MH3 Quick Hits

Thanks to all the folks out there for bearing with us while we got this behemoth of a Quick Hits out for y’all.

White

Omniczech – I know we JUST cut something loosely in this same shape, but I like that this has evasion, as my main complaint with this style of creature has been the lackluster bodies they like to attach this etb to,

Usman – This ain’t bad as a Phantom Monster that can pump some other things, and on initial glance, it’s probably better than some of our white 4s that we have.  Normally I’m not a huge fan of like-for-like changes, but I think this makes sense since we have so many at 4 – even if Search Party Captain isn’t really a 4-drop.

Neveron – This is probably easily the best version of this effect that we’ve gotten so far. While we’re not running Basri's Acolyte at the moment, this definitely feels like one that could find a home.

Phizzled – The body is technically fine on its own, and the creature buff is interesting enough.  There are so many options for hypothetical finishers at four and five mana in White that it really seems like we could play.  I can never decide if I’m entertaining “upgrading” the likes of Combat Professor in a manner that is only a sidegrade.

Solset – As long as we are supporting counters, this should likely be in over the professor.  In most decks, it is a sidegrade that trades some extra combat stats on board for vigilance. I admit  the vigilance has been great.  Yet in one of our supported archetypes, this should be much better.

Phizzled – Clearly, this is a pretty decent Pacifism with upside, but we have so many great removal auras (four, right now) that I’m not even sure the upside as flash umbra armor makes enough sense to crack the rotation.  Of our current four, Cooped Up is maybe the weakest, despite its ability to exile.  I’m struggling to find a like-for-like, which is maybe a trap on its own.

Omniczech – I’m glad these “good for me bad for you” cards are just being templated exactly that way nowadays. The card’s good, we’ll just have to see what gets axed for it.

Usman – another Pacifism’s nice to have and having flash probably puts it above all variants.

Neveron – If nothing else, being a modal card adds a lot of power by itself. Temporal Isolation managed to stay in the cube just by virtue of having Flash, so this also being a protection spell in addition to that… yeah, it’s good.

Solset – With such redundancy right now in our pacifism, this should be able to break in over one of them OR a protection spell.  Good cards with interesting decisions (protect or remove) and play space (Instant white removal)  are worth including over cards of similar power.

Phizzled – As Swords to Plowshares goes, this sure is a sorcery speed one.
Sunlance remains limited, but two mana is so much more mana than one, in an aggro deck.  If this replaces something like Settle Beyond Reality it could seem an upgrade over the existing removal available to the same White-X aggro decks.

Usman – This is much worse than our Pacifisms, even with most of our meta having smaller creatures.  The kicker’s fine but the base mode seems weak enough for me not to care that much.

Neveron – Exile is a very permanent form of removal, and solves a lot of problems. The added restrictions make it worse than our pacifism suite, though, so it’s entirely down to whether or not we want to trim down some of the existing expensive versions like Settle Beyond Reality or, well, Faith's Fetters.

Solset – I don’t think Expel is good enough. For cards being considered,  Settle is such a linchpin card in flicker decks, that it can’t win there and Fetters shutting off pestilence, bonder’s ornament, scrylands, and desert just isn’t worth a cut.

Phizzled – Assuming no other energy cards were on the table, this is a viable reanimation spell.  At present, 21 creatures in White are viable targets without dipping into a second color.  This offers some interesting resilience to aggro decks, while potentially replacing itself via cycling should an opponent manage to trade an early drop with one of the Savannah Lions.

Usman – Smaller Unearth is fine, although I’m unsure exactly how big the gap is for 2 vs 3 (if you have no other energy) – my gut says a lot because 3 unlocks a lot of creatures with ETB triggers; I don’t really dig this if it’s just to get back a 2-drop knight or something.  Yeah, I think I’m off this.

Neveron – One-mana cards have an inherent advantage over two-mana one: this is literally half the mana of a Recommission, after all! Unlike its larger cousins this card is never going to have you overpay for your creatures, but it might also have issues with available targets. (Then again, that’s what the Cycling is for.)

Solset – The difference between 2 mana and 3 is too much for me.  Without committing to energy synergies, I don’t think I want this one.

Omniczech – as a lover of unearth, I’m not sure this one gets there, I was excited for the idea of maybe having other ways to enable this but the energy cards just didn’t seem to have the density at common where we want to be.

Phizzled – I adore living weapons more than I should, perhaps, but the Wings and Teeth are hard for me to puzzle out.  I like that they are evasive, and an expensive but viable buff, but I worry they are too slow compared to other options.  I’m leaning a pass, sadly.

Omniczech – I like this as a suntail hawk that leaves behind a worryingly relevant equipment, if guidewing was good enough for most of us, this sits comfortably in the same realm in my mind.

Usman – I also absolutely love living weapon type things, but my concern is that it’s too low-impact on initial cast to make it worth playing – something like Flayer Husk doesn’t require a ton of your mana, but this does at least give evasion.  It might just secretly be a GW card that gives big ground pounders some evasion, since it’s really expensive for white aggro.

Neveron – The front end is a Flying Men, but that’s not enough on its own these days – we passed over the similar Lantern Bearer // Lanterns' Lift back in Crimson Vow. On the other hand, four mana to equip might not be too pricy given how relevant +1/+1 and flying can be? I’m reminded of Envoy of Okinec Ahau, which was another aggressive beater with late-game mana sink utility.

Solset – I think this card is going to be insane.   I’ve already fed my Faerie Guidemother to my cat.  We want better 1 drops in aggressive colors.  This equip is a bit higher, but it is so impactful.

Omniczech – I think this one is real. I know it seems like a real hard sell that you’ll equip this, but at the point you really want to be rebuying the flying portion of this, you’re likely trying to make your 4 or 5 drop just crash in unhindered, which probably would lead to a decent performance using past heuristics on these types of cards

Neveron – This is quite the interesting card. The damage scales twice as fast as the typical version of this effect (cf. Charge of the Mites), and is completely unconditional in what it targets – no need for attackers or tapped creatures here! It’s easy to imagine a white board that’ll let this remove almost any creature in the cube. The other two modes are more situational, but it’s probably enough that they just exist?

Phizzled – I initially didn’t add this to my list because, so often, the primary mode is just “kill something dead” and white has several other options at the two drop spot. The other modes are probably the key, and we’re got other flexible removal spells.  This is technically worth considering, though I would never expect to pick it early.

Solset – I am pretty happy with this one. An instant white removal spell that likely gets better the more aggressive your deck is.  We have quite a few “creature or artifact” options kicking around, so it will be nice to get a few more enchantment removal options.

Usman – One of those “jack of all trades” cards that can bin an enchantment or grave some number of times, although those seem like corner cases more often than not, but sometimes, having those options in pocket is enough to make up for it.  This might just get there as an “aggressive” Pacifism type thing and/or a Doom Blade that can kill an enchantment/grave, kinda like an Abrade.  Yeah, this might be nice.

Omniczech – I feel like this thing just kills most things with very small board presence and also has tacked on bonus utility, I dig this.

Neveron – While I was fairly down on this card during previews, it’s been performing well in MH3 drafts. I guess instant speed is enough to make an Angelic Gift playable? Spontaneous Flight didn’t make the cut, but maybe being one mana cheaper (and Scry 1) is enough.

Solset – As far as combat tricks go, this is pretty spicy.  Unfortunately, our payoffs almost always care about +1/+1 counters specifically, not just any counter.  I also suspect the MH3 content may reward the permanent evasion more than we would.  I still think pass.

Usman – like the living weapon, this may secretly be a GW card that makes big green things fly at a decent rate.  Otherwise, yeah, I don’t think this beats what we currently have.

Phizzled – I appreciate the evasive counter and the temporary buff, but I’m not convinced this is ever going to be exciting as a pick, rather than a late-pick and potentially late-cut glue card. I’m hesitant to push for a card I expect to be the 25th spell in decks playing 23 and 24 spells.

Blue

Phizzled – I recall hoping for greatness from Pondering Mage and dying, having used my fifth turn to cast it, digging for an answer that was too late.  Three mana is so much less for drawing a card and maybe seeing a chance at salvation or to press the advantage, but we have two other cantripping bodies at the same mana cost.  The lack of evasion hurts, but I’m willing to chance it.

Omniczech – I’ve already complained that we’re getting to the point that Black is going to have the worst version of phyrexian rager, but this card’s likely gonna do work. I’m not sure still if I like this more or less than the more defensive body present with cards like sea gate oracle

Usman – I’m unsure if this beats out one of our value Wind Drakes, but it does seem like a kind of card that’s a natural fit to our world, similarly to how we wanted Pondering Mage to be.  I wouldn’t be surprised if this doesn’t make it but it’s a card I’d probably be happy to have in a blue deck’s 40.

Neveron – If nothing else, this is yet another card that screams “flicker me for value!”

Solset – On the one hand, this card is very good.  Yet on the other, when I balance my preference for x/3s in blue and a diversity of effects, this has a very narrow window to break in. I could see cutting one of the creatures with ETB bounce, but this will be hard. Perhaps if people don’t feel Geyser Drake has done enough, that could be a cut as well.

Phizzled – I quite like this in a way I do not appreciate in the same ways I would the same aura in White.  Flash and a single extra mana is better, in my mind, than the conditional kickers for the other auras. I would seek to find a place for this one.

Usman – It’s nice that this is an upgrade to Eaten by Piranhas since it can just exile the card if need be, but unsure how much that matters.  It could be that including the cycling tri-lands, but if the exile thing only happens 3% of the time, that may not even matter and maybe the base mode is good enough.  Might be?

Neveron – This probably beats Bubble Snare, I think. Passing while holding up two mana is also, generally speaking, a very good idea in a blue deck.

Solset – The flash sets this apart for me as it has plenty of opportunity where it wrecks combat.  I think the cut is Witness Protection, but there are other options.  I don’t think we need to build around the colorless cost, but it will be fun when it hits.

Black

Phizzled – I will never not love Diabolic Edict.  I like that this is cheap enough to trade up in the late game, but man, it likely feels bad when this is the only creature in your opening hand, especially against a control deck.  I can’t rationalize my way to including this, as I type.

Usman – I mainly think this could get there as the cheapest Fleshbag Marauder but this doesn’t really “upgrade” many creatures – like if this upgrades a 1/1 into a 2/1 while editing an opponent’s creature, is that great?  I don’t know.  Probably not worth a card in a deck.

Neveron – This goes wild if you can recur it, so that’s something. Tortured Existence turning every creature you draw into a three-mana nontoken edict is a pretty fun loop, and this is also a card you’d be perfectly happy to have lying in your graveyard when you play Gravedigger.

Solset – I’ve been running a 3 mana version of this in my mutation for a while, and I’ve been happy to have the effect.  This isn’t a must have as space gets tighter, but I think it is worth a look.

Omniczech – The plus is it’s coming down CHEAP. The downside is the body you get here at this mana cost isn’t good. I think we could play this one for years and have this sac itself to the trigger 75% of the time and I wouldn’t even be remotely shocked.

Phizzled – As noted so many times, this is a Theros set rare downshifted, with upside.  It is expensive, compared to our two mana options, but, excepting indestructible creatures, it cannot miss.  I like this, more than it deserves, likely.

Usman – Effectively, this trades 1-2 life and unconditional kill ability for 1 mana.  I don’t the upsides make up for it.

Neveron – I could maybe see this in a cube that played creatures with three colors, but when it’s just Murder that gains one life that’s… well, it’s not something I’d feel happy playing.

Solset – Good option if you have a mutation that needs life gain triggers, but we have better black removal sitting in our binders.

Omniczech – pure upside Murder is still just not good enough.

Phizzled – I don’t know that this is the right card, but in a color that supports aristocrats, being able to sacrifice a chump blocker at instant speed, and being able to do so again in the late game, is an interesting tool.  I can’t decide, yet, whether this is perhaps too cute and doesn’t advance an aggressive strategy enough.  I’ll have to see if I can sneak into a pre-release on this one.

Usman – The initial cast is probably going to feel pretty mediocre since you don’t get a ton of value upfront, and it may be something for sacrifice decks that can get to the stage of the late game.  Being telegraphed on the flashback is a bit wonky against blue decks, but I think this at least has potential for more midrangey sacrifice decks.

Neveron – I generally like to think of Flashback and the like as being “draw a specific card”, with that card typically being better than a land but otherwise middling. Two-mana draw-”three” is a very good rate, in that point of view. And if you’re able to sacrifice an artifact token instead of a creature, well, you’re off to the races. Do we have enough of those for that bit of text to be relevant, though, or is this exclusively saved for stuff that’d die anyways?

Solset – It is cheaper than Rowan's Grim Search while living in a similar space for midrange decks.  Obviously, it is much worse in control though.  We have heard that there is plenty of aristocrat support, so there may not be much room for this good card.

Neveron – I’m bringing this card up mostly so that we don’t get bugged about it later. It’s definitely very flashy, and I’m excited to see what constructed decks can get up to with it. For the cube, however, I suspect this will mostly just be you spending five to eight mana on a creature that dies to removal without drawing you a single card. There’s definitely a cute interaction with Feign Death, but at that point you might just want Phyrexian Gargantua proper?

Phizzled – 4/4 for five mana is right on rate.  Needing to sink the extra mana is not that exciting, even though you get to chose when to draw your cards.  Black already has more evasive bodies that are bigger and cheaper (typically).

Solset – I tend to argue in favor of cards with a larger delta between best case and worst case scenarios, knowing how many playables we get in a typical draft.  Have I suggested lately, let’s try Delver of Secrets // Insectile Aberration!  Even with that being my tendency, I think this is too expensive to entertain those best case scenarios where you trigger it multiple times. Dying before you untap is just too likley.

Usman – I do think that this is likely too much mana for the total package, when the base of being a Durkwood Boars is relatively medium on the front end.  Telegraphing adapting this into a removal spell seems like a game loss right off the bat, unfortunately.

Phizzled – I love a modular spell, and I secretly adore a copy of a creature that already exists.  Gravedig is worse than its creature counterpart for flicker/regrowth effects, but more flexible for hypothetical aggro decks.  In cube there will always be times where a 2/2 for two mana just does work, and this gives you that option. I like it.

Usman – it might just be that the Raise Dead is like the one on Kolaghan's Command where it’s arguably the worst ability and overcosted, but it’s nice when it’s there.  Downgrade with blink effects, which is where the inherent inefficiency of Gravedigger effects gets boosted, and it may just read most of the time as a Gravedigger that “evokes” for 2 when you need it against the beatdown decks.  I’m fine with it.

Neveron – The big argument against this card is the same we saw for Emergency Weld and Mourner's Surprise before it: unlike Gravedigger, this isn’t in itself a creature you can recur in all the ways Black likes to do. On the other hand, a 2/2 zombie is much more relevant than those other tokens.

Solset – Modality is nice, but black on its own cares about creatures not sorceries.   It doesn’t even give devotion for Gary.  I think this is a pass.

Phizzled – This is more vulnerable to some of our removal than similar recursive creature Persistent Specimen, and its graveyard ability costs more, but comes with a beefier body.  I think it’s reasonable to test this even if it somehow isn’t the right choice longer term. Trading for an opponent’s Abrade was always going to be fine, because it was always going to do that.

Omniczech – I was not a huge fan of specimen but the community loved it, this on the other hand while less affordable to rebuy, actually comes back with a real body attached. I’m not sure if this replaces the “infinite sac fodder/chumps” role or what but this has me much more excited than the skeleton.

Usman – Sanitarium Skeleton for the modern age!  Like the old Skeleton, the front side is pretty weak and the payoff comes from being able to have it maintain long-term presence, either from proactively sacrificing it or as a blocker that’s reasonably large when recurred.  It’s worth keeping, at least for now, as long as we have a sacrifice thing going.

Neveron – Even outside Aristocrats, having a Hill Giant with “you can cast this from your graveyard” seems like it’s really, really annoying.

Solset – I suspect this card is going to be very strong, and open up some interesting play patterns.  It works in self mill, sacrifice, and counter decks. Not only will it make graveyard removal a bit more important, but it will be an example of a creature that is better to kill with an aura instead of burn.

Omniczech – Besides a truly delightful name, this is a lot of value. We don’t get a pile of the “titan triggers” where they’re both ETB and attack triggers, and this one’s not the wildest, but it is something every turn this turns sideways.

Usman – you know, I’ll take a common titan even if it’s more a “looter” than Titan, since it’s just really big for the size and has an ETB trigger so it doesn’t just get punked by spot removal.  Well, I guess it does, but you at least get something, eh?

Neveron – The fun thing about this card is that they either bolt it in response to it entering, in which case you just loot away a land afterwards, or they wait until after the Connive trigger in which case your discarded nonland card puts it at four toughness. Sometimes it attacks as a 4/5 for 4, sometimes it’s just a harder-to-remove looter.

Solset – I am cooler on this card than most.  I hope I am wrong, and we have our very own Pauper Titan.  I will at least add that in all too early data, Refurbished Familiar is a common 4 drop in MH3 with a better win rate.

Phizzled – Connive (and the various other creature looting effects) offer access we don’t inherently get from our self mill effects, but also fill the graveyard for reanimation/delve benefits.  I confess I left this off my initial list because the titan trigger is busy enough that I kept missing the evasion.  This little rogue isn’t too shabby.

Phizzled – We presently have two -3/-3 instants in our Black removal suite.  Both can potentially deal with creatures bigger than 3/3 under the right circumstances, which is probably more valuable in the abstract than generating the single +1/+1 counter offered by Wither and Bloom.  I still quite like a “flashback” removal spell, but I’ll have to think longer on whether this outshines its “bargain” cousin, for instance.

Omniczech – I’m on the side of this one being more interesting, but probably more interesting than something else, I’m still just an ok fan of Tragic Slip these days, but we’ll have plenty of time to holler about this in private.

Usman – arguably the worst Last Gasp as it has one of the weaker upsides, but it having “flashback”, kinda, makes it so that it’s at least more guaranteed.  Being sorcery speed makes it so that it’s essentially doing something when you have nothing better to do or have a bigger blocker.  Maybe the latter makes it one of the better ones, after all?

Neveron – It’s always nice when milling a removal spell isn’t a complete bummer, but two mana for a single counter is still a bit more than you’d want to spend. Then again, it’s a “free” card.

Solset – I think this is better than Candy Grapple hands down in our cube.  In some environments with more 5/5s or more junk to bargain it could be closer.  We on the other hand care about self-mill and counters, which this influences.

Red

Phizzled – I really, really like this instant speed, scalable creature removal spell that costs one mana.  Unfortunately, I really like it for pauper constructed play.  I personally like this more than Flame Slash, but again, in the context of 60 card magic.  On its own, without additional energy generators, losing the ability to hit the various 4-toughness green creatures hurts. In magical dream land, Aether Chaser can partner with this to handle bigger creatures, but right now, I think the flexibility of the two mana unconditional burn spells is more desirable. I don’t think this has a strong case for cube inclusion, but I will be grabbing several playsets.

Usman – Out of all of the removal that we’re running in red, only Lightning Bolt kills something with 3 toughness at instant speed for 1 mana – everything else either costs more mana or can’t kill X/3s.  Discharge is likely the most powerful card for us in this set and Aether Chaser points to energy, while being potentially annoying with few cards in our cube caring about it, not being a bar for entry.  I’d personally much rather have this than one of the mass pumps, especially Ambitious Assault, but most things can safely be upgraded to this.

Neveron – Creature-only bolts can still be plenty playable. We skipped on Strangle, but this being instant speed and unconditionally three damage still makes it premium removal for red. Occasionally you might combo this with an Aether Chaser to blast something for five damage, but by itself it seems more than good enough. (It definitely doesn’t replace Flame Slash, though.)

Solset – From a deck perspective, good burn is better than almost any card in red.  Even okay burn like Volcanic Hammer would be a better pick than any of our team-pumps or likely any of our red creatures.  Yet, we are not building a deck but a cube.  This may be good enough to make it in our cube,  and we already let good Energy cards in without worrying about false signals.  However,  I think it likely needs to beat out Flame Slash, Firebolt, or Abrade to earn a spot.

Phizzled – Three mana seems like a lot of mana to pay, except that you’re guaranteed three creature tokens (see Hordeling Outburst) when you can’t play them.  In a low to the ground burn or aggro deck, this reads as a pretty solid topdeck on turn 5 or 6 when I’m empty handed.  I’m not sure when I would be most thrilled to create eldrazi spawn instead of being able to play any of the impulsively drawn cards, but several colors have reasonable ways to make a herd of spawn into a credible threats.

Usman – Might get there as a way to “burst” mana, since we don’t have many in this meta.  There’s the dream to get this to ramp into an Ulamog's Crusher but I get the feeling that this is going to be more of a natural fit into midrangey red decks to get stallers, card advantage or both.

Neveron – Evaluating all the possible modes here feels headache-inducing, but I think it’s probably worth it? From pumping the tokens into 2/3s to casting a seven-drop on turn 4, it definitely feels like the card can be somewhat playable at any point in the game.

Solset – I suspect it will often be worse than our dual options of Reckless Impulse and Wrenn's Resolve which cost less and give you another turn to cast them.  However, it is a bigger late game play, and it has weird interactions that ramp or go wide.  I think a lot of our player’s dislike true functional reprints, so that alone may be worth giving this a shot.

Solset – I think I am alone here, but Infernal Captor seems like a strong effect. Worst case, this is a modal Hill Giant or Tentative Connection, but I trust it will play better in nearly all red decks than Chimney Rabble.   Hitting hard and removing a blocker on turn 4 looks stronger than having a left over 1/1 for turn 5. While this may seem like it is working against a go-wide strategy by sacrificing something already in play, by removing a bigger blocker it should put you up on damage while opening up interesting play decisions.

Usman – I agree that it’s likely better for aggressive decks (in creature matchups) than the rabble and pretty nifty with sacrifice things as well.

Neveron – Act of Treason effects are generally worth something around 2.5 mana, so I’m not excited about casting this for four. You really need to sacrifice a creature for this to feel worth it, I think.

Phizzled – When you get to trade your one-drop for their only blocker and finish the game, this is great.  When you cast your poorly statted four drop and sacrifice it to steal their slightly more effective three or four drop, it feels impertfect.  I’m not necessarily opposed, but I’ve fallen for Act of Treason as a kicker option on creatures, before, and found them wanting.

Phizzled – Again, being an artifact and a creature makes this incidentally more vulnerable to removal, but we have the similarly statted Witty Roastmaster and I don’t mind either.  The unearth ability  offers small aggro decks some interesting last game reach to make up for the swapped power/toughness compared to the Roastmaster.  I quite like this.

Omniczech – I think this having the ability to return for one last little kick of etb triggers has me preferring this over the devil.

Usman – Likely an upgrade over Roastmaster; not strictly so but definitely better because of unearth and it may just be good enough as a wonky shock to deal the last two damage on an empty board.

Neveron – The typing makes it more vulnerable to removal, but the extra toughness makes it a bit more survivable and the Unearth means that any removal probably isn’t final. The real question for me, though, is whether we swap over from the Roastmaster or play both?

Solset – Having played the Roastmaster often, its triggered ability is so crucial to your plan, that you often need to leave it at home when a defensive deck plops down a value Gray Ogre blocker.  I suspect that stat change is an upside for this effect, and the unearth clearly is.  So while the Roastmaster isn’t the autocut, I do think the Gatekeeper is making it in.

Phizzled – Unfortunately, I think the modal spell ends up pumping a creature and proving trample more than it ever removes egregious artifacts, which feels wasteful.  Maybe the prerelease will change my mind and this cleans up a lot of threatening equipment, but as a modal spell, I’m not sure how the use case would play out.  Split second is no joke in a format with more counterspells, but I think it is an added distraction here.  How often will surprise trample (and three additional power) win the game?

Usman – I hate to resort to the “this feels worse than card X and we’re not even playing card X” argument but I like this a lot less than Raze the Effigy.

Neveron – It’s Abrade but with player removal rather than creature removal. Is that worth it, though? I’m reminded of the similarly hard-to-counter Ironhoof Boar, which we skipped over much to my chagrin.

Solset – Split Second is nice to ensure the creature isn’t burned, last-gasped, or fought in response to it growing to say nothing of counters.    Still, unless we truly need more red artifact removal, the pump side doesn’t seem to beat out other options at home.

Green

Neveron – The combo darling of preview season, and the sole reason I know that Sadistic Glee exists – which seems to be a common experience, since the latter blew up from $0.30 to $4 overnight. In our cube, though, I’m not sure that this actually does much?

Solset – I am not overly in love with it, but we certainly have enough green 2 drops that I think are expendable.   The community seemed pretty hyped about a real pay off for a counter deck even though the payoff is middling.  Does a counter deck struggle to have enough bodies to suit up? Maybe this is an answer by providing an army of 0/1s to slap counters, auras, and equipment on.

Usman – I honestly don’t feel strongly enough on this either way.  Maybe it’s a kinda-Kozilek's Predator on an installment plan?

Omniczech – Ok, this is the punchline to the joke of folks repeatedly memeing the dino to death, and it’s an ok punchline at that. This on its own is just ok, always was, the fact this just allows you to spend 5 mana to make the next biggest idiot on your board huge each turn while providing trample makes this a FRUSTRATING end game because you do not likely have enough to keep removing creatures this goes on.

Usman – Honestly, I think this is where big green doofuses should be in terms of inevitability, since it’s not that efficient on the front side as a 6/6 trampler, but being able to turn random things into giant monsters helps, even if the high cost telegraphs it (and unlike the white living weapon, seems to be decent deal, rate-wise.)  May be worth keeping an eye out on to see if it’s frustrating to play against, but I do like how it’s a nice inevitability engine in a color that doesn’t often dabble in that space.

Neveron – In the middle of Patrick Chapin’s 2011 guide to New Phyrexia standard, part 2, he posited that there are only two types of creatures in magic: Baneslayer Angels where the value is in the creature itself, and Mulldrifters where the creature gives you value outside itself. This concept is also linked to the similar idea that even otherwise scary cards still “die to Doom Blade”. We might consider the original Colossal Dreadmaw as a Baneslayer: it can quickly take over the game and be a huge problem if unstopped, but it Dies to Doom Blade. The Colossal Dreadmask, meanwhile, straddles the line and falls into the hybrid category that presents a threat (the 6/6 trample germ) while also presenting value (the equipment that stays behind). If your opponent doesn’t have artifact removal, they are going to have a very bad time.

Phizzled – I’ve been chatting too often with peasant cubers who have more artifact removal.  Oops, All Dreadmaws is a fun pauper deck and I don’t mind having access to its central tenant. Our current crop of expensive Green threats generally have cost reduction or more utility, but are, generally, easier to kill than the equipment.  This is potentially worth a slot over my fears about artifact fragility.

Solset – As long as our cube is running elves to accelerate into….well something, then this seems like a fantastic option.  The front end is on rate, and it leaves behind something that continues to add value in combination with all those outclassed dorks.  Perhaps we can really give Simic a ramp overhaul?

Omniczech – This one is just narrowly better than former cube include Scion Summoner, but in a pretty meaningful way. The extra power going on the actual body, the token on the way in AND out, this isn’t Jewel Thief but it’s not on the other side of the city from it either.

Usman – the tokens being 0/1s doesn’t help a lot for clocking, but I think I like this more than some of our 4s and being able to go from mana elf into this seems like a decent deal.  Might also represent bursting mana into things like the Dreadmaw living weapon too.

Neveron – The tokens being uncounterable is curious, but probably not all that relevant. A 3/3 is much better in combat than the old 2/2+1/1 was, though, I’ll give it that much. (It actually kills Guardian of the Guildpact without trading!)

Phizzled – The 3/3 body feels comparable to two of our other three drops, but the tokens are better for ramp.  I think I maybe discounted the cast trigger, before the prerelease, and only remembered the death.  Not being able to blink this and get scions is disappointing, but Green can’t do that alone, anyway.

Solset – This seems like a strong include though not a clear upgrade over anything left in the cube.  Making room for genetically good cards, is getting harder each update, but we have a few archetype support cards that are looking iffy compared to this one.

Phizzled –  An expensive Eternal Witness, but one which can be triggered at instant speed, is an interesting option. A 4/3 for five combined mana isn’t that below rate for our Green suite.  I’ve already convinced myself the hypothetical engine of reinforcing Bannerhide Krushok to this would be a fun cube achievement, at least once.

Omniczech – I think this card is just good on its own and if you ever manage to retrigger this effect and rebuy something to put more counters on it, you’ve lived the dream.

Usman – Looks pretty nice even if Nature's Spiral tends to play worse than it looks – but then again, most of our value plays are permanents, at least in green.  Might just be one of our better (virtual) 5-drops.

Neveron – Even if it’s an expensive Eternal Witness, I’d like to point out that we don’t even get the regular-priced Eternal Witness at common. We get cards that bring back lands and three that bring back creatures (Desecrator Hag, Woodland Sleuth, and Wildwood Escort). That this one is relatively easily retriggered in our white-green counters archetype is just gravy.

Solset – Even without being the best counter pay off we have ever seen, this was going in as a strong graveyard addition for Green.  Glad to see a fun crossover archetype synergy.

Phizzled – We have managed to shift our fight-bite set of removal mostly to the instants, but they all cost two mana or more.  Horrific Assault loses instant speed, but bite spells are much more appealing than risking your own creature in a fight.  I could imagine worse things to do with one Green mana.

Usman – might just be better than some of the old guard, like the 3-mana cards like Clear Shot and/or Cartouche of Strength.  Eldrazi text may just be flavor text but nifty with Scions/Spawns.

Neveron – Being one-mana one-sided removal is huge. I’d maybe even consider this over something like Prizefight.

Solset – I think I still like Prizefight more, but our 3 mana options have been hard to swallow.

Neveron – What if Satyr Wayfinder could draw you a creature, and also helped ramp you on turn 3? What if Adventurous Impulse looked four cards deep, and could also grab artifacts and enchantments, and also put the rest into your graveyard? While I initially overlooked this card, it looks wilder and wilder the more I think about it. The biggest drawback is that it’s not a creature in and of itself, since that makes it harder for Green to draw into, but the upsides probably outweigh that.

Solset – I think we can find room for this one, especially as we are seeing more incidental graveyard inclusions in the hopper.   I think this cut will hurt, but between 2 mana ramp and some other filtering in green, we have room.

Usman – Definitely one of the better of this type of effect as it does a lot of little things well; card selection without being disadvantage, makes a chump blocker for matchups where you can’t afford to take off a turn’s development, potentially ramping into things, finding things that aren’t just creatures.  Nomboness with things that aren’t creatures is annoying, but in our world, we don’t tend to get a lot of strict upgrades, but more so just general upgrades, and this is certainly one of the better Wayfinder effects.

Phizzled – Where do we stand on five color nonsense, these days?  A flexible mana dork in the early game and a spicy defense that can trade up in the late, I quite like this, and worry only that liking it too much might cause me to advocate against it.

Usman – probably worse than Fertile Ground, but this can at least punch above its weight class when trading up in combat.  Probably fine.

Neveron – We’ve gotten a couple two-mana mana dorks recently, with Poison Dart Frog being a similar one that I know has a lot of fans. (My personal pick is Priest of Titania.) This being a 1/2 deathtouch in addition to that, though? An Underdark Basilisk is surprisingly annoying as a blocker.

Solset – I think this card is respectable, so I won’t put up a fight if it makes it in.  However, it is worth keeping in mind that Green is likely the color that least needs a grounded deathtouch blocker.   I would prefer to hold off.

Omniczech – Oh baby this is a fun one, Ivy Elemental isn’t the newest hottest stuff on the block, but giving it the option to just become a huge aura that also doesn’t just lose to removal is all very cool stuff. I’m already looking forward to the stories of folks getting wrecked by this one.

Usman – Another card type where it’s joining the modern age and I’m totally here for it – having the ability to make this an aura for even more value seems to be a good way to make up for some of the natural inefficiencies of this kind of effect. Reach isn’t bad when it’s virtually free.

Neveron – This is one of those cards where even casual players look at it and say “wait, that’s a common?” It’s the first actual Hydra we’ve gotten at common (aside from Multi-Headed), and it’s kind of huge. Why does it have one toughness? Why does it have reach and trample? They turned every knob to 11 for this one.

Phizzled – Sometimes, Green decks just want to make their creatures resistant to removal, and bestow covers the need.  Offering trample, Green’s favorite version of evasion, to anything, is pretty great.

Solset – This reads so much like an older rare that I hope this gets a printing with a gold symbol.  Seriously, this card is always relevant, and can play well with a counters deck and a ramp deck by making a dork a beater before the value comes.   Maybe we can tune Simic ramp with these options?

Phizzled – As a +1/+1 counters lord, this modular beauty is, well, robust.  While the base doesn’t have trample, it’s easily achieved.  Making several of our other 4-drops tramplers is cherry.

Usman – I hadn’t thought of it interacting with other things (equipment, counters, etc) but I honestly just liked it as a 4/4 that can buff itself, ala Nessian Asp.  Looks solid.

Neveron – The main points of comparison here are Gnarlid Colony, Tuskguard Captain, Pridemalkin, and Crowned Ceratok. None of those other cards survive a bolt by default (although the Gnarlids can grow past it), and none of them are secretly a Colossal Dreadmaw.

Solset –  it is just so ugly, but the biggest concern is hitting a bloated spot on our curve.   Is this better than a proliferate option, or do we shrug the curve and cut the worse Tuskguard?

Gold

Solset –  I was pretty happy with this in previews, but it is looking even better in MH3. While it’s effect isn’t a perfect fit for go-wide, it does play well enough with a low to the ground deck that needs to both speed up the clock while making its creatures trade up.  I feel pretty confident we need to make a spot for this little guy.

Usman – A pretty solid rate for something that gives things haste and threatens a decent amount of burst damage for the 2-mana investment.  I think this should represent about 4 damage via itself and giving something haste, which is a nice rate.

Neveron – Our Boros options have always been slightly iffy, so getting a card that’s just a good-enough aggro creature seems like it’s… well, good. The most similar common to compare to is probably Crimson Mage, and colored pips aside this seems like it stands head and shoulders above that one.

Phizzled – I confess, I wasn’t really excited by most of the energy cards in Boros, but imagining this as an ETB creature that grants another creature evasion would still feel like a bargain at two.  I think you’ve convinced me, this is better at punching through damage, alone or as part of a go-wide deck, than some of our more limited options.

Omniczech – I truly don’t love this one but I’m also down to try most reasonable gold cards since we so rarely get them and others seem to be higher on the card.

Phizzled – Another three-mana 2/2 prowess threat in Izzet colors. Bloodwater Entity is evasive, but a built in Fling isn’t too far off.  I think for the moment I still prefer built in evasion, but I’m interested to test this in draft, if I can.

Usman – This seems ok, although I’m unsure how much Izzet necessarily wants a creature that doesn’t do much on ETB but has a death trigger.  I’d like it more if it was in a color combo like Boros or Rakdos, not so much here.

Neveron – It’s definitely got some fun stuff with the death trigger, I think: how easy is it for your opponent to remove this threat without either losing a creature or taking a bolt to the face?

Solset – As Usman says, I think this power level would be an easy inclusion if Izzet wasn’t already stacked in golds.  It is more of a signal than Izzet Charm and our one wonky split card that may not be truly gold, but the cyclops is likely worse.

Omniczech – Unfortunately what do I need to say here? Watchwolf with a keyword that also plays nice with counters stuff seems to fit pretty well.

Usman – even with just vigilance, I love it.

Neveron – Honestly, even just vanilla Watchwolf would’ve made me happy. They went above and beyond with this dog.

Solset –  Good boy!

Phizzled – Just an efficient pup.  I’m not thrilled or especially disappointed.  Maybe it’s time for Travel Preparations to take a hiatus again.

Solset – Hear me out, Simic Ramp!   Even without the full commitment to the archetype to pull people, I think this card may have been a victim of additive distraction.  Simply accelerating you by two mana like Weaver of Currents is often good enough for most limited archetypes, and it is likely even stronger when you have access to the eternal 1 mana elves. Even without much intentionality, Blue and Green are the two colors which have the highest average casting cost in our cube.  When you do pull off the late game draw with this mutant(?) turtle, then enjoy the achievement However, you don’t need to reliably draw for this card to be strong if it lets you cast scrylink]Generous Ent[/scrylink]  on turn 3, and it is almost certainly a better turn 3 play than Temporal Spring.

Usman – Yeah, the extra mode of drawing mostly just seems like flavor text in our world (although potentially less so with some number of landscape cards), and ramping 2 is no joke – kind of like a vulnerable Worn Powerstone.  It’s likely better than our non-2 mana cards that we have in Simic.  Good shout.  🙂

Neveron – I’ve been a fan of Palladium Myr ever since I first started in New Phyrexia, and this being a 1/3 is probably preferable for a utility creature like this. Maybe ramp can actually be a proper archetype, with the increase in quality we’ve seen in the more expensive cards?

Omniczech – I think this was one of the first official reveals and I’d almost forgotten how much text they crammed onto this card. If you squint this is some sort of 2 mana 4/5,  weird ramp option, go wide, whatever. I think this one’s fun and will do good things in the cube.

Usman – anyone remember Erhnam and Burn Em?  I’ll definitely take a common RG Erhnam that can potentially burst out a big thing later, if need be and is likely the card in our Gruul section, not counting things we’re not running like Orcish Lumberback.  Another example of what I definitely want our green threats to be; big, having some kind of utility if it dies and some potential long-term game potential while being perfectly serviceable if not.  Honestly, this likely even gets there even outside of purely pauper cubes (I’m going to slot it into my Legacy-lite cube) because the rate is just absurd.

Neveron – There’s a whole lot of options with this one, I think. It’s even got that surprise Reach awkwardly jammed in the middle of the textbox.

Solset – We all know it is great. It has the highest win rate of any MH3 common in early testing and may ruin the format.  Green Red options are some weaker ones too, so this is such an easy include.  It really hits so many archetypes with fun interactions that I am rethinking if I want uncommons in my heretic mutation.

Phizzled – Without the support of additional eldrazi, this might merely be excellent and nigh-unstoppable rather than limited-warping.  I forgot this had reach until prerelease weekend, at which point, yeah, this is likely better at getting your Gruul deck to the end-game and/or killing any incidental flying threats than our current crop of gold utility spells.

Colorless

The “Landscape” Cycle

Phizzled – I’ve been wanting slow fetches in pauper for more than a decade.  These are not Bad River et al, but they are elegant and even the cycling costs help show drafters the colors they fetch.  My biggest wonder is if these would add too many lands to the Pauper Cube, or if, perhaps, the elegant choice is to add a subset, or none at all.

Usman – I agree that these may end up being more a question of how many, what changes do we make to the overall cube if we include these rather than solely a “is this good enough” question.  I’m unsure how often the cycling will matter but being a 2024-power level Panorama is certainly good enough anyway, but it may just be enough to push some lands that were arguably close enough anyway to get there.

Neveron – I suspect that the “correct” answer is to just add all ten of them and leave it at that. They play just fine in two-color decks – in fact, in a lot of cases they’re just better Evolving Wilds. If we were to add a subset, though, it’s worth remembering that the shards (e.g. GWU Bant) mostly empower allied color combinations while the wedges (e.g. URW Jeskai) mostly empower enemy colors.

Solset – I think bounce lands and the scry/draw lands create a better environment than these, so for me they would either need to replace the current uneven third cycle completely, partially, or be a fourth cycle.  I am fairly certain that we do not want to go up 10 more lands in a  450, so would we cut the “fun” uneven cycle right as we added it or figure out some way that these take up a few of the guildlands in colors that tend to splash?