MTG Salvation

I’ve had similar experiences. With Humans getting so much camera time at the PT I saw a lot of Freebooters and that’s when I decided to try him out, as it seemed fairly effective. It also reinforces my impression that evasive black 2-drops are very critical for the black aggro archetype that lacks reach from burn.

Quote from SaucyFaucet »

I would love to spin off into particular opinions, but I'm going to fight the urge to always de-rail This or That.
(one quick one: plz try out Whisperwood Elemental in place of Master of the Wild Hunt for me, passes way more removal tests, so much more fun to manifest and you get it that turn. Mass fight is just as unique as boardwipe protection too!)

Thanks for the suggestion, but I'm afraid that being about 16% less likely on avg. to be able to play Whisperwood on curve than Master makes it a no go for me. I like my green 5's a lot and don't need another! (Slime, Hermit, 'Tusk, Gearhulk, Nissa WW, Plow)

Has Asylum Visitor lost its luster a little bit in a world where it can get Freebooted by a pirate flying a kite?

Thank you very much steve_man, Salmo, SaucyFaucet and AntiPox for the discussion. Like I said, I'm not ready to cut Sower. I've played with and been successful with the card plenty to understand what y'all are saying. However, I could see a day where the environment is too hostile toward Sower and it would be replaced by something else, especially if power creep is involved, so I find it less than useful to say to myself "I'll never cut this from my cube."

Current creatures at 4cmc or higher under scrutiny and their status:
Gisela the Broken Blade (doubtful) strong in certain matchups if it survives, but I don't believe I need this and white 4's are jam packed.
Hero of Bladehold (staying) Takes over game if unchecked, survives most burn, often included in decks with high creature count which taxes opponents removal.
Baneslayer Angel (doubtful) Takes over game but has stiff competition at that CMC slot.
Sower of Tempation(staying) As discussed...
Meloku, the Clouded Mirror (staying) Difficult to analyze, but the flexibility of the card paired with the comparitive lack of good options in that CMC range makes him safe for now. Also synergizes with many things in the cube.
Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet (doubtful) I like this card and the lifegain is welcome in black, but Chupacabra has taken his place and I don't mind running the full suite of that type of effect.
Polukranos, World Eater (staying) I'm not a huge fan of this card, but the lack of good options at this CMC slot in green makes him safe for now.
Master of the Wild Hunt (staying) Better than World Eater, but still am looking forward to replacing this someday.

Can you elaborate Steve instead of just spamming arrows? What about Control Magic effects that die to Magma Jet? Is the upside just generally so insane that it’s worth it?

If Control Magic effects are too strong not to play, how about cards like Desertion or Confiscation Coup or Dragonlord Silumgar?

Sower of Tempation vs Whirler Rogue

I’m not going to cut Sower just yet, but is the tempo swing that much more powerful (in an environment full of cheap burn and edicts) than a card that has 3 bodies and also provides evasion and supports artifact.dec and Opposition?

I’m doing a critical evaluation of upside vs guaranteed value on all my 4-drops right now, since they generally die to removal at a tempo loss.

Good card is good. It’s just so universal.

I used to play the Decipher Star Wars CCG as well, and will vouch for its awesomeness. It produced incredibly interesting and dynamic games that were super fun. I was part of a playgroup that placed 2 players in the World Championship one year (4th and 9th place I believe), so the competition around me was incredibly cutthroat and we constantly pushed each other. I’ve actually considered putting together wtwlf123’s Star Wars cubes just to relive the nostalgia!!

I also play the old I.C.E. Middle Earth card game, which is badly designed and contains an insane amount of errata, but is super flavorful and really fun nonetheless. I am currently a part of probably the main MECCG hub in North America, centered in the Denver area.

Ehh I found space in my 450 list for Eldrazi Displacer and I was just looking at potential blink targets, but my first inclination was that Journey was a superior option that simply goes in all white decks.

Lone Missionary or Journey to Nowhere?

Does Sudden Demise compete more closely for a slot with the ‘quake duo now with their inability to snipe planeswalkers? I’ve always found that card intriguing but situational.

@Salmo:
Gotcha, in that case I would recommend Miscalculation or TNN as just generally strong cards. Opposition and Tinker would be my choices for something that requires more build around.

We are not talking about any additional cuts outside of Pestermite in blue. The list of cards offered were just possible options for that ONE slot. There’s no intention to revamp his blue section, let’s be clear.

Hi rant,

Saw your post about black 2’s in wtwlf123’s thread, and I thought I would offer my (unsolicited!) opinion:

I think your black aggro section would be helped by another on-curve aggressive black 2-drop like Asylum Visitor (edit: in addition to Freebooter) and I would consider cutting:

-Profane Command (I love this card, but I do not view it as necessary)
-Liliana, Death’s Majesty (Does some neat stuff but is really medium-ish)
-Sinkhole (powerfull card but your cube is light in on curve aggressive (untapped) fixing and I could see hitting the optimal timing window in your heavy black aggro decks problematic)

Anyway good luck in whatever you decide to do!

Best,
B8R

To add to steve_man’s good recommendations I would add:

Tinker
True-Name Nemesis
Memory Lapse


If you want something similar (flash,flying) but quite a bit less powerful than the afore mentioned cards, then I would try:

Nimble Obstructionist

Anyone still playing this in their lists? The number of positive reviews was quite surprising.