Card/Deck Single Card Spotlight

[sigh]

I loooove the soul cycle. Such a cool, down-powered tribute to the titan cycle. I've got the Black one, but could easily see putting in the Red and Green ones. I think they are a much better power level for probably the majority of cubes around here, tbh.

I love that trick also, btw!

I also think that this pulls off a good alternative green 6 slot for primetime (I know it's been talked up and down a tree recently):

 

[ahadabans]

I'm trying the Bellower. It feels like a really fun card to ramp into. T3 Bellower, go get me Yasova Dragonclaw sounds pretty bonkers. I like that it encourage a more aggressive take on ramp.

 

[Dom Harvey]

can't get Yasova tho

 

[GiftsForgiven]

I feel like bellower is pretty sweet, so long as you have a Reclamation Sage in your deck.

 

[sigh]

yeah . But you can get boon satyr with it, for the P/T match. And a buncha other cool doods. Even strangleroot geist isn't a bad time.

 

[GiftsForgiven]

There's also the ol' Bellower-> Grab Phantasmal Image -> Copy Bellower ->Grab haste enabler (like bushwhacker or something) -> Crush for 12.

 

[shamizy]

There's also the ol' Bellower-> Grab Phantasmal Image -> Copy Bellower ->Grab haste enabler (like bushwhacker or something) -> Crush for 12.

Green creatures tho

I feel like people overlook the restrictions the first time they see the card. I know I did.

 

[GiftsForgiven]

Derp. right. That only works with painter's servant in play. My bad x.x

 

[safra]

"nonlegendary green creature"

admittedly mine just says 'creature' but still c'mon guys

 

[sigh]

Evidently there's some issues with him, like getting his ability right . Has to be a green creature. The cool multi bellower combo has to have a painter's servant out for it to work. EDIT: you got there

just some Cards I like with it:
reclamation sage
yavimaya elder
boon satyr
scavenging ooze
Knight of the reliquary
qasali pridemage
wistful selkie
wall of blossoms
voice of resurgence

This thing has a ceiling as high as the Himalayas, but also provides insane value almost no matter what. Even grabbing stuff like Wayfinder, Werebear, Goyf, Grizzly Bear etc, Is just plain value.

 

[genericco]

Balance aside, what's suggested in the design of the five 'proper' titans is that you get about a card and a half's worth of value for your 4xx just for entering the battlefield. This makes it a building block for beating decks that curve out at 4 and 5, more for the advantage of leaving something behind if it gets removed on the following turn than for the siege-breaking attack trigger adding up.

If you're including a lot of removal, and want ramp or slower mid-range archetypes to work, it seems correct to put in a cycle of 4xx creatures with big bodies that can't be cleanly dealt with and point the game towards a resolution. The titans themselves may not cut it - Frost Titan often gets shelved for Consecrated Sphinx in high-power cycles, and I recommend benching Grave Titan for being too much of a brain-dead card that takes the decisions out of combat - but a cycle that can't get one-for-one'd is about right for six mana.

Here are some alternatives in that vein, power level all over the place -

U- Sphinx of Jwar Isle, Quicksilver Dragon, Aetherling, Deadeye Navigator, Geralf's Mindcrusher
G - Rampaging Baloths, Symbiotic Beast, Autumn Willow, Ancient Silverback - maybe titan or bellower here
R - Crater Hellion, Conquering Manticore, Hellkite Charger, Homura, Human Ascendant, Shivan Phoenix
W - Sunblast Angel, Crovax, Ascendant Hero, Pristine Angel, Yosei, the Morning Star
B - Kokusho, the Evening Star, Laquatus's Champion, Phyrexian Gargantua, maybe even Dark Hatchling

 

[genericco]

As for bellower targets - I like Mul Daya Channelers, Carven Caryatid, Troll Ascetic and Trusted Forcemage.

 

[shamizy]

Useful Bellower targets I run:

 

[ahadabans]

I totally missed the non legendary clause. That's a buzz kill. No Rofellos nonsense either. Still gets cool stuff though. Even if this is just getting me a 2 drop, thats still a value play and really strong if ramped early.

 

[sigh]

Another coolio target is loxodon smiter.

What are we feeling about cards like these guys nowadays?

 

[ahadabans]

I don't like either. Both are taxing on mana. Specter has an ability that is only randomly good (and in a janky sort of way even in best of times). Reckoner has more abuse potential and first strike with 3 power and that ability can wreck some stuff. So it's the better of the two for sure.

 

[sigh]

I don't like either. Both are taxing on mana. Specter has an ability that is only randomly good (and in a janky sort of way even in best of times). Reckoner has more abuse potential and first strike with 3 power and that ability can wreck some stuff. So it's the better of the two for sure.

yeah, I'm souring to them a little. The specter is excellent for devotion in colors that matter for me, so I'll be letting him get the free pass for now. Reckoner is a little... unexciting (I mean, so is specter, but synergy man). I looked through your list, and there's one boros card I want to highlight:


How has this performed? What do people feel about this card in general?

 

[GiftsForgiven]

How has this performed? What do people feel about this card in general?

So... there's something I gotta say. I can't really evaluate cards on the basis of cubing because although I've played many, many formats... I'm still constructing my first cube. Keep that in mind with anything I evaluate. Grain of salt, and all that.

However, I do like this card fundamentally. It probably feels a bit bad to get it bolted out of the sky, but it gives you value even if you just get the helix off once.

 

[ahadabans]

Firemane Avenger is a lot of fun. If you run things like lightning bolt, it can be a pretty big hit if it dies and I feel like that is what kept this from serious consideration in power max lists. With a 4th toughness or haste, it would have been more appealing. But I'm fine with it as is.

I personally really like Battalion as a mechanic. It's not super easy to trigger (very removal density dependent I feel), but cards like avenger give you a really good incentive for trying to hit it. The trigger is on attack, so if you get it off it's very hard to lose that round of combat. Free helix's tend to put you in winning positions. Angels are sexy too, so everyone in my group likes this card (except maybe my spike player - never seen him run it and I'm guessing he thinks it's too many hoops to jump through).

 

[shamizy]

I've had this in my cube since I first built it, I think I've seen it in action once or twice. Is it worth still leaving in? Theoretically, it should be useful as a sideboard card in certain matches but I dunno.

 

[kevthewalker]

I've had this in my cube since I first built it, I think I've seen it in action once or twice. Is it worth still leaving in? Theoretically, it should be useful as a sideboard card in certain matches but I dunno.

Only if you run this little thing:


and... I guess fetchlands as well.

 

[Dom Harvey]

For Stifle to be good, it needs to be maindeckable. If the average deck in your Cube has a lot of stuff you'd want to Stifle (not just fetches but ETB/dies triggers, delayed blink triggers, abilities that require a big investment, etc), it should be good; maybe it's still just better in theory though

 

[shamizy]

I mean, I guess it should be good enough for maindeck? There are a ton of activated and triggered abilities in the cube, sac effects and etbs galore, but it just feels really shitty if it's stranded in your hand. I dunno though, I'm all ears for any good stories or situations for Stifle before thinking about cutting it for my next blue instant/sorcery I add.

 

[sigh]

Firemane Avenger is a lot of fun. If you run things like lightning bolt, it can be a pretty big hit if it dies and I feel like that is what kept this from serious consideration in power max lists. With a 4th toughness or haste, it would have been more appealing. But I'm fine with it as is.

I personally really like Battalion as a mechanic. It's not super easy to trigger (very removal density dependent I feel), but cards like avenger give you a really good incentive for trying to hit it. The trigger is on attack, so if you get it off it's very hard to lose that round of combat. Free helix's tend to put you in winning positions. Angels are sexy too, so everyone in my group likes this card (except maybe my spike player - never seen him run it and I'm guessing he thinks it's too many hoops to jump through).

I think I'll be giving it a go. It's turning out to be really hard to find a RW thing that would really anchor someone into wanting to do that. I prefer that multicolor slots be more of a pull into colors rather than rewards for colors, but obviously both will end up happening. Why is RW so boring! About the only other creature I'd be interested in running, accounting for CMC, color intensity, etc etc, would be this (and it's not that interesting. Strong, maybe):

 

[Chriskool]

These cards seem perfect candidates for a cube that focuses on supporting 5 color pairs (and lets the nonsupported color pairs fall as they may).