Limited

Crashing the Cube

Hello everyone and welcome to my review of Gatecrash for Cube formats! I realize I dropped off the face of the earth since my last article, so I’ll re-introduce myself. My name is Elliot Raff, or egooglegon on both Twitter and Magic Online, and I am a Level 2 Judge and cube enthusiast from Boston, MA.

Now, I’m going to come right out and say it, cube fans: Return to Ravnica this set is not. Gatecrash; however, does bring plenty of cube goodies if you know where to look. Whether you like battling with the team, evolving your mutant creations, or just dealing in some good, clean extortion, Gatecrash delivers. (Hint as to which I prefer: FOR THE COMBINE!!!)

Let’s get to it!

White

[card]Blind Obedience[/card]

Frankly, I am flummoxed by how to evaluate this card. I want to dismiss it as a cute card that probably doesn’t do anything, but as a two-drop enchantment with extort, Blind Obedience could be a versatile tool for aggro and control strategies alike. Having your opponent’s creatures come into play tapped is probably a much stronger tool for weenie decks, but those same decks probably won’t be able to use extort to its fullest extent most of the time, focusing more on a solid curve that grows exponentially more powerful. As an enchantment, it is generally hard to remove, and can provide some significant late-game reach. In the control decks, the extort mechanic can help you stay alive against the faster decks, but I can’t really remember times that, as a control player, I have had open mana to try to deal with the faster deck’s shenanigans. It does do a good job of shutting off cards like [card]Hellspark Elemental[/card], but is that enough? I’m going to be testing this in my powered cube, but it is going to be watched extremely closely.

[card]Court Street Denizen[/card]

As a 2/2 for 2W, this seems pretty unimpressive outside of Gatecrash Limited. I really like her, however, in common/uncommon cubes. As a huge proponent of white-based tempo strategies in such cubes, having all my guys tap down your blockers is pretty insane. Court Street Denizen not only rewards you for curving out, it provides some great reach. I can’t wait for the first time that I cast [card]Spectral Procession[/card] on Court Street. A solid test in C/U cubes.

[card]Frontline Medic[/card]

And the award for “Biggest Flavor-Fail” goes to…
Yeah, you guessed it. It’s this guy. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen a Medic that can tangle with the likes of a [card]Trained Armodon[/card], but if you have, can you point me in his direction immediately? Unfortunately for the most battle-savvy doctor I’ve seen outside of Team Fortress 2, the competition at the three-drop slot is pretty stiff, and being simply efficient doesn’t really cut it when you compare him to [card]Blade Splicer[/card], [card]Silverblade Paladin[/card], [card]Flickerwisp[/card] and [card]Mirror Entity[/card]. He does deliver quite a beatdown when you enlist the battalion, but his secondary ability doesn’t do much in cubes.  I might test him in 720 card cubes, but ultimately he doesn’t really get there in most powered environments.

[card]Syndic of Tithes[/card]

There has been an awful lot of hype about this Extort-Bear for cube, but frankly, I don’t agree. The strength of the White Weenie strategy in the cube is a strong curve with efficient, evasive creatures that rule in the red zone. I don’t remember ever being happy with a 2/2 for 2 without first strike in my cube. The extort mechanic, though potentially quite strong, isn’t at its best on an easily-removed bear that really doesn’t fit into powered archetypes. This guy, however, should be quite good in pauper and C/U cubes.

Blue

[card]Cloudfin Raptor[/card]

Now this is a card I can get excited about! I’m not sure if he’ll make a splash in powered cubes, but a one-drop flier that progressively gets larger and rewards you for drafting a midrange/tempo based curve is a win in my book. I would snap-include this in any C/U cubes, and test it with an eye towards inclusion in those with rares.

[card]Hands of Binding[/card]

And they said I couldn’t play [card]Tamiyo, the Moon Sage[/card] in C/U cubes…

Perhaps it is the tempo mage in me, but I do love this card for C/U. It’s normally below the power curve as a one-shot effect, but cipher is an interesting mechanic that could easily push this card over the top. Putting this on any evasive creature, like [card]Looter il-Kor[/card] or [card]Cloudfin Raptor[/card], means that the damage will continually flow through. Mix and match with the occasional counterspell or [card]Man-o’-War[/card] and enjoy the beatdowns.

[card]Simic Manipulator[/card]

I’ve seen some discussion about this guy, but let me quell that noise right now… I don’t think I would ever be excited to cast this guy. He’s a three-drop, in blue, that doesn’t make an immediate impact on the board and also requires other creatures to make it remotely good. [card]Old Man of the Sea[/card] is a much, much better card, even if he gives the creature back upon death.  In general, cards that require other cards to make them do, well, anything, don’t really make the cut in the most powered environment in Magic.

[card]Spell Rupture[/card]

This card has the exact same problem as [card]Simic Manipulator[/card]. A two-drop counterspell has to actually counter something on turn two. This is what makes [card]Mana Leak[/card] and [card]Miscalculation[/card] so good.  Not only does this probably not counter spells in the early game, it might not be able to stop meaningful action late, either. Not to mention that it’s probably a bad thing when your counterspell can, in turn, be countered by a generic removal spell on your biggest guy. Might see a fair amount of play in Constructed, but this shouldn’t make it into any cube.

[card]Stolen Identity[/card]

This card is pretty intriguing. While there is no doubt that Clone effects are powerful, and ones that can copy artifacts are doubly fun, this one has some considerable drawbacks. For starters, this costs a whopping six mana. The last cube clone that cost 6 was [card]Spitting Image[/card], and that was repeatable any time you had six mana floating around and a land in your hand.  Stolen Identity requires a little more work to make it take over the game (see: hitting people in the face is hard), and it does not deal with hexproof monsters like actual Clone creatures do. It’s possible that this could be worth the investment, but on the face of it, the drawbacks are a little too much to overcome. I’d test it in large cubes, but that’s about it.

Black

[card]Crypt Ghast[/card]/[card]Thrull Parasite[/card]

I’m covering both of these cards together because I think they have the same fatal flaw. For all the power that Crypt Ghast has, I just can’t get around the fact that it is a 2/2 for four mana that does a whole lot of nothing when it hits play. There will always be that time when you hit this on turn four, and then hardcast that [card]Griselbrand[/card] that was sitting in your hand, but more often than not all that this ghost will do is make sure that you can pay for extort whenever you like. Thrull Parasite has the same issue, as its ability, while sometimes relevant, is largely not going to matter. It is simply a 1/1 for one with a drain effect.

Extort, in a powered cube, just seems thoroughly underwhelming to me. Games, in my experience, are won by powerful strategies and swingy cards the vast majority of the time, and extort not only does not provide those things, but actually loses to them most of the time. Not only that, but the mechanic violates a personal view of mine when it comes to cube: it needs a lot of other things to go right to be effective. Casting one spell that extorts someone just isn’t exciting, and that is what is going to happen a lot of the time, or it will just be ignored entirely.

[card]Shadow Alley Denizen[/card]

This card is a lot like Court Alley Denizen, except most of the time she will be far, far better. She reminds me a lot of [card]Intimidator Initiate[/card] in Shadowmoor, except this doesn’t require you to pay mana to make your opponent’s creatures next to useless on the defensive. Intimidate, most of the time, will be a much more powerful ability than tapping down a creature, and this comes down on turn one. An auto-include for any C/U cubes that support aggressive black strategies.

Red

[card]Skullcrack[/card]

Unfortunately, whereas red got a ton of cards to talk about in the first set of this block, this time we really only have one worth discussing. In the past, [card]Flames of the Blood Hand[/card] was a cube staple.  Then the creatures got better, and red needed to adapt. Flames left my cube, and those of many I know. Skullcrack is Flames 2.0. If you still are a disciple of the Blood Hand, this is a pretty easy swap. The life gain prevention was always the most important part of that spell, so trading one damage for one mana is a really good deal. I won’t be including this in my cube, but that is because I like my red spells to be able to burn down blockers with impunity.

Green

[card]Experiment One[/card]

Although green aggro has lost a lot of the support it once had, if you still support it, this little Human Ooze is a lock to be included. I love evolve because it rewards a strong curve, and no creature exemplifies that idea better than this. Playing this guy on turn one and going up the curve from there quickly turns this guy into an absolute monster that dodges most red and black removal. Creatures on turn two and three make sure that he outgrows any white weenie that may be trying to get through. An all-star in C/U cubes and a fantastic addition to powered lists.

[card]Gyre Sage[/card]

This reminds me a lot of [card]Devoted Druid[/card]. The problem I have with Gyre Sage is that, unlike the Druid, she requires work to produce mana, and, contrary to the evolve mechanic, doesn’t reward you too much because she wants you to skip spots on the curve. Presumably that means you are triggering evolve more often, but I can’t imagine that she would grow too much before you are just trying to win with that seven-drop. Except, in order to cast it, you also had to hit your three and four…

Gyre Sage may be worth testing if you have a strong ramp component, but it seems to me she is best in midrange decks with a powerfully high top end. I’m not sure she’s worth it.

Multicolor

Boros

[card]Aurelia, the Warleader[/card]

I’m not sold on the newest Boros guild leader. An additional combat phase every turn, while very powerful, isn’t that appealing when she can be blocked by a large black or blue flier and be killed the first time.  4 toughness just isn’t a lot in cube, especially when she gets gunned down in the first combat step, or even before it. I would possibly test her in 720 card cubes with a large multicolor section, but there are plenty of R/W cards that outclass her.

[card]Aurelia’s Fury[/card]

Now THIS is a card for cube! You like [card]Rolling Thunder[/card], you say? Well, we’ve got just the card for you! Tap down your opponent’s field while you’re at it! And quick, if you order within the next ten minutes, we’ll throw in no nasty non-creatures from your opponents and we’ll upgrade it to instant speed AT NO ADDITIONAL COST TO YOU! Order now!
This card is just fantastic. Cast it early, late, whenever you like! It will probably just win you the game more often than not.

[card]Boros Charm[/card]

This card haunts my nightmares. Certain to be a cube staple from the instant it’s printed until the Mayan Apocalypse actually happens, this is just the tool that Boros needed. Control deck tries to wrath you? No, thanks, my guys like living. Have a gigantic beater or just a man equipped with a Sword? Take double, please. Finally, for those times when you just can’t finish off your opponent, here’s four to the dome. This card does everything R/W wants, and more. Include, include, include.

[card]Boros Reckoner[/card]

When this card was spoiled, I was originally pretty excited. Then I thought about the card a little more, and got less excited. Then I conferred with Justin Parnell and the trap was clear. Not only is this a hybrid card that can pretty much only be cast when you are both of the colors, but it is a 3 drop that makes no immediate impact on the board and does not have haste. There’s plenty of removal that deals with it without punishment, and ultimately, it will just be a disappointment. Leave it on the sidelines.

[card]Firemane Avenger[/card]

Okay, let’s see what we have here. 4 mana, 3/3 flying. Good start. Rewards you for attacking with a team… okay, moving on… WAIT. WHAT. [card]LIGHTNING HELIX[/card]? EVERY TIME I ATTACK WITH 3 GUYS? Yeah, this card is pretty insane. Helix Angel should be an easy inclusion in all but the smallest cubes.

[card]Sunhome Guildmage[/card]

This card gives some much needed support to R/W in commons/uncommons cubes. It has great applications, both in the early game by pumping your squad and late by creating bodies. Every deck you can imagine playing both red and white in, this 2/2 for two is one of the better cards you can have. It is probably too slow to take it to the cubes with rares, but it will be outstanding in C/U.

Dimir

[card]Dimir Charm[/card]

Dimir Charm is a card that I’ve waffled on a lot. I’m absolutely certain it’s fantastic in C/U, but for powered, it’s a tossup in my mind. All of its effects are narrow, but they all of them come in handy during cube games. [card]Envelop[/card] is an effect that you will certainly love to have when facing down a [card]Mizzium Mortars[/card] or a [card]Cruel Ultimatum[/card], but it won’t be relevant in every matchup. On the other hand, I can think of no end of 2-or-less power guys that you will want to blow up, and that will certainly be the mode that is most applicable. The final mode (Look at the top three cards of target player’s library, then put one back and the rest into that player’s graveyard.) is a strange one, but it is quite good in cube. It digs for what you want while getting rid of what you don’t, and, if you are ahead, it works very nicely as a dead draw step for your opponent. Chances are that this card will grow on me the more I play with it, and it should at least be tested in cubes of all rarities and sizes.

[card]Duskmantle Seer[/card]

This card is, in my opinion, not only the best Dimir card in the set for cube, but also just the best card for Dimir in the set. It is best used in tempo strategies as an incredibly efficient finisher that also happens to deal your opponent bonus damage (most of the time) on your upkeep. I’ve heard people say that his ability is a downside… but some people said that about [card]Goblin Guide[/card] originally, too. This should be an auto-include in most cubes, especially compared to the trap that is…

[card]Lazav, Dimir Mastermind[/card]

The story when this shadowmaster was spoiled is actually the reverse of what happened with Duskmantle Seer. Immediately, Twitter blew up, saying how nuts Lazav was, especially in cube. I was unimpressed with him then, and I’m less impressed now. While you always have the option to make him into something your opponent controls, that creature actually needs to hit the bin for Lazav to be anything more than an extremely hard to cast [card]Primal Huntbeast[/card]. It does copy guys put into the yard from anywhere, but I can’t really remember the last time I saw mill be an effective strategy in cube apart from cards that win the game on their own anyways, like [card]Jace, Memory Adept[/card] or [card]Sword of Body and Mind[/card].

PSA: Do not, under any circumstances, run Jace, Memory Adept in cube. If you do, cut it. It’s not fun and it just ends the game.

[card]Soul Ransom[/card]

Friends don’t let friends run punisher effects in cube. Say it with me, sports fans! Giving your opponents options is never a good thing. Soul Ransom is no exception. Controlling a guy might seem glamorous, but really, this is not an effect you want in cube. Discarding cards might even be good for your opponent! Reanimator is a strategy, you know.

Gruul

[card]Domri Rade[/card]

I want this card to be good. I really, really do. In G/R aggro, it is probably going to be extremely good. It draws you cards (if they’re creatures), and removes blockers, all for the low, low cost of three mana. So far, each three mana planeswalker has been a cube standout. Domri Rade should be no exception. The ultimate is going to be very hard to get to, but you shouldn’t need it. Think of him as a R/G [card]Jace Beleren[/card] in the right deck.

[card]Ghor-Clan Rampager[/card]

This guy is an absolute monster. 4/4 trample for 2RG is already well above the curve, and he happens to be an uncounterable [card]Colossal Might[/card] when you want him to be. He might not be [card]Bloodbraid Elf[/card] or even [card]Boggart Ram-Gang[/card], but he is pretty much an auto-lock for C/U cubes and should be very strong in powered environments. Try beating this guy on turn one off a [card]Black Lotus[/card]. Hint: It’s hard.

Orzhov

[card]Gift of Orzhova[/card]

This enchantment is an absolute beating. Castable by black or white decks, gives evasion and also wins races like nobody’s business. It is a little too weak to get there in most rare cubes, save maybe for extremely large ones, but any guy wearing this in C/U cubes should be shot down immediately. Quite the gift from the Orzhov Syndicate, indeed.

[card]Obzedat, Ghost Council[/card]

I know I’m not going to say a whole lot about this card that hasn’t already been said, so here is the obvious: Just play this card. It comes in, drains life, blinks out every turn and still hits for 5? Sign me up! It dodges most black removal, all sorcery speed removal, and if you think the Red deck can beat this grouping of undead souls once it arrives, then think again. The Ghost Council is back and better than ever, and they want you to join them.

[card]One Thousand Lashes[/card]

[card]Pillory of the Sleepless[/card] got quite the upgrade, both in flavor and ability! Seems like a pretty straightforward swap in C/U lists. Nobody ever complained about [card]Arrest[/card] or [card]Faith’s Fetters[/card], so having one that bleeds out your opponent is quite welcome.

[card]Orzhov Charm[/card]

This charm, while undeniably powerful, is a bit too narrow for my taste in powered cubes. The most utilized mode is sure to be the one that destroys a creature, but both colors already have access to far superior removal options. Auras generally aren’t a supported archetype in most cubes, so I doubt the first mode will see much action. The last mode, while sometimes relevant, will most times simply be returning some 2-power guy or possibly a mana elf. I’m sure it has more applications in C/U lists, where I’ve found Auras to be more prevalent, and that’s where I’d leave it for now.

Simic

[card]Biomass Mutation[/card]

While easily being the card that makes me cringe for Limited in this set, Biomass Mutation probably isn’t what we’re looking for in terms of cube power. [card]Mirror Entity[/card] is fantastic… but this is not Mirror Entity. A Mutation on 4 will probably end the game, but that requires 6 mana and no return tricks from our opponents. I’m not looking forward to knowing this card is in the format for Gatecrash Limited, and it shouldn’t really be included in most cubes either.

[card]Elusive Krasis[/card]

I love literally everything about this card’s design. It comes down, blocks a few times, gets bigger with pretty much every creature you play for the next few turns, and then turns into a giant, unblockable threat. I look forward to smashing all kinds of face with this, both in Limited and in C/U cubes.

[card]Prime Speaker Zegana[/card]

SPEAK, HANDS, FOR ME!

Otherwise known as “Elliot Raff’s Heart and Soul”, I can’t recommend Prime Speaker highly enough for your cube. At first, I was unsure where she would have a spot, but then I remembered that she rewards you for playing green, and is an amazing source of card advantage. The first time I cast this card in a test game, I drew 9 off of [card]Wolfir Silverheart[/card] (stacking triggers is the bee’s knees). My life was changed that day. Please, for your own well-being, welcome the Combine into your hearts… and your DNA. We need it. How else do you think we generate [card]Experiment One[/card]?

Well, folks, that concludes the Gatecrash cube review. While it might now be quite as high-octane as Return to Ravnica, the second set in the block certainly has provided us with some gems in its own right. If you would like to discuss cube (or Commander!) with me, drop me a line at earaff@bu.edu or find me on Twitter @egooglegon. I’ll also be working many, many PTQs in New England in the next few weeks, as well as SCG Weekend in Edison, NJ and Grand Prix Charlotte. Please, come say hi!

Have fun and keep cubing,

Elliot Raff

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