Another spoiler season passes and it's now 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 Streets of New Capenna 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. As always check back later when I look at some pauper inclusions for my Pauper Twobert. Lets go!
Depopulate
The Good: 4 mana is where you want to be for wraths and despite the similar downside of Shatter the Sky, that card has proven to be the better option over any 5-mana variant. If your cube needs white wrath #4 then this is generally going to be the one for you.
The Bad: Cube was waiting a long time for a third 2WW wrath and after Shatter the Sky was printed I never really felt a real need for a fourth, after Damn came around I've ran 4 for awhile and am thinking of going back to 3, in which case this does not get there.
The Verdict: Since Shatter the Sky is still in my cube this is an easy swap, but like I said it may get cut shortly to bring me back to 3 white wraths. It's worth noting you can get cute with Shatter the Sky and the Gideons, but in general I think this is better with the small amount of multicolored creatures generally running around in cubes.
Elspeth Resplendent
The Good: White has some good threats at 3cmc and with Elspeth's -3 looking 7 deep you're going to likely find a good one. The shield counter adding some extra resilience to that threat makes paying 5 mana for it not feel as bad if Elspeth eats removal. While the +1 requires board presence to do anything, adding damage and evasion to your threats over multiple turns can quickly snowball you to victory. If you can -3 -> +1 -> -3, you've probably won the game.
The Bad: This card has some really good planeswalkers competing with it, most of them a mana cheaper. This card is clearly aggressively poised, yet a lot of aggro decks end their curve at 4, the only 5-drops they see being the flash threats of Avacyn and Solitude.
The Verdict: I like this card and I love its art, unfortunately it's going to be a pass for me as it's just not powerful enough at 5 mana to want it over cheaper options.
Extraction Specialist
The Good: A 3/2 with Lifelink for 3 mana is a pretty decent rate, so if you maximize this cards full potential with a good 2-mana threat there's a lot of value here for cost.
The Bad: A 3/2 with Lifelink for 3 mana is not good enough on its own and you're not always going to have something in your graveyard to reanimate if you curve into this on turn 3. The fact that you don't get access to the threat you've reanimated until this is dead also means you may not realize value even if you have a target to reanimate. If your opponent wraths or simply kills it later in the game where a 2-cmc threat is too little too late, then this is again just a 3-mana 3/2.
The Verdict: This will be a pass for me, just too hard/long to realize the card's value. I'll also mention here that a lot of the cards in this set have been a miss for me in their pairing of flavor and function. Both the name and art of this card do not scream "bring something back to life" to me.
Inspiring Overseer
The Good: Now this is a card I was not expecting. Cloudkin Seer has been a great card in my cube since its printing and a white version is just another one for the UW blink theme. Inspiring Overseer can also easily slot into an aggressive white deck as a 2 for 1 threat. While not as aggressive as some other white 3-drops, 2 power in the air is good enough that it can't be ignored. If you drafted Bonesplitter or Grafted Wargear then a 2-power evasive creature that immediately replaces itself is likely better than any of the other options.
The Bad: Perhaps if you run a really tight white section for the fastest white wheenie deck, this probably wouldn't be among the absolute best 3-drops, but I'm honestly grasping for a downside to this card.
The Verdict: This is a slam dunk and I'm definitely going to be running this, maybe sideline Redaine for it. It's not going to be flashy or one of the best white cards or anything like that, but Phyrexian Rager with flying is just super solid, especially in this color.
Sanctuary Warden
The Good: While people aren't generally looking for 6-drop creatures in white, a 3-for-1 is a good place to start. A 5/5 flier will kill your opponent fast and this one comes with a bit of protection, a 1/1 token, and immediately replaces itself in your hand with the potential to do even more. If you're still on Sun Titan, he better get ready to move over.
The Bad: A big part of this card's playability is its ability to protect itself, if your opponent is running an exile effect or has a 1/1 Spirit token to chump the shield counter then this card gets a lot worse. At 6 mana the card really needs to do more than just replace itself with a drawn card.
The Verdict: I'm going to pass on this one. I currently only run one white 6-drop in Harmonious Archon and I like it better than this for the immediate board impact it has if it survives to combat. That being said this card has a slightly better floor and isn't as fragile.
All-Seeing Arbiter
The Good: Now that's a titan. Chart of Course is a very powerful ability to be on an ETB+Attack trigger. This card has a better floor than Consecrated Sphinx in the face of instant speed removal and also provides a faster clock. While the last ability will be variable in how effective it is, the fact that it lasts until your next turn makes it function similar to Frost Titan in removing an effective blocker/attacker.
The Bad: Honestly there's not much bad to say about this card, the only thing it has against it is that you don't want too many 6-drops in your cube and this may not be in the top 2. It's also worth noting the 4 toughness is a relevantly worse than 5 would have been, especially if you run a Wildfires deck.
The Verdict: I'm going to look for something to cut so I can test this one and I expect it to be really good in any cube that runs it. As much as it pains me to say, I may actually be cutting Torrential Gearhulk for this. Gearhulk is so good but lately it seems any sort of 6-mana reactive interaction just comes online too late into the game.
Make Disappear
The Good: Quench is Counterspell enough of the time that, while Quench doesn't make it, Quench+Upside generally does. Lose Focus is an example that very much does get there with its ability to spend a little more resources to make it the counter you're looking for and Make Disappear has that same kind of ability.
The Bad: In a lot of blue decks it is easier to leave up an extra U than it is to have an expendable creature on board. While blue tempo decks are better prepared to do just that, where Make Disappear is setup to be great in those decks, the other 2-mana counters are simply great in blue tempo and blue control alike.
The Verdict: I think I'm at my 2-mana counterspell capacity and this card isn't quite as good as my worst one. For reference I'm running 8 in Arcane Denial, Condescend, Counterspell, Daze, Lose Focus, Mana Leak, Miscalculation, and Remand.
An Offer You Can't Refuse
The Good: Extremely powerful effect for 1 mana.
The Bad: Definitely an offer I'd take every time. Cast this card earlier than turn 4 or 5 and you've likely lost the game.
The Verdict: I'll be passing on this one. I'll just wait 1 more turn to cast my threat with counter backup, I wouldn't run this card unless your cube is very combo-centric.
Reservoir Kraken
The Good: Very reminiscent of Desecration Demon in that it's 4-mana for a 6/6 with a keyword that pushes damage through and an ability that lets your opponents use their creatures to tap it and add another evasive power and toughness to the field. However the 1/1 unblockables are much better than the +1/+1 counters of Desecration Demon and Ward makes it a bit more resilient to removal.
The Bad: Unlike Desecration Demon, this can be tapped down forever by a single creature from your opponent. Not only that but Desecration Demon itself has made its way out of most higher powered cubes nowadays.
The Verdict: Pass for me, while not a bad option this isn't quite there for me as a 4-mana Bitterblossom.
Witness Protection
The Good: Very cheap unrestricted removal. A lot of people were all about Bind the Monster when that was spoiled and this card is better in most situations.
The Bad: As with Oblivion Ring, your opponent has the ability to Reclamation Sage their threat back and that can be devastating. While this is 2 mana cheaper than Oblivion Ring, the cost is the 1/1 that gets left behind for your opponent and I'm not sure if that's worth it. You can do a lot with a 1/1 in comparison to no creature at all.
The Verdict: I honestly wasn't a fan of Bind the Monster and I think I'm going to pass on this one too. However I do plan to keep my eye out for how this plays in other cubes and think it would be a perfectly reasonable test in a lot of them.
Body Launderer
The Good: 3/3+Deathtouch isn't a bad statline for a 4-mana value engine creature. Conniving on creature death is a very powerful effect in an aristocrats deck and recurring another body if this bites the dust is very nice.
The Bad: This powerful aristocrats card competes with other black 4s that are just as good in that deck while also being good in black decks in general.
The Verdict: I've talked about this before but I've found that the aristocrats deck needs minimal support to actually be quite effective. I was going to say I'd test this, but then I realized I've decided to cut Midnight Reaper from my cube. If I find I have an easy cut for it I'll throw it in.
Shakedown Heavy
The Good: They certainly liked their punisher cards this set. The biggest thing this card has up on other punisher cards is that it's only 3 mana. 6 damage is not something your opponent can let hit them any more than once. So at base it's a Phyrexian Arena that can block and eat creature removal.
The Bad: Punisher cards have fallen out of favor because of how powerful choice is and this one is pretty powerful. You're never hitting for lethal with this card and when you do connect it's because your opponent has judged that 6 damage to not matter.
The Verdict: Not for me, but I think I would try this if you run black aggro where you're dumping your hand and need it to be refilled, against aggro it's really no choice at all because that 6 damage is going to matter.
Tenacious Underdog
The Good: More and more support is coming for Black aggro and this is a pretty good 2-drop. The 3 power is always the start you're looking for in an aggro 2-drop and the upside is likely to be quite relevant. It's great Wrath insurance and at the very least can draw you a card if you're out of gas.
The Bad: Not much bad to say, this is a shoe-in for the black aggro deck. However, don't mistake this as a recursive threat for the aristocrats deck, the Blitz is very much insurance only there for when you run out of gas and need to squeak in your win.
The Verdict: As many of you know, I do not run the black aggro deck as it is not quite there in terms of power level and consistency. That being said if you do run that deck, this card is a slam dunk.
Urabrask, Heretic Praetor
The Good: Haste, card advantage, and disruption, all the makings of a powerful 5-drop.
The Bad: I really wish this was a 5/5 so it could compete with the 5-mana hasty dragons. While it makes the game going forward look pretty good for you, it simply doesn't kill the opponent as fast as you want your red top-end to.
The Verdict: I will not be testing this, as I said it's not beating out any of the hasty dragons. It's a shame because this is really the only red card from this set I even considered.
Jewel Thief
The Good: So this is what passes for a Common now huh? This creature is more than on rate as a 3-mana 3/3 with a great offensive and defensive keyword. Maybe I'm crazy but the fact that it also ramps you for next turn makes me think this could be at home in a high powered environment, especially if green stompy is something you support. Mana dork -> Jewel Thief -> 5-drop is a hell of a curve. This is also perfectly reasonable as a 2-mana threat during a double spell turn in the same vein as Tarmogoyf.
The Bad: I'm sitting here trying to put to words some criticism for this common because I honestly wasn't thinking much of it for my main cube until I actually started writing about it. However, to ask more than this out of a 3-drop is pushing towards Laelia-type designs. I guess I will say this, looking at my other 3-drops in green, they all provide some kind of card advantage where Jewel Thief provides a more stompy body instead.
The Verdict: I'm actually going to test this just because, and this saddens me deeply to say, I think it is time for Tarmogoyf to go. While there are still some green stompy elements in my cube, my green section is much more focused on the ramp decks and Tarmogoyf just isn't a threat any decks seem to need. If you do run an aggressive green stompy deck in your cube, I think Jewel Thief is a shoe in, for me I'll be testing it out as just a nice way to smooth out a curve.
Titan of Industry
The Good: This is a monster of a card to resolve. At it's base you can get a 7/7 trampler with a shield counter and an additional 4/4, that's a threat your opponent is going to be hard pressed to answer. If for whatever reason you need to gain life or naturalize a permanent, you have the option of doing so at the cost of either the 4/4 or the shield counter.
The Bad: When compared to other green 7+ drops, this isn't as good of a Natural Order target nor can it stabilize the board like a Hornet Queen or Thorn Mammoth can. It is however quite close and I could see this card being better. I honestly have a hard time evaluating the effectiveness of shield counters, they are nothing in the face of exile effects and can be used up by 1 chump block, but there are also moments where your opponent is forced to 2 for 1 themselves in backbreaking fashion.
The Verdict: I currently run Avenger of Zendikar and do think this card is better so I will be making that swap to test this card out.
Vivien on the Hunt
The Good: It's been awhile since we got a nice beefy 4GG planeswalker. I remember, back when I first was getting into magic, thinking Garruk, Caller of Beasts had simply the most powerful and awesome effects. Vivien's +1 is very reminiscent of his and potentially draws you a lot of gas. Stapling Birthing Pod onto a +2 and a 4/4 onto a -1 are also both very powerful on a planeswalker that starts with 4 loyalty. Whichever abilities you activate in whichever order, if this card sticks around your opponent is surely losing the game.
The Bad: If this card doesn't stick around and only gets 1 activation, it has less impact than what most other green 6+ cmc creatures would have. It's +2 has the potential for that to not be the case, but it also isn't a guarantee. It also isn't clear to me that the more powerful effects are worth the extra mana over the 5-mana planeswalkers. 5-mana Vivien will win you the game spamming 3/3s just as easily as this card will by spamming 4/4s.
The Verdict: Ultimately this is a pass for me, I do think I'd test it over some of the more expensive creatures, but in the face of the cheaper walkers this just doesn't quite get there.
Workshop Warchief
The Good: A strictly different Thragtusk. 5 mana for a 5/3 that gains you life and leaves behind another decently sized body when it dies is just good value and has certainly been a great floor for Thragtusk. The modal option of being a 6-mana 4/4 that draws you a card and probably deals some immediate damage is certainly some good upside. If your opponent "trades" with it after Blitzing, that's a nice ol' 3 for 1.
The Bad: I actually judge Thragtusk's floor quite a bit higher than this card's with its resilience to exile and bounce and even then Thragtusk might not get there on its floor alone, a lot of what makes the card is the incredibly high ceiling it has with blink effects. So the question is does the 6-mana mode of Workshop Warchief propel the ceiling that high? While looking at what else you can do with 6 mana, I think the answer is no.
The Verdict: Pass for me. I know a lot of people value modality a lot more than I do, but I feel like this one doesn't even provide the flexibility most modal spells do as both modes are just high mana threats that aren't as powerful as I'd like them to be.
Ob Nixilis, the Adversary
The Good: 1-sided Sulfuric Vortex is a pretty good card even without the lifegain clause. While your opponent can judge a land in their hand to be worth blanking the effect, that's not likely an easy cost if this comes down early in the game. But forget about all that for a second, because that's simply setting up this card's absolute floor. This card is 2 for the price of 1 and in the aristocrats colors, that is going to be true just about every time you cast it. For 3-mana you make your opponent choose from 3 extremely bad deals every turn. Take 4 damage (the clock of a Glorybringer), Take 2 damage and discard a card (1-sided Sulfuric Vortex and Lili +1), or Discard 2 cards (speaks for itself, they'll be hellbent in no time). While the -2 is quite weak in a vacuum, in practice it gives you a chump blocker to keep this pair of walkers alive and that is generally going to be enough on turn 3. I haven't even mentioned yet that the fact that these are 2 separate bodies provides its own host of benefits.
The Bad: The +1 and -2 aren't very appealing on their own if you didn't copy the walker with its casualty ability, but in these colors I really don't think that's ever going to be a problem unless you really don't do the BR aristocrats/aggro thing.
The Verdict: Absolute slam dunk. I am testing this and I expect it to be bonkers. I honestly think they could have tied the planeswalkers' lives together and this still would be extremely good.
Scheming Fence
The Good: Phyrexian Revoker has always been a solid 2-drop in whatever deck it ends up in and this card has the potential to be the same thing with a whole 2 more points of toughness. That on its own probably wouldn't do it, after all Revoker is a flexible colorless pick that can go into any deck and this is a multicolored card, but the extra you get for those colored pips is a whole lot. Nothing will quite catch you up from being on the draw like disabling your opponents Talisman at the same time as ramping yourself and this card does just that. The ability to steal your opponents ramp for yourself is very powerful at 2 mana. Worth noting as well that a 2/3 body for 2 is sometimes just what your control deck needs to survive the aggro deck.
The Bad: This does a little worse as a Pithing Needle roleplayer since you can't pre-deploy it, but I think that's a small downside when the upside would encourage you to hold it anyway.
The Verdict: Another multicolored slam dunk, I'm definitely testing this. Spell Queller has not performed well in my cube so I'll be saying bye to that. If your cube runs cheap artifact ramp then this card is sure to be powerful.
Tainted Indulgence
The Good: Instant speed Chart a Course is a good card. I can't imagine any UB deck being upset running this card.
The Bad: As with all new UB cards, the downside is that it is UB, the color pairing with the highest density of extremely powerful cards.
The Verdict: I'm not cutting the UB cards I have and I don't think I should just add this on top of them considering that the number of cards with blue and/or black in them already surpass that number for the other three colors. This is a great card though and is certainly good enough.
Luxior, Giada's Gift
The Good: Urza's Saga will forever give 1-mana artifacts the upside of being a 1-mana artifact and it certainly will have me look at most of them. This is a crazy card but could potentially be a lot of extra damage out of nowhere. Also, while being a creature will generally make your planeswalker more vulnerable, if you're a control deck looking to protect your walker from destroy spells via counters anyway, then not having to worry about creatures attacking them down can be a cool upside.
The Bad: The aforementioned cool upside is generally going to be a pretty damning downside. The density of planeswalkers, while ever increasing, is also much lower than creatures and that makes this equipment less consistent than others.
The Verdict: I think it's a really interesting card and it has potential, but I'm going to pass on it.
Unlicensed Hearse
The Good: Now this is an example of a maindeckable sideboard card. Almost every deck that comes out of my cube uses the graveyard as a resource in one way or another and this card is extremely efficient at dealing with it while also being an ever-growing threat.
The Bad: The Crew 2 isn't nothing so this isn't just a consistent threat worth crewing or even being able to crew it.
The Verdict: I've been looking to cut Sorcerous Spyglass so I think I'm just going to swap this one in to test it.
Triomes Part 2
The Good: We've had the first half of this cycle for awhile now so these probably don't need much explaining. Triomes are very powerful fixing and even in a 2-colored deck they will make just about any fetchland live for you in the draft.
The Bad: Not anything to complain about from a power perspective, these are very good.
The Verdict: So I do not run any of the previous triomes and I don't plan on running these. It is important to note that these do not incentivize nor support 3-color decks, duals lands actually play that role. Instead, these incentivize and support 4/5-color piles so keep that in mind when deciding whether to run these or not. If you want a little more insight into my views on land fixing for my particular cube, you can find that in my cube's description here!
And that's a wrap for Streets of New Capenna! Definitely not a crazy set for cube, but I did find a bit more tests than I had initially thought after the full spoilers were out. I was pleasantly surprised that the slam dunks of this set were actually multicolored which isn't generally the case for cube cards out of multicolored sets. Let me know if you think I missed any hidden gems, especially in red! Don't forget to check back later for my post of SNC considerations for my Pauper Twobert. Happy cubing!
