There are a bunch of pseudo-official cards that can be run in our cubes but that we rarely do. Perhaps they are part of the Un sets, the digital-only Alchemy sets or those funky playtest cards. While the quality of these sets is pretty low, particularly Alchemy, there are still some cards that deserve a second look.
For me, Tchotchke Elemental is complete staple. It's both a tokens and +1/+1 payoff not unlike Champion of the Parish or, perhaps, Regal Bunnicorn. It's fun to play, never a power pick, but absolutely brilliant in the right deck. It can grow extremely fast (it gets one counter per planeswalker, for example) but it's limited by the lack of trample. This combination of powers and limitations make it worth your while.
Theorically, it goes infinite with clones but it's extremely rare for deckbuilding reasons. It's more of a cool feature that happens once every 30 games.
This might be the strange card that sees the most play in Riptide cubes. There is demand for 2-mana discard creatures like Mesmeric Fiend, but they are all on the weak side. Ultimately, your opponent can just kill it and get their card back. Frogkin Kidnapper is different because it's worded like Elite Spellbinder: The effect goes on and even if the creature is killed. Good for all of us who play at higher power levels.
Symmetry Sage is a ton of fun, but it's just too weak for cube. In practice, too many creatures already have 2 power or aren't significantly boosted by getting a +1/+1. By making it a 0/3, however, and boosting its ability to 3/3, it becomes an actual threat. It's feasible to play two spells and swing with both it and a powered-up token. Is that broken? No, but it's good, playable and fun. If you want something like Delver of Secrets, try A-Symmetry Sage instead.
Note that it changes the base stats, so it works with equipment, Berserk and so on.
Spell decks are a favourite here, but it's a problematic archetype. I like A-Symmetry Sage because it's a good payoff, different and not hard to understand at all. My current ranking looks something like this:
Dreadhorde Arcanist
Monastery Mentor
Kitsa, Otterball Elite
Dragon's Rage Channeler
--
A-Symmetry Sage
Young Pyromancer
Soul-Scar Mage
--
Harmonic Prodigy
Third Path Iconoclast
Sedgemoor Witch
--
Everything else is unplayable
This is a Time Spiral variant, but in red! That's worth a good look and I ran it for a very long time. I only cut it because it can only be played for value, not combo. You are drawing random cards so you cannot expect to chain off after it.
Now, let's get weird:
For as long as I've had my cube, I've wanted a big creature that covered all combo archetypes: Reanimator, Sneak Attack and Storm. Yet, everything I tried was either bad or downright obnoxious. This one looks exactly what I was looking for.
1) It can be hard-cast
2) It can be interacted with: It doesn't protect itself nor provide all of its value on ETB
3) In order to get extra cards, you will probably need to play slower and chain a couple spells.
4) It provides its own Storm win-condition so you don't need to draft both it and another finisher.
5) Even for value, storm Lighting Bolt seems a ton of fun!
In many ways, it seems a better designed Niv-Mizzit, Parum. I really hated Niv. Combining card draw, removal and face damage was dumb, particularly since it punished the opponent for playing the game. It was all balanced by its UURR cost which is such a blunt way to do it. It wasn't even good in control. Another comparison is Thousand Year Storm. While it's more vulnerable, giving actual draw and a win condition seems worth the trade-off.
Chatterstorm isn't good enough and neither is Awaken the Woods. But what about this combination of both? It can be both a win condition and a setup spell, which is huge. It could work well in the type of Temur decks that like Fastbond, since it costs just one coloured mana, it looks like an easy splash.
The issue is that it might be too good as pure value. Turn three, you Brainstorm and play this, netting you 2 lands. Or, you play this in a sacrifice midrange deck. Play a one drop, then this for 2 extra mana next turn and 2 bodies to eat. It's also dumb with Mox Diamond: It gives you 4 mana on turn 2!
Random stuff:
---
This should be a great card for any deck running discard. The only issue is that it's...kind of marginal? If you could ramp with it, it would be a premium target but, as is, it's just a little bit of value.
This looks like a fantastic cheat target, having a limited ETB and being an artifact. In some ways, it could act like a much fairer Griselbrand. My only worry is that it forces the opponent to lose one card might be too much. Perhaps it can be an alternative to Archon of Cruelty?
Black should be an artifact colour, but it doesn't actually have the payoffs for this. This could be one, but a massive attack may not matter when it trades with everything.
This is badly written but it has a ton going for it: It's a spell that creates artifacts. It can be used to create a better Phyrexian Arena or an Artifact Dark Confidant. And since it has flashback, you can do it again latter on. Having to spend 4 mana for the creature seems bad, though, Bob is so good because it's a 2/1.
A unique piece of removal that should create memorable game states. It may seem expensive, but it's the right cost for the effect. As usual, the problem is: Do you need it? My answer is probably no.
Now printed in real life, this is a white fireball. Funny with Earthcraft and haste, its main issue is simply that it's not necessary. The effect is good, it's a cool design but, again, you probably don't need it.
Anyways, those are just my thoughts on these quirky cards. Hope that helps!
For me, Tchotchke Elemental is complete staple. It's both a tokens and +1/+1 payoff not unlike Champion of the Parish or, perhaps, Regal Bunnicorn. It's fun to play, never a power pick, but absolutely brilliant in the right deck. It can grow extremely fast (it gets one counter per planeswalker, for example) but it's limited by the lack of trample. This combination of powers and limitations make it worth your while.
Theorically, it goes infinite with clones but it's extremely rare for deckbuilding reasons. It's more of a cool feature that happens once every 30 games.
This might be the strange card that sees the most play in Riptide cubes. There is demand for 2-mana discard creatures like Mesmeric Fiend, but they are all on the weak side. Ultimately, your opponent can just kill it and get their card back. Frogkin Kidnapper is different because it's worded like Elite Spellbinder: The effect goes on and even if the creature is killed. Good for all of us who play at higher power levels.
Symmetry Sage is a ton of fun, but it's just too weak for cube. In practice, too many creatures already have 2 power or aren't significantly boosted by getting a +1/+1. By making it a 0/3, however, and boosting its ability to 3/3, it becomes an actual threat. It's feasible to play two spells and swing with both it and a powered-up token. Is that broken? No, but it's good, playable and fun. If you want something like Delver of Secrets, try A-Symmetry Sage instead.Note that it changes the base stats, so it works with equipment, Berserk and so on.
Spell decks are a favourite here, but it's a problematic archetype. I like A-Symmetry Sage because it's a good payoff, different and not hard to understand at all. My current ranking looks something like this:
Dreadhorde Arcanist
Monastery Mentor
Kitsa, Otterball Elite
Dragon's Rage Channeler
--
A-Symmetry Sage
Young Pyromancer
Soul-Scar Mage
--
Harmonic Prodigy
Third Path Iconoclast
Sedgemoor Witch
--
Everything else is unplayable
This is a Time Spiral variant, but in red! That's worth a good look and I ran it for a very long time. I only cut it because it can only be played for value, not combo. You are drawing random cards so you cannot expect to chain off after it.
Now, let's get weird:
For as long as I've had my cube, I've wanted a big creature that covered all combo archetypes: Reanimator, Sneak Attack and Storm. Yet, everything I tried was either bad or downright obnoxious. This one looks exactly what I was looking for.
1) It can be hard-cast
2) It can be interacted with: It doesn't protect itself nor provide all of its value on ETB
3) In order to get extra cards, you will probably need to play slower and chain a couple spells.
4) It provides its own Storm win-condition so you don't need to draft both it and another finisher.
5) Even for value, storm Lighting Bolt seems a ton of fun!
In many ways, it seems a better designed Niv-Mizzit, Parum. I really hated Niv. Combining card draw, removal and face damage was dumb, particularly since it punished the opponent for playing the game. It was all balanced by its UURR cost which is such a blunt way to do it. It wasn't even good in control. Another comparison is Thousand Year Storm. While it's more vulnerable, giving actual draw and a win condition seems worth the trade-off.
Chatterstorm isn't good enough and neither is Awaken the Woods. But what about this combination of both? It can be both a win condition and a setup spell, which is huge. It could work well in the type of Temur decks that like Fastbond, since it costs just one coloured mana, it looks like an easy splash.
The issue is that it might be too good as pure value. Turn three, you Brainstorm and play this, netting you 2 lands. Or, you play this in a sacrifice midrange deck. Play a one drop, then this for 2 extra mana next turn and 2 bodies to eat. It's also dumb with Mox Diamond: It gives you 4 mana on turn 2!
Random stuff:
---
This should be a great card for any deck running discard. The only issue is that it's...kind of marginal? If you could ramp with it, it would be a premium target but, as is, it's just a little bit of value.
This looks like a fantastic cheat target, having a limited ETB and being an artifact. In some ways, it could act like a much fairer Griselbrand. My only worry is that it forces the opponent to lose one card might be too much. Perhaps it can be an alternative to Archon of Cruelty?
Black should be an artifact colour, but it doesn't actually have the payoffs for this. This could be one, but a massive attack may not matter when it trades with everything.
This is badly written but it has a ton going for it: It's a spell that creates artifacts. It can be used to create a better Phyrexian Arena or an Artifact Dark Confidant. And since it has flashback, you can do it again latter on. Having to spend 4 mana for the creature seems bad, though, Bob is so good because it's a 2/1.
A unique piece of removal that should create memorable game states. It may seem expensive, but it's the right cost for the effect. As usual, the problem is: Do you need it? My answer is probably no.
Now printed in real life, this is a white fireball. Funny with Earthcraft and haste, its main issue is simply that it's not necessary. The effect is good, it's a cool design but, again, you probably don't need it.
Anyways, those are just my thoughts on these quirky cards. Hope that helps!
