Card/Deck Prowess in Cube

Does anybody have any experience with Prowess in cube? I've considered cards like Seeker of the Way before but I thought Prowess probably wasn't good enough. Haven't tried it though, and maybe I should reconsider. Any thoughts?

monasterymentor.jpg

I like that this card costs 2(w), since a lot of my 3-drops in white cost 1(w)(w). But again, are the sufficient prowess triggers, to make this a good card in cube, attainable?
 

FlowerSunRain

Contributor
Prowess is confirmed awesome. You probably won't be doing crazy stuff like you could in constructed like chaining 2 cantrips into cruise, but getting bonuses off of every random non-creature spell adds up to make these cards solid. Prowess itself adds some sequencing decisions and "does he have an instant" tension. I recommend it and looking at what's coming out of the new set, I'd say only getting better. If we don't get a blue one drop with prowess I'm seriously considering making one to replace delver a la Chris Taylor, probably writing "Prowess" on a flying men or cloud sprite or some such.
 

CML

Contributor
today we tried this card out then brainstormed into a reckless charge. it's pretty fucking good
 

Chris Taylor

Contributor
Current Prowress Cards:




RiverwheelMaster.jpg


As well as a 1/2 prowress that gains flying on noncreature spell. It's kinda the aggro deck that isn't a million creatures I've always wanted.
I can't imagine it's possible singleton, since there's about 3 good creatures.

It's been pretty sweet, though there are some definite holes in the blue creatures department.

There's also some sweet stuff you can do with the white token making cards: If a few of them are instants, you get some decent combat tricks that also advance a board state, and even the sorcery ones are cool as well. (I swapped emeria angel for battle screech, for example)

Maybe consider swapping around some of your white removal, since a lot of the non-path options are enchantments: Pacifism, Journey to Nowhere, Oblivion Ring, Faith's Fetters, Prison Term etc
(I added sunlance and it's been better than it looks. Council's Judgment is also sweet if you can stomach the horrible wording)

Brainstorm is really preferred here over ponder/preordain/serum visions because it's an instant so you can bluff in combat, and some of the blue disrution might want to become bounce/time warp based rather than counterspells, since they won't help you swing in (Consider Vapor Snag, Vanishment, etc)

On the red side of things you barely need to change anything, though madcap skills is a nice one. I don't think I've ever seen a cube that didn't run quite a few burn spells, so you'll likely be fine. You can swap out for some slightly more friendly ones with flashback or rebound, but you hardly need to.
 

Dom Harvey

Contributor
I love love love Seeker of the Way, Monastery Swiftspear is fine, I want Jeskai Elder to be good but I'd rather have another Looter il-Kor. The new prowess guys all look awesome - for Mentor the question isn't whether it's good enough, it's why there are so many good white 3-drops.

Obviously Auras are nice with these as detailed in the Auras Equipment thread, but so is Equipment! Grafted Wargear is excellent just like it is elsewhere, and this might be enough to make Bonesplitter good too. I like Runechanter's Pike.

You also want:
- Non-creature spells that generate threats: Hordeling Outburst/Raise the Alarm/Spectral Procession/Lingering Souls/Battle Screech/Call of the Herd, Bitterblossom, planeswalkers, bestow (Gnarled Scarhide, Hopeful Eidolon, the mighty Nyxborn Rollicker, Mogis's Warhound, Spiteful Returned, Boon Satyr, Eidolon of Countless Battles, Herald of Torment, Nighthowler)

- Multiple triggers from one card: rebound (the cards you mentioned + Consuming Vapors), flashback (Souls/Screech/Call, Thrill of the Hunt/Travel Preparations, Faithless Looting, Firebolt, Blast from the Past), Regrowth

- Repeatable triggers: dredge (Darkblast, Life from the Loam, Moldervine Cloak), Grove + Punishing Fire, Whiteout (maybe not...), buyback (Haze of R Sprout Swarm, Blast from the Past)
 
I think UW and UR spells matter decks have gotten a lot better since khans and truly those decks get along really well with graveyard themes, token strategies and control decks so I'm pretty happy. I think I've been saying this stuff for ages but we just didn't have the redundant choices to make it really feel right.
 
How do we feel about:


I've been on the border of putting them in, but they feel like they're just on the wrong side of playability.
 
mentor seems weird and busted I wonder why they printed a card like that in this environment. I guess they are trying to make games more busted but still keep their commitment to making you do everything with creatures?

@Peter
I think Elder can probably be cool but it's kinda iffy. Both are easy picks in a peasant cube, and Elder is another solid madness / grave enabler if you're into that kinda thing like I am.
 

Grillo_Parlante

Contributor
The 3cc on windscout really limits the environments it can go into, unfortunatly.

I like elder because of how well it works with combat tricks, but again, not every cube is looking for those types of interactions.
 

FlowerSunRain

Contributor
Distortion Strike is fabulous. I threw it in for heroic support, thinking it was super loose and would surely not make many decks and be inevitably cut, but to my surprise it started making all kinds of final 40s and closed out plenty of games. When you think about it, what the card represents is a potential 2(x+1) damage, where X is the power of a creature that wouldn't be able to get in without being unblockable. That's a lot of damage on anything but the smallest creatures. Double triggers on heroic, pyromancer, prowess, extort or whatever gives it amazing incidental support. Obviously the card looses value in environments/matchups where blocking is unlikely, but overall I think very highly of the card. The main thing against the card is that it is really swingy, so decide if you want this and something like fabled hero or infect guys in the same environment.
 

James Stevenson

Steamflogger Boss
Staff member
I dunno, I never enjoyed Venser, the Sojourner's -1, it just randomly ended games that were otherwise quite interesting. I suppose having a turn to deal with the second distortion strike gives a little more play.
 
Rebound is awesome in the same way proliferate is awesome. It pushes themes but does a little work everywhere. The only problem is both mechanics got almost no good cards outside of a red one & a blue one.
 

Chris Taylor

Contributor
Rebound is awesome in the same way proliferate is awesome. It pushes themes but does a little work everywhere. The only problem is both mechanics got almost no good cards outside of a red one & a blue one.

And only got printed once. Jesus, between this and evoke I'm actually looking forward to time spiral 2!
 

Onderzeeboot

Ecstatic Orb
I don't think a Time Spiral 2 is going to happen any time soon. I do think Evoke and Rebound are both mechanics that will make a return somewhere down the line.
 
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