General (SNC) Streets of New Capenna Testing/Includes Thread

[TrainmasterGT]

This is a testing/includes thread. Post pictures using /ci or a text list using /c with what cards you plan to include and what cards you plan to test.
​

Including:


Including if I Open:


Including if I try "Arc" 3c Cards.


A Series of Cards That are Remotely Interesting which I could See Myself Testing or Playing in the Future.

What are your plans for this set?
-GT

 

[Velrun]

 

[landofMordor]

Testing:
Inspiring Overseer (I play blink)
A Little Chat
Tenacious Underdog
Strangle
Endless Detour
Ob Nixilis, the Adversary
Park Heights Pegasus
Void Rend
The Triomes

Meh, I'll try it if I open it (what Lucky Paper would call a "1"):
Depopulate
Ledger Shredder
Raffine, Scheming Seer
idk i guess you could convince me to try some charms

Rejected because the art was too unsettling:
Extraction Specialist

 

[Chris Taylor]

 

[blacksmithy]

 

[Peter LaCara]

As predicted, there's a lot less here than Neon Dynasty, but there are a few juicy morsels. I've been pleasantly surprised by the commons and uncommons, so that's been a nice bonus.

Plus the triomes, of course. All in all, about half of what I was interested in Neon Dynasty, but NEO is one of my favorite sets of all time so that was going to be a high bar.

 

[shamizy]

I'm sure there will be a few others that crop up with stories in coming weeks, but I've only got one main cube inclusion for now:



I've found defining the differences between blends of Aggro to be a little challenging over the years, but I think I'm finally getting to the point where you can see the dividing lines in decks assembled in various combinations of Mardu colors. A lot of that is primarily due to the signpost gold cards where I deploy the likes of Falkenrath Aristocrat, Winota, Joiner of Forces, and General Kudro of Drannith. Cards like this are excellent at fleshing out themes and strategies by providing powerful options with a planeswalker, but slot into niches that keep them from just being a goodstuff inclusion most of the time. I like a healthy blend of generic and specific walkers and I like seeing these kind of options appear for gold slots.

New Ob Nix slots in nicely guiding your towards an RB deck where you'll want saccable bodies early with 2 or 3 power for two copies (I don't see anyone casting it without casualty most times), you'll likely want to tick up to maximize early game pressure, and on rare occasions you might even be able to get to that ultimate and use it to deal 7 and close games. I'm still unsure of the power level here, but it reminds me of Rakdos Daretti without the clunkiness or repetitive gameplay pattern. This fits much better with my existing card suite and themes and it definitely a walker that an aggressive deck will not mind playing. Being able to chip in for 4-5 damage with aggressive bodies and then sac one to deploy 2 Nix and deal another 4 damage is gas. Reach is very important to closing out games in aggressive decks and this opens up some very cool lines, very excited to give this a try.

I use triomes as Squadron Land picks with tri-color cards and I'm glad to finally be able to update Kess, Dissident Archmage. Cool card, not so cool having to settle for Crumbling Necropolis till now. Might revisit other options with the new triomes availables, but I've got nothing planned as of yet.

 

[ravnic]

The CCC got a nice little red mana rock I wanted for wildfire decks for quite some time now, a mediocre black enchantment removal spell (you gotta take what you can get in that department) and an interesting blue combat trick that works with artifacts and still needs a cut somewhere for testing.

 

[Zoss]

Testing in the main cube:



I don't love how ETB Connive isn't a "may" ability. It just feels bad sometimes, especially if you're getting towards decking. But it's strong enough that I'm okay with it for now.



Testing in occasionals:



Funny how the split lines up perfectly with rarity. The not-Triomes might be added as well.

Spoiler: Other interesting cards shortlisted for review

Shoutout to a card I haven't see talked about much here:



This is just Bone Shards + gain 4 life in most cases, and it gets really nutty with Cunning Sparkmage effects. You'll almost never cast this without paying the Connive, but it's amazing when you do. Alternatively, you can use that to clean house after combat. I think this card has some great potential, I'm just not sure I want to be the first to try it, as my drafters will never play it on their own.

 

[inscho]

Certain:
Xander’s Lounge
Jetmir’s Garden
Raffine’s Tower
Spara’s Headquarters
Ziatora’s Proving Ground

Near Certain:
Oskar, Rubbish Reclaimer

Uncertain but Interested:
Lethal Scheme
Ledger Shredder
Unlicensed Hearse
Tenacious Underdog
Angel of Suffering
Raffine’s Informant
Workshop Warchief
Titan of Industry
Scheming Fence
Goldhound

Interested but Doubtful:
Big Score
Patch Up
Unlucky Witness
Gala Greeters
Jewel Thief
Extraction Specialist
Body Launderer

The set was worth it just to finish out the triomes.

 

[Nanonox]

Not a lot for me, but some important additions for my MP cube:



Completes the triome cycle and further facilitates splashes. Happy to bring back Territorial Kavu as a huge beater for Gruul thanks to the added land types on this cycle. Scion of Draco looks fun too, but not convinced yet.



A token payoff for Naya ish colors. I love hybrid mana, as the flexibility of the casting cost lets you run the card in many different decks.
Turning treasures or clues into hasty beaters sounds very appealing and gives Green based deck an "anthem" instead of mana (Earthcraft and Gaea's Cradle) as a payoff for tokens.
The bonus is getting a card in the Naya colors to help people get excited about drafting the shard.



Not sure how it will play out, but Green decks are creature based a majority of the time and getting either a scaling beater a treasure making machine or both looks pretty good. The competition is with Prosperous Innkeeper, not quite sure who wins out.



Connive is a great mechanic IMO as looting + buffing a creature are both valuable. Encouraging double spell is one of my goals and my cube is well set up to make that happen. This also makes attacking Blue decks even more present in my cube.

Since I've added Stormwing Entity + Murktide Regent, I've noticed that beating down is a very real option. The Shredder would fit right in, and allow me to have an aggressive prowess type deck in UW (with Clarion Spirit and Monastery Mentor), in UG (with Dragonsguard Elite and Managorger Hydra) or UR (with Young Pyromancer and Dragon's Rage Channeler). The best part is that I can be casting Mishra's Baubles and Preordains alike and still trigger most of my cards (Entity being the exception).

What I dislike is that this is another potential roadblock in Blue against aggro. I already have a few big butts with Thing in the Ice, The Reality Chip, Thassa's Oracle and Baral, Chief of Compliance in the 2 drop slot.

Baral might actually be the cut here as it is less open ended than the Shredder (both because it cares only about instants/sorceries and because it only ever blocks).

Close but need more convincing

Raffine’s Informant
A little Chat
Rob the Archives
Ob Nixilis, the Adversary

Casualty is a cool way to bridge spells and sacrifice, but I don't know if I like having an extra keyword for non essential cards. As for the Informant, I could see myself playing it instead of Wall of Omens. Shocking, I know, but attacking is already tough enough in my format that I don't necessarily want too many roadblocks.

 

[blacksmithy]

big ups for ledger shredder and jinnie fay, two super cool designs

 

[Chris Taylor]

Close but need more convincing

Raffine’s Informant
A little Chat
Rob the Archives

For me, rob the archives was mostly a straight swap for Reckless Impulse. I know you get one fewer turn to play em, but the aristocrats synergy on a card you'd mostly play anyway is solid.

I run +1/+1 counters, so Raffine's informant is just a lot more clear than some other things I could be running. A 2 power body plus some smoothing is solid, and if you want a 3/2 you can get one. Hell, if you run some MDFCs, you can get one while discarding a land
It's definitely a different card than Wall of Omens, but if you don't want that card anymore don't let me talk you out of cutting it.

No feelings on Chat or Ob

 

[blacksmithy]

i agree with any change that involves cutting blockers for attackers. Mob Nixilis is pretty cool. And i think Chat > Rob but if you’re going hard on XeroxCrats both is probably the right answer

 

[TrainmasterGT]

Raffine’s Informant

I'm only playing this because I want ways for White to pitch things into the graveyard as part of a reanimation strategy. I don't think there's much of a reason to play it without some sort of synergy, there are a metric ton of good White 2s with relevant abilities.

A little Chat

This is the love child between sleight of hand and village rites. I think it's pretty good, a 1U cantrip with selection is almost good enough by itself, and having the option to double it is quite good. This is a great card in the Young Pyromancer//Monastery Mentor//Sedgemoor Witch shell, too!

Rob the Archives

This card is super powerful in the aforementioned Young Pyromancer//Monastery Mentor//Sedgemoor Witch shell. You can effectively draw 4 from this provided you have low curve by simply throwing a token down the garbage disposal. I think this card is good, but I wouldn't play it if you don't already like Reckless Impulse. I think this card is much more variable than impulse but goes into effect the same shells, so I wouldn't play this if you don't already use the other.

Ob Nixilis, the Adversary

This card seems super strong in multiplayer. Being able to do 6 damage every turn simply by giving this a +1 is kind of insane. If you can double this by throwing a mana dork or something down the garbage disposal, you're going to be able to generate a ton of value. This card is just great.

Connive is a great mechanic IMO as looting + buffing a creature are both valuable. Encouraging double spell is one of my goals and my cube is well set up to make that happen. This also makes attacking Blue decks even more present in my cube.

I think this card is a lot weaker than other people tend to. While it can grow out of control, I think it is heavily dependent on people double-spelling consistently in order to be significantly better than Faerie Vandal or something similar on a regular basis. Multiplayer seems like the place where this could shine brightest, so I wouldn't worry as much about it here as elsewhere, but I would just like to point that out because there seems to be a lot of hype around this card that I don't think is entirely warranted.

 

[sigh]

It only has to trigger once to be solid, which I think is very likely in most games considering it triggers on any player. And a flying body is always decent even if it never gets the chance to trigger.

It also helps trigger that faerie vandal

 

[Nanonox]

For me, rob the archives was mostly a straight swap for Reckless Impulse.

I think this card is much more variable than impulse but goes into effect the same shells, so I wouldn't play this if you don't already use the other.

Agreed on both counts. The biggest loss for me with this swap, is that the Impulse is a solid early game play, allowing you to get full value from your 2 cards over 2 turns. The Archive is much better later, but still playable on turn 3 or something if you are desperate for a land.

I recently drafted the perfect deck for it: Mardu spell sacrifice
https://cubecobra.com/cube/deck/62393baaf42fd10ffa914b98

And i think Chat > Rob but if you’re going hard on XeroxCrats both is probably the right answer

This is the love child between sleight of hand and village rites. I think it's pretty good, a 1U cantrip with selection is almost good enough by itself, and having the option to double it is quite good. This is a great card in the Young Pyromancer//Monastery Mentor//Sedgemoor Witch shell, too!

Based on how Plumb the Forbidden has been playing for me, I know that it is good. Chat has a few strikes against it though:
1. Blue is the worst color at having random dudes on the board, so you are relying on other colors to help out.
2. My cantrips cost 1 mana in Blue except for Chart a Course which is great in both modes (draw 2 or discard).
3. Blue is the color that least needs new cantrips.

I think this card is a lot weaker than other people tend to.

I can definitely see that being the case. The worst case scenario of having a 1/3 flyer for 2 is really weak. However, Sigh mentions, it doesn't take much for it to take off. The looting is a big upside compared to Faerie Vandal too.

This would also give me a great base of Blue evasive creatures to help diversify what the color cares about:



Appreciate the feedback!

 

[inscho]

I'm probably going to test Ledger Shredder. I think it's a solid card that gets more interesting the greater your cube's spell velocity is. I don't think it's a bomb by any stretch. Obviously way way better in multiplayer

I like the soft Arcane Laboratory effect and (in general) any card that steers your opponent into less ideal sequencing without actually locking them out of the game. I already run things like:



and it gives an extra 3% of play to return to hand effects by ensuring your opponent has no shortage of things to cast in a turn:



It'll probably be best in my izzet tempo archetype with a high spell velocity and looting backbone, and serviceable in dimir and simic dredge, as well as dimir delve/discard control.

That said, I'm not sure it's the right fit for my cube, and I'm not especially confident in it cracking my list....As much as I have a soft spot for anything that reminds me of Quirion Dryad, there's not a lot of space for incremental growth/card advantage in my environment

 

[Chris Taylor]

i agree with any change that involves cutting blockers for attackers. Mob Nixilis is pretty cool. And i think Chat > Rob but if you’re going hard on XeroxCrats both is probably the right answer

You know what I think Rob the Archives and Reckless Impulse both deserve a spot.

 

[ellogeyen]

Jeskai Cube Includes:


Extraction Specialist is exactly what I want my white section to be doing: blinking and recurring (small) creatures. I will replace Ardenvale Tactician, which I like but is the least relevant of my white three-drops.

Professional Face-Breaker incentivizes attack, which I like. I'm still looking for one or two more treasure producers and this one seems like a fun inclusion. It'll replace Volatile Chimera, which becomes less and less exciting every time I push the mana curve of my cube down.

Big Score is just a straight upgrade over Unexpected Windfall.

Spoiler: Maybes

With Angelic Sleuth, Inspiring Overseer and Patch Up, it appears that white 3-drops are quite contested. Inspiring Overseer especially directly challenges Bygone Bishop, and I'm not sure which of them I like better. When I reintroduce saga's, I'll probably switch them around.

Skyway Robber seems like a nice fit for when I reintroduce Escape cards. Most of my damage-based removal deals 2, making it survive longer than it would in other cubes. Goldhound is just a nice red one-drop that carries equipment extremely well. Getaway Car seems fun if I ever re-introduce Ninjutsu.

With its focus on shards, it was to be expected that SNC wouldn't add much to a Jeskai cube. I'm happy with the things it got, and honestly expect (and hope) to find fewer and fewer new inclusions as the cube solidifies.

 

[ravnic]

I think Reckless Impulse is much better than Rob the Archives honestly. Being able to actually play both cardsthe vast majority of time seems crucial to me. And sure, exiling 4 is strong, but how often are you capable of even casting more than one, even in the late game, after that 2 mana you already paid for the card itself?

 

[TrainmasterGT]

I think Reckless Impulse is much better than Rob the Archives honestly. Being able to actually play both cardsthe vast majority of time seems crucial to me. And sure, exiling 4 is strong, but how often are you capable of even casting more than one, even in the late game, after that 2 mana you already paid for the card itself?

Rob the Archives is a card for a very specific archetype (Pyromancer and friends), whereas Reckless Impulse is more of a general "spells matter" card. The pyromancer decks tend to have a low enough curve where they can used 3 or 4 of the cards in the late game, while minimizing the cost of casualty because the token is basically free.

I agree Reckless Impulse is better in a more general deck, but Rob the Archives is insane fuel for the deck it's meant to support.

 

[Onderzeeboot]

Rob the Archives also gets exponentially better as the average mana value of your cube decreases.

 

[blacksmithy]

yu

Rob the Archives also gets exponentially better as the average mana value of your cube decreases.

yup exactly. i am currently on “discard value” instead of “sacrifice value,” so it doesn’t have a great home in my current list, but if i was a crats player i would be ALL OVER rob.

 

[MilesOfficial]

So far I've got seven, pretty small set for me:



Very happy to have the Triomes completed though, looking like I'll have to remove a card from each color to fit them in but that's not a terrible issue.