One last set to slam in the mega update

Mechanics

Channel – Cycling’s weird cousin is back! And it rules this time! Every card with this on it is functionally a split card with an uncounterable mode as the second functional option.

Ninjutsu – Another classic, Ninjutsu was always coming back when we returned to Kamigawa. We’ve already got one currently in the cube, lets see if we can get another few in there.

Reconfigure – Like a reverse vehicle, these are creatures that can become equipment. They’re quite odd but allow for you to go tall or wide depending on board state.

Sagas – This is something that I think a lot of folks never expected to see at common, but here we are, there’s 1 or more saga per color here and they all turn into creatures at the end as double faced cards. Very interesting designs all around.

White

Omniczech: This feels a bit too slow. You’re spending turn 4 getting +1/+1 and flying to ONE thing? no, pass, the fact that this becomes a 2/4 with evasion isn’t enough to save this.

Phizzled: The callback to Kabuto Moth is much less powerful in NEO limited, and much less flexible.  Any impetus I have to play this card in cube is because it’s a neat gimmick and not because the chapters provide effects we couldn’t get elsewhere at common.

Omniczech: This isn’t flashy but it sure does just let any random thing that hits the board turn into a 3/2 flyer for the rest of the game. This might not make the cut but would probably put in work

Phizzled: I really like vehicles as pseudo-equipment for aggro decks. Crew 1 is almost a bigger draw here than the evasion on a 3/2 body for 3 mana.  Actually, crew 1, and thus avoiding sorcery speed removal, probably has to be the draw.  I imagine that is what is going to hold this back from inclusion.

Omniczech: We’ve already gotten this card, but it’s nice to be able to just run GOOD arrests. At this point it’s really just a question for me as to what we want to cut for this.

Phizzled: Functional reprints are catnip to me when it comes to cube, but I kind of like that each version of Arrest is so meaningfully different.  We could potentially cut our remaining four mana variant and lower White’s curve. Or we could cut some secret darling like Temporal Isolation for a more flexible piece of removal.  I’m intrigued to chat with the community.

 

Phizzled: A peasant cube friend recommended testing this.  We can use the +1/+1 counters, and the untapping is a combat trick.  The [scylink]Unsummon[/scrylink] option can reset some ETB abilities, and not being limited to creatures might be enough to be worth a spot in the cube, despite our passing on You're Ambushed on the Road.

Omniczech: I am not a huge fan of this one, but I’m down to see what the community thinks.

Omniczech: I’m actually kinda middling on this. The body doesn’t do a ton, and while the draw is unambiguously good, I just don’t know if we want this one.

Phizzled: By contrast, I love the card drawing/roadblock in a color with more flicker effects.  The two big negatives for the pup: 1) no other white two drop only puts one power on the battlefield and 2) I’m going to be very sad anytime it dies in combat.  The easiest cut to me is Priest of Ancient Lore, which i like, but which I could like more if I can more easily double spell with it.

Blue

Omniczech: I’ve run worse control finishers and been happy. The general lack of reanimation makes me less excited about this, but as a modal “big idiot/mana leak” this rules a lot. Big fan here.

Phizzled: I imagine this is going to be a counterspell most of the time if it makes it in our cube, but there is not shame in that. Krosan Tusker doesn’t get cast often, and we still love it.

Omniczech: I’m begging you Wizards. Stop printing good 4 mana draw 2s with utility, cause now I have to figure out which ones we want to run. Card’s good.

Phizzled: Even calling it four mana feels like we’re oversimplifying it.  Being able to split the cost over two turns, as with Behold the Multiverse makes this a very powerful tool.

Omniczech: I like this more than I expected I would. Loot twice and then get the skyfisher body is pretty reasonable, we’ll see how community opinion is on this one.

Phizzled: I also rather like this card.  Having to wait two draw steps to get the creature is imperfect.  I can’t decide how much I like this.

Black

Omniczech: This is the most miserable wincon possible, but someone out there wants to be a big sicko who runs this as a way to win games of magic. It’s not for us I think but it is neat.

Phizzled: The filter tells me this incidentally kills 65 creatures in the cube straight out, which isn’t too shabby. The death and taxes trickle of life-loss is definitely not the best choice for a game winner, but sometimes you only need to deal two damage, and the “can’t block” text could entice someone.

Omniczech: I don’t know if we want better Pharika's Libation but this sure is that.

Phizzled: The exile text can do some things that forcing a sacrifice really can’t, but your opponent always gets to choose and, as least with creatures, edicts aren’t good enough right now.  Alas.

Omniczech: We don’t generally support black aggro in the cube, gut this seems like a shoe in for that archetype. Hell, if it dies and you get it back, even better so you can get those unblockable points of life loss.

Phizzled: Waiting the two turns is, again, imperfect, for the creature.  But I am (perhaps wrongly) interested in both the life swing and the 2/2 body.  I think this is wrong for our cube, but I also really like it.

Omniczech: 4 mana is SO much, but this has to be discussed cause you can get it off of Heliod's Pilgrim. It can be countered by removing the target, but man, tutorable removal rules. I think this is a miss for us but just narrowly.

Phizzled: The mana cost is disappointing, but as unconditional removal that happens to buff your creature is decent.  I’m struggling to imagine the deck in the cube that wants this more than any of the other removal we have, which tells me I agree: this is a narrow miss.

Phizzled: Needing to deal damage in a cube with only a few pingers is unfortunate, but any chump blocker turns this on. Removal that replaces itself is quite nice. Mostly, I just want to share that I love this card, even if we don’t need it.

Omniczech: Insane meme value aside, I’ve seen worse ways to cantrip and turn a chump attack or block into a real board changer

Red

Omniczech: I hear you, we’re over Trumpet Blast as a teaching aid for newer players. This one has a serious upside of cantripping so using it for non-lethal swings is very appealing. Bare minimum it’s just better.

Phizzled: Functional equivalent with upside should be an easy swap. The community is ready to remove the training wheels, and WOTC decided to give us a nice upgrade.

Omniczech: I love this, just not here. This is great in eternal formats and combo decks, but man I don’t care for it given the fact this taxes your mana. It’s not really a 1 drop and activating the 3 mana ability usually doesn’t really leave you with mana to cast anything you might “draw” off it. I think this has homes in cubes, just not this one.

Phizzled: This is a turn-two play at best, but as card draw goes, it’s pretty good for red.  I’ve tried to construct my ideal deck with this card, and I kept constructing decks with five red one drops I liked better.  As a control card, this is maybe okay, but the reactive spells deck doesn’t necessarily want the creature token (or to exile your counterspells).  I’m confident this is a pass.

Omniczech: I hate red 6 drops, but I hate them a lot less when they have an alt mode that can just kill folks quicker for less mana. I want community feedback but I think this is solid.

Phizzled: The channel ability here feels like a more flexible bloodrush, and it’s clearly nice as a combat trick. I don’t know that I would pay two mana for the effect on an instant, but I’m not sure how often I want to cast this in my hypothetical Red-X aggro deck.

Omniczech: 5 isn’t 6, but it’s still a whole lot. That said, act of treason that then buffs the team that then is a 3/3 is a decent amount of stuff for 5. I still think it’s not quite enough, but it’s neat as all get out.

Phizzled: At five mana, the effects are all appealing, but spreading them over multiple turns is disappointing.  I’m not super excited about this, but man, it looks like Zealous Conscripts if you squint really hard.

Green

Omniczech: I like this as a cool support card. It’s fine by me to just bounce your 1 drop and have a turn 2 3-power creature that will buff other things. I’m a fan, but we’ll figure out mass appeal soon enough.

Phizzled: I think the non-ninja mode of this is actually quite fine without anything else.  Green’s few one drop creatures are not evasive, so the ninjutsu maybe won’t read as haste.  I think the +1/+1 counter enabler only has to put one counter on something else to be good, right?

Omniczech: It’s an honorary pig in the vein of krosan tusker. This notably is actual ramp but doesn’t draw a card. However, it sure is a reasonable include and maybe just out and out better than Rampaging hippo

Phizzled: The lower casting cost than the big pig and evasion makes up a bit for only “drawing” one card.  I really like this.  I’m kind of not sure what else to say.

Omniczech: I like this. It’s an instant speed bite effect that’s gotta be better than at least ONE option currently in the cube.

Phizzled: Our three mana bite effects have incidental upsides, but not risking your creature is clearly a perk.  I can imagine this getting in.

Colorless

Omniczech: Hey there sparring construct. I know you’ve been around for a bit, but I think it’s time you maybe took a little break. Iron apprentice just kinda does the same thing but better. I think this is a minimal but real update.

Phizzled: Yeah, a clean upgrade to a card we have is very fair.  Maybe we get a few more Ikoria style counters in the future and this becomes a real house, but as a glue card, we basically already like it.

Omniczech: Eldrazi Devastator is not well loved. This thing is a bit smaller and does require 1 or 2 other things, but 7 is much less than 8 mana and this thing just gets up and starts punching folks. I like this as an upgrade.

Phizzled: I like that this has haste and is technically more castable.  I kind of assume that by the time you’re casting this crewing it should be trivial.  I could technically love this more than the fourth best eldrazi in the cube.