General Fight Club

[Nanonox]

vs

In regards to the Baloths vs Avenger, the downside of both of these is that they are powerful enough outside of the landfall deck to get snagged by other random decks. So you aren't really able to target the deck that you want. The Woodcrasher is probably a safer bet to reach your goal.

Do you want a turn 5 enabler?

I didn't think of framing the problem this way, thanks for the insight.

Both of these decks could use the turn 5 enabler since Hogaak and Uro are thirsty avatar/titan people. However, I would rather have the early GY filling card.

Which leads me to Velrun's idea.

I could very well see your cube running both of them if you can find the room.

Another piece of insight I didn't consider at all for whatever reason. I can find a way to run the Cavalier for sure.

What I am now considering is if I wouldn't be better served with a GY payoff (like Titania, Protector of Argoth) since green has a lot of enablers already.

The green GY payoff cards I run are:
Tarmogoyf, Life from the Loam, Honored Hydra, Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis, Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath and Wrenn and Six.

Are there some obvious ones I am missing?

 

[sigh]

I would not run Titania. GY enabler is not how I would classify her, just a power bomb that happens to reference th GY

 

[Velrun]

I don't think anyone missed it

I guess your guess has been proven wrong then How often do you want to target your own indestructible permanent with a destroy effect? I haven’t done it since Burning of Xinye on my Darksteel Citadel before errata to sacrifice. And back then I could only do it when there were no other options. Here it is a legit, semi-hidden, value engine.

...and Wrenn and Six.

I don’t know your cube but I guess you can’t make a direct switch between Wrenn and Cavalier. However I don’t run Wrenn and Six anymore because of the effect it had on the games. Too cheap and a repetitive X/1 murderer.

 

[Mondschwein]

I guess it's Baloth Woodcrasher and Nesting Dragon then.

 

[Modin]

So I've always liked the idea of Goldnight Commander but I've not seen him go off very often... is an enchantment just better suited to wear that effect?
I like the effect more than anthems because I feel like it's more interesting and leaves room for explosive (combo) plays. White has a token/small dude recursion theme in my cube.

vs

 

[Mondschwein]

I added the Commander recently (obv not having tested it, as my cube is still under construction). Personally, I prefer a body on this type of effect, as it pumps itself as well and obv goes into an aggressive deck, while enchantments are also hard to interact with.

 

[Onderzeeboot]

I feel like you want the body, but Goldknight Commander really needs a cheaper cost or better stats to be playable in a typical cube. Valor in Akros feels like a worse Glorious Anthem. Yes there's the potential for multiple triggers, but 4 mana is a lot for the deck that is actually interested in this effect.

 

[Mondschwein]

t4 Goldnight Commander with already 2 other bodies out into t5 Geist-Honored Monk/Angel of Invention or anything that produces 2-3 tokens sounds pretty good to me, and is a very likely scenario in my opinion.

 

[Onderzeeboot]

t4 Goldnight Commander with already 2 other bodies out into t5 Geist-Honored Monk/Angel of Invention or anything that produces 2-3 tokens sounds pretty good to me, and is a very likely scenario in my opinion.

It's super easy to come up with magical Christmas land scenario's for this card, yes. Even in this case, though, you are talking about an Overrun without trample that requires a setup and can be interacted with much more easily than the sorcery can.

 

[Mondschwein]

it's quite funny, as I tend to say very similar things about made-up scenarios on these forums, and often people respond to me that it's actually happening quite often as they told. just wanted to be on the other side of the argument for once lol

 

[sigh]

Also don't think the commander cuts it. My go-to for explosive plays that can also be split into value plays over time:

 

[Rasmus Källqvist]

Would commander be worth it if he triggered on his own etb as well? Probably right?

 

[Mondschwein]

I'd say definitely, making it a 3/3 would be another option to make it significantly better.

 

[Onderzeeboot]

Yeah, both of those would make it acceptable imo.

 

[Alfonzo Bonzo]

I play valor on akros. I prefer it as its harder to remove so the effect is more reliable. My cube is a fair bit slower, so the effect is more likely to go off. Good with multiple token generation and things like kor sky Fisher.

 

[Mondschwein]

Would you say those two options are better than Goldnight Commander?

VS

Beastmaster is only 3 mana, but it desperately needs help to get good, and it's definitely easier to play creatures for the commander than pumping Beastmaster. Cultivator on the other hand can come down as a 3/3 and is very strong with haste, having even more cards to pump him can be a very nice bonus.

 

[sigh]

They both operate on a different axis than the commander, due to an entirely different color and pumping mechanic. The Cultivator is probably a stronger card, and can contribute tokens of it's own as needed.

You could stay in white with a card like

 

[Mondschwein]

I don't know, I just want a card that pumps a wide board, and is a potential game ender because you can pump a lot with it. Soltari Champion doesn't fulfill that condition, it also has shadow, which I heavily dislike. I'd rather add Pianna, Nomad Captain, but that card is as boring as the Champion.

 

[Alfonzo Bonzo]

 

[Mondschwein]

A card I have in mind but I'm not sure about as I never played with it, it's definitely strong enough, but maybe a bit uninteractive? I somewhat like that it's evasion you have to work for. Howlgeist is another card I have in mind that shares that type of evasion.

 

[sigh]

There are a lot of cards that accomplish that goal, but you seem to be specifically looking for a creature-based solution that also doesn't provide the pump immediately? Otherwise there are a variety of creatures and spells in green and/or white +2 power and more. Earthshaker Giant, for example.

 

[inscho]

This can hit pretty hard and at instant speed


There’s also

 

[Mondschwein]

I guess the problem there is that I have an exact picture in mind of how my cube should look like - without knowing how it will actually look like.

For the most time, I only played casual magic or were watching games on stream/youtube/whatever (Draft, Legacy, Modern, Standard). Know I have to go through Magic's history without actually having played with most of the cards, at least not with cube in mind. I know that the best way building a cube is just putting it together and play, and that will be my way to go, but I want my first iteration of my new cube to lead into the right direction, and right now, I don't have the money for the whole ~800 cards I actuually consider for it. That's why I'm asking, but I know that it's hard to answer without knowing how my cube should look like. Kind of a vicious circle, I know, but I want to share my thoughts and possibly whacky inclusions if I stumble upon them.

Back to the discussion about actual cards:
Earthshaker Giant looks pretty strong, and I don't know if I want a cc6 finisher in tokens.dec, the difference between cc4 and 5 is possibly crucial, between cc5 and 6 even more so, especially in a more aggressive deck like 'go wide'.

EDIT: I like Rally the Peasants best out of the sorcery/instant mass pumps, but thanks.

 

[ravnic]

I am loking for a more fair Crystal Shard in blue. Which one can you recommend?

 

[Rasmus Källqvist]

I think portal seems better? It's an engine piece, so you want it to stick around right? And the colorless activation should make it much easier to bounce and then recast the card, while still utilizing your mana in other ways.