Stunted Growth is just a more variable Plow Under: prone to stealing games in a really boring way. Pass.
(And yes, I've ran both. They're really miserable and unfun)
(And yes, I've ran both. They're really miserable and unfun)
Card/Deck Single Card Spotlight
- Thread starter Dom Harvey
- Start date
Plow Under might actually be cool as a way to provide redundancy for the Taking Turns deck that people have tried to support. It's kind of a miserable card but it's interesting when you recur it IMO. I'm much happier to see a game locked out than most here, though, probably since my group is all entrenched player who aren't going to get upset about getting Plowed 4 turns in a row.
Speaking of Time Walk variants, how have people liked Elder Deep-Fiend?
CML
Contributor
For one mana more you get to cast all targets (plus lands) in the top X cards, though you don't get a generic, non-evasive body with your spells.
Also, by far the cooles sibling of the bunch is of course...
these cards (and hydra) just cost a million mana, like X spells that are too good in limited and too bad in constructed, it's hard to find a balanced environment, but i'm sure one is there
In my experience Hydra really only costs about 6, and this goes double when your cube is really low-curve.
It's really good and I love it
one thing I super enjoy about these Emerge-drazi is that you can still cast them for
if you draw them late and get the cast trigger, you don't need to Emerge them it's just a built-in easy mode - so RG ramp can and will totally play Deep-Fiend or Mindbenderdeep-fiend on their upkeep is soooo nice
I emerged a Deep Fiend from an early Tasigur that last time we drafted. Then I held off my opponents removal with counterspells and Venser, Shaper Savant. It was amazing. It's such a sweet curve-topper.
Dom Harvey
Contributor
If you're running any number of Planeswalkers, I'd personally much rather see
+I've maindecked the Trap in several draft and sealed decks so far (it always goes late, and I'm always drafting shitty aggro-control and control-combo decks), and I've been pretty impressed with it. I'm not sure how it would perform in cube, but it's high on my list of testable includes once Aether Revolt hits and I can (hopefully) cram more energy into my list to support it and other cards. Even if it isn't live the turn it hits, it will turn off Planeswalkers, and while that's a less common issue in retail sealed/draft (thus leading to it being really widely panned), it's a common concern in most cubes. Activating a turn later means that it does a worse Falter impression, of course, but even a turn late, it can serve aggro, and aggro has plenty of cool artifacts already.
CML
Contributor
Tried it, surprised how bad it was. I think it has something to do with Cube lacking the lower power of SOM limited or the single-guy offense of Caw-Blade/Valakut Standard—running out was just always awful
I've got one
I was thinking of a few changes for my cube with a Kaladesh patch and was thinking of how I would slot Pia Nalaar in. Pia and Kiran Nalaar have been great, but I don't want those back-to-back with such similar effects. Then I remembered this guy from Origins:
When it was first released, I didn't think there were enough targets in my cube to allow for it to really flourish, but now we've added the following up the curve:
Previously available:
Of course there's also Daretti, Scrap Savant at the 4 slot allowing for turns where you set up a early with a looter or Tormenting Voice effect, then -2 to Trash for Treasure back a Gearhulk. I think it's still like 2-3 more decent creatures away from being a solid archetype across Grixis colors, but maybe we'll get a few in Aether Revolt. I dunno, I'm really excited by the idea of flashing in a Torrential Gearhulk, bolting to clear a blocker out of the way, then swinging in for 6. Additionally, granting haste to a Combustible Gearhulk changes it from being eh I guess it's a Lava Axe (and then villain untaps and kills it with removal on their turn) to holy shit that's a potential 10+ swing.
When it was first released, I didn't think there were enough targets in my cube to allow for it to really flourish, but now we've added the following up the curve:
Previously available:
Of course there's also Daretti, Scrap Savant at the 4 slot allowing for turns where you set up a early with a looter or Tormenting Voice effect, then -2 to Trash for Treasure back a Gearhulk. I think it's still like 2-3 more decent creatures away from being a solid archetype across Grixis colors, but maybe we'll get a few in Aether Revolt. I dunno, I'm really excited by the idea of flashing in a Torrential Gearhulk, bolting to clear a blocker out of the way, then swinging in for 6. Additionally, granting haste to a Combustible Gearhulk changes it from being eh I guess it's a Lava Axe (and then villain untaps and kills it with removal on their turn) to holy shit that's a potential 10+ swing.
Alright so to go back to Bomat Courier, I'm totally going to try this card. I haven't got around to making any Kaladesh changes yet but it's a small creature, a cheap artifact, and a madness enabler. It's just a card that fits into a low of synergistic archetypes while also being a fine red aggro card.
Whoa, I just noticed that Hallowed Burial is approaching bulk! Has anyone played it in a graveyard-synergy-heavy cube (or just with the Gravecrawler package cubes)?
Chris Taylor
Contributor
Its good.
I have 3x Chromatic Star and a Squee in the Too Many Lands cube. They're both pretty great. I could see Star being underwhelming in your list, as the power level is a lot higher than mine. However it's hard for a card like Star to be outright bad,Please put a Trinket Mage in your cube and the stax deck will love them.
Speaking of stax,
Squee looks like a perfect fit in your cube. I was initially worried you didn't have enough sweet "Squee outlets".
I was very, very wrong.
Go get your Squee on.
I adore your formatting.
You obviously like Squee quite a bit- has he not been a bit slow for you?
He's slow, but he doesn't ask very much of you. A good Squee costs no resources other than being in your hand for a while. If looters are good and somewhat plentiful in your cube, Squee will find a home.Not always, but often
Fully 21 cards in shamizy's cube can profit from squee without paying any mana. 12 can do so repeatedly.
I don't actually know if this is a big number. The thing about Squee is you have to recur him multiple times before he becomes "worth a card". I ran him for a long time, probably with a density not too dissimilar, but it never felt worth it. It's a slow grindy form of advantage, and the times when you draw Squee without a recurrable outlet feel awful.
I'd like thoughts on these two cards from people who have been running them in their lists:
I've had it in for a while and I've been pleased with it. It just does a lot for not much cost, smoothing out draws, providing prowess triggers and giving an artifact with a benefit on sacrificing. I don't think any of those is worth a slot on its own but all together, they make something that a lot of decks will pick up and run.
I second the Trinket Mage suggestion
Sold on the Chromatic Star, the worst case is cycling for 2 which I've done a number of times with Unearth already. It's never going to be outright bad, and it can really shine in any of the Welder/Daretti decks supplying extra value.
I like the idea of Squee and abusing him with a loot effect or a Fauna Shaman, but I'm still thinking that the base case of it being stuck as 1/1 ground wall for 3 mana is less than appealing. However I do know firsthand how abuseable he can be with a loot engine through EDH, especially when pitching him to any looting walker (Dack, Daretti, Nahiri). If this were a year ago, I'd have no problem slotting him in as a 3 drop and trying him out, but we've gotten so many good options since then.
Trinket Mage was more appealing to me a while back when I had a few other 1 drop artifacts, but I think my current count is only like 5 actual targets (along with tech-y Artifact Land fetching from ULD). Maybe if we can get some sweet stuff from the next set release or if the Chromatic Star ends up being a hit and I double up.
I like the idea of Squee and abusing him with a loot effect or a Fauna Shaman, but I'm still thinking that the base case of it being stuck as 1/1 ground wall for 3 mana is less than appealing. However I do know firsthand how abuseable he can be with a loot engine through EDH, especially when pitching him to any looting walker (Dack, Daretti, Nahiri). If this were a year ago, I'd have no problem slotting him in as a 3 drop and trying him out, but we've gotten so many good options since then.
Trinket Mage was more appealing to me a while back when I had a few other 1 drop artifacts, but I think my current count is only like 5 actual targets (along with tech-y Artifact Land fetching from ULD). Maybe if we can get some sweet stuff from the next set release or if the Chromatic Star ends up being a hit and I double up.
Dom Harvey
Contributor
how about an old classic:
Onderzeeboot
Ecstatic Orb
how about an old classic:
?how about an old classic:
Red has so much fun already these days - why not Twincast?
I've ran Twincast, and it was pretty cute; hold up 2 mana for a counter, maybe choose to get a free spell instead! And of course, it has nifty combo potential. That said, I did cut Twincast for being a bit meh. I'd imagine it would fare worse in red, because that colour is not typically very flash/faerie-oriented; it's what held Dualcaster Mage back imho, a lack of synergy with the rest of red's 3-drops. Dualcaster Mage was pretty rad for a while here too, definitely better than Twincast was, but I ended up cutting him a long ways back due to him being wildly off-plan. I'd really like a colorshifted
version, though... that's something that I'd cube! It'd slot into a or shell pretty nicely. Alas... they just pack everything spicy into red these days to make up for centuries of RDW being all they knew how to make.