I've started to watch your series, and it's pretty great. If I were to make one piece of constructive criticism, the voice that speaks (I assume it's you) can sometimes sound a little monotonous, but other than that I can't find much else to fault. The production value, the content, what I especially like is the idea that (at least part of the time) you're reaching out to the people who draft cubes but don't necessarily own one - I've found the vast majority of cube content is made for curators, not drafters, so that's real nice.
I always find the signet discussion interesting, no matter who is the one making the argument. As someone who runs all 10 - I guess the reason I don't get burned by this is I don't really support "insta-win" combo, so something like getting Sneak Attack a turn early isn't going to be an issue in my cube.
But I look forward to more videos, this is a fresh new series and I wish you much success!
There are a lot of examples of cards that were easier to understand before their oracle texts. Necromancy used to be simple and intuitive. But because of how the rules require it to read now, it's a mess.
I think that you're right - there are plenty of cards that were easier to understand pre-Oracle text - but I'm not sure I can get behind the Necromancy example - the Visions version of the card had 9 lines of rules text, not quite Ice Cauldron bad, but I wouldn't call it simple and intuitive, and I don't think it's that much worse now, yes, it's definitely wordy, but it always changed types, and that's what was not so simple about the card, from my point of view.
And I agree with hardb0dy about the original Black Vise - it looks like it hits all opponents. Not a big deal if you never play multiplayer, but if you do, the Oracle wording is much better.
Now that we've had a few months of time, and been able to see how dominating this card has been across several formats, I think it's time to re-raise the question: how good is this card in Cube? I realize that Cube can be quite different, but Cruise has been so strong across pretty much every constructed format, and hasn't been a bad card in its limited environment either.
So, has anyone been playing this, and if so how good has it been?
I've long been a fan of Aven Mimeomancer, I think that's a great way for tempo decks to upsize their early drops without losing their other abilities, and it can also turn opponents big threats into a more manageable size. The fact that the creatures remain 3/1 fliers when the 'mancer leaves the battlefield is also very nice.
I was a little dubious at first, but Crypt Ghast has really proven its worth, too. Both the extort and the extra mana are very relevant, and make up for its smallish size for a 4-drop.
I'll echo the love for Mayor of Avabruck, who is still as popular now in my cube as it was when I added it after the Innistrad prerelease.
I actually am not sure how popular Spirit Bonds is, but we've been enjoying it so far.
I also re-added Rout since I opened one from Conspiracy, and I've really liked the instant speed wrath effect, more than I thought I did when it was originally in my cube.
A lot of cubes support the UR archetype of "spells matter." My list runs Guttersnipe, Delver of Secrets, and Young Pyromancer among others. If instead you decided on focusing on a Grixis "instants matter" theme, Toshi here could be a fun reason to add the 3rd color - and most of the cards from the UR archetype would easily carry over into this one. Might not be a bad idea for cube owners who feel their black is lacking an identity and run enough mana fixing to have consistent 3 color decks. I might be starting to talk myself into trying this - I don't think my black lacks an identity, but it does seem like it might be a fun twist.
I like it enough for my 630 - well, I don't usually build around it but there enough people playing my Cube who like it and I do like to hear of those crazy times where player A plays a land and a 1-drop, player 2 drops a Mox, Forest, and Oath and gets something like a turn 2 Akroma. It's tough to build around it - especially since you can't really tutor for it in green, but while high variance it still has super high power. I also like that it allows for a green deck that's not necessarily a deck that goes for a high creature count, and I like to make some more unpredictable deck types to come out from time to time. All in all, not going to cut it soon.
I love this guy! Can play OK in tempo builds, but I really like it more in midrange decks with a little ramp. It can come out early, and if you fail to draw the top end of your curve, it's a good mana sink and a decent threat. Plus the art is fantastic. Not leaving my cube for a while, but I am at 630.
Have you read both forums? Point to the constant riptide flaming that takes place on here. Oh, it doesn't take place. Even by people like myself and Anthony that have been personally attacked and ridiculed on a site we don't even post in. And why? Because we have different cube philosophies? Give me a break.
Just had to bring this part up because it wouldn't make sense for this place to flame riptide lab - this is a huge forum with over 150,000 members (albeit significantly less in the Cube forum and active posters, but still) and Riptide is really just a baby. If I had a smaller, newer burger joint, I might say that we're much better than McDonald's, but I wouldn't expect McDonald's to ever say a word about us.
I haven't ready read enough on Riptide to form a full judgement, so I won't offer any sort of opinions, but I know that I definitely have had some disagreements with Jason's overall Cube philosophy.
I think we should listen to Reason when he says "there is room for improvement on this board." Partially because I always think there's room for improvement, and mostly because I wanted to say that we should listen to Reason.
Hypersonic Dragon is a very cool card, and if you wanted to promote a midrange creature based strategy in UR, then I think it's a good option. Unfortunately, the color combination tends to lend itself more to a spell-based strategy (synergy between Guttersnipe, Delver of Secrets, Young Pyromancer, Gelectrode and such) so I imagine most cubes are not going to be the right place for it. Plus, the sorceries-as-instant ability I've found to not be as relevant as it sounds.
I agree with you Big Jim, except I run 5 10-card cycles (alphas, fetches, shocks, m10, karoos) and the wwk manlands at 630. I also run the full suite of signets, so no lack of fixing.
I sometimes feel the hive mind effect here but I don't mind it so much, it gives me an idea of what "most people" feel about Cube.
As far as the philosophy of Cube design, however, I can sort of understand where you're going, but even if it provides a somewhat more balanced limited environment, I don't think that's necessary for me, and deviating from the norm too much on my Cube design could be detrimental for me as well.
It's not necessary because my Cube gets drafted once, maybe two times a month, if I'm lucky, and there might be up to 6 drafts in between updates. I don't even have the ability to fully balance the environment with so little testing, so it's not necessary for me to put so much effort into this. A general approach of making sure the theaters of aggro, midrange, and control are present and popular in my playgroup is sufficient. If I were designing a Cube that would be drafted thousands upon thousands of times (like the MODO Cube), then I'd make more sure of the balance, but I just don't need to. And frankly, I don't know if I want to.
It's potentially detrimental just because I want anyone to be able to draft my Cube without a lot of confusion or explanation beforehand - I don't want to hand out crib sheets or anything. That's why all my cards are in English and none are textless. I want everyone to understand all the cards, and to that extent I think there is a pretty common understanding that a Cube contains the most powerful cards available.
Well, I just guess we'll have to agree to disagree for now, I think this looks like something that'll ramp up the pressure for aggro and midrange creature-based decks, and that's something I'm always looking for. Then again, my cube (at 630) is significantly larger than yours as well, and that'll probably play into it. I don't necessarily think it's an auto-include, but if I pick one up I'm definitely going to test it out and see how it plays.
Do I need to play a spell to make my Recurring Nightmare better? I'd rather run an effect that mitigates other problems rather than one that improves an already game-winning situation.
Well, that's not even the issue. mook1e stated that it specifically doesn't play well with Recurring Nightmare. And while I don't necessarily think this card is what a straight reanimator "combo" style deck is looking for, not every B/x card is, (white in particular is probably the least combo-reanimator color combination with black) I do think that this would be good in a BW or BWX midrange deck, and Recurring Nightmare would also be a card I'd want in that deck. If it doesn't play well means every time a creature dies I get to play it again, then I'm not going to be upset to replay Skinrenders, Shriekmaws, and Cloudgoat Rangers.
I don't see how this doesn't play well with Recurring Nightmare - when you sac the creature your opponent must pay 3 life or you can recast it, plus you're still reanimating your target. I guess it's not good with midrange "value" reanimation when reanimating creatures who die from play, but most reanimator strategies I see in Cube involve the reanimated creature either being Entombed, milled, or discarded, and this God doesn't have any problem with that. Is there something I'm not seeing?
Personally, I think this card is interesting enough that if I can pick one up easily enough, I'll give it a go.
I always find the signet discussion interesting, no matter who is the one making the argument. As someone who runs all 10 - I guess the reason I don't get burned by this is I don't really support "insta-win" combo, so something like getting Sneak Attack a turn early isn't going to be an issue in my cube.
But I look forward to more videos, this is a fresh new series and I wish you much success!
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I think that you're right - there are plenty of cards that were easier to understand pre-Oracle text - but I'm not sure I can get behind the Necromancy example - the Visions version of the card had 9 lines of rules text, not quite Ice Cauldron bad, but I wouldn't call it simple and intuitive, and I don't think it's that much worse now, yes, it's definitely wordy, but it always changed types, and that's what was not so simple about the card, from my point of view.
And I agree with hardb0dy about the original Black Vise - it looks like it hits all opponents. Not a big deal if you never play multiplayer, but if you do, the Oracle wording is much better.
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So, has anyone been playing this, and if so how good has it been?
I was a little dubious at first, but Crypt Ghast has really proven its worth, too. Both the extort and the extra mana are very relevant, and make up for its smallish size for a 4-drop.
I'll echo the love for Mayor of Avabruck, who is still as popular now in my cube as it was when I added it after the Innistrad prerelease.
I actually am not sure how popular Spirit Bonds is, but we've been enjoying it so far.
I also re-added Rout since I opened one from Conspiracy, and I've really liked the instant speed wrath effect, more than I thought I did when it was originally in my cube.
Also, grain of salt, my cube is 630 cards.
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Just had to bring this part up because it wouldn't make sense for this place to flame riptide lab - this is a huge forum with over 150,000 members (albeit significantly less in the Cube forum and active posters, but still) and Riptide is really just a baby. If I had a smaller, newer burger joint, I might say that we're much better than McDonald's, but I wouldn't expect McDonald's to ever say a word about us.
I haven't ready read enough on Riptide to form a full judgement, so I won't offer any sort of opinions, but I know that I definitely have had some disagreements with Jason's overall Cube philosophy.
I think we should listen to Reason when he says "there is room for improvement on this board." Partially because I always think there's room for improvement, and mostly because I wanted to say that we should listen to Reason.
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As far as the philosophy of Cube design, however, I can sort of understand where you're going, but even if it provides a somewhat more balanced limited environment, I don't think that's necessary for me, and deviating from the norm too much on my Cube design could be detrimental for me as well.
It's not necessary because my Cube gets drafted once, maybe two times a month, if I'm lucky, and there might be up to 6 drafts in between updates. I don't even have the ability to fully balance the environment with so little testing, so it's not necessary for me to put so much effort into this. A general approach of making sure the theaters of aggro, midrange, and control are present and popular in my playgroup is sufficient. If I were designing a Cube that would be drafted thousands upon thousands of times (like the MODO Cube), then I'd make more sure of the balance, but I just don't need to. And frankly, I don't know if I want to.
It's potentially detrimental just because I want anyone to be able to draft my Cube without a lot of confusion or explanation beforehand - I don't want to hand out crib sheets or anything. That's why all my cards are in English and none are textless. I want everyone to understand all the cards, and to that extent I think there is a pretty common understanding that a Cube contains the most powerful cards available.
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Well, that's not even the issue. mook1e stated that it specifically doesn't play well with Recurring Nightmare. And while I don't necessarily think this card is what a straight reanimator "combo" style deck is looking for, not every B/x card is, (white in particular is probably the least combo-reanimator color combination with black) I do think that this would be good in a BW or BWX midrange deck, and Recurring Nightmare would also be a card I'd want in that deck. If it doesn't play well means every time a creature dies I get to play it again, then I'm not going to be upset to replay Skinrenders, Shriekmaws, and Cloudgoat Rangers.
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Personally, I think this card is interesting enough that if I can pick one up easily enough, I'll give it a go.
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