Anybody tried Flick a Coin in cube yet? It has overperformed for me in Draft and I was considering trying it in the cube. It kills over 1/3 of all the creatures in my cube, not counting things like Raise the Alarm or whatever where it takes out part of the card. It feels like it could fit well in U/R Spellslinger decks since it keeps the fuel coming with a new card and a Treasure and I like how flexible it is.
On the other hand, I worry the card would just end up super polarizing. It feels like it could be great against aggro and then a dead card in some other match ups, which means I feel like it would be an almost "sideboard" feeling card.
While I do think Planar Disruption is usually better than Cooped Up, Cooped Up's exile ability does have serious upside. It prevents sacrificing the creature, bouncing it, destroying the aura, passive abilities, etc. It also has instant speed Enchantment Sacrifice applications (usually only relevant with Bargain cards). If you avoid functional reprints as I do I would run both.
I agree that there isn't a list of "auto-includes" here if your goal is maxing power level, which is a nice break from the constant power creep.
The only other purely red card that competes with Gnawing Crescendo is Ambitious Assault and how good that one is sort of depends on your cube. I'm also curious how many Trumpet blast-style effects you really want to support Boros tokens. Including two white, two red, and one gold (War Flare) is probably too many if you're at 360. I am at 540 though, and I am having difficulty determining exactly how many of the effects I want to include.
I also want to call out Snaremaster Sprite. It is basically a smaller and more flexible Frost Trickster. While obviously it isn't as good in the 3-drop mode as a 1/1 instead of a 2/2 Flier and is weaker with flicker effects, it does have the flexibility of being a decent 1-drop also (which are hard to come by in Blue). This gives it better synergy with Ninja cards like Coiling Stalker or Moon-Circuit Hacker, and also it technically has synergies with Proliferate if you are running any of that in your cube. It also has more relevant types than Frost Trickster for some cubes. I don't think it is nearly as good as Frost Trickster in a generic sense, but I could see it being as good in a lot of synergistic cubes.
Cooped up seems fine, not sure if I want to run it alongside Realmbreaker's Grasp or instead of it.
I think Protective Parents is a little too slow for my tastes, and I also don't love the design of Roles. They are a little too cumbersome I feel like.
I agree on Diminisher Witch. If it allowed sacrificing any creature it would be amazing, as it is though I think it just barely misses.
I just love Adventure as a mechanic, so I have a hard time not talking myself into nearly every adventure card there is, so I really want to like Obyra's Attendants. However, I think Young Blue Dragon is probably just a bit better overall and my blue 5s are crowded.
I like how simple Mintstrosity is, but I don't have anything that uses Food tokens right now and I am not adding it for this. It also looks really sad next to something like Lone Missionary, so you'd need to be using the Artifact synergy somehow, maybe something that could sacrifice artifacts.
Quicky Study seems fine, but I prefer more synergistic card draw.
Gnawing Crescendo is amazing, not sure what I am cutting for it yet.
I also think Candy Trail is just good enough the more I think about it. Colorless Preordain with life gain attached? Thraben Inspector with no Inspector? Those are exaggerations of course, but I have really like Wishing Well a lot, so I think this will work well also.
Even more than Thermo-Alchemist, I think the recently downshifted Guttersnipe is just so much better than the Unruly Catapult it isn't worth considering unless your cube is huge.
I think the problem with Mocking Sprite is that I've always found Goblin Electromancer to be super underwhelming and I think a 3 mana version would be even weaker.
The Flick a Coin is a neat concept, pretty hard to gauge if all of that adds up to a decent effect or if it is just too weak. Probably best in a spells matter package unsurprisingly thanks to the cantrip.
Wary Thespian
I like this for my Green section which has a graveyard focus. Seems like good value on a 2-drop without losing any stats.
Seed of Hope
I want this to be good enough, but I don't think it quite is even with a GY theme in Green. If I squint and turn my head it looks kinda like a Green Consider, but I just don't think it is that, and when you whiff it will feel awful.
With regards to Tolarian Terror, I don't think you put it in the same deck as Angler really. It goes in a Spellslinger deck, rather than a GY deck. Also, due to the Ward 2, I don't think you need to get it discounted much before it is "worth it". At 5 mana it is OK, and 4 mana or less it's great. It's almost never going to be a 1 mana play the way Angler can, but I don't think it needs to be.
The Necromass is interesting, but worse than either Terror or Angler I think. Deathtouch on a creature that size just isn't very relevant usually. And as Al points out, it's kinda a nonbo with Angler, even though they both wanna be in your Black GY deck. Still, redundancy is always good and Angler at Home as it were could still combo in some sweet ways. For every time you top-deck Necromass after exiling your whole GY with Angler and feel bad, there will also be turns where you cast both for a combined 3 or 4 mana and that is going to feel awesome.
Gibbering Barricade is interesting. Isn't that basically Spark Reaper, but with a worse activation cost and Defender in order to gain one more toughness? Am I correct in assuming the fact that it dodges Bolt is a big reason you are interested in it over Spark Reaper?
I liked the Keldon Strike Team, but I won't be adding it at this time.
Anyone running Rosemane Centaur may want to cut it for Argivian Phalanx. Not having to tap your creatures to cast it and being mono-colored seem like a huge upsides.
I think Shadow Propchecy can only work if your cube is really multi-colored focused. You need to be hitting 3 land types for it to really be worth it.
Is there any universe where Tolarian Terror is worth it if you go hard enough into the Spellslinger archetype? It's like a harder to cast Gurmag Angler, but with Ward 2 which is neat and the upside of not actually exiling the cards from your Graveyard which could be relevant depending on your deck.
I agree that a lack of any real synergy (other than a minor one with the GY), holds it back.
But I feel like I will just always be happy with it. If my 3 power flier lives and I get to just smash with it, great. If it trades with a removal spell or a real 3 toughness creature and I get a 2-for-1, also great.
Enchantment removal is the only thing that could make you really sad. Trading down on mana for a smaller flier is a little meh, but even then you are ahead on cards.
It is definitely no Cloudkin Seer or Mulldrifter, but I think it is a solid option.
On the other hand, I worry the card would just end up super polarizing. It feels like it could be great against aggro and then a dead card in some other match ups, which means I feel like it would be an almost "sideboard" feeling card.
While I do think Planar Disruption is usually better than Cooped Up, Cooped Up's exile ability does have serious upside. It prevents sacrificing the creature, bouncing it, destroying the aura, passive abilities, etc. It also has instant speed Enchantment Sacrifice applications (usually only relevant with Bargain cards). If you avoid functional reprints as I do I would run both.
I largely agree with the review.
The only other purely red card that competes with Gnawing Crescendo is Ambitious Assault and how good that one is sort of depends on your cube. I'm also curious how many Trumpet blast-style effects you really want to support Boros tokens. Including two white, two red, and one gold (War Flare) is probably too many if you're at 360. I am at 540 though, and I am having difficulty determining exactly how many of the effects I want to include.
I think Protective Parents is a little too slow for my tastes, and I also don't love the design of Roles. They are a little too cumbersome I feel like.
I agree on Diminisher Witch. If it allowed sacrificing any creature it would be amazing, as it is though I think it just barely misses.
I just love Adventure as a mechanic, so I have a hard time not talking myself into nearly every adventure card there is, so I really want to like Obyra's Attendants. However, I think Young Blue Dragon is probably just a bit better overall and my blue 5s are crowded.
I like how simple Mintstrosity is, but I don't have anything that uses Food tokens right now and I am not adding it for this. It also looks really sad next to something like Lone Missionary, so you'd need to be using the Artifact synergy somehow, maybe something that could sacrifice artifacts.
Quicky Study seems fine, but I prefer more synergistic card draw.
Gnawing Crescendo is amazing, not sure what I am cutting for it yet.
I also think Candy Trail is just good enough the more I think about it. Colorless Preordain with life gain attached? Thraben Inspector with no Inspector? Those are exaggerations of course, but I have really like Wishing Well a lot, so I think this will work well also.
Ratcatcher Trainee is a card I want to like, but those adventure cards that "curve backwards" never seem to play as well as I'd like them to.
The Flick a Coin is a neat concept, pretty hard to gauge if all of that adds up to a decent effect or if it is just too weak. Probably best in a spells matter package unsurprisingly thanks to the cantrip.
I like this for my Green section which has a graveyard focus. Seems like good value on a 2-drop without losing any stats.
Seed of Hope
I want this to be good enough, but I don't think it quite is even with a GY theme in Green. If I squint and turn my head it looks kinda like a Green Consider, but I just don't think it is that, and when you whiff it will feel awful.
Zephyr Winder
Vaporkin has come a long way......
Wrenn's Resolve
A second Reckless Impulse for those who don't mind functional reprints.
The Necromass is interesting, but worse than either Terror or Angler I think. Deathtouch on a creature that size just isn't very relevant usually. And as Al points out, it's kinda a nonbo with Angler, even though they both wanna be in your Black GY deck. Still, redundancy is always good and Angler at Home as it were could still combo in some sweet ways. For every time you top-deck Necromass after exiling your whole GY with Angler and feel bad, there will also be turns where you cast both for a combined 3 or 4 mana and that is going to feel awesome.
Gibbering Barricade is interesting. Isn't that basically Spark Reaper, but with a worse activation cost and Defender in order to gain one more toughness? Am I correct in assuming the fact that it dodges Bolt is a big reason you are interested in it over Spark Reaper?
Anyone running Rosemane Centaur may want to cut it for Argivian Phalanx. Not having to tap your creatures to cast it and being mono-colored seem like a huge upsides.
Is there any universe where Tolarian Terror is worth it if you go hard enough into the Spellslinger archetype? It's like a harder to cast Gurmag Angler, but with Ward 2 which is neat and the upside of not actually exiling the cards from your Graveyard which could be relevant depending on your deck.
But I feel like I will just always be happy with it. If my 3 power flier lives and I get to just smash with it, great. If it trades with a removal spell or a real 3 toughness creature and I get a 2-for-1, also great.
Enchantment removal is the only thing that could make you really sad. Trading down on mana for a smaller flier is a little meh, but even then you are ahead on cards.
It is definitely no Cloudkin Seer or Mulldrifter, but I think it is a solid option.