Welcome to the Cube Update for Magic 2014 Core Set! All in all this was a disappointing core set for a number of reasons and the amount of quality it added to cube is among them. Slivers, along with other tribal and enchantments matter cards are all elements that are too narrow for use in my cube. Because of this, a lot of cards that are aren't really bad aren't even worth talking about or considering. Just a quick disclaimer in case you are wondering why I'm not talking about something like that. That said, we got some interesting cards to talk about and a few that have the potential to shine pretty brightly. Lastly, for the planeswalkers, keep in mind that I restrict the number of planeswalkers to three per color.
White
In Out
Archangel of Thune is a very powerful card and this is a pretty close 1 for 1 swap. For the same mana cost you are losing one power and trading exalted for lifelink which is a much better deal in any aggressive deck that has a bunch of creatures that don't want to sit back and stare at the wall. The lifelink ability on Battlegrace Angel was the reason it got played and you are now getting it for free, albeit a little less life. The upside on Thune, however, is massive. Even if she suicides into something she still buffs the team and you can gain the life without having to take your foot off the burner which was always a little frustrating with Battlegrace.
In Out
Imposing Sovereign is what I wanted Blind Obedience to be. The same effect now coming on a 2/1 body as opposed to having extort is huge. Having to take a turn to cast Blind Obedience meant not committing to the board and that was a real detracting in white weenie decks. Sovereign is a totally respectable body and she helps your guys get through as their blockers are not doing anything the turn they enter the field.
Loyal Cathar was an attempt at giving white weenie some wrath protection but it never really got there. The mana cost was a little prohibitive and the body wasn't really that great on either side. Vigilance on these little guys is the most irrelevant thing ever, I almost wish it had banding just so I wouldn't have to see this nombo. All in all, a pretty strict upgrade.
Didn't Make the Cut
A pair of creatures that are improved versions of old Cube mainstays that still aren't good enough and remind me why I cut the other ones in the first place. Fiendslayer Paladin is a variant of Paladin en-Vec but trades out the protection for a lesser version which I actually like a lot better because it's not as oppressive for the guy who happened to draft those colors. That said, for three mana he's just a 2/2. The lifelink/first strike combo is nice but he gets outclassed quickly by most decks and the other 3 drops in white are both more synergistic for independent strategies and more powerful.
Seraph of the Sword reminds me a lot of Cho-Manno, Revolutionary but it has flying and a less restrictive mana cost AND is bigger to boot. That said...what does this card even do other than attack and block. It's not interesting and at best is annoying until any of the non-green colors just use a removal spell on it. Kinda makes Cho-Manno look a little dated, doesn't it.
Didn't Make the Cut
Devout Invocation is one or two mana away from being really sweet...even if it made only 3/3 angels it would be sweet at that cost. The problem is that by the time you get to seven mana in a deck that has a bunch of dudes you should have either won or have been wrathed already. This feels like a win more if I have ever seen one.
Path of Bravery just isn't very good. The Glorious Anthem effect is too unreliable to be used, especially since you would rather play a creature on turn three and keep up the pressure. This has literally no effect on the board unless you haven't taken damage and you sure aren't suiciding your creatures into blockers to gain a couple of life. Basically, this is worse than all the anthems currently in cube and not good enough to bump a different card out.
In Out
Shadowborn Demon is another variant of creature that kills a creature when it comes into play. Unlike some of other other ones however, this one has a massive body to go along with it. The only thing that could hold this card back is whether or not you can get six creatures into your graveyard. In the correct deck I don't think this will be a problem but let's assume you can't ever reliably fill that requirement. Sacrificing a creature every turn isn't that bad as long as you have the correct pieces in your deck. It works great with any tokens, creatures with echo, creatures you can recur or any other irrelevant dudes lying around. Worse case scenario you can just sacrifice this guy if they pacifism it or something. I think this has more upside than down.
Ob Nixilis, the Fallen has been a part of a couple of really sweet decks that abused his landfall ability but every time he just sits there, attacking or blocking and hoping you draw lands to make him worthwhile. Granted, it only takes one land but I like the upside of the Demon more. Also, not only is it more interesting but the worst-case scenario is a lot better than Ob Nixilis.
In Out
Lifebane Zombie is a pretty interesting card. This guy is bonkers if you can make the ability relevant (most of the time it will be) but even if you can't, he's a solid body for aggressive decks and he has evasion. He also pairs favorably with any blink effects since it's a CITP ability and not a casting one.
I've been looking for a way to cut Royal Assassin for a long time. He's not particularly powerful as much as he is stupidly annoying. He doesn't actually do anything offensive and he might as well be an enchantment for all the good being a creature does him. This is a pretty clear upgrade on a number of levels.
Didn't Make the Cut
Artificer's Hex is not good enough for cube. That's not what I'm discussing. I really like that this card could be a step in the right direction for improving black in cube. Black's biggest weakness is it's total lack of ability to deal with non-creature permanents. This is an attempt at helping that while staying within the color pie. If this was worded just a little differently this could be a windmill slam inclusion in cube. I look forward to future efforts in this vein and hopefully getting black some love on that front.
In Out
Young Pyromancer adds to a fledgling little theme in cube that will hopefully get more support as we move forward (instants/sorceries matters). The upside on this guy is pretty high but you really need him to be in the right deck. To be honest, I can foresee times when this will be strictly worse than Mogg War Marshal which isn't even in the cube anymore. That said, I want to try him out because he's interesting and has potential. Either way, I do not expect this guy to be the all-star that others are predicting.
Stonewright didn't really work out the way I had imagined as he's terra-bad on any early turn. While he's pretty good later on it hasn't been worth it to actually play him or use his ability like I expected. Oh well, live and learn.
In Out
Ogre Battledriver is completely bonkers if you can cast creatures afterwards. Giving everything haste has been incredibly powerful in cube and the pump ability is a great boon to that, making your excess one drops real threats all of a sudden. Without creatures, he's less exciting but I can assume people will build their decks correctly.
Obsidian Fireheart never really worked out. He costs SO MUCH RED OH MY GOD. Because of this, he's really only playable in mono-red and that's not where my cube is drafted all the time because you see so many two color aggro decks as opposed to mono colored. The blaze counters have been cool but it's a little too slow for the red decks.
In Out
Chandra Nalaar has been a little too expensive and doesn't impact the game as much as I would like. The -X ability is great because she comes into play with so much loyalty but the +1 is so worthless it's not even worth activating most of the time. Because of this, she doesn't get played that much. Her ultimate is sweet but you have to waste several turns accomplishing nothing to get there.
Chandra, Pyromaster (mancer) has a much better +1 ability and costs one fewer mana. Clearing blockers out of the way for your dudes is going to be huge. Sure, they might counterattack Chandra but then you are getting in there for another turn. The 0 ability has potential as long as you limit the amount of expensive spells in your deck which shouldn't be a problem in red. I'm not going to worry about the ultimate as it probably won't even get used...but it's not bad.
In Out
Searing Blaze used to be in the cube but it got cut because I could never reliably use the landfall ability during my opponent's turn. After further thought, I realized...who the heck cares? Even casting this at sorcery speed or at instant speed during your own turn is awesome and you are almost always going to be able to pull that off.
Puncture Blast is a little too expensive for what it does. The wither has hardly ever been relevant and otherwise it's three mana for three damage and red can do better.
In Out
Goblin Diplomats is going to pull double duty. Early on in the game it will act as a fairly unassuming Goblin Piker. Later on though, it makes all of your creatures unblockable with the exception of any newly casted blockers. The strength of this card will depend on how often those blockers are relevant. This is a unique, cheaply costed effect that is also hilarious in multiplayer (not that I am factoring that in, it's just funny)
Bogardan Hellkite got its money's worth when I flashed it in against Rick Dojan and got about thirteen "seriously?!"'s in a row. IT COSTS EIGHT MANA IN RED.
In Out
Elvish Mystic is just another Llanowar Elves functional reprint. That said, green could seriously use another one of those! This is a very easy inclusion.
Beastmater Ascension was a lot of overkill and never really got off the ground. Most of the time if you were able to attack with that many creatures you would already have won the game or just win the game a turn later. Elvish Mystic will supply much more than this was.
In Out
I am a little concerned about Kalonian Hydra. It's certainly good enough, but that's just it...what does it do other than attack? I feel like a lot of people are just going to cast this and then win if their opponent doesn't have a removal spell. That's not interesting in any way! I am hoping for another green fatty that is more interesting soon but this is fine for now.
That said...Wolfir Silverheart isn't interesting either and is a little worse than the Hydra. The only difference is that Siilverheart makes another guy beastly but doesn't give trample. The trample makes all the difference here.
Didn't Make the Cut
The fourth iteration of Garruk is a little less exciting than its brethren. Garruk, Caller of Beasts most closely resembles Garruk Relentless as it is able to bust out some fatties while getting creatures from your deck. However, Relenetless also acts as removal and is cheaper and splashable...both huge assets. Garruk, Primal Hunter is one of the best cards in green, being able to drop fatties and draw a lot of cards while threatening an ultimate that does go off more often than others. Garruk Wildspeaker is the last Garruk in the cube and I think it is the closest one to being cut. The only problem with Caller of Beasts is that it is expensive and if you can afford it you can probably afford any of the green fatties that might be in your hand. Wildspeaker ramps you and protects itself while this one might draw cards...idk...it's a tough decision but I am going to go with the cheaper planeswalkers that impact the board independently of your hand. However, I could be persuaded otherwise after seeing it in action.
The Tusker iteration of Kalonian is a little less exciting than its brethren. This is basically only good in a green heavy aggressive deck. The problem with that is that green is only ever a support color in aggressive decks. It's main talents are ramp, mid-range and support of every other color in whatever they are trying to do. The Tusker is less helpful, harder to cast and less interesting than what is in those slots currently.
In Out
Precursor Golem is something that I was afraid of including for the possibility of getting blown out by a removal spell. After having seen in the MODO cube I really don't think it's as big of a deal as I was worried about. It's a lot of power and toughness for the mana cost, works well with blink effects on creatures and fits well into any number of aggressive or control decks.
Here I was, all ready to cut Masticore when I notice that for some inexplicable reason, Juggernaut is still in the cube. I don't think it's ever been picked highly and certainly never been included highly in a deck. I think Precursor Golem is more exciting and will find its way into more decks.
In Out
Worn Powerstone does everything that Palladium Myr does except that it is harder to deal with. Palladium Myr being able to attack is a little less relevant that it being able to survive until your next turn. This is a pretty solid upgrade since the ability is definitely a powerful one.
This actually wasn't that bad of a set for cube, even if some of the cards are just in for trial runs. I am really looking forward to Theros but the enchantment subtheme has me a little worried because it's not something that inherently translates to cube very well. Either way, I am sure we will get some goodies to play around with. See you in the fall!
Enjoy!
