Preview season just wrapped up and it's time to talk about the cards I'm looking at for my Possibility Cube!
In this post I'll be writing about all the cards from Midnight Hunt that people are talking about or should be talking about for an unpowered unrestricted cube environment in the context of my personal cube, the Possibility Cube. Later I will be doing the same thing for my Pauper Twobert and Tempo Twobert so check back for those! If you are unfamiliar with my cubes check out the first few posts of this blog where I give each of them a short primer.
Adeline, Resplendent Cathar
The Good: So this reads as a much more aggro-oriented Brimaz and may even play more like Goblin Rabblemaster since you can make a 1/1 the turn it comes in. The fact that Adeline triggers on any attack really makes the card for me. To continue the Rabblemaster comparison, each trigger also adds 2 power to the battlefield which we know can snowball you to a victory very fast. The fact that it can't be Bolted and plays defense is icing on the cake.
The Bad: I have actually been looking to cut Brimaz from my cube and this does have a lower floor. White 3-drops are very good right now in both aggression and disruption and there's enough of them that I might not need another.
The Verdict: Definitely worth testing, I'm not 100% sure it will perform but it could be very good. Considering I've been planning on cutting Brimaz I think I'll just make the easy swap.
Borrowed Time
The Good: This is Banishing Light. I still play Banishing Light and Oblivion Ring and think they are very good for the general 540 environment. Just good, easy to cast, splashable, unequivocal permanent removal.
The Bad: 3 mana is getting to be a lot if you're just looking to have creature removal. I really wish this could have been a Common because I'd love another for my Pauper cube!
The Verdict: I don't think I need a third one of these in my environment. If multiple of these show up in a draft, I see the second one go 15th a lot.
Brutal Cathar // Moonrage Brute
The Good: Awesome take on a Banisher Priest and one of the better ones for sure. If it flips, the Ward cost really makes it costly for the opponent to get their creature back and is a decent threat to boot. The ability to exile multiple creatures has marginal upside but also runs the risk of having too many eggs in one basket.
The Bad: I have the same problem with this as most people have with all Banisher Priest variants. The only one I run is Skyclave Apparition and that's because it gets rid of the thing permanently, I just don't think these effects are worth it otherwise.
The Verdict: Will not be testing, but I would not scoff at you for trying it.
Cathar Commando
The Good: The modality on this card is actually quite insane. This slots right in as an aggressively stat'd 2-drop that dodges sorcery speed removal before its first attack and has some utility later down the line. In addition to this it has relevant edge-cases outside the standard aggro deck, flash it in during combat to kill an attacking creature, play it as a 3-mana disenchant, or just add a threat to the board without having to tap out in your tempo deck.
The Bad: Looking at this purely for the white aggro deck, it's dangerously close to a vanilla 3/1 which by itself certainly doesn't cut it. I'd most certainly want Adanto Vanguard or Seasoned Hallowblade over this for their ability to grant themselves indestructible, without that the 1 toughness just gets this thing walled too easily.
The Verdict: There's a lot to like about this card, I'm always worried I'm undervaluing modality and this certainly has it. This will be a hesitant test for me.
Fateful Absence
The Good: 2-mana instant speed unrestricted creature AND planeswalker removal? Yes please. Declaration in Stone has always been decent and this is just better. Planeswalkers have been becoming a larger and larger part of my environment and I'm glad we're getting cheap ways to remove them, Hero's Downfall just doesn't cut it anymore.
The Bad: Nothing to say here, I love this card.
The Verdict: Slam dunk, it's in. Will be cutting Declaration in Stone for it.
Intrepid Adversary
The Good: It's not hard to tell that this is a pushed card. As with Cathar Commando above, this is an aggressively stat'd 2-drop whose value stems from its modality. If Stonecoil Serpent has taught me anything it's that on rate curve fillers are extremely beneficial for the monocolored aggro decks.
The Bad: My problem with this card is how fragile it is. Most every game this is going to be a 2-drop or a 4-drop and both modes have this trading down hard. If it can't attack, it's just an easy to remove Glorious Anthem that costs an additional mana. I feel like I'm looking at 2 meh deals that compare unfavorably to my current 2-drops and 4-drops.
The Verdict: I actually think I'm going to pass on this one, I will however be keeping my eye out for how it performs elsewhere, modality is a powerful thing and I could be underestimating this one.
Sigardian Savior
The Good: Really nice to curve into in a game where your opponent is trading his 1 for 1 removal with your cheap threats. Worst case you get 2 Savannah Lions back and that's 7 power across 3 bodies for 5 mana.
The Bad: At 5 mana I really think it needs more of a guaranteed impact. While it's great at playing catchup, pushing your advantage is often what mono-white decks are looking to curve into. It also makes me sad you can't get cute with Ephemerate on this one.
The Verdict: I'll be passing on this one, I only run 3 5-drops in white currently and I'm not especially looking for another.
Sungold Sentinel
The Good: Wow this is our third promising aggressive white 2-drop and the thing I'm very excited to see is that 2nd point of toughness. A 3/2 for 2 are impressive stats, in fact this is the first mono-white one we've gotten that can attack by itself! Graveyard hate is also something I love to see on a maindeckable card as I try not to run purely sideboard cards. The active is quite attractive but I'm unsure if Coven will be online enough for it to really matter.
The Bad: While definitely impressive initial stats, like the other 2-drops we've seen this card is quite close to a vanilla creature and that means it gets stalled by your opponents creatures pretty quickly. All my current creatures in this slot have ways to push their damage through.
The Verdict: I will be testing this, however, I would not be surprised if it gets cut for being unable to push damage through.
Consider
The Good: This card is great and for my purposes a strict upgrade over Opt. One mana cantrips are high picks for blue and this is one of the better ones.
The Bad: Nothing bad to say here.
The Verdict: Slam dunk, I'm running it.
Memory Deluge
The Good: Looks like Fact or Fiction and Dig Through Time had a love child and those are both very powerful cards. Getting your choice of 2 from the top 4 of your library is a very powerful effect for 4 mana. Like Fact or Fiction, holding up counter magic mana with the option to cast this at the end of your opponents turn can be game winning in itself. And then should the game go on longer, you gain access to the more expensive yet more powerful flashback.
The Bad: My only complaint about this card is the double blue pips in the mana cost. This makes it much less splashable than Fact or Fiction and makes it more exclusive to control style decks. The card also doesn't fill your graveyard like Fact or Fiction but you could consider that a lateral change in power rather than a downgrade.
The Verdict: I want to test this, however I'm currently happy with my only blue instants at 4 mana being Fact or Fiction and Cryptic Command so I'm not sure what I'll cut for it. At any rate I believe this to be a perfectly reasonable include if you need to fill the slot.
Poppet Stitcher // Poppet Factory
The Good: As we've seen with our fairly new Sedgemoor Witch, a 3-mana engine that generates a body for each instant/sorcery cast can be a lot of value. This particular version has the potential to flip and turn your generated tokens into real threats.
The Bad: Decayed tokens are just bad... like really bad. With these types of token generators the primary use for the tokens are often to be on chump duty, get in when you can for free, then back on chump duty. This card seems like a trap to me, if you're looking for a mono-blue 3-drop that generates tokens, Saheeli, Sublime Artificer is a way better choice.
The Verdict: Actively bad in my cube, not testing.
Spectral Adversary
The Good: A 2-mana 2/1 with Flash and Flying is fairly impressive on rate and it's a scaling threat in the late game. This reads to me like Flickerwisp, but for 1 more mana you can cast it at instant speed. I imagine the main mode will be a 4-drop but the 2-drop mode definitely has its place in my cube to enable Ninjutsu creatures. I like the scaling on this one a lot better than the white adversary because not only is it evasive, but also scales in its ability to push other attackers through.
The Bad: The tempo advantage you get from the ability is very quick to be refunded to the opponent. Phased out for a single turn and then it's back, opponent doesn't need to cast it again or anything and unlike Flickerwisp, this has no potential to kill tokens nor any ability to retrigger an ETB.
The Verdict: Another hesitant test for me, I can see the lines and play patterns in my head, but am unsure how they will play out in a real game.
Suspicious Stowaway // Seafaring Werewolf
The Good: I am a huge champion of Looter il-Kor and wow was I surprised to get an almost strict upgrade. Looting every turn can be a great way to smooth out your draw while also acting as an enabler for reanimator strategies. The fact that this can sometimes hit in for 2 and provide card advantage is all gravy.
The Bad: I've always been a fan of Looter il-Kor and it is my partner's literal favorite card, would be sad to see it replaced as I'm unsure I need 2 of them. One thing il-Kor has on this guy is that in a reanimator shell, you probably don't actually want the card to flip.
The Verdict: I will be running this card. It smoothes out your draw, enables reanimator, and can turn into card advantage, count me in.
Champion of the Perished
The Good: A solid one drop if you're supporting black aggro. You're working with a lot of other 1-drop zombies so it shouldn't be hard to make this a black Isamaru. Works well with Gravecrawler too.
The Bad: Does require specifically the black aggro deck with zombie 1-drops. If you don't have that density this simply won't be very good.
The Verdict: I will not be running this card, my black section is more suited towards aristocrats and my zombie density just isn't there.
Graveyard Trespasser // Graveyard Glutton
The Good: Another on-rate body with graveyard hate stapled on and this one has some protection for itself. Both the potential to drain and flip into a 4/4 means this could possibly be a pretty good threat.
The Bad: The Ward ability is really the only reason this can be considered and if the graveyard hate is irrelevant this seems too underpowered.
The Verdict: I have better threats to run at 3 in black and the utility on this isn't good enough to make me want it.
Infernal Grasp
The Good: We finally got it, the unrestricted Doom Blade! If your cube is running Doom Blades this is the best one.
The Bad: Nothing to say here.
The Verdict: Another slam dunk, it's in!
Jadar, Ghoulcaller of Nephalia
The Good: This card reads almost like a 2-mana Ophiomancer and that card's a house. The fact that the first trigger is on your end step means your opponent can't untap and kill it before it gets you value. While decayed tokens are bad, in black you often use your tokens as sacrifice fodder and that would be Jadar's main use as an engine.
The Bad: Unlike Ophiomancer this card is restricted to really only the aristocrats deck. While a 2 mana investment for a body every turn is quite good in that deck, I recently cut Dreadhorde Invasion for not doing enough outside that use case and this seems like an easier to remove version of that card.
The Verdict: While I do run the aristocrats deck in my cube, I will be passing on Jadar. Like I said I cut Dreadhorde Invasion recently and if that doesn't cut it I don't think this will.
The Meathook Massacre
The Good: An inefficient yet scalable board wipe that doubles as another Blood Artist effect. I recently cut Bastion of Remembrance because 3 mana for a Blood Artist effect was too much with only a 1/1 for upside, the fact you can play this card as a 2 mana enchantment makes me want to try it out.
The Bad: I try to avoid cards that only go in a single deck and I already run a couple for aristocrats. With that in mind I also don't expressly need more support as the deck does really well in my cube currently.
The Verdict: I'm going to test it, I really like the support it gives to aristocrats while being modal enough that other decks may want it. I also love the name and the art.
Slaughter Specialist
The Good: Very attractive stats at 2 mana and has the potential to grow.
The Bad: I'm personally not in the market for what is essentially an over rate vanilla creature unless it's super over rate. It's possible Tarmogoyf shouldn't even be in my cube anymore. The vanilla stats monster I want costs 1 more mana and is a 7/6, that being, for the people not in the know, Rotting Regisaur.
The Verdict: I will not be running this card, I just don't think it does anything.
Tainted Adversary
The Good: As with all the cards in this cycle the rate here is amazing. A 2/3 Deathtouch is a wall of a 2-drop. That honestly could be good enough for some cubes, the scalability is just gravy.
The Bad: The scaling on this one is expensive and what you get isn't that much. I know I keep saying this but decayed zombies suck, even if you get quite a few of them. I really don't see myself ever wanting to cast this at 5 mana and going beyond that won't happen very often.
The Verdict: I'm going to pass on this one, I honestly like Mire Triton more, they both trade up and the self mill as an engine and the 2 life outweigh the ability to wall 2-power creatures.
Bloodthirsty Adversary
The Good: Now this is just 2 good deals. A 2-drop 2/2 with haste is serviceable and its 5-drop mode is essentially Goblin Dark-Dwellers which is certainly playable as the top end of a burn deck in cube. Like I said with the white adversary, a threat that smooths the curve is very powerful in the monocolored aggro deck.
The Bad: Considering I do not run Goblin Dark-Dwellers anymore, neither of these modes are good enough on their own. It's hard for me to judge this card against others because the others are obviously better, just less flexible.
The Verdict: Monored aggro is one of the best performing decks in my cube right now and it certainly doesn't need the help, but I think I'm going to try and find a cut to test this one. The 5-drop mode having haste makes me value it as a finisher more than I did Goblin Dark-Dwellers. I wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't stay though, like I said monored doesn't need the help and casting more interesting 2-drops and Dragons is more fun.
Falkenrath Pit Fighter
The Good: Now that's a Jackal Pup! A 2/1 for 1 with no downside and an upside that will be relevant should the game go on. This card is great.
The Bad: If I ask for much more we're getting into Ragavan territory.
The Verdict: Slam dunk include, I've been looking to replace Firedrinker Satyr for awhile now.
Light Up the Night
The Good: Probably the best Fireball variant for cubes just due to the fact that it's more efficient than all of them. Everyone remembers casting their Banefire for 2 mana to kill a 1 toughness creature, it never feels good and usually messes up your curve. The fact that this can bolt the bird on turn 1 is huge and the flashback can be relevant when you draw your Chandra later down the line.
The Bad: I don't run any Fireballs in my cube currently and I'm not sure if this is value enough to make me want to. I really really wish this dealt the extra damage to the face.
The Verdict: I won't be running this card, I probably would have tried if it was as efficient to the face as it is to creatures, but even then maybe not because of another card we'll see from this set that I'll be testing.
Moonveil Regent
The Good: A good threat that gets there on rate. The abilities are the exact type of abilities you want for your dump-your-hand red aggro decks, but interestingly enough they're scaled off being multi-colored. Could honestly be a reason to play Boros aggro. Honestly though this seems perfectly reasonable in a monored deck.
The Bad: Red 4-drops may be the most crowded section in cube for cards that are perfectly reasonable as aggro top end and it's not up there with the standouts.
The Verdict: I'm probably passing on this one even though I have some flex slots I could test it in. I wouldn't scoff at its inclusion yet wouldn't feel like it's missing if it's not there.
Play with Fire
The Good: This set is killing it with the early role players. I don't need to go on about the versatility of 1 mana burn spells that can hit any target. The big thing here is the scry 1 you get when this goes face. I really love Magma Jet as a role player for decks outside of mono red burn.
The Bad: The shock variants I run are Burst Lightning and Firebolt and those are both better than this. The fact that you get the scry when you go face instead of when you use it as removal makes it better in the burn deck, but I'm not drafting a card like Magma Jet to go face generally.
The Verdict: I want to test this, I don't know if I want to test it over Magma Jet or find another cut though. If you got the scry on the removal portion rather than the burn version it would be no contest, but it's hard to complain.
Reckless Stormseeker // Storm-Charged Slasher
The Good: A 3/3 Haste is a good rate and the potential to turn into a 5/4 with Trample down the line can be a lot of damage. The ability to give other creatures haste can have benefits in midrange shells or multicolored aggro, but I mostly see this as a red aggro 3-drop.
The Bad: 3-drops in red are stacked. I don't like this better than the Rabblemaster variants and my other red 3s are just a lot of value.
The Verdict: Pass for me, but could certainly make it in lower powered environments.
Augur of Autumn
The Good: I love getting to look at the top card of my library and getting those lands off the top is always great.
The Bad: I'm not convinced Coven is at all reliably achievable and without that ability it's just a worse Courser of Kruphix. Even with its card advantage ability, you're losing out on a lot over Courser, the extra toughness makes it a hell of a lot more survivable and the life gain can do a lot to sustain you.
The Verdict: I won't be testing this card, if I was it would not be as a replacement for Courser of Kruphix. I'm very happy with my green 3s right now and I wouldn't replace any with this.
Briarbridge Tracker
The Good: This set is full of creatures that do great on rate. A 3 mana 4/3 with Vigilance are good stats and you have the option the cash in some of its power for a card later on. With how prevalent tokens are in cubes nowadays you most likely won't even be shrinking him and the Clue token will be free.
The Bad: There are just better options, cards that provide better utility, card advantage, aggression, or a combination of the three can be found in this slot.
The Verdict: I'm sure this would play fine but I'm not planning on running it. I simply don't value it above anything I'm currently running.
Consuming Blob
The Good: Another 5-mana ooze that shoots out threats! Your opponent is generally going to have to kill this quick or they're gonna get run over.
The Bad: If this is just putting out vanilla 2/3s this seems fairly underwhelming and the fact it only looks at your graveyard means it'll do that more often than you'd like. That aside there are also just a couple of strict upgrades to be running over this card. Biogenic Ooze is my 5-drop of choice when it comes to a 1 card threat engine and Paradox Zone shows this up hard by being harder to remove and generating exponentially bigger vanilla threats.
The Verdict: Hard pass from me even though I'm all about those 5-mana oozes. Isn't threatening enough plain and simple.
Outland Liberator // Frenzied Trapbreaker
The Good: That backside is absolutely crazy for a 2 mana creature. Qasali Pridemage and Thrashing Brontodon type cards are certainly flexible playable cards that are quite nice to have in some environments.
The Bad: My problem with this card is that the backside feels like it's totally baiting you when the correct play will likely be to use this as a Reclamation Sage most of the time. I also just don't really value the 1-mana+Sacrifice to kill an artifact/enchantment highly in my cube.
The Verdict: I won't be testing this card but I think it's a nice option to have if you're looking for more creature based artifact/enchantment removal.
Primal Adversary
The Good: This is great rate for a 3-drop, I like the Trample here a lot better than the Vigilance on Briarbridge Tracker. Curving into something like this on turn 2 off your elf is exactly what the green stompy deck wants to do. The fact that it doubles as a 5-drop that puts 8 power into play is a lot of value. Since this is the green one in the cycle you will even see it cast for 8 mana now and then.
The Bad: My green decks tend to be more ramp than stompy and the threats you can cast get a lot better than this. While a great card I honestly don't think it would see much play.
The Verdict: I'm going to try and find a cut for this one, I do love the stompy deck and this could be some good support to see that deck more often.
Tovolar's Huntmaster // Tovolar's Packleader
The Good: I love this card so much. Grave Titan is one of the best 6-drops in cube and I always felt like green was missing something that could compete. Part of what makes Grave Titan great is that they need to remove it right away and if they do it leaves 4 power behind anyway and this card doesn't lose that. Additionally, this is actually the only Daybound/Nightbound card that it will be actively good for you to trigger the flip 90% of the time. You don't need more than this card to end the game so just hold your cards, attack with it, and pass, it even gives you an activated ability to use with your open mana, albeit it won't be relevant a lot of the time.
The Bad: I really don't think I could ask for more.
The Verdict: Another slam dunk from Midnight Hunt, get it in!
Arlinn, the Pack's Hope
The Good: I think I underestimated this one at first glance, the play patterns here are actually really powerful. A 4-mana planeswalker that generates 4 power over 2 creatures on its initial downtick is pretty good. Then, next turn, her +1 gives your creatures Flash and lets them enter slightly bigger (including tokens), so you just pass the turn and she flips!
The Bad: Gruul is pretty stacked in terms of playables and the cards also tend to have to compete with the straight monogreen cards for their places in decks. It's possible she just doesn't cut it.
The Verdict: I'm going to test this card, I have an easy cut in the completely serviceable Domri, Anarch of Bolas.
And that's a wrap! I'm sure I missed something but those were all the cards I've been considering or have seen others considering for a traditional unrestricted cube. Thanks a lot for reading, I'll be doing these every set! Check back later if you want to see my thoughts on cards I'm considering for my other cubes, my Pauper Twobert and my Tempo Twobert. This was an amazing set for cube.
