General It could happen in any number of formats

CML

CML

Contributor
Protection is just irreducibly powerful. In Constructed this can make for meta fun -- there was a time where Mirran Crusader manhandled everything in Legacy, a year and a half ago; looks good in Death and Taxes! -- or it can make for extreme stupidity -- on what planet is printing a card like Blood Baron, which has protection from its own fucking colors, not the dumbest design choice of all time?

Anyway Cube will lean towards the latter in my experience. I just hate protection from color x in general (though I begrudgingly will use a condom) and support everyone taking out anything with "protection from color x." other cards, like Mother of Runes or Benevolent Bodyguard or something with "Pro Artifacts" etc., are fine with me.
 
Lucre

Lucre

Protection is very powerful sometimes. My argument for SOFI is that it's protection abilities are more or less the least relevant of any sword and the least powerful abilities on the card (unless you have tonnes of multicoloured removal and stabilizers in the format). No one believes me so whatever.

I forgot to mention a cool turn I had when I was peasant cubing the other day:

I drew a faithless looting on my fifth turn and got to have a lot of fun with this:


RG aggro was actually super interactive and fun. And I got both Arrogant Wurm and Reckless Wurm!
I also totally forgot how much fun Fires of Yavimaya is. Especially these days with Young Pyromancer. Being able to kill a blocker and attack with the token is so satisfying.
 
Onderzeeboot

Onderzeeboot

Ecstatic Orb
Yeah, I run Hammer of Purphoros for that reason.

Edit: well, obviously I don't run it just because of Young Pyromancer, but mass haste is a wonderful ability that often gets undervalued.
 
CML

CML

Contributor
Lucre said:
Protection is very powerful sometimes. My argument for SOFI is that it's protection abilities are more or less the least relevant of any sword and the least powerful abilities on the card (unless you have tonnes of multicoloured removal and stabilizers in the format). No one believes me so whatever.

I forgot to mention a cool turn I had when I was peasant cubing the other day:

I drew a faithless looting on my fifth turn and got to have a lot of fun with this:


RG aggro was actually super interactive and fun. And I got both Arrogant Wurm and Reckless Wurm!
I also totally forgot how much fun Fires of Yavimaya is. Especially these days with Young Pyromancer. Being able to kill a blocker and attack with the token is so satisfying.
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sure, the least relevant colors, i guess, except the triggers are just the best ones. i have struggled to understand why shock-draw is better than wolf-mill or untap-discard, since the effects are "worth less mana," but i think i've figured it out. swords cost a million mana and the Sword of Fire and Ice abilities make up for this by affecting the board.
 
Lucre

Lucre

I think you've got it. It's also playing more than one game. You've got to see more cards and it gives you removal. I think it really helps green decks in this regard and other midranged decks in colours that don't get to kill creatures extremely often or are often in top deck mode.
 
Eric Chan

Eric Chan

Hyalopterous Lemure
Staff member
Right. They're a safe choice, even if the owner doesn't end up running them in their final forty. It's really hard to justify committing to a coloured card when you have the option of a colourless sword.
 
CML

CML

Contributor
Swords are kept out of Modern by their sheer clunkiness -- they cost a lot and are bad against combo decks. When you switch to an environment where mana is a little less tight and combo decks don't exist and it's draft so you can't really pass the colorless bomb, especially if it's in even one of your colors, they create feel-bad experiences at every stage. I think I even prefer Batterskull, which at least has the awkward CMC of 5 but is probably an even worse offender
 
Chris Taylor

Chris Taylor

Contributor
CML said:
Swords are kept out of Modern by their sheer clunkiness -- they cost a lot and are bad against combo decks. When you switch to an environment where mana is a little less tight and combo decks don't exist and it's draft so you can't really pass the colorless bomb, especially if it's in even one of your colors, they create feel-bad experiences at every stage. I think I even prefer Batterskull, which at least has the awkward CMC of 5 but is probably an even worse offender
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Batterskull is practically a creature anyways
 
Lucre

Lucre

Eric Chan said:
Right. They're a safe choice, even if the owner doesn't end up running them in their final forty. It's really hard to justify committing to a coloured card when you have the option of a colourless sword.
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Actually eric, I feel like they might not be the safest choices in your cube. If you would get the vault of the arch angel out of your land draft ahahhaha! I do admit it's probably worse the more sorcery bolts you have around, but spending 5 mana making a creature better in your cube isn't something I'd want to do unless I'm feeling really sure about how much room I've bought myself with attrition!
 
T

Tanner K.

Jonas said:
The boring thing about swords, is that they get picked first in their pack, almost always, whenever they show up in the draft.
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This. I've cut cards exclusively because you will take them first out of any pack, no matter what deck you're playing (Wurmcoil Engine, anyone?). The titans are on my watch list, but the color requirements mean they sometimes get passed.

I do bring the swords back in whenever I bring in the power package, because I'm fine with people having to pick between swords and Moxes, but in my normal configuration, I leave them out.
 
Lucre

Lucre

CML said:
yeah its pretty good.

anyone ever flashed back alchemy in limited without a glorious decking?
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Ha I have, come to think of it I think I've only played it twice in limit successfully 3 times. I never thought about how unreasonable the replay is if you actually got to cast it the first time.

1) With the help of a Prismatic Lens and a Coalition Relic
2) Cheated off a snapcaster, still had to play that one to the wire.
3) Psychatog enabler, I didn't need to draw another card ever again that match.
 
Dom Harvey

Dom Harvey

Contributor
Let's talk about sweet plays some more.

In a test game playing two decks on Cockatrice:
I had a T1 Mosswort Bridge hiding Primeval Titan, T2 Fleecemane Lion, T3 Courser of Kruphix, T5 Archangel of Thune. The other deck drew some cards and played some blockers, but didn't touch my board. On T6 I played a land, gained a life and pumped my guys. This gave me >10 power to let me Bridge in Titan; in response to the trigger, I played Restoration Angel on the Titan. Four lands came into play, I got carpal tunnel from clicking to add all the counters, and I attacked for far too much.
 
Meltyman

Meltyman

Last year at my bachelor party i got to try my first Reject Rare Draft with an ante.
I got Donate and Illusions of Grandeur -combo in my deck.
In my second match game one i played grandeur turn 4 and donate turn 5.
Opponent was also a little mana screwed, so he could pay the cumulative upkeep only once.
My opponent didn't die on his second cumulative upkeep, because he had a Soul Spike on his turn when he would have died.
After grinding for several turns after that, i won.
On the next game though my ante card was Illusions of Grandeur and i lost. It was heartbreaking :<
Karma is a bitch, eh? ;)

EDIT: I still had a Liege of the Pit for Donate in my pool, but somehow i couldn't pull the trigger on that splash. (although the dude was in my deck, because obviously a colorless Gray Ogre is the nuts in reject rare draft :)
 
Lucre

Lucre

So ummm last time cubed I got both a karakas and a venser, and one of my games I got to curve into it with my azorius signet but thats not all:

His Turn 3: Venser, counter your Sword of Fire and Ice
My Turn 4: Karakas, go.
His Turn 4: I target my Venser with Karakas, he announces Heroes Downfall, I respond with Restoration Angel, he concedes.

I know it's just fancy capsize lock but being able to hit spells is really special.
 
Onderzeeboot

Onderzeeboot

Ecstatic Orb
Lucre said:
So ummm last time cubed I got both a karakas and a venser, and one of my games I got to curve into it with my azorius signet but thats not all:

His Turn 3: Venser, counter your Sword of Fire and Ice
My Turn 4: Karakas, go.
His Turn 4: I target my Venser with Karakas, he announces Heroes Downfall, I respond with Restoration Angel, he concedes.

I know it's just fancy capsize lock but being able to hit spells is really special.
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Karakas is kinda filthy.
 
Lucre

Lucre

To be fair its usually not that hard to beat black midranged decks in cube anyway but like, game 2 he despised me turn 1 to take my 2 drop then on turn 4 hymned and played his confidant and I had nothing to say after that point.
 
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