Yeah this card is a very solid cube inclusion post-DOM, and given the uniqueness of the effect I think it might be close to pure staple status now. And thanks for the shoutout wtfwlf, I'm pretty sure it was your cube list that initially convinced me to give Firestorm a try, so fitting that it's come full circle
Obviously for Kor Skyfisherone of the largest variables in its evaluation is whether your environment is powered; i.e. whether it can reset cards like Moxen, Sol Ring, etc. I personally have no play experience with Adanto Vanguard so I'm curious what could account for the tremendous swings in its rankings here.
IMHO - Massacre Wurm is criminally underplayed. There are instances when the Wurm is just a pricey 6/5, but there are others - lots of others - when it straight up wins the game immediately. I'd estimate that's 30% of the time, and probably another 30% it will allow for an incredibly favorable alpha strike that comes close to ending the game anyway. Can't say that for many comparable 6-mana creatures. This card has a semi-permanent 'pet' slot in my 630 cube, definitely recommend at least giving it a try in lists of ~450 and up. Probably fringe at 450 but I'd definitely include it at 540.
I was always fond of Beasts (probably because I picked the game up during Onslaught block) but Dinosaurs are pretty cool too. Elves are ok in moderation, lol.
How do other cube managers feel about Mikaeus, the Lunarch these days? I recently cut him from tier 1 to tier 2 in my 630 unpowered cube (i.e. out of the core 450), but I'm still struggling with how to evaluate him vs. other miscellaneous white critters. Not necessarily looking for a cut, but interested in how others feel he stacks up in relation to Eight-and-a-Half-Tails, Mirran Crusader, Ranger of Eos and Sublime Archangel.
My playgroup started using the new redirection rules ahead of the Dominaria release and actually had a "feel-good interaction" come up on Friday night.
Boros Aggro (with Sword of War and Peace and Memory Jar on board) was facing off against Azorius Control with an active Elspeth, Sun's Champion and Jace, Telepath Unbound. The Boros deck main phase cracked the Jar, played Brimaz, King of Oreskos from the new hand, then hit Firestorm pitching 5 cards to nuke both 'walkers, the opponent's face, and a couple hostile utility critters. The control deck still ended up clutching the victory with a perfectly timed Path to Exile but it was pretty neat to see how much stronger Firestorm is under the new rules.
Really cool card, but I'm struggling to imagine where it finds a home in Cube!
Aggro decks have the easiest time triggering the transform, but the tokens are underwhelming there. Control decks are happy with the chump blockers and lifelink, but have the hardest time transforming... So maybe midrange? It could play decently in BW Pox strategies, but you still have to get through that 3-creature attack clause before it really pays off in any sense. Worst case scenario there it's two permanents for one mana, but that's not exactly a strong case for a cube slot. And I think given the difficulty of transforming, the 'create a token' effect wouldn't have been OP at 1W, which is a ton more palatable than 2W.
I dunno, maybe this has more applications than I'm considering (and it does seem legit when built around in other formats) but it looks relatively narrow to me.
I actually still run Hapless Researcher and think it's decent, although it suffered big time from damage no longer using the stack. It'll be an easy cut at some point (especially since my cube isn't fully up-to-date) but I wouldn't fault large cubes (700+?) for including it.
Other than that, we played Cloudfin Raptor for a while and I'd agree that he's playable but fringe. Also tested Wingcrafter around when AVR came out but was unimpressed.
Never tested Hedron Crab really, but seems to me like the ACS in a cube game would be too low to justify its slot.
Looking at your list, I see that you don't fully support the cheat archetype, espcially in red. I mean, you don't run Through the Breach, most Eldrazis and other color stuff that you want to sneak into play with it. Only for that reason, I think DT has absolutly no place in your cube. You do have space for it though, that's not about that. It's just that most of your flex slots are occupy by cards like Reckless Charge, Moltain Rain, Stone Rain, Red Sun's Zenith, Ravenous Baboons, Aviricious Dragon, Dualcaster Mage, Generator Servant and stuff. Don't get me wrong, I'm saying it's not appreciate to proceed as you do. It's only about philosophy and color pie managing matters I think. I mean, I like my strawberry pie with some rapsberry and even some cranberry. I guess you prefer it plain strawberry.
Well, it's not really a decision regarding color philosophy - I'd love to get a Through the Breach and support more of the cheaty archetypes in red. In this card's case though, it just seems very unappealing to need six mana for your combo effect. If you play any appreciable amount of multiplayer then this could be attractive, and it makes sense that if you want to go deep on Oath support this is a solid second-tier option to flesh out the archetype. In my case, I found that aggro needs a lot of extra space in a 700+ card cube to stay viable against the other theaters, which means most of the "flex" slots aren't that flexible. So while it does to some extent come down to a difference in design philosophy, I can't imagine really wanting this card unless you're pushing cheaty strategies super hard. Good to know about though, and definitely strong in multiplayer-focused cubes!
I mean, if you regularly play multiplayer this seems reasonable to consider. Otherwise I tend to agree with the others that this kind of effect is too inconsistent and narrow to be worth 6 mana, and hence a slot in the cube... And mine is 700 cards, so I've got more space than most!
IMO, Channel is totally fine in an unpowered environment unless your playgroup has a serious aversion to that style of deck. It's been in my ~700 card unpowered cube since its inception like five years ago, and the fact that it occasionally creates complete blowouts is what makes it fun. Of course, it's also tougher to draft a consistent deck due to cube size in our case.
In my 720 unpowered cube the card is a ton of fun and absolutely earns its keep - the restrictions on deckbuilding given its manacost, the potential of a blowout if you drop something removable, and the limited number of targets for it mitigate its obvious power and make it a fun build-around-me like an all-in Reanimate strategy for Green.
But you get to give the token golems -6/-6! The value! Or -9/-9 if there's a blade splicer out there! And still give the main golem -3/-3! Surely that is more fun, if less efficient, than just a removal spell!
And all the Solemn Simulacra! And all the Sundering Titans!
Loyal Pegasus - W
Creature - Pegasus (C)
Flying
~ can't attack or block alone.
2/1
A bunch of cards may have been accidentally spoiled in an article on the Mothership. This seems like potentially quite the critter for dedicated aggro decks, although it's hard to get it attacking before T3 outside of Moxen or hasty friends.
This is actually somewhat interesting. Trades the extra land drop ability of Oracle of Mul Daya for the lifegain, and gets a fatter body in exchange for a heavier green commitment. Could be good for the G/X midrange ramp decks, since it stops a whole lot of attackers and has a big enough toughness to avoid most burn, while hopefully "drawing" you a card or two off the pseudo-Future Sight.
Gotta say that I don't love the art but it may look better in paper.
Scavenge is a keyword ability designed to work expressly from the graveyard, though, so maybe that makes it different?
My impression is that this is the case. The rules text for Scavenge already specify that it's only usable on creature cards from their controller's graveyard.
I was always fond of Beasts (probably because I picked the game up during Onslaught block) but Dinosaurs are pretty cool too. Elves are ok in moderation, lol.
Boros Aggro (with Sword of War and Peace and Memory Jar on board) was facing off against Azorius Control with an active Elspeth, Sun's Champion and Jace, Telepath Unbound. The Boros deck main phase cracked the Jar, played Brimaz, King of Oreskos from the new hand, then hit Firestorm pitching 5 cards to nuke both 'walkers, the opponent's face, and a couple hostile utility critters. The control deck still ended up clutching the victory with a perfectly timed Path to Exile but it was pretty neat to see how much stronger Firestorm is under the new rules.
Still hate them from an aesthetic standpoint but
Aggro decks have the easiest time triggering the transform, but the tokens are underwhelming there. Control decks are happy with the chump blockers and lifelink, but have the hardest time transforming... So maybe midrange? It could play decently in BW Pox strategies, but you still have to get through that 3-creature attack clause before it really pays off in any sense. Worst case scenario there it's two permanents for one mana, but that's not exactly a strong case for a cube slot. And I think given the difficulty of transforming, the 'create a token' effect wouldn't have been OP at 1W, which is a ton more palatable than 2W.
I dunno, maybe this has more applications than I'm considering (and it does seem legit when built around in other formats) but it looks relatively narrow to me.
Other than that, we played Cloudfin Raptor for a while and I'd agree that he's playable but fringe. Also tested Wingcrafter around when AVR came out but was unimpressed.
Never tested Hedron Crab really, but seems to me like the ACS in a cube game would be too low to justify its slot.
Well, it's not really a decision regarding color philosophy - I'd love to get a Through the Breach and support more of the cheaty archetypes in red. In this card's case though, it just seems very unappealing to need six mana for your combo effect. If you play any appreciable amount of multiplayer then this could be attractive, and it makes sense that if you want to go deep on Oath support this is a solid second-tier option to flesh out the archetype. In my case, I found that aggro needs a lot of extra space in a 700+ card cube to stay viable against the other theaters, which means most of the "flex" slots aren't that flexible. So while it does to some extent come down to a difference in design philosophy, I can't imagine really wanting this card unless you're pushing cheaty strategies super hard. Good to know about though, and definitely strong in multiplayer-focused cubes!
Something I wrote back in 2013 on the subject:
Top cards played with Channel in my cube:
And all the Solemn Simulacra! And all the Sundering Titans!
Creature - Pegasus (C)
Flying
~ can't attack or block alone.
2/1
A bunch of cards may have been accidentally spoiled in an article on the Mothership. This seems like potentially quite the critter for dedicated aggro decks, although it's hard to get it attacking before T3 outside of Moxen or hasty friends.
Thoughts?
Gotta say that I don't love the art but it may look better in paper.
My impression is that this is the case. The rules text for Scavenge already specify that it's only usable on creature cards from their controller's graveyard.
Yes, and a two-drop to boot. And worse stats are better on a creature designed to be given away, no?
Maybe I'm alone here, but I'd be intrigued by playing Infilitrator already if it weren't a guild card, and especially so if it were 1 cheaper.