New charms! I think this card looks incredibly playable. It can draw, kill, or drain, depending on the circumstances. Truly a perfect modal spell.
General (SNC) Streets of New Capenna Previews
- Thread starter TrainmasterGT
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New charms! I think this card looks incredibly playable. It can draw, kill, or drain, depending on the circumstances. Truly a perfect modal spell.
On one hand, Maestros Charm is the kind of Magic card I like to play with most, and want desperately to cube with it.
On the other hand, I've started to remove utility / generic cards from even my guild slots, so having a utilitarian card be my sole Grixis representation instead of a sweet payoff for building a deck that supports three specific colors feels real bad.
(but holy wow can't wait to draft this)
On the other hand, I've started to remove utility / generic cards from even my guild slots, so having a utilitarian card be my sole Grixis representation instead of a sweet payoff for building a deck that supports three specific colors feels real bad.
(but holy wow can't wait to draft this)
sounds like you’ve got some tension between an idea of 1. what a cube should be and 2. what you enjoy playing and drafting?
I remember Wadell claiming that one benefit of having "good stuff" spells in multicolor is that they're not as likely to get snapped up, so you get a better chance of getting a card like that late in your colors.
A powerful charm is a great payoff for a 3-color deck. Most of the time in a cube that can support 3+ color decks, 3C decks come together one color at a time, so any powerful and thematic card in a 3C slot is a welcome sight. I think the amount of times in a cubes life that a 3color card is present at just the right time to drag someone into 3C is a bit overestimated (and the need for those slots to do that a bit overestimated too).
chance to see the one grixis card in the first round of 8 packs: 33% (1/3 of the grixis card seen on average)
typical number of grixis single-color cards you'd see in the first 8 packs with an assumed as-fan of 2 per color: 37
(assuming that everyone else is taking cards evenly across the color wheel)
so in an average first round of a draft you will see 111 times more RBU single-color cards than the one grixis card. It's going to be the single color cards defining how well a 3C deck comes together, not the one multicolor slot.
chance to see the one grixis card in the first round of 8 packs: 33% (1/3 of the grixis card seen on average)
typical number of grixis single-color cards you'd see in the first 8 packs with an assumed as-fan of 2 per color: 37
(assuming that everyone else is taking cards evenly across the color wheel)
so in an average first round of a draft you will see 111 times more RBU single-color cards than the one grixis card. It's going to be the single color cards defining how well a 3C deck comes together, not the one multicolor slot.
Onderzeeboot
Ecstatic Orb
Hilariously, this could be kicker :') Another option is split cards, which work really well in multicolored sets, since you can at least cast part of the card if you don't draw all your colors! My bet is on domain, though, which frankly also works great. You can put it on monocolor cards, that get stronger as you run more colors (which is what you want players to do in a set revolving around shards). Plus, crucially, there are several hints for a five color subtheme!
i’d be frickin stoked for more domain cards and for more split cards, both of these are excellent mechanics for my cube specifically
EDIT: what would REALLY BE SICK is if we get more domain cards that slot well into control decks, like my homeboi Evasive Action
EDIT: what would REALLY BE SICK is if we get more domain cards that slot well into control decks, like my homeboi Evasive Action
maestros charm is sweet, definitely an instant snap.
Cruel Ultimatum was too color intensive for my grixis decks, and I've been wanting a 3 for 5 like fight with fire but it was a bit too splashable and oppressive and fiery justice just didn't work for my naya decks.
Cruel Ultimatum was too color intensive for my grixis decks, and I've been wanting a 3 for 5 like fight with fire but it was a bit too splashable and oppressive and fiery justice just didn't work for my naya decks.
Chris Taylor
Contributor
This can absolutely be a plus or a minus for you.
As always: Does this card spark joy? (Does it spark more joy than say, Kess, Dissident Mage?)
Can I design a card that sparks more joy? o.O
Kess sparks a fair bit of joy, i need to get a copy of her… and the answer to your spoiler question is ALWAYS yes lol
Chris Taylor
Contributor
100% custom cube it is!
I'm pretty sure it's Hideaway, as I remember someone pointing out tha the rules text got changed from "Hideaway" to "Hideaway X" in the hideaway land secret lair and that the rules themselves changed.
Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/MTGRumors/comments/suw3bl/hideaway_rules_change_means_it_might_come_back/
i’m about 40% there
Chris Taylor
Contributor
I wanna say: 100% custom is NOT confidence I have 
I usually hover between 20-25%
Like does Sacred Foundry Spark Joy? Absolutely. Can I do better? I don't...like better as in more powerful sure, but I think this is fine.
I usually hover between 20-25%
Like does Sacred Foundry Spark Joy? Absolutely. Can I do better? I don't...like better as in more powerful sure, but I think this is fine.
I'm pretty sure half of @blacksmithy 's 40% is upgraded versions of WOTC landsI wanna say: 100% custom is NOT confidence I have
I usually hover between 20-25%
Like does Sacred Foundry Spark Joy? Absolutely. Can I do better? I don't...like better as in more powerful sure, but I think this is fine.
I don't agree. My tension is from the excitement and novelty that comes with a new fun card being spoiled vs. my experience knowing how similar cards have fared in my cube. I have more fun cubing when I'm able to play the cards I draft, and when I pick up a spicy three-color card that opens up a new archetype or line of play I wouldn't have been able to pursue before. It's been the same for my drafters.
When multicolored spots were more focused towards efficient removal or utility effects, they would wheel more, and up in sideboards more, etc. I think there's a balance there for sure, but focusing on archetype enablers and payoffs in these (relatively) precious slots has made the cube experience better.
I don't actually think my own personal hype for this card will die down, so it's totally feasible that I put it in my cube at some point, and I don't let any hard-and-fast rule get in the way of that kind of decision. I play with lots of pet cards, and this passes a threshold in terms of power and usability that I don't even think it qualifies for that.
I'm currently running Kess in that slot myself, and she sparks a ton of joy for me as well, so I may throw it in as a 721st card one draft and see if anything happens, but we'll see!
Wow. They managed to make a charm that is both an efficient removal/interactive spell and an archetype enabler. I'm... at a loss for words.
I might be putting shard combo cards in my Cube after this set. I really want to use this to reanimate Grist, the Hunger Tide and Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver in 4c 34 Rhino Bring to Light decks. The only real downside is that this specifies "multicolor permanent," which is a bit rough in a lot of Cubes but certainly not all of them.
@landofMordor are you interested in testing this? It seems like it might be good for your midrange unpowered Cube.
To be fair, I think there is a tension between "build around" and "generically good" cards for multicolor slots, but especially 3c in particular. I used to play cards like Kess, Dissident Mage and Korvold, Fae-Cursed King in my Cube as cool build-around cards to help draw people into 3 color decks. I found that they would either end up being star cards of specific decks if they were opened in pack 1, or would end up warming sideboards if they were opened later in the draft. Ever since I switched over to having value gold cards like Siege Rhino and Mantis Rider as the core of my 3c section, I have found that people tend to pivot into a 3rd color later in the draft specifically to play these power outliers. Sure, they don't all make for good first picks, but they do tend to draw people into space that they otherwise might not be willing to explore.
I think this is a broader "issue" with gold cards, in that the more specific they get, the harder they are to play. Most players aren't going to be looking to play a card like Thousand-Year Storm unless they can snatch it up within the first couple of picks and build their whole deck around it. However, they also aren't going to take Izzet Charm before pick 3 most of the time, since even a good gold card is harder to play than a mediocre mono-color card. Most people don't want to commit to an extra color unless it's for either a build-around or an egregious power outlier. Unfortunately, the cool modal cards are rarely the former and are often hard to identify when they're the latter.
In my opinion, there is more utility to value and interactive gold cards than people often give them credit for. Gold removal and filtration is often significantly more powerful than mono-color cards of the same category and can provide answers to things that otherwise might beg an entire separate card. Seeing a late Expressive Iteration, Abrupt Decay, Vanishing Verse, or Drown in the Loch can be a clear signal that their respective color combinations are open, and are good enough picks to be worth speculating on. These cards are so much better than their mono-color counterparts on average that players are rewarded for putting them in their deck. The same can be said for value 3c golds like Siege Rhino and Mantis Rider. These cards are a good reason to splash a third color if a player is already drafting one of their two-color bases. After all, the only extra cost is the mana requirement, no other strings attached. You don't have to already be in a specific lane like self-mill in the case of Sidisi, Brood Tyrant in order for them to work. While I don't think gold sections should be utilized for all utility and value all the time, I think that these cards can be very effective signposts in the draft without marrying drafter to specific types of decks in the same way more traditional archetype enabler signposts might.
As for Maestros Charm in particular, I think the second ability on the card is weak enough that it might not have the drawing power of another 3c value card. I don't think it's more playable than something like Mantis Rider, although it is a good splash if you're already base UB, UR, or RB. I think its biggest barrier to entry is just that it's not "cool" compared to other 3c cards. Obscura Charm on the other hand looks to me like a good card to draw people into Esper. It has two great interactive modes and a third ability that can be build-aroundish in its own right. I think the abilities are novel enough that it could break the "coolness" barrier that the Maestros Charm fails to clear. While it is still just a decent value card, the fact that the reanimation ability can be used for some shenanigans I think will get players' minds aglow with ideas. Not quite a first pick, but I think it may compare favorably to the other 3C examples I've been using.
ugh
Wow. They managed to make a charm that is both an efficient removal/interactive spell and an archetype enabler. I'm... at a loss for words.
I might be putting shard combo cards in my Cube after this set. I really want to use this to reanimate Grist, the Hunger Tide and Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver in 4c 34 Rhino Bring to Light decks. The only real downside is that this specifies "multicolor permanent," which is a bit rough in a lot of Cubes but certainly not all of them.
@landofMordor are you interested in testing this? It seems like it might be good for your midrange unpowered Cube.
Part of me is wondering if I need to fit this in when I get back to working on Afternoon Delight...
I think this makes more sense for a black kill spell.
But then, there will also be a card creating blue fish tokens ...
yes you do need to fit this in, Obscura Charm is a frickin bomb
I think "Sleep with the Fishes" will be:
Sleep with the Fishes
Sorcery
Destroy target creature or planeswalker. It's controller creates a 1/1 blue Fish creature token.
Wow this charm is mediocre.
I don't even think this is better than Rith's Charm.
It's a bit of a shame, because the first two members of this cycle we saw were great. While I don't believe this card is bad, all three abilities have some decent amount of utility, this card really wants you to be ahead in the game for it to function at full force. Otherwise, you're just getting a Raise the Alarm that is really hard to cast.
I don't even think this is better than Rith's Charm.
It's a bit of a shame, because the first two members of this cycle we saw were great. While I don't believe this card is bad, all three abilities have some decent amount of utility, this card really wants you to be ahead in the game for it to function at full force. Otherwise, you're just getting a Raise the Alarm that is really hard to cast.
Onderzeeboot
Ecstatic Orb
Yeah, it feels quite subpar compared to the other two we've seen so far. Especially since they said they wanted to push these to be exciting. The mini overrun can close games unexpectedly because of the trample, but the removal side is underwhelming, as is Raise the Alarm for :/
:/