I don't find Pod to be overpowered in my Cube at all, it's been a pretty fair deck for the most part. The Pod deck doesn't come together all that often either. I think I also have enough incidental hate spread throughout the Cube that Pod isn't just a game-ender once it's on the field. Plentiful efficient removal helps keep the threats in check as well. Then again, my usual drafters are really experienced with retail drafts and have been playing for a number of years so they know when a given archetype is viable for them to go into a few picks into a pack. Well, unless someone is going Worldknit and YOLOing the draft signals.
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- Thread starter James Stevenson
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Chris Taylor
Contributor
The thought of unexpectedly absent on a pod in response to an activation fills me with glee
Nice card people will feel happy playing and another way to add artifact and enchantment removal. Fairly unexciting, difficult to justify in a gold spot, doesn't support any particular themes. Don't play it, but like it.
Like it. Exiles, so good against recursion. Doesn't randomly vindicate lands, which I like but others may want that effect. Another four drop, irritating, though instant speed good. Doesn't support any particular theme. Not that interesting? Has a cool full art foil.
Sooooo expensive for a reactive card. Value goes up the more planeswalkers you have in your cube, generally powerful effects and always a two for one. Think I might prefer ribbons of night.
I have seen Trygon Predator matter exactly once, and that was when I had drafted a U/B Tezz deck. I slowly realized that this fucking dinosaur was going to destroy everything I loved.
Utter End is a cool effect, but sorta unexciting at 4 mana. I guess that's okay since it's a catch-all for most things. I'd rather run Vindicate if I had one.
Silumgar's Command has been okay for me, but it is a stupidly expensive card to hold up. It's versatile though, and I'm all for any more planeswalker killing effects I can add into the cube.
Utter End is a cool effect, but sorta unexciting at 4 mana. I guess that's okay since it's a catch-all for most things. I'd rather run Vindicate if I had one.
Silumgar's Command has been okay for me, but it is a stupidly expensive card to hold up. It's versatile though, and I'm all for any more planeswalker killing effects I can add into the cube.
I think a better way to approach the Trygon Predator angle is to eliminate the need for it. Don't run "must kill" artifacts and enchantments, then spend your gold card on something that's sweeter.
Very much this - Trygon Predator feels like one of the remnants of powered cubes, or even unpowered cubes with must-kill targets like explosive mana rocks and bananas equipment.
Not a big fan of Utter End - one-for-one removal that costs four seems really unwieldy in a Riptide list, where curves tend to be low. Faith's Fetters is probably the only exception because it has enough upside stapled on, and even then I think it's borderline.
As others have said, I think Silumgar's Command's value is directly proportional to the quantity and quality of planeswalkers in your cube. With only eight in my list, all of the middling variety, I don't need it, but if you have closer to 15 or 20 and they include the likes of Ajani Vengeant or one of many Garruks, Command is probably worth a slot as a versatile, instant speed two-for-one.
a) very good card and fun for only one person, scales to the opponent's number of targets
b) slightly worse than vindicate, instant is the real deal
c) soooo much mana. definitely my weakest UB card (and maybe I will switch to Ribbons) but I like having it around as a hedge against walkers and because it resets Demonic Pact.
This is the approach I've taken with lands like Kessig wolf run etc. So I don't have to run wasteland. You miss out on cool cards but avoid ruining games by wasteland. I can see it's a similar thing with artifacts, it's difficult getting the balance right sometimes though.
Anyone want to get on Skype and play some cube in the next few hours?
CML
Contributor
Can't remember if I've asked this before, but I'm writing a book called The Anthropologist's Guide to Magic and want feedback on what's working, what isn't, etc. Can I interest anyone on being put on the mailing list for new releases etc. (or just make a thread of its own here—but I'd rather it weren't public)?
I've seen mention of it on Facebook, not here. Sure, add me to the list. You have my email.
I'm interested. Can't promise any feedback, I'm pretty busy
Yeah I'll take a look as well, cheese_vs_ninjas@hotmail.com
Going live in 10 minutes, twitch.tv/riptidelab.
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Dom Harvey
Contributor
mail me