Hello again! Welcome to part 2 of our set retrospective for the Phyrexia All Will be One and All Will be One Commander (ONE/ONC.) This part will feature Bones’ takes with Deinonychus’ reactions. As with the BRO/40K retrospectives, Bones will be ordering his list by the amount he loves the cards, rather than by color like Deinonychus’ list.
The reviews will be based mostly on cubes that we play and curate.
Deinonychus' main cube is the Bodleian Cube, which showcases iconic and powerful cards with an emphasis on strategies that combine cards to be more than the sum of their parts. The power level is designed to allow these iconic cards to shine within and alongside archetypes which often suffocate in cubes designed to maximize individual card power. mThe strategies within the cube are set up to combine and cross pollinate to encourage emergent deckbuilding and present drafters with many possible directions throughout the draft. Other cubes he plays both within his local group and while at various cube events factor into his reviews as well.
Bones curates many lists including the Amonkar Desert, Eiganjo Drift, and The Museum of Modern which you may recognize from CubeCon. Also in his playgroup is the Counters of Monte Cristo which is a big influence in the appreciation of counters-matter themes, which will come up often in these sets. The vast majority of cubes he plays are thematic or synergy-driven, with comparatively little experience in the powermax legacy and vintage cube worlds.
This is by no means a comprehensive review of all cards from the set, it is focused on the ones we would like to talk about. Whether you agree with my takes, disagree, or feel like we missed cards entirely, we want to hear about it! The more discussion these retrospectives generate the better they serve their intended goal of documenting takes on cards after they’ve been tested.
With that said, let’s dive into the cards of ONE and ONC.
Pros:
Look at those arms! She slices! She dices! She can +1 to protect herself, sometimes forcing an enemy creature to die to your blockers; or pitch a madness spell, reanimator target, or nothing at all and draw you something new. Her +0 is a cool way to get repeated value out of the graveyard, and synergizes particularly well with the For Mirrodin! mechanic by leaving the Rebel token behind after the equipment gets exiled. Finally, the optional discount from Compleated gives yet another layer of flexibility in-game.
Cons:
The Compleated mechanic can feel like additional rules baggage to some curators. And despite all of the cool, unique, and flexible things she can do, she doesn’t always provide a clear strategy to helping you win the game. She’s a perfect swiss army knife, but most Boros players are simply looking for a sword.
Conclusion:
Nahiri is in my top 5 cards of the year 2023. I have 6 cubes built in paper currently, and she is in none of them. Granted, I’m a very thematic cube builder, and she doesn’t fit any of the themes, but still that should tell you how difficult she can be to fit into a list! I highly recommend anyone with a cube where she does fit, probably a medium-power list, to give her a tryout.
Deinonychus’ Reaction:
I am fond of cards with rummage abilities that discard the cart as part of the resolution instead of the cost. These always make players feel smart. Nahiri is definitely interesting, and I have always wanted to see it in a cube with cards like Arcbound Shikari and other modular cards. If you have a way to sac them, Nahiri lets you double up on them.
Pros:
Later in this article I will mention what a boon this set was for Tokens-, Artifact-, and Counters-centric cubes. This card hits well in all three! A great value engine to pull ahead in grindy games.
Cons:
I wish oil counters were charge counters to backwards-compatible better with Scars block. Does nothing when it comes down, and requires a board of at least two creatures dying before it does anything.
Conclusion:
If you curate an environment with lots of creature tokens, artifacts, or counters synergies, you probably already know how good this card can be. Outside of that, it may not meet the needs of an average cube.
Deinonychus’ Reaction:
No notes on this one, I think Bones described where it fits perfectly.
Pros:
12 years after the first striking, deathtouch Glissa, the Traitor, we have a new easier-to-cast version with the same great creature types! This one adept at murdering planeswalkers, enchantments, or just being a solid beater that sometimes Phyrexian Arenas.
Cons:
Honestly, none? She’s the perfect killing machine with a cool charm on contact. You decide if your environment wants it or not, she has no flaws either way.
Conclusion:
Put a Rancor on this lady and watch your opponent’s look of terror as they go to blockers.
Deinonychus’ Reaction:
If you like good stuff, midrange gold cards this is a good option. I like the selection on combat damage. This is way cooler than any removal spell in Golgari.
Pros:
Death Wind has been a fine limited card for years. Slapping on a reanimation effect at the top end begins to remind me of Shriekmaw with different targeting restrictions, but all at instant speed! A small removal spell, or a big removal spell with a body attached.
Cons:
If spending 5 mana to kill a 4 toughness creature is such a bad rate you can’t entertain it (the probable floor for this card), it’s probably not good enough for your cube.
Conclusion:
If you like Shriekmaw, I encourage you to consider whether this card might be a fine parallel without the clunky Terror drawback in targeting.
Deinonychus’ Reaction:
March of Wretched Sorrow is my favorite option within this space, but the reanimation mode here is interesting. In an environment like Bones’ describes this is a cool two for one with some interesting decisions to make.
Pros:
A pretty good Mirror Image parallel with one major upside: It can change into whatever your best creature is all the time! You can always turn your worst creature into a copy of your best one, in an environment that leans toward Baneslayer Angels it can really shine.
Cons:
A pretty good Mirror Image parallel with one major drawback: It won’t copy enter the battlefield triggers. Much of the recent value of creatures has been leaning the Mulldrifter direction, and a token becoming a copy of the famous flying fish isn’t all that impressive.
Conclusion:
Your creature quality and the relevance of Equipment will be large deciding factors in how this card would perform in your cube. Neat to have a singular example of the Mulldrifter <> Baneslayer creature scale, though.
Deinonychus’ Reaction:
For cubes where Cryptic Coat would be oppressive this looks like an awesome card. Clones always do a good job at letting players feel smart and rewarded for good decisions, which I view as a fundamental part of cube. It is unfortunate that this doesn’t work with legendary creatures, but there are lots of great attackers that this can copy.
Pros:
A decent blocker and mana dork that doubles as graveyard hate, with the potential to start swinging in for real damage.
Cons:
A slower mana dork and sometimes poorly timed graveyard hater, this might feel awkward enough times that you grow to resent it.
Conclusion:
I have enjoyed Armored Scrapgorger’s play patterns, but it is by no means the best-in-any-class. Mana dorks that upgrade to brawlers like Channeler Initiate are cool design space though, and I hope to see more of it.
Deinonychus’ Reaction:
Scrapgorger has overperformed my expectations every time I see it get played in a cube. As long as the mana dork mode is reasonable in your cube, the upside here is big. Graveyard hate is nearly always useful to have, and the eventual beatdown mode is great in the late game.
Pros:
Crucible of Worlds and more, I underestimated this card on first read, but sitting across from it in limited it plays very strongly. Forgoing spending a card from hand to replay your best dead creature is quite potent, especially if you can use the card from hand during the opponent’s turn.
Cons:
A lot of the cube viability of this card comes down to how good Crucible is/would be in the given cube. Without fetches or an effect like Strip Mine to take advantage of the static ability, I could see the activated ability being underwhelming at power levels above retail limited, especially at 2GG.
Conclusion:
If you notice your Crucible of Worlds decks are always running Green, I think this could be an interesting card to test in its place! Giving you the extra option every single turn of recasting a permanent spell from the grave can prove quite potent, even with the limitation of the ability.
Deinonychus’ Reaction:
I am really only sold on this card for a masters set power level cube which also has fetchlands. In environments with more power, having to spend more than 3 on a crucible or working to get NEO or bicycle lands into the yard both seem like big asks. The activated ability is a great fit for cubes where green has a lot of flash threats.
Pros:
A mostly-upgraded Martial Coup that presents a very fast clock! Can provide an incredible amount of board stabilization against aggro thanks to the life gain, sometimes even swinging the advantage meter the other way entirely, thanks to the Toxic Mites.
Cons:
Tracking Poison from the Toxic can be annoying, and I could foresee situations where the Mites being unable to block costs you a game, however rarely.
Conclusion:
If you’re looking for a Wrath that helps Control close out a game afterward, rather than just setting the board back to zero (looking at you Farewell), give this one a look! The Artifact Creature tokens can benefit from effects like Intangible Virtue or even Tempered Steel, and the life gain helps White not just lose to a topdecked Bolt after hanging on long enough to Wrath away enemy threats. All that said, it can prove a frustrating experience for the aggro player.
Deinonychus’ Reaction:
All I want to add is that I would look to use this in a cube where the 7 mana mode is not a given to get to. Playing against this in MOM limited was miserable for a reason.
Pros:
If you’ve ever wondered how Blastoderm would look if it was printed in 2023, wonder no more! Hexproof for the first two turns makes for a fantastic blocker, and then Trample on its way out the door justifies some aggressive swings.
Cons:
Better than Blastoderm in most situations, this is something you probably know if you want. Weaker than many similarly costed creatures, but cheaper to buy too.
Conclusion:
Spinoderm may not be a standout powerhouse like Questing Beast, but if you want a budget option for the Green-Four beatdown slot, it’s worth a try. Especially stellar with ways to manipulate the counters on it, but just fine in the course of its normal lifespan as well.
Deinonychus’ Reaction:
I would be very excited to play a cube where this card is a high pick. I like the tension of having the creature for a limited time but it being very powerful and changing throughout that time. If you have one of these cubes, send us a link in the comments!
Pros:
Uncounterable, trample, and indestructible half the time are stellar keywords for a 5 mana 5/5 to start off with. Almost the only spells that can target him are fight/bite spells, which is still a huge ask for the opponent to have a creature large enough to tangle with the Troll profitably. Any keywords you grant him like Haste or Vigilance are going to feel even more powerful than on most other creatures. A fantastic target for Auras, Equipment, or any other buffs to go around.
Cons:
If your cube has a lot of Wraths, Thrun could just be a Baneslayer with extra words. It can also feel impossible and demoralizing to deal with.
Conclusion:
Thrun, the Last Troll was a 0.25 for a variety of reasons in ways the game has changed in those 6 years. Your cube could be too fast for him to be viable, but anyone who has faced down the Troll in ONE draft can attest to how powerful it feels to sit across from.
Deinonychus’ Reaction:
Bones covered the reasons to try this, but I want to expand upon the reasons not to. An indestructible, trample attacker that can’t be countered and has hexproof from non-green is just a miserable card to play against. Adding more abilities to this style of card did not make it get there for more powerful cubes and made it more miserable to play against in cubes where it is of an appropriate power level. If your group really likes feeling rewarded for running answers to cards which can’t be traditionally answered then this could be a good choice.
Pros:
In a cube with a tokens archetype, taking a turn off to play an effect like Anointed Procession can feel too risky even with the high ceiling. Stapling it to a body like Mondrak solves that problem! Roar of Resistance is a stellar buff for tokens and a compelling reason to get into Red. The repeated Trumpet Blast even buffs your nontoken attackers. Finally, Neyali is a great signpost/payoff for drafting a bunch of cards like Dragon Fodder and Raise the Alarm.
Cons:
Mondrak being able to give itself Indestructible can feel impossible to overcome for many decks. On the other end of the power band, Neyali is a great payoff, but is just a Gold Hill Giant if you haven’t got any creature tokens around!
Conclusion:
RW tokens can be a real archetype, if you want! Obviously meant to work with the For Mirrodin! Archetype from the main set, but tons of enablers already existed like Outlaws' Merriment. However if your power level leans more toward Forth Eorlingas!, there may not be much here to consider.
Deinonychus’ Reaction:
Mondrak is just a very cool card. It doesn’t quite get there in the Bodleian Cube, but if you’re a step or two down in power I see it working well at what it does.
I am seeing Roar of Resistance for the very first time as I write this reaction. What an awesome card. I want to cube with this now.
Pros:
Anticipate! Disperse! Grasp of Darkness! Stabbing Pain! Broken Wings! Lay of the Land! Nature’s Spiral! BUT MAKE IT PROLIFERATE! I absolutely adore this kind of simple-effect-with-set’s-mechanic support.
Cons:
If you don’t have major counters themes, or don’t want people to be able to mess with enemy Sagas at weird times, you might overlook these. Also, they are simple effects after all, and most non-thematic cubes move on from them to more powerful cards quickly.
Conclusion:
I have used these cards in cubes with Planeswalkers, Time Counters (Vanishing), Spore Counters (Thallids!), Charge Counter artifacts, Energy counters, and even -1/-1 counters. Not to mention the straightforward approach of boosting your +1/+1 counter creatures (hopefully from Modular!) and beating down. Just fantastic pieces for the game to have exist.
Deinonychus’ Reaction:
ONE had some issues, “regular card with set mechanic” was not one of them. You know if you want these and if you do they’re going to be great.
Pros:
This section is the broadest in quantity, across many colors and rarities. But I had to mention how many goodies Artifact-centric cubes had thrown their way in this set. Charforger is a personal favorite, as my love of Goblins is well-documented, but the fact it also gets counters from Treasure tokens and is valuable to Unearth earns it a special place in my heart.
Cons:
These are more niche, so the con is evident. If you have an Artifact-centric cube, I imagine you’re already aware of some or all of them; and if you don’t, few will rate consideration.
Conclusion:
Artifact enjoyers rejoice! Tons of new tools for multiple colors were released with these sets, especially if your artifacts like having counters on them, or come in the form of Equipment.
Deinonychus’ Reaction:
As with the counters cards, I think these are cards you know if you want.
That does it for cards we wanted to talk about from ONE/ONC. Let us know of any cards you like that neither of us mentioned, as well as any assessments you disagree with! The more discussion these generate, the better they are at serving their goal of documenting takes of cards after testing in cubes!
Best ways to reach Bones:Twitter: @GoblinGathering (https://twitter.com/GoblinGathering)
MTG Cube Talk Discord: @luckylooter
Twitter: Deinonychus @HGS_Cube (https://twitter.com/HGSCube)
MTG Cube Talk Discord: @Deinonychus
Thanks for reading!