Chris Taylor
Contributor
Bold of you to assume I can remember things
General Games End. Memories Are Forever.
- Thread starter Brad
- Start date
Sometimes it's individual cards, sometimes it ends up being a sequence of plays/cards. For me I remember early on after implementing BW Human Aggro in my cube that I was able to draft a pretty sweet deck and showcase the potential. I was on the play and curved out with T1 Champion of the Parish, T2 2nd Champ + Bloodsoaked Champion, T3 Tangle Wire. My opponent scooped shortly thereafter; just couldn't handle that pressure at all.
Last week my buddy drafted a sweet Jeskai Artifact Control deck where he was able to use Goblin Welder and Goblin Engineer alongside Cursed Mirror to loop through a few times with a Breya's Apprentice in grave before culminating with a copy of Angel of Invention.
As far as individual cards go, I'd go with:
Last week my buddy drafted a sweet Jeskai Artifact Control deck where he was able to use Goblin Welder and Goblin Engineer alongside Cursed Mirror to loop through a few times with a Breya's Apprentice in grave before culminating with a copy of Angel of Invention.
As far as individual cards go, I'd go with:
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I just realized that while most of these cards don't really need a whole lot of extra info for context, a few might be a little unclear.
Mother of Runes: The most memorable match I remember is from like 4-5 years back when my cube also ran Sarkhan Vol and there was a matchup that featured Mom + Archangel of Thune on one side along with some flying tokens and some RG Midrange deck on the other side. Sarkhan had ulted and created 5 Dragons, seemed like it would only be a matter of time before they closed out the game, but Mom + Angel and a few chumps here and there weathered the entire ult and ended up pulling the game out. It was crazy. Ever since then I've never doubted the power of Mom, also has created a ton of scenarios where having to navigate the protection has led to interesting sequencing decisions with damage and removal. Last week I flubbed a play where I should have blown up my own Perilous Myr to snipe Mom but ended up taking out another threat instead hoping to push through damage and apply pressure. Ended up costing me later when they stabilized and stuck a threat that I just couldn't pick off.
Teleportation Circle: I initially put this in for blink support but have since come around to the idea that it's just a good card in general. You don't need a dedicated blink deck to get the most out of it; even just blinking one value creature or exploiting synergies is good enough. I don't play any Arena so I had zero experience with this until someone played it against me in a cube draft last week. They ended up using it to blink Epochrasite to grow it to a 4/4, bring back a Cursed Mirror as an Angel of Invention to generate more bodies, and even just blinking a Golos, Tireless Pilgrim to ramp even further. They even had the ability to blink a Retrofitter Foundry to pull off the upgrade cycle even quicker.
The Antiquities War: This is pretty much everything I ever wanted out of UB Tezzeret, except its more splashable and easier to get use out of since I don't have to go reaching into black for playables. With my ULD drafters have access to Artifact Lands as an additional payoff and this can lead to some wild boardstates. Combine that with a good number of artifact producers like Breya's Apprentice and Whirler Rogue and you've got a massive swing coming on that final turn with the Saga. I like the telegraphing of the finale giving both sides different incentives in either committing more for a big swing or picking off otherwise harmless bodies to avoid an additional 5 power coming through. There was a game last week where the War player ended up having 30+ power when it triggered, just insane.
Braids, Cabal Minion: Just a card that I really enjoy playing with as Stax operates on a completely different axis than most strategies. It can be miserable to play against a hard stax deck in something like EDH that is purely dedicated to the archetype, but in Cube it's usually a supplement to another archetype. In my case Stax is another element that can be deployed by BW Aggro to help apply pressure and stymie development. The Braids mini-game of figuring out ways to maximize your resources and present your opponent with tough choices via timely deployment of removal makes for very interesting boardstates and situations. It's one of my all-time favorites, will never ever be leaving my cube.
Hero of Oxid Ridge: I think this guy probably should see more play, especially for cubes that feel like Hellrider is too powerful. That's not necessarily the case for my environment, but I just don't think Hellrider creates as many engaging decision points with its trigger. I remember it being just a generically strong red card that anyone in the colors would want to play with. That's not bad, but I like having cards here and there throughout my cube that especially appeal to specific decks and archetypes. I like that Hero can create situations where you can push through even more damage with proper sequencing of smaller aggressive bodies. Even if you get blocked off by some development of the board, sometimes the suicidal Hero charge on T4 is good enough to push through enough damage and put the opponent into the danger zone. I also like that once your opponent is aware of it for G2, they might just end up playing differently to avoid that potential unblockable damage.
Titania, Protector of Argoth: Probably my favorite big green midrange creature, she just synergizes with so many different cards in my environment. Fetches are an obvious one, but grabbing back stuff that might have been self milled earlier for value or lands that you pitched while looting is just very strong on curve (or even if you turbo it out!). I'm especially a big fan of following it up with a Wildfire effect and presenting 20 damage on the next turn off the elemental tokens. She slots in very well in strategies like GW Landfall featuring the likes of Renegade Rallier and Felidar Retreat recurring fetches for value, GB Gitrog playing a grindy game with black and green cards, or even the aforementioned RG Wildfire where you're usually ramping hard into big threats or a Wildfire to clear the board.
Winota, Joiner of Forces: My favorite Boros buildaround, she just brings an insane amount of reach to aggressive decks and even allows for something like Big Boros leaning more towards 3 and 4 drops to really shine. Plays great with anything that generates token bodies and can lead to incredibly explosive turns on curve that keep your opponent honest. I think my favorite part is being able to customize your payoffs off that trigger with whatever you'd like to include in your cube list. Need removal to clear the way? Fiend Hunter. Want to steal a guy and force more damage? Zealous Conscripts. Missing a few points of damage and need an anthem like boost? Thalia's Lieutenant. It was a scourge in Constructed leading to unfun flips of big dumb cards but it's much more tame in Cube and well worth trying out.
Mother of Runes: The most memorable match I remember is from like 4-5 years back when my cube also ran Sarkhan Vol and there was a matchup that featured Mom + Archangel of Thune on one side along with some flying tokens and some RG Midrange deck on the other side. Sarkhan had ulted and created 5 Dragons, seemed like it would only be a matter of time before they closed out the game, but Mom + Angel and a few chumps here and there weathered the entire ult and ended up pulling the game out. It was crazy. Ever since then I've never doubted the power of Mom, also has created a ton of scenarios where having to navigate the protection has led to interesting sequencing decisions with damage and removal. Last week I flubbed a play where I should have blown up my own Perilous Myr to snipe Mom but ended up taking out another threat instead hoping to push through damage and apply pressure. Ended up costing me later when they stabilized and stuck a threat that I just couldn't pick off.
Teleportation Circle: I initially put this in for blink support but have since come around to the idea that it's just a good card in general. You don't need a dedicated blink deck to get the most out of it; even just blinking one value creature or exploiting synergies is good enough. I don't play any Arena so I had zero experience with this until someone played it against me in a cube draft last week. They ended up using it to blink Epochrasite to grow it to a 4/4, bring back a Cursed Mirror as an Angel of Invention to generate more bodies, and even just blinking a Golos, Tireless Pilgrim to ramp even further. They even had the ability to blink a Retrofitter Foundry to pull off the upgrade cycle even quicker.
The Antiquities War: This is pretty much everything I ever wanted out of UB Tezzeret, except its more splashable and easier to get use out of since I don't have to go reaching into black for playables. With my ULD drafters have access to Artifact Lands as an additional payoff and this can lead to some wild boardstates. Combine that with a good number of artifact producers like Breya's Apprentice and Whirler Rogue and you've got a massive swing coming on that final turn with the Saga. I like the telegraphing of the finale giving both sides different incentives in either committing more for a big swing or picking off otherwise harmless bodies to avoid an additional 5 power coming through. There was a game last week where the War player ended up having 30+ power when it triggered, just insane.
Braids, Cabal Minion: Just a card that I really enjoy playing with as Stax operates on a completely different axis than most strategies. It can be miserable to play against a hard stax deck in something like EDH that is purely dedicated to the archetype, but in Cube it's usually a supplement to another archetype. In my case Stax is another element that can be deployed by BW Aggro to help apply pressure and stymie development. The Braids mini-game of figuring out ways to maximize your resources and present your opponent with tough choices via timely deployment of removal makes for very interesting boardstates and situations. It's one of my all-time favorites, will never ever be leaving my cube.
Hero of Oxid Ridge: I think this guy probably should see more play, especially for cubes that feel like Hellrider is too powerful. That's not necessarily the case for my environment, but I just don't think Hellrider creates as many engaging decision points with its trigger. I remember it being just a generically strong red card that anyone in the colors would want to play with. That's not bad, but I like having cards here and there throughout my cube that especially appeal to specific decks and archetypes. I like that Hero can create situations where you can push through even more damage with proper sequencing of smaller aggressive bodies. Even if you get blocked off by some development of the board, sometimes the suicidal Hero charge on T4 is good enough to push through enough damage and put the opponent into the danger zone. I also like that once your opponent is aware of it for G2, they might just end up playing differently to avoid that potential unblockable damage.
Titania, Protector of Argoth: Probably my favorite big green midrange creature, she just synergizes with so many different cards in my environment. Fetches are an obvious one, but grabbing back stuff that might have been self milled earlier for value or lands that you pitched while looting is just very strong on curve (or even if you turbo it out!). I'm especially a big fan of following it up with a Wildfire effect and presenting 20 damage on the next turn off the elemental tokens. She slots in very well in strategies like GW Landfall featuring the likes of Renegade Rallier and Felidar Retreat recurring fetches for value, GB Gitrog playing a grindy game with black and green cards, or even the aforementioned RG Wildfire where you're usually ramping hard into big threats or a Wildfire to clear the board.
Winota, Joiner of Forces: My favorite Boros buildaround, she just brings an insane amount of reach to aggressive decks and even allows for something like Big Boros leaning more towards 3 and 4 drops to really shine. Plays great with anything that generates token bodies and can lead to incredibly explosive turns on curve that keep your opponent honest. I think my favorite part is being able to customize your payoffs off that trigger with whatever you'd like to include in your cube list. Need removal to clear the way? Fiend Hunter. Want to steal a guy and force more damage? Zealous Conscripts. Missing a few points of damage and need an anthem like boost? Thalia's Lieutenant. It was a scourge in Constructed leading to unfun flips of big dumb cards but it's much more tame in Cube and well worth trying out.
Considering how individualized memorable games are, I'd say context on all of the above would be useful. I don't generally associate bitterblossom with a great play experience, for instance, so would need to know how it generated a memorable game. But that's a lot of work for uh... 21 cards, so feel free to just leave me in suspense
For Bitterblossom specifically I can recall a match where it kind of just grinded into a board stall between a RW Aggro deck and the BW Bitterblossom deck. The active BB put a real clock on the player as every additional piece of burn just went straight to the face even if they couldn't push through each time. Still, the BB player was on the backfoot and couldn't really break parity in a big way. They needed a specific sequence of cards to get through and got to a point where they needed to let in an attack to try and get them on the swing back with the right sequence of cards. That sequence ended up being a Carrion Feeder and Blood Artist which led to an 8 point swing on one turn off attacks from 4 tokens + sacs which pulled them out of danger. In my cube BB is strong, but it's not super game warping or particularly difficult to get through unless you're like the ultimate durdle deck just not doing anything to impact the board.
Usually it's more a combination of cards that create a memorable experience rather than a single card or topdeck on its own.
Link?
Top 5 most memorable games.
We start at the bottom.
No. 5:
A 4-player game of Highlander. Three players were at 5 life total exactly and the fourth player was at 1. One of the three players is attacking the fourth player for 1 damage (lethal damage) but while the combat damage was on the stack, the fourth player taps his remaining five untapped lands and casts Breath of Malfegor. He killed me and the the other two guys at 5 and we all started clapping at him in awe. Soon after Wizards removed combat damage could go onto the stack and the experience couldn’t be repeated.
No 4
A 1v1 game of Extended. I went into combat with a lethal attack with my army of Saproling tokens created by Vitu-Ghazi, the City Tree|RAV buffed by my Mirari’s Wake. Opponent casts a lethal burn spell on my face. (Can’t remember which one but it was a cheap one) I activate my Compulsion looking for a counterspell. I have 0 Counterspell left. I have 0 Memory Lapse left. But I have exactly 1 Circular Logic left. I cycle again and again and again. After 7 cycles I draw the last Circular Logic which I cast floating
(because that is how the math with Mirari’s Wake + Compulsion works. My opponent has exactly enough mana to pay for my Circular Logic and I crumble in despair until I realize that I had forgotten about my Force Spike in hand because the turn was so long. My opponent took the defeat with open arms and instantly became my friend because he was so kind. We’re still friends today.
We start at the bottom.
No. 5:
A 4-player game of Highlander. Three players were at 5 life total exactly and the fourth player was at 1. One of the three players is attacking the fourth player for 1 damage (lethal damage) but while the combat damage was on the stack, the fourth player taps his remaining five untapped lands and casts Breath of Malfegor. He killed me and the the other two guys at 5 and we all started clapping at him in awe. Soon after Wizards removed combat damage could go onto the stack and the experience couldn’t be repeated.
No 4
A 1v1 game of Extended. I went into combat with a lethal attack with my army of Saproling tokens created by Vitu-Ghazi, the City Tree|RAV buffed by my Mirari’s Wake. Opponent casts a lethal burn spell on my face. (Can’t remember which one but it was a cheap one) I activate my Compulsion looking for a counterspell. I have 0 Counterspell left. I have 0 Memory Lapse left. But I have exactly 1 Circular Logic left. I cycle again and again and again. After 7 cycles I draw the last Circular Logic which I cast floating
(because that is how the math with Mirari’s Wake + Compulsion works. My opponent has exactly enough mana to pay for my Circular Logic and I crumble in despair until I realize that I had forgotten about my Force Spike in hand because the turn was so long. My opponent took the defeat with open arms and instantly became my friend because he was so kind. We’re still friends today.
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Chris Taylor
Contributor
This card is an instant? Wow
No. 3:
A 1v1 game of Commander. This was right after our transition from Highlander to Commander and our local game store had no experience hosting a 1v1 Commander tournament before. We used the 1v1 ban list and rules.
Before the tournament began I informed the game store that these games would typically be longer than their regular Standard games and that they should consider this when deciding how much time each match should have. They noted my comment and made the decision of not having time on the rounds.
In round 5 (the last one before the cut for top 4) I was up against a distant friend of mine. A friend's friend. He was playing Oloro, Agesless Ascetic and I was playing Sliver Queen without any Slivers in my deck. At the time it was the best 5-color Commander available which looks laughable in 2021 (But it did create a tons of blockers to protect planeswalker and survive Wildfire. My deck was a good stuff and his was the same but with fewer colors. The match was 1-1 and we were in the final game. I had a soft lock with an emblem from Tamiyo, the Moon Sage, a Memory Lapse in hand, a Vampiric Tutor in hand and a Liliana of the Veil on the battlefield. My opponent had a board of a few creatures + his Oloro Commander. I felt there was absolutely no way I could ever lose because I was still at 27 life total or something. My Liliana was slowly eating his creatures and whenever she died, she returned to the hand only to be an Cruel Edict again and again.
Out of nowhere came the judge and called "TIME" (At least it felt like it was out of nowhere because I was deep in the game, lol)
I was shocked. How could they call time on a game in which there was no time? They had announced that the tournament would be without time because that's what they decided. But the store manager told us that the store had to close very soon so there would be no top 4 rounds and the top 4 would split the prices. Also the current game was being called time and there was nothing I could do about it.
Alright, back to the game. I tried to find a way to get a win within my three turns (When time is being called by the judge, the active player get to finish their turn. Afterwards there are 5 turns. Three for one of the players and two for the other. After the fifth turn, the game ends in a draw.) but I could not break through in so few turns with my grindy, slow, seemingly boring goodstuff deck that would eventually win but not win fast enough. It would probably take us 2 minutes for me to win if we played fast but speed was not the issue. Turns don't care about how fast we play. I managed to clear my opponent's board and he would never get to resolve a spell again because by then I had several counterspells in hand that would always return to my hand whenever they hit the grave. I could not win in my three turns and the judge came over. He took a quick look at the board and announced my opponent as the winner.
So here's how the rules go (back then at least)
Normally the game would end in a draw and the standings would be checked. However since the tournament is looking to find a winner because it needs a fourth player in the top 4, one of the players needs to lose. The game checks for life total swings. And since my opponent had a Oloro in his Command Zone, that would be the first life total swing (My opponent gaining 2 life is a life total swing in his favor.) I had the last of the five turns and that means the game ends and the first action that would happen after the game ends is my opponent gaining 2 life because his Oloro was sacrificed and in the Command Zone.
So I ended up losing on life total swing from a Command Zone because we were out of time in a game in which the judge had announced there would be no time. I was a pretty sore loser because I felt like I could not have avoided the situation. Looking back on it I am just laughing at the situation. Ps. the store owner and the judge are not the same person but the judge is on the store owner's payroll.
A 1v1 game of Commander. This was right after our transition from Highlander to Commander and our local game store had no experience hosting a 1v1 Commander tournament before. We used the 1v1 ban list and rules.
Before the tournament began I informed the game store that these games would typically be longer than their regular Standard games and that they should consider this when deciding how much time each match should have. They noted my comment and made the decision of not having time on the rounds.
In round 5 (the last one before the cut for top 4) I was up against a distant friend of mine. A friend's friend. He was playing Oloro, Agesless Ascetic and I was playing Sliver Queen without any Slivers in my deck. At the time it was the best 5-color Commander available which looks laughable in 2021
(But it did create a tons of blockers to protect planeswalker and survive Wildfire. My deck was a good stuff and his was the same but with fewer colors. The match was 1-1 and we were in the final game. I had a soft lock with an emblem from Tamiyo, the Moon Sage, a Memory Lapse in hand, a Vampiric Tutor in hand and a Liliana of the Veil on the battlefield. My opponent had a board of a few creatures + his Oloro Commander. I felt there was absolutely no way I could ever lose because I was still at 27 life total or something. My Liliana was slowly eating his creatures and whenever she died, she returned to the hand only to be an Cruel Edict again and again.Out of nowhere came the judge and called "TIME" (At least it felt like it was out of nowhere because I was deep in the game, lol)
I was shocked. How could they call time on a game in which there was no time? They had announced that the tournament would be without time because that's what they decided. But the store manager told us that the store had to close very soon so there would be no top 4 rounds and the top 4 would split the prices. Also the current game was being called time and there was nothing I could do about it.
Alright, back to the game. I tried to find a way to get a win within my three turns (When time is being called by the judge, the active player get to finish their turn. Afterwards there are 5 turns. Three for one of the players and two for the other. After the fifth turn, the game ends in a draw.) but I could not break through in so few turns with my grindy, slow, seemingly boring goodstuff deck that would eventually win but not win fast enough. It would probably take us 2 minutes for me to win if we played fast but speed was not the issue. Turns don't care about how fast we play. I managed to clear my opponent's board and he would never get to resolve a spell again because by then I had several counterspells in hand that would always return to my hand whenever they hit the grave. I could not win in my three turns and the judge came over. He took a quick look at the board and announced my opponent as the winner.
So here's how the rules go (back then at least)
Normally the game would end in a draw and the standings would be checked. However since the tournament is looking to find a winner because it needs a fourth player in the top 4, one of the players needs to lose. The game checks for life total swings. And since my opponent had a Oloro in his Command Zone, that would be the first life total swing (My opponent gaining 2 life is a life total swing in his favor.) I had the last of the five turns and that means the game ends and the first action that would happen after the game ends is my opponent gaining 2 life because his Oloro was sacrificed and in the Command Zone.
So I ended up losing on life total swing from a Command Zone because we were out of time in a game in which the judge had announced there would be no time. I was a pretty sore loser because I felt like I could not have avoided the situation. Looking back on it I am just laughing at the situation. Ps. the store owner and the judge are not the same person but the judge is on the store owner's payroll.
Onderzeeboot
Ecstatic Orb
Oof...