Laz
Developer
My experience with Phyrexian Reclamation has basically been that it reads: 1B, Pay 2 life: Draw some gas.
It is pretty fair card advantage. I will give it a test.
It is pretty fair card advantage. I will give it a test.
Jason Waddell's Cube
- Thread starter Jason Waddell
- Start date
FlowerSunRain
Contributor
Not yet James.
FSR will be pleased to hear that this card was a complete house last night:
You all should be playing it with or without a Lifegain theme.
True story: the only reason I even tried this card in is because once upon a time I ordered a "Phyrexian Processor" and they sent me the wrong card.
It was a pretty awesome mistake. Processor sucks.
Possibly dumb idea: to compensate for added lifegain, replace dual lands with shocklands?
I run double shocks now, because I'd never ran duals. I just think they're more interesting than duals. Try it out and see what you think.
Duals are fundamentally uninteresting. Why would you ever not just jam it whenever the fuck you feel like.
FlowerSunRain
Contributor
Selling my revised duals was extremely liberating experience that I haven't regretted yet.
The shockland mechanic really tickles my fancy, moreso than either duals with no downside attached, or ones with a downside that don't have a choice involved. I mean, why would you play your Watery Grave untapped on the second turn, and then pass? Do you have it?
There is no point in putting a dual in your deck, into play, actually anything that incurs any opportunity cost. There's nothing interesting to be said about any of them. They're never a wrong option over any other nonbasic, and only end up worse than basics if your opponent and/or environment is running a bunch of nonbasic hate.
I think you guys are being too hard on Duals.
1) You actually have to draft them. That is an inherent (and very real) opportunity cost.
2) Let's say you have a multicolor deck of duals and shocks. Sometimes you have to make a choice about which to fetch and there can be an interesting tension between ideal color fixing and life loss.
3) They still get Wastelanded so sometimes basic-fetching is better.
Just because they are the best doesn't mean there's no play to them.
1) You actually have to draft them. That is an inherent (and very real) opportunity cost.
2) Let's say you have a multicolor deck of duals and shocks. Sometimes you have to make a choice about which to fetch and there can be an interesting tension between ideal color fixing and life loss.
3) They still get Wastelanded so sometimes basic-fetching is better.
Just because they are the best doesn't mean there's no play to them.
If you don't need the mana right now, fetching for a shock or a dual is a null decision, you get the colours you need. If you need the mana right now, you have to get the colours you need. If your choice is between your UG shock or your UB dual to get U, my heart bleeds for your ability to play as many colours as you feel like drafting from how ridiculous the fixing you've got is.
FlowerSunRain
Contributor
I just find functionally inferior cards to be feelbads with no real upside. While there may be some possible environment where running Tundra and Hallowed Fountain is better then running Tundra x2 or Hallowed Fountain x2, it certainly isn't one I want to play in.
I mean, this is all well and good in the abstract, but given cards in hand of varying value I've had to actually make this decision many times. Cast a 2-drop and fetch a shock with my third land? Cast the 3-drop and take the damage? Cast the 3 via dual and risk not being able to cast some theoretical topdeck?
There are actual decisions that can happen from the mix.
Also, the number of times I've been forced into a 2-color or, essentially 1.5 color decks because the fixing coming through to me was so strained. There's a finite amount and everybody is fighting for it.
oh how dreadful, a 2 colour deck
Hey man, multicolor decks are sweet and we get ones that are full of synergy and not just "good cards". Don't hate. 
Dom Harvey
Contributor
I've been playing 2x shocks over duals forever now
Don't do it Jason! Cubes need to be different.
CML
Contributor
well wadds says
Other than that my control decks need a little boost so like 2 of each shock 1 of each dual is fine. I don't think you're wrong that duals are OP and I don't think Wizards is wrong to not reprint them in a standard / modern venue, and I do think that "strictly better" is an uninteresting dynamic, and Cubes lack most of the "play around Wasteland / Blood Moon" complexity, esp. when I'm only Tec Edging. HOWEVER! I think this is a lesser evil than "control does its thing OK" and "people can cast their spells," so like, some nice duals. This still is an interesting point that I would like to come back to, as the complexity of fetching duals whenever you want in Legacy vs. fetching shocks EOT in Modern does not exist in a world where you're not really playing around Stifle / Wasteland (really, both at once).
Wadds did you ever try replacing your duals with shocks? Anyone else?