3GUU for an insane stat monster (6/5 reach AND(!?!?!) a */* ox for lands you control) that just so happens to have an attack trigger of growth spiral that can get lands from your graveyard even!
Obviously being Simic means you have to fit it in a multicolored section, which is a downside. I think it compares mostly to cards like Old One Eye, of which the tyrannus is better as trample is much better than reach and it has recursion and is mono colored and single pipped. Still, getting two large bodies for 6 mana is pretty amazing along with attack step card advantage.
Dauthi Voidwalker BB 3/2
Shadow
If a card would be put into an opponents graveyard from anywhere, exile it instead with a void counter on it.
Tap: Sacrifice Dauthi Voidwalker: Choose an exiled card an opponent owns with a void counter on it. You may play it this turn without paying its mana cost.
Double Black makes it a little harder to cast than you would like, but in a heavy black aggro deck BB for an unblockable 3/2 is gas. The second part of the card hosing your opponents graveyard is just upside. Many decks care about having things in their graveyard, and at worst it gives this card some insurance if they target it with removal while it’s not tapped to cash him in for something you have exiled.
I was surprised this card didn’t have a thread. On mobile so forgive me for no picture (won’t let me load one).
4G Enchantment
Paradox Zone enters the battlefield with a growth counter on it.
At the beginning of your end step, double the number of growth counters on Paradox Zone. Then create a 0/0 blue and green Fractal creature token. Put X +1/+1 counters on it, where X is the number of growth counters on Paradox Zone.
The inevitability of this card reminds me of Assemble the Legion. Assemble could at least go wide of the opponent, where this goes tall. Both are fairly slow, but this is in green with ramp. After a few turns the tokens are in chump or die territory with no end in sight.
I think Primordial Mists is a comparison as well. The card let you cast your 2/2’s, but that’s all you got was a slow army of 2/2’s. I feel like paradox zone is better than mists and legion. The only question is what is a replacement and it has to compete with the 5 mana walkers. Vivien Monsters advocate gives you a 3/3 with a key word the turn you play her, followed by her static and either more 3/3’s or double creature (albeit a search for a relevant creature for the situation). This goes 2/2,4/4,8/8,16/16,32/32 etc. I would argue viven is better the first 2-3 turns you play her, but after that things start to shift in zones favor. Being an attackable planeswalker, therefore a more susceptible permanent is not nothing either.
In the end, it may be too slow versus aggro, but a house in midrange/control matchups. I feel like this is certainly a playable cube card even in the highest of cubes though maybe a 540-720 card and worthy of discussion
Thanks for all the work you put in doing the previews and writing this primer! Your work in the cube community is truly respected and should be cherished! I always look forward to this every set. Anyway, thanks again, truly appreciate your contributions and whenever someone asks what cube list to look at I refer them to you as that’s what my cube is based on.
This set is bonkers! I don’t know if I’m as sold on the tap land MDFC’s for vintage cube at 540. You really don’t want to play taplands at that power level, and is a significant cost. The only taplands I play are either 4/5 color support lands like Grand Coliseum, Evolving Wilds/Terramorphic Expanse, and Fabled Passage* (the last three also help add shuffle effects) or the mans lands Faerie Conclave, Treetop Village, Celestial Colonnade, Raging Ravine, and Creeping Tar Pit. The spell side of the MDFC’s to me has to be at parity with what a man land brings. I could also look at a land that also doubles as a spell effect like Blast Zone (ratchet bomb lite), Karakas (plains with huge upside), or Maze of Ith (remove an attacker every turn from combat, but can’t be used for mana so is basically a spell land). Looking at these is a fun way to compare what I’m willing to play attached to a tap land.
Also I think the only MDFC bolt land I’m not going play is Sea Gate Restoration. If it was an instant I would have, but it just seems like it will be a bolt land 99% of the time and if that’s the case a bad island is hard to justify.
I always look forward to your previews/reviews of cube related cards the most as I have modeled my powered cube after your own (pre expansion to 720). Thanks for always taking the time to write his up! I love everything you said about Ikoria and felt you were spot on with my feelings.
I love Sharknado just think in a tight powered 540 list like mine it’s a slight miss but if I was at a larger size I would definitely look to add it.
Fiend Artisan to me looks like too much investment resource wise. If the ability was at instant speed it would be a slam dunk, but having to choose between sacrificing and adding a creature for your whole turn or doing it opponents end of turn is the difference I feel.
My adds/cuts:
Vivien, Monster’s Advocate>Nissa, Worldwaker
Lurrus of the Dream-Den>Benalish Marshal
Heartless Act>Fatal Push
Lutri, the Spellchaser>Search for Azcanta
Do you feel Mothra is worth the slot in a non-sacrifice heavy list with no persist combo shenanigans? I like the wrath protection and the ability to give aggressive beaters flying is big game, I just don’t know if it’s good enough for a tight 540 list. I could cut it over the marshal and make a cut in orzhov like Anguished Unmaking or Gerrad’s Verdict instead for Lurrus.
Thanks again for all the great analysis and content!
1URW Legendary Planeswalker Narset
+1: Gain 2 Life. Add U,R, or W, Spend this mana only to cast a non creature spell.
-2: Draw a card, then you may discard a card. When you discard a non land card this way, Narset of the Ancient Way deals damage equal to that card’s concerted mana cost to target creature or planeswalker.
-6: You get an emblem with “Whenever you cast a non creature spell, this emblem deal 2 damage to any target.”
[4]
So the leak was true. I don’t know if this is good enough for a tri color card, but an easily obtainable ultimate is always reviewable. This is certainly a spell slinger card which is normally Izzet but adding white for control to the deck with few creatures is probably okay. Narset plays well with 1 cmc removal like path, bolt, swords to protect her while also upticking to her ultimate. The minus is removal while looting, though you do have to discard a relevant spell sometimes to do so. It’s also of note the discard is a may so you don’t have to discard if you don’t want to. The ultimate to me screams death by a thousand cuts but stapling shock to all spells seems pretty good to me and will most likely get you where you need to go though certainly not winning the game out right. Thoughts?
I think this is likely slightly better than Go For the Throat. If it turns out the be the case, I'll likely make that swap.
I have 41 cards that are either artifact creatures or make artifact creatures.
I have ~55 creatures that can have counters on them. But among those, HA would kill or neutralize a lot of them, and meaningfully interacts with the rest. Funnily enough, you can also use it to remove -1/-1 counters from your own creatures to make them stronger or reset Persist or whatever, which is kinda funny.
Might be worth testing Act over GFtT and seeing how it fares on average. My guess is that Heartless Act will be marginally better.
Call me crazy but I think I like this more than Fatal Push. I get the double spell capability with Fatal Push being lower costed, but outside of fetches it’s hard to trigger fatal push to get up to 4 cmc creatures so it’s really a good constructed card but not at its most optimal in cube. I think the power of this card to know it will remove what you want it to makes it stronger in the cube setting. I think you can have room for both GFTT and HA.
How many of these effects do you want to run in a powered cube? I don’t have that many when I take a look: Dismember, Fatal Push, Go for the Throat, Liliana’s Triumph, Hero’s Downfall, Snuff Out along with mass removal of toxic deluge, languish, damnation, and living dead. This is definitely better than Liliana’s Triumph but I think you need a way to make your opponent sac a creature to handle cheaty strategies. This is definitely good enough for cube and I will make room for it, but should I get rid of something besides other removal or can I make room for more?
You may look at the top card of your library at any time.
As long as an opponent controls more lands than you, you may play lands from the top of your library. (You can play a land this way only if you have an available land play remaining.)
So is it just me or is the a more aggressive yet situational Courser of Kruphix in white? Drawing and playing lands from the top of your deck in white is fantastic, problem is it’s only if your opponent has more than you which is great on the draw but bad on the play (unless you miss a land drop after 3). Thoughts?
This looks like a durdly value engine to me. I'm not sure if I'm buying into the hype around this card?
I'm with you. It's fine and wight of Prentice 6 was an ok body, I like that it is a hybrid and maybe I will squueze it in my rainbow section. But I am going to pull drs for Meren not this guy. It has a strong Yisan, the Wanderer Bard vibe. Interesting, maybe fun but a lot of set up, lot of turns, lots of mana. So there has to be an amazing game ending combo at the end of that rainbow to be worth it.
I think I’m with you guys, I’m not quite seeing it. In constructed sure, multiple copies give redundancy plus it is bigger later in the game. Without a combo you can tutor up for cheap quickly that wins the game I feel it maybe too durdly and mana intensive to make small advances to your board state, plus needing fuel for it can be a concern. In its defense it’s not like the pod chin that can have holes in the cmc increases, but again it’s a lot of mana to pull up bigger stuff that you would want
I don’t know what the cut would be is the problem, Blue is so stacked at 540. Plus I don’t support blue aggro/tempo so it loses some of its luster there so it’s probably not for me, but I thought it deserved to be talked about here
3GUU for an insane stat monster (6/5 reach AND(!?!?!) a */* ox for lands you control) that just so happens to have an attack trigger of growth spiral that can get lands from your graveyard even!
Obviously being Simic means you have to fit it in a multicolored section, which is a downside. I think it compares mostly to cards like Old One Eye, of which the tyrannus is better as trample is much better than reach and it has recursion and is mono colored and single pipped. Still, getting two large bodies for 6 mana is pretty amazing along with attack step card advantage.
Shadow
If a card would be put into an opponents graveyard from anywhere, exile it instead with a void counter on it.
Tap: Sacrifice Dauthi Voidwalker: Choose an exiled card an opponent owns with a void counter on it. You may play it this turn without paying its mana cost.
Double Black makes it a little harder to cast than you would like, but in a heavy black aggro deck BB for an unblockable 3/2 is gas. The second part of the card hosing your opponents graveyard is just upside. Many decks care about having things in their graveyard, and at worst it gives this card some insurance if they target it with removal while it’s not tapped to cash him in for something you have exiled.
4G Enchantment
Paradox Zone enters the battlefield with a growth counter on it.
At the beginning of your end step, double the number of growth counters on Paradox Zone. Then create a 0/0 blue and green Fractal creature token. Put X +1/+1 counters on it, where X is the number of growth counters on Paradox Zone.
The inevitability of this card reminds me of Assemble the Legion. Assemble could at least go wide of the opponent, where this goes tall. Both are fairly slow, but this is in green with ramp. After a few turns the tokens are in chump or die territory with no end in sight.
I think Primordial Mists is a comparison as well. The card let you cast your 2/2’s, but that’s all you got was a slow army of 2/2’s. I feel like paradox zone is better than mists and legion. The only question is what is a replacement and it has to compete with the 5 mana walkers. Vivien Monsters advocate gives you a 3/3 with a key word the turn you play her, followed by her static and either more 3/3’s or double creature (albeit a search for a relevant creature for the situation). This goes 2/2,4/4,8/8,16/16,32/32 etc. I would argue viven is better the first 2-3 turns you play her, but after that things start to shift in zones favor. Being an attackable planeswalker, therefore a more susceptible permanent is not nothing either.
In the end, it may be too slow versus aggro, but a house in midrange/control matchups. I feel like this is certainly a playable cube card even in the highest of cubes though maybe a 540-720 card and worthy of discussion
This set is bonkers! I don’t know if I’m as sold on the tap land MDFC’s for vintage cube at 540. You really don’t want to play taplands at that power level, and is a significant cost. The only taplands I play are either 4/5 color support lands like Grand Coliseum, Evolving Wilds/Terramorphic Expanse, and Fabled Passage* (the last three also help add shuffle effects) or the mans lands Faerie Conclave, Treetop Village, Celestial Colonnade, Raging Ravine, and Creeping Tar Pit. The spell side of the MDFC’s to me has to be at parity with what a man land brings. I could also look at a land that also doubles as a spell effect like Blast Zone (ratchet bomb lite), Karakas (plains with huge upside), or Maze of Ith (remove an attacker every turn from combat, but can’t be used for mana so is basically a spell land). Looking at these is a fun way to compare what I’m willing to play attached to a tap land.
Also I think the only MDFC bolt land I’m not going play is Sea Gate Restoration. If it was an instant I would have, but it just seems like it will be a bolt land 99% of the time and if that’s the case a bad island is hard to justify.
I love Sharknado just think in a tight powered 540 list like mine it’s a slight miss but if I was at a larger size I would definitely look to add it.
Fiend Artisan to me looks like too much investment resource wise. If the ability was at instant speed it would be a slam dunk, but having to choose between sacrificing and adding a creature for your whole turn or doing it opponents end of turn is the difference I feel.
My adds/cuts:
Vivien, Monster’s Advocate>Nissa, Worldwaker
Lurrus of the Dream-Den>Benalish Marshal
Heartless Act>Fatal Push
Lutri, the Spellchaser>Search for Azcanta
Do you feel Mothra is worth the slot in a non-sacrifice heavy list with no persist combo shenanigans? I like the wrath protection and the ability to give aggressive beaters flying is big game, I just don’t know if it’s good enough for a tight 540 list. I could cut it over the marshal and make a cut in orzhov like Anguished Unmaking or Gerrad’s Verdict instead for Lurrus.
Thanks again for all the great analysis and content!
+1: Gain 2 Life. Add U,R, or W, Spend this mana only to cast a non creature spell.
-2: Draw a card, then you may discard a card. When you discard a non land card this way, Narset of the Ancient Way deals damage equal to that card’s concerted mana cost to target creature or planeswalker.
-6: You get an emblem with “Whenever you cast a non creature spell, this emblem deal 2 damage to any target.”
[4]
So the leak was true. I don’t know if this is good enough for a tri color card, but an easily obtainable ultimate is always reviewable. This is certainly a spell slinger card which is normally Izzet but adding white for control to the deck with few creatures is probably okay. Narset plays well with 1 cmc removal like path, bolt, swords to protect her while also upticking to her ultimate. The minus is removal while looting, though you do have to discard a relevant spell sometimes to do so. It’s also of note the discard is a may so you don’t have to discard if you don’t want to. The ultimate to me screams death by a thousand cuts but stapling shock to all spells seems pretty good to me and will most likely get you where you need to go though certainly not winning the game out right. Thoughts?
Call me crazy but I think I like this more than Fatal Push. I get the double spell capability with Fatal Push being lower costed, but outside of fetches it’s hard to trigger fatal push to get up to 4 cmc creatures so it’s really a good constructed card but not at its most optimal in cube. I think the power of this card to know it will remove what you want it to makes it stronger in the cube setting. I think you can have room for both GFTT and HA.
You may look at the top card of your library at any time.
As long as an opponent controls more lands than you, you may play lands from the top of your library. (You can play a land this way only if you have an available land play remaining.)
So is it just me or is the a more aggressive yet situational Courser of Kruphix in white? Drawing and playing lands from the top of your deck in white is fantastic, problem is it’s only if your opponent has more than you which is great on the draw but bad on the play (unless you miss a land drop after 3). Thoughts?
I think I’m with you guys, I’m not quite seeing it. In constructed sure, multiple copies give redundancy plus it is bigger later in the game. Without a combo you can tutor up for cheap quickly that wins the game I feel it maybe too durdly and mana intensive to make small advances to your board state, plus needing fuel for it can be a concern. In its defense it’s not like the pod chin that can have holes in the cmc increases, but again it’s a lot of mana to pull up bigger stuff that you would want
Your right I missed that, but again probably only relevant in corner cases. still something to take note