General "Looking for a card"-Thread

[Seeker]

Well, if it's an artifact there's also


and his more recent, more expensive version


(...and my beloved Push the Limit, which was only good in Aetherdrift, an otherwise awful set but it did have this, one of the most fun draft uncommons in years)

 

[Erik Twice]

Is there any actual use for a Howling Mine deck in cube or something similar?

 

[MilesOfficial]

Is there any actual use for a Howling Mine deck in cube or something similar?

If you're punishing your opponents for drawing cards like with these:



...but really it feels more multiplayer-focused.

I used to run it in 2011-2012ish, but it's not ideal for 1v1 unless it's an "archetype" you wanna support.

 

[Brad]

Is there any actual use for a Howling Mine deck in cube or something similar?

I was looking at Owling Mine earlier and wondering the same.

I don't really think so. Owling Mine as a concept has such a variable matchup spread and would require multiples to make it viable and the cards are pretty narrow. No one wants Vise or Owl except that one deck.

You might be able to make some sorta Improvise and Waterbending deck that taps it to break the symmetry. Static and Winter Orb also fit this category if you're a sicko.

It's a scary card to play and get it blown up as a -1. I think there's a lot of similar and more modern versions of symmetrical draw that you're better off running.

 

[PyreDream]

Is there any actual use for a Howling Mine deck in cube or something similar?

A Library of Alexandria cube where each player gets a copy of the titular card.

Wheels.dec is similar and sounded fun for me until I realized it doesn't use Nekusar or Underworld Dreams to punish the opponent but Hullbreacher, Orcish Bowmasters, Sheoldred, the Apocalypse, Leovold, Emissary of Trest and Narset, Parter of Veils.

Having been that idiot who Brainstormed into an active Narset, I can safely say I only ever want to experience that play pattern once.

 

[ravnic]

I wish there were more artifacts that turned off when tapped. Cards like Howling Mine, not like Winter Orb, so it can be a fun thing to do with stuff like Improvise, Warterbending, Ensoul Artifact+attacking and such.

 

[Nanonox]

To my surprise, my Dimir section is now home to a +1/+1 counter subtheme thanks to some new additions. These cards play really well in an assertive tempo deck



Emperor of Bones excluded (and maybe Yawgmoth too), I don't have any payoffs for counters except for these two colorless artifacts



I'd like maybe one or two more payoffs that the deck can play. Ideally colorless and cheap mana value-wise, but I am open to other suggestions!

 

[Seeker]

Here's mostly not what you asked for, but hopefully it sparks something else that sparks what you're actually looking for:

 

[MilesOfficial]

Piper Wright, Publick Reporter is on the weaker side of my Cube for sure, but it's proved much better and more interesting than I anticipated.

Danny Pink is a real payoff. It's a little EDH-core but I'm seriously considering it, it's that good.

I remember liking Soul Diviner when it first came out but it was too narrow, but O'aka, Traveling Merchant is a pretty good upgrade for modern design (feels weird to say this about a War of the Spark card but it's true).

 

[Seeker]

Counterpoint: add Soul Diviner and then you have an excuse to add Dreadship Reef all by itself and make all us grognards happy!

 

[Nanonox]

These are great suggestions from both of you and makes me realize, that I don't like many of them for this cube. Dreamtide Whale and Dany Pink are the closest and I will keep them in mind if I want more on the nose options.

For now though, instead of keying off on the actual counters, power matters is another interesting avenue to explore especially with equipment lying around in the cube. In Dimir specifically, I like



Shambler goes great with Obsessive Pursuit and Hatcher with Proft's Eidetic Memory.

I have no clue how The Aetherspark plays, I've never seen it in action in any format. That said, puts a counter and then gives you a dream to live. It seems fun. Does anyone have any experience in cube or elsewhere with it?

Symbiote Spider-Man is kind of perfect as a saboteur and would be in if not for the Spiderman aesthetics.

Piper Wright, Publick Reporter hits the right notes (<3 clues), but if you say she is on the weaker side at 720 Miles, that doesn't bode well for my smaller cube.

Nashi, Searcher in the Dark fits the idea, but not my themes.

Towering-Wave Mystic is a card I've never seen. It's missing a little something for my main cube, but I expect to slot it in elsewhere it looks fun!

 

[MilesOfficial]

I think that's smart. Most of the cards I listed have left my Cube and even fell out of my on-deck binder, so I didn't think they'd be hits, but they're interesting as a thought experiment, if nothing else. I think Benthic Biomancer and Ingenious Prodigy are reasonably fine, but blue tends to be hard to make space for, even if there's little competition at the 1MV / XMV creature slot. You just don't actually need to fill those gaps in the mana curve with dudes in blue, really.

Nested Shambler is A+ card design, I think I might follow your lead there.

I would actually recommend sleeving up Piper Wright, Publick Reporter. Getting even a single hit feels really good. The power level is lower than your other blue 2s, sure, but like I said, she's exceeded my expectations enough that if she can be part of a synergistic build, she can hold her own. Looking at Drake Hatcher in comparison, the Hatcher has the same "threat of activation" thing implicit in its rules text so long as you have mana up and cards in your hand, but I think I'd rather generate tokens every time I make contact than a Drake every other time or so. That said, Drake Hatcher is *generically* stronger if you don't have as much +1/+1 or artifact or clue-specific things happening.

The Aetherspark is a must-kill threat and even holds its own in Vintage-level lists. It's like a super-equipment, really, and makes my boy Grafted Wargear look like a peasant's pitchfork. I don't like how hard to grok it is, but it's novel, unique, and very strong. I don't like it for complexity reasons, and because I don't like giving colorless one of the better midrange 4-drops, but if you ignore those, it's very fun to play with.

 

[Mown]

Most of the cards put +1/+1 counters on themselves, so adding cards that want to have counters put on them seems counterproductive for the gameplan. The XX creatures are solid since they have a strong floor, but I think cards like The Ozolith, Animation Module, Nikira, Lair Scavenger, Dreamtide Whale or The Aetherspark are better equipped to prop up your +1/+1 counter archetype.

Somewhat related as I initially misread the prompt, here are some more black creatures that grow.

 

[Nanonox]

The XX creatures are solid since they have a strong floor, but I think cards like The Ozolith, Animation Module, Nikira, Lair Scavenger, Dreamtide Whale or The Aetherspark are better equipped to prop up your +1/+1 counter archetype.

I forgot about this one, but it's one of the better colorless cards for my cube (mana value and artifact tokens), love it.

Stalactite Stalker is one I am also eyeing as a discard/gy/sacrifice glue piece, good suggestion!

I would actually recommend sleeving up Piper Wright, Publick Reporter. Getting even a single hit feels really good. The power level is lower than your other blue 2s, sure, but like I said, she's exceeded my expectations enough that if she can be part of a synergistic build, she can hold her own. Looking at Drake Hatcher in comparison, the Hatcher has the same "threat of activation" thing implicit in its rules text so long as you have mana up and cards in your hand, but I think I'd rather generate tokens every time I make contact than a Drake every other time or so. That said, Drake Hatcher is *generically* stronger if you don't have as much +1/+1 or artifact or clue-specific things happening.

With Proft's and Pursuit specifically, both Piper and Hatcher seem easy to trigger reliably since the counters stick. When you don't have them though, Hatcher is the clear winner as any cantrip or bauble will grow it to a 2/4 which isn't trivial to block, whereas Piper is still just a 1/2.

I'd rather have the clues than drakes from a synergy perspective, so it's tough. I just don't know if Piper's floor can cut it, will need to think more about it, appreciate the input.