Laz
Developer
It seems that Amonkhet is bringing back one of the greatest mechanics of all time, Cycling; and so now seems as good a time as any to discuss how to incorporate the mechanic into cubes.
For those who have no experience with the mechanic, cycling adds an activated ability to cards which allows a player, at some cost, to discard the card, and draw a new card (or fetch a land from your deck). Sometimes this triggers other abilities, such as on Renewed Faith, or Complicate but normally it just replaces the card in your hand. This naturally adds a lot of consistency to decks in the same way that looting effects do, as cards which aren't useful (such as because of the stage of the game, the board-state, or some other reason) can be transformed into another card which just might be. Expensive cards can be cycled away to avoid mana-screw, lands with cycling can be cycled away when you are flooded, early game counter-spells like Miscalculation can be cycled away when the opponent has no shortage of mana, etc.
First things first, Cycling probably is only going to work as a coherent theme at lower-power levels. This is simply because higher powered environments generally force more interaction, and taking the time off to cycle cards away can mean being overrun. In addition, a number of the interactions which work well with Cycling simply can't compete with the raw power of individual high powered cards.
Reanimation:
I have been playing with a cube in which Cycling features heavily for a fair while now, as a kind of 'draft-something-different' cube, and for me, the interaction which has been the most successful has been Reanimation. Big creatures with cycling provide a self-contained method by which they can be put into the yard, and as they are generally weaker top-end creatures (as a cost of being modal), they are not particularly oppressive when reanimated early.
All of these creatures fall into the 'decent bodies attached to a mechanism for getting them into the graveyard' camp, and are especially strong when you reanimate them on turn 3. They do set the tone for the top-end of your environment though, so if your Twisted Abomination is a little embarrassing in your list, then maybe the theme is a little low-powered.
Delirium:
When I built my list with cycling, Delirium had not been introduced as a mechanic, but on reflection, it seems like an obvious cross-over, as it provides another self-contained mechanism by which to get additional card types into the graveyard. Amonkhet adds a handful of enchantments with cycling, such as Cast Out, and Lay Claim (ok, 7 mana is a lot. I wouldn't have minded a strictly better Confiscate), which can complement other mechanisms for getting enchantments into the yard, as well as a manabase built around Cycling, featuring Ash Barrens along with the new Cycling duals. This makes it much easier to reach the magical 4 card types, especially if artifacts are somehow featured in the list.
Delve:
Straightforward. Cycle cards into your yard, exile them for a discount.
Bounce:
Cards with cycling are powerful because in the situations in which they are not good, you can transform them into another card. Unfortunately you can only do this if they are in your hand. Bouncing your own permanents back to your hand in order to cycle them when they are no longer relevant just feels so incredibly neat. In my current list, I included the bounce-lands as basically the only example of this, but playing a bounce-land in order to return a cycling land, then cycling it (after tapping it for mana to do so!) is a constant highlight, and could probably be explored further. I have to imagine playing Gush and returning cycling duals (as they have basic land types) has to feel pretty amazing. Kaladesh also had a minor 'return ... you control to your hand' theme, so there might be something there.
Cards which say cycling...
I have made it this far without mentioning Astral Slide and Lightning Rift (and the new Drake Haven). They pretty obvious interactions which inform card evaluations throughout the remainder of the draft. Whether it is possible to find a middle-ground with Astral Slide is something else entirely.
I would love to get more thoughts on possible ways in which to incorporate Cycling into a cube list. The mechanic is incredibly flexible, and generates quality games of Magic by increasing consistency and reducing mana-flood/screw.
For those who have no experience with the mechanic, cycling adds an activated ability to cards which allows a player, at some cost, to discard the card, and draw a new card (or fetch a land from your deck). Sometimes this triggers other abilities, such as on Renewed Faith, or Complicate but normally it just replaces the card in your hand. This naturally adds a lot of consistency to decks in the same way that looting effects do, as cards which aren't useful (such as because of the stage of the game, the board-state, or some other reason) can be transformed into another card which just might be. Expensive cards can be cycled away to avoid mana-screw, lands with cycling can be cycled away when you are flooded, early game counter-spells like Miscalculation can be cycled away when the opponent has no shortage of mana, etc.
First things first, Cycling probably is only going to work as a coherent theme at lower-power levels. This is simply because higher powered environments generally force more interaction, and taking the time off to cycle cards away can mean being overrun. In addition, a number of the interactions which work well with Cycling simply can't compete with the raw power of individual high powered cards.
Reanimation:
I have been playing with a cube in which Cycling features heavily for a fair while now, as a kind of 'draft-something-different' cube, and for me, the interaction which has been the most successful has been Reanimation. Big creatures with cycling provide a self-contained method by which they can be put into the yard, and as they are generally weaker top-end creatures (as a cost of being modal), they are not particularly oppressive when reanimated early.
All of these creatures fall into the 'decent bodies attached to a mechanism for getting them into the graveyard' camp, and are especially strong when you reanimate them on turn 3. They do set the tone for the top-end of your environment though, so if your Twisted Abomination is a little embarrassing in your list, then maybe the theme is a little low-powered.
Delirium:
When I built my list with cycling, Delirium had not been introduced as a mechanic, but on reflection, it seems like an obvious cross-over, as it provides another self-contained mechanism by which to get additional card types into the graveyard. Amonkhet adds a handful of enchantments with cycling, such as Cast Out, and Lay Claim (ok, 7 mana is a lot. I wouldn't have minded a strictly better Confiscate), which can complement other mechanisms for getting enchantments into the yard, as well as a manabase built around Cycling, featuring Ash Barrens along with the new Cycling duals. This makes it much easier to reach the magical 4 card types, especially if artifacts are somehow featured in the list.
Delve:
Straightforward. Cycle cards into your yard, exile them for a discount.
Bounce:
Cards with cycling are powerful because in the situations in which they are not good, you can transform them into another card. Unfortunately you can only do this if they are in your hand. Bouncing your own permanents back to your hand in order to cycle them when they are no longer relevant just feels so incredibly neat. In my current list, I included the bounce-lands as basically the only example of this, but playing a bounce-land in order to return a cycling land, then cycling it (after tapping it for mana to do so!) is a constant highlight, and could probably be explored further. I have to imagine playing Gush and returning cycling duals (as they have basic land types) has to feel pretty amazing. Kaladesh also had a minor 'return ... you control to your hand' theme, so there might be something there.
Cards which say cycling...
I have made it this far without mentioning Astral Slide and Lightning Rift (and the new Drake Haven). They pretty obvious interactions which inform card evaluations throughout the remainder of the draft. Whether it is possible to find a middle-ground with Astral Slide is something else entirely.
I would love to get more thoughts on possible ways in which to incorporate Cycling into a cube list. The mechanic is incredibly flexible, and generates quality games of Magic by increasing consistency and reducing mana-flood/screw.
put a 2/2 flyer in play" to every card in your deck once its in play, which is quite stunning. We talk about problems with mechanical density; I would say that fairly solves that problem to a degree and manner we've never seen before, providing your format's power level allows these cards to be played.
