The prowess Multiple Man might prove to be OP but other than that I don't see any potential must plays. Its one of the reasons I'm gravitating away from Cube because the bar is just too high. There are tons of awesome cards in this set but the de facto color requirements end up making them awkward in such a tight format.
I also don't like Yasova thematically because her ability isn't blue unless you count Ray of Command -- which was a byproduct of heavy blue favoritism at the time. These steal effects should split between Threaten and Disharmony IMO.
I think other Cubes are experiencing the same problem by the way, because all I see are posters lying to themselves about certain base stat combinations being acceptable as a fallback when there are 1000 unplayed cards that contradict any such thoughts.
I like its base stats for a bunch of different casual formats but Cube is one place I'm unsure of this card. Most of R or W aggro decks lean heavily on one color and lightly on the other. Is this the three drop you want in W/r beats? Will R/w beats have WW to use its ability?
I'm not convinced that R/b is a thing to be honest. I know everyone is raving that black got a ton of souped up Jungle Lions in the last few sets, but I never see any reports of how well Black aggro decks are doing.
One thing worth mentioning is that 3 first strike is much more aggressive at 2 (Porcelain Legionnaire) than 3 -- at 3 a big selling point is that it comes down and blocks immediately. Not sure how that translates to Cube.
I've actually been thinking about trying this guy out too. The only thing that was keeping me off of throwing him in is that he really only works with graveyard strategies.
We are getting a lot of graveyard-focused cards recently though, so maybe he's good enough.
Its an ok card right now that has interested synergies but it seems likely to me that its going to keep getting stronger and eventually it might even be quite good. It should definitely be in consideration above 360.
I think Fleecemane is indeed the right comparison, and Fleecemane just comes out far ahead, IMO.
A 1/1 for 1 is terrible. A 3/3 for 2 is weak but fringe playable; but adding in the requirement to have fed one mana in previously makes it weak. The 4 mana investment to level it up further is enormous and offers little return.
If you hit 6 mana and can protect this guy while that activation is on the stack, his ultimate payoff isn't any bigger than you get from Scute Mob. I expect most games this card is cast, however, it will either trade early, or it will be bolted in response to the 6 mana activation.
My thoughts as well. The only way I see it being a "better" Cube card is if it also slots well into b/g decks making it more "versatile". Personally, I'm not seeing it. Maybe at >= 450 I dunno.
You can't - either you flash the wall in after attackers have been declared in which case you would return a creature to your hand before you block with it (if you want to return one of course), or you flash it in after declare blockers is done in which case you can safe one guy before damage, but the wall can't become a blocker anymore.
Its really annoying because its not intuitive and it almost seems like it was designed to work that way but it doesn't.
the wall is mostly a bad Whitemane Lion as it can't attack and can't return itself, and won't kill anything it blocks...
there are not many situations where a 0/4 defender is better than a bear, really.
May be ok for limited because of block and manifest shenanigans, but not convinced.... could've been a common.
Artifact dude and green dude are nice for limited.
Scroll seems like a pretty bad card.
I really like the Wall but it definitely could/should have been a common
I love the Barricade but I don't think its the best ability set to put on a Wall. Ideally you want to flash in the Wall as a surprise blocker. You would also like to be able to block with a different creature and then return it so that it doesn't die.
Unfortunately you can't do both due to timing.
For a Wall I would rather see an ability like "When this blocks you may return another blocking creature to your hand"
Honestly, if playing heroic there's no compelling reason to play green. UW is clearly superior. Mono white and RW are better too. The only semi worthwhile thing in green is ranger's guile. If you want to build, UW is better. Strictly speaking of pumps, RW is better. Green has barely any advantage over either to try to balance out these factors.
The reason to play green would be Become Immense. Its rather trite to say that green is not your best choice since everyone already knows that. $10 Mono-G is not your best choice either -- but you can play it if you want.
And as far as not getting a good card compared to a draw, how many cards do you cube with, that you draft, include in your deck, probably already use in the game, that aren't land, that are bad? Not many. Especailly since you can delve away the dark rituals and early game chaff you already used. Then if you are still stuck with one bad card, they give it to you and you get gas on the next activation.
That scenario is actually pretty iffy IMO. I like FTF as a set so far but it seems to me some Cube owners are abandoning their discernment. This is an ok card that will show up in some cubes. If it does better than that it will exceed reasonable expectations. Just look at the cards its drawing comparisons to: Tarmogoyf, Tomb Stalker, Hooting Mandrils. If the power level of that list runs right to left this card skews to the right..
I hate when people go against the OP's intent, but it seems like WG heroic might be what you really want. The pump spells would be great with some of the other heros, and that gets you away from the bad creatures. Even RG, as Monastery Swiftspear could be deadly with this much pump.
Satyr Wayfinder helps you get to three lands, fuels Become Immense, and can tap for Gather Courage. I don't know which one drops are best so I listed several. I tend to think Charging Badger is terrible and I don't think Ornithopter is playable.
I'm kind of surprised at how excited everyone is for this card. 1W for a 2/2 lifelink is not even close to cubeable, so we have to evaluate this card based on it's other abilities. Giving your instants and sorceries lifelink is pretty cool, but that means that this is only relevant if you are a WR deck (outside of giving slight value to your Psionic Blast). Most WR decks that get built in our cube are aggressive decks, which value the lifelink a lot less than other types of decks. It does combo very well with Wildfire/Earthquake effects, but in my experience those decks are usually URx or GRx, not WRx.
The last ability seems way too slow to be worth anything in the cube environment. There are already a few ways to get a repeatable Counterspell, and they are all easier to protect than a 2/2. I do like the idea of an infinite Time Walk, but everything about this card seems more like Magical Christmasland than actual good cube stuff.
The abilities are both so unique that they will have to be tested, but I don't have high hopes for this card even in my unpowered 720.
I agree 100%. It is bizarre to me that everyone is claiming the base stats are good because they are terrible in cube. I don't think the other abilities add very much at all. Its not better than Knight of Meadowgrain and it may be objectively better than Lone Missionary but Missionary fills its role better than this card would.
This is better than Knight in almost every way. Its easier to cast, its a human which matters in my cube, and is good on turn 2 and turn 10.
Its better than Meadowgrain in the abstract. In the decks that would use Meadowgrain, the new card isn't better than KoM (equipment). This is largely due to the fact 2/2 lifelink is bad and your analysis of "good on turn 2" is also quite bad.
I'm kind of surprised at how excited everyone is for this card. 1W for a 2/2 lifelink is not even close to cubeable, so we have to evaluate this card based on it's other abilities. Giving your instants and sorceries lifelink is pretty cool, but that means that this is only relevant if you are a WR deck (outside of giving slight value to your Psionic Blast). Most WR decks that get built in our cube are aggressive decks, which value the lifelink a lot less than other types of decks. It does combo very well with Wildfire/Earthquake effects, but in my experience those decks are usually URx or GRx, not WRx.
The last ability seems way too slow to be worth anything in the cube environment. There are already a few ways to get a repeatable Counterspell, and they are all easier to protect than a 2/2. I do like the idea of an infinite Time Walk, but everything about this card seems more like Magical Christmasland than actual good cube stuff.
The abilities are both so unique that they will have to be tested, but I don't have high hopes for this card even in my unpowered 720.
I agree 100%. It is bizarre to me that everyone is claiming the base stats are good because they are terrible in cube. I don't think the other abilities add very much at all. Its not better than Knight of Meadowgrain and it may be objectively better than Lone Missionary but Missionary fills its role better than this card would.
I also don't like Yasova thematically because her ability isn't blue unless you count Ray of Command -- which was a byproduct of heavy blue favoritism at the time. These steal effects should split between Threaten and Disharmony IMO.
I think other Cubes are experiencing the same problem by the way, because all I see are posters lying to themselves about certain base stat combinations being acceptable as a fallback when there are 1000 unplayed cards that contradict any such thoughts.
I'm not convinced that R/b is a thing to be honest. I know everyone is raving that black got a ton of souped up Jungle Lions in the last few sets, but I never see any reports of how well Black aggro decks are doing.
One thing worth mentioning is that 3 first strike is much more aggressive at 2 (Porcelain Legionnaire) than 3 -- at 3 a big selling point is that it comes down and blocks immediately. Not sure how that translates to Cube.
Its an ok card right now that has interested synergies but it seems likely to me that its going to keep getting stronger and eventually it might even be quite good. It should definitely be in consideration above 360.
My thoughts as well. The only way I see it being a "better" Cube card is if it also slots well into b/g decks making it more "versatile". Personally, I'm not seeing it. Maybe at >= 450 I dunno.
Its really annoying because its not intuitive and it almost seems like it was designed to work that way but it doesn't.
I really like the Wall but it definitely could/should have been a common
The insect feels bizarre not having flash
Unfortunately you can't do both due to timing.
For a Wall I would rather see an ability like "When this blocks you may return another blocking creature to your hand"
The reason to play green would be Become Immense. Its rather trite to say that green is not your best choice since everyone already knows that. $10 Mono-G is not your best choice either -- but you can play it if you want.
That scenario is actually pretty iffy IMO. I like FTF as a set so far but it seems to me some Cube owners are abandoning their discernment. This is an ok card that will show up in some cubes. If it does better than that it will exceed reasonable expectations. Just look at the cards its drawing comparisons to: Tarmogoyf, Tomb Stalker, Hooting Mandrils. If the power level of that list runs right to left this card skews to the right..
Other one drops to consider if you go WG heroic:
4 Sunblade Elf
4 Favored Hoplite
4 Lagonna-Band Trailblazer
1 Hero of Leina Tower
1 Sedge Scorpion
4 Swordwise Centaur
4 Heir of the Wilds
4 Temur Charger
3 Satyr Wayfinder
4 Titanic Growth
4 Gather Courage
4 Become Immense
4 Ranger's Guile
Satyr Wayfinder helps you get to three lands, fuels Become Immense, and can tap for Gather Courage. I don't know which one drops are best so I listed several. I tend to think Charging Badger is terrible and I don't think Ornithopter is playable.
Its better than Meadowgrain in the abstract. In the decks that would use Meadowgrain, the new card isn't better than KoM (equipment). This is largely due to the fact 2/2 lifelink is bad and your analysis of "good on turn 2" is also quite bad.
I agree 100%. It is bizarre to me that everyone is claiming the base stats are good because they are terrible in cube. I don't think the other abilities add very much at all. Its not better than Knight of Meadowgrain and it may be objectively better than Lone Missionary but Missionary fills its role better than this card would.