Nanonox's 1vs1 cube

[Erik Twice]

I love the idea of this card as a big ritual to fuel combo turns. Turn 2 Myr Battlesphere isn't very fun for me though and held the card back. Turn 2 The Endstone? Go nuts! In addition to fueling Scrap Trawler loops, the scariest thing Channel can do is cast mana creatures. Walking Ballista and friends can be 9/9s on turn 2, but that isn't exactly game ending. Stonecoil Serpent would be a 19/19 if you wanted to. On turn 3, Goldvein Hydra comes down for a hasty 19 damage which isn't great, honestly. So maybe that one has to go.

I don't think Channel is a good card even when it autowins games. Just the double green cost is enough to make it extremely narrow. It doesn't just lock you to one colour, it locks you in green and artifacts because otherwise you don't have enough coloured sources to do anything.

All your examples? Easy wins, right? Yeah, unless the opponent has Swords to Plowshares or bounces the creature with Brazen Borrower, or hits you with Lightning Bolt plus haste. It's even a problem if it gets countered, because then you are a card down and you have an uncastable card in your hand.

The fact that you must have the card in your hand puts it a good nudge below Tinker or other cheaty cards that are a bit more flexible. If I would make a comparison with one card, it's with Show and Tell. It shares the same flaws and the same awful win/lose dynamic that somehow can backfire on you.

It's worth testing but I dislike the card and consider it a trap.

 

[Nanonox]

I don't think Channel is a good card even when it autowins games.

I don’t want auto wins! And that’s why I cut the artifact fatties.

All your examples? Easy wins, right?

I was going for the opposite lol, and even cut the cards likely to give you that win (like Goldvein Hydra). Turn 2 The Endstone gives you a good engine, but not a win. Turn 2 5/5 Hangarback Walker puts pressure, but hardly wins.

If I would make a comparison with one card, it's with Show and Tell

I think this is the difference between us (and I am readily willing to admit I am wrong!). I don’t see this as Show and Tell, I see Channel (in this context) as Seething Song. Instead of going Song, Petal, Elemental Eruption, you go Channel, Scrap Trawler, Grinding Station and Chromatic Star.

You are 100% right that it’s narrow, but it’s from Alpha and (to me at least) exciting! I have some free slots and struggle to reliably bridge artifacts into Green. This seems like a decent signal at the very least.

 

[Nanonox]

Black recursion​

Cutting the reanimator package means I am free to mess around with my Black recursion suite.

->
->
->

The idea is to avoid signaling that a reanimator deck is possible. To that end, small reanimation replaces the unbound ones. This is a step down in power and range of targets, but there are a few things going for these changes that I like.

- You now worry about your own GY, rather than destroying an opponent's creature only to Reanimate it.
- The LotR land cyclers can't cheese a win.
- I get a bit more synergy with Nightmare that can generate multiple cast triggers and Liliana can mill you a little bit.

I might revert to Reanimate as it's a clean and simple card, but want to try this configuration first.

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Trap glue cards​

I recently drafted a UB deck that started off as a Hogaak aggressive self-mill deck that then dipped into sacrifice and even discard. I had enough relevant playables to make a 60 card deck (check the SB!).

On the one hand, I’m super happy because it means that the webs of synergy overlap and makes the draft dynamic. On the other hand, this means that competition is fierce and only the best cards will end up in the main deck.



Cards like Stalactite Stalker which in theory go in sacrifice, mill and discard, will almost never get played as they are worse than a Carrion Feeder, a Stitcher’s Supplier or a Boneshards. Stalker is also a watered-down payoff for all of those themes. I'd rather have Marionette Apprentice as a payoff for sacrifice, Welcome the Dead for mill and Monument to Endurance for discard than the Stalker.

This leads me to thinking that rather than adding more marginal glue cards, that likely won't end up in the deck, I am better off including cards that either
1. Completely recontextualize your existing picks
2. Are power outliers that give you a direction

As an example, my sacrifice decks have all the tools they need inside mono Black. To make it worth it to go into another color, you have to bring something so unique or powerful that your drafters will be tempted to branch out.

Here are some such cards that I think would fit the above description and make the draft more interesting



I've had Renewal in the cube for a bit and it produced some sick decks. I eventually cut it less narrow cards, but as mentioned, that might have been a mistake.



Jace was also in the cube in the past and lead to some sweet mono-Blue mill decks. Since I cut it, those haven't popped up nearly as much. I also miss a Blue Planeswalker for control decks that can take advantage of the incremental value. The fact that Jace is both an enabler, a payoff for GY/mill decks and a wincon for control/mill decks makes it a high impact include.

I'm going to pour over cube lists to get more ideas, if you have high impact suggestions for the themes in the cube, I'd love to hear them!

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Artifact density vs artifact payoffs​

Had a thought recently that has taken me longer to realize than most I assume, but here we go.

Colors without artifact payoffs need a higher density of artifacts or artifact producers

Why? This allows them to make use of the many colorless artifact payoffs and expands the artifact deck into every color. Even better if they are creatures or at least actual artifacts as that helps them synergize with the most payoffs as possible (Myr Retriever, Steel Overseer, Scrap Trawler, ...).

Looking at the cube, we have Izzet with the most artifact payoffs while the Abzan colors have almost none.

Green



Realizing the need for a higher density of artifacts, I recently added Esika's Chariot and Simian Simulacrum. Chariot is a bit too generically good, but that just means that Green has an incidental artifact card that drafters will pick up early opening the door to an artifact deck. Simulacrum on the other hand, a bit too weak but fantastic at bridging multiple themes. Going back to the idea of trap glue cards, I think the Ape gets a free pass because of how impactful the artifact type line is at enabling colorless payoffs.

Tireless Provisioner is another cards that that I haven't pulled the trigger on yet, but I may if I want even more artifacts or Simulacrum doesn't pan out.

Black



I haven't yet added more artifacts to Black, but it looks like the color could use some. There is a clear sacrifice trend going through these cards, here are some options to boost the numbers that seem widely playable and fit well with the cube's architecture.



Praetorian strikes me as a Mardu card with Welder/Engineer and White's recursion. It's a solid role player and looks suspiciously like a trap glue card.



Dispute is like a Night's Whisper with more flair.



Some decks can really use tutors for added redundancy of key pieces. This can be really good with Welder/Engineer, Teferi, KCI, Gargadon, Phelia and more.

White



White has a nice spread. Contrary to Golgari colors, White actually has the option of including artifact payoffs. Teshar, Ancestor's Apostle, Oswald Fiddlebender and Ethersworn Canonist all come to mind. I am not currently running any of them though as Teshar feels very fragile for a 4 drop and Oswald + Canonist are quite narrow. I like two other artifact cards for density purposes



I've heard this plays well. Rate isn't exciting, but if you can draw a couple of cards you get your mana's worth.



This guy is a solid token generator. Chaining creatures shouldn't be too hard and you can run into some cool scenarios if you have stuff like Three Steps Ahead or Flash Photography. Also works great with Enduring Renewal fwiw.

What about colors (Izzet) that have artifact payoffs? I think they can get away with a lower density of artifacts. The main reason is that I want them to branch out into another color to give drafters as many options as possible. Of course, they could take colorless cards and stay mono-colored, but that's pretty rare. I'll therefore try and reduce non-essential artifacts in Izzet.

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I don't quite have the update finalized, but figured I would share where my thoughts are right now.

 

[inscho]

I still like Reanimate even if you don’t support an explicit reanimator archetype. It’s not really a trap either because it’s versatile and slots into most decks. Targeting your opponents graveyard is so huge. It’s a very fun iconic card

Your Selesnya artifacts list makes me think some more explicit token payoffs could be very welcomed. Almost every card you shared is tied to token generation of some kind. There are so many options for that these days…but one that first comes to mind is Stridehanger Automaton?

 

[N0oh]

If you're looking for pay-offs now that you'll probably add some support, you might want to try yotian dissident and sarinth steelseeker.
Glimmer lens is really a good card. Another good white artifact is collector's cage.

Speaking about Selesnya tokens payoff, I wish glare of subdual would had the text of opposition... GW would be such a better guild in powered cubes.

 

[Nanonox]

I still like Reanimate even if you don’t support an explicit reanimator archetype. It’s not really a trap either because it’s versatile and slots into most decks. Targeting your opponents graveyard is so huge. It’s a very fun iconic card

Fair point and 100% agree. Cut it for signaling purposes, but don't need much of a nudge to include it again!

Your Selesnya artifacts list makes me think some more explicit token payoffs could be very welcomed. Almost every card you shared is tied to token generation of some kind. There are so many options for that these days…but one that first comes to mind is Stridehanger Automaton?

If you're looking for pay-offs now that you'll probably add some support, you might want to try yotian dissident and sarinth steelseeker.

There seems to be a trend here, appreciate the feedback. You both have good suggestions!

I'm into Yotian Dissident more than Steelseeker. Both work off of tokens but Dissident affects the board in a big way. It would provide a fantastic counter enabler that comes down at the right time on the curve.

I just cut Stridehanger Automaton for Tezzeret, Cruel Captain. My colorless go-wide payoffs are currently



Maybe Steel Overseer if you have creatures. I could actually see adding the Automaton back in and just embracing a more artifact centric version of the cube.

Quick fight

vs ?

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Little Enduring Renewal aside. Would you include some more marginal cards to further support it?



Innkeeper has applications with Warren Soultrader to actually go infinite, but that might be overkill. Guide of Souls is the more power appropriate version, but I find that card bullshit.

The Plunderer is actually a very solid combo card and would add redundancy to the Soultrader. Goes off with Gravecrawler and Chatterfang/Stridehanger.

Leaning no on Innkeeper and maybe on Plunderer.

Speaking about Selesnya tokens payoff, I wish glare of subdual would had the text of opposition...

Dans tes rêves! That would be awesome though.

 

[OlegKlishin]

It's uncanny how you are on a similar path as me, but way ahead. I'm totally stealing some cards from here.

How do Enduring Renewal decks work? Something like grindy stax?

Also, what are your thoughts on:

vs. ?

 

[inscho]

Easy Stridehanger for me. Artifact tokens are far superior in your cube, it’s easier to recur and slots into more decks.

 

[Nanonox]

How do Enduring Renewal decks work? Something like grindy stax?

Not so much Stax as it is sacrifice. You have all of the usual sacrifice stuff (fodder, outlets and payoffs), but Renewal adds an element of surprise where you combo off. Thing is though, you need sacrifice outlets that produce mana.



Or you need to generate mana with a creature dying that allows you to cast it again.



There are also creatures that generate 2 bodies that cost 2 mana and that lets you chain them with mana generating sacrifice outlets. Badgermole Cub could be infinite landfall triggers for example.

You can also sacrifice 0 drops. Ornithopter goes off easily, but even a Walking Ballista can be a win if you have a Blood Artist effect or something.
What I love though is that you can construct some truly weird scenarios that might never happen, but they could (1 mana Emry + Anger + Phyrexian Altar + Lotus Petal?!). It also lets your drafters express themselves in ways you didn't anticipate.

You also have some value plays where you can evoke a Fury or cast a Phlage and return them to hand. Sakura-Tribe Elder + Renewal ramp? Maybe you trigger Tormod, the Desecrated a bunch of times with Renewal.

There is a less all in version of Renewal that is probably a better fit for most cubes



It can still be infinite if you want with Persist creatures, otherwise it's a value piece or removal protection that comes with a solid body.

Also, what are your thoughts on:

vs.

?

Depends on the other cards like Jace, WoM.

I run Thassa's Oracle and Nexus of Fate as self-mill win conditions. I am happy with two of these effects, so rather than add a third, I went with Jace, tPM for variety's sake. If I didn't have the two or had a bigger cube size, I would go with Jace, WoM for sure.

 

[Nanonox]

Drafted a few sweet decks I wanted to share because they highlight some of the recent changes and I think I am headed in the right direction!

First up a pair of GW Enduring Renewal decks!



A GW sacrifice deck, lets go! I haven't trimmed the deck down, but there is a lot of overlap between artifacts, sacrifice and counters.
The KCI engine is present here and that is one axis the deck operates on. You also have the Renewal combo that goes off multiple ways.

1. Phyrexian Altar+ Thraben/Novice Inspector or Mechanized Ninja Cavalry/Badgermole Cub. This doesn't actually kill, though you generate infinite Clues or landfall triggers. If you have Samwise, you get infinite Food.

2. KCI + Myr Retriever = infinite recursion of a Bauble (infinite card draw or mana with KCI).

3. Hangarback Walker/Stonecoil Serpent for inifinite deaths/casts

So you have some loops that get you stuff, but not a win. Enter Aetherflux Reservoir. I hadn't clocked the Reservoir as a win condition for Renewal, but it goes perfectly. Glad to have made the change from Tendrils of Agony.

The counter angle is more of a subtheme, but seems like a legit plan B to the combo. Dissident will be distributing them in excess and The Ozolith ties them back to sacrifice.



This second deck is similar, but rather than lean on counters as a third theme, it goes with a lands subtheme. Icetill, Titania and Retreat offer another angle of attack. Titania and Retreat especially when combined with Renewal + Badgermole Cub which can generate infinite landfall triggers if you have Phyrexian Altar. Yes that is a four card combo, but the cards have uses by themselves (except Renewal).

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The next deck is a kind of spicy Oath deck.



Between Oath and Ensnaring Bridge, aggressive decks will have trouble with early aggression.
Your targets won't win you the game as easily as an Atraxa, but they offer some good lines and force you to branch into other themes. Turns out we have a strong discard theme that can do work and the inevitability of the Mindslaver lock alongside Academy Ruins + Life from the Loam in case you mill the Ruins. Grinding Station can also secure a win if you are walled up behind Ensaring Bridge thanks once again to Academy Ruins.

Thanks for all the help with ideas, suggestions and reality checks everyone, really helps the design process!

 

[Nanonox]

A few updates I’ve made



I like my interaction to be synergy based when possible and Judgment is great in that regard. It’s my first divisible burn spell and can be a mana sink if discarded. The sorcery speed is horrible, but madness avoiding timing restrictions kind of makes up for it.



I really like what Academy Ruins did for the Green artifact support via Green’s strength at tutoring and recurring lands. I am hoping the Eldrazi is a powerful enough tutor to further tie Green, lands and artifacts. Getting Academy or Saga is huge and entering untapped offsets the 4 mana. Bonus land destruction is fun!



A few more zombies for Gravecrawler. The Marauder is the most interesting as an edict that can be reanimated. Avoiding tokens is big and so is the retro foil.

Transmogrant takes Scrapheap Scrounger’s spot. 1 less toughness makes it a lot more vulnerable to various tokens. The recursion will only happen later in the game, but that’s when you typically activate that ability anyway. Could see reverting this swap.



I’ve had a few Azorius decks that were close to using the colorless discard payoffs, but were short a couple of enablers. These two should bridge that gap nicely.

I avoided Malcolm because of wordiness, but it’s so perfect as a synergistic beater that I am going back on that decision.

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Considering



Considering adding a bit more interaction that has potential for synergy.

Demolition’s rate is great whichever player’s artifact you are targeting (if you have fodder!). It’s rough if your Endstone gets answered for a single mana, but I built this format with efficient and powerful answers.

Wildfire hits problematic lands or triggers landfall while cantripping.

These are kind of low impact but can definitely shine. Darksteel Citadel’s stock rises as it works with both of these (I’ll take more DC synergies if you have some)!



I’m on the hunt for a Red payoff that could insert itself into the cube’s existing architecture and feel unique.

I considered Ojer Axonil, Deepest Might, but @Lapymapi suggested Torbran as a cleaner alternative. @EzPzJapanEz suggested Twinflame Tyrant as another cleaner suggestion than Ojer that doubles rather adds damage.

These both have their pros and cons.

• 5 MV vs : these probably come down on the same turn as triple pips is rough.
• Doubling vs +2: most of the time, there isn’t much difference between the two. 2 damage burn spells now do 4 damage with both. The game changers are tokens and spells that deal a single damage. In that spot Torbran effectively triples the damage output!
• Everything vs Red only: the biggest limit to Torbran is how heavily he commits you to Red. That said, 95% of the damage dealing effects are in Red (Ballista is the big one Torbran misses), meaning the dragon’s strength lies in doubling creature damage.

I am leaning towards Torbran more than the dragon because he boosts effects such as these



2 spell velocity, 2 sacrifice and 2 discard cards. Maybe that’s a good enough spread for Torbran to have multiple homes.

You can now have some much smaller storm turns where you cast 5 spells + Grapeshot and win.

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Wanted to share a level up moment I had thanks to Dom.
He drafted a Simic self-mill deck with Agatha’s Soul Cauldron. He added a Vivi he couldn’t cast just much the same way you add Anger if you can swing a mountain. I’d never thought of having a do nothing but Cauldron target just to abuse its activated ability. Cool tech and thanks for the draft!

 

[inscho]

There's also Solphim, Mayhem Dominus and Mechanized Warfare fwiw...not sure if either are better options tho.

I really like the Mycospawn and Malcolm inclusions.

I love Avacyn's Judgment at lower power levels, but as my power level crept up, I found it felt outclassed pretty quickly...ymmv.

Accursed Marauder is a favorite of mine, but I think I prefer Jadar, Ghoulcaller of Nephalia that you cut for it. It provides a zombie, and is really fun to play with, and adds a unique dynamic to gameplay. Why didn't you like Jadar?

 

[Nanonox]

There's also Solphim, Mayhem Dominus and Mechanized Warfare fwiw...not sure if either are better options tho.

I like Sophim decently, but being limited to noncombat damage reduces the utility. Still not convinced Torbran is good here, but considering him. Warfare wasn't even on my radar, so while 1 damage isn't enough, I discovered a new card, thanks.

I love Avacyn's Judgment at lower power levels, but as my power level crept up, I found it felt outclassed pretty quickly...ymmv.

Judgment might be too weak, I don't have a ton of experience with it (just a few drafts back in 2018 or something). What draws me to it is how much better my GY decks played when I added a critical mass of flashback, escape and recursive creatures in the cube. I am banking on the same idea for discard. While the floor is lower than most of the other burn spells in the cube, 2 damage for 2 mana will still be playable and the ceiling can be pretty good.

Why didn't you like Jadar?

I don't mind Jadar, he is perfectly serviceable, but I find him too linear. Endstep create a token, that's it. I'd love something a bit more flashy or with more synergy to it.

I'm of two minds. One is replacing zombies for zombies to maintain the necessary density of them in the cube. The second is to cut some zombies that are filler and bank on tutors to assemble the right combos.

1. More zombies I like



A free discard outlet can be clutch and Black doesn't have many repeatable ones. The Imp's role is pretty limited outside of that deck though.



Low impact stats, but a potentially annoying piece of disruption + 2 bodies. I can also see Grief or Deep-Cavern Bat getting replaced by this to add another zombie to the cube.



This card is more set up for the slower, grindier self-mill decks, but if you need a zombie for Gravecrawler, it will do the job.



I keep looking at this card and thinking it might actually be ok?! 2 mana is the perfect mana value for a payoff like this.

Blue is also good at controlling when it loots with Jace, VP, Kitsa and Malcolm among others. Black wouldn't mind tacking on an extra mana to make turn their removal into Ravenous Chupacabras.

Black is also the sacrifice color, meaning you can probably make use of the body for each discard trigger rather than stacking the Amass counters.

It also gives some of the less board impactful spells in the cube some real teeth. Frantic Search, make a 4/4? The Underworld Cookbook makes a food and a 2/2.

I wouldn't want Drake Haven in this cube and I don't want Cryptcaller Chariot either, but having the ability attached to a body, limits how bad the floor can be.

I've added it to some lower powered projects, I know @inscho, you have it in Hidden Depths. Curious on everybody's thoughts here.



More of an Enduring Renewal piece than anything, probably not impactful enough.

2. Non-zombie remplacements



This dude has a lot more play than Jadar. Triggers from lands, artifacts or creatures leaving the GY, scales both wide and tall and then has a little side quest if you can get there. Big fan and I actually dig the art and vibes from a UB set.



Not quite a Gravecrawler, but still plenty good. Works with Altar of Dementia, Yawgmoth, Thran Physician and Goblin Bombardment only though.

Going to test

->

Grief can lead to some garbage gameplay when you get the scam draws and isn't quite as strong as the other pitch elementals because you 2 for 1 yourself and have no board impact. I do like having hand disruption in Black though.
I think the rats can play well in the disruptive GY/discard aggressive decks while disrupting the opponent and providing a zombie for Gravecrawler.

->

Loosing a zombie, but gaining a cool build around for multiple themes.

Don't have a clean cut for Lazotep Chancellor yet though.

 

[Nanonox]

Spoilers ahead!​

Come back in a couple of weeks or something if you don't want to see the new cards.

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Strixhaven is set to release soon and it seems like Wizards decided to shit all over my decision of cutting the instant and sorcery support from my cube by adding a bunch of awesome cards for the theme. I'll be shortcutting "instants and sorceries" to spells for simplicity even though spells are much broader.

The tricky part is making room for them and the support they need while still giving the various artifact decks the density of trinkets and creatures required.

I intend a small spells matter package composed of old classics and new hotness. Here they are in rough order of preference (omitting Kitsa, Otterball Elite]Kitsa and Stormchaser's Talent as they work with noncreature just fine)

Slam dunk*



The old guard is still fantastic and these play really well if you can stomach Jace's DFC status. Arcanist makes a return as here. It's not as plug and play as the other two, but it's a great value engine, is fun to try and grow to get access to bigger spells and is a zombie.

* I won't be adding Young Pyro because I've really enjoyed the addition of Ravenous Robots and two of these effects seems excessive.

Amazing



Mystical gives you redundancy for some key pieces while the new Flashback provides recursion. Very excited by this new instant as the cube gets more GY and discard heavy.

Great



Murktide is a strong finisher in the right deck and a nice pull into the archetype. Muse Seeker encourages spell velocity nicely and churns through your deck rapidly. It's less open-ended than Artist's Talent or Jeskai Ascendancy, but being another repeatable source of discarding/drawing in Blue is a great place to be in. Drafting Dom's cube, I noticed Chakra Meditation which might just be a better effect than the Muse. 3 mana do nothing + recursion vs 2 mana body, it isn't clear to me which is best. The lesson text is what made me ignore Meditation.

On the fence



I'm warming back up to TitI as a roadblock that flips into a wrath/finisher. It's a fun play pattern where it's a race to flip it before opponent answers it and I find the card super flavorful. Tidecaller's is a potential one mana win condition or a very efficient setup piece depending on which stage of the game you are in. My only hesitation is that I already run Hedron Crab, do I need both of these?

Spoiler: Other options I likely won't add

Gearhulk opens up some nice cross pollinisation possibilities, though its targets are somewhat limited to cheap interaction and cheap draw spells. There is no Sublime Epiphany or Mystic Confluence here to abuse it, making it somewhat less exciting.

Stormcaller is a cool turn 3 play where you can copy a high impact one drop like Thoughtseize, Swords to Plowshares, Preordain and so on.

Finale can often be cast for 3 or 4 mana and get you 3 spell casts for whatever you are doing which is really good.



Sphinx is awesome, but not for this cube. It's a little too fair and its ceiling too low.
Chandra feels like a 24th card because the intersection of spells and tokens or sacrifice doesn't happen often.



I don't have the proper setup for these cards, but I think they are really cool.



Powerful cards, but I don't want to flip coins.

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Where does that leave Green

Green is in a tough spot right now because artifacts and spells aren't the color's strength. Through the lands archetype and a few cards with the artifact type, Green is a support color for artifacts, but doesn't contribute much to the spells theme.

I've made my peace for now regarding artifacts, but Green has some decent spells that could be used by the spells payoffs in addition to Life from the Loam and Formless Genesis which are amazing because they can be cast multiple times.



These get you back some amount of mana meaning you can chain spells more easily. Will try these two and see what happens. Any others like this you can think of?

 

[OlegKlishin]

As someone who also ponders green spell desnsity prospect, but without elfball combo, possibilities are not that amazing. Though I'm also excited by new Strixhaven cards, marrying mechanics across different colors.

For green spells, I'm looking at cheap hand neutral cards like:



"Free" spells, some of which seem parasitic:



I have no experience with storm, and don't know if most payoffs are that amazing. Other than Hydra, floor is usually low, and you'd really have to work for it:



The question is it worth it to splash green for the non-storm spells deck. I personally love these small winks at possibilities in other colos, but from my experience no one is interested enough to step outside of something like UR spellslinger or UW blink, because those are the "default" colors for the archetypes. I dunno how to make it exciting or worthwhile.

 

[Erik Twice]

Thing in the Ice is great the only reason I don't run it is because it's a Double-faced card, like Jace.

Personally, I don't think green needs spell-matters payoffs. While it's possible and you sometimes see a splash, I haven't found it makes too much of a difference. In my experience, you can see it as a splash, but the spells-deck is not powerful nor reliable enough to dig so deep:

Regardless, there are some options:

For storm:



Chattersorm and Awaken is kind of broken but I like it.

For aggro spell-matters:



Questing Druid is the best red instant of its type and, also, draws you a Quirion Dryad you can play on a splash. There's no reason not to run it.

Mutagenic Growth isn't a a green card.

Legolas's Quick Reflexes is the best card of its kind. I don't run it because it's too wordy, tacky and I would need to make a non-marketing proxy as well.

In general:



Natural State has been huge for my cube, it has made Green much more consistent and worth playing into.

You line up the Shot is either spell-trigger for G or a tutor for Plummet or Naturalize. Seems good to me! The key here, though, is that, since you conjure the card, you get two spell triggers rather than one.

Perhaps:



Noxious putting the card on top makes it less than ideal for decks that want the effect.

Oxidize is an option for a Natural State alternative. The gold standard here is Nature's Claim but the life gain is an issue.

Quandrix is great, but unnecessary.

Search for Tomorrow, Explore, Three Visits and Edge of Autumn are good spells, but these type of decks rarely wants ramp.

Rancor's only issue is it being an enchantment.

Worldly Tutor has an effect you want, but it's net card disadvantage in an archetype that struggles with it. Getting your target (likely Dreadhorde Arcanist) killed makes it pointless.

Veil of Summer is powerful, but dumb.

Bind is like Stifle in that it would be fun if it didn't act as land destruction with fetchlands.

Tear Asunder is surprisingly good compared to Naturalize.

Weather the Storm is fuck you aggro card, but it does say storm which means it can be broken.

You find a cursed idol - This is Sorcery-speed Naturalize with a "create a treasure, get a basic land" mode.

Doesn't work:

Abundant Harvest - Too weak, not worth the slot.

Traverse the Ulvenwald - Takes too long for the second effect to be active, Worldly Tutor is better.

Managorger Hydra - Three mana is a hard sell for this archetype. It's not as solid as Monastery Mentor because it doesn't leave any lasting value and dies easily. It's also not that great at finishing the game in comparison.

Jolrael, Mwonvuli Recluse -> Not enough "real" draw effects, it's de fact a gold card, value too delayed or gets killed too easily for the work it demands.

Verdant Command - Killed because the tokens enter tapped, would be playable otherwise.

 

[Nanonox]

Land Grant is a free spell I forgot about, I like it better than Bushwhack and other variants here I think.

The question is it worth it to splash green for the non-storm spells deck. I personally love these small winks at possibilities in other colos, but from my experience no one is interested enough to step outside of something like UR spellslinger or UW blink, because those are the "default" colors for the archetypes. I dunno how to make it exciting or worthwhile.

The only times I've had Green work alongside spells (non-storm) was in decks with a strong GY focus (discard in RG or self-mill in UG) and using Life from the Loam and Formless Genesis as repeatable spells. Being able to discard them to various looting effects or milling them for later use works perfectly there.

I don't really have any spells payoffs in Black and only Monastery Mentor in White, so it's very unlikely for the Abzan colors to have spells matter decks. At this power level, I don't think any of the payoffs you mention in Green are worth it except for Questing Druid, but as Erik mentions, that's more of a Red card!

With that in mind, I think the cards with the best shot at giving Green an inroad to spell decks revolve around lands, the GY or both. I'm talking about



I don't think you need all of these (except Loam and Genesis which are fantastic), especially because cards like Explore and Manamorphose also count towards your spell density.

I haven't paid a lot of attention to Esper Origins because it's a flip card, but it turns out the third chapter on the backside is very relevant with all the token makers you have at your disposal in the spells deck. Has anyone drafted/cubed with it?

If you want a Green spell payoff, this is the one IMO



Works with creatures, artifacts and spells. Gives you discard, GY, counters, lands and sacrifice tie-ins, I really should add it back to the cube!

Thing in the Ice is great the only reason I don't run it is because it's a Double-faced card, like Jace.

Thanks for confirming my thoughts!

I haven't found Once Upon a Time to be worthwhile in a spellsy build as it whiffs too often. In a regular Green creature deck, it's an all star, but I wouldn't count it towards the density of instants for the spells deck.

Natural State has been huge for my cube, it has made Green much more consistent and worth playing into.

That is an interesting fact, I will have to consider it for my own cube then. I know you also have Pest Infestation which would be a huge pull into Green for me, but I hate how badly it takes over the artifact matchup at no cost, because the card is good as just a token maker.

Search for Tomorrow, Explore, Three Visits and Edge of Autumn are good spells, but these type of decks rarely wants ramp.

What do you think of Harrow? I agree that those decks usually don't want ramp, but Harrow is two land fall triggers (and fixing), a sacrifice trigger, a land in the GY and effectively costs one. Makes it easy to chain spells. Much like Explore that effectively costs one if you have a land in hand and acts as a cantrip.

Noxious putting the card on top makes it less than ideal for decks that want the effect.

Don't forget it acts as GY hate or disruption if you put a land on top of the deck later in the game. I've found that to make it more versatile than at first glance.

Tear Asunder is surprisingly good compared to Naturalize.

This has indeed played very well in my experience. I still like Heritage Reclamation's GY hate more though I think.

Weather the Storm is fuck you aggro card, but it does say storm which means it can be broken.

I was actually thinking of this card and how good it is with Bolas's Citadel and Aetherflux Reservoir. I don't love the play pattern of casting 6 spells and finishing your turn with +18 life and nothing left. Just prolongs the game for not much reason.

Traverse the Ulvenwald - Takes too long for the second effect to be active, Worldly Tutor is better.

I agree with your other "doesn't work" cards, but not this one. With the increase of discard and self-mill, it's quite easy to fill the GY and this then becomes a one mana tutor for lands or creatures which is busted.

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Thanks to you both, I've talked myself into a clearer picture of the Green spells matter archetype and the support I want for it to make it work (storm and non-storm). I don't know if I can find the slots for all of this though and would love feedback.

Payoffs



Enablers



And some amount of interaction in the form of Natural Slate, Heritage Reclamation and Noxious Revival.