Jacked Rabbit: This card at 3 is basically a Krenko, and it scales up from there. Putting X to 3 or greater and you have a threat that can create an army every time it swings, and it even draws you a card in the late game.

Darkstar Augur: Truly greatness at any cost, except this card also flies and can create an offspring for even more card advantage. The cut is Braids, as the Cube can no longer afford to have a 4-mana 2/2. She will take a well deserved retirement in my binder.

Emberheart Challenger: This card does a lot; it has Haste and Prowess, so it beats down hard, but can also draw you a card if you slap an equipment on it, or target it with an ability. Seems like a slam to me!

Ajani, Nacatl Pariah: Probably the most pushed 2-drop in Cube, the power level of this card speaks for itself. I can't wait to Skullclamp the token, flip Ajani, and start making more cats. This is an instant slam and forever staple!

Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd: This cute little lady does a lot: has Flash so she can sneak into play versus decks with counterspells, can negate a blocker, and can also blink your creatures to both grow them and abuse their ETBs. Easy replacement for Gideon Jura, which has shown its age and also reduces the number of Planeswalker in my White section.

Sink into Stupor: A MDFC land that also plays a decent Venser impression. I think this is a fairly easy replacement over Mu Yanling.

Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student: A one-drop flyer that can make Clues and transform with a simple Brainstorm. Jace, AoT has been rather anemic and will be sitting out for test purposes.

Ghostfire Slice: A Char that can get around protection, doesn't hurt you, and can cost as little as 1-mana? Sign me up.

Flare of Duplication: Copying a Fiery Confluence or Delayed Blast Fireball is pretty gas, but how about your opponent's Mind Twist or Time Walk? Sacrificing a nontoken Red creature is not trivial, but is such powerful effect that it warrants testing. Hazoret will be taking a break, as we now have multiple ways to close out the game at 4-mana.

Fanatic of Rhonas: A 2-mana 1/4 that blocks for days, can ramp super hard if you have Ferocious, and can even come back as a threat with Eternalize. Nightpack Ambusher is a fine creature against more countermagic-heavy matchups, but barring that it is not as impactful compared to more recent 4-drops in Green.

Kudo, King Among Bears: Honestly just testing this given how weak the Selesnya section is in Cube. Being able to shrink your opponent's cheaty threats, but also pumping your 1/1s is not that irrelevant in certain builds.

Abtruse Appropriation: Reminds me of Hostage Taker, but is instant speed, can hit any threat, and can get through protection. At least worth a test over Damn, which is basically a Wrath of God in most cases, and the Cube is good for sweepers already.

Psychic Frog: This is a very pushed Psychatog that can also fly and draw you cards. I still like Baleful Strix a lot, but the fact that the Frog can also slot into Reanimator makes it worth testing.

Lots to test and talk about today. Let's go with the cards from OTJ, OTC, and BIG, before we move on to other considerations.

Angel of Indemnity: It feels like I've been waiting forever for a White top-end threat that is also a creature. Angel of Indemnity is a huge flying threat that also has Lifelink to stabilize, but the real point of interest is that it can bring back anything 4 or less from your graveyard back to the battlefield. Getting back a Gideon or a Wandering Emperor is going to feel fantastic, and while the Encore works better in multiplayer formats, in certain games it can come up even in Cube. Elesh Norn has rarely been picked up or cast, and is time to move on from what is my favourite Phyrexian Praetor.

Dust Animus: This creature is super pushed, and epitomizes the current power creep of creatures. A 2-mana 2/3 with Flying makes it so that it can get in damage early, and with Plot this creature has relevance in the mid to late game as well. This is a creature that I can see both aggro and midrange decks being interested in, and that makes it an easy include in this update. Imposing Sovereign is fine only in aggro decks, but does lose its lustre when opponents don't have creatures, or already has a board setup and its 2/1 body then makes it quite irrelevant on the board.

Duelist of the Mind: It's going to be easy to proc the trigger, and the combination of 3-toughness, Flying, and Vigilance will make it annoying for attackers and opponents with Monarch/Initiative/Planeswalkers to defend. This also synergizes well with cards such as Brainstorm and Wheel, making this a creature that punches well above its weight class. Kitesail Larcenist is a fine creature, but any chance I get to lower the curve of my Cube I will welcome.

Smirking Spelljacker: This is the creature form of Mystic Confluence. For 5-mana not only do I get to counter my opponent's spell, but I also get a Flying 3/3 body, and the chance to cast the spell that I just countered? Sign me up; this is going to lead to some ridiculous blowouts. Mulldrifter is another relic from a bygone era of Cube, and is seeing less and less play in this current environment which favours tempo above all else. It will take a well-deserved retirement in my binder.

Harvester of Misery: Finally, another playable Black 5-drop. I really like the ETB on this guy, I like the Menace, I like that it's out of Bolt range, and the fact that I can "Channel" it to take out an early threat is fantastic. There's a lot to like here, and I think it'll live up to expectations. Ravenous Chupacabra is the cut here, simply because a 2/2, even with a Murder attached to it, is just less and less appealing in the current environment.

Slickshot Show-Off: It flies, it has Haste, and it hits like a truck with its double Prowess. With Plot, I can definitely see people setting up huge turns of damage when combined with cards like Fireblast. Dire Fleet Daredevil is the easy cut here; I like the 2/1 First Strike body, but you're only ever happy with Daredevil whne you get to snipe a Time Walk or Recall, and I don't think anyone will miss the card too much.

Bristlebud Farmer: I've been liking cards that give me more cards, and this is a 4-mana 5/5 with Trample that makes me 2 Food. What's more, it can turn those foods into cards in hand, which is fantastic. I like the Farmer a lot more than Voracious Hydra as the ball of stats, even though the Hydra can take out an early threat, I value the utility of additional cards a bit more.

Sandstorm Salvager: I like Blade Splicer in White, so I am definitely going to like it in Green, especially since it can pump all my tokens from my Squirrel makers and Planeswalkers. Den Protector is only ever really good when looping Time Walks, and fairly mediocre outside of that scenario. Plus, this lets me remove the last creature with Morph from my list, which is an added bonus.

Vaultborn Tyrant: This card was added in part due to another change that is included in this update, which we will discuss further down. This creature is fantastic, as at a baseline it will replace itself right away and gain you 3 life, and further fatties will also give you the same benefit. What's cool about the Tyrant is even if it dies, it will give you an exact copy of itself so you can enjoy its benefits again, which works great with Sneak Attack and Recurring Nightmare effects. Cultivate is yet another victim of the current upswing in tempo; decks simply can't afford to cast a 3-mana spell that only ramps and adds nothing to the board.

Pillage the Bog: I like that this card digs really deep, can help find combo pieces, and that it's not another piece of highly efficient removal spell. Pernicious Deeds is a card I really enjoy, but is the most likely candidate to remove in order to test Pillage. I can see Deeds coming back in if Pillage doesn't perform.

That concludes the changes from OTJ, OTC, and BIG! We'll move on now to the miscellaneous changes that are also a part of this update.

Flash: This is a card that I've seen talked about, but have never tested, and after seeing many other Cube curators and content creators say that this is one of the most powerful combos you can do in Cube I've decided to give it a try. There are many creatures in the Cube that will have a devastating effect simply by entering the battlefield, with Vaultborn Tyrant being one of them. The card being cut to test Flash is Forbid; while I like Forbid quite a bit, holding up a Cancel is getting less and less likely nowadays, and the Forbid lock is not as viable as before.

Worldly Tutor: This is a cheap tutor that can help set up Flash and other creature-based combo decks. Tooth and Nail being a 7-9 mana finisher is simply not good enough in today's environment, and will be taking a break while we test the Flash package.

Worldspine Wurm: More Flash support; getting three 5/5s with Trample as early as turn 1 is scary, and while Terastodon has put in work in the past, it is the most likely candidate to be cut to test this change.

Headliner Scarlett: Overall, Murders at Karlov Manor was not a Cube-friendly set, but it does have one card that is an absolute slam dunk. Headliner Scarlett is basically everything a Red-based aggro deck wants as a curve-topper: she has Haste, her ETB invalidates every blocker your opponent has, and finally, provides a steady source of card advantage every turn it sticks around. It's a fantastic card that will see play in my Cube for years to come. Scarlett will be replacing Flametongue Kavu, which has seen its age; it feels really nice to play FTK and killing something like a Questing Beast, but the fact that FTK can't be played in an empty board does come up, and the threat of planeswalkers and other problematic permanents makes a 4/2 that has no other combat abilities a liability in certain matchups; FTK will take a well-deserved break in the retirement binder.

Get Lost: A Fateful Absence variant, except Get Lost also hits enchantments, and gives Maps instead of Clues, which I consider to be less of a drawback. This will be in my list for a long time, taking care of a wide variety of problematic cards, from Moat to Oko.

March of Otherworldly Light was fine in testing, but overall Get Lost is simply more efficient, without having to sacrifice cards in hand.

Kitesail Larcenist: A Blue version of Brutal Cathar, this card looks to shore up Blue's matchup against aggressive decks. I've previously tested 3-mana removal spells in Blue, such as Imprisoned in the Moon and Fall from Favour, and I believe that Larcenist being an evasive body with Ward 1 will be the reason why it will find success compared to its predecessors.

Consecrated Sphinx has seen very little play as of late, being an expensive card that doesn't stabilize the board position or wins the game, with no protection to boot. As the Cube becomes faster and the overall curve of the list decreasing, having speed bumps like Kitesail Larcenist in the list will help midrange and control decks cross the finish line.

Deep-Cavern Bat: I've been a huge fan of Kitesail Freebooter, its combination of evasion and disruption has been fantastic in helping Black-based aggro decks compete in my environment. Deep-Cavern Bat is similar, but trades the additional point of toughness of Freebooter for both Lifelink, and the ability to choose a creature card for the exile. This seems more than fair compensation, and I would be very surprised if Deep-Cavern Bat doesn't find the same or higher level of success in my list as Kitesail Freebooter.

Pack Rat has seen the end of its life cycle in my list, as a 2-mana 1-drop no longer cuts mustard. The card's signature ability is both slow and costly, and swarming the opponent with Rats while pitching real cards and hoping they have no sweepers has gotten less and less likely as the Cube has evolved.

Inti, Seneschal of the Sun: I love that Inti is impactful right away; being able to augment and attack with a 3/3 Goblin Guide on turn 2 is great, and while in the early game we are unlikely to take advantage of Inti's cast from exile ability, this allows us to pitch lands in the late stages to find cards to seal the deal.

Goblin Cratermaker was fine, but ultimately we are now spoiled for choice in the Red 2-drop section. It can take a well-deserved rest.

Trumpeting Carnosaur: This card is everything I'm looking for in a super fatty: a huge body, evasion, and a powerful ETB. I'm a big fan of the Discover mechanic, because unlike Cascade, you can choose to draw the card instead if you happen to exile a removal spell with no viable targets, or an X-spell. While Discover is less powerful than Cascade when facing decks with countermagic, the Discover being ETB makes it so that it's great with reanimation spells, blink effects, and makes the Carnosaur a much better creature to cheat in with Sneak Attack. Its 'channel' ability to bolt for 3 is also fantastic, as it can help in the early game versus problematic creatures, allows us to finish off low loyalty planeswsalkers, and also puts itself in the graveyard for reanimator spells.

Koth of the Hammer was a staple in the mono-red aggro deck since the early days of the Cube. Nowadays however, it's mostly just a 4-mana 4/4 with Haste, and there are more impactful cards in that slot.

Sentinel of the Nameless City: A 3-mana 3/4 with Vigilance, that also has the Titan design is nothing to scoff at. This card is fantastic in stabilizing the board versus early aggression, and while Map tokens are not the best, being able to grow the body is never irrelevant, and at worst clearing lands off the top means we get to the good parts of our deck sooner.

Nissa, Vastwood Seer is now a liability in most matchups, as it's mostly a Borderland Ranger that doesn't fix mana 90% of the time. In the 10% of the time where it flips, it's often only for the Ashaya token, and hopefully it lives where it can slowly trickle out value.

Restless Vents: This manland fixes what I disliked about Lavaclaw Reaches, in that it actually has some form of evasion. The ability to also rummage is also great in the later stages of the game. However, I still see this as a simple placeholder for when Wizards inevitably completes the Horizon lands cycle for allied colours.

Blightstep Pathway is out because players disliked having to flip the card, otherwise it was fine most of the time.