Cube Design – Khans Cube Review: Part 2
Cube Review Season has returned! In the last article, I Jason covered about half of the Cubeworthy cards from Khans of Tarkir. I'm going to cover the cards I he missed, and fill in some of the gaps from the time between when the first article was released and now. As always, I'll give a verdict for each card based on whether they are suitable for play in a high-power, 360 384-card Cube. On to the review!
Siege Rhino
Siege Rhino is not just the best new card in Khans of Tarkir but is quite possibly the best midrange creature ever printed. The card simply has the perfect rate. Siege Rhino's 4 mana cost for a 4/5 trampler is already above the curve, but it also has an amazing enters the battlefield effect tacked on to the text box. Siege Rhino causes an immediate 6-point life swing when it enters the battlefield, giving it value even when it gets removed before being able to affect the board. This ability is fantastic because it gives the Rhino resilience to removal while still letting it function more like a classic "baneslayer" instead of an egregious value creature. Although the Rhino has some slightly challenging mana requirements, most contemporary Cubes have more than enough fixing to make it work.
Siege Rhino is the ultimate sweet spot for creature design, and I wish WOTC would print more creatures with a similar body/value balance.
Verdict: Snap Include. You should be playing this.
Anafenza, the Foremost
Unlike Siege Rhino, Anafenza, the Foremost is super clunky. Losing out on Trample and Siege Rhino's fantastic enters the battlefield trigger makes Anafenza into a very feast or famine card (and not in the good way). This is compounded by the fact that Anafenza's main ability is an attack trigger. If you can get a lot of tapped creatures on the board and your Anafenza doesn't die, she can do some good work. Unfortunately, this is the minority of cases. While being a human can be relevant and having a little built-in graveyard hate is nice, these do not make up for the faults in our Khan.
Verdict: You should probably be running Siege Rhino instead. The only place Anafenza card even comes close to Rhino in quality is when you have both +1/+1 Counters and Human Tribal as supported archetypes.
Clever Impersonator
Four mana to copy anything seems like it could be good, until you consider the fact that you're copying something that already is in play. You're either copying your own card (in which case you're winning more), or you're copying the opponent's good card (in which case you're bringing the game back to parity). The ability to copy an opponent's Planeswalker is cool, but again, you're just closing the gap between you and the opponent instead of advancing your game. Clever Impersonator is a neat design, but it's best left for the EDH table.
Verdict: This is a clever impersonation of a good card. If you really need a clone effect, Glasspool Mimic is the superior option since it can be played as a land in all cases where a Clone isn't doing anything.
Bloodsoaked Champion
Bloodsoaked Champion is a great aggressive attacker. It can always swing in without much worry, as its Raid ability lets it come back consistently. Black Aggro decks love the extra card advantage Champion can provide because it helps to fuel decks that could otherwise run out of steam very quickly.
Unfortunately, I think Bloodsoaked Champion's claim to fame is only in the aggro section. Some have lauded Champion as a good fuel card for Aristocrats strategies. However, the fact that it can't return to play unless a creature attacked in the same turn, in addition to the fact that it's return ability costs
to activate, means that Bloodsoaked Champion is a clunky way to fuel sacrifice outlets. It can definitely do the trick in a pinch, but Gravecrawler is still the easiest card to loop for aristocrats. Bloodsoaked Champion is pretty much unplayable outside of Aggro and Aristocrats, as not being able to block means it is always destined to be a crappy little attacker.
Verdict: Blaggro all-star, mid-tier Aristocrats card, bad otherwise.
Mantis Rider
Mantis Rider is the glow-up to Lightning Angel. If you like that card, Rider is a fantastic upgrade. If you don't, Mantis Rider is entirely skippable. While it is still a fine card in Jeskai Aggro decks, it is so severely outclassed by more recent 1 and 2 color offerings that there isn't a ton of reason to play it anymore.
Verdict: If you like Mantis Rider, it's easier than ever to cast. But it's no longer a straight-up good card like it used to be.
Murderous Cut
Murderous Cut looks super expensive until you realize how comically easy it can be to fill the graveyard in a Cube. Fetchlands, Thought Scour, Consider, Ransack the Lab, Faithless Looting, and Winding Way variants are just a few examples of the myriad ways a player can fill the graveyard. As such, Murderous Cut is generally a 1 or 2-mana unconditional removal spell for creatures, something which every black deck is willing to play.
Verdict: Fun, Flexible, and Powerful. A perfect Cube card!
Hooting Mandrills
Hooting Mandrills is similar to Murderous Cut in the sense that is easy to power out. The big difference is that it's a 1-mana 4/4 Trampling Monkey instead of a 1-mana kill spell. Adjust your expectations accordingly.
Verdict: Monke Good.
Sidisi, Brood Tyrant
Speaking of ways to fill the graveyard, Sidisi, Brood Tyrant is one of my biggest pet cards from this set, and for a good reason. Sidisi is an enjoyable self-mill build-around card. She rewards players for building decks that can leverage her Zombie production trigger while fueling herself enough to be a worthwhile play. Sidisi will usually come down, make a token, and start generating an army from subsequent mill triggers. The big downfall of Sidisi, Brood Tyrant is that she can quickly mill out her controller. This mill can be a problem in 40-card formats where games ending due to drawing from an empty library is a common occurrence. Additionally, while Sidisi can often make a Zombie on her first mill trigger, this isn't guaranteed since token creation is tied specifically to milling creatures. As a result, sometimes she is just a 4-mana creature that does nothing except mill three cards and die. This wide internal power band can make her unappealing to many designers.
Verdict: Not there on power level, but fun if you want to make her work.
Utter End
Instant Speed Vindicate (minus lands) is a decent ability for a Magic card. The fact that Utter End is both a gold card and costs 4 makes it a little harder to use than other options, but it's still fine.
Verdict: Ok.
Herald of Anafenza
Do you know what White Aggro decks need? Good 1 drops. Is Herald of Anafenza a good 1 drop? It's not one of the very best, as usually 1-drop aggro idiots want to have 2 power. But it is good enough if you want to spice up the one-drop section a little bit. Herald of Anafenza's ability to grow larger while creating a board and acting like a mana sink is incredibly useful. It's just a bit slow and expensive. However, I don't think that kills the card since it is still a fine curve filler. While you're usually better off running another Savannah Lions variant, Herald of Anafenza is still playable.
Verdict: Definitely one of the White Aggro one drops of all time.
Surrak Dragonclaw
Surrak Dragonclaw is a total beefcake. 5 mana for a 6/6 with Flash that cannot be countered is a good rate. Surrak can come down on an opponent's end step while they're tapped out, give the rest of your team trample, and lead the charge for some big attacks. He can also surprise ambush a poorly-timed attack. Ultimately, while Surrak Dragonclaw represents a lot of potentially cool play patterns, he isn't too difficult to see coming and is easily removed. He's still awesome, but not necessarily anything special anymore.
Verdict: The best of the 3-color Legendary Khans for Cube, although that isn't saying too much.
Savage Punch
The Perfect Fight Spell. Look at that art! Surrak is punching a bear!
Verdict: Instant Staple.
Sorin, Solemn Visitor
Sorin, Solemn Visitor is a cool value Planeswalker. He makes a good token, provides a team-wide power boost along with lifelink, and he has a reasonably good ultimate in the event it can be triggered. The only problem this Sorin has is that there are a bunch of other, similar Sorin Planeswalker cards of a similar power level, some of which are mono-color. Is Sorin, Solemn Visitor any better than Sorin, Vengeful Bloodlord, Sorin, Lord of Innistrad, and Sorin, the Mirthless? That depends entirely on your specific format.
Verdict: Sorin, Solemn Visitor is a good card, but we've got a wealth of angsty 4-drop Vampire planeswalkers to choose from. Play your favorite!
Conclusion
Khans of Tarkir is one of the greatest Cube sets of all time. It is well-designed, with fun mechanics and powerful cards. Even 9 years after its initial release, the impact of Khans of Tarkir still echoes through the walls of our Cube boxes.
If you haven't read part 1 of this series, remember to do so here!
Cube Review Season has returned! In the last article,
Siege Rhino
Siege Rhino is not just the best new card in Khans of Tarkir but is quite possibly the best midrange creature ever printed. The card simply has the perfect rate. Siege Rhino's 4 mana cost for a 4/5 trampler is already above the curve, but it also has an amazing enters the battlefield effect tacked on to the text box. Siege Rhino causes an immediate 6-point life swing when it enters the battlefield, giving it value even when it gets removed before being able to affect the board. This ability is fantastic because it gives the Rhino resilience to removal while still letting it function more like a classic "baneslayer" instead of an egregious value creature. Although the Rhino has some slightly challenging mana requirements, most contemporary Cubes have more than enough fixing to make it work.
Siege Rhino is the ultimate sweet spot for creature design, and I wish WOTC would print more creatures with a similar body/value balance.
Verdict: Snap Include. You should be playing this.
Anafenza, the Foremost
Unlike Siege Rhino, Anafenza, the Foremost is super clunky. Losing out on Trample and Siege Rhino's fantastic enters the battlefield trigger makes Anafenza into a very feast or famine card (and not in the good way). This is compounded by the fact that Anafenza's main ability is an attack trigger. If you can get a lot of tapped creatures on the board and your Anafenza doesn't die, she can do some good work. Unfortunately, this is the minority of cases. While being a human can be relevant and having a little built-in graveyard hate is nice, these do not make up for the faults in our Khan.
Verdict: You should probably be running Siege Rhino instead. The only place Anafenza card even comes close to Rhino in quality is when you have both +1/+1 Counters and Human Tribal as supported archetypes.
Clever Impersonator
Four mana to copy anything seems like it could be good, until you consider the fact that you're copying something that already is in play. You're either copying your own card (in which case you're winning more), or you're copying the opponent's good card (in which case you're bringing the game back to parity). The ability to copy an opponent's Planeswalker is cool, but again, you're just closing the gap between you and the opponent instead of advancing your game. Clever Impersonator is a neat design, but it's best left for the EDH table.
Verdict: This is a clever impersonation of a good card. If you really need a clone effect, Glasspool Mimic is the superior option since it can be played as a land in all cases where a Clone isn't doing anything.
Bloodsoaked Champion
Bloodsoaked Champion is a great aggressive attacker. It can always swing in without much worry, as its Raid ability lets it come back consistently. Black Aggro decks love the extra card advantage Champion can provide because it helps to fuel decks that could otherwise run out of steam very quickly.
Unfortunately, I think Bloodsoaked Champion's claim to fame is only in the aggro section. Some have lauded Champion as a good fuel card for Aristocrats strategies. However, the fact that it can't return to play unless a creature attacked in the same turn, in addition to the fact that it's return ability costs
to activate, means that Bloodsoaked Champion is a clunky way to fuel sacrifice outlets. It can definitely do the trick in a pinch, but Gravecrawler is still the easiest card to loop for aristocrats. Bloodsoaked Champion is pretty much unplayable outside of Aggro and Aristocrats, as not being able to block means it is always destined to be a crappy little attacker.Verdict: Blaggro all-star, mid-tier Aristocrats card, bad otherwise.
Mantis Rider
Mantis Rider is the glow-up to Lightning Angel. If you like that card, Rider is a fantastic upgrade. If you don't, Mantis Rider is entirely skippable. While it is still a fine card in Jeskai Aggro decks, it is so severely outclassed by more recent 1 and 2 color offerings that there isn't a ton of reason to play it anymore.
Verdict: If you like Mantis Rider, it's easier than ever to cast. But it's no longer a straight-up good card like it used to be.
Murderous Cut
Murderous Cut looks super expensive until you realize how comically easy it can be to fill the graveyard in a Cube. Fetchlands, Thought Scour, Consider, Ransack the Lab, Faithless Looting, and Winding Way variants are just a few examples of the myriad ways a player can fill the graveyard. As such, Murderous Cut is generally a 1 or 2-mana unconditional removal spell for creatures, something which every black deck is willing to play.
Verdict: Fun, Flexible, and Powerful. A perfect Cube card!
Hooting Mandrills
Hooting Mandrills is similar to Murderous Cut in the sense that is easy to power out. The big difference is that it's a 1-mana 4/4 Trampling Monkey instead of a 1-mana kill spell. Adjust your expectations accordingly.
Verdict: Monke Good.
Sidisi, Brood Tyrant
Speaking of ways to fill the graveyard, Sidisi, Brood Tyrant is one of my biggest pet cards from this set, and for a good reason. Sidisi is an enjoyable self-mill build-around card. She rewards players for building decks that can leverage her Zombie production trigger while fueling herself enough to be a worthwhile play. Sidisi will usually come down, make a token, and start generating an army from subsequent mill triggers. The big downfall of Sidisi, Brood Tyrant is that she can quickly mill out her controller. This mill can be a problem in 40-card formats where games ending due to drawing from an empty library is a common occurrence. Additionally, while Sidisi can often make a Zombie on her first mill trigger, this isn't guaranteed since token creation is tied specifically to milling creatures. As a result, sometimes she is just a 4-mana creature that does nothing except mill three cards and die. This wide internal power band can make her unappealing to many designers.
Verdict: Not there on power level, but fun if you want to make her work.
Utter End
Instant Speed Vindicate (minus lands) is a decent ability for a Magic card. The fact that Utter End is both a gold card and costs 4 makes it a little harder to use than other options, but it's still fine.
Verdict: Ok.
Herald of Anafenza
Do you know what White Aggro decks need? Good 1 drops. Is Herald of Anafenza a good 1 drop? It's not one of the very best, as usually 1-drop aggro idiots want to have 2 power. But it is good enough if you want to spice up the one-drop section a little bit. Herald of Anafenza's ability to grow larger while creating a board and acting like a mana sink is incredibly useful. It's just a bit slow and expensive. However, I don't think that kills the card since it is still a fine curve filler. While you're usually better off running another Savannah Lions variant, Herald of Anafenza is still playable.
Verdict: Definitely one of the White Aggro one drops of all time.
Surrak Dragonclaw
Surrak Dragonclaw is a total beefcake. 5 mana for a 6/6 with Flash that cannot be countered is a good rate. Surrak can come down on an opponent's end step while they're tapped out, give the rest of your team trample, and lead the charge for some big attacks. He can also surprise ambush a poorly-timed attack. Ultimately, while Surrak Dragonclaw represents a lot of potentially cool play patterns, he isn't too difficult to see coming and is easily removed. He's still awesome, but not necessarily anything special anymore.
Verdict: The best of the 3-color Legendary Khans for Cube, although that isn't saying too much.
Savage Punch
The Perfect Fight Spell. Look at that art! Surrak is punching a bear!
Verdict: Instant Staple.
Sorin, Solemn Visitor
Sorin, Solemn Visitor is a cool value Planeswalker. He makes a good token, provides a team-wide power boost along with lifelink, and he has a reasonably good ultimate in the event it can be triggered. The only problem this Sorin has is that there are a bunch of other, similar Sorin Planeswalker cards of a similar power level, some of which are mono-color. Is Sorin, Solemn Visitor any better than Sorin, Vengeful Bloodlord, Sorin, Lord of Innistrad, and Sorin, the Mirthless? That depends entirely on your specific format.
Verdict: Sorin, Solemn Visitor is a good card, but we've got a wealth of angsty 4-drop Vampire planeswalkers to choose from. Play your favorite!
Conclusion
Khans of Tarkir is one of the greatest Cube sets of all time. It is well-designed, with fun mechanics and powerful cards. Even 9 years after its initial release, the impact of Khans of Tarkir still echoes through the walls of our Cube boxes.
If you haven't read part 1 of this series, remember to do so here!
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