Welcome to part 1 of our set retrospective for the March of the Machine, March of the Machine Commander, and March of the Machine Aftermath. This part will feature Deinonychus’ takes on cards with Bones’ reactions.
It is so much harder to find content about how cards have performed in cubes compared to how people think cards will perform before they come out. Perhaps speculation is more fun than retrospection, but the goal of this series is to focus on the latter. It will take a look at each set about a year after it came out and go over our thoughts on the cards we think are worth talking about. 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. The 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 our 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 MOM, MOC, & MAT.
White
Archangel Elspeth
Pros:
Four mana walkers that can plus to produce a token all have a reasonable floor. With Archangel Elspeth those tokens even come with lifelink! Her minus two can turn any creature into a real threat and her ultimate is cool when it comes up.
Cons:
This Elspeth is very soft to creature removal. If the opponent kills the creature that she uses her minus two on they can eliminate all of her value by just attacking her down from 2 loyalty.
Conclusion:
This Elspeth got cut from Bodleian because the token every turn was too slow and the minus two left her too vulnerable. If I were to run this style of effect I would prefer the original Elspeth, Knight-Errant. That said, there are a lot of cubes where Knight Errant would be too much but this card would be a great fit.
Bones’ Reaction:
I remain surprised the -2 gives the creature Flying permanently without giving it a Flying counter. I think Deinonychus’ assessment is accurate, but worry that this Elspeth is in an awkward space, too powerful for most lower-power cubes and not quite good enough for most higher-power ones.
Elesh Norn
Pros:
This card is truly awesome. The front is a relevant threat which makes attacking into or blocking any of your creatures very painful for the opponent. If the opponent is tapped out they are going to take some serious damage the turn this comes down. While Elesh Norn is on the battlefield your opponent will feel on the backfoot. Flipping her is a risk, but the Argent Etchings is going to win the game if it resolves. Making 10/10 of stats across five bodies, antheming them and giving them double strike, then destroying all non-artifact creatures and giving you Elesh Norn back is insane.
Cons:
This card has a ton of words on it and is a DFC that transforms back and forth.
Conclusion:
This card is well worth the complexity. White decks have a tendency to be great at going wide which Elesh Norn plays right into. The tension of whether or not this can be flipped is fun and ever present in the minds of players here. This card is a staple of the Bodleian Cube that I do not see cutting anytime soon. I would recommend it to anyone in the space of Bodleian and to those who are a step or two down in power from there.
Bones’ Reaction:
Right on the money. I love the Norn's Annex reference on her trigger, and she has played much more cleanly than I anticipated in non-MOM-draft settings. Something I take highly in Bodleian and would be happy to take in most other cubes as well.
Guardian of Ghirapur
Pros:
This card plays like Flickerwisp that can only hit your creatures and artifacts, but has a bigger body. This is great when the opponent has a lot of small flying tokens which would prevent Flickerwisp from attacking at all. It also cannot destroy MDFC lands, which makes it a great choice for environments with a lot of them. The fact that Flickerwisp can Strip Mine these lands sucks. It exacerbates the necessary evil of mana screw in Magic.
Cons:
Not being able to flicker your opponent’s permanents is a drawback and a bummer. Flickerwisp is cool because of all the unique lines that it can be used to take. There are a lot of great plays to make that involve choosing something you do not control,
Conclusion:
If you want more Flickerwisps or really want to avoid the strip mine mode for MDFC lands then this is a great choice. I cut it from Bodleian because there are many white three drops that are a great fit for the cube. It would be a solid role player if I had kept it in there.
Bones’ Reaction:
I never considered the Flickerwisp + DFC land interaction before! A 3/3 flying for 2W with a trigger is a solid floor for most cubes, especially those with the popular UW Flicker archetype.
Guardian Scalelord
Pros:
This plays a lot like Sun Titan for five mana that has flying and pseudo haste. The turn it comes down you will get a good permanent back and it can keep that value train going while beating down in the air. The backup giving flying is also huge as it will nearly guarantee a good attack the turn it comes down.
Cons:
Scalelord is a clean design, but it is a commander only card which will make it less recognizable to a lot of players.
Conclusion:
I have been happy with Scalelord in Bodleian since release and think the card is an awesome implementation of the backup mechanic. While graveyard decks make great use of this card, there aren’t very many decks that don’t have any permanents in the graveyard by the time they get to five mana.
Bones’ Reaction:
I adore Unearth effects, and those that hit noncreature card types as well even more. Add that to the Backup mechanic being a slam dunk, and this is a compelling consideration for most cubes.
Blue
Chrome Host Seedshark
Pros:
Seedshark is synergistic, flexible, and packs a big punch. The 2/4 flying statline is very disruptive to play against. It blocks most creatures effectively and is great at attacking too.
The incubate token ability is really unique on this card. The creatures all effectively have flash and haste, which rewards creative play. Most “spells” payoffs give a fixed output for any spell. Young Pyromancer, for example, always makes a 1/1 elemental. Seedshark feels distinct in that the size of the spell you cast impacts what you get out. The scaling on this tends to work out favorably. Seedshark takes Counterspell and has it draw you a free 2/2 flash haste artifact creature. Anything larger than that only makes the tokens stronger.
Triggering off any non-creature also makes this valuable to decks looking to cast planeswalkers, mana rocks, and time warp effects. Free counterspells such as Force of Will that have a high mana value feel even more unfair with Seedhsark on the board.
Cons:
Some people may not like the transforming double faced tokens from this card, but I have not found that to be an issue.
The four toughness is certainly a drawback in some lists. This makes an opponent lingering souls look pretty silly.
The biggest con for this card is that it will be way too strong for a lot of lists.
Conclusion:
This is a premiere blue card in Bodleian Cube and one of my favorites from the set. It has a lot of interesting play patterns, incentivizes casting some bigger spells, and does something that almost any blue deck is interested in doing. I would recommend testing this card very highly, though I’d be cautious of it in cubes which are further down the power spectrum from where Bodleian lies.
Bones’ Reaction:
This shark is SO strong that it never had a chance of appearing in any of my cubes. It's a really cool design and I enjoy seeing it in environments where it's at appropriate power level. Would love to see a similar trigger on a different body/cost at some point, since I imagine casting spells that Proliferate, making the token, then bumping up the die is a fun play pattern.
Faerie Mastermind
Pros:
This a flash flying 2/1 for two mana. If you’re in the market for another one this will do the job.
Cons:
I don’t like that a lot of this card's ceiling is achieved based on what your opponent’s deck is doing. In cubes where there are lots of ways to make your opponent draw, say Jace Beleren, I would like it a lot more.
Also, the art on this card just does not do it for me.
Conclusion:
There are so many options for blue threats at two mana that I am just not excited to see this card in a list. It does the job just fine, but I have no intention of running it in Bodleian over any of the cards I like more at this mana value.
Bones’ Reaction:
I'm a sucker for Faeries, and this plays exactly like the best of the Blue ones: in response to the opponent. The floor of being able to draw slightly ahead of the opponent with the activation is attractive to me, even if the ceiling of flashing it in response to a cantrip never occurs.
Rona, Herald of Invasion
Pros:
Speaking of cool blue two drops, Rona is a looter that pays you off for drafting legendary spells and can even transform into a game ending threat. All planeswalkers and legendary creatures let Rona loot an additional time, which is great value for sculpting your hand. Last but not least, the 1/3 statline means Rona can block a Savannah Lions variant without any problems.
Cons:
Paying for the transform on Rona is super risky when the opponent has mana up. Spending 5+ mana to get blown out is not a good time.
Conclusion:
Rona also joins the long list of potential options for two mana creatures in blue. I enjoy playing with Rona, but not more than Jace, Vyrn's Prodigy or Ledger Shredder in the Bodleian Cube. If I were to go up from 360 I would be very interested in including her. If she seems interesting to you she is definitely worth giving a test.
Bones’ Reaction:
I love looters as well, but my preference is on those with combat triggers like Malcolm, Alluring Scoundrel and Shoreline Looter. That being said, Rona is still super cool especially with the legends to untap her as mentioned above. Big fan of the design, but might not find many homes.
Black
Archpriest of Shadows
Pros:
When you have a board and creatures in your graveyard this card feels great. Backup granting deathtouch can create some great attacks, though the opponent will trade off a good creature to stop you from getting back a better one.
Cons:
Casting this card on an empty board or with an empty graveyard feels awful.
Conclusion:
This card felt disappointing in Bodleian, but I could see it shining in a set with more of a masters limited style of power level. If the removal in the cube trades very favorably with the 5/5 baneslayer mode of this card then it is going to struggle in some respects.
Bones’ Reaction:
This card felt brutally unfair every time an opponent used it against me in MOM draft, but I definitely don't see if making many high power cubes for all the reasons above. Backup is such a fantastic mechanic though, I encourage folks who might be in the right zone for it to try it out!
Ayara's Oathsworn
Pros:
A 2/2 menace that gets bigger every time it hits the opponent is a great floor. If this starts to get in for damage on curve it can scale with the opponents blockers to great effect. Evasion and scaling stats are just a potent combo. This card also offers its caster a dream in the form of the Demonic Tutor ability. This does not come up often but feels very cool when it does happen.
Cons:
There are a lot of evasive, black two drops.
Conclusion:
Ayara’s Oathsworn is a card that plays like it reads. I ultimately cut it from the Bodleian Cube for other options, but it would still be a good role player in the cube today. There is a style of cube where this will be too efficient on rate, but it will play well in a variety of power levels. Players will enjoy chasing the DT dream if you put this card in your cube to test it.
Bones’ Reaction:
This card reminds me of Lagomos, Hand of Hatred, where it has a perfectly serviceable ability and a big, cool hoop with a strong payoff if it goes unchecked or you help it along. Fun card to play but sometimes just a win-more in practice.
Breach the Multiverse
Pros:
A “cheat engine” in a can which will always get you two powerful threats. It’s hard to overstate how effective it is to get the best creature or planeswalker from both graveyards after both players mill ten cards. I really like that this hits walkers, which is fairly unique among black’s reanimation style spells. The variety that this offers is also fun. Getting to take a powerful thing from your opponent means that you get more varied plays than you would if it just got creatures from your own deck.
Cons:
This will absolutely hose any other deck trying to play high curving creatures or walkers. Over the course of testing I had matches where I got more Koma, Cosmos Serpent’s into play off of this card than my opponent did from their own deck. While this is fun for the caster of the card, it led to some negative play patterns for the environment. Expensive to cast cards already have a lot of inherent risk, so adding cards that specifically punish the players who chose to go for them is pretty brutal.
Conclusion:
I really like how this can be a self-contained cheat engine which control and ramp decks can slot into their decks. This added some interesting texture to a lot of decks during the test window. I did not like how it tended to hose other decks which wanted to resolve high mana value creatures. The negative play patterns won out here so I cut the card from Bodleian. Virtue of Persistence fills a similar role on the top end while also having a removal spell to use early. It is less explosive than Breach the Multiverse, but I consider that a feature, not a bug.
Bones’ Reaction:
It costs a lot, and if it resolves probably ends the game! There are not a lot of ways to cheat Sorceries out, but this could be an interesting Mizzix's Mastery payoff.
Pile On
Pros:
Lethal Scheme is an apt comparison here. Pile on plays better in decks with fewer creatures and does not create any confusion about what order the connives happen.
Cons:
The ceiling on Pile On is lower and less cool than with Lethal Scheme. Not being able to manipulate power/toughness or discard cards from your hand both reduce the cool lines of play that are available.
Conclusion:
This is a removal spell that will scale well into a variety of environments. If you’re interested in it, you should give it a test. I prefer Lethal Scheme in Bodleian Cube, but this card would play well in that slot too.
Bones’ Reaction:
Lethal Scheme: Bar Cube edition! A clean and cool kill spell with a little deck manipulation. Love it.
Urborg Scavengers
Pros:
I always liked Soulflayer as a design and Urborg Scavengers plays in that space while adding keywords and power over time. Hitting something like Phoenix of Ash feels amazing when this comes down, but getting any keyword adds up. The counter is awarded for any card being removed, so this can also just stay on rate over time while removing spells with flashback or taking away the opponent’s delirium turn over turn.
Cons:
This is a lot of graveyard hate on a scaling body. If the graveyard in your cube is more about flashing back Sacred Fire than it is casting Phlage, Titan of Fire's Fury then this will be over tuned.
Conclusion:
Scavengers is a great piece of graveyard interaction attached to an interesting and effective body. If you’re looking for more interaction with the yard, give it a shot. I recently cut it to test Emperor of Bones, but there’s a reasonable change it makes its way back to Bodleian in the future.
Bones’ Reaction:
Something you might not have noticed: This doesn't care if the exiled card is a Creature, only if it has the keyword! So Vehicles like Smuggler's Copter can frequently make this a flier.
Red
Bloodfeather Phoenix
Pros:
This card plays how it reads. It’s a 2/2 flying creature for two mana that cannot block. Pointing burn at the opponent’s face to bring it back can happen, but not often in my testing.
Cons:
Not being able to block really limits the number of decks this goes in. There are a lot of red two drops with evasion that can also block.
Conclusion:
I found this card to be lackluster. It does what it says, but there are a lot of cards I like more for this mana cost in this color.
Bones’ Reaction:
One more mana than Forsaken Miner to gain Flying and come back with Haste seems fine to me! Surprised to see Deinonychus lower on this one, but his defense is sufficient.
Deinonychus’ Unscheduled Reaction to Bones’ Reaction:
If Phoenix came back for committing any crime this review would look wildly different.
Chandra, Hope’s Beacon
Pros:
Double Vision is a sweet card. Chandra Hope’s Beacon gives you an entire planeswalker for the small cost of one more mana. The turn she comes down she can kill their two best threats (or hit face) with her -X or +2 to cast and copy a good spell from your hand. Two Doom Blades can protect her and grow her loyalty at the same time. In certain circumstances Chandra even takes the role of a Lava Axe to get the job done.
Untapping with Chandra is devastating to the opponent. Even double small spells generates advantage and she can quickly uptick to the point where she can kill the opponent. If you combine her with extra turn spell or high impact spells like Fiery Confluence or Pest Infestation the game is going to swing massively in your favor. Nexus of Fate is particularly great with this Chandra as she can dig 10 cards to find it again and then generate infinite loyalty to kill them if you empty your whole deck and loop nexus turn after turn.
Cons:
If your cube is in the market for a six drop I have no cons to share for this card.
Conclusion:
This is one of my favorite cards from the set and is a fantastic top end for ramp, control, and other big red decks. Players love to duplicate their spells whether they’re looping Nexus of Fate or just doubling up on Preordain. If you’re in the market for a top end spell in red, this is my favorite one in existence at the time of writing this article.
Bones’ Reaction:
I've never seen the Nexus of Fate interaction before and that is probably the coolest use of that card I've seen for cube. MUCH cooler than Teferi, Hero just getting an emblem and erasing your opponent's will to live without ever touching their life total.
Death-Greeter’s Champion
Pros:
Backup and Dash is such an incredible pair of mechanics. It is intuitive, powerful, and allows players to feel smart as they find cool things to do with it. Giving a counter and double strike to something the turn this comes down is brutal, doing it every turn is even more so.
The Dash makes this an excellent planeswalker assassin and very good at dodging opponent’s sorcery speed removal. The floor of a 3/2 double strike is still a great threat, though not as powerful as situations where you can give something else double strike to enable an attack.
This card is also great with any creatures that have combat damage triggers. A double “Full Rankle" is my personal favorite story with this card, though I also got to see fellow designer HenryClay on discord “Double Dash” DGC and Ragavan in a game which I will remember for the rest of my life.
Cons:
While this card is the least oppressive of the cracked EDH precon red three drops (at least as of September 2024), it is still a very pushed card. If your environment is much lower powered than Bodeian is I would be wary of it.
Conclusion:
I love Death-Greeter’s Champion and find it to be an ideal power ceiling to the three mana creatures in my cube. It does not pack the insane punch of Broadside Bombardiers style cards and I think that’s a good thing for the majority of cubes. This design is clean, cool, and efficient in a way that I adore. If your cube is in the same space as Bodleian you should test this card.
Bones’ Reaction:
Extremely cool use of the extremely cool Backup mechanic. Players get to feel smart at the ceiling and it's just a fun card to attack with at the floor. A perfect gift to Cube from Commander decks.
Etali, Primal Conqueror
Pros:
This is the kind of seven mana card that players want to put in their decks. Etali, Primal Storm was in the very first person of the Bodleian Cube and got cut because it was too hard to get an attack trigger to happen. While this card costs an additional mana, getting a trigger from both players on ETB completely fixes the issues that the original Etali had in my cube.
Getting to cast a card from both decks is a blast to resolve and results in all kinds of varied board states in which you’re now ahead. Getting to pilot some of your opponent’s good cards is a lot of fun even if they remove your 7/7 trampling dinosaur.
Flipping Etali does not happen often, but Blightsteel Colossus that is still able to kill the opponent with regular combat damage is one hell of a magic card.
Cons:
Players that do not like poison counters are not going to like the backside of this card. Additionally, this is a high variance Magic card. The difference between hitting Opt and Arbor Elf on your Dino Slots pulls as compared to Goldspan Dragon and Time Warp is gigantic. There are times this card will not swing the game in your favor and times when it will swing it to a point of no return immediately. If you prefer your games of Magic to be more on the chess-like end of the spectrum then this may prove too swingy.
Conclusion:
Etali is worth resolving and fun to resolve, which makes it an ideal ramp or cheat target for cubes that want cards this powerful. I have truly enjoyed having Etali in the Bodleian Cube and do not plan to cut it anytime soon.
Bones’ Reaction:
See my thoughts on Breach the Multiverse above, this is expensive but definitely a fun way to spend a bunch of mana!
Khenra Spellspear
Pros:
If you want to beat down and sling spells then this is a card for you. Trample and Prowess combine very well, though slightly less well than Trample, Prowess, and Prowess. Blocking this card is a nightmare with open mana up, especially on the back.
Cons:
Flipping this leaves the player vulnerable to a blowout. However, decks can wait to flip this and still make good use of it on the front side.
Conclusion:
This is a great spells matter threat for a wide variety of cubes. It scales very well to the efficiency of noncreature spells within an environment and having two prowesses on the back is so cool. I was happy with the card in Bodleian, but ended up cutting it to make room to test other cards I am also excited about.
Bones’ Reaction:
This card will tempt a lot of people normally averse to DFCs. Fantastic card to pull drafters into UR spellslinger, without even requiring U technically.
Rampaging Raptor
Pros:
Questing Beast with trample and big fire breathing instead of eight thousand other keywords. Best of all, it is a dinosaur. This is arguably even better at killing planeswalkers by virtue of the trample and pump abilities. I also like that it asks the player to make a decision about whether or not to attack.
Cons:
This mentions Battles as a card type, which feels like additive distraction in a cube that does not have any.
Conclusion:
There is a potential to oversimplify card evaluations with bad comparisons to other cards, but this card is not one of those cases. If you like Questing Beast and/or Ulvenwald Oddity then this card is going to be great for you, especially if you wish Questing Beast had fewer abilities. Proactive decks love cards like this, especially when they get to kill planeswalkers and attack face at the same time. This has been great in Bodleian and I do not see taking it out anytime. Let’s be honest, I can’t go around taking raptors out of my cube. My evaluation here is not biased at all based on this card being a raptor.
Bones’ Reaction:
That sounded like a lot of pro-Raptor propaganda, but he makes compelling points.
Green
Deeproot Wayfinder
Pros:
If your cube has a lot of ways to put lands in the graveyards, especially fetchlands, then this card is a 2/3 for two mana that will ramp you on combat damage and provide some card selection. This is a great package of abilities when it comes together.
Cons:
I have a couple small issues with this card. First, 2/3 is an annoying stateline. It makes it better at blocking than attacking and prone to bounce off of things. This means the opponent will often be able to block this to prevent the combat damage trigger and choose to do so to prevent you from ramping. This seemed to promote board stalls overall during testing.
An additional issue here is that it doesn’t benefit from a turn 1 dork. For cubes which have access to ramp on turn one this is a big downside.
Conclusion:
I like this in cubes where green is not on the turn 1 ramp gameplan. It can still get extra lands into play with its own trigger, though green decks are not always good at getting a 2/3 in for combat damage.
Bones’ Reaction:
On turn 2 this card feels incredible, but every turn later than that it comes down it feels harder to matter beyond being a solid body for 1G. My appreciation of this card goes up proportionally with the number of Rancor or Subira, Tulzidi Caravanner effects present.
Ozolith, the Shattered Spire
Pros:
This is my favorite hardened scales variant because it comes with a built in way to put counters on creatures. Paying two mana to put two counters onto a creature is a good rate and a great way to sink unneeded mana. Cycling 2 means that when it is not the right card, it just becomes a different one.
Cons:
None, this card is sweet.
Conclusion:
If you want a hardened scales variant in your cube then I would test this card without a second thought. If you are not interested in a hardened scales variant I do not think this card is a reason to try to put a +1/+1 counters deck into your cube.
Bones’ Reaction:
I like this more than Hardened Scales because artifacts are easier to interact with, so it doesn't feel quite as unfair if it helps run you over. An upgrade in my book!
Wrenn and Realmbreaker
Pros:
This Wrenn can immediately minus two to replace itself.
Cons:
Oftentimes this is just going to be three mana strategic planning for a permanent. If you ramp it out on turn 2 it cannot protect itself for a whole turn cycle, so it is fairly easy to attack down. The +1 is a reasonable way to make this into a threat or protect your walker, but it really sucks to trade off your lands in combat that early in the game.
Making your lands tap for mana of any color without giving them types really reduces the amount of cool things this card can do. Dryad of the Ilysian Grove does while also playing well with domain and other strategies that care about land types.
Conclusion:
In testing this really did just feel like 1GG for strategic planning that can only hit a permanent. I was very high on this card during spoiler season and was very wrong. This could be a fun card in a cube with lands and graveyard themes, but it would need to be a cube which is well below Bodleian in terms of power.
Bones’ Reaction:
I appreciate that the land gets hexproof so combat tricking to kill it blocking for Wrenn is a bit harder, but this walker really has a pretty linear play pattern. Not my favorite Wrenn.
Gold
Kogla and Yidaro
Pros:
This is a lot of flexibility packed into one card. A 7/7 trample, haste, or a 7/7 that fights when it enters, or a four mana disenchant that cantrips and puts itself back into your deck. All of these modes are good in different situations, but it is rare that none of them are good in a given situation.
Cons:
I really wish this always had trample and that the first mode just gave it haste. While the ETB has a lot of value, if the opponent deploys some blockers this can get stalled out very effectively.
Conclusion:
This is a great option in Gruul that I would be running if Mawloc did not exist. If Kogla and Yidaro always had trample I would almost certainly be running both in Bodleian.
Bones’ Reaction:
Ape Dinosaur Turtle lovers rejoice. Big Godzilla vs Kong energy.
Narset, Enlightened Exile
Pros:
Giving your entire board prowess and casting a noncreature from either graveyard on attack is a great combination. While this card is great with token makers like third path iconoclast, you do not need other cards to make casting your opponents planeswalkers (or your own) for free on attack into a good play. She also plays well with cards that can put spells into your graveyard to be cast for free, though this is not necessary either. This results in Narset having a lot of varied patterns based on the board and deck you build around her. She is particularly good with The Wandering Emperor who can be cast from the graveyard or hand then give her prowess and first strike to survive the attack.
Cons:
This card is three colors worth of mana and you need to untap with it to use it to great effect.
Conclusion:
Narset is the kind of three color card that I am excited to have in a cube. Drafters who see her early are excited to build around her and drafters who see her in pack three often tell me they would love to draft again and try to build around her next time. She is unique, packs a punch, and lets a drafter do things that other cards cannot do. She has been in Bodleian since MAT came out and will likely be in the list for a long time.
Bones’ Reaction:
This card is incredibly strong and I didn't realize at first she can hit any noncreature spell from any graveyard (smaller than her power). I played this on turn 4 in a lower-power cube and killed my opponent with her first attack alongside a few tokens and Balmor, Battlemage Captain. Like all good monks: Very flexible, very strong!
Thalia and the Gitrog Monster
Pros:
A 4/4 first strike death touch simply cannot lose in combat. Unless they also have a first strike creature, this needs five blockers to deal damage to it. When your opponent's creature enter tapped, this only gets harder to do. The exploration text combined with the land/creature sacrifice on attack also provides a deck with a lot of value.
Cons:
I often found that the decks wanting this card did not want to be base Abzan. This meant that at least one pip of this card was being splashed, resulting in a deck that was at least four colors to make use of it.
Conclusion:
Thalia and the Gitrog Monster generate a lot of value, but not in a way that I found worth the inclusion of a three color card in the Bodleian Cube. I would be excited to play this card in a deck where it indicated a deck which combines the sacrifice and lands angles of the guilds within the Abzan wedge. This seems easier to do than ever with some of the great Abzan lands cards coming out in Modern Horizons 3.
Bones’ Reaction:
An absolute nightmare for an opponent without removal in hand. A fleeting concern otherwise.
Colorless
There are no colorless cards from this set that I want to write about.
Lands
There are no lands from this set I want to write about.
Battles
I was very interested in Battles when this set was spoiled, so I tested them in a different manner than normal. Rather than putting battles into the Bodleian Cube, I elected to let my players add any battle they wanted to their decks after the draft. This let us get a feel for how they played much faster than if cards had to get cut to test specific ones. I do not go over every Battle below, just the ones I want to talk about.
Invasion of Gobakhan
Pros:
We’re starting off strong with the battle that impressed me the most in testing. 2 mana tax on a card is great on Elite Spellbinder and is also great from this card. There are just a lot of cards that feel lackluster when their cost increases, especially when you play this while ahead on board. Once this card is flipped, the opponent is just losing. All the attackers get better and better each turn and the Lightshield Array will stop the opponent's first meaningful play that can disrupt your advantage.
Cons:
The lack of a body compared to Spellbinder does feel like a downside. You do typically want to play this with a threat on board that can attack to get the flip early.
Lightshield Array is not a fun card to lose to. It both snowballs the opponent and requires you to draw two answers that they need to stop in order to come back. This did not lead to fun play patterns during testing.
Conclusion:
Invasion of Gobakhan was a strong disruptive spell in the Bodleian Cube, but I ultimately did not add it after the free battles testing. The backside just sucked to lose to in a way that I did not find compelling. There are cubes where this will be a great fit, but I suspect that those will be ones where combo is more prevalent. When all of the decks are playing to the board Lightshield Array is going to take over most games.
Bones’ Reaction:
I saw someone play this over and over from their graveyard with Lurrus and it looked really miserable! If this interaction excites you, you might consider a vacation to Gobakhan.
Invasion of Tarkir
Pros:
The floor on this card is overcosted Shock. This is not exciting, but it does do the job against a variety of creatures. If you can flip the card then you get a big creature that will win the game if you can protect it.
Cons:
The backside of this card is a huge baneslayer that costs at least five combat damage to cast. This is of course assuming that your opponent will not be able to effectively block in circumstances where they cannot deal with the back of the card. In environments with plentiful removal you are more or less adding “and gain 5+ life” to the opponents removal spell or counter that costs a couple of mana. In environments where card advantage >>> tempo this is still a two for one. In environments where tempo >>>card advantage this is a huge blowout.
Conclusion:
I think this card wants a cube in which card advantage matters more than tempo, but a 4/4 flying trample that casts shock every turn is not totally oppressive either. In Bodleian the floor was low and the reward for flipping it was not worth it.
Bones’ Reaction:
Cool and flavorful if you have a Dragons theme! Like most Battles, the complexity is a high bar to clear for inclusion in most cubes.
Invasion of Ixalan
Pros:
Two mana to get a permanent from the top five cards of the library is a totally reasonable floor. You’re going to get something you want and be left with a battle that you can choose to flip or not based on the board state. Flipping to get the Belligerent Regisaur often felt worth it during testing. A 4/3 trample that gets indestructible anytime you cast a spell is a good attacker that’s not hard to protect after you flip it. This really mitigated the drawback of an opponent holding up removal for the back.
Cons:
This is still vulnerable to the opponent holding up a counterspell.
Conclusion:
I like Invasion of Ixalan. If you’re interested in testing out battles then this one will scale well into a variety of cubes. It is good enough on the front to feel worth the card, which makes flipping it feel like a strategic choice rather than an obligation.
Bones’ Reaction:
It makes you take a turn off of playing an overstatted creature for 1G, but rewards you significantly in future combats if you manage to flip it. Cool design, and perhaps an easy include for Dinosaur enthusiasts.
Wrap Up
That does it for cards I wanted to talk about from MOM/MOC/MAT. Let us know what cards you like that I didn't mention 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 Deinonychus:Twitter: Deinonychus @HGS_Cube (https://twitter.com/HGSCube)
MTG Cube Talk Discord: @Deinonychus
Twitter: @GoblinGathering (https://twitter.com/GoblinGathering)
MTG Cube Talk Discord: @luckylooter
Thanks for reading! Bones’ takes with Deinonychus' reactions will be coming soon, and our next retrospective on LTR will follow after that.
