I haven't had a chance to test it, but it also mana fixes with triomes/shocks/etc! And by test... i want to try it in Canadian HighlanderYeah, Bartered Cow was a joke.
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On a different note...
I feel like this card does a pretty decent mana dork impression while simultaneously being a 3/3 for 2R. How off-base am I?
Card/Deck Low Power Card Spotlight
- Thread starter Grillo_Parlante
- Start date
In cube, space is usually going to be too tight at most power levels since there are so many good 3-drops between Burn Spells and Rabblemaster Variants. Even cubes that avoid rabblebois probably aren't looking to play this since there are so many other good 3's. This card does have some interesting play space with lands matter interactions, but I'm dubious as to whether or not it's better than other red ways of shifting lands between zones (primarily looting/rummaging). I think 10 years ago this card would have been able to make it into many cubes, but there just isn't space now unless you actively want to include this card over something which will usually be better.
That said, I think this card is good enough to be played in a 100 card singleton format like CanLander. It can do a good job with fixing, and playing this turn 2 off of a Mox seems like it could be very strong. I'd test it there if you want.
I mean, we know there are better 3 drops. This is the Low Power Spotlight thread 
Question is at where in the power band Alpine Guide is, whether it's fun, has synergies, etc.
I really like the fixing with Blood Crypt and Raugrin Triome, it's an easy interaction to pull off as you don't need to draw the land, just a regular mountain. A Centaur Courser body that needs to attack isn't the best, but the land is likely to stay for a turn, ramping you into a 5-drop. Seems great to cast combat tricks on, as opp won't suspect this attacking into a 4/4. That said, in some games this will be bad Crop Rotation, and I don't like this very low baseline. The viability really really comes down to whether in your environment a 3/3 can profitable attack on T4, even more so than other 3/3 3-drops.
Question is at where in the power band Alpine Guide is, whether it's fun, has synergies, etc.
I really like the fixing with Blood Crypt and Raugrin Triome, it's an easy interaction to pull off as you don't need to draw the land, just a regular mountain. A Centaur Courser body that needs to attack isn't the best, but the land is likely to stay for a turn, ramping you into a 5-drop. Seems great to cast combat tricks on, as opp won't suspect this attacking into a 4/4. That said, in some games this will be bad Crop Rotation, and I don't like this very low baseline. The viability really really comes down to whether in your environment a 3/3 can profitable attack on T4, even more so than other 3/3 3-drops.
Yes or No?
No.
It doesn't net you any mana since the land you sac must be untapped. 1 damage for 2 mana (1 + the Trading Post) is also weak.
That being said, it would probably see play in near 100% of decks (you usually have a lot of playables, it's a land that taps for colored mana), but the real opportunity cost is the cube slot. I just don't think it's enough bang for your buck.
I like other red lands better : Castle Embreth, Flamekin Village, Shatterskull Smashing and even then, they aren't incredible (the Smashing is actually quite cube worthy actually).
It doesn't net you any mana since the land you sac must be untapped. 1 damage for 2 mana (1 + the Trading Post) is also weak.
That being said, it would probably see play in near 100% of decks (you usually have a lot of playables, it's a land that taps for colored mana), but the real opportunity cost is the cube slot. I just don't think it's enough bang for your buck.
I like other red lands better : Castle Embreth, Flamekin Village, Shatterskull Smashing and even then, they aren't incredible (the Smashing is actually quite cube worthy actually).
Smashing is one of the best MDFCs in general, and all MDFCs are good in cube. Even the bad ones. I think stuff like Akoum Warrior is better than something like Flamekin Village, because even thought the warrior isn't great, it's never just a land like Village.
I think Burn decks would be happy to play an ETB tapped land if it drew them an infinite stream of Spikefield Hazards forever. I don't think this card is that good, but I think the decks that could be hellbent are happy to have this effect. The biggest thing stopping this card from being playable is space constraints more than anything else.
I've ran the Fox and both thopters, but at some point I cut the former. It just happens that the EtB value+evasion works really nice with multiple themes in my cube. Blink, ninjutsu and equipment.dec all love them. However, as my plan is to expand my cube in size, it is just a matter of time for the Fox to say "I'm back", as that card has also lots of synergy potential.
In power level I'd rank them: Fox > Skyscanner > Pilgrim's Eye > Surveyor
In power level I'd rank them: Fox > Skyscanner > Pilgrim's Eye > Surveyor
Conversely, if you're not giving them ETB triggers, you're tempoing up to 15 mana on curve.
Is this a passable "curve-topper" for mono-White aggro in a low-powered Cubes? I'm visualizing this as a way for mono-White decks to draw nothing but gas. Obviously, if there's little enchantment removal, this can even help any White-based control decks in the late game, if they can afford to take a turn off. Does anyone have any experience with this card outside of combos?
ETB, make no impact on the game.
After your fourth upkeep, you've earned an unplayable Shard Convergence that only works in mono white.
Gonna be a a lot better off playing a threat than that. A 4/4 or something is gonna get a lot more mileage than making your draws 40% better in exchange for skipping your fourth turn.
After your fourth upkeep, you've earned an unplayable Shard Convergence that only works in mono white.
Gonna be a a lot better off playing a threat than that. A 4/4 or something is gonna get a lot more mileage than making your draws 40% better in exchange for skipping your fourth turn.
I don't think that calling it an "unplayable" Shard Convergence is entirely fair; if it survives it essentially doubles your draws and guarantees that you're always getting both a land and a nonland card. Phrase it like that and it's a monowhite Phyrexian Arena for one extra mana without the life loss, which sounds pretty good. And it's important to note that this is filed under "Low-Powered" for a reason .
Granted, this is entirely predicated on wanting something to pull a player into mono- or base-White that will not just get eaten up as a splash. If you're not looking for that, it's definitely not a good addition. It would probably be best in either an enchantress or a "Big White" deck, if such a thing exists, though I'd see it being a sideboard card for long games by White aggro wanting a sticky source of card selection (and a way to beat taxing counterspells!)
.Granted, this is entirely predicated on wanting something to pull a player into mono- or base-White that will not just get eaten up as a splash. If you're not looking for that, it's definitely not a good addition. It would probably be best in either an enchantress or a "Big White" deck, if such a thing exists, though I'd see it being a sideboard card for long games by White aggro wanting a sticky source of card selection (and a way to beat taxing counterspells!)
I don't think this card is a good curve topper for aggro because it costs 4 mana and does nothing. An aggro deck is going to have to play more lands than it otherwise want in order to consistently play Endless Horizons. A much better way to ensure white doesn't brick on drawing threats is to play more MDFCs in white. Skyclave Cleric especially is a great way to ensure fewer dead draws, as it's both a relevant body and a land.
Is this a passable "curve-topper" for mono-White aggro in a low-powered Cubes? I'm visualizing this as a way for mono-White decks to draw nothing but gas. Obviously, if there's little enchantment removal, this can even help any White-based control decks in the late game, if they can afford to take a turn off. Does anyone have any experience with this card outside of combos?
I mean, in a white deck it can remove all future land draws from your deck. It's like a monowhite Mana Severance!
Except it costs twice as much.
Except it costs twice as much.
It's a MONO white Phyrexian Arena that costs an extra mana and can never draw you a nonland card. It might as well cost like 1WWW to get maximum effect. It's NOT an aggro curve topper, which is what you asked about. You don't really want the game to still be going on turn 8-10, after this has gotten you value.
It could definitely be interesting in a bigger white deck if your format were slow enough to support Wx. I made the x really small because it would need to be a splash off of a few basics and some sort of Plains/x/z lands. Probably with fetches around, too.
You'd leave some lands in the deck, which is a bit of a shame, but this would be a totally reasonable Wu with a Rev and a few counter and draw spells or something.
It could definitely be interesting in a bigger white deck if your format were slow enough to support Wx. I made the x really small because it would need to be a splash off of a few basics and some sort of Plains/x/z lands. Probably with fetches around, too.
You'd leave some lands in the deck, which is a bit of a shame, but this would be a totally reasonable Wu with a Rev and a few counter and draw spells or something.
I love reaching for unusual cards, but I really can't see a home in anything approaching a normal cube environment. As mentioned, it's virtually a mono-w card that is still going to be a low pick even for that drafter.
Of course, this means you should totally cube it so you can report back on how it works in practice!
Of course, this means you should totally cube it so you can report back on how it works in practice!
Okay, thanks for the feedback! Sounds like while it's possibly a bone to throw to monowhite or Wx midrange/control decks, aggro would definitely not be interested in it. It's the sort of weird card I'll definitely try out, and maybe I'll use it to help sneak in some combo elements. Thanks for the opinions!