, so I don't know why we'd talk about playing the boots in a worse fashion than necessary in the comparison.
The crux of my argument is that the amulet doesn't actually provide much by the way of flexibility, because the front half is very nearly a dead card. Its costs are too high and its effect is too small. It doesn't even protect your creatures from sorcery speed removal unless you have 2 mana open when the creature comes in. So what is it even doing for anything less than the "kicked" version of itself? Protecting you from future topdecked removal?
In the end, I probably won't even test Tormentor's Helm, however I am not sure how your guys games go with red aggro, but they are typically really close in my environment (definitely draws where red just plows through, dont get me wrong). The last few points of dmg (say 2-3) decide if the red deck is going to win or get overrun by bigger creatures, potential life gain, etc. So, at some point, games end up with the feeling of just getting further and further from possibly winning with swinging in from the red side and this card is something that might help get a few extra points of dmg when you are that close and will be having to sacrifice a creature anyway.
The problem here is that the helm's effect on the board is so minimal that you're hamstringing your ability to even get the game to be close in the first place. If that 2-3 is suddenly 4-5 because the helm is that much worse than the average card in your deck, the helm then has to make up that difference over four or five turns after the point where the game would have been close.
And I think that saying the helm only sets you back ~2 damage over the course of the game up to that point over whatever would have been in its place is charitable. Honed Khopesh is that bad.
MTGS Average Peasant Cube 2023 Edition
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Will include:
Usher of the Fallen: I mean... It's all been said before.
Avalanche Caller: Indeed does some nasty things when you have mana open or when you drop this late. Also blocks in the early game.
Shimmerdrift Vale: Comparable to Evolving Wilds, as has been pointed out. Solid.
Under Consideration:
Clarion Spirit: If you can cast this and something else, it's already good. Might test to see how many activations you can get with some ease.
Stalwart Valkyrie: When you get it as a 2-mana white pseudo-Stitched Drake, even if it's not on curve, it's a very decent rate.
Starnheim Courser: Not a bad body at all for a pretty nice mana reduction ability.
Giant's Amulet: I like even limited protection from removal and this has a rather usable alternative mode. Well, probably the primary mode in actual play.
Bloodsky Berserker: See Clarion Spirit.
Priest of the Haunted Edge: I certainly would not mind some decent black control support like an early wall that becomes a kill spell.
Crush the Weak: Not a bad red sweeper.
Blizzard Brawl: I think Indestructible is the best thing you can get when fighting because it still allows you to attack freely that turn.
Icehide Troll: Now, that pump feels more like a Wolfir Avenger without Flash and admittedly worse base stats but that stays relevant longer and can get really dangerous with time.
Masked Vandal: I like more of this in green on a cheaper creature. Exile is also semi-relevant.
Sculptor of Winter: Does not fix with new colours but would untap any basic land while having relevant stats.
Spirit of the Aldergard: Helps get those last few land drops for your finishers and turns dangerous in the late game.
Ascent of the Worthy: Interesting reanimator card despite its slowness. That can also be a boon if you did not already get a finisher ready in the GY early.
Firja, Judge of Valor: A CA engine in colours that might struggle to have one. But I think I like my current one more.
Koll, the Forgemaster: Similarly, lets you have an insurance policy in colours that need one. But has competition for the same role of a two-mana pants supporter.
Narfi, Betrayer King: Just the ability to return repeatedly is good. The other one is incidentally nice.
Bloodline Pretender: Does not need many triggers to be good.
Scorn Effigy: Might be a tad slow but interesting enough to consider.
Axgard Armory: Looking for two things is not bad at all, especially on a land and relatively cheaply. Not even 'only as a sorcery'.
Interesting:
Battershield Warrior: It's not a terrible rate but probably needed a keyword like Vigilance.
Gods' Hall Guardian: If you Foretell this, you actually get a pretty damn nice body relatively early.
Spectral Steel: CA and GY-synergies. I like Auras that have things like this going for them.
Bind the Monster: Decent blue removal but I do not think I am on the market for it.
Draugr's Helmet: The equip cost feels too high but then, you also get a pretty big boost from this and the alt mode is at least average.
Grim Draugr: Probably not good good enough rate despite pseudo-evasion when pumped.
Hailstorm Valkyrie: Hard to block into open mana. But the base stats are just subpar enough not to be exciting.
Jarl of the Forsaken: If you pull it off with the standard cost, it's still a solid card. Foretell is really good on this effect.
Karfell Kennel-Master: I like this kind of ETB but lack of haste kills it (compared to Mogis's Marauder).
Poison the Cup: Decently interesting universal removal but not for me.
Tergrid's Shadow: Being instant makes this kind of effect a lot better but too much mana to keep up.
Vengeful Reaper: Reverse those stats and we'd be talking.
Rune of Speed: I think that this would actively make a lot of equipments a lot better compared to the rest.
Vault Robber: I am not opposed to a mana bank that can block like this but hardly have room for it.
Boreal Outrider: It's a pretty good way to get those counters around despite its limitations.
Elven Bow: Over-costed equip and slightly sub-par body for alternative mode.
Horizon Seeker: I still like the idea of being able to find multiple lands but maybe that is the EDH player talking.
Rootless Yew: Not terrible stats and can find a ramp finisher.
Arni Slays the Troll: Would be pretty good if Gruul was less stacked.
Maja, Bretegard Protector: Pretty good but does not quite breach the top two.
Moritte of the Frost: Being limited to your own stuff is pretty annoying and does not directly support any strategy.
Vega, the Watcher: Easy to trigger but still conditional.
Replicating Ring: A must-have for EDH; just a flavourful Manalith for CU/be.
Usher of the Fallen - Really good.
Clarion Spirit - I suppose it rewards cheap spellslinger while supporting tokens and flying. Just not sure how reliable it will be.
Wings of the Cosmos - Cheap combat trick that offers multiple points of value (pump, flying, untap). Good both offensively and defensively.
Ravenform - Flexible blue removal.
Shackles of Treachery - I'm still running Act of Treason, and this offers an interesting way to remove equipment at no additional cost.
Blizzard Brawl - I love everything about it except requiring snow lands (the only way they'd have enough to get full value). And I don't think I'll be switching to snow lands.
Snakeskin Veil - Smaller pump than Blossoming Defense, but more permanent and supports +1/+1 counters (also covered by Burst of Strength). Not sure if I want to switch, though.
A couple of the Sagas have interesting abilities, but I'm not really feeling like I have to run any of them. Anybody got some favorite Sagas? Guild slots are tough.
So, I'll probably only add three or four of these to my peasant cube. I feel like foretell just costs too much or demands too much opportunity cost (paying 2 another turn), plus it loses the element of surprise if you aren't running a critical mass - if all you run is a couple foretell cards, they'll know exactly what is exiled. There aren't enough snow payouts for me to replace all my lands. And there are some decently powerful cards that I look forward to using in my other cubes or in Commander, but peasant cube is in a good place and gets to be pretty picky about what it adds.
2023 Average Peasant Cube|and Discussion
Because I have more decks than fit in a signature
Useful Resources:
MTGSalvation tags
EDHREC
ManabaseCrafter
Usher of the Fallen - Good card
Poison the Cup - More interesting than Doom Blade with a similar enough power level
Testing:
Clarion Spirit - I'm pretty confident it's mediocre in aggro, but maybe there's enough non-curve out white decks that this is good enough
Maybe at some point:
Renegade Reaper - Hardcore self mill might be a thing now? This, Carrion Grub, Gorging Vulture, Mire Triton, Mindwrack Harpy, and Stitcher's Supplier aren't too large of investments and are all mono B. At some point enablers are good enough you look for a payoff.
Spectral Steel - At some point GW auras/enchantments won't be super parasitic, and this is a step towards that
Notes:
I am not adding the snow land/snow requirement cards.
I am onboard with what others are saying about foretell, just seems that the element of surprise is taken out when only playing limited cards, so those are unlikely to make it in my cube.
The "do this if second spell" I feel like is a trap and I am not sure you will get more than one activation of said triggers without purposefully playing your hand in a non-optimal way 9 times out of 10. So, I will wait until others test and give their results.
White:
Usher of the Fallen - Enough has been said about this. Super solid.
Axgard Braggart - Definitely slow, but I like the idea of it. Wish it was a 3/4 to begin with or just slightly better stats, probably wont even test it, but you never know.
Battershield Warrior - I don't play rarity downshifts from MTGO, so this is the only available pump at 3CMC for me. Its definitely not the worst, pumps itself too so 3/3 and pump the team. Again, probably won't test it, but its something to consider.
Blue:
Bind the Monster - As others have said, competes with Bubble Snare and I feel like I like snare better.
Giant's Amulet - I do actually like this looking at it again. A lot of early vulnerable cards in my blue section that could utilize this, and late game its not bad either. I like the flexibility for the color.
Black:
Nothing
Red:
Dual Strike - I hope one day storm is more of a thing, but too parasitic at this point
Tormentor's Helm - Seems strong to me, red gets chumped a lot or trades mid game, this is another way to get those few extra points of damage through, might test.
Green:
Snakeskin Veil - Fits the counters theme I have in green and the protection is nice. Reminds me of Feat of Resistance, which I do play.
Rootless Yew - Kind of nice cards, gets a "stronger" card if this gets killed. Probably not good enough.
Multicolor:
Fall of the Impostor - Last phase is solid, however very slow and the counters are probably not good enough compared to other options in the same colors.
Kardur, Doomscourge - Wish this wasn't "attacking creature" or else it'd be in. With that wording, it's not good enough for me.
Kardur's Vicious Return - I think I will test this, fit's what my RB wants to do and is the best of the uncommon cycle in my opinion.
Colorless:
Shimmerdrift Vale - I like the evolving wilds comparison
clarion spirit: this feels like one of the better value bears in white. man, would be great if i actually played mtg so i have more of an idea how often double spelling is in a w/x deck. but flying tokens is great value, and i can't imagine double spelling in an aggressive deck is super hard? might just look way better than it plays, but i'll never know haha.
usher of the fallen: obvious staple. surprised to see this wasn't rare when it was spoiled.
avalanche caller: this looks like a stupidly strong defensive card, and a pretty reasonable aggressive card too. hexproof on this effect is massive, as it dodges land destruction potential, and 4/4 on turn 3 is large. obviously snow is the limiting factor here.
behold the multiverse: considering the base card without foretell is probably fringe cubeable, having the option to spread this out for cheaper later feels like pure upside. really depends on how one wants to design their card draw suite really.
bind the monster: this is a staple right? this is miles ahead of any blue removal spell. but going back itt, nobody is really talking about this card? am i overvaluing it?
frost augur: feels like drawing through lands in a cube that supports snow on your 1 mana creature is nuts. bonus wizard synergy.
bloodsky berserker: i feel like triggering this once is great. how easy is that to do? i have no idea.
draugr's helm: looking at this as a 4/4 menace for 5 that leaves behind equipment, doesn't seem too bad as an aggressive curve topper. the equip cost is very expensive, but also +2/+2 and menace is kinda of really strong, so this might actually be sick.
feed the serpent: how desperate are we for planeswalker removal i guess? because this is as good as we've gotten, and it exiles creatures too.
poison the cup: murder with a decent whack of upside, seems good to me.
no red cards
boreal outrider: seems good in a snow environment. full of value.
masked vandal: i missed the exile on this first time around. definitely worth playing if you want to change up your noncreature removal suite, as 2 mana for this is pretty decent.
spirit of the aldergard: kind of like abominable treefolk #2 but monocolour, which is definitely worth playing in the snow cubes.
kardur's vicious return: this does a LOT for 4 mana, and in an aristocrat style deck, all of it is super relevant. love it.
maja, bretagard protector: 5 mana 2/3 sure is bad, but this is inevitability in spades. very powerful if it has any time, but coming down that late makes it very unreliable.
moritte of the frost: simic is kind of uninteresting, and despite being a 5 mana clone, it does copy any permanent you control, and gets way bigger than what it copies.
Likely to stay:
Usher of the Fallen Straight upgrade to some other cards.
testing:
Clarion Spirit I think I have to test this card to evaluate it.
Littjara Mirrorlake I am not very happy with my current Simic cards so I'll try this.
Poison the Cup Seems interesting but I don't like that is would be the only foretell card in my cube.
Ordering a copy but not testing right away:
Aegar, the Freezing Flame seems much more interesting then stuff like Electrolyze etc.
Behold the Multiverse I don't like that it would be the one of the few Foretell cards and I like the graveyard synergies of Chemister's Insight more.
Bind the Monster If blue tempo becomes a thing again in my cube.
Binding the Old Gods I don't like random good stuff in guilds but this might be a bit more interesting.
Bloodsky Berserker Not good enough but interesting in the future maybe.
Firja, Judge of Valor Same as Berserker above.
Giant's Amulet Probably not good enough but I if I ever consider Benthic Giant again I think I prefer this.
Inga Rune-Eyes Mostly because I like the alternative art version and the effect is unique in blue.
Kardur's Vicious Return If you can use all three chapters effectively it's great but I'll let other test this for me.
Koll, the Forgemaster For if Boros Equip/Enchant ever comes together.
Maja, Bretagard Protector Not good enough but I like the alternative art version and you never know.
Raise the Draugr Instant speed is what makes this card interesting.
Ravenform Unique effect in blue but don't like to have only a few fortell cards in my cube.
Renegade Reaper For if I decide black self-mill needs more support.
Replicating Ring For if Bonder's Ornament doesn't turn out to be good, i'll test this.
Saw It Coming For if I ever decide to need more foretell cards.
Spectral Steel Same as Koll, the Forgemaster
Vega, the Watcher I like the alternative art version and the effect is unique.
Village Rites I like this version's art a lot.
ETB tapped snow duals: If I ever remove rare landfixing these are going in.
Shimmerdrift Vale Same as ETB tapped snow duals.
My C/Ube on Cube Cobra
I think Spectral Steel is a lot better than people are giving it credit. It doesn't just return stuff like Griffin Guide or Madcap Skills, but it also allows you to return Animate Dead and co in a dredge shell, which I think is a pretty powerful effect.
Not to mention the fact that it recurs curses as well, and you have a solid card that fits into a couple archetypes quite nicely, I think.
Other than that I'll be adding the two spirits that make tokens, and maybe the Simic land (Imoti, Celebrant of Bounty has been a huge whiff). I personally do not like snow in cube.
EDIT: Oh, and I like Tergrid's Shadow slightly more than Barter in Blood, I think, if only because it is the more interesting card.
And I think Tormentor's Helm is a neat card, I will probgably find a place for it and be happy to have it as the 23rd/24th card.
WiJ
Peasant 540 Cube
I didn't consider Animate Dead and co. I might reconsider Spectral Steel. Unfortunately white is not a color that is often used in the graveyard matters/reanimate decks that focus on self mill in my cube (they are mostly B/U/g). It does sometimes splash white for Unburial Rites though.
My C/Ube on Cube Cobra
Usher of the Fallen
Clarion Spirit, I have Myrsmith and I feel like I should definitely replace her (artifact deck can abuse this as well)
Basalt Ravager I have wizard tribal (warrior and goblin tokens in red) and as modern pesant no flametounge. not 100 on what to cut yet.
Masked Vandal efficency is good. also shapeshifting really helps tribal
Firja, Judge of Valor like I know Maw of the Obzedat is powerful but it is also very narrow, I like enabling BW control.
Moritte of the Frost I know technically Clone counts for Pesant but since it hasn't been printed at uncommon in modern era I ignored it, copy something you have but make it bigger is nice very versitile (I still wish it could copy your enemies things)
Bloodline Pretender quickly becomes good with a little tribal support
Funeral Longboat not sure what to cut but I like 1 crew vehicles
Maybe:
Battlefield raptor flying/first strike feels better than 1 extra power but I am not sure
Starnheim Courser probably not
Giant's Amulet the hexproof mode isn't great but the 4/5 hexproof giant for 5 is sort of good.
Inga Rune-Eyes those are some powerful effects but I wish it was white/black
Bloodsky Berserker I think the 1 power base makes this not good enough
Vengeful Reaper similar to Bone Picker not a huge fortel fan.
Immersturm Raider that one toughness is a tough sell
Tormentor's Helm I still like this card but not sure where it fits.
Tuskeri Firewalker on going draw engine but I think its worse than Hollowhead sliver and Reckless Racer even if it is actual card advantage.
Littjara Glade-Warden this seems very slow but doing it repeatedly is powerful.
Roots of Wisdom if I want a second copy of grapple with the past
Snakeskin Veil I cut blossoming defense some time ago but if I want this effect again.
Aegar, the Freezing Flame would be fun but I think its too hard to fit in.
Harald, King of Skemfar my green section has plenty of elves and warriors but my black section does not.
Maja, Bretagard Protector unfortunately GW was a bit too strong for this one
Not a big snow or Fortell fan (I don't like having too many "wierd" mechanics in my cube)
Pioneer:UR Pheonix
Modern:U Mono U Tron
EDH
GB Glissa, the traitor: Army of Cans
UW Dragonlord Ojutai: Dragonlord NOjutai
UWGDerevi, Empyrial Tactician "you cannot fight the storm"
R Zirilan of the claw. The solution to every problem is dragons
UB Etrata, the Silencer Cloning assassination
Peasant cube: Cards I own
Definite Includes
Usher of the Fallen - As everyone else has said, standout card of the set
Snakeskin Veil - Supports my +1/+1 counter theme in green and a similar power-level to blossoming defense.
Maybe
Axgard Braggart - +1/+1 counters, can get big over time and pseudo-vigilance, are all nice, but probably too slow
Battershield Warrior - Supports white weenie/go-wide, but the floor is probably too low to be good
Battlefield Raptor - Probably the best 1-mana flyer in white? Good target for counters/auras/equipment
Bound in Gold - Possibly better than Faith's Fetters?
Wings of the Cosmos - One of the better combat tricks
Behold the Multiverse - seems good but is competing with Rain of revelation and Deep Analysis (both cards that I play), and Chemister's insight (which I don't)
Bind the Monster - Good removal but I think I prefer Bubble snare
Giant's Amulet - Good rate for both the creature and equipment
Ravenform - decent removal
Axgard Cavalry - might be better than the 1 mana 1/1 versions of this, but red 2 drops are pretty stacked now
Rootless Yew - seems good in a dedicated G/x ramp deck, but 6+ power or toughness is still a high bar to clear, only 11 creatures in my cube meet that.
Sarulf's Packmate - Good card but too similar to Llanowar Visionary
Kardur, Doomscourge - interesting effect, but not sure on power-level
Clarion Spirit- Does anyone have a sense of where they would place this among commonly played two drops? Of the cards in my Cube, I think it might be close to Sunhome Stalwart, but that card has a better body and a similar type of upside, adding 1 power and toughness to the board. The better question might be what would you swap out for it?
Dwarven Hammer- I still think this is being overlooked. I get that 5/1 trample for 4R is not great (although the list of 5-power tramples for 5-mana is pretty short in red), but the fact that it also leaves behind equipment means a lot to me. Trample pushes through big creatures without trample and makes small creatures relevant late. I honestly think it is a top 5 red 5-drop.
Rune of Might- I started valuing trample a little more for my Gruul pump decks to push through damage, and this is something. I know we have the same effect minus one toughness, but the extra toughness and the random cycling potential make it okay-ish.
Rampage of the Valkyries- Another weird Set Booster card, but it is kind of a weird reverse The Eldest Reborn where you get the creature first and then maybe the sacrifice effect later.
Funeral Longboat- It is a decently sized 1 crew equipment. 2 people were playing Sky Skiff as of the 2020 Average Cube and I wonder if people generally think this is better or worse than that card.
https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/peasantsnowcube
-- Updated with Outlaws of Thunder Junction
The PioneWer Peasant CUbe
https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/pionewer
-- Updated with Murders at Karlov Manor
Bound in Gold - Possibly better than Faith's Fetters
I’ll be honest I totally skipped over this card assuming it was enchant creature, and I think you are right. I am going to test replacing fetters with this. Getting in on t3 or 3cmc is likely better than the 4 life gain
With respect to the spirit, I don’t think it will play out that well. I’m sure 1 trigger can happen frequently, but more than one, I’m not so sure. Additionally, I think people will over value the 1/1 to play non-optimally when the better value is a different 2cmc card and playing your cards out on curve. Just my gut reaction.
For the hammer, I think Tormentor's Helm is better. The hammer cost without the creature is 3cmc and equip is 3cmc which is a lot for a red deck trying to push through damage with a 5/1 trampled. The helm though is 1cmc and 1 equip, pumps your creature and gets to ping your opponent in case of a block.
Rampage seems okay, but it’s BW and doesn’t really fit my theme. Comparison the eldest reborn which is on theme, for me, and mono black.
The vehicle, seems fine, but I play a few vehicles already and I think those are stronger. I don’t want to flood my cube with too many and the comparison to the flier is also a little weak as the other has evasion.
Looking forward to discussion, especially on bound in gold
Bind the Monster may be better than the lukewarm ratings it's been getting. Single mana sorcery "destroy target creature, lose life equal to its power" is a card I'd play in any aggro deck. But it wouldn't make the cut in the colors with access to better removal. Between its blue-ness and the fact that my cube has depowered removal, I am probably going to run it* alongside bubble snare as the more aggressively-minded option.
*And by run it, I mean not find any space for it because I can't find a single blue card I want to cut and the blue guy that animates lands needs a spot first.
I still like healer's hawk more than the first strike raptor. Without help, the new card doesn't amount to enough, and the Average Case Scenario is probably "no help".
Aside from Dwarven Hammer, the equipment all seem very poor to me.
Let's talk about Giant's Amulet, for example. Giving a blocker hexproof (in a way that doesn't even counter an opponent's kill spell) is not worth a card, and certainly not worth mana. The alternate mode of having a 4/5 creature that once again doesn't have hexproof when it's time to get down to business is merely an average retail limited card. Normally, stapling two cards with very different value at different stages of the game is good. But the equipment half just doesn't have value in the early game. It doesn't block, it doesn't help you block in a cost effective way, and it sure as hell doesn't count for much on the attacking plan. I feel similarly about the black one, Draugr's Helm.
I'm legitimately surprised to see Tormentor's helm see any attention. Was the thing holding short sword back a couple of points of non-guaranteed face damage?
I also thought Bound in Gold cost 4 mana this whole time.
//
About Rancored Malone's 5:
Clarion Spirit: One thing I think deserves emphasis is that while a bear that makes a flying token would be great value at 2 mana, I assume that the ACS is realistically getting you a token on turn 4, or 4.5. The number of games where it is just a grizzly bear are likely going to be too high, and a 1/1 at some indeterminate future just isn't worth enough.
Dwarven Hammer
Something that hasn't been mentioned is that this card is Loxodon Warhammer when your opponent is on the backfoot. Knowing how much pressure that can be, it's not entirely impossible that the tradeoff of lifelink for an extra body/free equip is enough to make the card at least competitive.
Rune of Might
I don't know where the line is between a playable aura and an unplayable one, but I don't think that the line is mediocre stats + draw a card for 2 mana. Cartouche of knowledge is a better magic card but I don't think it's in a lot of lists.
Note: I wish they would change these cantrips on auras to trigger when cast.
Rampage of the Valkyries
Serra angel with an edict on death is a perfectly fine magic card, but orzhov is really stacked. A card that doesn't interact with any archetypes needs to be exceptionally strong to push out strong archetype-driven gold cards. This is merely good.
Funeral Longboat
Well, a 3/3 vigilance and a 2/3 flier are probably about the same cost (more than 2 mana, less than 2 and a half), but in order to get the value out of the vigilance keyword you need a second creature you're willing to tap. So Skiff is going to be the better card, and that's on the cusp of not being cubable.
My CubeCobra (draft 20 card packs, 2 packs.)
430, Peasant, Very Unpowered
Why you should take your hybrids out of your gold section
Manamath Article
I don't think that Bind the Monster is getting bad reviews, however versus bubble snare it just depends on preference and I think they are both close, but at this time I am going to keep bubble snare over it.
Dwarven Hammer versus Loxodon Warhammer seems like a poor comparison to me. In my experience, lifelink was the only reason warhammer was so overpowered. Without it, I wouldn't cube it and with it its just too much.
Giant's Amulet - I like this card the more I look at it, because in my reanimator decks etc... I can put it on some of my looters or related cards that are easily targeted I can tap end of opponents turn. So bare minimum I still likely get 1 activation before a kill spell. Later draws it can make a 4/4 for 4 and I can either keep the equipment on it or move it else where. I like the flexibility for different decks and thing it will do well. I dont think its top 5 by any means, but definitely could be 22/23 in a deck.
I am more surprised that Tormentor's helm hasn't gotten more discussion. Its definitely a close card for me. It compares well enough to Bonesplitter in my opinion. Yes, bonesplitter gives +1 more power so makes it harder for blocks and allows for trading up more often, but this also gives +1 toughness making your creatures stronger in a different way and allows can still get your damage when being chumped. Some cases, it allows you also to have more all out attacks in red even when its not advantageous and get those last points of dmg because combat can be more tricky with dmg definitely getting in one way or another.
/
I'm not trying to compare the power level of loxodon warhammer and dwarven hammer. One is insane, the other doesn't gain 20 life for no reason. I'm just trying to say that, in select games, the hammer's relevant text isn't lifelink. And it's still a good card in those games.
As you alluded to, Loxodon warhammer was good enough to be banned by many people. A card that can mirror the warhammer's performance, in select games, with the upside of actually bringing card advantage into the picture (patching one of the hammer's few weaknesses) may ultimately result in a card worth trying.
/
Giant's amulet doesn't actually protect your creatures in a meaningful way, at least not in a time-efficient way. If you play Merfolk looter on turn 2, it's still vulnerable through the opponent's turn of sorcery speed answers. Maybe you can play the looter on turn four and equip, but that's as antitempo as a play can be.
I suppose it will protect your looter from 4 mana creatures like skinrender. But the majority of games, even with two looters in the deck, you don't draw your looter... then when is this card worth the mana?
I assume that swiftfoot boots is just better at its main job by so much that being able to get a 4/4 as a plan b doesn't make up for its inefficiencies.
/
Short sword is frequently unplayable in regular draft formats. I am struggling to believe that stapling it onto a much worse curse of the pierced heart makes it a good draft card, much less a good cube card.
My CubeCobra (draft 20 card packs, 2 packs.)
430, Peasant, Very Unpowered
Why you should take your hybrids out of your gold section
Manamath Article
I don't think Bind the Monster is bad for blue removal and I can see it play very well in aggressive decks. But I generally dislike removal in blue, the only true removal I run is Psionic Blast because it's Psionic Blast. There are so many powerful things blue does best (mainly counterspells/card draw and filtering) that I don't want to waste any space for mediocre removal. There are other colors like white or red that have plenty of space for removal. I assume that's why other people don't want to run too much blue removal either. I don't run a lot of green removal for similar reasons, even though there is a decent amount of playable cards by now as well.
My Old School Battlebox
My Premodern Battlebox
When I looked at Bind the Monster, I mostly thought it was outclassed by all the 2-mana tapping removal, not necessarily Bubble Snare. I do get Winter's Rest being a Snow Cube, but I also think Narcolepsy and Singing Bell Strike are cards I would rather play. In addition, blue also got Fall from Favor recently, which is another piece of similar removal.
I do think Giant's Amulet is decent as a more defensive card, but I think using it as part of anything quick- whether that be protecting looters to turbo out reanimation or later protecting those turboed reanimated targets- is not ideal since you do not have that full protection. As a 5-mana 4/5 that also leaves behind something small, I think you have a card on the fringes of Cube.
As for Tormentor's Helm, it is only ever adding 1 damage either way, which keeps it out of contention with Bonesplitter for me. There are some grindier red-based decks where going wide and combining this with cards like Weaponize the Monsters or Goblin Bombardment seems nice. Dealing good damage either way helps with inevitability in those cases.
Otherwise, I feel like if you get the damage because they are chump blocking, you might not need the damage since you are ahead. If you get the damage because they are eating your creature, was it worth sacrificing your creature?
https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/peasantsnowcube
-- Updated with Outlaws of Thunder Junction
The PioneWer Peasant CUbe
https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/pionewer
-- Updated with Murders at Karlov Manor
In the end, I probably won't even test Tormentor's Helm, however I am not sure how your guys games go with red aggro, but they are typically really close in my environment (definitely draws where red just plows through, dont get me wrong). The last few points of dmg (say 2-3) decide if the red deck is going to win or get overrun by bigger creatures, potential life gain, etc. So, at some point, games end up with the feeling of just getting further and further from possibly winning with swinging in from the red side and this card is something that might help get a few extra points of dmg when you are that close and will be having to sacrifice a creature anyway. Dwarven Hammer, just seems so slow to me. If not playing it as a creature for 5 mana, 3 mana for the equipment and then 3 mana to equip is 2 turns which id rather get a bigger board or play a burn spell etc. And again, in my environment, 5 mana for red is a bigger ask than other decks and archetypes. I will wait to hear from those testing it to see if it plays out well or not.
I think the point you are trying to make with the looter is a little lost, I agree its not the best protection for the smaller cards like a looter however neither swiftfoot boots or Giant's amulet will help looter played on turn 2. Both would need to be equipped on turn 3 with the looter played on turn 2. The difference here is that amulet drawn later can also be played with a 4/4 while only giving temporary protection and boots is only an equipment, however gives full time protection. They are both "fine" cards, but in my experience, even mediocre cards which have two mana costs with mediocre effects are pretty good value. Everyone always talks about the exact case of "If I get this on the exact turn I can play it, how will it work compared to the best card in slot on the same turn/with the same cost" and I think that's why a lot of people get surprised in limited or testing when these flexible cards play well, because 9 times out of 10, you don't play it "optimally".
I don't think Giant's amulet is the cream of the crop, but it might be worth testing.
In the end I think my final test list will be:
White:
Usher of the Fallen
Axgard Braggart - Maybe
Bound in Gold
Blue:
Bind the Monster - Not testing, but ordering in case people find it much better than bubble
Giant's Amulet - Maybe
Black:
Nothing
Red:
Nothing
Green:
Snakeskin Veil
Multicolor:
Fall of the Impostor - Maybe?
Kardur's Vicious Return
Colorless:
Shimmerdrift Vale
Of course it's the lifelink that makes Loxodon Warhammer so powerful, but that's why Loxodon Warhammer is so broken and banned from my cube. So I don't mind a fixed version. If Dwarven Hammer was just the equipment it would be unplayable, but for 5 mana you get the equipment, the 2/1 creature and the equip cost, which is a very good deal. You should see it as a 5/1 trample creature for 5 that leaves a good equipment behind and that has an alternate casting mode (as you can play only the equipment for 3, which can be helpful in some specific situations, though it's not how you will play it usually), not as an overcosted Rancor.
And I don't see it as a typical red low curve aggro card, just like the 'real' warhammer it's a card for midrange decks and equipment decks if you support that archetype with double strikers, first strikers and the like (Kor Blademaster, Scrapper Champion, Danitha Capashen, Paragon, Reyav, Master Smith are only the most obvious cards in my cube to support that archetype and all of them are awesome in combination with the hammer).
My Old School Battlebox
My Premodern Battlebox
No? Swiftfoot boots can be played on turn 2, with the looter played and equipped on turn 3. The amulet can't do that.
And yes, the boots offer full-time protection. I don't understand why the average case scenario of "no looter, just regular dudes in play" isn't being given more weight here. When the targets in play are just random fliers or finishers, real hexproof makes the difference.
My CubeCobra (draft 20 card packs, 2 packs.)
430, Peasant, Very Unpowered
Why you should take your hybrids out of your gold section
Manamath Article
I think you misread what was stated, you were originally talking about a looter played on turn 2, which in that scenario neither equipment helps.
The average case of full protection for a single finisher or half protection with that same finisher + a 4/4 or flexibility of playing the equipment early game is what is being truly being evaluated. I think depending on the game either option is fine, but I like the flexibility and think it could lead to more wins.
But the boots allow for a different plan altogether, so I don't know why we'd talk about playing the boots in a worse fashion than necessary in the comparison.
The crux of my argument is that the amulet doesn't actually provide much by the way of flexibility, because the front half is very nearly a dead card. Its costs are too high and its effect is too small. It doesn't even protect your creatures from sorcery speed removal unless you have 2 mana open when the creature comes in. So what is it even doing for anything less than the "kicked" version of itself? Protecting you from future topdecked removal?
//
Before I forget
The problem here is that the helm's effect on the board is so minimal that you're hamstringing your ability to even get the game to be close in the first place. If that 2-3 is suddenly 4-5 because the helm is that much worse than the average card in your deck, the helm then has to make up that difference over four or five turns after the point where the game would have been close.
And I think that saying the helm only sets you back ~2 damage over the course of the game up to that point over whatever would have been in its place is charitable. Honed Khopesh is that bad.
My CubeCobra (draft 20 card packs, 2 packs.)
430, Peasant, Very Unpowered
Why you should take your hybrids out of your gold section
Manamath Article
Battlefield Raptor, out Healer's Hawk.
Usher of the Fallen, out Dragon Hunter.
Behold the Multiverse, out Glimmer of Genius.
Poison the Cup, out Cast Down.
My Omniscience Draft Cube[/b]
My Commander Cube
My Pai Gow Cube
My Two-Headed Giant Cube