Art by Kev Walker
Sometimes magic can get bogged down in unnecessary details. Does it matter that Baneslayer Angel has protection from Demons & Dragons? Can we stop making people read Chain Lightning? Animate Dead???
This cube aims to minimise the time between seeing a card and understanding why you'd play it.
There's an average 11 words per card. Instead of Looter Il-Kor we have Merfolk Looter. Instead of Card with upside we have Card.
Rather than utility and flexibility, cards do one thing and they do it well. Murder kills creatures. Elvish Mystic makes mana. Vulshok Morningstar buffs creatures.
Each card in the 180 card list represents 3 copies of that card in the full 540.
Powerful Cards to Look Out ForGreen still feels underpowered.
I like the tone of fight effects, but Prey Upon is not performing. The word fight also causes confusion about whether it interacts with first strike or summoning sickness.
Clear Shot is exciting as it often sets up 2-for-1s that green is lacking. Every part of it matters; +1/+0 lets you kill things you can't just attack into and +0/+1 creates blowouts.
With two punch effects I'd like one deathtouch in green. I want that to be Moss Viper but Deadly Recluse plays better.
Stingerfling Spider is an example of 'efficient distribution of rate'. The upsides of Thornado (cheap, instant, cycling) aren't that important for killing dragons, so Stingerfling Spider is a stronger card despite being overcosted in the abstract.
Dryad Greenseeker and Elder of Laurels help green keep up in longer games. They can't be stopped without removal, which I dislike, but that kind of creature makes green feel more powerful.