Sets (STX) Strixhaven Testing/Includes Thread

Brad

Brad

I just checked and I actually have a lot of STX, but most of it hinges on me trying to enable a tokens deck and a life gain deck in WB and BGw, as well as a potential +1/+1 counter deck in BGw.

Killian is a cool intersection between Heroic and removal spells.
Curate is solid for yard interaction.
Reject is an exiling Mana Leak + Remove Soul, so that's relevant here.
Go Blank is a maybe. I'd like to find a way where exiling a full yard is fair and maybe attached to a very middling spell is how.
Theorist does quite a bit.
Crackle probably gets cut but it's really fun looking.
Harness is a perfect fit here. From the BBB cost to the effect being at instant speed, it's just great.
2(shitty Grapple plus shitty Decay plus shitty Last Gasp plus really shitty Helix)=Good
 
froggy

froggy

I don't really see the appeal of crackle? It's floor is lava axe, and the ceiling is two lava axes for 8 mana
 
Velrun

Velrun

TrainmasterGT said:
Quandrix Apprentice has been fantastic so far (although that isn't really a secret), Flunk has been way better than I was expecting, and the Command cycle has been really fun as well.[/USER]!)
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How much time does it take to resolve Flunk? And how often are both players spending time counting the cards in opponent’s hand before the card is being cast?

These were my worries for the card. I very much like the design otherwise.

Also there’s this situation:
Me: “How many cards do you have in hand.”
Opponent: “Four.”
Opponent: “Wait.. You have Flunk in your hand.”
 
sigh

sigh

froggy said:
I don't really see the appeal of crackle? It's floor is lava axe, and the ceiling is two lava axes for 8 mana
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It can hit any target, so it's floor is beacon of destruction without shuffle, not lava axe, and at X=2 and up, the 10/15/etc damage goes to each of the X targets. Pretty big difference, especially in multiplayer. Still not personally sure it would be worth it over something like devil's play.
 
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Rowan_CB

Rowan_CB

I've been drafting Strixhaven a ton, and while I like the draft format I am similarly not high on may cards for cube. I know everyone has already mentioned Quandrix Apprentice, but I wanted to note that's it and Dragonsguard Elite are the cards I am now going to run after initially not being particularly interested in them. They're both excellent velocity/pseudo-velocity cards that will scale well to almost any power level, I think.

Other than that I plan on running Conspiracy Theorist and that's it.
 
ravnic

ravnic



It's moved up to three cards after a few drafts. Zephyr Boots was a slam dunk for me, Titan also seems to fit my specific environment very well and Emergent Sequence has really grown on me, might be my favorite design of the set now. It's a Rampant Growth that even aggro decks want! And it can be huge in the landfall deck. I just want to cast it after Harrow.
 
TrainmasterGT

TrainmasterGT

Velrun said:
How much time does it take to resolve Flunk? And how often are both players spending time counting the cards in opponent’s hand before the card is being cast?

These were my worries for the card. I very much like the design otherwise.

Also there’s this situation:
Me: “How many cards do you have in hand.”
Opponent: “Four.”
Opponent: “Wait.. You have Flunk in your hand.”
Click to expand...
I've been flunk'd as early as turn 2 before- it's way easier to pull off than it looks.

I'm not sure the hand information thing is that big of an issue in paper as you can look at how many cards are in your opponent's hand without necessarily having to ask. Anecdotally, I also tend to ask how many cards are in my opponent's hand a lot even when it's not relevant to any of my effects because it helps me gauge whether or not my opponent has an answer for what I am doing.
 
inscho

inscho

TrainmasterGT said:
I've been flunk'd as early as turn 2 before- it's way easier to pull off than it looks.

I'm not sure the hand information thing is that big of an issue in paper as you can look at how many cards are in your opponent's hand without necessarily having to ask. Anecdotally, I also tend to ask how many cards are in my opponent's hand a lot even when it's not relevant to any of my effects because it helps me gauge whether or not my opponent has an answer for what I am doing.
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I ask my opponent how many cards in hand for the mind game factor alone. You usually need to do it at a mildly important decision point in a game or before playing something. You can leverage the question to bluff having a response to their cards, or having a threat you are holding back, that you have a mind rot effect, etc
 
SirFunchalot

SirFunchalot

Rowan_CB said:
I've been drafting Strixhaven a ton, and while I like the draft format I am similarly not high on may cards for cube. I know everyone has already mentioned Quandrix Apprentice, but I wanted to note that's it and Dragonsguard Elite are the cards I am now going to run after initially not being particularly interested in them. They're both excellent velocity/pseudo-velocity cards that will scale well to almost any power level, I think.

Other than that I plan on running Conspiracy Theorist and that's it.
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I love Dragonsguard Elite and Quandrix Apprentice, both have been quite good for me. I couldn't get Conspiracy Theorist to do too much, so I hope you have better results with that one, card's cool.
 
japahn

japahn

These cards that depend on coming down early add a lot of variance though, since they are bad topdecks. I loaded up on growing threats during a time, but found that too aggro to a make-it-or-break it direction. It might be fine with a ton of cantrips and value generation, but for environments where there is card advantage scarcity, they are really swingy.

Edit: Actually Dragonsguard Elite has the mana sink, which counterbalances that nicely... Hmmm...
 
sigh

sigh

japahn said:
These cards that depend on coming down early add a lot of variance though, since they are bad topdecks. I loaded up on growing threats during a time, but found that too aggro to a make-it-or-break it direction. It might be fine with a ton of cantrips and value generation, but for environments where there is card advantage scarcity, they are really swingy.
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This is why I am trying to limit my young pyromancer type effects. I think the Quandrix Apprentice is a good inclusion for many, but yeah agree with the sentiment overall.
 
SirFunchalot

SirFunchalot

japahn said:
These cards that depend on coming down early add a lot of variance though, since they are bad topdecks. I loaded up on growing threats during a time, but found that too aggro to a make-it-or-break it direction. It might be fine with a ton of cantrips and value generation, but for environments where there is card advantage scarcity, they are really swingy.

Edit: Actually Dragonsguard Elite has the mana sink, which counterbalances that nicely... Hmmm...
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Isn't this how all cheap baneslayers play? Like you put these kinds of cards in your deck because you say "the late game doesn't exist, I will kill my opponent before the downside of these cards matters" ?
 
inscho

inscho

sigh said:
I don't find any need for him. 1/1 tokens in that deck context (for me) are terrible. An X/3 flier is much more impactful (from the Drake example), and something like Magmatic Channeler is by and large going to be much more impactful and useful for the deck in that {1}{R} slot.
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I agree that it often feels out of place in most of my Izzet decks. Pyromancer is best in Boros in my experience. It's biggest weakness is that it doesn't pivot particularly well into black and green. Sedgemoor Witch could help that in black, but it's pretty antithetical to what my black decks want to be doing. Black has so many more organic ways to put bodies on the ground anyways....and are we really hurting for more token generating effects?

There's been so many good 2cmc red creatures printed since YP debuted. It was once a critical source of complexity in red, but it feels a little out of place now
 
japahn

japahn

SirFunchalot said:
Isn't this how all cheap baneslayers play? Like you put these kinds of cards in your deck because you say "the late game doesn't exist, I will kill my opponent before the downside of these cards matters" ?
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Most of them, apart from a few like Enigma Drake that people are raving about (and I like as well). Knight of the Ebon Legion also dodges this issue by having a mana sink. Maybe the mana sink ability on Dragonsguard Elite will also make it work out nicely.

These threats make the matchup less interesting because they turn into dead draws for the aggro deck after the first turns. The curve of pressure for the matchup becomes too smooth - if the wrath resolves, it's over. If it doesn't, it's also over. I've noticed this pattern with Champion of the Parish, Cloudfin Raptor, Experiment One, Steel Overseer, Fretwork Colony, Ajani's Pridemate, Quirion Dryad... They don't necessarily lower your win rate, but they make the game more about drawing the cards in the right order than about the choices you make when sequencing your plays.
 
SirFunchalot

SirFunchalot

japahn said:
Most of them, apart from a few like Enigma Drake that people are raving about (and I like as well). Knight of the Ebon Legion also dodges this issue by having a mana sink. Maybe the mana sink ability on Dragonsguard Elite will also make it work out nicely.

These threats make the matchup less interesting because they turn into dead draws for the aggro deck after the first turns. The curve of pressure for the matchup becomes too smooth - if the wrath resolves, it's over. If it doesn't, it's also over. I've noticed this pattern with Champion of the Parish, Cloudfin Raptor, Experiment One, Steel Overseer, Fretwork Colony, Ajani's Pridemate, Quirion Dryad... They don't necessarily lower your win rate, but they make the game more about drawing the cards in the right order than about the choices you make when sequencing your plays.
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Yeah idk, I don't really see why thats an issue. Baneslayer turn sideways, opponent life total go down, brain make chemical.
 
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