You're absolutely right, I also want my cards to be playable in more than just 1 archetype. The thing is that I actually think the conscript might be a bit pushed for my cubes environment. Maybe that's not the case, we'll see I guess.
General Fight Club
- Thread starter Jason Waddell
- Start date
There are many other options for this type of guy if you think conscript is too good, are you already running any of the other ones? I think Dread Wanderer is a pretty solid slightly less good one of these.
I run both, Reassembling Skeleton and the Conscript, and I don't feel like they can't hang along. Cult Conscript has the advantage of being playable in aggro decks not caring about sacrifice at all though, whereas the two mana version really only goes into these decks. For me this is okay, because sacrifice is black's main theme, so it isn't like a virtual rakdos card or something. And in those decks specifically, it is often better, because it's always online.
Sooo, why not both? You definitely can't support these decks with only one card as fodder anyway, right?
Sooo, why not both? You definitely can't support these decks with only one card as fodder anyway, right?
Reassembling Skeleton is narrow and plays much worse than it looks. Like others say, you are better off running any of the plethora of recursive aggro creatures. You can also just run token-makers or other options instead.
I'd like my players to pay for repeatable sac fodder that is no chump blocker every turn. I don't know if the conscript too often is just a 1 drop aggressive creature that gets replayed from time to time instead of being used for sacrifice shenanigans. On the other hand I don't see many other decks wanting ReSkel. Opinions?
Note that, while token spam is annoying, Aristocrats tend to fare poorly against aggro.
My initial thought was: 'Man, 2 damage per trigger is so much better than 1'.
However, I think I am leaning towards the Whelp for my own list. I support both Artifacts and Spell-slinging in my Red section and I like that Whelp has a noncreature trigger as opposed to Guttersnipe's instants & sorceries one.
Additionally, I feel like Whelps added 'flying' evasion is somewhat of a big deal. It can trigger off equipment and then actually carry them pretty well. I lean pretty heavily into the 'Fires' archetype, which includes some pump activators like:
Reckless Charge, Ardoz, Cobbler of War, Ogre Battledriver
A little Dragon packing a big punch overhead is an interesting axis to me and worth noting. I would be pretty scared to ever swing in with Guttersnipe.
The Whelp also curves well into Thunderbreak Regent who I do run. I support a higher density of Dragons than I think most lists do which gives a little boost. Shame how useless he is with Dragonstorm, though.
In a list focused more heavily in Spell-slinging, I think Guttersnipe easily wins out in most cases, although I am curious what others think.
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I think cards that work across archetypes but still shout out their most natural homes are always ideal in a "this vs. that" situation. You can make pretty novel decks that way and it really expands the replayability of your Cube alongside providing greater personalization of play.
Dragon all the way if a Dragon subtheme is on the table.
I’ve been eyeing Dragon spell velocity with Manaform Hellkite too. Would work nicely with the Fires archetype!
I’ve been eyeing Dragon spell velocity with Manaform Hellkite too. Would work nicely with the Fires archetype!
Totally agree with what the others said, cards that allow you to maximize them in more than one way are awesome for drafting and gameplay.
I also want to add something important: I would always try to keep the number of virtual gold cards as close to zero as possible, and Guttersnipe is one classic example. In many cubes it could cost just as well and end up in exactly the same decks. In those cases I would rather have either an actual gold card for a clearer signal or add something like the Dragon here.
I also want to add something important: I would always try to keep the number of virtual gold cards as close to zero as possible, and Guttersnipe is one classic example. In many cubes it could cost
just as well and end up in exactly the same decks. In those cases I would rather have either an actual gold card for a clearer signal or add something like the Dragon here.While I agree on your concerns with virtual gold cards (and it's something that doesn't get mentioned often enough) I find guttersnipe to be a bad example. RW and RG often are aggressive decks utilizing cheap removal or pump spells, and while a bear for 3 isn't impressive, a bear that is able to connect because of the nature of those decks burning opponent's face in the meantime actually can be really good. Those environments are on the lower powered side of the spectrum, though.
Chris Taylor
Contributor
I'd personally prefer the whelp if only because its a lot less feast or famine
famously guttersnipe never gets to do creature on the battlefield stuff, he's like an enchantment they can Disfigure, right? for that reason i think getting to offer flying beats inevitability blended with the reach from the pings is worth switching over to the dragon.
and also, it's a dragon! RARARARARAAAARARARARARARARAR
and also, it's a dragon! RARARARARAAAARARARARARARARAR
Ok I've got a weird one here:
I'm making some changes to my Unstable Cubicorns battle box. Specifically, I'm trying to carve out more space for things with basic keywords like Haste, Ward, First Strike, Trample, etc. To that end, I'm looking at axing a couple of the less inspiring creatures that play with card economy. In black, that means Slate Street Ruffian and/or Deadeye Tormenter. These cards are both less interesting and flavorful than their peers in this space, mainly Mardu Skullhunter, Ravenous Rats, and Liliana's Specter. To that end, I will likely have a little space for a new Black 3 drop. I think Markov Patrician might be a cooler and more resonant "Lifelink reminder text" card than the m15 printing of Child of Night.
So here's my question: which one of these two functionally similar cards is cooler and more resonant?
I'm making some changes to my Unstable Cubicorns battle box. Specifically, I'm trying to carve out more space for things with basic keywords like Haste, Ward, First Strike, Trample, etc. To that end, I'm looking at axing a couple of the less inspiring creatures that play with card economy. In black, that means Slate Street Ruffian and/or Deadeye Tormenter. These cards are both less interesting and flavorful than their peers in this space, mainly Mardu Skullhunter, Ravenous Rats, and Liliana's Specter. To that end, I will likely have a little space for a new Black 3 drop. I think Markov Patrician might be a cooler and more resonant "Lifelink reminder text" card than the m15 printing of Child of Night.
So here's my question: which one of these two functionally similar cards is cooler and more resonant?
I think child of night has a more resonant name and is more iconic to me personally, so that's the direction I'd be pulled in. The old art is also awesome.
That one doesn't work unfortunately since it's missing the reminder text for Lifelink.
A little more flexible.
Is Vampire Nighthawk too powerful for the environment?
Wow, I just discovered another interesting Scryfall "glitch" - the full version of the oracle text only has reminder text if the card itself has reminder text. EDIT: no, wait, that doesn't seem to be consistent. If I didn't have work I'd do some more digging...
kw: lifelink fo:"(Damage" c=b should include Child of Night, but it doesn't.
Still, this guy could be neat if you're OK with going a bit bigger:
(The original printing has lifelink reminder text.)
kw: lifelink fo:"(Damage" c=b should include Child of Night, but it doesn't.
Still, this guy could be neat if you're OK with going a bit bigger:
(The original printing has lifelink reminder text.)
I think so. There are not a lot of three-power fliers in the Box, so Nighthawk would probably just function as a removal check or a super blocker. I'd prefer the "must kill" creatures to be the 5 and 6 mana.
That's a cool idea, but I can't use cards with +1/+1 counters here.Still, this guy could be neat if you're OK with going a bit bigger:
Personally, I like the patrician. It was actually playable in triple innistrad, a life swing of 6 each of your turns is actually quite good in a format where games often are a tight race. If you do have a lot of 1/1 tokens or pingers this card gets unplayable, though.
Onderzeeboot
Ecstatic Orb
"fo:" searches in the full Oracle text, and Child of Night's Oracle text doesn't include the Lifelink reminder text anymore, despite having versions with reminder text
E.g.: https://scryfall.com/card/m14/89/child-of-night
Onderzeeboot
Ecstatic Orb
I don't believe there is, unfortunately.
"fo:" searches in the full Oracle text, and Child of Night's Oracle text doesn't include the Lifelink reminder text anymore, despite having versions with reminder text
I knew that... the real question is why they removed it?
...
Something I noticed today:
I love what this card's flavor implies about Innistrad. Necromancy is so easy on the plane that you can pick it up as a fallback career.
Onderzeeboot
Ecstatic Orb
Because recent printings of the card omit the reminder text, I assume.