Hello All! Tonight I bring you the changes from Magic Foundations!
There are a handful of Innistrad cards in this set, all of which I have reviewed here, if you are interested in seeing my thoughts on ALL the cards.
For today though, we'll just be going over the cards that are making it in, which happen to be five in total!
Sudden Insight is an interesting card advantage spell for a cube that relies heavily on graveyards. As an instant, if you can net 3 or more cards, I think you're happy, which can happen quite easily. 6 mana is a bunch, and if it was a sorcery, it wouldn't even be in contention, but I really like that it's an instant. Coming out is Jace, Unraveler of Secrets. Five mana for Opt or Unsummon always felt unimpressive, and he didn't have the power I hoped he would.
Ivora, Insatiable Heir does exactly what vampires want. She's aggressive and cares about blood, discard, and +1/+1 counters. Chandra, Dressed to Kill was in here as a payoff for mon ored, but she's always fallen a bit short. I'm not even sure if that archetype is even a thing after my changes a few months ago.
Dark Bargain is a card that always puts in more work than you expect. Yes, it hurts you a bit, but the amount of selection it gives you at instant speed can't be underestimated. The reason why it is coming in for Tooth Collector is because they are both at home in Delirium decks, but I think I would rather have another enable for Delirium, than a little payoff. I'm fine changing this back though if I don't like how it plays.
Vampire Gourmand vs Vermin Gorger was a hard comparison to make. They do very similar things, but are subtly different. In the end though, I think Gourmand has an extra synergy or two with the vampires deck, so it is going to slot in for a little while. If I don't like it, this is an easy change to rescind.
High-Society Hunter is a jacked up Harvester of Souls, and is perfect for this cube. I love my eldrazi, but Distended Mindbender yet again has underperformed. This swap is easy, even though it hurts.
And there we go! Just a few changes this time around! Foundations was a really cool set that gave me a handful of new cards to work with, and overall I'm, pretty pleased!
As always, if you have any comments, questions, or concerns, make sure to leave a comment down below!
Until next time!
Just a Tweak
TheJesguy posted to The Innistrad Remastered Cube -
Mainboard Changelist+1, -1
Just a quick tweak that I realized I forgot about on the last go-around.
I've come to the conclusion that mass graveyard hate is much too punishing. It's important to have some ways to interact with the graveyard (and I may add a couple more), but nuking the entire yard is way too much.
As such I'm reverting the Disciple of Perdition change and bringing back Novice Occultist. :)
MH3 Changes!
TheJesguy posted to The Innistrad Remastered Cube -
Mainboard Changelist+10, -10
- Entreat the AngelsAngelic Aberration
- Amateur AuteurWitch Enchanter
- Toxrill, the CorrosiveDreadfeast Demon
- Archpriest of ShadowsPersist
- Grave PactThe Creation of Avacyn
- Dormant GroveSowing Mycospawn
- Gnaw to the BoneHorrific Assault
- Bird AdmirerSix
- Tamiyo's JournalShifting Woodland
- Grave PactThe Creation of Avacyn
Good evening, All!
It's been a few weeks since MH3 was fully revealed, and cards are now trickling in! As such, I wanted to make sure to make these changes pronto and see what they can do! Let's not waste any time!
The idea of Angelic Aberration being the top end for some kind of white deck, whether it be Humans, Aggro, Sacrifice, or whatever really intrigues me. I also believe I prefer its potential play patterns over Entreat the Angels, which can change a game on a dime. I don't hate Entreat, I just don't know if it's what I want for the cube. For now Aberration will be my preferred way to make Angel tokens.
The idea of having an Un- card in the set tickled me to no end, but I think it's time to retire the Auteur. Witch Enchanter is just so good. Being able to bop problematic enchantments or artifacts is solid, being a human is great, and being a land on the back is even better. I could see a world where I might cut this since it is the only MDFC in the cube, but I want to take it for a test drive right now.
These next two are changes I made with one another in mind, so let's tackle both now. Toxrill, the Corrosive is taking a temporary reprieve from the cube in exchange for Dreadfeast Demon, as the latter is another target for the brand new Persist. I wanted to make sure that the main reanimation color had another powerful target for Persist and the other spells, and this Demon seemed like a shoo-in for that spot. Sadly, once again, Archpriest of Shadows gets cut for no fault of its own. I simply want to try out a new toy.
Dormant Grove has been underperforming, which was quite surprisingly, especially considering how well it played in Crimson Vow. In its place is a card that is a bit more proactive, Sowing Mycospawn. Now it won't be able to be kicked often, but that isn't the point here. A 3/3 for 4 that immediately puts you up a land, whether that is simply for fixing or for a nonbasic like Kessig Wolf Run is a good card. It slots in well to the creature based enemy color deck, and makes splashing in green a bit easier. I am interested to see how it plays!
Gnaw to the Bone has just become too passive sadly. It is a sideboard card against aggressive decks, but the best way to combat aggressive decks is to add to the board and be interactive. To that end, Horrific Assault enters the cube as another way for green to be able to handle creatures. it is the 4th piece of direct interaction the color has access to, so I am pretty happy about that. It needed it!
Bird Admirer is a card it seems that nobody wants, but I really want a creature with reach in the three mana slot. Luckily, Six is just what the doctor ordered! I've wanted an Eternal Witness-like effect for the cube since FOREVER, and Six ALSO fulfils that role too! All around, Six is a dream come true. This is excellent in most green decks, especially enemy color pairs, and will be a much more desirable card overall.
Tamiyo's Journal is sadly just too slow, that's the bottom line. Replacing it is Shifting Woodland, another boon to the enemy-based green decks. This is excellent in both Delirium and self-mill, and is another way to "buyback" something in the yard. I'm excited to see how it performs!
Finally, a card I almost forgot, is The Creation of Avacyn! This card is SO interesting to me. It seems very high-risk high-reward, which can lead to some interesting gameplay. The hope is that it is another way for reanimator decks to piece things together, but I don't know how it is going to perform. Grave Pact is the swap just because it ended up being a bit too "win more".
That's it for all the changes! But I'm sure you're saying to yourself: "Angelo, that isn't all the cards from MH3! Where are the rest of them?"
Well, let's run through them real quick, and go over all the ones have haven't made the cut.
-Emrakul, the World Anew is just worse than Emrakul, the Promised End, and since I do my best to keep it to 1 card per character, she loses out to her 2.0 version.
-Herigast, Erupting Nullkite is really cool, but I don't know if that is what red wants to do in this cube. He seems very fun, and he might make it in at some point, but it's a no for now.
-Sorin of House Markov is Innistrad on the front, and an unknown plane on the back. If both sides aren't on Innistrad, I don't think I can include him :(
-Glimpse the Unthinkable struggles to be better than Reckless impulse, and that's no fault of its own; Impulse is just really good.
-I am DONE with effects that exile entire graveyards, it's just too warping. As such, Thraben Charm is a no-go for the foreseeable future.
-Dreadmobile is similar to Bloodflow Connoisseur, which already isn't in the cube. If I need an effect like this I know where to go, but I am not missing anything by not including this.
-Shilgengar, Sire of Famine is a dope card, but I just can't find room for ANOTHER flying Demon, especially one with this stat line at 5 mana. I hope he is able to get in one day, but I am loathe to cut something like Bloodgift Demon for him.
-Snapping Voidcraw is interesting, especially with the changes to green and Simic, but I think it does a poor job at being a sign post card and representing what the colors are supposed to do. For now, it is out.
-Mutated Cultist is just bad.
-Fetid Gargantua could be interesting, but black is a color that is way too competitive of a color to waste a slot on a vanilla 4/4.
Drownyard Lurker and Warped Tusker are really cool, but I don't know. I don't think blue really wants something like Lurker, while green COULD want something like Tusker. It's just a little hard to say. These cards are expensive, and the cycling is cool...I'm just going to say no from now and go from there,
And now THERE we have it! All of the MH3 eligible Innistrad cards! This set gave me a lot of tools to work with, especially with green, which I appreciate a ton. Out of all of them, I am most excited to see how Six performs.
Well, that's all for now! As always, if you have any comments, questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to send something my way!
Have a lovely weekend!
Evening all!
Tonight I bring you a short list of changes as a little clean up before my (very belated and still not-scheduled) birthday draft!
There wasn't much I wanted to change since I haven't been able to test a whole lot since the last slew of changes, but there were still some cards I wanted to try out regardless!
First up is the big man himself. Greymond, Avacyn's Stalwart! This guy is a house (and potentially a mistake to add). I'm a bit wary of the power he brings, but if I am being honest, I just can't help myself. If he ends up pushing G/W or R/W too far, then I can easily revert this change and bring back Goldnight.
Battle at the Helvault is disappointing, and I shouldn't be too surprised. It comes down late, and it doesn't even permanently get rid of things...Yeah...In its place is a tool for white decks to deal with aggression" Silverstrike. Four mana is a lot, and may emd up being too much for it to see any use, but I wanted to try it out since I thought the incidental life gain would be nice!
Latch Seeker was a plant for Spirits and U/G, but with all the fliers and everything, they don't need a rando unblockable dude. What blue does need is more Zombie support. Hordewing Skaab, you're in! It may provide flying like Geralf, Visionary Stitcher, but I think having two of those effects in the cube is fine.
Binding Geist is another card that straddled the line for Spirits and U/G but always just fell short is both. Falcon Abomination returns as another way for Zombies to add board presence and take to the skies!
Finally, Markov Enforcer is replacing Markov Warlord. Not only does this change bring a bit more blood to the cube, but it also keeps the idea of a red creature that can push through damage late game, but doesn't do so as quickly as Warlord.
And there we go! Just a few quick and easy swaps!
As always, if you have any comments, questions, or concerns, make sure to leave a comment down below!
Until next time!
Mainboard Changelist+19, -19
- Mikaeus, the LunarchMoorland Rescuer
- Hopeful InitiateAmateur Auteur
- Avacynian PriestBeloved Beggar
- Remorseful ClericBy Invitation Only
- Sungold SentinelCircle of Confinement
- Gavony DawnguardCourageous Outrider
- Silverblade PaladinDrogskol Reinforcements
- Subjugator AngelAvacyn, Angel of Hope
- Olivia's Midnight AmbushCrossway Troublemakers
- Mikaeus, the UnhallowedToxrill, the Corrosive
- Haunted DeadArchpriest of Shadows
- Champion of the PerishedGrave Pact
- Dawnhart DiscipleDawnhart Mentor
- Ulvenwald TrackerBird Admirer
- Champion of LambholtEldritch Evolution
- Kessig WolfriderUnholy Heat
- Lightning MaulerRiot Ringleader
- Obsessive AstronomerAnje's Ravager
- Voltaic VisionaryFalkenrath Exterminator
Afternoon all!
Today I bring to you some changes in hopes of slowing the cube down a bit. Over the last few changes, I've tried to give slower decks tools to deal with aggressive decks, but it hasn't seemed to stick.
White-based aggro decks continue to mop the floow with the likes of blue decks that aren't Spells, and sometimes even decks that should have an advantage over them like Werewolves.
Overall, I think the speed of the cube is a little too fast for my liking, so these changes are addressing that. The goal here to to cut some one and two drops, raise the general curve, and add in some more defensive options for decks.
White
Repeatable anthems are an issue, and that's exactly what Mikaues, the Lunarch is. He is powerful and hard to deal with, especially with all the 1/1 Humans running around. Instead of immediate power, I am going to try out Moorland Rescuer once again, in order to give white decks a better late game, as opposed to upfront power.
Hopeful Initiate is a powerful one drop, but I like its effect. Amateur Auteur costs a bit more and is similar enough that I am fine swapping these two. I also just think it's a very funny card.
Avacynian Priest looks like a defensive card, but is most often used offensively to take out blockers. In its place is a solely defensive card...At least until the late game; Beloved Beggar. This helps Spirits put up a solid body on the ground, while giving B/W another Disturb creature to sac.
Aggro held a lot of graveyard hate tools, which made decks like Zombies, Self Mill, and Value struggle. Taking out Remorseful Cleric and Sungold Sentinel for two removal spells, By Invitation Only and Containment Circle fixes that problem quite well, while also giving decks tools to fight aggro.
EDIT: Gavony Dawnguard is a beeg boy for only 3 mana. a 3/3 with ward 1 that also can provide repeatable card advantage is a little too much for my taste at the moment. Courageous Outrider returns in its place as a creature higher up on the curve that also provides one shot more narrow form of card advantage that rewards typal builds.
Right now, I don't think white needs a powerful card like Silverblade Paladin, despite how much I love it. In its place is another Spirits card Drogskol Reinforcements. This gives Spirits another pull into white, and another way to pump. I am wary about repeatable anthems as I stated above, but I want to try this one out and see how it works. If it's too much, I am happy to swap this back without issue.
Lastly in white is Subjugator Angel. This is a brickhouse of a card that ends games the turn it comes down, and I want to see how white does without this tool. In its place comes another reanimator target in Avacyn, Angel of Hope. With the cube slowing down, I want to give reanimator decks a couple new tools to see if it can work more consistently.
Black
Olivia's Midnight Ambush ended up being mediocre and relatively unneeded. It had its uses, and could always find its way back in, but overall I was unimpressed. Black has enough removal. Conversely black is lacking a good Vampire payoff higher on the curve. I want to try out Crossway Troublemakers to amend this, and see if it gives the archetype a bit more staying power, since it has been lagging behind the other aggressive decks.
Mikaeus, the Unhallowed is powerful and fun, but overall doesn't make the cut as a top end zombie payoff, or as a reanimator target. To that end, instead of trying to fit a card into two archetypes, I wanted to simply add a reanimator target: Toxrill, the Corrosive.
Haunted Dead's job was to come back a few times and provide value. It failed to do that. Archpriest of Shadows returns as a way to get other creatures back, whether they are small and valuable in W/B, or big and powerful like in reanimator or Value.
Champion of the Perished pales in comparison to Champion of the Perish. Zombies are just harder to make than Humans, and that's a fact. Instead I want to try out Grave Pact. This gives slower decks a tool to potentially trad up with more aggressive decks, or grind out games they wouldn't have been able to before. If it is too oppressive, I don't mind cutting it for something else.
Green
Green I am still testing out and finding its power level after its massive changes a few months ago. As such, I didn't want to mess with it too much.
As such, I simply traded a few cheap creatures like Dawnhart Disciple and Ulvenwald Tracker for slower options like Dawnhart Mentor and Bird Admirer.
That said, in its short stint, Champion of Lambholt caused too many non-games on turns 4 and 5 for my liking. It just got too big too fast, it functioned as a 3 mana Subjugator Angel too often. Replacing it is a fun tool I never found space for until now Eldritch Evolution. I don't know what other decks aside from Value and Reanimator can use it, but I am interested to see how it plays.
Red
Red was a bit of a problem like White, though to a lesser extent. I wanted to be a bit more lenient with it, but I don't mind coming back in a bit and being a bit more heavy handed if I need to.
Red as enough powerful creatures low on its curve, it doesn't need Kessig Wolfrider or Lightning Mauler to help both early and late game. Unholy Heat provides another cheap removal spell that won't go face, while Riot Ringleader is a draw into the Humans subtheme of R/W that does a slightly worse Hamlet Captain impression.
Card advantage is important, but red doesn't need a ton of it, or if it does, it should come at a cost. Obessive Astronomer was a pet card of mind, but I don't like it at 2 mana. Anje's Ravager is a bit slower, and comes with a real cost associated with it, so I like this swap.
Similarly, Voltaic Visionary and its card advantage is a bit unnecessary. In its sport comes a two drop with an actual downside to it: Falkenrath Exterminator. I like this change since one of these has no cost involved with it: the first draws you a card for a measly two damage, and then becomes a massive 4/3, while the other has to actually work to be good.
And there we have it! A number of changes that will hopefully tweak the speed a little bit.
I don't want to kill aggro, and I don't want slower decks to dominate, but I think the balance is a bit too off at the moment. I plan of testing these changed out and seeing how things work, and then adjusting from there. I don't mind digging into aggro a bit more in necessary, but it's something I'd like to avoid if I can help it.
As always, if you have any comments, questions, or concerns, make sure to leave a comment down below!
Until next time!
Mainboard Changelist+2, -2
Evening friends, it's been a hot minute!
Today I only have two changes, aimed once again at green, this time mono green specifically.
The idea here is that since the last few updates where green has really come into its own, mono green has become a viable archetype. As such, I'd like to foster it a bit. This leads to...
Predator Ooze replacing Ghoultree. I love Ghoultree, it is a neat payoff and tells you exactly what kind of deck it goes in...Except it is a vanilla creature with the same mana cost as Craterhoof Behemoth. I think it's outlived its welcome sadly. Predator Ooze requires a heavy color commitment and fits perfectly into the "Stompy" deck. It starts slow, but ramps up very quickly.
The second change here is Unnatural Growth for Flourishing Hunter. Flourishing Hunter was supposed to be top end life gain, but again, like Ghoultree, it simply just amounts to a vanilla creature, except this time it's at the same mana cost as Avabruck Caretaker. Unnatural Growth is another massive green commitment with a powerful effect, really hammering home the idea of a mono green stompy deck.
I plan on getting a draft or two in at SCGCon Hartford this weekend, so I wanted to get these changes done asap. I also have the Walking Dead Universes Within cards coming down the pike as well, so look forward to those changes as well!
Until next time!
Evening all!
I'm just here with a few little changes that I have been thinking about for a hot minute; nothing wild, nothing drastic.
A while back during the MOM and Aftermath changes, I was going through and making some general changes, one of which was to limit card advantage for more aggressive decks.
I haven't really enjoyed those changes, and have slowly been reverting them over time. The important thing I've realized isn't that aggressive decks need their card advantage options curtailed, it that they all should be doing so in different ways.
For example, Humans have creatures that cantrip or card advantage with stipulations attached, Zombies have tons of recursion and reanimation, Spirits have access to all of blue's card draw spells, Werewolves have cards that care about having big creatures and other Werewolves, and Vampires have...
What do Vampires have nowadays? Well...
Blood and Madness go together like peanut butter and jelly, and with all the Blood that is in the cube, I want to increase the number of madness cards as well. Not just any Madness cards though, two that I had spurned about six months ago: Asylum Visitor and Stromkirk Occultist.
Both of these are solid Madness cards that were cut simply because I didn't think them necessary, and I am ready to admit that I was wrong. I really like the synergy they now provide to the cube thanks to Blood, as well as the ability to provide card advantage in a uniquely Vampire way.
Similarly, with all of these Discard outlets running around (about 30 in R/B alone, including Blood) Falkenrath Gorger seems poised for a comeback. Gorger was cut before I really understood the utility of Blood, and being able to turn discarded cards into creatures on board for little effort seems like a huge boon now.
As for the cut cards:
-Tomb Tyrant has been fine, but not spectacular. Zombies didn't end up needing the extra anthem, and his last ability has too many stipulations on it for my liking.
-Skirsdag Cultist was the kind of reach that I realized red didn't need right now. Red has SO many way to push damage though, it didn't need another one.
-Falkenrath Exterminator is a cool and fun card, but I like Gorger more right now. Exterminator gives the aggressive vibes that I want out of Vampires, but I would rather opt for Gorger's synergy right now.
Finally, moving from Vamps, we are back to Humans where Leinore, Autumn Sovereign is replacing Join the Dance. I want to make Humans feel resilient, and Leinore helps with that much better than two dinky 1/1s can.
I really valued Join the Dance's Flashback as a way to be resilient, but I think I would rather lean into +1/+1 counters and getting the card upfront than having to wait for it later down the road.
And there we have it! A lot of words for just a few cards. Thanks for making it this far if you took the time to read it, and as always, if you have any comments, questions, or concerns, be sure to send them my way!
Until next time, have a lovely Thanksgiving!
Good afternoon everyone!
Today I bring you a small batch of changes that I've been thinking about for the last few weeks.
Overall, I haven't been a fan of how many creatures white has in general. While I do want colors to lean into their strengths, 58 just a bit much for me. Green is the cube's other "creature color" alongside white, and while I want the two of them to outnumber the other color's creature counts, I think white has some nice tools at its disposal that I am overlooking.
While not all of these changes make creatures into noncreatures, it does bring the total count down to 55 which I am happier with.
Twinblade Geist is cute in theory, but a 1/1 double striker doesn't feel terribly good, even when there are some spirit anthems and counters floating around. As the cube has gotten more powerful, Disturb cards that flip into noncreature spells have been on a downswing, and this follows that trend. In its place is Niblis of the Mist, a Spirit that flies and fits with Spirits theme or tapping creatures.
Sanctifier of Souls was always a placeholder card, and in its place comes Thalia's Lancers. Lancers is a strong card that will always cantrip for a powerful card in the right deck. There are plenty of targets for it in the cube, and this helps push Human's theme or resiliency.
Courageous Ouriders always plays as "look at the top 4 cards of your deck and bottom them'', even in dedicated Human decks. Its hit rate is just super low. Spare from Evil, while not strictly a Human card, fits into Human decks and can help break board stalls whether on offense or defense. I'm interested to see how this plays out.
Like Twinblade Geist, Drogskol Infantry is another casualty of Spirit's changing theme. Returning is Spectral Reserves, a card that will help put Spirit tokens on the board while also bolstering your life total slightly. This is the last Spirit token producer I plan on adding, and wouldn't be shocked if I cut one of two next go around. I just want to make sure Spirits have support, dammit!
The final white cut is Slayer of the Wicked for Entreat the Angels. This seems like a strange swap, but stay with me. White has an abundance of removal, and a four drop with conditional removal often falls behind, even if it does have typal synergies. I often see it being the 24th or 25th card in most decks, even dedicated human ones. Yes, it's a nice sideboard card, but I feel like I have enough of those. Entreat the Angels on the other hand is just a fun, powerful card. I introduced miracles to the cube recently, so I am interested to see what one of this power can accomplish. I am fine reverting this change if I am not happy with the results.
The final change isn't a white card, but I wanted to be sure to make it all the same. Thunderstaff was an experiment, and I have been underwhelmed by it. I want to try Tamiyo's Journal in its place. It is also a slow card, but seeing as that I've been trying to give tools to slower decks, I am interested to see if this does anything. If it doesn't, I have plenty of other artifacts to try.
There we go! Nothing too wacky or wild, just a few small changes before the next draft. Seeing as that I have taken a deep dive on nearly every color, I wouldn't be shocked if red was next on the list, though it is the color that has felt most stable throughout everything. It's never been a problem child.
If I don't see you before Halloween, stay safe and stay spoopy!
Good evening friends!
This weekend I was at Commander Sealed (where we raised over $40,000 for The Trevor Project and Trans Lifeline!!) and was lucky enough to fire two drafts.
My goal here is to just make some notes, jot down some thoughts, and tie a nice little bow on the drafts I was able to conduct.
Draft 1 happened on Friday. As usual I gave every access to the Overview here on Cube Cobra, and gave some quick tips, and then we were off to the races.
I can't remember every deck, but if memory serves, these were the archetypes that got drafted:
-G/B Value
-R/W Aggro
-4C Griselbrand
-U/R Spells
-R/G Aggro
-U/W Spirits
-Abzan Sac
The games seemed to play out well and quite smooth! Drafting went well, and everyone had a great time! Some things of note:
-Somberwald Beastmaster is quite powerful and was an excellent addition to Green's repertoire
-4C Griselbrand came together quite easily. I was impressed with the deck that the drafter had made from the cards available
-Fixing was good enough for splashing and to make a single 4C deck, but not good enough to have 3 color+ soup-y decks
-Fliers are strong
Draft 2 was on Sunday at 8am. Half the pod was repeat drafters, and the other half were new. Here were the decks that showed up:
-R/W Aggro
-4C Griselbrand
-U/W Spirits
-Esper Fliers
-G/R Werewolves
-B/R Aggro
-B/W Sac
-Abzan Midrange
Once again, games played out well with very few non-games. A few takeaways from this one:
-R/W Aggro that has Hellrider, Ill-Tempered Loner, and Angelfire Ignition still has counter play and won't always just run things over
-4C Griselbrand came together a second time which was surprising. I thought of the deck as a sub archetype, but seeing it twice in a row is surprising. I wonder if it really is the 11th main archetype
-Esper Fliers is a deck that the cube can support, and is a more "good stuff" version of the Spirits deck
-The cube can support two players deep in U/W and who are each taking Spirits and their cards highly
-All three color decks had light splashes, and had real reasons to be in three colors, as opposed to being just soupy messes
-Green performed very well, and I am happy to see the changes to it last month take so well
Overall, I am very happy and impressed with how the cube performed this weekend. All the drafters had a blast and were super excited and happy to be able to play it, nearly as much as I was to share it!
I have a few changes in mind to make before the big Halloween draft next month, but for now, I'm content to leave things be.
As always if there are any comments, questions, or concerns, feel free to drop me a line! Until next time!
"This is my Final One, I Swear" -Miyazaki Edition
TheJesguy posted to The Innistrad Remastered Cube -
Mainboard Changelist+13, -13
- Ongoing InvestigationCackling Counterpart
- Stitched DrakeNiblis of the Breath
- Delver of SecretsCurious Homunculus
- Cradle of SafetyPieces of the Puzzle
- Havengul RunebinderDream Twist
- Dawnhart MentorWolfir Avenger
- Grave BrambleNoose Constrictor
- Feed the PackIncreasing Savagery
- Might of the Old WaysRevenge of the Hunted
- Harvesttide SentryShadowbeast Sighting
- Olivia, Crimson BrideOlivia Voldaren
- Storm SkreelixMercurial Geists
- Altered EgoCroaking Counterpart
- Devastation Tide
Good morning, Friends!
It's been about a month, and I've been playtesting and getting a feel for the new changes, and I must say, I'm quite happy. Green has more than three cards that I'd want to first pick, and it seems like the competency for each G/X color combination has gone up quite a bit.
That said, as always, there are some things I could change, and I'm going to. I plan on having at least one Draft at Commander Sealed, and then a Halloween Draft soon after that once October rolls around, so I want everything to be in tip top shape for each of these, and that is where these changes come in.
Once again, they are centered on Blue and Green as I still hash them out to figure out the feel for each of them considering how many tweaks they've had recently.
-Ongoing Investigation has been underperforming, especially as I've pinpointed U/G's identity as having a bunch of creatures in the yard to play with. Eating them to investigate isn't conducive to that game plan. In its place is Cackling Counterpart. Upon recommendations from individuals I trust, I have opted to give it another shot. I think with the upped power level across the board, these kind of clones get better, especially when they are copying Mist Ravens and not Stitchwing Skaabs.
-Stitched Drake is a card I like, but it always just gets cut. I already have other flying zombies, so I don't need another that is harder to work for and has double blue in its cost. Taking its spot is another three mana flier that will hopefully put in work, Niblis of the Breath. It's a frail body, but a repeatable 1 mana tapper can be quite strong, and I am hoping it is.
-Delver of Secrets isn't a bad card, I just think that aggressive, attack-y spells deck isn't that hot right now, and Delver suffers as a result. As such, I wanted to try out Curious Homunculus. I'm on a bit of a mana dork kick lately, so I wanted to give blue a second option aside from Deranged Assistant. I am completely fine reverting this if it doesn't pan out the way I want.
-Cradle to Safety was a hold over from the enchantment theme I tried to put in a while ago. I usually acts like a counterspell that isn't an instant...Which doesn't have much synergy whatsoever. What DOES have synergy though is Pieces of the Puzzle. Card selection, graveyard filling, and card advantage is a good combination, and I am stoked to try this out.
-I adore Havengul Runebinder, especially since it is a payoff for zombies in blue, but it just doesn't do a whole lot. Double blue pips on a four mana card that doesn't give you any value until you put another three mana into it? Ick. Dream Twist returns as a cheap way to get cards in the yard for 3 of the 4 U/X decks, along with having other minor synergies.
-Dawnhart Mentor was supposed to be cut last time, but I missed it. Heh. It's a defensive body that pump late game and that's...Just not what green wants. Something like Wolfir Avenger IS what green wants though! A well-costed body with flash that can keep regenerating is great more most archetypes and fits in well here.
-Grave Bramble is one of my favorite cards, but I am over vanilla cards that don't have synergy in the cube. Taking over its spot is Noose Constrictor. The snake synergizes much better with what the enemy color pairs want to do, while also being another creature with reach to smack down pesky fliers!
-Feed the Pack hasn't done anything wrong, but it hasn't done anything totally right either. I could see it coming back one day, but for now I want to keep stocking up graveyards with Flashback spells. Increasing Savagery Was reluctantly cut the last time, and makes a return, giving green decks a way to massively pump creatures and get value late game.
-With Coven becoming less important, Might of the Old Ways suffers. Revenge of the Hunted comes in for it, adding a third miracle card to the cube, while also being green's means of wiping the board. I'm a little iffy on this one, since I don't know how it will often play out, but I am happy to try it.
-As with Might of the Old Ways, Harvestide Sentry suffers from lack of Coven, though it having three power makes it quite a bit easier to achieve since most humans are 1 & 2 power. Since I am amp-ing up the graveyard, I figured I'd trade a vanilla creature with synergy for another, by adding Shadowbeast Sighting back. I really just want a critical mass of Flashback spells right now since green and blue have additional dorks that can actually get them to the back half of the spells now. I'm fine reverting this change if it doesn't pan out.
-Olivia, Crimson Bride was a plant for red to dip its toes into reanimating, but it doesn't really need it. As such, OG Olivia Voldaren returns, bringing all the pinging and stealing that she is known for, and giving Vamps another solid 4 drop.
-Storm Skreelix is just a bit too clunky. 5 mana is a lot for a creature like this, and Mercurial Geists just does its job better. Vadrik, Astral Archmage already reduces the cost of spells, so I don't think I need a second, clunkier version of that effect.
-Finally, like Cackling Counterpart, I was advised to try Croaking Counterpart again now that the power level has increased. Altered Ego is a powerful card, but lacks and real synergy with U/G. I think having another Flashback spell will be a net positive, but I don't mind reversing this if it doesn't pan out.
And there we go! These changes were pretty straightforward, and I'm hoping that they help finish buffing out the dings and dents I'd left after those massive changes a month ago. Only time will tell though!
As always, if you have any comments or questions, feel free to ask and get in touch! Until next time, see ya!