This is my 6th installment of the "top 20" set preview articles.
Just like the previous review, it will be in a spoiled top 20 countdown format, with each section having an image, a brief summary/description, and my verdict on what cubes I think it could potentially see some play in.
Disclaimer: Keep in mind (just like the others) that this is a set preview. Similar to draft predictions in professional sports, this list is an educated guess at best. Some cards I value highly in here may turn out to not last long in the cube. Other cards that are lower down on the list (or even missed entirely) could (well, very likely may) turn out to be great cards. Even Tom Brady was drafted in the 6th round! Again, this is not intended to be gospel, set in stone or written as a review for posterity. This is simply written to be an enjoyable guess at cards I like for cubes, and hopefully it'll allow some cube managers to evaluate cards they may have otherwise overlooked and/or put some cards in perspective that may've been overhyped. Nothing more.
This isn't a great removal spell for typical cube lists, but I wanted to discuss it because it has potential for common-only cubes. It has its pros and cons in comparison to typical Edict effects; it can't remove creatures that aren't attacking or blocking, but it can be more precise in the creatures it kills. It won't clip their Noble Hierarch when they're swinging with a lone Baneslayer Angel, for example. I think the card could've been very interesting if it were printed at 1W, but the double-cost kills it.
Verdict: I think the spell is pretty rough, but it may be acceptable for common-only cubes.
Most smaller cubes have all the recursive threats they need to enable Pox/Stax archetypes in the cube. However, the quality/quantity of these kinds of cards wanes in larger lists. For cubes interested in supporting these decks that are too large to have the proper concentration of recursive engine cards (and black 1-drops) might find some value in this guy. Adding "upkeep 1B" to Braids, Smokestack and their ilk (in addition to the ol' 2B: draw 2 cards with Skullclamp) might be intriguing.
Verdict: Large (720+) cubes that are looking for more engine bodies for Stax builds might - might - get value from this critter.
Note, this guy isn't good. Now that that's out of the way, I wanted to discuss him in the article to bring up a positive outlook for future red cards and their ability to loot. This is as close to a red Looter il-Kor that we'll see for quite some time, but perhaps a RR version of this guy could be printed in the future. Some cubes like to enable Madness and Reanimator in their BR/x decks, and this guy is a repeatable source of discarding for red with some built-in evasion.
Verdict: Unless you're actively supporting a Madness theme (I know some cubes do) and a lot of R/x graveyard based decks, this simply won't see play in cubes. However, players that do play those decks might be looking for more enablers, even with a subpar power/cost ratio.
Wow, why couldn't this trigger itself! Most red 4-drops are engineered to function as aggressive curve-toppers. But cubes that are looking for future investments may really take to this guy. Pretty much any creature in the cube that falls after this guy in the curve becomes insane when he's on the board (Hermit, Siege-Gang, Titans, etc). Army-in-a-can type cards are just bonkers with him in play (game-ending, very likely) and in addition to that, he adds a lot more value to your cheap creatures when they're topdecked in the late game than most other 4-drops do. Is he spectacular? No. But red aggressive midrange decks that are looking for alternatives outside of the red land-destruction-on-a-stick that usually fills up the remaining slots for 4cc red creatures might find some help here.
Verdict: Larger cubes that play red as both an aggressive color and like to play more midrangey type decks could see this guy landing in their lists. My guess is 720+, if at all.
Big cubes have no shortage of 5-drops that support the token/anthem subtheme that's commonly found in white. But this creature both provides an effect for that deck and as a general control finisher (thanks lifelink!). Most white 5-drops are filled to the brim with the army-in-a-can types of cards and thus are full, but large cubes might enjoy the flexibility of working in those decks and having an evasive lifelinking finisher all rolled-up into one.
Verdict: Not great, but depending on the composition of your cube, this could see play in the 720-810 range, depending on the number of 5cc creatures you're willing to run, and the depth of the token/anthem archetype in your cube list.
A 3-power first striker for 3 in red isn't a bad deal, and this creature comes with some legitimate hate strapped to it. A very damaging card to resolve against blue-based control decks, this can help combat that deck if it's overpowered in your cube. But like most other color-specific hate cards, this won't make too many cube lists. If you're opponent is playing a reactive blue deck, it'll be insane. If they're not, it won't do much for you other than being a generic beater. I think red's current suite of 3-drops is stacked with value creatures, which makes this a tough sell.
Verdict: Large cubes run out of great 3cc red creatures (although the list of red 3cc spells is pretty deep). This could certainly make the cut for folks that like hate cards, and may be good enough on its own otherwise. I could see 720-810 cubes experimenting with him, and even some 630 sized cubes might try him out (especially if blue control is a tough and commonly dominating deck for your group).
Similarly to the creature above, we have another 3-power creature with a relevant ability that has some built-in color hate. The difference (for me) is that the ability (evasion) is more relevant, the creature type is more relevant, and even if you whiff with the ability, you're still getting some value from the free information. Against WG, this creature will be great value. Against your other matchups, it'll be okay. This card has its pros and cons against things like Liliana's Specter and Undead Gladiator; sometimes being better, other times worse.
Verdict: This is a solid hate creature, and it's decent value on its own. But black's 3-drop suite isn't short on 3-cost 3-power guys, and there's also a suite of discard creatures and ones with evasion. Because of that, it's basically just going to boil down to preference, and will be a likely candidate for cube managers with 630+ card cubes.
Another 3cc hate creature in the same relative area of the spoiler? How unpredictable! What I like about this guy is that he has two abilities that are relevant all of the time, plus the built-in hate. First strike and lifelink are two good abilities, and the pseudo-protections will be randomly relevant. This guy is an interesting hybrid between Paladin en-Vec and Knight of Meadowgrain, and I think the lifelink puts it ahead of the previous Paladin card. But are the removal-spell protections worth a 50% increase in cost over the Knight? I don't think so.
Verdict: Lifelink is a powerful and popular ability, and this guy has sweet art. Because of those factors, I think he'll perhaps see more play than he truly deserves, but I could see a legitimate inclusion for folks in the 630+ range that want another Knight of Meadowgrain variant.
I tested this guy in my cube after he was spoiled and was left wanting. Cubes don't want to overdo the double-color 2-drops, and he fails to compete (in a big way) against Rofellos and Strangleroot Geist. Because of that, I don't value him as highly as some others might. A 3/3 for 2 mana is pretty good, but in the end, my green decks wanted more utility from their 2-drops and the GG cost was a huge bummer.
Verdict: 630+ cubes that actively support a green stompy archetype in their lists might very well enjoy this guy. Boring, but solid.
This is my favorite of the color-hate cycle of creatures from M14. If for no other reason than that the 3/3 hexproof is a better deck on its own than what the other creatures bring to the table. It hoses blue and black instants (again, hating on blue-based control in your cube if that's a priority) but the hate is largely irrelevant because it only triggers on cards played on your turn (compared to the red guy). The closest comparison is probably Troll Ascetic, which is a creature I like. But it loses a more universal regeneration ability for an extra toughness and some color hate. I prefer the regen, but others may like this guy more.
Verdict: A lot of medium-large size cube managers complain about the depth of the green 3-drop creature slot, and this will help with that. After a T1 mana dork, this is a fine play. 630+ would be my best guess.
A new Fiend Hunter variant so close to the printing of the first one. This guy trades a toughness and the blink/bounce abusiveness for an extra power. Relevant for decks turning their creatures sideways, but worse for control and archetype-based play. I think he's a solid creature, and I like the ability to lock out opponent's threats to provide tempo swings. Certainly nothing spectacular, but big cubes need 3-drops, and this is a solid one.
Verdict: Perhaps nothing more than a placeholder, but the effect is strong and I expect it to be tested out in quite a few lists. It's not for me, but if I were playing a 630-720 card cube, I might be interested in the effect over some of the other 3cc creature options.
Well, this guy was a bit of a disappointment, but still better than most people think. Green doesn't have a deep suite of good 6cc cards, and creature-heavy midrange ramp decks will get a lot of value from this 'walker. The {+} ability pretty much just draws 2 cards (which are guaranteed to be threats). The {-} ability works well after the first ability so you can hardcast a threat and cheat a threat in the same turn. However, he costs 6 mana, and that's simply too much mana for a draw engine in the cube. Perhaps cubes that play things like Progenitus and Worldspine Wurm will find him to be more valuable than those that only run the typical top-end ramp targets in green. He needed to cost 5, or cheat any color creature (instead of just green ones) for me to consider him for my list.
Verdict: I think it's a solid 'walker for 630 at face value. And depending on the cube compositions, he could see play in 540 and perhaps all the way down to 450 in some cases.
This is a Rotlung Reanimator that triggers with a more relevant creature type ...and that's pretty much it. However, Rotlung isn't a terrible card as it stands. It has a nice 2B cost, and gets 4 power and 2 threats for the investment. The decks that want the effect the most (Pox/Stax based play) unfortunately don't run a ton of human creatures however. So it'll essentially be a Rotlung for the decks that want it most, but be able to randomly provide lots of extra value in general "goodstuff" B/xx decks.
Verdict: A solid creature all around. I'd include it at 630 for sure, and it could crack its way into some 540 lists for an extended stay.
This card can vary from super broken to a wasted investment pretty easily. For 4 mana, you get a 4-power beater with deathtouch that has a must block clause attached to it. Connecting once with this guy will give you an awesome "Sword of Famine and Diregraf" trigger, and will likely turn the tides of the game. Plus, he's a zombie. I think he's worth testing out to see how often you can get him to connect in a removal-heavy black section, because it has the ability to dominate games on its own. Also, he can trade up in combat, killing Titans and whatnot if a creature-light deck is forced to chump him with their higher-quality dudes. However, the 3-toughness is a legitimate liability, because he's weaker in combat and dies to a fair suite of red spells.
Verdict: I would be giving this dude an extended trial run in 540. He may be good enough for some 450 lists, and I think 630-sized cubes can fit him in comfortably.
I tested this guy pretty extensively after it was spoiled, and it's quite solid. Decks with a really high instant/sorcery count (that can reliably get 2+ triggers from him, like RB and RU) loved him. But WR and GR struggled to get more than one activation off him in the average game. Red is always looking for additional splashable 2-drops, and he's no slouch. He attacks on curve, and allows your removal/reach/disruption spells to generate additional critters for you. I found him lacking only slightly, even though he was great in counterburn decks and Rakdos aggro with a ton of noncreature spells.
Verdict: 540 cubes should find him a permanent home, and some 450 cubes might be able to find room for this guy. He was a narrow miss for us (for now) but he could definitely make an appearance at some point in the future (Guttersnipe.dec?).
This is a big scary creature. A 5/6 flying for 5 mana that Murders a creature when it comes into play is pretty sweet. The drawback is significant, but black has ways to mitigate it and it disrupts their entire turn after he resolves (they lose their best threat and struggle to attack through a creature of his size). Even just at face value (murder + fog) he's not terrible. But you're going to want other creatures to sacrifice to him so you can keep him on the board as an attacker. Token engines and recursive creatures are ideal, but if they're not available, you still want a high creature count deck to support his drawback. He tested pretty well, and is still on the cusp of finding a permanent slot in my 450 cube.
Verdict: I would play him in pretty much every 540 list. 450 cubes could certainly run him based on his power-level, but cuts are strenuous.
This is a 5-drop that swings as an 8/8 trample with its first attack, and a 16/16 trample the next time. I mean, there's not much else to say here. It's very rare that the cube environment can support a 5+cc creature that has no way of guaranteeing at least some value against the plethora of quality removal in the format, but every once in a while, we're gifted a creature that simply has too much game-warping potential to ignore. This is one of those creatures. It has cute interactions with +1/+1 counters on other creatures (Experiment One, Scavenging Ooze, Triskelion, etc) and can be targeted by Imperial Recruiter and Reveillark despite its huge power (thanks to andrebonotto for pointing this out). Those asides really push this creature ever so slightly beyond being just a big dumb beater (which he really is at heart).
Verdict: There's a very good chance that this guy will turn out to be the 360 staple from the set. But for now, the only reason why I might be cautious is because of the strength of competition at the 5cc green slot. 450 should play him, although the cut will likely be very hard. 540 windmill slams a copy into their cube.
Boring, but nonetheless a staple creature. Green really wants as many of these guys as they can get, and even in the smallest of cubes, I'd run the three musketeers. Yawn... I mean, AWESOME!
Verdict: I don't think I've ever cut a Llanowar Elf variant from a green deck. I'd play all three (and their friends) even in a small, tight cube list. 360+ for me.
The placement of this card is a bit of a gamble on my part, because I don't have a ton of experience with these kinds of effects (outside of Kismet back in 1995). But if we're going to get a cubeworthy effect in this vein, there's no better way to do so than by strapping it to a 2-mana 2/1, right? The value I see in this card is huge. Not because the effect is broken, but because it's at its strongest where you need it to be. This creature/effect warps the typical dynamic of the aggro vs midrange matchup. Typically, aggro has a really hard time combatting midrange for one simple reason: their creatures are better than yours. They attack you with a creature you can't profitably block, and then resolve a new creature you can't profitably attack into. Pretty simple. However, when all their creatures come into play tapped, that changes the whole dynamic. They're a turn behind attacking you, and their freshly resolved threats can't block your team anymore. It also randomly hoses haste creatures and cards like Mimic Vat and Sneak Attack, but the main value (for me) is giving aggressive decks a tool to shore up a difficult midrange matchup.
Verdict: Not 100% sure if this will remain in 360 lists that it breaks into, but I definitely think it warrants testing at that size. And I think it'll have a good shot of staying competitive at 450+ for some time.
I know that the cube community is split on her value, but she's been awesome in playtesting. Her {+} ability is threefold value (damaging players/planeswalkers, killing of small creatures and/or disrupting blocking. It has value in most every gamestate because when you don't have creatures to kill, you have creatures you don't want blocking. And when there aren't planeswalkers to damage, player damage is always welcome. Growing her loyalty while getting 2 valuable triggers at the same time is pretty stellar. Unlike the Firebrand version, this {+} ability seems much more worth it. Now, the {0} ability is just fantastic. It will be very rare that it doesn't strictly generate card advantage for you, and red doesn't have many sources of CA that aren't boardstate dependent. It's a red Arena variant that's strapped to a 'walker with other relevant abilities, which is damn-cool. And the ultimate, while seeming a bit lackluster, should do a minimum of about 9 damage when it goes off (assuming that you aren't copying some other kind of broken-ass cube instant/sorcery). It kills a ton of creatures, pings players/'walkers, disrupts blocking to get in for more damage, generates card advantage with a loyalty-neutral activation, has an ultimate that will likely end the game (or provide some other kind of silly cube-only story) and passes with 5 loyalty after resolving for 4 mana. Not to mention that the 4cc red noncreature slot is really lacking in depth.
Verdict: After seeing how it plays in-game, I can't see cutting this from a cube of any size. I think it's easily 360 material.
The more I look at Chandra 4.0 the more I like her, though I think Sovereign and Hydra are going to make more of an impact. I'd rank Chandra at #3 or 4 :D.
The top 4 will most likely find a permanent spot in my cube (which is actually a lot for core) and I also have high hopes for #5. I like this list -- good analysis pointing out all the stuff us cubers find relevant.
Shortly before reading it, I compiled a list of M14 inclusions for my cube. The "definite inclusions" list was only five cards long. Those five cards are your Top 6 minus the Hydra, so it seems that we pretty much agree on what the strongest cards in this set are.
The new Chandra seems roughly as good as the first one in cube. Maybe a little bit worse, maybe a little bit better. At 600 cards, I don't care about such minutiae... she is coming in anyway.
I can't express enough how angry I am at Academy Raider. This is the fourth cool red looting card that Wizards ruins by not having it cost 1R! Academy Raider, Rummaging Goblin, Viashino Racketeer and Wild Guess... Those cards could really add to what red can do in cube, but no - they are all overcosted because Wizards accidentally made Faithless Looting too good and is now making damn sure that red doesn't get another good looting effect. Damn you Wizards! Why can't you make fairly costed red looters!?
Pretty much mirrors what I was thinking, with you valuing Reaver less than I do and valuing Hydra and Demon more. I think my real problem with the Hydra is that I really love my green 4 and 5 drops and don't want to cut them. Is cutting Prime Time for it madness? I don't want to cut Thornling.
And, as always, I really enjoyed the preview. Thanks for writing it!
The more I look at Chandra 4.0 the more I like her, though I think Sovereign and Hydra are going to make more of an impact. I'd rank Chandra at #3 or 4 :D.
The top 4 will most likely find a permanent spot in my cube (which is actually a lot for core) and I also have high hopes for #5. I like this list -- good analysis pointing out all the stuff us cubers find relevant.
Could very well be the case. I just really like her, and I think she'll help fill a gap that needs some attention, rather than the Sovereign and Hydra which are already in spots dominated by greatness in the cube.
Shortly before reading it, I compiled a list of M14 inclusions for my cube. The "definite inclusions" list was only five cards long. Those five cards are your Top 6 minus the Hydra, so it seems that we pretty much agree on what the strongest cards in this set are.
The new Chandra seems roughly as good as the first one in cube. Maybe a little bit worse, maybe a little bit better. At 600 cards, I don't care about such minutiae... she is coming in anyway.
I can't express enough how angry I am at Academy Raider. This is the fourth cool red looting card that Wizards ruins by not having it cost 1R! Academy Raider, Rummaging Goblin, Viashino Racketeer and Wild Guess... Those cards could really add to what red can do in cube, but no - they are all overcosted because Wizards accidentally made Faithless Looting too good and is now making damn sure that red doesn't get another good looting effect. Damn you Wizards! Why can't you make fairly costed red looters!?
I agree with all of this. I really want a good red looter, which is why I was willing to take up a slot in the review to generate discussion about the effect.
I really like both chandras (1 and 4) and I think the new one might actually be a bit better.
Glad you liked the review and (more or less) the order at the top.
Pretty much mirrors what I was thinking, with you valuing Reaver less than I do and valuing Hydra and Demon more. I think my real problem with the Hydra is that I really love my green 4 and 5 drops and don't want to cut them. Is cutting Prime Time for it madness? I don't want to cut Thornling.
Cheers,
rant
The woes of this update will be the cut for the hydra. It's going to be hard for everybody, and there's no universally accepted swap, because there's so many good green 5-drops that people value differently.
Thanks! Looks great, though I think the black hatebear might be a bit higher. I am still trying to support black aggro and I think he might be better than Liliana's Specter. Being a Zombie certainly helps.
I have to review, but I think Rant might be right about PrimeTime...
Thanks! Looks great, though I think the black hatebear might be a bit higher. I am still trying to support black aggro and I think he might be better than Liliana's Specter. Being a Zombie certainly helps.
I have to review, but I think Rant might be right about PrimeTime...
Excited!
There's a lot of competition at the black hatebear's slot. Not just Liliana's Specter (if you want discard), but also cards like Undead Gladiator (if you want Zombie + utility), Dauthi Marauder (if you want evasion) and Fleshbag Marauder (if you're on the Zombie aggro/Pox/Stax plan).
Nice list. I wish that Reaver had 4 toughness, it really would make such a huge difference. As it is, I think I like him better than the Plague Sliver variants if a list still runs those.
Nice list. I wish that Reaver had 4 toughness, it really would make such a huge difference. As it is, I think I like him better than the Plague Sliver variants if a list still runs those.
Thanks! And I agree. I really wish it was a 3/4 instead of a 4/3, but it's still pretty good.
I think this is a great example of how evaluating cards changed for me: back in the day, I was happy to get a quality 1R creature. Now, there are so many good options for two mana that I can choose the creatures that best fit a certain archetype I want to support. But that also means that some cards that would easily have made the Cube a few years ago now sit in the binder; not only power is a requirement now but also synergy (that was always true to a certain extent, but it is more prevalent now).
Could very well be the case. I just really like her, and I think she'll help fill a gap that needs some attention, rather than the Sovereign and Hydra which are already in spots dominated by greatness in the cube.
I think all three cards mentioned here deserve to be on the top. For my Cube, I don't feel that I have a Chandra 4.0-shaped hole. Yes, there are only very few good non-creature spells at four mana in red, but there is neither a lack of good spells nor a lack of good four drops in red. So in my opinion the situation for Chandra, Pyromaster is very comparable to the situation of Kalonian Hydra and Imposing Sovereign: all good cards competing against other good cards.
Just out of curiosity: Master of Diversion and Niblis of the Urn show that they make tapping a blocker when attacking available at a cheaper cost than before, but I agree with you that the current iterations are still not quite on Cube level. What would it take to get there?
Pretty much mirrors what I was thinking, with you valuing Reaver less than I do and valuing Hydra and Demon more. I think my real problem with the Hydra is that I really love my green 4 and 5 drops and don't want to cut them. Is cutting Prime Time for it madness? I don't want to cut Thornling.
And, as always, I really enjoyed the preview. Thanks for writing it!
Cheers,
rant
You could even cut Deadbridge Goliath, you would have less 4 drops than 5 drops, but considering Green's ramp and also that it wouldn't effect your curve more negatively than cutting a great creature, it might be the best choice. Otherwise I think Thornling is the cut. But if you cut Prime Time... no one would fault you.
I think this is a great example of how evaluating cards changed for me: back in the day, I was happy to get a quality 1R creature. Now, there are so many good options for two mana that I can choose the creatures that best fit a certain archetype I want to support. But that also means that some cards that would easily have made the Cube a few years ago now sit in the binder; not only power is a requirement now but also synergy (that was always true to a certain extent, but it is more prevalent now).
Agreed completely. It's important to see what roles cards are playing when they slide in and out of the cube, and supporting archetypes and decktypes is important. So instead of "playable 2-drop, yay!" ...it's more of a wonder how it will contribute to the existing decks.
I think all three cards mentioned here deserve to be on the top. For my Cube, I don't feel that I have a Chandra 4.0-shaped hole. Yes, there are only very few good non-creature spells at four mana in red, but there is neither a lack of good spells nor a lack of good four drops in red. So in my opinion the situation for Chandra, Pyromaster is very comparable to the situation of Kalonian Hydra and Imposing Sovereign: all good cards competing against other good cards.
Just out of curiosity: Master of Diversion and Niblis of the Urn show that they make tapping a blocker when attacking available at a cheaper cost than before, but I agree with you that the current iterations are still not quite on Cube level. What would it take to get there?
I definitely would like a couple more playable red 4cc spells. Can't wait to have Chandra fill that gap a bit. There's Koth (which plays more like a 4cc creature anyways) and Sneak Attack. That's it.
As far as tapping a creature upon attack, I don't really know. It's not the same kind of effect as Sovereign. If there was a reasonable one on-curve that had another relevant ability (maybe a 2/1 Niblis with lifelink or vigilance instead of flying?) it would be worth testing out.
Solid review as usual. I'd rate Imposing Sovereign 1 to 2 spots lower, but that's about the only change I'd make.
Glad you like it. I ranked the cards based on how important I thought they were to the cube in addition to the sizes they'd go in. Hydra would likely be #1 if it was raw powerlevel alone, but I think Chandra fills a curve gap in red's spells and Sovereign is important for aggro to combat midrange. Thus, they get ranked higher in the list even though they're all going into cubes about the same size.
I think this is a great example of how evaluating cards changed for me: back in the day, I was happy to get a quality 1R creature. Now, there are so many good options for two mana that I can choose the creatures that best fit a certain archetype I want to support. But that also means that some cards that would easily have made the Cube a few years ago now sit in the binder; not only power is a requirement now but also synergy (that was always true to a certain extent, but it is more prevalent now).
Agree with this as well, sure there will be powerful cards, but I think what makes the game interesting is powerful interactions. We are at a point where we already define archtypes in cube and we include cards that are poerful in that archtype but not in a vacuum.
I think young pyromancer will make me creep into the spells matter archtype, as by itself it is an acceptable aggro creature.
My inclusions (360 powered) overlap with your top 3. The hydra is not included yet, but depending on the feedback it gets on this site it may be included at some point.
I'm keeping it mostly red, as the blue options are a bit worse and more fringe imo.
I have tried this strategy out a while and something important to remember is support cards other archetypes don't want that much, like Kiln Fiend (one of the most underrated cube cards in general imo), Lava Dart and Flame Jab. These are the cards that takes the archetype from ok to great imo.
My inclusions (360 powered) overlap with your top 3. The hydra is not included yet, but depending on the feedback it gets on this site it may be included at some point.
The hydra is risky against a deck with a lot of removal, but if it can survive for a turn or two, it'll win you the game. But the hardest thing about the hydra is finding a cut for it.
I'm keeping it mostly red, as the blue options are a bit worse and more fringe imo.
I have tried this strategy out a while and something important to remember is support cards other archetypes don't want that much, like Kiln Fiend (one of the most underrated cube cards in general imo), Lava Dart and Flame Jab. These are the cards that takes the archetype from ok to great imo.
Tarland is definitely better than he looks on paper in that deck.
Kiln Fiend was awful when we played it, but I'm glad it works for you guys.
Just be aware that you can use Mimic Vat and Sneak Attack while opponent controls Imposing Sovereign by activating them during opponent's end step, and having the creature staying around (so being untapped and able to attack) during your turn.
Thanks for clarifying. It does take part of their utility away though (especially Sneak Attack) be removing the ability to flash in blockers. And you can't do the end of turn creature + creature on your turn and attack with both that makes Mimic Vat so good against blockers.
Thanks for the cool review. Seems pretty accurate to me. I haven't had a chance to really look at Chandra 4 yet but I'm excited to with the good reviews she's had. Jury's out on the Sovereign but I ordered my copy, so let's see! Hope it will play well.
I can see Witchstalker and Mindsparker getting a few slots in smaller cubes, as the aggressive 3 drops in those colours are a bit lacking. WS is pretty good in most matchups although I probably prefer the Troll Ascetic. Mindsparker is really savage in the right matchup (I think it only needs to go off once to represent very good value) and is pretty OK as a worse costed Splatter Thug in other matchups, which is a very decent three mana beater. Not something I want at the moment, but plenty cubeworthy, and this sort of hoser card which is at least decently costed against other decks is something I'm happy to see from WotC. They are very palatable for cubes compared to things like the Chills or Karmas of yore.
A word in for Shadowborn Demon who is a really tough customer. The downside on paper is pretty hardcore, but in reality its Murder + Fog mode is the absolute worse case scenario - best case is obviously a pretty sick giant Shriekmaw who sacs your irrelevant stuff. That's the only card I have really tested other than the rather disappointing Pyromancer creature, but it's a good 'un. The sixth toughness is great.
Thanks for the cool review. Seems pretty accurate to me. I haven't had a chance to really look at Chandra 4 yet but I'm excited to with the good reviews she's had. Jury's out on the Sovereign but I ordered my copy, so let's see! Hope it will play well.
Glad you liked the preview!
Chandra has been testing very well. And Sovereign is an important creature to shore up a really rough matchup for W/x aggro.
I can see Witchstalker and Mindsparker getting a few slots in smaller cubes, as the aggressive 3 drops in those colours are a bit lacking. WS is pretty good in most matchups although I probably prefer the Troll Ascetic. Mindsparker is really savage in the right matchup (I think it only needs to go off once to represent very good value) and is pretty OK as a worse costed Splatter Thug in other matchups, which is a very decent three mana beater. Not something I want at the moment, but plenty cubeworthy, and this sort of hoser card which is at least decently costed against other decks is something I'm happy to see from WotC. They are very palatable for cubes compared to things like the Chills or Karmas of yore.
I like a lot of red's other 3cc options more. Mindsparker really shines in the matchup where you're already favored. I'd rather have something that's easier to cast like Splatter Thug or that can hit a lot harder like Countryside Crusher for that same cost. Red aggro doesn't need more help beating WU control decks.
Witchstalker, on the other hand, shines in the matchup you need help in. It's a good midrange critter that gets better against UB control. I can see justifying it much easier for that reason.
I will agree with you that the entire new hate critter cycle is pretty damn cool though, and I like them a lot more than the old school Chill/Choke type hosers that are simply unpleasant to play with/against.
A word in for Shadowborn Demon who is a really tough customer. The downside on paper is pretty hardcore, but in reality its Murder + Fog mode is the absolute worse case scenario - best case is obviously a pretty sick giant Shriekmaw who sacs your irrelevant stuff. That's the only card I have really tested other than the rather disappointing Pyromancer creature, but it's a good 'un. The sixth toughness is great.
I concur. I think the Demon is strong. I had too much trouble finding a permanent replacement for it though, so it'll be chilling in my on-deck binder until I can bring him in (perhaps) some time in the future.
^I agree with all of that. Witchstalker might get a run in my own cube in the future for those reasons. Plus, wolves are cool.
On a side note, it's great to see Mutavault and Scavenging Ooze reprinted (twice no less, and with excellent promo art), and the reprinted Planeswalkers in M14 are good cube cards too. All of this is great news for new cubers.
This is my 6th installment of the "top 20" set preview articles.
Just like the previous review, it will be in a spoiled top 20 countdown format, with each section having an image, a brief summary/description, and my verdict on what cubes I think it could potentially see some play in.
Disclaimer: Keep in mind (just like the others) that this is a set preview. Similar to draft predictions in professional sports, this list is an educated guess at best. Some cards I value highly in here may turn out to not last long in the cube. Other cards that are lower down on the list (or even missed entirely) could (well, very likely may) turn out to be great cards. Even Tom Brady was drafted in the 6th round! Again, this is not intended to be gospel, set in stone or written as a review for posterity. This is simply written to be an enjoyable guess at cards I like for cubes, and hopefully it'll allow some cube managers to evaluate cards they may have otherwise overlooked and/or put some cards in perspective that may've been overhyped. Nothing more.
Enjoy!
Celestial Flare
This isn't a great removal spell for typical cube lists, but I wanted to discuss it because it has potential for common-only cubes. It has its pros and cons in comparison to typical Edict effects; it can't remove creatures that aren't attacking or blocking, but it can be more precise in the creatures it kills. It won't clip their Noble Hierarch when they're swinging with a lone Baneslayer Angel, for example. I think the card could've been very interesting if it were printed at 1W, but the double-cost kills it.
Verdict: I think the spell is pretty rough, but it may be acceptable for common-only cubes.
Tenacious Dead
Most smaller cubes have all the recursive threats they need to enable Pox/Stax archetypes in the cube. However, the quality/quantity of these kinds of cards wanes in larger lists. For cubes interested in supporting these decks that are too large to have the proper concentration of recursive engine cards (and black 1-drops) might find some value in this guy. Adding "upkeep 1B" to Braids, Smokestack and their ilk (in addition to the ol' 2B: draw 2 cards with Skullclamp) might be intriguing.
Verdict: Large (720+) cubes that are looking for more engine bodies for Stax builds might - might - get value from this critter.
Academy Raider
Note, this guy isn't good. Now that that's out of the way, I wanted to discuss him in the article to bring up a positive outlook for future red cards and their ability to loot. This is as close to a red Looter il-Kor that we'll see for quite some time, but perhaps a RR version of this guy could be printed in the future. Some cubes like to enable Madness and Reanimator in their BR/x decks, and this guy is a repeatable source of discarding for red with some built-in evasion.
Verdict: Unless you're actively supporting a Madness theme (I know some cubes do) and a lot of R/x graveyard based decks, this simply won't see play in cubes. However, players that do play those decks might be looking for more enablers, even with a subpar power/cost ratio.
Ogre Battledriver
Wow, why couldn't this trigger itself! Most red 4-drops are engineered to function as aggressive curve-toppers. But cubes that are looking for future investments may really take to this guy. Pretty much any creature in the cube that falls after this guy in the curve becomes insane when he's on the board (Hermit, Siege-Gang, Titans, etc). Army-in-a-can type cards are just bonkers with him in play (game-ending, very likely) and in addition to that, he adds a lot more value to your cheap creatures when they're topdecked in the late game than most other 4-drops do. Is he spectacular? No. But red aggressive midrange decks that are looking for alternatives outside of the red land-destruction-on-a-stick that usually fills up the remaining slots for 4cc red creatures might find some help here.
Verdict: Larger cubes that play red as both an aggressive color and like to play more midrangey type decks could see this guy landing in their lists. My guess is 720+, if at all.
Archangel of Thrune
Big cubes have no shortage of 5-drops that support the token/anthem subtheme that's commonly found in white. But this creature both provides an effect for that deck and as a general control finisher (thanks lifelink!). Most white 5-drops are filled to the brim with the army-in-a-can types of cards and thus are full, but large cubes might enjoy the flexibility of working in those decks and having an evasive lifelinking finisher all rolled-up into one.
Verdict: Not great, but depending on the composition of your cube, this could see play in the 720-810 range, depending on the number of 5cc creatures you're willing to run, and the depth of the token/anthem archetype in your cube list.
Mindsparker
A 3-power first striker for 3 in red isn't a bad deal, and this creature comes with some legitimate hate strapped to it. A very damaging card to resolve against blue-based control decks, this can help combat that deck if it's overpowered in your cube. But like most other color-specific hate cards, this won't make too many cube lists. If you're opponent is playing a reactive blue deck, it'll be insane. If they're not, it won't do much for you other than being a generic beater. I think red's current suite of 3-drops is stacked with value creatures, which makes this a tough sell.
Verdict: Large cubes run out of great 3cc red creatures (although the list of red 3cc spells is pretty deep). This could certainly make the cut for folks that like hate cards, and may be good enough on its own otherwise. I could see 720-810 cubes experimenting with him, and even some 630 sized cubes might try him out (especially if blue control is a tough and commonly dominating deck for your group).
Lifebane Zombie
Similarly to the creature above, we have another 3-power creature with a relevant ability that has some built-in color hate. The difference (for me) is that the ability (evasion) is more relevant, the creature type is more relevant, and even if you whiff with the ability, you're still getting some value from the free information. Against WG, this creature will be great value. Against your other matchups, it'll be okay. This card has its pros and cons against things like Liliana's Specter and Undead Gladiator; sometimes being better, other times worse.
Verdict: This is a solid hate creature, and it's decent value on its own. But black's 3-drop suite isn't short on 3-cost 3-power guys, and there's also a suite of discard creatures and ones with evasion. Because of that, it's basically just going to boil down to preference, and will be a likely candidate for cube managers with 630+ card cubes.
Feindslayer Paladin
Another 3cc hate creature in the same relative area of the spoiler? How unpredictable! What I like about this guy is that he has two abilities that are relevant all of the time, plus the built-in hate. First strike and lifelink are two good abilities, and the pseudo-protections will be randomly relevant. This guy is an interesting hybrid between Paladin en-Vec and Knight of Meadowgrain, and I think the lifelink puts it ahead of the previous Paladin card. But are the removal-spell protections worth a 50% increase in cost over the Knight? I don't think so.
Verdict: Lifelink is a powerful and popular ability, and this guy has sweet art. Because of those factors, I think he'll perhaps see more play than he truly deserves, but I could see a legitimate inclusion for folks in the 630+ range that want another Knight of Meadowgrain variant.
Kalonian Tusker
I tested this guy in my cube after he was spoiled and was left wanting. Cubes don't want to overdo the double-color 2-drops, and he fails to compete (in a big way) against Rofellos and Strangleroot Geist. Because of that, I don't value him as highly as some others might. A 3/3 for 2 mana is pretty good, but in the end, my green decks wanted more utility from their 2-drops and the GG cost was a huge bummer.
Verdict: 630+ cubes that actively support a green stompy archetype in their lists might very well enjoy this guy. Boring, but solid.
Witchstalker
This is my favorite of the color-hate cycle of creatures from M14. If for no other reason than that the 3/3 hexproof is a better deck on its own than what the other creatures bring to the table. It hoses blue and black instants (again, hating on blue-based control in your cube if that's a priority) but the hate is largely irrelevant because it only triggers on cards played on your turn (compared to the red guy). The closest comparison is probably Troll Ascetic, which is a creature I like. But it loses a more universal regeneration ability for an extra toughness and some color hate. I prefer the regen, but others may like this guy more.
Verdict: A lot of medium-large size cube managers complain about the depth of the green 3-drop creature slot, and this will help with that. After a T1 mana dork, this is a fine play. 630+ would be my best guess.
Banisher Priest
A new Fiend Hunter variant so close to the printing of the first one. This guy trades a toughness and the blink/bounce abusiveness for an extra power. Relevant for decks turning their creatures sideways, but worse for control and archetype-based play. I think he's a solid creature, and I like the ability to lock out opponent's threats to provide tempo swings. Certainly nothing spectacular, but big cubes need 3-drops, and this is a solid one.
Verdict: Perhaps nothing more than a placeholder, but the effect is strong and I expect it to be tested out in quite a few lists. It's not for me, but if I were playing a 630-720 card cube, I might be interested in the effect over some of the other 3cc creature options.
Garruk, Caller of Beasts
Well, this guy was a bit of a disappointment, but still better than most people think. Green doesn't have a deep suite of good 6cc cards, and creature-heavy midrange ramp decks will get a lot of value from this 'walker. The {+} ability pretty much just draws 2 cards (which are guaranteed to be threats). The {-} ability works well after the first ability so you can hardcast a threat and cheat a threat in the same turn. However, he costs 6 mana, and that's simply too much mana for a draw engine in the cube. Perhaps cubes that play things like Progenitus and Worldspine Wurm will find him to be more valuable than those that only run the typical top-end ramp targets in green. He needed to cost 5, or cheat any color creature (instead of just green ones) for me to consider him for my list.
Verdict: I think it's a solid 'walker for 630 at face value. And depending on the cube compositions, he could see play in 540 and perhaps all the way down to 450 in some cases.
Xathrid Necromancer
This is a Rotlung Reanimator that triggers with a more relevant creature type ...and that's pretty much it. However, Rotlung isn't a terrible card as it stands. It has a nice 2B cost, and gets 4 power and 2 threats for the investment. The decks that want the effect the most (Pox/Stax based play) unfortunately don't run a ton of human creatures however. So it'll essentially be a Rotlung for the decks that want it most, but be able to randomly provide lots of extra value in general "goodstuff" B/xx decks.
Verdict: A solid creature all around. I'd include it at 630 for sure, and it could crack its way into some 540 lists for an extended stay.
Liliana's Reaver
This card can vary from super broken to a wasted investment pretty easily. For 4 mana, you get a 4-power beater with deathtouch that has a must block clause attached to it. Connecting once with this guy will give you an awesome "Sword of Famine and Diregraf" trigger, and will likely turn the tides of the game. Plus, he's a zombie. I think he's worth testing out to see how often you can get him to connect in a removal-heavy black section, because it has the ability to dominate games on its own. Also, he can trade up in combat, killing Titans and whatnot if a creature-light deck is forced to chump him with their higher-quality dudes. However, the 3-toughness is a legitimate liability, because he's weaker in combat and dies to a fair suite of red spells.
Verdict: I would be giving this dude an extended trial run in 540. He may be good enough for some 450 lists, and I think 630-sized cubes can fit him in comfortably.
Young Pyromancer
I tested this guy pretty extensively after it was spoiled, and it's quite solid. Decks with a really high instant/sorcery count (that can reliably get 2+ triggers from him, like RB and RU) loved him. But WR and GR struggled to get more than one activation off him in the average game. Red is always looking for additional splashable 2-drops, and he's no slouch. He attacks on curve, and allows your removal/reach/disruption spells to generate additional critters for you. I found him lacking only slightly, even though he was great in counterburn decks and Rakdos aggro with a ton of noncreature spells.
Verdict: 540 cubes should find him a permanent home, and some 450 cubes might be able to find room for this guy. He was a narrow miss for us (for now) but he could definitely make an appearance at some point in the future (Guttersnipe.dec?).
Shadowborn Demon
This is a big scary creature. A 5/6 flying for 5 mana that Murders a creature when it comes into play is pretty sweet. The drawback is significant, but black has ways to mitigate it and it disrupts their entire turn after he resolves (they lose their best threat and struggle to attack through a creature of his size). Even just at face value (murder + fog) he's not terrible. But you're going to want other creatures to sacrifice to him so you can keep him on the board as an attacker. Token engines and recursive creatures are ideal, but if they're not available, you still want a high creature count deck to support his drawback. He tested pretty well, and is still on the cusp of finding a permanent slot in my 450 cube.
Verdict: I would play him in pretty much every 540 list. 450 cubes could certainly run him based on his power-level, but cuts are strenuous.
Kalonian Hydra
This is a 5-drop that swings as an 8/8 trample with its first attack, and a 16/16 trample the next time. I mean, there's not much else to say here. It's very rare that the cube environment can support a 5+cc creature that has no way of guaranteeing at least some value against the plethora of quality removal in the format, but every once in a while, we're gifted a creature that simply has too much game-warping potential to ignore. This is one of those creatures. It has cute interactions with +1/+1 counters on other creatures (Experiment One, Scavenging Ooze, Triskelion, etc) and can be targeted by Imperial Recruiter and Reveillark despite its huge power (thanks to andrebonotto for pointing this out). Those asides really push this creature ever so slightly beyond being just a big dumb beater (which he really is at heart).
Verdict: There's a very good chance that this guy will turn out to be the 360 staple from the set. But for now, the only reason why I might be cautious is because of the strength of competition at the 5cc green slot. 450 should play him, although the cut will likely be very hard. 540 windmill slams a copy into their cube.
Elvish Mystic
Boring, but nonetheless a staple creature. Green really wants as many of these guys as they can get, and even in the smallest of cubes, I'd run the three musketeers. Yawn... I mean, AWESOME!
Verdict: I don't think I've ever cut a Llanowar Elf variant from a green deck. I'd play all three (and their friends) even in a small, tight cube list. 360+ for me.
Imposing Sovereign
The placement of this card is a bit of a gamble on my part, because I don't have a ton of experience with these kinds of effects (outside of Kismet back in 1995). But if we're going to get a cubeworthy effect in this vein, there's no better way to do so than by strapping it to a 2-mana 2/1, right? The value I see in this card is huge. Not because the effect is broken, but because it's at its strongest where you need it to be. This creature/effect warps the typical dynamic of the aggro vs midrange matchup. Typically, aggro has a really hard time combatting midrange for one simple reason: their creatures are better than yours. They attack you with a creature you can't profitably block, and then resolve a new creature you can't profitably attack into. Pretty simple. However, when all their creatures come into play tapped, that changes the whole dynamic. They're a turn behind attacking you, and their freshly resolved threats can't block your team anymore. It also randomly hoses haste creatures and cards like Mimic Vat and Sneak Attack, but the main value (for me) is giving aggressive decks a tool to shore up a difficult midrange matchup.
Verdict: Not 100% sure if this will remain in 360 lists that it breaks into, but I definitely think it warrants testing at that size. And I think it'll have a good shot of staying competitive at 450+ for some time.
Chandra, Pyromaster
I know that the cube community is split on her value, but she's been awesome in playtesting. Her {+} ability is threefold value (damaging players/planeswalkers, killing of small creatures and/or disrupting blocking. It has value in most every gamestate because when you don't have creatures to kill, you have creatures you don't want blocking. And when there aren't planeswalkers to damage, player damage is always welcome. Growing her loyalty while getting 2 valuable triggers at the same time is pretty stellar. Unlike the Firebrand version, this {+} ability seems much more worth it. Now, the {0} ability is just fantastic. It will be very rare that it doesn't strictly generate card advantage for you, and red doesn't have many sources of CA that aren't boardstate dependent. It's a red Arena variant that's strapped to a 'walker with other relevant abilities, which is damn-cool. And the ultimate, while seeming a bit lackluster, should do a minimum of about 9 damage when it goes off (assuming that you aren't copying some other kind of broken-ass cube instant/sorcery). It kills a ton of creatures, pings players/'walkers, disrupts blocking to get in for more damage, generates card advantage with a loyalty-neutral activation, has an ultimate that will likely end the game (or provide some other kind of silly cube-only story) and passes with 5 loyalty after resolving for 4 mana. Not to mention that the 4cc red noncreature slot is really lacking in depth.
Verdict: After seeing how it plays in-game, I can't see cutting this from a cube of any size. I think it's easily 360 material.
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 49th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from MKM!
can't really disagree too much with the order.
i probably undervalued how good Imposing Sovereign could be, might need to give that one a shot
Depending on your the size of cube, 3-7 solid cards for cube from a core set aint bad imho.
Opm's Cube on MTGS
Wife's Etsy Store (Hair Accessories for Girls)
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 49th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from MKM!
The top 4 will most likely find a permanent spot in my cube (which is actually a lot for core) and I also have high hopes for #5. I like this list -- good analysis pointing out all the stuff us cubers find relevant.
I would play Kalonian Hydra over these guys at the 5 spot:
but not these...
I am kinda 50/50 on Thornling
EDIT: Sorry, might not belong on the set preview, just had the stream of consciousness going after reading about Kalonian Hydra
Opm's Cube on MTGS
Wife's Etsy Store (Hair Accessories for Girls)
Shortly before reading it, I compiled a list of M14 inclusions for my cube. The "definite inclusions" list was only five cards long. Those five cards are your Top 6 minus the Hydra, so it seems that we pretty much agree on what the strongest cards in this set are.
The new Chandra seems roughly as good as the first one in cube. Maybe a little bit worse, maybe a little bit better. At 600 cards, I don't care about such minutiae... she is coming in anyway.
I can't express enough how angry I am at Academy Raider. This is the fourth cool red looting card that Wizards ruins by not having it cost 1R! Academy Raider, Rummaging Goblin, Viashino Racketeer and Wild Guess... Those cards could really add to what red can do in cube, but no - they are all overcosted because Wizards accidentally made Faithless Looting too good and is now making damn sure that red doesn't get another good looting effect. Damn you Wizards! Why can't you make fairly costed red looters!?
Uril, the Miststalker RGW -- Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre C -- Vhati il-Dal BG -- Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer RW -- Animar, Soul of Elements URG
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker R -- Maga, Traitor to Mortals B -- Ghave, Guru of Spores BGW -- Sliver Hivelord WUBRG
thanks for taking the time!
Looking forward to trying Chandra for the first time and seeing her in action.
Last Updated 02/07/24
Streaming Standard/Cube on Twitch https://www.twitch.tv/heisenb3rg96
Strategy Twitter https://www.twitter.com/heisenb3rg
And, as always, I really enjoyed the preview. Thanks for writing it!
Cheers,
rant
My Cube
CubeCobra: https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/5f5d0310ed602310515d4c32
Cube Tutor: http://cubetutor.com/viewcube/1963
Could very well be the case. I just really like her, and I think she'll help fill a gap that needs some attention, rather than the Sovereign and Hydra which are already in spots dominated by greatness in the cube.
Amen to that. Hard to make a cut for, but it should probably be done.
I agree with all of this. I really want a good red looter, which is why I was willing to take up a slot in the review to generate discussion about the effect.
I really like both chandras (1 and 4) and I think the new one might actually be a bit better.
Glad you liked the review and (more or less) the order at the top.
Glad you liked the write-up. I too think Chandra will be great.
The woes of this update will be the cut for the hydra. It's going to be hard for everybody, and there's no universally accepted swap, because there's so many good green 5-drops that people value differently.
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 49th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from MKM!
I have to review, but I think Rant might be right about PrimeTime...
Excited!
There's a lot of competition at the black hatebear's slot. Not just Liliana's Specter (if you want discard), but also cards like Undead Gladiator (if you want Zombie + utility), Dauthi Marauder (if you want evasion) and Fleshbag Marauder (if you're on the Zombie aggro/Pox/Stax plan).
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 49th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from MKM!
Also, follow us on twitter! @TurnOneMagic
Thanks! And I agree. I really wish it was a 3/4 instead of a 4/3, but it's still pretty good.
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 49th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from MKM!
I think this is a great example of how evaluating cards changed for me: back in the day, I was happy to get a quality 1R creature. Now, there are so many good options for two mana that I can choose the creatures that best fit a certain archetype I want to support. But that also means that some cards that would easily have made the Cube a few years ago now sit in the binder; not only power is a requirement now but also synergy (that was always true to a certain extent, but it is more prevalent now).
I think all three cards mentioned here deserve to be on the top. For my Cube, I don't feel that I have a Chandra 4.0-shaped hole. Yes, there are only very few good non-creature spells at four mana in red, but there is neither a lack of good spells nor a lack of good four drops in red. So in my opinion the situation for Chandra, Pyromaster is very comparable to the situation of Kalonian Hydra and Imposing Sovereign: all good cards competing against other good cards.
Just out of curiosity: Master of Diversion and Niblis of the Urn show that they make tapping a blocker when attacking available at a cheaper cost than before, but I agree with you that the current iterations are still not quite on Cube level. What would it take to get there?
"What am I looking at? Ashes, dead man."
You could even cut Deadbridge Goliath, you would have less 4 drops than 5 drops, but considering Green's ramp and also that it wouldn't effect your curve more negatively than cutting a great creature, it might be the best choice. Otherwise I think Thornling is the cut. But if you cut Prime Time... no one would fault you.
My 450 Cube
Agreed completely. It's important to see what roles cards are playing when they slide in and out of the cube, and supporting archetypes and decktypes is important. So instead of "playable 2-drop, yay!" ...it's more of a wonder how it will contribute to the existing decks.
I definitely would like a couple more playable red 4cc spells. Can't wait to have Chandra fill that gap a bit. There's Koth (which plays more like a 4cc creature anyways) and Sneak Attack. That's it.
As far as tapping a creature upon attack, I don't really know. It's not the same kind of effect as Sovereign. If there was a reasonable one on-curve that had another relevant ability (maybe a 2/1 Niblis with lifelink or vigilance instead of flying?) it would be worth testing out.
Glad you like it. I ranked the cards based on how important I thought they were to the cube in addition to the sizes they'd go in. Hydra would likely be #1 if it was raw powerlevel alone, but I think Chandra fills a curve gap in red's spells and Sovereign is important for aggro to combat midrange. Thus, they get ranked higher in the list even though they're all going into cubes about the same size.
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 49th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from MKM!
Agree with this as well, sure there will be powerful cards, but I think what makes the game interesting is powerful interactions. We are at a point where we already define archtypes in cube and we include cards that are poerful in that archtype but not in a vacuum.
I think young pyromancer will make me creep into the spells matter archtype, as by itself it is an acceptable aggro creature.
That's great! Glad it's close to your estimations as well.
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 49th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from MKM!
My inclusions (360 powered) overlap with your top 3. The hydra is not included yet, but depending on the feedback it gets on this site it may be included at some point.
http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/other-formats/mtgo-pauper/developing/647850-primer-angler-delver
Modern: Sultai Death's Shadow
http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/modern/deck-creation-modern/773885-sultai-deaths-shadow-bug-aggro]
Legacy: Snake&Show
http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/showthread.php?27217-Deck-Sneak-and-Show
Discuss my Cube @ MTGsalvation:
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=207309
I'm keeping it mostly red, as the blue options are a bit worse and more fringe imo.
I have tried this strategy out a while and something important to remember is support cards other archetypes don't want that much, like Kiln Fiend (one of the most underrated cube cards in general imo), Lava Dart and Flame Jab. These are the cards that takes the archetype from ok to great imo.
My Tribal cube
My 93/94 old school cube
My Artifact cube
My Hearthstone Quiz App for iOS
The hydra is risky against a deck with a lot of removal, but if it can survive for a turn or two, it'll win you the game. But the hardest thing about the hydra is finding a cut for it.
Thanks!
Ya, not loading up on recursive threats will have the Demon's value drop a bit.
Glad our top 7 line up.
Tarland is definitely better than he looks on paper in that deck.
Kiln Fiend was awful when we played it, but I'm glad it works for you guys.
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 49th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from MKM!
You're very welcome!
Thanks for clarifying. It does take part of their utility away though (especially Sneak Attack) be removing the ability to flash in blockers. And you can't do the end of turn creature + creature on your turn and attack with both that makes Mimic Vat so good against blockers.
If you do it during your own end step, they'd still be tapped during your opponent's combat step, right? How would that allow them to block?
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 49th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from MKM!
I can see Witchstalker and Mindsparker getting a few slots in smaller cubes, as the aggressive 3 drops in those colours are a bit lacking. WS is pretty good in most matchups although I probably prefer the Troll Ascetic. Mindsparker is really savage in the right matchup (I think it only needs to go off once to represent very good value) and is pretty OK as a worse costed Splatter Thug in other matchups, which is a very decent three mana beater. Not something I want at the moment, but plenty cubeworthy, and this sort of hoser card which is at least decently costed against other decks is something I'm happy to see from WotC. They are very palatable for cubes compared to things like the Chills or Karmas of yore.
A word in for Shadowborn Demon who is a really tough customer. The downside on paper is pretty hardcore, but in reality its Murder + Fog mode is the absolute worse case scenario - best case is obviously a pretty sick giant Shriekmaw who sacs your irrelevant stuff. That's the only card I have really tested other than the rather disappointing Pyromancer creature, but it's a good 'un. The sixth toughness is great.
On spoiled card wishlisting and 'should-have-had'-isms:
No problem. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something.
Glad you liked the preview!
Chandra has been testing very well. And Sovereign is an important creature to shore up a really rough matchup for W/x aggro.
I like a lot of red's other 3cc options more. Mindsparker really shines in the matchup where you're already favored. I'd rather have something that's easier to cast like Splatter Thug or that can hit a lot harder like Countryside Crusher for that same cost. Red aggro doesn't need more help beating WU control decks.
Witchstalker, on the other hand, shines in the matchup you need help in. It's a good midrange critter that gets better against UB control. I can see justifying it much easier for that reason.
I will agree with you that the entire new hate critter cycle is pretty damn cool though, and I like them a lot more than the old school Chill/Choke type hosers that are simply unpleasant to play with/against.
I concur. I think the Demon is strong. I had too much trouble finding a permanent replacement for it though, so it'll be chilling in my on-deck binder until I can bring him in (perhaps) some time in the future.
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 49th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from MKM!
On a side note, it's great to see Mutavault and Scavenging Ooze reprinted (twice no less, and with excellent promo art), and the reprinted Planeswalkers in M14 are good cube cards too. All of this is great news for new cubers.
On spoiled card wishlisting and 'should-have-had'-isms: