FlowerSunRain's Cube

[FlowerSunRain]

Made some of those changes, went with Herald of Anafenza over Ramosian Sgt for some reason (less swingy, supports +1/+1 a little).

I put Kalastria Highborn back in, now says "or a human you control" to go with Falkenrath Aristocrat and Stromkirk Noble under the theme "vampires who like to see humans suffer".

Cards to possibly drop:

Impending Disaster
Tattermunge Maniac
Troll Ascetic
Pharika, God of Affliction

Cards to maybe add:

Icefall Regent, but I really, really hate the art on this card.
Boggart Ram-Gang
Xenagos, God of Revels
Frostburn Weird

 

[shamizy]

2/3 is a relevant enough body such that you won't lose your 4 mana investment so easily. Depends on your density of "deal 3" red spells though.

 

[Chris Taylor]

I JUST GOT THAT

Impending Disaster is a bit more interesting than geddon...I guess?
Tattermunge manaic seems fine to drop. Having to attack is a very frustrating downside for a card I kinda believe all colors should have access to
Troll Ascetic: Yeah that regen is expensive, 2 toughness sucks, and hexproof is no longer unique. I wouldn't look back
Pharika: this is a little out of my wheelhouse. Not pulling constellation weight, or just annoying? Is it too good with green devotion? o_O

Icefall Regent: I haven't drafted with it yet, but (Other than being hugely dependent on the removal of the environment) but my expectation is that dungeon geists is the more useful card. Why the art though? To me it looks generic dragon with ice, which brings out "Meh" in me, not rage
Boggart Ram-Gang: Solid card. It, Fanatic of Xenagos, and Flinthoof Boar fill similar roles, and I think flinthoof is probably the best in the dark, so if devotion is the idea it seems great. (Note that all three are great)
Xenagos, God of Revels: Interesting. Seems a bit over the top to me, maybe it's fine if the haste doesn't matter?
Frostburn Weird: Never really had luck with this guy. My cube is notoriously unfriendly to mana sinks though, so he seems fine on paper

 

[FlowerSunRain]

Pharika is a weird case. The card seems perfect, being in good colors for constellation AND in two colors that supports devotion. However, in practice devotion and using the graveyard are somewhat crosspurpose: devotion wants alive cards and Pharika's ability want dead cards. More importantly, I usually found that green/black decks already had lots of ways to use the graveyard available that were generally more useful then making snakes. I think Pharika is a decent card, but its strange niche just isn't necessary. Now that I'm pushing green devotion harder, maybe she'll be a better card and I should give her another chance.

Icefall Regent looks straight out a bad 90's CGI cartoon show. It really bugs me that we'll never see anything like Dandan again, but apparently this soulless thing can get printed.

 

[Dom Harvey]

I heartily agree with all of that post

 

[Onderzeeboot]

Bunch of art hipsters is what you are!

Luckily I think Dungeon Geists should be the pick over Icefall Regent.

 

[FlowerSunRain]

Cube is in go-ahead state, this is my look-ahead list on things that may get changed:

Theme
Thassa, Shorecrasher, Master of Waves (is blue devotion worth supporting)?
Risen Executioner (Zombie support worth it?)

Power Level (Low?)
Wistful Selkie
Herald of Anafenza
Attunement (Still good without Replenish?)
Stroke of Genius (Mill killing blow, Greem/Blue Ramp Target?)
Entrails Feaster
Sultai Emissary
Fledgling Dragon
Blood-Chin Fanatic

Power Level (High)
Arashin Foremost (With Soldier/Warrior Crosstribal)

Niche
Knight of Meadowgrain (Redundant?)
Rising Waters (Unfunness?)
Reef Worm (Really Swingy?)
Satyr Wayfiner (Green self Mill not needed?)

General New Card Uncertainty
Enduring Renewal
Myth Realized
Servant of the Scale
Circle of Despair

Curve Concerns
Black three drops (bloated)
Green two drops (bloated)
Green ramp payoff (narrow)

 

[Chris Taylor]

Clearly what we need to do is make some of those black 3 drops cost 2!

Seriously goddamn when did I Seuss it up?

 

[FlowerSunRain]

Clearly what we need to do is make some of those black 3 drops cost 2!

Nantuko Husk is a good target for that. Its replacing my 2/1 Bloodthrone Vampire, which was a little pushed, but felt fine. A 2/1 husk at might be a place to start. Husk gets Zombie Synergy and #Swarmyard potential as opposed to Vampire Synergy, but thats probably not worth a mana for a toughness.

Historically speaking its been such a good card, it feels weird to change it, but in a world where Monastery Mentor is a 2C card, its probably necessary.

 

[Chris Taylor]

There is a bit of a sad gap there actually

3 drops that could be changed to cost 2:


There's a lot of tweaking to be done, but I think these could work. Bone Shredder might be too strong at 2, at least Fleshbag Marauder is an edict rather than a doom blade. Would Agent of the Fates be too good?
Mardu Strike-Leader would basically be not quite Precinct Captain

Xathrid Necromancer would be pretty strong if it made 2/2s at 2, but would lose a lot of it's bite if it made 1/1s
Soulflayer's a bit harder to make cost 2

 

[FlowerSunRain]

I looked at Flesh Carver and I looked at Nantuko Husk, then said fuck it and I'm running the Husk at .

 

[Chris Taylor]

I looked at Flesh Carver and I looked at Nantuko Husk, then said fuck it and I'm running the Husk at .

Yeah that seems like the easiest swap. You could go further if you like, I think Pawn of Ulamog would be fine at BB or B1 likely.
Fleshbag Marauder could probably be a B1 2/1 without breaking anything, and while it'd basically be a totally different card, something in the same vein of Geralf's Messenger or Vampire Nighthawk could be a 2 drop, but those are more wholly new cards rather than small numbers tweaks.

 

[shamizy]

Is Shorecrasher Elemental worth running just for devotion? I just traded some chaff for a copy at FNM last night.

 

[Onderzeeboot]

That depends if devotion is sufficient of a theme in blue. I would think Shorecrasher Elemental is strong enough to warrant a slot unless your power level is high or your mana sucks.

 

[Chris Taylor]

That depends if devotion is sufficient of a theme in blue. I would think Shorecrasher Elemental is strong enough to warrant a slot unless your power level is high or your mana sucks.

I wouldn't call UUU being hard "your mana sucks"

I've got all fetches and duals, double birds of paradise, double mana confluence and double aggro evolving wilds, and I still cut geralf's messenger since it was inconsistent at best and tabled at worst

 

[Onderzeeboot]

I wouldn't call UUU being hard "your mana sucks"

I've got all fetches and duals, double birds of paradise, double mana confluence and double aggro evolving wilds, and I still cut geralf's messenger since it was inconsistent at best and tabled at worst

I totally agree! I wasn't saying UUU isn't hard with good mana fixing, rather that if your mana fixing sucks, don't even bother There is also the manafriendly megamorph cost, so as long as you got a decent shot at casting it face up, it's alright.

 

[ahadabans]

How's the goblin sub theme going?

Two cards I didn't see you consider which I think are both very good in any kind of goblin theme (though maybe not strong enough outside it):
Warren Weirding (Basically Chainer's Edict without flashback or token maker on your own dudes - very flexible card and it's fetchable with matron).
Wort, Boggart Auntie (CA engine, yeah it's gold so even more narrow than above, but recurring your goblin cards is awesome especially since you have a lot of utility options including removal).

Another card from the new set I'm really considering is the upgraded Festering Goblin Shambling Goblin. It's a zombie. It's a goblin, and it can't 2 for 1 you. Seems good.

 

[FlowerSunRain]

Wort is pretty good, right now I'm playing Grenzo that fills a very similar role in the exact same gold combination though.

I don't like Warren Weirding. The alternate mode is basically useless and I'm not going to play an off color card based on fetching it with Matron.

I'm playing the new goblin, its pretty good.

 

[ahadabans]

Well, with Wort you can recur Warren Weirding. While it might sound pedestrian, being able to flip your goblin deck from aggro to aggro-control with fetchable pieces is pretty sweet. I've never tried tribal goblins in cube though, so it might not be apples to apples from a power level perspective. All I know though is that my casual Goblin deck never lost a game I had the Wort/Wierding engine going. It even combos with Nameless Inversion (another card I play for the interaction with Haakon), I agree the second mode on Weirding is rarely used, but if you need more fodder for siege-gang, it's an option at least.

I've personally never played Grenzo before. He's been in my cube for awhile now but hasn't really made a name for himself (he's been drafted and played a couple times, but was either not drawn or didn't do anything spectacular when played). How has he been for your group? He looks powerful on paper so I'm sort of disappointed it hasn't done more yet, but it could be guys aren't putting him in the right decks.

 

[FlowerSunRain]

I just looked through my list and it really needs a cleaning out, I'll probably use the new set update to get busy and get things back in tune. A couple (more) custom enchantment creatures might be a good idea here.

 

[FlowerSunRain]

Aegis of the gods works as a one drop.
Nimbus Naiad/Spearpoint Oread works as a 2/1 for 2.
Many of the generic bestows could get a nudge and work. A few are really close and could even work with just a mana change.
Fate Unraveler could be a 3cc 2/3?
The constellation cards I'm not playing are pretty terrible and really need a full rework
The archetypes really aren't that interesting I don't think?
Eidolon of the Great Revel is certainly good enough to run.
I don't like how spirit of the labrynth screws over casting cards normally.

 

[FlowerSunRain]

Its an enchantment, so we have to assume that many decks won't be able to kill it and that once cast it will sit on the table most of the time.

It costs 5, so its expensive, but not so expensive that casting it should be just win the game if it isn't dealt with, particularly since its an enchantment (see above).

The question is if this repeated recursion makes for good gameplay, moreso then enders like Sigil of the Empty Throne? Is five mana the proper cost to be able to loop constellation creatures?

 

[FlowerSunRain]

Update goals:

Stuff red with even more engine cards.
Get the enchantment creature density up just a little more.
Add a little more land grabbing (Nissa's Revelation, Tithe, Mulch, Maybe New Nissa?/Borderland Ranger?)
Add a little more deck stacking
Triple Myr Servitor action.
Dig deep on appropriate removal amount.
More ways to get +1/+1 counters (Renown!)
Human/Elf Crosstribal time?
Goblin/Zombie Crosstribal time? (Much cooler then Zombie/Vampire, possibly completely insane)

Custom Card ideas:

Ghirapur Gearcrafter with a death trigger at (Doomed Traveler variant with artifact support).
Harvestguard Alseids with flash! (Combat trick + enchantment support brings joy!)
Thasa's Devourer as a 0/6 for (Hedron Crab's big bro).
Undercity Troll activates for
Caustic Caterpillar activates for
Nyxborn Eidolon bestows for (Weaker then elephant guide on its face, but can't be avoided with bounce/journey to nowhere). Insane alternate idea: Make it uncastable (like ancestral visions), bestow for !

 

[Kuldahar]

You mentioned Faith Healer in another thread. I was thinking of trying it as a 2/2 with extort. Like you mentioned, I'm going to also try auratog with lifelink.
A card that I have always loved, and I think mainly because of the art is:

I was thinking of adding 1 to the CC, and give it the enchantress trigger as well. Perhaps too strong? Will test it out.
I've also been looking at making some 'ordinary' creatures enchantment creatures to help bring up the count, as opposed to just making new ones? For instance I'm running enchantress in bant, so I've made Fleetfeather Cockatrice an enchantment creature.

Another cross tribal I was thinking of is orc/goblin. This serves to make the orc cards more valuable (as there aren't a lot of good orc cards, although khans changed that certainly), than trying to make the goblin tribe stronger.

 

[FlowerSunRain]

Jamming extort on Faith Healer isn't bad, but as someone who actually runs Syndic of Tithes and sees him make plenty of decks, adding another ability to him might not be necessary? Or maybe I just overrate that guy and its fine, if you test it let me know.

Yeah, Femeref Enchantress with double triggers would be pretty crazy. I think maybe instead, you could keep her CC as is and make her an enchantment creature (that triggers herself when she dies).

I really like the flash Harvestguard Oreads, but maybe finding a couple of appropriate dudes that could be enchantments (or artifacts, for that matter) might be a better way to go. Soltari Champion kinda looks like he should be an enchantment.

Orc/Goblin tribal is very simple and makes a lot of sense. Of course that's easy to say when someone else thinks of the idea I didn't. And its probably WAY better then goblin/zombie, which would just be stupidly powerful cross-synergy. I've got 5 orcs atm that could benefit, that seems fair.