Card/Deck Single Card Spotlight

[Jonas]

Hound is OK, I actually like it but it's always been just a little too outclassed.

Anyone try Ogre Battledriver with tokens and gravecrawlers?

I have, it's pretty nuts if you have anything that makes a bunch of tokens. Haven't played it in a deck that just makes a few yet.

 

[Chris Taylor]

Hey Lucas / Chris Taylor, show me a theoretical Cipher card that isn't an abomination.

Can't be done balanced IMO. There's just too much constraint since the thing happens twice now, and again every turn in the AVERAGE case

 

[anotak]

i tried

asdfd 1U
Sorcery
If an opponent has not been dealt damage this turn, draw a card.
Scry 2
Cipher

asdfjkasdfj 1R
Instant
~ deals 1 damage to target creature or player
Cipher

 

[Chris Taylor]

Wait, doesn't the second one just never trigger? Seems like cheating to me
The red one seems fine. I guess I assumed the card had to be blue/black

 

[Eric Chan]

Used to do it, but red's four slot is just so packed, and haste is just so so good at that spot. I could see it meriting further consideration if you push wildfire or red control more heavily, considering it just sticks around after a quake or wildfire.

If you like Wildfire or red control...

 

[Konge]

Just goes to show how heavy the competition is for the slot I've got an Ember Swallower lying around, but haven't gotten around to testing it, because the Wildfire deck doesn't come together all that often here.

How have people's experience been with it if they've run it?

 

[Konge]

Hey Lucas / Chris Taylor, show me a theoretical Cipher card that isn't an abomination.

Dimir Cutpurse as a cipher card?

1UB
Sorcery
Target player discards a card and you draw a card.
Cipher

 

[anotak]

Wait, doesn't the second one just never trigger? Seems like cheating to me
The red one seems fine. I guess I assumed the card had to be blue/black

the blue one is 2 mana serum visions the first time and then scry 2 after each attack

 

[CML]

Yeah, now that I have ALL the tokens maybe Dread Return will be fun in al'kaabah. Experiences anyone?

 

[Eric Chan]

I actually don't run nor support Wildfire, as I only run five mana rocks in ~380 cards. I just wanted something that fit the bill for Big Red, and Ember Swallower is serviceable in that role. I think it's much better when you pair it with green, so that you can start blowing up lands before the seventh turn, but I have hopes that it can stand on its own two feet.

 

[ahadabans]

Yeah, now that I have ALL the tokens maybe Dread Return will be fun in al'kaabah. Experiences anyone?

Cards that have alternate casting costs like Dread Return in my experience are always exceptionally good in cube. Getting value out of this card is not that hard even if you are only running a bunch of utility guys. GB is the easiest color to abuse this card with, but I've done it in UB reanimator too. It also combos extremely well with Living Death. If you support reanimator, I actually have this as one of my favorite cards to play. My cube is a little slower than most though, so YMMV.

 

[OCPunisher]

@Living Death: No argument there.
@Makeshift Mannequin: I think the flash part is the main appeal for my group. Aside from Necromancy, the rest of the reanimator spells are all sorcery speed, and if I'm going to cast Dread Return on two different turns, I think I'd rather have Unburial Rites for that. The flashback cost seems like something my reanimator decks might not necessarily be able to afford.

 

[CML]

So though I like that aspect of Dread Return, I do wonder if Reanimator is no longer a thing in my Cube precisely because that and Rites etc. are more 'value' cards

 

[ahadabans]

I think reanimator does much better in slower cubes. It's one of the most powerful decks that can be assembled. When it comes together, it usually runs the table. But my cube plays more like a 2008 cube, and less like a modern one.

 

[CML]

i have all the most powerful spells (incl. animate dead, reanimate etc.) with the exception of entomb, maybe what's hampering it is my distaste for elesh norn, grand cenobite, iona, shield of emeria, jin-gitaxias, core augur, and griselbrand. combo reanimator is fun, i think, but only if the opposition has a fighting chance.

i wanna toss in this one cuz fuck it, any experiences?

 

[James Stevenson]

I had a drafter who used to force "5-color awesome" in my cube every time. He loved this card. So if you have someone like that, go for it. It's kind of bad, but it's the good kind of bad, you know?

 

[Ryan]

Diabolic Servitude is a pretty nice one for reanimating.

 

[CML]

diabolic servitude is really sweet, but it costs 4 and has 'valuey' rules text -- what i'm trying to push is a deck that has a fast combo-reanimator plan that avoids the very tilting Legacy Reanimator games by being a bit slower, a bit less powerful, and having a plan B

 

[Ryan]

Dance of the Dead might be something like what you're looking for then.

 

[Chris Taylor]

if you want combo reanimator to be a thing but give people a chance, I think there was some article (might actually have been jasons) on CFB where some dude made reanimator a bunch more fair by keeping all the broken cards in, but sliding back the reanimation spells a turn to 3 and 4 instead of 1 and 2.
Maybe you want 2 and 3?

 

[Dom Harvey]

?

 

[Chris Taylor]

Wait no I do have something to contribute:
Hamnation

 

[Ryan]

?

I actually really really like this card. People always seem to look at it as a board sweep but I think it's great as a singular removal spell

 

[CML]

if you want combo reanimator to be a thing but give people a chance, I think there was some article (might actually have been jasons) on CFB where some dude made reanimator a bunch more fair by keeping all the broken cards in, but sliding back the reanimation spells a turn to 3 and 4 instead of 1 and 2.
Maybe you want 2 and 3?

the difficulty i'm having is finding the right fatties, and a fatty thread would be welcome (or if it already exists, maybe started by me, someone should bump it) -- ideally these targets would be spread across the 5 colors but like what else am i gonna put in red after inferno titan, or in blue after frost titan, aetherling, and tidespout tyrant? for a reanimation theme to fit well in the cube, most of these should also be very 'hard-castable,' so something like craterhoof behemoth is perfect. anyway, here's a list of ones worth considering:

akroma, angel of fury and

 

[Eric Chan]

I actually really really like this card. People always seem to look at it as a board sweep but I think it's great as a singular removal spell

I actually just ran across this dilemma yesterday, as I was looking for some interesting blue spells to slot in. I pulled Curse of the Swine to the front of my pile, but then as I looked through some long-forgotten cards, I realized what I really want from that spell is