General (BRO) The Brother's War Testing/Includes Thread

TrainmasterGT

TrainmasterGT

This is a testing/includes thread. Post pictures using /ci or a text list using /c with what cards you plan to include and what cards you plan to test.
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Including:


Including if it's not expensive:


Testing:


Personally, I'm not sure how many of the "testing" cards for this set are things I will ever actually pick up and Cube and how many are just designs I think look cool. I'm pretty confident in all of the includes. Bushwack especially stands out as a nice card, since it can both be a cantrip and a nice interactive spell at the same time. Recommission and No One Left Behind are both great auxiliary options for the Unearth deck, with No One Left Behind specifically doubling as a good spell for normal reanimator. Hurkyl, Master Wizard and Third Path Iconoclast both seem like good cards for the Jeskai spells deck. Recruitment Officer is a cool 2/1 that exists with a relevant ability.

Overall, this is not as good of a set as I would have hoped for a set referencing one of the two most important major events in Magic's history so far, but there are a number of cards here I still really like.
 
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Velrun

Velrun



Nothing else.

Cool storyline. Meh cards for my cube. I thought about running the Urza and Mishra meld cards as a gimmick but they sadly signal some decks existing that I do not run. So can’t get them.

There is however a small handful of cards I want for duel commander.
 
Mown

Mown

Are all the commander cards revealed?



I was pretty excited to hear that the set would heavily feature artifacts with colored ability or alternate costs, especially when it started with a slam-dunk of a card in PDE, but now at the end I have to say I am extremely disappointed. I really like unearth and prototype as mechanics too. These are the only cards I feel pretty confident about, but there's a sizeable assortment of other cards I am contemplating with great skepticism.


Scholar has a decent floor and lets you go infinite with sagas. I think that synergy is cute, but I do wish it was limited in some way, as I don't like repetitive value engines.
Soul Partition is an interesting white bounce spell. I'm pretty fond of my white removal suite as is, but it has a lot of open-ended applications that make it a fun card to play.
Arcane Proxy I don't think compensates for adding prototype to the cube, I'd probably play it otherwise.
Urza's Command similarly struggles with the fact that it makes a Powerstone token (without reminder text, even), because I think the card is cool.
Gixian Puppeteer is a black 4-drop so it's hard to find space for.
Scrapwork Mutt might struggle to get there on card quality, I'm not entirely sure if it plays better than it looks.
Mishra's Research Desk competes with a lot of other red card filtering.
Simian Simulacrum is maybe just a bit too boring compared to other cards.
 
shamizy

shamizy

1667587771567.png1667585686016.png 1667588102549.png 1667585696402.png 1667587793633.png 1667588007997.png 1667588015596.png

Most of these are maybes, but I'm definitely going to be trying out Recruitment Officer, Siege Veteran, and Saheeli, Filigree Master. These all slot in neatly into specific niches.

Not much to be said about Officer as it's yet another 2/1 Human with some upside and that makes it just fine for inclusion and hitting that critical mass for early plays. Being able to turn excess mana into a potential body isn't the worst thing if you draw this late and/or after a board wipe.

After seeing how powerful Luminarch Aspirant has been, I'm quite certain that even with an additional mana that the Veteran is going to be similarly effective with the same play patterns. If I were a 360 cube I might be more wary of it, but at 420 that gives me enough additional variety that I can deal with the Aspirant + Veteran deck coming together a little less frequently. They're both good enough to slot outside of just aggressive decks that I think it should work out in the long run. W/x Aggro decks being able to grow vertical is what gives them the reach necessary to punch through board stalls unlike red decks with Burn or black decks with Blood Artist effects. That extra point of potential damage, especially with a beginning of combat trigger, is just extremely clutch for these low to the ground decks where that extra power could be the difference between a trade or a chump block while another body is getting in for an uncontested two damage.

I'm also a fan of built in wrath protection and the number of soldiers that can appear in my cube's W/x decks isn't negligible at this point:



Finally I'm just a fan of signpost walkers in Gold slots, this Saheeli definitely fits the bill doing just enough to signal the U/R Artifacts deck and synergizes very well with existing options. Being able to +1 into ultimate range to try and close out games or spend some more time developing with the -2 to go wide gives you two relevant plays to be made. I could see her being similarly effective like Ob Nixilis, the Adversary was for B/R decks where it's kinda mediocre in generic decks but really strong in a deck built to maximize the abilities. I do wish they had tweaked the abilities and loyalty some such that you could use the -2 twice to cash her in as going wide with 4 thopters could be a neat way to close games out.
 
Brad

Brad

I've forever wanted to return to some sort of Eldrazi Big Mana format, but the number of lines that come about from having a handful of Spawns and Scions was overwhelming. "Do I attack? Do I block? Should I ramp this out? Should I ramp that out? If I keep them all, I can do this next turn..."

I'm going to be looking into a Powerstone driven format. They do a nice job of being specialty ramp without adding nearly the number of decisions.
 
Seeker

Seeker


oh fine and

if you really twist my arm

...and just like the last three or so sets, I'm sure I'll have a handful more once I've played Standard with the cards.
 
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LadyMapi

LadyMapi

I'm actually interested in quite a few cards this time around... because I'm unhappy with the Green section in the Capitalism Cube.



I'm also interested in a few cards in other colors as well for that cube:

 
Seeker

Seeker

Velrun said:
THE POST-STANDARD CUBE always wins :p
Click to expand...
It really does! I had no interest in, for instance, Fable of the Mirror-Breaker... until I saw it in action and it turns out you get enough value along the way for Slow Kiki to be fine (and I support stuff of that high power level, and I don't have Twin combo pieces in, so it's a really good fit)

Just helps so much to have actually taken game actions with game objects.
 
B

blacksmithy

Seeker said:
It really does! I had no interest in, for instance, Fable of the Mirror-Breaker... until I saw it in action and it turns out you get enough value along the way for Slow Kiki to be fine (and I support stuff of that high power level, and I don't have Twin combo pieces in, so it's a really good fit)

Just helps so much to have actually taken game actions with game objects.
Click to expand...
i was the same way on Fable, had rejected it because double sided, then played it in 30 different standard decks and now i run it.
“these things are fun / and fun is good” - Dr. Seuss
 
Zoss

Zoss

Definite tests/includes, more or less in order from most excited to least excited:



Individual thoughts:

Gnawing Vermin is a good card that does a lot, but it feels very "Magic in 2020+" to me. The same is true of a lot of these cards--Zephyr Sentinel might have been my #2 were it not for the Soldier tagline--and it's something I think I want to stay away from.

Blanchwood Prowler is an interesting take on Satyr Wayfinder, but it can also beat down and synergize with +1/+1 counters while minimizing the fail case, which seems a solid upgrade.

Goblin Blast-Runner is a case of giving my colors a stronger identity vis-a-vis creatures. This, Monastery Swiftspear, and Flameblade Adept form a core of creatures that grow and shrink depending on game actions, and having the third creature in this oddball cycle is enough to make it predictable.


 
Nanonox

Nanonox

For my 1vs 1 cube, on first pass

Includes



I've found that Green lacks some good GY payoffs, and the monkey does a good job at it, in addition to counters and artifact synergies. It lacks trample to be really good, but it still seems worth it.

Double Strike is a very powerful keyword in cubes where +1/+1 counters are present. 3 mana 2/2 is rough, but when you factor in the recursion late game or synergy potential with Welder, it gets interesting!

Fleshgorger's main mode will probably be as a cheat target, but having the backup of a 3/3 for 3 with relevant types, keywords and protection is great. I am looking at other prototype cards, but this is the main one.

Iconoclast is the perfect glue card. It's cheap, has a relevant body, triggers off of noncreature spells and makes artifacts. The body + mana cost makes it a slam dunk for me whereas Saheeli, Sublime Artificer failed. In slower environments, I think having both would be great!

Tests



Unearth plays really well and this more versatile version seems worth it at 2 mana. Getting back the aforementioned Dragon Engine with a +1/+1 counter and the 3 cards seems like a great play sequence to give aggro decks late game potential. I'm 90% sure this will stick.

Officer also plays with the late game value plan. Not exciting, but good for gameplay.

The Assembler, Seraph, Thresher and Amalgam hit the relevant early and late notes. They have synergy with blink and the first 2 with counters. Finding space is tough though, especially for the 3 drop prototypes. I am leaning towards the 2 drops because my 3s are already jam packed!

Teferi's ceiling is awfully high, as chaining it with any kind of Wheel effect is bonkers. It's also decent on it's own and together with the new Sheoldred, might make for a cool subtheme in Grixis. The floor on the card is certainly disappointing, but not a deal breaker IMO.

Thopter Mechanic works well in a lot of archetypes. Spell velocity, humans, counters, sacrifice and artifacts all could care about it. It's not very exciting, but might just be versatile enough to warrant a slot.

The Desk is a cool Bauble type card. I'll have to do the math on whether or not I need an instant/sorcery more than an artifact for my archetypes.

Not sure I need Satyr Wayfinder #2, but definitely a contender.

I often end up drafting a human/artifact/counter deck with White in it, so the Dissident is appealing. Might not be impactful enough as a 1/1 for my power level though.

Cosmetic upgrades

This is the part that has me the most excited. Between the old bordered artifacts and the retro frame commander products, there are going to be a lot of "upgrades"!
 
TrainmasterGT

TrainmasterGT

Nanonox said:
Cosmetic upgrades

This is the part that has me the most excited. Between the old bordered artifacts and the retro frame commander products, there are going to be a lot of "upgrades"!
Click to expand...
The best part of this set might unironically be the fact that Mishra's Bauble is going to be effectively an uncommon in a $4 booster set, meaning that I can get a playset of the real card for less than $60. We could be looking at $2 baubles at some point in the near future for the first time in a decade, which is really nice for Cube designers who want to support non-singleton spell velocity decks.
 
MilesOfficial

MilesOfficial

Wow, I must like this set a lot more than the bunch of y'all -- this is one of my top 5 sets for cube, in terms of additions right off the bat.

Current inclusion plans:















Will write up a bit more once I'm finalized on what I'm taking out for them.

Steel Seraph
Thopter Shop
Lay Down Arms
Loran’s Escape
Myrel, Shield of Argive
Ratchet, Field Medic

Fallaji Archaeologist
Hurkyl, Master Wizard

Dreams of Steel and Oil
Misery’s Shadow
Transmogrant's Crown

Brotherhood’s End
Skitterbeam Battalion

Bushwhack
Haywire Mite

Saheeli, Filigree Master
Urza, Prince of Kroog
Mishra, Claimed by Gix

Scavenged Brawler



Artifact Aesthetic Upgrades
Chromatic Lantern
Gilded Lotus
Lodestone Golem
Mishra's Bauble
Phyrexian Revoker
Precursor Golem
Swiftfoot Boots
Wurmcoil Engine
 
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Peter LaCara

Peter LaCara

Alright. Invasion 2.0 was awesome for my cube. Let's see how Antiquities 2.0 does. I have traditionally been light on artifact themes, so I'm not hopeful, but I haven't gone through the full spoiler up until this point so I may be surprised. Keep in mind, I'm running an Arena cube, so I'm going to be including reprints in this list that are new to me, which are going to jack up the card count a bit.

 
inscho

inscho

Certain:
Recruitment Officer
Third Path Iconoclast
Simian Simulacrum

Near Certain:
Recommission
Hostile Negotiations

Uncertain but Interested:
Soul Partition
Rootwire Amalgam
Phyrexian Fleshgorger
Phyrexian Dragon Engine
Mishra's Research Desk
Saheeli Filigree Master
Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor
Bushwack
Misery's Shadow
Dreams of Steel and Oil

Interested but Doubtful:
Perennial Behemoth
Yotian Dissident
Samwell Avenger Ace
Scrapwork Mutt
Loran of the Third Path
Autonomous Assembler
Lay Down Arms
Blachwood Prowler
Awaken the Woods
Tocasia's Dig Site
Kayla's Reconstruction
Argoth, Sanctum of Nature
Ashnod's Harvester
Hurkyl, Master Wizard
Surge Engine
Mishra, Claimed by Gix


No earthshaking includes, but several interesting cards to chew on....ones that force me to focus on the way I want to slant my archetypes. I'm faced with a lot more substitutions that are about refining than redefining like Rootwire Amalgam vs Verdurous Gearhulk or Phyrexian Dragon Engine vs Laela, the Blade Reforged, Third Path Iconoclast vs Sprite Dragon, or Soul Partition vs Unexpectedly Absent, etc. Cards that have some functional overlap at similar CMCs, but provide different synergies or at different power levels. I can't recall a set that's presented me with this many granular decisions to make. Pretty cool.
 
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ravnic

ravnic

This is a set full of cards that are kinda close but probably won't get tested for me.

Including:



The mutt is a cool upgrade over Fissure Mage, works with madness, graveyard themes and artifact.dec as well.
Lay Down Arms hits the sweet spot of rewarding you for basic land tribal without being too bad if you don't or too good if you do get there.
Thopter Shop is exactly the kind of non-parasitic artifact payoff I'd like in my colored sections.

I will keep an eye on:

Combat Thresher
Fallaji Archaeologist
Flow of Knowledge
Thopter Mechanic
Gixian Infiltrator
Scrapwork Rager
Levitating Statue

Most of these just can't edge anything out right now. The Archaeologist simply has art I really don't like (Is that a knee?) and the statue is a little too blue for my taste in a colorless slot.

However, the special treat this set gives us, are the many retro frames of course. Next to the new Thopter Shop I'll get these in beautiful borders:



There are also a couple card I'm suddenly more interested in, like Mazemind Tome. However, I a not going to retroframe my colored artifacts like Armix as they really screwed up their visualization.
 
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Chris Taylor

Chris Taylor

Contributor

I like these prototype designs, since more white artifacts is always nice and there's not a ton of flicker in my cube, so this is more a cute fun thing you can do with resto rather than the expected outcome.
Siege Veteran I expect to be "we've got Luminarch Aspirant at home" and also for that to still be quite good.


Maybe I add this, maybe I add Unexpectedly Absent instead, maybe I stick with the (probably too strong) custom removal spell I've got in right now?

This is the card I'm least confidant in, but my playgroup seems to like it so I'll give it a shot.

Much like the white prototype designs, black is another colour I usually want more artifacts in, and this seems cool.

I just love this little minigame so much

I'd actually already bemoaned the loss of exile when I switched from Lava Coil to Thundering Rebuke, and I'm happy to now have my cake and eat it too.

Yeah noncreature young pyromancer is probably as good as I think it is.

Side benefit: turns out based on this set of cards I only need 1 token from this set! (Thanks Vel)
 
Chris Taylor

Chris Taylor

Contributor
Oh Also:

I do like this card, but the specific themes my white section touches on (Artifact midrange, Aristocrats and Tokens) do drift away from creature cards with MV 3 or less. (Especially since the aristocrats part of white is at least in part noncreature spells that create bodies)

Do a quick check if you're in the same position
 
B

blacksmithy

Chris Taylor said:
Oh Also:

I do like this card, but the specific themes my white section touches on (Artifact midrange, Aristocrats and Tokens) do drift away from creature cards with MV 3 or less. (Especially since the aristocrats part of white is at least in part noncreature spells that create bodies)

Do a quick check if you're in the same position
Click to expand...
i really want this thing to move the revealed card straight to the field if i have to pay 4 up front for it
 
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