How do we feel about this compared to, say, Kira? Or Nimble Obstructionist? Is the straightforward "draw a card" better than all those pesky words on the other fliers?
There's a lot of value to having a way to fetch that Cradle/Strip Mine/Library you drafted, but I don't know that there are enough of those lands in cube to expect this to come together in the same deck as one at a higher cube size like 720. He does provide a neat little fixing mechanic, but he's a pretty bad topdeck late in the game unless you've got other ways of loading your graveyard. And he both plays with and against Crucible effects; his tutor becomes card advantage but it becomes tougher to keep him a 3/4.
I'm also inclined to pass, but I think at 720 it's close. I'm hesitant to drop an aggro one-drop like Pelt Collector or Wild Nacatl for this.
EDIT: Over the initial shock of those stats. For three mana those stats are pretty spicy. Zero evasion is a problem, but it might be a problem I'm willing to swallow for a turn three 7/6. The WCS with this card is they have an infinite string of tokens and you get stonewalled and lose your hand. But you can sideboard this out in token match ups.
There's also the WCS of them letting you discard on your upkeep and then removing this for a 2-for-1. But the list of removal cards that do that at instant speed, even in cube, is pretty narrow. And the discard is often an upside if you're doing it just once.
I'd like to thank WotC for making the mythic cycle in this set triple-color costed, so I can generally ignore them. After the devastation WAR and MH1 have done to my cube card budget, I need the breather.
It would be cool if this guy simply had deathtouch, instead of needing to activate the pump to get it.
As is, I'm definitely going to consider him at 720, but I'm not sure he's actually better for black aggro than something simple like Vampire Lacerator.
OP mentioned PWs in the question. I guess it just depends whether "drop" is slang for a permanent, or just a card you typically play at that mana cost.
Living Death also deserves mention here, but it's not a card you can just jam into any deck like Shriekmaw, you have to be willing to build around it and accept that it won't be the right call in every situation/matchup.
People don’t cube with null rod, idk why they would cube with this. Being symmetrical sounds awful.
Symmetry kills a lot of cards. The Immortal Sun would be way better if it were not symmetrical. As is though, you're better off just playing planeswalkers in your deck rather than trying to avoid playing them to break the symmetry.
But cards like Show and Tell, Smokestack, and Tangle Wire are symmetrical and we still cube those. Seems fine to have a card that you want to maindeck or sideboard in if you weren't able to secure broken artifacts that often don't get passed. (That said, I'm probably not cubing this, but if it were a 3/2 or a 2/3 I probably would.)
At 720, Azorius is a little less locked up... but only a little. I can't imagine cutting Fractured Identity, Supreme Verdict, Geist, Reflector Mage, or Teferi HoD. That leaves two slots that are currently held by Spell Queller and Sphinx's Revelation, with newest Teferi, Brago, Dragonlord Ojutai, and Detention Sphere all sitting on the sidelines already. So which two make the most sense? I've wished for a blink enabler ever since cutting Venser but I don't think something like Brago stands up... perhaps this jumps in over Spell Queller?
I feel like Fblthp is looking up in the sky at this like "Come on, guys, really?"
I'm also inclined to pass, but I think at 720 it's close. I'm hesitant to drop an aggro one-drop like Pelt Collector or Wild Nacatl for this.
There's also the WCS of them letting you discard on your upkeep and then removing this for a 2-for-1. But the list of removal cards that do that at instant speed, even in cube, is pretty narrow. And the discard is often an upside if you're doing it just once.
For sellout aggro, there might not be a hand to discard by upkeep of T4. I think this definitely deserves a test.
As is, I'm definitely going to consider him at 720, but I'm not sure he's actually better for black aggro than something simple like Vampire Lacerator.
I was thinking the opposite. I'm fine with 2W up front, but I'd want the exile effect to be cheaper, like 1W.
In any case, I don't think this quite gets there.
*shrug*
But the moderation team is still planning to proceed with MTG Nexus. So we'll have to decide what makes the most sense for the Cube community.
But cards like Show and Tell, Smokestack, and Tangle Wire are symmetrical and we still cube those. Seems fine to have a card that you want to maindeck or sideboard in if you weren't able to secure broken artifacts that often don't get passed. (That said, I'm probably not cubing this, but if it were a 3/2 or a 2/3 I probably would.)