Jace has set the multiverse afoul in his quest to remake the world in his image. The result? Some sick Cube cards.
I think the set has a ton of exciting, simple, and evocative cards that come as a breath of fresh air in a year saturated with Universes Beyond sets. Still, this set has an obscene amount of Legends thanks to the mirrored pair slot in the back of every booster, so it's not old fashioned Magic by any stretch. The commander product is probably the least compelling for the typical Riptider as well, since the polymorph-focus of the set's only EDH deck is truly tuned for the multiplayer experience.
What cards are you all most interested in for this set? Which cards are you planning to play and test? Share them here!
For my 720-card mostly-fair Cube, The California Premiership, I'm planning to run 25 cards, which is slightly above normal but not by any strange amount considering how much I like to rotate things in and out.
Jace's Darlings
Multiversal marvels that will stand the test of time.
In years, these are the three cards I expect to still be playing pretty much no matter what, and to be playing very happily.
In mid-powered Cubes, Lyra, Tolarian Archangel is very easy to trigger on a regular basis, and makes for an exhilarating one-card build-around that feels satisfyingly powerful yet fair. I've had great success in practice drafts online pairing her with looters like Katara, Waterbending Master and Kiora, the Rising Tide who generally can trigger her on their own, not to mention cards like Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Leader, Super-Genius, Occult Epiphany, Dack Fayden, Arcane Denial, and, of course, draw spells. I've found it very easy to construct decks around Lyra in practice, as you can see here, here, and here, to name a few.
Way of the Pyromancer is the first 2mv walker that's easy to justify in almost any Cube willing to have a token planeswalker. If it were printed as a PW card rather than an enchantment, I imagine this would be the set's most popular Cube card. I like a good Big Red deck, and a card like this that either ramps, surveils, or draws is everything you'd want out of your mana rock. Having the floor of either a Fire Diamond that comes in untapped is a great place to start, and you can cash it out for a card the very next turn. Great art, too.
Proft, Sinister Mastermind is the shining representation of the Unearth era of my Cube. A powerful split card guides your drafters to fill up their yards, Proft serves as a perfectly fine removal spell that triggers your Marauding Makos and Intis while trading for another card, only for the Moriarty rip-off to drop the next turn as a 5/5 thanks to one of Cube's increasingly-ubiquitous tiny reanimator spells like the previously mentioned Unearth. When I see a card like Proft, what I see is a Cube card, and it makes me so giddy to play him.
The next set of darlings are good inclusions, but just a half-tier down from my favorites of the set.
Liliana the Faultless is a more fair version of Mom + a more fair version of a Soul Warden. The outcome is a 1mv legend that serves multiple decks in multiple ways, and doesn't accelerate the aggro decks more than I'm comfortable with. Truly a delight.
Chandra, Chill of Compliance is a 3mv walker that plays like a 4mv one, with card advantage galore and a generous four abilities. She's been excellent in early sample drafts and testing, and feels like a truly modern walker in an era when their number is quickly dropping from Cubes.
Similarly, Garruk, Curse Breaker is a beast of a man. Card advantage + dudes makes for a beast of a Planeswalker, even if it's going to often feel like a split card containing Overrun and Owlbear, both of which are reasonably strong cards on their own.
I'm a little surprised I put Karn, Argent Defender in this category, but I found that I love this effect on a colorless creature even more than I could've imagined, especially with all the support I've recently added for artifact creatures like Steel Overseer, Iron Spider, Stark Upgrade, and Chrome Dome. I also like that it's Karn! Karn is great! It's like the opposite of my emotions when I added my fourth Spider-Man variant.
Loot & the Keys to Some Things
Replacement-level cards and other interesting novelties
Repurposed Enforcer is a great card advantage engine that does for token decks what I had hoped Belladonna Took would have.
Prophesied End is a tier 2 piece of removal that's very clean and easy to appreciate from a a design perspective. I think it'll play out a little better than Fateful Absence on average, and even if it doesn't, it feels totally reasonable.
Sphinx of False Conclusions is the blue flashing flier I've been looking for, and one that can be used as a combat trick on its first life to trade with an attacker, still leaving behind an impressive threat. Maybe the most underrated card of spoiler season so far that doesn't evoke Jace's name.
Jace's Machinations is maybe not quite good enough, but I do like a Quick Study with upside, and this seems fun.
Multiply by Zero is cool removal. I actually like that it's not as effective against +1/+1 counters and equipment, as it will subtly boost those strategies to have a strong piece of removal not quite get there for those. It also reads well and will excite drafters.
Twilight Phoenix is one of my favorite cards of the set, and maybe just what I needed to give aristocrats the boost they need. I do fear that it'll be too much like Vengevine in that it's an incredibly sweet design that seems to always get picked 15th, but I'm hoping I'm wrong.
Garruk, Veiled Butcher reminds me of Custodi Lich as a piece of removal, a big dude, and a card engine all in one. I think the play pattern here is better, though, and I'm excited to play with another big black walker.
Vraska's Final Mercy is a split card of a removal spell and a Sign in Blood that I hope will be understood as such by my drafters, as it's a great effect that will go further than the sum of its parts would suggest.
Marwyn, the Clearcutter is the card that finally got me to remove my longtime favorite Zurgo Bellstriker, to just emphasize how special this card is. Trading out your trinkets and lands for new cards when your Savannah Lions no longer has good attacks seems like a great option for a 1-drop that triggers Yoshimaru.
Samut, Hazoret's Champion is the Fires card we all would've killed for a few years ago, but I think will still do good work. Love such a clean card, too.
The Echoverse Fulcrum is a 2mv artifact that loots and clears the board. What's not to like?
Ginger, Queen of Sweets feels like a fun one-off Monarch card worth supporting. Will she stick around? Probably not, but she really doesn't seem to be too far off.
Proctor of Potential has already been sweet in testing, and I love a good surveil.
Theorix Charm has been consistently exciting in a way other Dimir experiments have not.
Only in a Mirror Universe
Cards I'm testing or paying attention to, but are not too likely to stick around as I see them now.
Lots of great cards this set!!!