Hello all! My name is Elliot Raff, or egooglegon on both Twitter and MTGO, and I am a cube enthusiast from Boston, MA. I have a few good finishes to my name at events, but my true passion is Cube. I have been assembling mine for almost five years now, and I love it more and more each day.

In this article, I will be reviewing the multicolor cards from Return to Ravnica.

Multicolor

[card]Abrupt Decay[/card]

I don’t think that I am going to break any new ground here, so I’ll just state the obvious: Play this card. SuperSmother/Few-trefy hits a lot of extremely good permanents in the cube, and the fact that it can’t be countered is an edge that BG decks certainly need in a cube environment. Control decks love to have this as a way to blow up early threats, and midrange strategies are gaining a fantastic tool that can blow up anything from [card]Crystal Shard[/card] to [card]Liliana of the Veil[/card]. I’m going to try to find a way to keep both this and Putrefy around if I can, but BG is getting some major upgrades from Return to Ravnica.

[card]Armada Wurm[/card]

Six mana, ten power, all of it tramples. I’d say this card is playable in cube! A restrictive mana cost, to be sure, but the reward is well worth it. This card will come down and win the game more often than not, and the fact that it is resistant to spot removal makes it exactly the kind of card we want to be casting at six mana. A top-tier finisher for midrange decks, as the GG mana cost will most likely be too prohibitive for most control lists.

[card]Call of the Conclave[/card]

I wouldn’t play this in rare cubes, but it might see some play in C/U lists. Given the propensity to bounce permanents in C/U, though, I’d sooner stick with [card]Watchwolf[/card].

[card]Centaur Healer[/card]

This is an interesting card for C/U cubes. Efficient body, decent ETB effect, all the hallmarks of a solid card in cube. In G/W, however, it’s competing with cards like [card]Fleetfoot Panther[/card] and [card]Kitchen Finks[/card]… and this is no [card]Kitchen Finks[/card]. It has a solid place in Pauper, but compares unfavorably to Finks above that.

[card]Detention Sphere[/card]

Now this is a card I can get excited about! It isn’t remarkably innovative, true, but Pulse-O’-Ring is solid removal and a great tool against token strategies. At three mana, this is a fantastic catch-all that should be auto-included in the majority of cubes. Play it in control, aggro, tempo, whatever… Just play it.

[card]Dreadbore[/card]

This is pretty much an auto-include in cubes, as it presents a unique effect on a remarkably efficient spell that all types of strategies are glad to have. Jund, Grixis, splash one of the colors, fine, just be sure this card is in your pool. Two mana to pull a planeswalker off the board, regardless of loyalty, is an effect cubes everywhere are glad to have, even if it is at a restrictive mana cost.

[card]Dreg Mangler[/card]

Dreg Mangler is undoubtedly a very powerful card. It is one, however, that I do not think is powerful enough to be included in rare cubes. It is very much like [card]Boggart Ram-Gang[/card], true; except that Ram-Gang is in colors that benefit greatly from having a 3/3 with haste. If your rare cube supports black/green aggro, then by all means include it, but it will be staying out of my list for now. This card, however, is very strong in C/U cubes and should be close to a lock to be put into those.

[card]Dryad Militant[/card]

This little [card]Savannah Lions[/card] is the real deal. I wouldn’t feel too confident including him in G/U or W/U tempo strategies, but almost every aggro deck will love this guy. He’s already been included in the Magic Online Cube, and if your multicolor section isn’t too small, you should be able to find room for the hardest-hitting Dryad in quite a while.

[card]Grisly Salvage[/card]

Does your cube support Reanimator? Then do I have a treat for you. [card]Grisly Salvage[/card] is a fantastic selection card, getting you either a land or a creature while dumping four cards into the bin. I wouldn’t include it in your cube unless you like cheating large monsters into play, but it is exceptionally good what it does.

[card]Hellhole Flailer[/card]

I love this guy for C/U cubes. A 4/3 for three is pretty efficient, and the fact that he can help finish off your opponent if he gets outclassed means that he should be included in most lists. Mix with pump spells at your leisure and serve directly to the face.

[card]Izzet Charm[/card]

Izzet Charm is a fantastically versatile card. Each role is playable in the cube, and the fact that they are all on one card is just gravy. Kill a guy, counter a haymaker or fix your hand? Yes please! I will be picking up this card with reckless abandon and playing it almost every chance I get. If your cube still plays [card]Isochron Scepter[/card], I can’t think of many better things to stick on it. A must-have for cubes of all types.

[card]Lotleth Troll[/card]

Oh man, now we are getting to the heavy hitters. LOL THE TROLL is sure to be a cube staple for a long time to come. He is a 2/1 that fights off removal, acts as a Reanimator enabler, and even tramples over blockers for good measure. Draft him highly in Reanimator strategies, because he is the best enabler you’re likely to see and can definitely go the distance if you need him too. He isn’t half bad at holding off aggressive decks either.

[card]Lyev Skyknight[/card]

I am a big fan of [card]Lyev Skyknight[/card]. While I don’t think it quite gets there in powered cubes, due to cards like [card]Geist of Saint Traft[/card], it is a great inclusion in C/U lists. An aggressive, flying body that locks down a guy for a turn and is a live draw at basically any point in the game is never a bad thing.

[card]Rakdos Cackler[/card]

Who doesn’t love 2/2’s for 1? Not only does this guy win the award for cutest 1-drop to ever smash your face in with impunity, the hybrid mana cost is a fantastic boon if your cube supports black-based aggro. It is something is slowly being phased out of most cubes, but even if he is a pseudo [card]Goblin Guide[/card], he is still well above the power curve. Include him in any cube that will have him.

[card]Rakdos Shred-Freak[/card]

This card is pretty sweet. Initially, I was underwhelmed, but after some testing, I’ve come around. He might not be able to make the cut in the very competitive slot of R/B, but I would try extremely had to fit him in as a RR 2/1 with haste. Red aggro decks always want this kind of card going around the table, and I can see him shredding an awful lot of face.

[card]Selesnya Charm[/card]

This is the other Charm I will be including in my cube. A good combat trick (trample pushes it over the top), a relevant removal spell against most decks that exiles the creature, which is always relevant, and, at absolute worst, it is Flashcoat Bear with vigilance. This card is very strong, and should see play in a variety of cubes. I could see this being slightly weaker in C/U cubes, as the exile a large man clause could be underutilized, but it is still a very good option.

[card]Supreme Verdict[/card]

I think I had to read this card exactly once before I realized it would be in my cube. [card]Day of Judgment[/card] is a very strong effect, and the fact that this card can’t be countered is a huge boon. If you are hurting to find a cut, I wouldn’t worry too much; after all, this is just another sweeper, but it is powerful. I could see a cube including this or not, and I don’t think it would make much difference. If you can find a cut for it, test it out.

[card]Vraska the Unseen[/card]

Oh, Vraska. To clarify a bit before I tell you my thoughts on this card, I may be a member of the Simic Combine at heart, but in cube, I am a devoted follower of the Golgari Swarm. I have been waiting for the GB planeswalker for years, and when I initially read Vraska, I was in love. Then, the more I got to know her, the less impressed I was.

Don’t get me wrong, I will be testing her out in cube with more people than my simulated games, but I feel like she is a lot worse than people think. Often, she would come in, blow up a permanent, and then sit there while she got destroyed by creatures or got outclassed by a hexproof monster.

Her first ability is next to useless if you are behind or if you don’t have action to follow her with, and her ultimate isn’t going to get you there a lot of the time either. I hope I’m wrong, I hope that she ends up being a lot better than I think she is, but right now, I would say include in larger cubes only and test in smaller ones.

With that, I conclude my review. I hope you are as excited about Return to Ravnica as I am! Feel free to contact me on Twitter (@egooglegon) and discuss any cards that I’ve listed here or overlooked! Also, as I am a working Judge, feel free to find me at the TCGPlayer Diamond 5k in Hartford, CT on the 6th, or at SCG Providence! I am always up for discussing Cube or a game of Commander!

Have fun and keep cubing!

Elliot Raff