I'm personally not big into the full art lands. It's also important to me that my lands are colour accurate and portray the thing they're meant to be. I've got these bad boys sleeved up :
Please call him Boone, nobody has ever called him Craig, it's confusing me.
E: I should probably comment on the card - I like it. It seems like one of those strong punishers like Orzhov Advokist where either option truly is lose-lose for your opponent. I'm surprised Leelue thinks he'll have to think about the cut - Boros is one of the softer guilds IMO.
Guys I evoked Mulldrifter but then I casted Ephemerate and I got so many cards!
I figured out that I can recur Ghostly flicker with Eternal Witness, I'm going to get so much value I'm pretty sure I should join Mensa
Putting my hand up as another person who thinks the aggro decks can be quite skill testing. Obviously there's plenty of games where it's straight forward but the ones where you have to nickle and dime your way to the win still exist.
Browndog wrote some really compelling stuff in his cube thread a year or two back about why he cut his flicker package and it made a lot of sense to me. Which reminds me:
I've developed some benchmarks of cube design along the way that have really helped me make cube decisions. I should probably make a big post about that soon. I think it would be interesting to share some things I've learned along the way, especially after having 300/400+ cubes under my belt over 12 years.
I'm currently making some major changes to my list, using this years rankings as a guide. I've done a first pass through WUB and a few cards stood out to me as ones I'd like to hear people's experiences with: Clarion Spirit - How often does this trigger? I think I'd need to bank on at least once most games to play it. Riftwing Cloudskate - I never picked this card when it was in my cube. I really don't appreciate suspend. Lord Skitter's Butcher - Which are the modes this gets played with? They all actually seem pretty viable which I guess must be the appeal of the card right? Gray Merchant of Asphodel - Gary was popular 10 years ago, but I'm surprised it's still so heavily played today. Sling-Gang Lieutenant - I kind of compare this to Beetleback Chief or Marsh Flitter? So OK in its role but not much else going on? Troll of Khazad-dûm - I've long believed that Twisted Abomination was underplayed but I think it's time for me to let it go and make the swap. Bloodchief's Thirst - This seems like the mid to low end of good cubeable removal, if you know what I mean. Like Fatal Push or something. Bone Shards, Village Rites, Deadly Dispute - I think we've come a long way in terms of creatures with sac outlets over the last few years (I can't believe 17% of cubes run still Nantuko Husk), so spells like these seem uneccesary. The Eldest Reborn - It's so damn slow!
All of these cards are in the top 360 most played cards, but to me it seems like people are playing too many. BACK IN MY DAY we made do with 2 of them and were happy to have the privilege. 4 seems like an upper limit to me. I've listed in them in order of what I perceive their power-level to be.
So Thraben Inspector has been on the up and up over the last few years.
2019: 40%
2020: 67%
2021: 75%
2022: 88%
2023: 94%
I've played with and against it in constructed Pauper and it's fine there and often there's a lot of artifact synergies to get real value out of it, but in Peasant Cube it strikes me as just another OK midrange durdler. Maybe something you blink if you're low on targets. Not much else going on.
Why is this card so popular? Why is it on the same level of popularity as cards like Mulldrifter or Young Pyromancer?
Monastery Swiftspear is another card I don't play but is also insanely popular (it's been at 80%-90% for the last 5 years). Again I've played it in other formats and it's strong enough in the right deck, but in other formats those decks are basically burn decks which don't really exist in most peasant lists. That said, I understand its inclusion (lack of good red 1drops) a lot more than I do Thraben Inspector.
Interested in hearing how these cards typically perform for people. I like them as cards but I've never felt like I was missing something by not running them.
Thanks to 5 years of data compiled by Calibretto, I've been able to get some hard numbers on changes since 2019.
A quick explanation of how these cards are ranked:
If 100 cubes were sampled by Calibretto in a given year, and a card was played in 95 of them, I say that's a 95% played rate.
The following lists all cards that have lost 40% or more of their played rate since 2019. Listed from biggest loser to smallest loser.
Kraul Harpooner - What?? What insane 2's are people playing today? Am I so out of touch? Skyship Plunderer - Are blue 2's really that much better these days? I guess there's certainly more options now but I still want a few of these. Sentinel of the Eternal Watch - My wife. Ultimate Price and Cast Down - I think these are still fine on power level, but more and slightly better options exist these days so I can understand the change. I remember Cast Down being hailed as a permanently locked staple when it was spoiled which is pretty funny to think about when you look at the sets released these days. Soltari Champion - Are people against shadow, or online-only uncommons? Rakdos Cackler - Still seems on par to me, in either colour. Psychatog - I will not cut this, haha I just won't. Orzhov Advokist - Is this a powerlevel thing or are people still not wise to how broken this is? Serendib Efreet - Are people just drawback averse, or is this actually not that good any more? The rate still seems fine.
I wonder how much of these changes are due to sampling from a less insular pool of cubes. In 2019 there were 30 cubes sampled while this year there were 94 that made the LCI cutoff (and mine wasn't one of them).
PS. If anybody knows how to post tables, please let me know as I think the legibility of that list sucks.
While I'm here, some things to note. First there were 11 cubes from last year's list that fell off for not having been updated. Second, despite that, I've done a deep dive for cubes labeled as peasant on CubeCobra and I'm up to 160 recently updated lists. Another question for the community - Even though all these lists have been recently updated (either CMM or WOE), not all cubes are created equal. Should I include lists that have WOE cards no matter what or only include lists with WOE cards that appear to have been a comprehensive update? Example being a list that is updated through WOE, but has only included one seemingly random WOE card.
I think this is a pretty arbitrary thing to make a distinction. I'd count it. But honestly I think 160 cubes is too much if this is a MTGS community review. If the cube owner isn't posting here then why count it. If it's meant to be wider then why limit yourself to cubes people follow. I don't follow anybody and I think it's a pretty pointless feature.
Blog posts for every tiny aesthetic or tag change - Please stop doing this. I think it's a problem with CC's latest update, but do we really care if the cube owner updated a card from Non-Foil to Foil or tagged it as "RB Sacrifice"?
Updates that aren't titled (WOE Update, Small Update, Adding X Archetype, etc) - Title your blog post, friends. For legit updates, let the people know what you're doing.
Multiple small updates for the same set - Group your updates. I kept seeing random one-sy two-sy updates for recent sets. A card here, a card there.
No blog posts at all - At least post your cube updates.
I really don't understand how blog psots work. Isn't every change blogged?
Sorry not going to label my blog posts hahahaha
Cubes with lengthy Overviews that haven't been updated in years - I saw several cubes with very in depth overview sections including archetype definitions and card images only to find that the cube itself hadn't had an update in a very long time. Made me wonder what happened there.
Probably spent so much time on it then had nobody to play with. Many such cases.
The guy sounds like a tool. Even if you play perfectly (which he didn't and leelue makes some good points) you're still going to lose a lot of games to variance. If he's not down for that then idk why he's playing a card game, go play chess Mr Carlsen.
Wow that's an awesome swamp.
I'm personally not big into the full art lands. It's also important to me that my lands are colour accurate and portray the thing they're meant to be. I've got these bad boys sleeved up :
Mountain 1 (Fuji), Swamp 1 (bamboo).
E: I should probably comment on the card - I like it. It seems like one of those strong punishers like Orzhov Advokist where either option truly is lose-lose for your opponent. I'm surprised Leelue thinks he'll have to think about the cut - Boros is one of the softer guilds IMO.
I figured out that I can recur Ghostly flicker with Eternal Witness, I'm going to get so much value I'm pretty sure I should join Mensa
Putting my hand up as another person who thinks the aggro decks can be quite skill testing. Obviously there's plenty of games where it's straight forward but the ones where you have to nickle and dime your way to the win still exist.
Browndog wrote some really compelling stuff in his cube thread a year or two back about why he cut his flicker package and it made a lot of sense to me. Which reminds me:
I always appreciate reading your insights.
Clarion Spirit - How often does this trigger? I think I'd need to bank on at least once most games to play it.
Riftwing Cloudskate - I never picked this card when it was in my cube. I really don't appreciate suspend.
Lord Skitter's Butcher - Which are the modes this gets played with? They all actually seem pretty viable which I guess must be the appeal of the card right?
Gray Merchant of Asphodel - Gary was popular 10 years ago, but I'm surprised it's still so heavily played today.
Sling-Gang Lieutenant - I kind of compare this to Beetleback Chief or Marsh Flitter? So OK in its role but not much else going on?
Troll of Khazad-dûm - I've long believed that Twisted Abomination was underplayed but I think it's time for me to let it go and make the swap.
Bloodchief's Thirst - This seems like the mid to low end of good cubeable removal, if you know what I mean. Like Fatal Push or something.
Bone Shards, Village Rites, Deadly Dispute - I think we've come a long way in terms of creatures with sac outlets over the last few years (I can't believe 17% of cubes run still Nantuko Husk), so spells like these seem uneccesary.
The Eldest Reborn - It's so damn slow!
All of these cards are in the top 360 most played cards, but to me it seems like people are playing too many. BACK IN MY DAY we made do with 2 of them and were happy to have the privilege. 4 seems like an upper limit to me. I've listed in them in order of what I perceive their power-level to be.
2019: 40%
2020: 67%
2021: 75%
2022: 88%
2023: 94%
I've played with and against it in constructed Pauper and it's fine there and often there's a lot of artifact synergies to get real value out of it, but in Peasant Cube it strikes me as just another OK midrange durdler. Maybe something you blink if you're low on targets. Not much else going on.
Why is this card so popular? Why is it on the same level of popularity as cards like Mulldrifter or Young Pyromancer?
Monastery Swiftspear is another card I don't play but is also insanely popular (it's been at 80%-90% for the last 5 years). Again I've played it in other formats and it's strong enough in the right deck, but in other formats those decks are basically burn decks which don't really exist in most peasant lists. That said, I understand its inclusion (lack of good red 1drops) a lot more than I do Thraben Inspector.
Interested in hearing how these cards typically perform for people. I like them as cards but I've never felt like I was missing something by not running them.
A quick explanation of how these cards are ranked:
If 100 cubes were sampled by Calibretto in a given year, and a card was played in 95 of them, I say that's a 95% played rate.
The following lists all cards that have lost 40% or more of their played rate since 2019. Listed from biggest loser to smallest loser.
Barter in Blood: 1% today, down from 70% (-69%)
Compulsive Research: 14% today, down from 80% (-66%)
Wickerbough Elder: 5% today, down from 70% (-65%)
Gnarled Scarhide: 4% today, down from 67% (-62%)
Blossoming Defense: 16% today, down from 77% (-61%)
Jackal Pup: 6% today, down from 67% (-60%)
Acolyte of the Inferno: 1% today, down from 60% (-59%)
Skyship Plunderer: 18% today, down from 77% (-59%)
Lust for War: 5% today, down from 63% (-58%)
Undying Evil: 2% today, down from 60% (-58%)
Kessig Prowler: 20% today, down from 77% (-56%)
Sentinel of the Eternal Watch: 31% today, down from 87% (-56%)
Lightning Mauler: 15% today, down from 70% (-55%)
Hissing Iguanar: 10% today, down from 63% (-54%)
Kraul Harpooner: 30% today, down from 83% (-54%)
Kor Sanctifiers: 3% today, down from 57% (-53%)
Gore-House Chainwalker: 0% today, down from 53% (-53%)
Jetting Glasskite: 23% today, down from 77% (-53%)
Bloodrage Brawler: 11% today, down from 63% (-53%)
Consul's Lieutenant: 21% today, down from 73% (-52%)
Stonewright: 5% today, down from 57% (-51%)
Civic Wayfinder: 2% today, down from 53% (-51%)
Dryad Militant: 22% today, down from 73% (-51%)
Kongming, 'Sleeping Dragon': 0% today, down from 50% (-50%)
Frenzied Goblin: 20% today, down from 70% (-50%)
Diregraf Ghoul: 24% today, down from 73% (-49%)
Tandem Lookout: 24% today, down from 73% (-49%)
Ultimate Price: 21% today, down from 70% (-49%)
Departed Deckhand: 9% today, down from 57% (-48%)
Accorder Paladin: 32% today, down from 80% (-48%)
Feudkiller's Verdict: 5% today, down from 53% (-48%)
Dauthi Horror: 2% today, down from 50% (-48%)
Eldrazi Skyspawner: 16% today, down from 63% (-47%)
Trygon Predator: 16% today, down from 63% (-47%)
Eternal Taskmaster: 13% today, down from 60% (-47%)
Stormblood Berserker: 30% today, down from 77% (-47%)
Plated Crusher: 27% today, down from 73% (-47%)
Aerial Responder: 50% today, down from 97% (-47%)
Gaea's Anthem: 11% today, down from 57% (-46%)
Keldon Champion: 7% today, down from 53% (-46%)
Enclave Cryptologist: 31% today, down from 77% (-46%)
Clone: 21% today, down from 67% (-45%)
Shadowmage Infiltrator: 19% today, down from 63% (-44%)
Soltari Champion: 13% today, down from 57% (-44%)
Vampire Lacerator: 13% today, down from 57% (-44%)
Rakdos Cackler: 36% today, down from 80% (-44%)
Corpse Augur: 10% today, down from 53% (-44%)
Ire Shaman: 3% today, down from 47% (-43%)
Harsh Scrutiny: 0% today, down from 43% (-43%)
Heir of Falkenrath: 23% today, down from 67% (-43%)
Psychatog: 23% today, down from 67% (-43%)
Filigree Familiar: 14% today, down from 57% (-43%)
Serendib Efreet: 14% today, down from 57% (-43%)
Nest Invader: 11% today, down from 53% (-43%)
Temporal Isolation: 11% today, down from 53% (-43%)
Cast Down: 34% today, down from 77% (-43%)
Sunscourge Champion: 7% today, down from 50% (-43%)
Custodi Squire: 28% today, down from 70% (-42%)
Aether Hub: 18% today, down from 60% (-42%)
Angrath, Captain of Chaos: 9% today, down from 50% (-41%)
Raise the Alarm: 29% today, down from 70% (-41%)
Splatter Thug: 2% today, down from 43% (-41%)
Stormfront Pegasus: 2% today, down from 43% (-41%)
Banishing Light: 26% today, down from 67% (-41%)
Mardu Woe-Reaper: 26% today, down from 67% (-41%)
Talrand's Invocation: 43% today, down from 83% (-41%)
Skymarcher Aspirant: 39% today, down from 80% (-41%)
Fire Imp: 13% today, down from 53% (-41%)
Shower of Coals: 10% today, down from 50% (-40%)
Goblin Glory Chaser: 3% today, down from 43% (-40%)
Fledgling Djinn: 0% today, down from 40% (-40%)
Orzhov Advokist: 0% today, down from 40% (-40%)
And a shorter list of cards that used to be staples but are now on the way out.
Sentinel of the Eternal Watch: 31% today, down from 87% (-56%)
Kraul Harpooner: 30% today, down from 83% (-54%)
Compulsive Research: 14% today, down from 80% (-66%)
Accorder Paladin: 32% today, down from 80% (-48%)
Rakdos Cackler: 36% today, down from 80% (-44%)
Skymarcher Aspirant: 39% today, down from 80% (-41%)
Blossoming Defense: 16% today, down from 77% (-61%)
Skyship Plunderer: 18% today, down from 77% (-59%)
Kessig Prowler: 20% today, down from 77% (-56%)
Jetting Glasskite: 23% today, down from 77% (-53%)
Stormblood Berserker: 30% today, down from 77% (-47%)
Enclave Cryptologist: 31% today, down from 77% (-46%)
Cast Down: 34% today, down from 77% (-43%)
Cards that stood out to me as surprising:
Kraul Harpooner - What?? What insane 2's are people playing today? Am I so out of touch?
Skyship Plunderer - Are blue 2's really that much better these days? I guess there's certainly more options now but I still want a few of these.
Sentinel of the Eternal Watch - My wife.
Ultimate Price and Cast Down - I think these are still fine on power level, but more and slightly better options exist these days so I can understand the change. I remember Cast Down being hailed as a permanently locked staple when it was spoiled which is pretty funny to think about when you look at the sets released these days.
Soltari Champion - Are people against shadow, or online-only uncommons?
Rakdos Cackler - Still seems on par to me, in either colour.
Psychatog - I will not cut this, haha I just won't.
Orzhov Advokist - Is this a powerlevel thing or are people still not wise to how broken this is?
Serendib Efreet - Are people just drawback averse, or is this actually not that good any more? The rate still seems fine.
I wonder how much of these changes are due to sampling from a less insular pool of cubes. In 2019 there were 30 cubes sampled while this year there were 94 that made the LCI cutoff (and mine wasn't one of them).
PS. If anybody knows how to post tables, please let me know as I think the legibility of that list sucks.
https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/ada6c721-c02d-4cbc-a5a1-e3eba3f66a1d
I don't think my list should have been counted this year since I haven't updated it in 6 months.
I will also note that Young Pyromancer has remained in the top position for the third year running.
After Ixalan, possibly January.
I think this is a pretty arbitrary thing to make a distinction. I'd count it. But honestly I think 160 cubes is too much if this is a MTGS community review. If the cube owner isn't posting here then why count it. If it's meant to be wider then why limit yourself to cubes people follow. I don't follow anybody and I think it's a pretty pointless feature.
I really don't understand how blog psots work. Isn't every change blogged?
Sorry not going to label my blog posts hahahaha
Probably spent so much time on it then had nobody to play with. Many such cases.
Also welcome to our newest (??) member cVantez.