Welcome to the Battle for Zendikar cube update! We have a ton of cards to talk about (as usual) so I won't waste too much time here. I just wanted to briefly talk about a couple main keywords from the new set. Both "Allies" and "Ingest" are incredibly parasitic keywords. This means they only work well in their own set, surrounded by like-minded cards. Because of that, don't expect too many of those to even be discussed as both are fairly irrelevant in cube. With that out of the way, let's take a look at the Battle for Zendikar cards!
White
In Out
I am still not sure the exact number of one drops that cube needs but we are getting really close to that number in white. I am willing at this point to start upgrading cards. This is a pretty clear upgrade in creature type (Human > Cat). Not too much else to say here other than the fact that I'm pretty happy with my one drops for now.
In Out
Gideon was originally going to be excluded on the grounds of uninteresting gameplay. After getting some experience I can safely say that there are a lot of decisions involved in this particular planeswalker. It's power level is very high but you definitely have the ability to increase or decrease its power by how you use it. A steady stream of tokens is strong but I think it's figuring out when to attack or use the emblem ability that makes this much more skill intensive than it seems at first glance.
Ajani Steadfast isn't bad but clearly isn't in the same league as the newest incarnation of Gideon. He did his job but was rarely overwhelming and that ultimate is just pretty stupid. Gideon has more interesting play with it's ultimate as well.
In Out
Stasis Snare is an unassuming uncommon mostly used in limited but here it's actually a little bit better than an existing cube option. Devouring Light is a very similar card but is limited to only creatures participating in combat. I think opening that up to all creatures is a much better option than randomly being able to make the spell cheaper. That came up from time to time but rarely in a significant way, not like it does in a regular limited environment. Either way, this is a pretty tame upgrade.
In Out
Mastery finally gets in the cube after a lot of soul searching. It's much more flexible than I gave it credit for. It works very well in any type of deck and while it's a little bit slow to active it presents a constant threat that only gets better if you actually have creatures in your deck. I don't think this is a bomb or anything but it will serve a more consistent purpose than Luminarch Ascension did.
Luminarch Ascension is a solid win condition for a control deck and stone unplayable everywhere else. As it is you still need to cast this and then wait at least four turns before getting any value at all. It's effective when it works but slow.
Didn't Make the Cut
Five mana may be the new norm for wraths in standard but for cube it has to have some pretty significant upside. In this case the only upside is that for three more mana you get a 4/4. That really isn't the kind of upside I had in mind. It's nice, but not enough.
Quarantine Field is just a fancy Oblivion Ring with kicker 2. That's certainly strong enough for cube but very expensive and I don't really think it's anything it needs at this point. There are enough expensive wrath-like options and I don't want another. This is especially true since the base mode is well below par for four mana. I love the mechanic but its tough to make cube-able awaken cards because of the ability for them to be busted in constructed formats.
In Out
Skywinder Drake was present to assist the blue tempo deck and it did its job favorably. The only real problem is that in a vaccuum, it's not a very powerful card and mostly got passed around the table by people wondering "why is this in the cube?". Eldrazi Skyspawner serves a similar role while also giving flexibility and spreading the bodies around. This weakens its role in blue tempo but strengthens it considerably everywhere else. It can serve a similar role but people will be more excited to actually draft and play it.
Didn't Make the Cut
I'm going to talk about both these cards together because they have the same strengths and weaknesses. They are comparable to Man-o'-War and Mulldrifter, respectively. They both provide larger bodies at an additional cost with some utility of just casting the spell without awaken. I think they are both just over the line of cost efficiency that Mulldrifter toes. I think if these were instants they would be great but at sorcery speed they are just a little too expensive, especially since if you want the creature untapped it costs even one more mana. I love the mechanic...but like I said before, in order to be cubeable it would probably wreck standard.
Didn't Make the Cut
Like with the previous awaken cards, Cancel isn't in the cube and the awaken doesn't do enough specifically in cube to warrant its inclusion. It's a nice bonus that won't come up often enough. This is especially true because it's a counterspell and holding up six mana is very difficult to do without raising red flags. And seriously, for six/seven mana I would like something larger than a 3/3.
In Out
I do not think that Drana is busted. The ceiling is very high for any sort of decks that actually want to attack and I think this might end up being a little slower than it seems. The power is obviously in the fact that she has first strike to trigger her ability before everything else deals damage. But even if she hits once by herself, all of a sudden she's pretty intimidating and much more difficult to block. She really only fits in attacking decks but I think that's okay as creatures attack in cube....get used to it.
For what seems like forever, Nekrataal and Flametongue Kavu have stood as the epitome of 186 creatures (those that come into play and kill something) with Kavu clearly being the best. I think the time has finally come for Nekrataal to move onto greener pastures. It's become a little bit too expensive for the body. First strike used to be what kept this a threat but times they are a changin and it's just not as impressive anymore. It's gone from threat to annoyance and we can do better. Thanks for all the kills, little guy!
In Out
Smothering Abomination is a house. It's a very reasonable flying body for the cost and on average you end up drawing a couple of cards in a fair game. You can also just abuse it with tokens and recursive threats to draw continuously but abuse aside you are getting a very good deal and a threat to go with it. You are reasonably happy in any scenario where this dies whether it be to a removal spell, in combat or by sacrificing itself at upkeep (you still draw a card). It's a little awkward if it's you only creature but even then it buys you a turn and replaces itself. t's a feel good all around.
Priest of the Blood Rite got a lot of hype and I now believe it to be completely unwarranted. The hype was always a huge flier and a tiny guy that you can just kill to get rid of the drawback. Big vanilla creatures aren't where cube wants to be and if you aren't abusing this guy with blinking or continued reanimation the one big flier isn't worth it.
In Out
Ob Nixilis Reignited becomes the second black planeswalker in my cube (Liliana of the Veil). I have warmed to this guy a little bit after seeing him in action and I think he is much more powerful than I thought at first glance. He's not as overwhelming as Gideon but I think he still performs well by destroying threats and gaining card advantage. Even if he comes in, kills a threat and soak up damage he will feel like he's pulled his weight. If he doesn't get answered quickly he also threatens to put the game out of reach as using the minus ability more than once is really powerful. Decks only have so many individual threats.
Palace Siege is really slow and clunky. The second mode is terrible if you are behind and the first mode is kind of unexciting at all points. It's not a bad card it just doesn't impact the game consistently enough for cube.
In Out
Ruinous Path is almost a parallel change from Eyeblight's Ending. It costs the same, kills planeswalkers, and has a mostly irrelevant awaken ability that will be great if you use it. The big change is instant to sorcery but I'm okay with that. Black has plenty of spot removal at instant speed even with this switch. I would love to see another Doom Blade effect since I think cube could use one more cheaper option but for now this is strictly personal preference.
Didn't Make the Cut
I am strongly in the camp that believes that this card is just bad. I do not understand why this sees play in standard over Read the Bones. The extra card drawn is not worth the extra life lost combined with the loss of scry for the same cost. Sure, you can sometimes only draw one card or two but in that case it's still worse and the flexibility does not even come close to making up for it. Read the Bones isn't even in my cube so you know this isn't going in either.
Didn't Make the Cut
Akoum Firebird feels like the ten-thousandth four mana phoenix that just isn't better than the existing options in the four slot in red. Why can't one of these things cost three mana so I can actually cut a four drop for it?! Frustrating but it's where we are....the good news is that these cards aren't bad so I can look to the future. The main problem is that they aren't ever that great by themselves as a threat, they just don't go away. A lot of the times that makes them much more grindy annoyances than I want them to be. Also, you are rarely going to hit the six mana required to return this. Let alone using it multiple times...since each time requires more lands...
Much like with Painful Truths, above, Radiant Flames isn't that much better than a comparable cube card in Pyroclasm. The extra mana isn't really worth the extra damage all the time. Sure, you can control how much damage you deal but that involves you playing more colors, something that red really doesn't do that much...actually in cube you rarely play more than two colors and even if you are playing three it's usually just a splash of one of them. That, combined with the fact that I am definitely not looking for more sweepers leaves this in an awkward spot.
In Out
Greenwarden isn't overwhlemingly powerful but double Eternal Witness is no joke. It's also infinitely more interesting than Vorapede which has the same P/T but is itself resilient instead of allowing shenanigans. It's powerful, but triple green is annoying and it still dies to exile spells, which are definitely a thing so it's not like its an unanswerable threat.
In Out
Because the devoid and eldrazi clauses are entirely flavor text in cube, this is exactly Awakening Zone with two MAJOR differences. Firstly, it costs an extra mana. This is huge considering it does stone nothing the turn it comes into play. Secondly, the tokens have a point of power vs. no power with the Zone. This is significant because once you get more than one of those tokens in play, all of a sudden you are able to throw them around as meaningful blockers on the ground. You can always sacrifice them for mana but you no longer need pump effects to make them helpful in combat. The games where you flood the board with tokens will now put you WAY farther ahead than with the Zone. I like having both in cube as they are key cards in sacrifice and ramp archetypes.
Regrowth has always been okay but not great in nonpowered cube. You aren't returning Time Walks or Black Lotus, you are returning creatures and removal spells, in which case you would probably be better suited to just run a different creature or removal spell in your main deck...which is what people do. This is in sideboards a lot.
Didn't Make the Cut
I think that Beastcaller Savant could end up being a little bit more powerful than I am giving it credit for. However, in my experience the ramp cards that only use their mana for creatures are extremely limiting. There have been many like this over the years and they always underperform. This having haste is nice but you are still casting it that turn so you aren't gaining mana by using it immediately. It won't be attacking as much as it will in regular limited so I am going to pass on this one for now.
Undergrowth Champion reminds me a lot of the phantom cards from way back in the day. See Phantom Centaur for reference. In experience they are incredibly defensive because they are rarely large enough to actually swing through anything but will block literally everything for consecutive turns. This is even more defensive. Because of the shortage of fetch lands in a single deck in cube you are rarely ever going to put more than one counter on this in a given turn. Sure, you might cast Kodama's Reach or something but even then this will primarily end up as an infinite chump blocker. Not really what dreams are made of and a total waste of potential.
Didn't Make the Cut
If Woodland Wanderer was a guaranteed 6/6 every time you casted it, it would be much more powerful (obviously....seriously, duh). My problem with it is that you are hardly ever going to get more than an extra two or three counters on it because, like I said before, you just aren't playing that many colors in cube. And if it's not gigantic, it's not particularly interesting either so what do you have?
Didn't Make the Cut
My cube doesn't really support uncastable creatures that are only playable if you cheat them in play. Partially because it makes the gameplay less swingy and more fun but also because I just don't have the cards that are built to abuse them in my cube. Things like Sneak Attack or Show and Tell are not in my list. I would say that in almost all games you just aren't getting to 10 mana so it doesn't matter how good this card is, you aren't going to be able to cast it consistently enough for it to matter.
Endless One is a study in efficiency and flexibility. How strong does something need to be vs. efficient? In this case you can cast this on curve at every point as long as you are okay with it being a little underpowered at every point. In limited this is crazy good but in cube the fact that it's only ever a vanilla creature that only survives if hardcasted really limits its usefulness. Sure, every deck might play it but I don't think they will be excited about it once its in play or see it as being that impactful.
Didn't Make the Cut
I both really love and really hate this card. On the one hand it has a fantastic (albeit expensive) ability that can really allow a control deck to pull away in the late game. It also has a body that opponents will not want to attack into on the ground. On the other hand, the correct way to play against this is just to swing into it and damn the consequences. As the owner of this you really don't want to attack or block. It's not like Typhoid Rats that exists solely to kill something. And it's not like Baleful Strix that has already accomplished its job when it comes into play so you are more willing to trade with it. This you actively don't want to die which makes things really awkward.
Didn't Make the Cut
Both of these cards are actually closer to inclusion than it may seem at first glance. The reason for that is that Golgari Token/Sacrifice is a solid theme and these live in that archetype. Ultimately, I don't think either one is a big enough board presence for the cost with Sifter's ability being too minor and Brood Butcher's ability being a combo of a little too expensive and not impactful enough. It's good, but it's not worth the cost upfront (5 mana to cast and 2 to use). I wouldn't be surprised to see these in someone's list but I like my current options better right now.
Didn't Make the Cut
This is an interesting take on Jilt. The difference there is that the kicker allows it to be used for reduced value if you need it to. This doesn't have that functionality but instead widens both abilities. Hitting a planeswalker is mostly useless as is the exile ability. If this hit players I think it would be good enough. Bouncing a spell is very nice but is not worth the cost. As it is, if I was interested in this ability I would just use Jilt, and that isn't even in my list.
In Out
I think Wizards realized that they pushed the bar a little high with the previous crop of man-lands from Worldwake (sorry Lavaclaw Reaches, but nobody likes you). Shambling Vent is still better than Isolated Chapel as it provides a moderate roadblock and life gain for slower decks. It's not as good as the old cycle but it's still got a place.
In Out
Everything I said about Shambling Vent also applies to Lumbering Falls and Hinterland Harbor.
Didn't Make the Cut
Kiora is certainly powerful enough for cube but since I am already running the other Kiora and I like that she is able to actually protect herself a little bit. The drawing abilities on this are better but being unable to lock something down is a huge detriment. I'm sticking with what I have. Oh, on a final note, planeswalkers still have ultimates.
Didn't Make the Cut
Because of the tightness of non-basic lands in the cube, these aren't going to make the cut. The only thing they have going for them is that they have the basic land type and it just doesn't come up very often in a 720 card cube that you have fetch lands. Certainly not enough to put cards in that are only good if you have the fetches. Especially considering that I am cutting Isolated Chapel and Hinterland Harbor, and those are just a better cycle of lands in cube.
Although the cube benefitted from this set, it's always a little disappointing when the mechanics aren't a reason for it at all. Still glad I get some cool new cards and looking forward to Oath of the Gatewatch. I am going to keep doing these set reviews later than I had in the past to get a better feel for the cards. It's working out well so far so expect the trend to continue in the future. Until then...
Enjoy!
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