I am also looking into cheap green creatures: two power for one mana is the gold standard. Pouncing Jaguar, Wild Dogs, Mtenda Lion, Jungle Lion. I am very curious for suggestions and thoughts.
Popeclone suggested you remove Gelectrode and add Tim.
Um, something about Battlemages being subpar and add artifact destruction. (Deglamer, Desertion maybe?)
Briarhorn does look good. And I think I would run seal of primordium a long time before I would add deglamer. I do not want them to have a chance to draw that Sofie or Jitte again, and with only 40 card decks, that is a scary thing. Desertion is another power card - reminds me of bribery which I believe you crushed me with recently.
Also, cards I am going to try to squeeze in to lower the cost curve:
Ravenous Rats
Cloud of Fairies
I like those cards a lot. Great choices. But what to cut? (Somnophore, Rainbow Efreet, Mesmeric Fiend?)
Quote from wamyc »
I am also looking into cheap green creatures: two power for one mana is the gold standard. Pouncing Jaguar, Wild Dogs, Mtenda Lion, Jungle Lion. I am very curious for suggestions and thoughts.
Briarhorn does look good. And I think I would run seal of primordium a long time before I would add deglamer. I do not want them to have a chance to draw that Sofie or Jitte again, and with only 40 card decks, that is a scary thing. Desertion is another power card - reminds me of bribery which I believe you crushed me with recently.
Yeah, good point. There isn't even Art and ENC reanimation/regrowth to make Deglamer worthwhile. I like Dessertion as a blue artifact destruction spell, but being blue of course it's better than simple destruction. You hate Sofie and Jitte? Well, why not steal it when you counter?
Yeah, tattermunge maniac is amazing - in fact I'm convinced it has a place in the cube if I can find some cuts to make. The slasher is also good, though I'm not as sold. However, I don't own either card, which is why I'm curious about the four cards I mentioned to see what you think of them.
Pouncing Jaguar Wild Dogs Mtenda Lion Jungle Lion
I think I like Jungle lion best since the blocking is usually the most negligable of all the drawbacks. Wild dogs has a serious drawback, but given the cycling and the fact that you can really go to town with it aggressively, it also appeals to me. Mtenda Lion seems bad if only because blue is so prevalant in the cube. The Jaguar is also good, but not great of I want to emphasize other cheap cards, like two drops. (which I do.)
Also, if I can avoid it, I want to not cut mesmeric fiend when I put the rats in. I would like to have both in not only for a nice reliable slot at two mana in black, but both cards are actually very good - though I admit the rats shine in a very wierd and unexpected way. I also am using the rats and CoF to lower the cost a little so I'd like to cut fat in their places.
EDIT: Vexing Shusher is also really hot, but again I don't own one. Perhaps some pre-Lorwyn suggestions?
Agreed fully, the non-blocking almost never comes into play. Wild Dogs has the flexibility of cycling and likely won't be cycled unless against uberaggro.dec or with burn. Mtenda Lion just gives the (arguably) strongest color in the cube an easy out to one of your creatures and Pouncing Jaguar is a Grizzly Bear that you pay in installments with haste. Not a fan.
Pouncing jaguar got unfurtunatly booted out of my cube with all the good G drops we got in Shadowmoor, lorwyn and Shards. Unfortunatly beacause its really a very nice card
I would also like to fit in Annul and I am not sure about keeping capsize, though I am less sure of those two. Skeletal Scrying also tempts me to put it in, and as you can see, I don't know what to replace Isochron Scepter with.
You really want to cut the Momentary Blink? That card is just so awesome and flexible, i think of it as a musthave.
It looks good on paper. But in practice no one wants to spend a precious slot in the 23 cards on a defensive card in a flashback color no one plays. My cube does not work well in U/ - the combination just doesn't work well. It really isn't versatile at all. All it does is protect a creature of yours (or untap it). A good, even great card, but the standards of the cube are higher than that. (esp because there aren't that many creatures with 187 abilities)
I am so happy with these choices. Can I ask, was your brain sucked out of your head and replaced with a cloned version of mine?
I'll go ahead and take that in the best possible way...
I guess you should take this to mean that I have actually really been listening to the things you and popeclone have been saying about what you think of the cards in the cube.
I mean, I do actually agree with some of the same principles of the direction the cube needs to go. Cheaper, more consistent, easier to cast, less bomby in some cards and more brown-looking. Irwin's cube (a strong influence in making this cube) was a good place to start, but man does he ever have a strong ass bias for Timmy fat. Huge things are just everywhere and the idea of splashability, playabilty and reliability doesn't seem to occur to him. It is a long road to get it more playable from his cube to mine in the present.
I still have to say I'm not 100% sure on all of these choices. I do want to make sure that the cards that haven't seen play are not just getting ignored for a bad reason. The trade I am least sure of is serra avenger into aven riftwatcher. On the one hand, the riftwatcher is a +4/-4 life swing that's splashable. However, avenger is a cheap midgame beater to give some teeth to weenie archetypes. I'm a little annoyed by the fact that you lose the riftwatcher nomatter what.
Plus, what do you think of bloodrock cyclops? Some little voice in my head is telling me there has to be something much better than this. Though I don't know what.... (fanatic and pup aside, natch... )
EDIT: Now I am doubting Angel of Despair as well. It is a very good card, but the cumbersome cost just can't be ignored. Isn't there just a ton of stuff we would rather have in that place? Vindicate, unmake, whatever...
This is the third update. I will modify the first three posts when I get back from playing.
Okay, so here's a little about the thoughs behind this major update. The cube is dominated by Artifacts and Blue, so a lot of artifact hosers were put in and a bevy of options for cheaper and more agressive creatures. Hopefully this will give aggro a chance. Also, LD sees a small bump into green.
Another goal was to take out the underperformers and just make the cube cheaper overall with a better curve. A curve is very important to aggro and so a lot of "impressive" cards made way for solid beaters like the lions and the guildmages. Then there were just some cards that never saw play. It was probably a combination of factors but still, why leave dead cards in the cube? So some cards just got taken out because they were too eccentric, unknown, or generally belonged in another environment. (Hi there, momentary blink!)
Interesting updates. IMO, you replaced a lot of good cards with cards that aren't as good. I mean, it's your Cube and you can do what you want, but I find many of these choices questionable. The ones that really boggle my mind:
These just don't make sense to me. I mean, you probably should run Disenchant but you should also run the Blink. I recently took out Cancel and put Hinder in.
In a Cube with alot of shuffle effects and tutor effects, i can understand cancel vs hinder choice. But for everything else, i totally agree with rantipole.
Interesting updates. IMO, you replaced a lot of good cards with cards that aren't as good. I mean, it's your Cube and you can do what you want, but I find many of these choices questionable. The ones that really boggle my mind:
These just don't make sense to me. I mean, you probably should run Disenchant but you should also run the Blink. I recently took out Cancel and put Hinder in.
Cheers,
rant
I agree that not all of the choices up there are of the same amount of obviousness or even would work for every cube or playgroup. Cancel I prefer over hinder because frankly the danger of redrawing the card.... actually I think I just forgot that hinder doesn't shuffle it into your library. That will be removed momentarily. I must have gotten caught up in how much better the art is for Cancel than hinder. (you suck, Kamigawa!)
Gruul guildmage I do defend as better. It's about a thousand times more likely to hit the table. /story But actually, the hybrid really helps and it's a lot cheaper with no gating cost prerequisate. All of the guildmages are part of an effort to help smooth out aggro options against a blue control hegemony in the cube. When game after game comes down to counterspells winning and aggro not having any real options, something has to be done.
Caller of the claw I think was an okay card, but again, too slow, and because of this it never saw play. Aggro really needs a shot in the arm in the form of actual cheap beaters in playable numbers. Caller of the claw is a reactive card at three mana - and yes, it does help out weenie, but it was more important to actually get the weeniecards in there to start with. This is a very small cube, so that does mean some tough choices.
Burning-tree shaman was just not appealing and not considered breakable by my play group. It isn't that impressive of a body for the cost (1GR for a 3/4) and there just weren't any situations where there was something people really wanted to shut down. On the other hand, LD is really powerful and wrecks games, plus it hits artifacts, which are a MAJOR pain in the cube, and it can't be countered. This card encapsulates all of the goals of this update: it hoses blue control and artifacts, enforces LD, is in the aggro colors needing the most help.
It may seem wierd, but U/W doesn't get a lot of play in my group. Perhaps it should. Even so, it's a small cube and I can't afford blink and adarkar valkyrie to play around with CIP effects and reset buttons. The card is entirely reactive and relies on tricks that end up being far too weak relative to the level of the threats. Plus disenchant will see play if for no reason other than card recognition. It does pain me to think that plays a part in what gets played, but in my group it does. And I'm not all that bothered because artifacts do win games, after all, and stopping them is important and crucial in a way that stopping a bad block or removal spell just isn't as crucial.
ALSO: The third update has been updated with more cards. (13 more, I think!)
I'm not going to argue either way for most of these changes (though I do support Gruul Guildmage over Shivan Wurm) since you're still experimenting. One card I cannot possibly see justification for cutting though is Skeletal Vampire. There is no reason to remove him, especially for Fallen Askari. I understand you want to implement an aggro element, but Vampire is one of the premier finishers you can have. It's just a tiny notch below Kokusho, Meloku, and Keiga in power, but still better than like 90% of the other creatures in Cube.
Gruul guildmage I do defend as better. It's about a thousand times more likely to hit the table. /story But actually, the hybrid really helps and it's a lot cheaper with no gating cost prerequisate. All of the guildmages are part of an effort to help smooth out aggro options against a blue control hegemony in the cube. When game after game comes down to counterspells winning and aggro not having any real options, something has to be done.
I don't view gating as a cost; I view it as a benefit. It allows you to reuse brutal comes into play effects (much like Blink does, which is why I would never cut it from my cube). Think about the G/R critters that just brutal to recur: Avalanche Riders, Viridian Shaman, Flametongue Kavu, Murderous Redcap, Deranged Hermit, Keldon Champion, etc. There are times when Shivan Wurm will be topdecked and that sucks, but most of the time the undercosted wurm is full of win. While you need low-CC critters for weenie to operate, it should not be at the cost of other really good cards. I will admit the Wurm is not in my Cube, but he's right on the border and may eventually replace Savage Twister, Hull Breach, or Tattermunge Maniac.
Caller of the claw I think was an okay card, but again, too slow, and because of this it never saw play. Aggro really needs a shot in the arm in the form of actual cheap beaters in playable numbers. Caller of the claw is a reactive card at three mana - and yes, it does help out weenie, but it was more important to actually get the weeniecards in there to start with. This is a very small cube, so that does mean some tough choices.
Caller helps alleviate one of the biggest weaknesses weenie has--mass removal. It is totally solid and I just fail to see how Wild Dogs is better. Jungle Lion is terrific; no argument there.
And I agree with Dark that Skeletal Vampire is one of the best creatures of his casting cost.
What if you have a mana Elf in play ?
You play the wurm using the Elf, bounce the elf, and play the elf again.
so you get a 7/7 trampler and an Elf for 4RG Shivan Wurm will, once I get a copy of it, be in my cube. There are many more creature he didn't mention like Keldon Marauders (which will still deal a damage when it leaves play), Carven Caryatid, Wall of Blossoms, Eternal Witness, refilling a Spiketype creature, perhaps even Loxodon Hierarch or Aven Riftwatcher if the Wurm is just a splash (or the other cards are) .. Worst case, you just have to recast a creature, in which case you get a 7/7 trampler for 5 with some echo cost. That's very fine with me.
Worst case, you just have to recast a creature, in which case you get a 7/7 trampler for 5 with some echo cost. That's very fine with me.
Isn't worse case that the Wurm sits in your hand useless as you wait to topdeck a green or red creature in order to play it?
I am anti-Wurm. Maybe in a cube that was only Allied colors or had more cards, like a 12 man cube. But I want to be able to play all my spells all the time.
OK, the Riders and Hermit weren't the best examples--I was just trying to list critters with good comes-into-play effects. That said, I have used the Wurm to return Riders after my opponent played a Volrath's Stronghold. This was a nonCube game, but still.
I found the Guildmage to be really underwhelming in my Cube. His effects cost too much mana. There are many other 2/2 for 2 I'd rather have if I was in RG.
I found the Guildmage to be really underwhelming in my Cube. His effects cost too much mana. There are many other 2/2 for 2 I'd rather have if I was in RG.
I remember it was underwhelming even in limited at its time.
Guildmage has been solid for me. Red is lacking in solid two-drops, so you need men to fill your aggressive curves. A 2/2 for 2 with a semi-relevant ability such as Guildmage (or say, Stigma Lasher) often makes the cut based on that fact alone. You can't always get the Blood Knight or Slith Firewalker, so redundancy is needed for aggressive decks to compete.
That said I do feel fine waiting on foils form new sets though I do try and pick them up fairly quickly.
My secondary "cube".
Really out of date cube thread with pictures.
Popeclone suggested you remove Gelectrode and add Tim.
Um, something about Battlemages being subpar and add artifact destruction. (Deglamer, Desertion maybe?)
Also, cards I am going to try to squeeze in to lower the cost curve:
ravenous rats
cloud of fairies
I am also looking into cheap green creatures: two power for one mana is the gold standard. Pouncing Jaguar, Wild Dogs, Mtenda Lion, Jungle Lion. I am very curious for suggestions and thoughts.
Briarhorn does look good. And I think I would run seal of primordium a long time before I would add deglamer. I do not want them to have a chance to draw that Sofie or Jitte again, and with only 40 card decks, that is a scary thing. Desertion is another power card - reminds me of bribery which I believe you crushed me with recently.
QFT
Boggart Ram-Gang (Seems obvious given how much you like the name)
Tattermunge Maniac
Vexing Shusher (anti counter tech AND a 2/2 for 2.)
Wort, the Raidmother (there aren't a lot of green instants and sorceries, but a ton of red ones in the Cube.)
I like those cards a lot. Great choices. But what to cut? (Somnophore, Rainbow Efreet, Mesmeric Fiend?)
Tattermunge Manic (again)
Twinblade Slasher (which I hoping Wither and pump will make acceptable even though it's less than 2 power.)
Yeah, good point. There isn't even Art and ENC reanimation/regrowth to make Deglamer worthwhile. I like Dessertion as a blue artifact destruction spell, but being blue of course it's better than simple destruction. You hate Sofie and Jitte? Well, why not steal it when you counter?
Pouncing Jaguar
Wild Dogs
Mtenda Lion
Jungle Lion
I think I like Jungle lion best since the blocking is usually the most negligable of all the drawbacks. Wild dogs has a serious drawback, but given the cycling and the fact that you can really go to town with it aggressively, it also appeals to me. Mtenda Lion seems bad if only because blue is so prevalant in the cube. The Jaguar is also good, but not great of I want to emphasize other cheap cards, like two drops. (which I do.)
Also, if I can avoid it, I want to not cut mesmeric fiend when I put the rats in. I would like to have both in not only for a nice reliable slot at two mana in black, but both cards are actually very good - though I admit the rats shine in a very wierd and unexpected way. I also am using the rats and CoF to lower the cost a little so I'd like to cut fat in their places.
EDIT: Vexing Shusher is also really hot, but again I don't own one. Perhaps some pre-Lorwyn suggestions?
Agreed fully, the non-blocking almost never comes into play. Wild Dogs has the flexibility of cycling and likely won't be cycled unless against uberaggro.dec or with burn. Mtenda Lion just gives the (arguably) strongest color in the cube an easy out to one of your creatures and Pouncing Jaguar is a Grizzly Bear that you pay in installments with haste. Not a fan.
I used to write cube articles on StarCityGames, now for GatheringMagic and podcast about cube (w/Antknee42.)
Other 2 power for 1 mana in green are :
So far, only Nettle Sentinel is in my cube. and I think that Elite > Nacatl here
"Everybody dies, Tracey. Someone's carrying a bullet for you right now, doesn't even know it. The trick is to die of old age before it finds you."
My
540> 360 Powered CubeI will probably make the following replacements:
sunscape battlemage --replaced by-- blade of the sixth pride
momentary blink --replaced by-- disenchant
Magus of the Disk --replaced by-- Celestial Crusader
Serra Avenger --replaced by-- Aven Riftwatcher
Guardian of the guildpact --replaced by-- Devout Witness
Voice of All --replaced by-- Soltari Champion
Mageta the Lion --replaced by-- Tarrif
Knight of the Holy Nimbus --replaced by-- Icatian Javelineer
Hinder --replaced by-- Cancel
Delay --replaced by-- gush
rushing river --replaced by-- frantic search
plague sliver --replaced by-- ravenous rats
Grim Harvest --replaced by-- Death denied
Soul Collector --replaced by-- Magus of the Abyss
Helldozer --replaced by-- Braids, Cabal Minion
torchling --replaced by-- viashino heretic
thunderscape battlemage --replaced by-- bloodrock cyclops
caller of the claw --replaced by-- wild dogs
thornscape battlemage --replaced by-- jungle lion
defense of the heart --replaced by-- ice storm
:symgw::symbu::symrb:
Shivan Wurm --replaced by-- Wreak Havok
Lightning Angel --replaced by-- rise/fall
Goblin Legionairre --replaced by-- Brion Stoutarm
Ith, High Arcanist --replaced by-- Minister of Impediments
Burning Tree Shaman --replaced by-- hit/run
1
Isochron Scepter --replaced by-- I have no idea
Tatsumasa, the dragon fang --replaced by-- Aeolipile
I would also like to fit in Annul and I am not sure about keeping capsize, though I am less sure of those two. Skeletal Scrying also tempts me to put it in, and as you can see, I don't know what to replace Isochron Scepter with.
.
.
.
thoughts?
It looks good on paper. But in practice no one wants to spend a precious slot in the 23 cards on a defensive card in a flashback color no one plays. My cube does not work well in U/ - the combination just doesn't work well. It really isn't versatile at all. All it does is protect a creature of yours (or untap it). A good, even great card, but the standards of the cube are higher than that. (esp because there aren't that many creatures with 187 abilities)
Disenchant, on the other hand - is always going to be a life-saver. I can't tell you how many games are just flat out lost because of some damn broken artifact cards. Sword of Fire and Ice, Umezawa's Jitte, Tangle Wire, Smoke Stack, and the list goes on.
Perhaps I can put in Loxodon Warhammer in place of Isochron Scepter.
I'll go ahead and take that in the best possible way...
I guess you should take this to mean that I have actually really been listening to the things you and popeclone have been saying about what you think of the cards in the cube.
I mean, I do actually agree with some of the same principles of the direction the cube needs to go. Cheaper, more consistent, easier to cast, less bomby in some cards and more brown-looking. Irwin's cube (a strong influence in making this cube) was a good place to start, but man does he ever have a strong ass bias for Timmy fat. Huge things are just everywhere and the idea of splashability, playabilty and reliability doesn't seem to occur to him. It is a long road to get it more playable from his cube to mine in the present.
I still have to say I'm not 100% sure on all of these choices. I do want to make sure that the cards that haven't seen play are not just getting ignored for a bad reason. The trade I am least sure of is serra avenger into aven riftwatcher. On the one hand, the riftwatcher is a +4/-4 life swing that's splashable. However, avenger is a cheap midgame beater to give some teeth to weenie archetypes. I'm a little annoyed by the fact that you lose the riftwatcher nomatter what.
Plus, what do you think of bloodrock cyclops? Some little voice in my head is telling me there has to be something much better than this. Though I don't know what.... (fanatic and pup aside, natch... )
EDIT: Now I am doubting Angel of Despair as well. It is a very good card, but the cumbersome cost just can't be ignored. Isn't there just a ton of stuff we would rather have in that place? Vindicate, unmake, whatever...
Okay, so here's a little about the thoughs behind this major update. The cube is dominated by Artifacts and Blue, so a lot of artifact hosers were put in and a bevy of options for cheaper and more agressive creatures. Hopefully this will give aggro a chance. Also, LD sees a small bump into green.
Another goal was to take out the underperformers and just make the cube cheaper overall with a better curve. A curve is very important to aggro and so a lot of "impressive" cards made way for solid beaters like the lions and the guildmages. Then there were just some cards that never saw play. It was probably a combination of factors but still, why leave dead cards in the cube? So some cards just got taken out because they were too eccentric, unknown, or generally belonged in another environment. (Hi there, momentary blink!)
Sunscape battlemage --replaced by-- Blade of the Sixth Pride
Momentary blink --replaced by-- Disenchant
Magus of the Disk --replaced by-- Celestial Crusader
Guardian of the guildpact --replaced by-- Devout Witness
Voice of All --replaced by-- Soltari Champion
Mageta the Lion --replaced by-- Tariff
Knight of the Holy Nimbus --replaced by-- Icatian Javelineer
Resurrection --replaced by-- Breath of life
Stonecloaker --replaced by-- Aven Riftwatcher
Arrest --replaced by-- Pacifism
Delay --replaced by-- gush
rushing river --replaced by-- frantic search
Somnophore --replaced by-- Riptide Survivor
Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir --replaced by-- Spiketail Hatchling
plague sliver --replaced by-- ravenous rats
Grim Harvest --replaced by-- Death denied
Soul Collector --replaced by-- Magus of the Abyss
Helldozer --replaced by-- Braids, Cabal Minion
Skeletal Vampire --replaced by-- Fallen Askari
torchling --replaced by-- viashino heretic
thunderscape battlemage --replaced by-- bloodrock cyclops
Aftershock --replaced by-- rift bolt
caller of the claw --replaced by-- wild dogs
thornscape battlemage --replaced by-- jungle lion
defense of the heart --replaced by-- ice storm
Constant Mists --replaced by-- Creeping Mold
:symgw::symbu::symrb:
Shivan Wurm --replaced by-- Gruul Guildmage
Lightning Angel --replaced by-- Crime/Punishment
Goblin Legionairre --replaced by-- Brion Stoutarm
Ith, High Arcanist --replaced by-- Minister of Impediments
Burning Tree Shaman --replaced by-- Wreak Havok
Voidslime --replaced by-- Dimir Guildmage
1
Tatsumasa, the dragon fang --replaced by-- Aeolipile
The five talismans
--replaced by-- Mind Stone, Spectral Searchlight, Wayfarer's Bauble, Chromatic Star, and Triskelion.
Platinum Angel --replaced by-- Triskelavus
Damping Matrix --replaced by-- Cullng Scales
Isochron Scepter --replaced by-- Manriki-Gusari
The Rack --replaced by-- Grafted Wargear
Soul Foundry --replaced by-- Jester's Cap
Hinder replaced by Cancel
Shivan Wurm replaced by Gruul Guildmage
Caller of the Claw replaced by Wild Dogs
Burning-Tree Shaman replaced by Wreak Havoc
Momentary Blink replaced by Disenchant
These just don't make sense to me. I mean, you probably should run Disenchant but you should also run the Blink. I recently took out Cancel and put Hinder in.
Cheers,
rant
My Cube
CubeCobra: https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/5f5d0310ed602310515d4c32
Cube Tutor: http://cubetutor.com/viewcube/1963
I agree that not all of the choices up there are of the same amount of obviousness or even would work for every cube or playgroup. Cancel I prefer over hinder because frankly the danger of redrawing the card.... actually I think I just forgot that hinder doesn't shuffle it into your library. That will be removed momentarily. I must have gotten caught up in how much better the art is for Cancel than hinder. (you suck, Kamigawa!)
Gruul guildmage I do defend as better. It's about a thousand times more likely to hit the table. /story But actually, the hybrid really helps and it's a lot cheaper with no gating cost prerequisate. All of the guildmages are part of an effort to help smooth out aggro options against a blue control hegemony in the cube. When game after game comes down to counterspells winning and aggro not having any real options, something has to be done.
Caller of the claw I think was an okay card, but again, too slow, and because of this it never saw play. Aggro really needs a shot in the arm in the form of actual cheap beaters in playable numbers. Caller of the claw is a reactive card at three mana - and yes, it does help out weenie, but it was more important to actually get the weenie cards in there to start with. This is a very small cube, so that does mean some tough choices.
Burning-tree shaman was just not appealing and not considered breakable by my play group. It isn't that impressive of a body for the cost (1GR for a 3/4) and there just weren't any situations where there was something people really wanted to shut down. On the other hand, LD is really powerful and wrecks games, plus it hits artifacts, which are a MAJOR pain in the cube, and it can't be countered. This card encapsulates all of the goals of this update: it hoses blue control and artifacts, enforces LD, is in the aggro colors needing the most help.
It may seem wierd, but U/W doesn't get a lot of play in my group. Perhaps it should. Even so, it's a small cube and I can't afford blink and adarkar valkyrie to play around with CIP effects and reset buttons. The card is entirely reactive and relies on tricks that end up being far too weak relative to the level of the threats. Plus disenchant will see play if for no reason other than card recognition. It does pain me to think that plays a part in what gets played, but in my group it does. And I'm not all that bothered because artifacts do win games, after all, and stopping them is important and crucial in a way that stopping a bad block or removal spell just isn't as crucial.
ALSO: The third update has been updated with more cards. (13 more, I think!)
(list not current)
My Cube Google Docs Spreadsheet: https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AibgWfz0ukmOdDNhOHlucjcxUi1wVy00NDhLbDUtUlE&hl=en_US#gid=8
(list is always current)
I don't view gating as a cost; I view it as a benefit. It allows you to reuse brutal comes into play effects (much like Blink does, which is why I would never cut it from my cube). Think about the G/R critters that just brutal to recur: Avalanche Riders, Viridian Shaman, Flametongue Kavu, Murderous Redcap, Deranged Hermit, Keldon Champion, etc. There are times when Shivan Wurm will be topdecked and that sucks, but most of the time the undercosted wurm is full of win. While you need low-CC critters for weenie to operate, it should not be at the cost of other really good cards. I will admit the Wurm is not in my Cube, but he's right on the border and may eventually replace Savage Twister, Hull Breach, or Tattermunge Maniac.
Caller helps alleviate one of the biggest weaknesses weenie has--mass removal. It is totally solid and I just fail to see how Wild Dogs is better. Jungle Lion is terrific; no argument there.
And I agree with Dark that Skeletal Vampire is one of the best creatures of his casting cost.
Cheers,
rant
My Cube
CubeCobra: https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/5f5d0310ed602310515d4c32
Cube Tutor: http://cubetutor.com/viewcube/1963
You play the wurm using the Elf, bounce the elf, and play the elf again.
so you get a 7/7 trampler and an Elf for 4RG
Shivan Wurm will, once I get a copy of it, be in my cube. There are many more creature he didn't mention like Keldon Marauders (which will still deal a damage when it leaves play), Carven Caryatid, Wall of Blossoms, Eternal Witness, refilling a Spiketype creature, perhaps even Loxodon Hierarch or Aven Riftwatcher if the Wurm is just a splash (or the other cards are) .. Worst case, you just have to recast a creature, in which case you get a 7/7 trampler for 5 with some echo cost. That's very fine with me.
"Everybody dies, Tracey. Someone's carrying a bullet for you right now, doesn't even know it. The trick is to die of old age before it finds you."
My
540> 360 Powered CubeIsn't worse case that the Wurm sits in your hand useless as you wait to topdeck a green or red creature in order to play it?
I am anti-Wurm. Maybe in a cube that was only Allied colors or had more cards, like a 12 man cube. But I want to be able to play all my spells all the time.
but hey, I'm just saying I would always play it. I'm not saying you should.
"Everybody dies, Tracey. Someone's carrying a bullet for you right now, doesn't even know it. The trick is to die of old age before it finds you."
My
540> 360 Powered CubeI found the Guildmage to be really underwhelming in my Cube. His effects cost too much mana. There are many other 2/2 for 2 I'd rather have if I was in RG.
Cheers,
rant
My Cube
CubeCobra: https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/5f5d0310ed602310515d4c32
Cube Tutor: http://cubetutor.com/viewcube/1963
I remember it was underwhelming even in limited at its time.
The list on cube cobra
Read my blog on cube - Latest post June 2nd 2022
(list not current)
My Cube Google Docs Spreadsheet: https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AibgWfz0ukmOdDNhOHlucjcxUi1wVy00NDhLbDUtUlE&hl=en_US#gid=8
(list is always current)