Innistrad is absolutely on of my favourite sets in a long time. So many things that aren't just immediately terrible for the cube. Which is just awesome.
Judging Rubric Utterly Terrible - No. Just, no. Unplayable - Perhaps not as bad as being Utterly Terrible, but still, you should not be cubing with this. Close, but So Far - It could've been, but outclassed to an extent where you really should not need to go that far down the list for cube cards. Borderline - Definitely has potential. Testing is advised. Cubeable - An absolutely solid inclusion that should be in the vast majority of cubes. Cube It - The kind of card that just makes you go, "This will not be leaving the cube in a long, long while."
Aaaaand... an Innistrad-only ranking!
Wolfy Boy - I'm just going to go out and say that I have absolutely no idea how often the werewolf transform mechanic will activate in normal games, and whether this occurs mostly early/late game. So what I'm going to do is reserve judgment and test all the werewolves for a while to see how well they do.
WHITE Abbey Griffin - There are much better fliers out there. This is fair, but fair is not cubeable. Unplayable Avacynian Priest - There are much too many Humans in the cube for the colorless activation cost to make it better than Blinding Mage. Close, but So Far Bonds of Faith - Not better than Pacifism. If you use it as an Aura, you're probably doing it wrong. Close, but So Far Chapel Geist - Fair stats, but not good enough to warrant inclusion. Close, but So Far Doomed Traveler - I've seen people play Tukatongue Thallid, and it's debateable whether colorshift makes it better (personally, I think green is better at using it because it can stall for time for green to cast some nasties). Even so, I just don't think it does enough to warrant inclusion. Close, but So Far Elder Cathar - Good creature, but death triggers are so difficult to control without hampering yourself that it's not that great. Close, but So Far Ghostly Possession - Temporal Isolation this is not. Unplayable Moment of Heroism - While it's definitely good as a combat trick, it's probably not good enough for inclusion. Close, but So Far Rebuke - These cards are rarely good enough. Much too narrow, even for a removal spell. Close, but So Far Selfless Cathar - Doesn't do enough to warrant inclusion. One-shot +1/+1 is pretty bad. Unplayable Silverchase Fox - Much too narrow ability on some boring stats. Unplayable Smite the Monstrous - You'd think this kind of restriction would make it cheaper. It doesn't. Unplayable Spare from Evil - This is not Shelter. Doesn't do enough and is only worth it in the spectacular scenarios you can devise in your head. Unplayable Thraben Purebloods - Siege Mastodon reprint. Wasn't cubeable the first time, won't be now. Close, but So Far Thraben Sentry/Thraben Militia - The 4-drop section for White is too stacked for such a defensive (you are not going to be swinging with a 2/2 that often at T4+, vigilance or no). Not to say that it's not a good finisher in the control deck, but it's just too much setup for a finisher if you're considering it as an inclusion. Close, but So Far Unruly Mob - An enticing ability that frankly just doesn't do enough to warrant inclusion. Close, but So Far Urgent Exorcism - I can't believe they were able to make a card narrower than Disenchant and make it feel the same. No. Unplayable Village Bell-Ringer - A fair defensive card which packs a lot of punch. However, I'm a bit worried that it might suffer from the classic "It would work well in -insert inanely unlikely scenario- here!" syndrome. I'm going to err on the side of caution. Close, but So Far Voiceless Spirit - Solid stats and will rule the skies in combat. You can do a lot worse. Also, excellent art, just magnificient. Cubeable
Overall: There aren't that many cards that are testworthy, so white is one of the more disappointing sections of Innistrad. Even so, wonderful art on Voieless Spirit.
BLUE Armored Skaab - Bad is bad is so bad. Utterly Terrible Claustrophobia - A better Frozen Solid is not bad. Maybe it won't find the room to sneak in, but it's definitely worthy of consideration. Cubeable Curse of the Bloody Tome - A... mill card? Utterly Terrible Delver of Secrets/Insectile Aberration - Requires testing. A 1 mana 3/2 flier is nuts, but how often it is that, really? Can't know for sure, but it seems like it'll be a worthy include to test. Borderline Deranged Assistant - Not terrible. Blue can do a lot worse for mana ramp. However, I don't think there's really room for it. Close, but So Far Dream Twist - Pure mill is much too linear and narrow to be worth it. Utterly Terrible Fortress Crab - Vanilla Wall is just... bad. Utterly Terrible Frightful Delusion - Compare it to Runeboggle, which is better. Just requires too many things going right for it to be worth it. Unplayable Hysterical Blindness - This kind of effect never does enough to warrant inclusion. Utterly Terrible Lost in the Mist - Not even slightly worth it. At all. Unplayable Makeshift Mauler - Fair stats at a point in the game where it's additional cost is easy. Cubeable Moon Heron - Snapping Drake reprint is fair, but nothing special. Close, but So Far Selhoff Occultist - Is that a mill card I spy? Unplayable Sensory Deprivation - There's always one in every set. Utterly Terrible Silent Departure - Not much better than Unsummon, since by the time you can flash it back, your opponent can probably then just play it again. Unplayable Spectral Flight - Each new aura entices you with the potential for goodness. Do not be tempted, brother. Unplayable Stitched Drake - Incredibly solid stats for a neglible cost. Yes. Cube It Stitcher's Apprentice - Interesting effect, but incredibly difficult to abuse. Close, but So Far
Overall: Ignoring chaff that's always there, like bounce and -X/-O, there are definitely some gems to test and cube with. I love it. Also, new Think Twice art is just so insane.
BLACK Altar's Reap - Don't be fooled by the "2 mana draw 2" spell; this is not even card advantage. Sure, you can sacrifice a bad creature, but why are you playing bad creatures? It's just not very good. Unplayable Brain Weevil - No. No. No. No. Augur of Skulls is so much better. Utterly Terrible Corpse Lunge - At 3 mana, there are already vastly superior options. Close, but So Far Curse of Oblivion - Nope. Utterly Terrible Dead Weight - Potentially better Disfigure? Yes. Cube It Ghoulcaller's Chant - Nope, Disemtomb in disguise. Utterly Terrible Ghoulraiser - Not unless you're playing Zombie tribal. Utterly Terrible Gruesome Deformity - Not even a good effect, ignoring Aura badness. Utterly Terrible Manor Skeleton - 1 power kills it stone dead for me. Unplayable Markov Patrician - The rickety 1 toughness hurts it big time. Worse case scenario, you can't even play it because your opponent's got the board locked with a pinger. Best case, 3 damage to a creature and you gain 3 life. Not impressive. Close, but So Far Maw of the Mire - Effect is too little for the cost. Rarely does the LD matter at T5 except to kill splashes. Unplayable Night Terrors - Not even close to being cubeable. Just too much mana for the effect. Utterly Terrible Rotting Fensnake - Wasn't good the first time. Unplayable Skeletal Grimace - Doesn't do enough to warrant inclusion. +1/+1 is negligible. Unplayable Stromkirk Patrol - Fair stats, sure, but it just doesn't pack the punch you'd expect. Close, but So Far Typhoid Rats - I can't tell you how much I love that name. Humorous. But, nope, 1 power means it's only a terrible version of Rebuke. Unplayable Vampire Interloper - Yes. Stormfront Pegasus in black. Cubeable Victim of Night Double black is actually really tough. The current suite of 1B removal is all pretty good. In any case, it's definitely a good inclusion. Cubeable Walking Corpse - It has taken much too long for them to print a black 2 mana vanilla 2/2 so that we could reject it in Cube. Utterly Terrible
Overall: Some excellent cards in here as well, rounding out the black section of the cube.
RED Ashmouth Hound - Interesting body and effect, with a funny version of flanking. I think it might be worth it, because only X/4s can survive it. Borderline Bloodcrazed Neonate - Incredibly aggressive creature, like you wouldn't believe. I love it. Cubeable Brimstone Volley - This is like a worse Char, but a worse Char can still be insanely good. I'm going to go on the incredibly optimistic side and say that this is absolutely going to be a staple. Time will tell if I'm right. Cube It Crossway Vampire - Only thing in its way is the double R. Testworthy, I believe. Borderline Curse of the Pierced Heart - Oh, didn't realise that red decks wanted the game to drag out 5+ turns. Cheerio. Utterly Terrible Feral Ridgewolf - A worse Fireball. At 1/3, it would've been at least testworthy; as it is, not very impressed. Unplayable Furor of the Bitten - Cheap cost and +2 to power reminds me of Rancor. Lack of evasion does not. Unplayable Geistflame - Firebolt 2.0 this is not. Neither is this good. Utterly Playable Harvest Pyre - I would be in love if it could hit players. But as it is, it's outclassed easily. Close, but So Far Infernal Plunge - Great Constructed potential. Not so much in Cube, though. It can be great, but it's just rarely worth the additional cost. Close, but So Far Kessig Wolf - Too mana intensive for the decks that want it for the reckless swinging it's so capable of. Close, but So Far Night Revelers - While the card is undoubtedly sweet, I just think it's outclassed by too many other cards to be trul worth it. Borderline Nightbird's Clutch - A good card for pushing through with damage, for sure. An interesting inclusion, at least. I don't think I'll be trying it, but if anyone is, tell us how it goes, will you? Borderline Pitchburn Devils - I think it has potential. Maybe. It can often be a 2-for-1, maybe. Borderline Riot Devils - Toughness greater than power? That just looks... wrong, for some reason. Unplayable Tormented Pariah/Rampaging Werewolf - Oh look, a werewolf. Wolfy Boy Traitorous Blood - Double R is painful, really painful. Painful enough that I don't think it's worth it. I already don't play Act of Treason; I don't think I have the room for this. Borderline Vampiric Fury - Tribal fun, not for cube. Utterly Terrible Village Ironsmith/Ironfang - 3/1 first strikers are definitely nothing to sneeze at. This is one that I'm hoping does work out. Wolfy Boy
Overall: Some excellent cards, some chaff. I'm sensing a pattern.
GREEN Ambush Viper - Green removal that's also a fair attacker by itself? Hell yes. Nothing special, but it's still just awesome. Cubeable Caravan Vigil - The most important part of the card - the ramp - only happens in the mid-game, when you don't need the ramp as much. Close, but So Far Darkthicket Wolf - I'm going to go and say that this is not better than Basking Rootwalla. Close, but So Far Festerhide Boar - 5/5 tramplers are nothing to sneeze at. I think morbid happens enough at this stage of the game that it is worth it. Borderline, on the side of Cubeable Gnaw to the Bone - Aww, a lifegain spell, so cute. Unplayable Grave Bramble - Great, buff stats for a wall, but it's a wall nonetheless. A purely defensive card may fit in green better than other colors, but I just don't think it'll work out. If it had been a 4/4, I would've tested it, at least. Close, but So Far Grizzled Outcasts/Krallenhorde Wantons - Another werewolf to add to the pile of cards I need to test. Noticeably, it has very nice stats by itself already, so hopefully it'll work out. Wolfy Boy Kindercatch - Vanilla fat is still bad. If only it had trample. Moonmist - Love the flavor, but no. Utterly Terrible Orchard Spirit - These kind of stats are just disappointing, despite the evasion. Close, but So Far Prey Upon - Cheap, green removal is loved, but there are a lot of uncertainties about this card. Testworthy. Borderline Ranger's Guile - Much worse Vines of Vastwood. Not enough room for it. Close, but So Far Somberwald Spider - a 4/6 reach creature is good, but not necessarily good enough to replace any of the existing creatures. Close, but So Far Spidery Grasp - A passable combat trick, because of the untapping. Definitely testworthy. Borderline Villagers of Estwald/Howlpack of Estwalkd - Werewolf. Wolfy Boy Woodland Sleuth - At random is really tough, but it's passable. Morbid, on the other hand, can just be... really bad. I think the two together makes it uncubeworthy, but that's just me. Close, but So Far
Overall: Some good cards, but a lot of borderlines that just need to be tested. Some cubes might not find the room. Also, insane new art on Naturalize; best one yet.
MULTICOLOR Forbidden Alchemy - Excellent card, but UB is stacked like you wouldn't believe. Close, but So Far Feeling of Dread - I'm uncertain about this, but it feels like it's strong enough to be cubed. In any case, I find it'll be a better fit than Deft Duelist, because it works as both a double fog as well as alpha strike enabler. Cubeable Bump in the Night - Better Lava Spike doesn't really scream cubeworthy. Utterly Terrible Avacyn's Pilgrim - If you rank it as a monogreen card, then yep, cube with it. But if you don't, then it has no room in the GW section. Unplayable/Cubeable Travel Preparations - Again, as a GW card, it just doesn't stack. Close, but So Far
Overall: This section only exists because of flashback, and they are largely bad as multicolor cards.
COLORLESS Blazing Torch - I love it. 2 mana colorless Shock is just awesome. It's not necessarily the best thing in the world, but I'm always a big fan of these abilities. Cubeable Ghoulcaller's Bell - Repeat after me: mill is bad. Utterly Terrible One-Eyed Scarecrow - So narrow it's insane. Utterly Terrible Cobbled Wings - No P/T boost makes me one sad panda. Close, but So Far Traveler's Amulet - Functional reprint of Wanderer's Twig; interestingly, the names are very similar. Anyway, as I was saying, no. Unplayable Wooden Stake - So rarely works to its fullest. There are better options out there. Unplayable
Overall: Almost zilch. To be expected, in a non-artifact set.
Wow. It might be just my perspective, but Innistrad has been freaking excellent for cube.
I'm a bit surprised by your ratings of Ashmouth Hound and Bloodcrazed Neonate - I would have rated them the other way round. Maybe it is because I really don't like the "attacks each turn if able" drawback. Note that the Hound not only trades with X/3 guys, but also kills X/1 guys without dying himself. Even if those X/1s have first strike.
I finished half the guide yesterday. Just had to finish it off with the full card set today.
I might be overvaluing Bloodcrazed Neonate, but she seems aggressive enough to do very well. And yeah, I've got high hopes for Ashmouth, although they may not necessarily pan out.
Yeah, probably. I get very easily excited over select cards.
Interloper feels like a staple to me. For any pauper cube. Just because black aggro is already hard as hell to support in rare cubes and to have alot of the "umpfh" removed when you go to pauper, this screams CUBE IT to me.
Bonds of Faith: This is indeed not quite as good as pacifism, but it's really close actually. Most of my white removal is worse than pacifism and also this - eg Arrest, I'm pretty sure everyone still plays that. Sure, the aura side is not as good as the removal side, but saying that you'd never say that is like saying that you'd only ever use Lightning Bolt on a creature or Sign in Blood on them.
Doomed Traveler: Maybe it's the obsession that I have with evasive one drops, but I think this is an awesome card. White's mass-pump works much better than whatever this kind of card does in green. Also, a 1/1 flier is maybe twice so much better than a 1/1 without flying.
Spare from Evil: One word: Falter. But in a better colour for the effect, and a better effect, at a better speed. White gets into annoying creature stand-offs so often, this is actually a really good card for cube. There are also lots of corner cases where it'll be useful - like saving a dude from Ghitu Slinger and stopping them from attacking.
Voiceless Spirit... What, this is the only card you called cubable, and it is much worse than many of the other white cards. For example Chapel Geist is, IMO, the same card but better. This also already exists as another card (can't remember the name) and is not played at all.
Delver of Secrets: I think it's absolutely great. It will almost always flip over the course of the game and if it does, it's worth the mana. In other colours, maybe it wouldn't be worth it. However, this is the perfect control creature without removal protection - it's enough of a threat to warrant a removal spell, it can get a whole lot of damage in, and it doesn't require you to tap out any mana on turns you'd leave countermagic up.
I also think Silent Departure is better than you think, but it's really a moot point cause I'm not going to cube with it and don't think others really should either.
I think Darkthicket Wolf is at least cubable. I mean, it's at least half as good as Gorehorn Minotaurs, and that's really good. Seriously, a 3/3 trample for 4 is a pretty good worst case scenario.
Hey! Long-time fan of these set reviews, here: I run a Pauper cube myself, and these are among the best articles for that. Keep up the good work! One aside, though- you're missing a rating, and half an evaluation, for Pitchburn Devils. I think we all know what it says, but it might be worth fixing.
Bonds of Faith: This is indeed not quite as good as pacifism, but it's really close actually. Most of my white removal is worse than pacifism and also this - eg Arrest, I'm pretty sure everyone still plays that. Sure, the aura side is not as good as the removal side, but saying that you'd never say that is like saying that you'd only ever use Lightning Bolt on a creature or Sign in Blood on them.
Yeah, you're probably right. I was overestimating the number of humans that exist in the cube. I'll probably try it out.
And yeah, I was a little strong with the Aura comment.
Doomed Traveler: Maybe it's the obsession that I have with evasive one drops, but I think this is an awesome card. White's mass-pump works much better than whatever this kind of card does in green. Also, a 1/1 flier is maybe twice so much better than a 1/1 without flying.
It's not terrible, and flying is sweet, but I just don't feel it does enough.
Spare from Evil: One word: Falter. But in a better colour for the effect, and a better effect, at a better speed. White gets into annoying creature stand-offs so often, this is actually a really good card for cube. There are also lots of corner cases where it'll be useful - like saving a dude from Ghitu Slinger and stopping them from attacking.
Ah, I didn't see the Falter angle of use. Yeah, much better, definitely up for consideration.
Voiceless Spirit... What, this is the only card you called cubable, and it is much worse than many of the other white cards. For example Chapel Geist is, IMO, the same card but better. This also already exists as another card (can't remember the name) and is not played at all.
Pegasus Charger, and you're right, I did not cube with that. Which puts things in perspective.
I think I have to try out Chapel Geist. Double white is surprisingly hard, with the type of drafts we play (3 color decks are the norm because of smaller cardpools).
I also think Silent Departure is better than you think, but it's really a moot point cause I'm not going to cube with it and don't think others really should either.
It's not bad - I mean, I run Rushing River, which is pretty house - but I don't think I have the room for it.
I think Darkthicket Wolf is at least cubable. I mean, it's at least half as good as Gorehorn Minotaurs, and that's really good. Seriously, a 3/3 trample for 4 is a pretty good worst case scenario.
Are you talking about Festerhide Boar? Because I gave that the stamp of approval.
Also, absolutely no love for Silent Departure? I honestly think that it's easily twice as good as Unsummon because of Flashback. Just compare it to Firebolt. Noone would ever play a sorcery Shock, but with Flashback for 5 it's nothing but a cube staple. I think Departure deserves testing.
Yeah, but Shock > Unsummon. Firebolt is a 2-for-1. Silent Departure is never that. I may have been too hard on Silent Departure, but I don't think it's worth it at all. At 4 mana flashback, maybe, and even then, not necessarily.
Hey! Long-time fan of these set reviews, here: I run a Pauper cube myself, and these are among the best articles for that. Keep up the good work! One aside, though- you're missing a rating, and half an evaluation, for Pitchburn Devils. I think we all know what it says, but it might be worth fixing.
Also a huge fan. I would like to throw some pennis around and add my $0.02.
A) Crowway Vampire is only testable if you already liked Goblin Shortcutter. I played that card and liked it because i still have Sparksmith, and it fills the 2cc area. However, the RR, as you mentioned, kills it. It is competing against Blood Ogre.
C) If you find the 'human' count lacking in ones cube, the Avacynian Priest is on the consideration scale of any human based card. I am actually going to check my cube to count the targets. Mind you I already have Minister of Impediments.
And of the cards mentioned I agree with all Cube It's. The Drake, Interloper, Boar, and Brimstone Volley are definately ones to make room for. Shame white feels so underwhelming.
Innistrad is absolutely on of my favourite sets in a long time. So many things that aren't just immediately terrible for the cube. Which is just awesome.
Judging Rubric
Utterly Terrible - No. Just, no.
Unplayable - Perhaps not as bad as being Utterly Terrible, but still, you should not be cubing with this.
Close, but So Far - It could've been, but outclassed to an extent where you really should not need to go that far down the list for cube cards.
Borderline - Definitely has potential. Testing is advised.
Cubeable - An absolutely solid inclusion that should be in the vast majority of cubes.
Cube It - The kind of card that just makes you go, "This will not be leaving the cube in a long, long while."
Aaaaand... an Innistrad-only ranking!
Wolfy Boy - I'm just going to go out and say that I have absolutely no idea how often the werewolf transform mechanic will activate in normal games, and whether this occurs mostly early/late game. So what I'm going to do is reserve judgment and test all the werewolves for a while to see how well they do.
WHITE
Abbey Griffin - There are much better fliers out there. This is fair, but fair is not cubeable. Unplayable
Avacynian Priest - There are much too many Humans in the cube for the colorless activation cost to make it better than Blinding Mage. Close, but So Far
Bonds of Faith - Not better than Pacifism. If you use it as an Aura, you're probably doing it wrong. Close, but So Far
Chapel Geist - Fair stats, but not good enough to warrant inclusion. Close, but So Far
Doomed Traveler - I've seen people play Tukatongue Thallid, and it's debateable whether colorshift makes it better (personally, I think green is better at using it because it can stall for time for green to cast some nasties). Even so, I just don't think it does enough to warrant inclusion. Close, but So Far
Elder Cathar - Good creature, but death triggers are so difficult to control without hampering yourself that it's not that great. Close, but So Far
Ghostly Possession - Temporal Isolation this is not. Unplayable
Moment of Heroism - While it's definitely good as a combat trick, it's probably not good enough for inclusion. Close, but So Far
Rebuke - These cards are rarely good enough. Much too narrow, even for a removal spell. Close, but So Far
Selfless Cathar - Doesn't do enough to warrant inclusion. One-shot +1/+1 is pretty bad. Unplayable
Silverchase Fox - Much too narrow ability on some boring stats. Unplayable
Smite the Monstrous - You'd think this kind of restriction would make it cheaper. It doesn't. Unplayable
Spare from Evil - This is not Shelter. Doesn't do enough and is only worth it in the spectacular scenarios you can devise in your head. Unplayable
Thraben Purebloods - Siege Mastodon reprint. Wasn't cubeable the first time, won't be now. Close, but So Far
Thraben Sentry/Thraben Militia - The 4-drop section for White is too stacked for such a defensive (you are not going to be swinging with a 2/2 that often at T4+, vigilance or no). Not to say that it's not a good finisher in the control deck, but it's just too much setup for a finisher if you're considering it as an inclusion. Close, but So Far
Unruly Mob - An enticing ability that frankly just doesn't do enough to warrant inclusion. Close, but So Far
Urgent Exorcism - I can't believe they were able to make a card narrower than Disenchant and make it feel the same. No. Unplayable
Village Bell-Ringer - A fair defensive card which packs a lot of punch. However, I'm a bit worried that it might suffer from the classic "It would work well in -insert inanely unlikely scenario- here!" syndrome. I'm going to err on the side of caution. Close, but So Far
Voiceless Spirit - Solid stats and will rule the skies in combat. You can do a lot worse. Also, excellent art, just magnificient. Cubeable
Overall: There aren't that many cards that are testworthy, so white is one of the more disappointing sections of Innistrad. Even so, wonderful art on Voieless Spirit.
BLUE
Armored Skaab - Bad is bad is so bad. Utterly Terrible
Claustrophobia - A better Frozen Solid is not bad. Maybe it won't find the room to sneak in, but it's definitely worthy of consideration. Cubeable
Curse of the Bloody Tome - A... mill card? Utterly Terrible
Delver of Secrets/Insectile Aberration - Requires testing. A 1 mana 3/2 flier is nuts, but how often it is that, really? Can't know for sure, but it seems like it'll be a worthy include to test. Borderline
Deranged Assistant - Not terrible. Blue can do a lot worse for mana ramp. However, I don't think there's really room for it. Close, but So Far
Dream Twist - Pure mill is much too linear and narrow to be worth it. Utterly Terrible
Fortress Crab - Vanilla Wall is just... bad. Utterly Terrible
Frightful Delusion - Compare it to Runeboggle, which is better. Just requires too many things going right for it to be worth it. Unplayable
Hysterical Blindness - This kind of effect never does enough to warrant inclusion. Utterly Terrible
Lost in the Mist - Not even slightly worth it. At all. Unplayable
Makeshift Mauler - Fair stats at a point in the game where it's additional cost is easy. Cubeable
Moon Heron - Snapping Drake reprint is fair, but nothing special. Close, but So Far
Selhoff Occultist - Is that a mill card I spy? Unplayable
Sensory Deprivation - There's always one in every set. Utterly Terrible
Silent Departure - Not much better than Unsummon, since by the time you can flash it back, your opponent can probably then just play it again. Unplayable
Spectral Flight - Each new aura entices you with the potential for goodness. Do not be tempted, brother. Unplayable
Stitched Drake - Incredibly solid stats for a neglible cost. Yes. Cube It
Stitcher's Apprentice - Interesting effect, but incredibly difficult to abuse. Close, but So Far
Overall: Ignoring chaff that's always there, like bounce and -X/-O, there are definitely some gems to test and cube with. I love it. Also, new Think Twice art is just so insane.
BLACK
Altar's Reap - Don't be fooled by the "2 mana draw 2" spell; this is not even card advantage. Sure, you can sacrifice a bad creature, but why are you playing bad creatures? It's just not very good. Unplayable
Brain Weevil - No. No. No. No. Augur of Skulls is so much better. Utterly Terrible
Corpse Lunge - At 3 mana, there are already vastly superior options. Close, but So Far
Curse of Oblivion - Nope. Utterly Terrible
Dead Weight - Potentially better Disfigure? Yes. Cube It
Ghoulcaller's Chant - Nope, Disemtomb in disguise. Utterly Terrible
Ghoulraiser - Not unless you're playing Zombie tribal. Utterly Terrible
Gruesome Deformity - Not even a good effect, ignoring Aura badness. Utterly Terrible
Manor Skeleton - 1 power kills it stone dead for me. Unplayable
Markov Patrician - The rickety 1 toughness hurts it big time. Worse case scenario, you can't even play it because your opponent's got the board locked with a pinger. Best case, 3 damage to a creature and you gain 3 life. Not impressive. Close, but So Far
Maw of the Mire - Effect is too little for the cost. Rarely does the LD matter at T5 except to kill splashes. Unplayable
Night Terrors - Not even close to being cubeable. Just too much mana for the effect. Utterly Terrible
Rotting Fensnake - Wasn't good the first time. Unplayable
Skeletal Grimace - Doesn't do enough to warrant inclusion. +1/+1 is negligible. Unplayable
Stromkirk Patrol - Fair stats, sure, but it just doesn't pack the punch you'd expect. Close, but So Far
Typhoid Rats - I can't tell you how much I love that name. Humorous. But, nope, 1 power means it's only a terrible version of Rebuke. Unplayable
Vampire Interloper - Yes. Stormfront Pegasus in black. Cubeable
Victim of Night Double black is actually really tough. The current suite of 1B removal is all pretty good. In any case, it's definitely a good inclusion. Cubeable
Walking Corpse - It has taken much too long for them to print a black 2 mana vanilla 2/2 so that we could reject it in Cube. Utterly Terrible
Overall: Some excellent cards in here as well, rounding out the black section of the cube.
RED
Ashmouth Hound - Interesting body and effect, with a funny version of flanking. I think it might be worth it, because only X/4s can survive it. Borderline
Bloodcrazed Neonate - Incredibly aggressive creature, like you wouldn't believe. I love it. Cubeable
Brimstone Volley - This is like a worse Char, but a worse Char can still be insanely good. I'm going to go on the incredibly optimistic side and say that this is absolutely going to be a staple. Time will tell if I'm right. Cube It
Crossway Vampire - Only thing in its way is the double R. Testworthy, I believe. Borderline
Curse of the Pierced Heart - Oh, didn't realise that red decks wanted the game to drag out 5+ turns. Cheerio. Utterly Terrible
Feral Ridgewolf - A worse Fireball. At 1/3, it would've been at least testworthy; as it is, not very impressed. Unplayable
Furor of the Bitten - Cheap cost and +2 to power reminds me of Rancor. Lack of evasion does not. Unplayable
Geistflame - Firebolt 2.0 this is not. Neither is this good. Utterly Playable
Harvest Pyre - I would be in love if it could hit players. But as it is, it's outclassed easily. Close, but So Far
Infernal Plunge - Great Constructed potential. Not so much in Cube, though. It can be great, but it's just rarely worth the additional cost. Close, but So Far
Kessig Wolf - Too mana intensive for the decks that want it for the reckless swinging it's so capable of. Close, but So Far
Night Revelers - While the card is undoubtedly sweet, I just think it's outclassed by too many other cards to be trul worth it. Borderline
Nightbird's Clutch - A good card for pushing through with damage, for sure. An interesting inclusion, at least. I don't think I'll be trying it, but if anyone is, tell us how it goes, will you? Borderline
Pitchburn Devils - I think it has potential. Maybe. It can often be a 2-for-1, maybe. Borderline
Riot Devils - Toughness greater than power? That just looks... wrong, for some reason. Unplayable
Tormented Pariah/Rampaging Werewolf - Oh look, a werewolf. Wolfy Boy
Traitorous Blood - Double R is painful, really painful. Painful enough that I don't think it's worth it. I already don't play Act of Treason; I don't think I have the room for this. Borderline
Vampiric Fury - Tribal fun, not for cube. Utterly Terrible
Village Ironsmith/Ironfang - 3/1 first strikers are definitely nothing to sneeze at. This is one that I'm hoping does work out. Wolfy Boy
Overall: Some excellent cards, some chaff. I'm sensing a pattern.
GREEN
Ambush Viper - Green removal that's also a fair attacker by itself? Hell yes. Nothing special, but it's still just awesome. Cubeable
Caravan Vigil - The most important part of the card - the ramp - only happens in the mid-game, when you don't need the ramp as much. Close, but So Far
Darkthicket Wolf - I'm going to go and say that this is not better than Basking Rootwalla. Close, but So Far
Festerhide Boar - 5/5 tramplers are nothing to sneeze at. I think morbid happens enough at this stage of the game that it is worth it. Borderline, on the side of Cubeable
Gnaw to the Bone - Aww, a lifegain spell, so cute. Unplayable
Grave Bramble - Great, buff stats for a wall, but it's a wall nonetheless. A purely defensive card may fit in green better than other colors, but I just don't think it'll work out. If it had been a 4/4, I would've tested it, at least. Close, but So Far
Grizzled Outcasts/Krallenhorde Wantons - Another werewolf to add to the pile of cards I need to test. Noticeably, it has very nice stats by itself already, so hopefully it'll work out. Wolfy Boy
Kindercatch - Vanilla fat is still bad. If only it had trample.
Moonmist - Love the flavor, but no. Utterly Terrible
Orchard Spirit - These kind of stats are just disappointing, despite the evasion. Close, but So Far
Prey Upon - Cheap, green removal is loved, but there are a lot of uncertainties about this card. Testworthy. Borderline
Ranger's Guile - Much worse Vines of Vastwood. Not enough room for it. Close, but So Far
Somberwald Spider - a 4/6 reach creature is good, but not necessarily good enough to replace any of the existing creatures. Close, but So Far
Spidery Grasp - A passable combat trick, because of the untapping. Definitely testworthy. Borderline
Villagers of Estwald/Howlpack of Estwalkd - Werewolf. Wolfy Boy
Woodland Sleuth - At random is really tough, but it's passable. Morbid, on the other hand, can just be... really bad. I think the two together makes it uncubeworthy, but that's just me. Close, but So Far
Overall: Some good cards, but a lot of borderlines that just need to be tested. Some cubes might not find the room. Also, insane new art on Naturalize; best one yet.
MULTICOLOR
Forbidden Alchemy - Excellent card, but UB is stacked like you wouldn't believe. Close, but So Far
Feeling of Dread - I'm uncertain about this, but it feels like it's strong enough to be cubed. In any case, I find it'll be a better fit than Deft Duelist, because it works as both a double fog as well as alpha strike enabler. Cubeable
Bump in the Night - Better Lava Spike doesn't really scream cubeworthy. Utterly Terrible
Avacyn's Pilgrim - If you rank it as a monogreen card, then yep, cube with it. But if you don't, then it has no room in the GW section. Unplayable/Cubeable
Travel Preparations - Again, as a GW card, it just doesn't stack. Close, but So Far
Overall: This section only exists because of flashback, and they are largely bad as multicolor cards.
COLORLESS
Blazing Torch - I love it. 2 mana colorless Shock is just awesome. It's not necessarily the best thing in the world, but I'm always a big fan of these abilities. Cubeable
Ghoulcaller's Bell - Repeat after me: mill is bad. Utterly Terrible
One-Eyed Scarecrow - So narrow it's insane. Utterly Terrible
Cobbled Wings - No P/T boost makes me one sad panda. Close, but So Far
Traveler's Amulet - Functional reprint of Wanderer's Twig; interestingly, the names are very similar. Anyway, as I was saying, no. Unplayable
Wooden Stake - So rarely works to its fullest. There are better options out there. Unplayable
Overall: Almost zilch. To be expected, in a non-artifact set.
Wow. It might be just my perspective, but Innistrad has been freaking excellent for cube.
My Pauper Cube ♤ The Pauper Cube Thread Common Knowledge — 1 2
I'm a bit surprised by your ratings of Ashmouth Hound and Bloodcrazed Neonate - I would have rated them the other way round. Maybe it is because I really don't like the "attacks each turn if able" drawback. Note that the Hound not only trades with X/3 guys, but also kills X/1 guys without dying himself. Even if those X/1s have first strike.
I agree that Dead Weight seems a bit overvalued.
Otherwise, well done.
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
I might be overvaluing Bloodcrazed Neonate, but she seems aggressive enough to do very well. And yeah, I've got high hopes for Ashmouth, although they may not necessarily pan out.
Yeah, probably. I get very easily excited over select cards.
My Pauper Cube ♤ The Pauper Cube Thread Common Knowledge — 1 2
Few things, though:
Bonds of Faith: This is indeed not quite as good as pacifism, but it's really close actually. Most of my white removal is worse than pacifism and also this - eg Arrest, I'm pretty sure everyone still plays that. Sure, the aura side is not as good as the removal side, but saying that you'd never say that is like saying that you'd only ever use Lightning Bolt on a creature or Sign in Blood on them.
Doomed Traveler: Maybe it's the obsession that I have with evasive one drops, but I think this is an awesome card. White's mass-pump works much better than whatever this kind of card does in green. Also, a 1/1 flier is maybe twice so much better than a 1/1 without flying.
Spare from Evil: One word: Falter. But in a better colour for the effect, and a better effect, at a better speed. White gets into annoying creature stand-offs so often, this is actually a really good card for cube. There are also lots of corner cases where it'll be useful - like saving a dude from Ghitu Slinger and stopping them from attacking.
Voiceless Spirit... What, this is the only card you called cubable, and it is much worse than many of the other white cards. For example Chapel Geist is, IMO, the same card but better. This also already exists as another card (can't remember the name) and is not played at all.
Delver of Secrets: I think it's absolutely great. It will almost always flip over the course of the game and if it does, it's worth the mana. In other colours, maybe it wouldn't be worth it. However, this is the perfect control creature without removal protection - it's enough of a threat to warrant a removal spell, it can get a whole lot of damage in, and it doesn't require you to tap out any mana on turns you'd leave countermagic up.
I also think Silent Departure is better than you think, but it's really a moot point cause I'm not going to cube with it and don't think others really should either.
I think Darkthicket Wolf is at least cubable. I mean, it's at least half as good as Gorehorn Minotaurs, and that's really good. Seriously, a 3/3 trample for 4 is a pretty good worst case scenario.
Why does everyone always underrate Deft Duelist so badly? Card is much, much more sick than Feeling of Dread.
Draft it on Cubetutor!
My Trading Post! Bunches of valuable EDH/Modern/Legacy stuff, looking for foil commons!
Always remember: Rarity changes don't balance cards that are overpowered in constructed formats.
can you make on for uncommons too? I have a peasant cube and would love some input
Yeah, you're probably right. I was overestimating the number of humans that exist in the cube. I'll probably try it out.
And yeah, I was a little strong with the Aura comment.
It's not terrible, and flying is sweet, but I just don't feel it does enough.
Ah, I didn't see the Falter angle of use. Yeah, much better, definitely up for consideration.
Pegasus Charger, and you're right, I did not cube with that. Which puts things in perspective.
I think I have to try out Chapel Geist. Double white is surprisingly hard, with the type of drafts we play (3 color decks are the norm because of smaller cardpools).
It's not bad - I mean, I run Rushing River, which is pretty house - but I don't think I have the room for it.
Are you talking about Festerhide Boar? Because I gave that the stamp of approval.
Probably. I don't know, I'll probably reverse the switch if Feeling of Dread isn't super house.
Thanks! And no, sorry, I only do commons. I don't have the experience with peasant cube, so my evaluations would be pretty horrendous.
Yeah, but Shock > Unsummon. Firebolt is a 2-for-1. Silent Departure is never that. I may have been too hard on Silent Departure, but I don't think it's worth it at all. At 4 mana flashback, maybe, and even then, not necessarily.
Thanks! I'll fill that in.
My Pauper Cube ♤ The Pauper Cube Thread Common Knowledge — 1 2
Oh, yeah, I got both the name and the rating mixed up, nevermind!
Draft it on Cubetutor!
A) Crowway Vampire is only testable if you already liked Goblin Shortcutter. I played that card and liked it because i still have Sparksmith, and it fills the 2cc area. However, the RR, as you mentioned, kills it. It is competing against Blood Ogre.
B) The Silent Departure debate. I am in favor of the card. HOWEVER.. compare to Rushing River, Undo, Whiplash Trap and I think it fails. I like the 'tempo' if used aggressively, like with Brackwater Elemental, defensively.. I am less then impressed.
C) If you find the 'human' count lacking in ones cube, the Avacynian Priest is on the consideration scale of any human based card. I am actually going to check my cube to count the targets. Mind you I already have Minister of Impediments.
And of the cards mentioned I agree with all Cube It's. The Drake, Interloper, Boar, and Brimstone Volley are definately ones to make room for. Shame white feels so underwhelming.
Loose Change Pauper Cube-cast
Pauper Cube Article #1
Pauper Cube Article #2
Personal Enjoyment Cube
Village Bell Ringer
Feeling of Dread
Delver of Secrets
Stitched Drake
Brimstone Volley
Typhoid Rats
Avacyn's Pilgrim
Ambush Viper
Caravan Vigil
Travel Preperations
Traveller's Amulet
Blazing Torch
So far all the above are getting included in the pauper Cube.
Was thinking also of
Thraben Sentry
Bloodcrazed Neonate
Crossway Vampire
Giestflame
Magic Work Station Winston-180 http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=315755