It's time to talk cards for pauper cube, specifically the ones provided by the latest set Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty! Sorry for such a late post, my life has been kind of hectic the last couple of months but I'm back and raring to write as New Capenna is right around the corner!
In this post I will be writing about all the cards people may be considering for a pauper cube environment. While I'll be drawing a lot of context from my own Pauper Twobert, I'll be less focused on whether these cards make it into my own cube and more on whether I think they're worth testing in most environments. Let's get started!
Era of Enlightenment // Hand of Enlightenment
The Good: It's not hard to see that, all together, this card has some insane value for the cost of 2 mana. While it doesn't come all at once, the lack of enchantment removal you tend to see in pauper cubes means you will eventually get it all. A 2/2 with First Strike can be a great roadblock to have sitting on board, blocking over 50% of the creatures I run well. While a little slow, I imagine this is a perfectly fine flicker target as well.
The Bad: As with a lot of these saga creatures, they are hard to evaluate since their value is segmented. Is turn 2 scry 2 really good enough when you don't see board presence until turn 4? I'm not sure you can really consider this a creature since it can't be an immediate blocker if you draw it later in the game.
The Verdict: So one of the side effects of getting this post out so late is that I was able to see NEO limited unfold, and let me tell you just about every saga creature outperformed expectations. In lower power environments where games unfold slower, the lack of immediacy in value doesn't hurt as much. This is just too much good for 2-mana to not at least test and I expect it to perform better than I initially thought when NEO was being previewed.
Imperial Oath
The Good: The best 6-drops in pauper cube tend to protect themselves, replace themselves, or have a modal way of casting them. While Scry 3 isn't drawing a card, it's pretty dang close and splitting a threat across 3 bodies is also akin to some protection. While maybe not the best in a prolonged game, curving into this will be very very powerful.
The Bad: Like I said this is less of a threat in a prolonged game where a 6/6 is going to do better at attacking and blocking than 3 2/2s. The fact that this is also a sorcery instead of a creature means there is no flicker shenanigans to be had for more scrys.
The Verdict: Depending on your environment this card can be one of the better topends for a midrange deck looking to finish off an aggressive start. If your environment sees long and drawn out midrange mirrors, maybe look elsewhere.
Light the Way
The Good: Cheap and flexible. Can be a combat trick, protection spell, or just a recast on your ETB creature. The +1/+1 counter really makes this card over something like the card You're Ambushed on the Road.
The Bad: It's not that anything is particularly bad, just nothing particularly powerful.
The Verdict: I wouldn't think twice about seeing this in a pauper cube, I wouldn't miss it either.
Spirited Companion
The Good: Elvish Visionary is a great card and this is just a white Elvish Visionary. A cheap creature that replaces itself is generally always going to get high praise from me for a pauper environment, the fact that this is white makes it all the better for the flicker archetype/theme.
The Bad: Nothing bad to say about this one from me.
The Verdict: Only reason I wouldn't run this card is if you think your environment has too many 2-for-1 creatures and even then I'd run this over Elvish Visionary due to it being in white.
Sunblade Samurai
The Good: Pretty close to an on rate creature with cheap Plainscycling is gonna be pretty solid.
The Bad: Both modes are pretty middling effects, you can probably find better things to do with your mana.
The Verdict: Personally I don't think the modality carries the card enough, I'd run it a decent number of times I draft it though. With a list as tight as mine I'm definitely going to pass this, but if you're running your cube at like 540 then I wouldn't scoff at seeing there.
Mirrorshell Crab
The Good: This kind of feels to me like a blue Krosan Tusker where the Channel ability is good and will be cast way more than the creature, but also sometimes it's turn 7 and you need a big creature.
The Bad: Unlike Krosan Tusker this card is sometimes dead in hand. This card might have been a little dumb with Hexproof, but I also just don't think Ward 3 does anything at the point you're casting this creature.
The Verdict: I think this is one of the better big blue creatures and I'm sure it will see play in a lot of pauper cubes. The combo of big dumb idiot and mana leak is just very solid.
Mnemonic Sphere
The Good: One of the better 4-mana draw 2s. I can't imagine many people being unhappy drafting and playing this card. The 2 payments of 2-mana is as good here as it is for Behold the Multiverse and while I miss the scry 2 a lot, a cycling mode is not bad.
The Bad: You can't run too many of the 4-mana draw cards and this is below a few.
The Verdict: I'd run Scattered Thoughts and Behold the Multiverse before this one, but I think I'd probably run this one next.
The Modern Age // Vector Glider
The Good: I think this is up there with Looter il-Kor as a good looter creature and probably better in a decent amount of situations. The first 2 loots are very important in sculpting your hand early, but then a 2/3 flier just has a lot of play over a 1/1 unblockable.
The Bad: Really my only criticism is that there is no immediate board impact, but the effect and body are just really good anyway.
The Verdict: I think people should definitely test this. It performed really well in NEO limited and I expect it to do well in cube as well. It's a great turn 2 play and later in the game sometimes a cheap way to loot is just what you need.
Moon-Circuit Hacker
The Good: Speaking of good looters, Moon-Circuit Hacker is giving Ninja of the Deep Hours a run for it's money as premier pauper ninja. To be honest NotDH rarely connects more than once nowadays and this card being half the cost every which way more than makes up for the fact that he loots after the first connection.
The Bad: Really nothing bad to say about this one.
The Verdict: I think this is a slam dunk for most pauper cubes. Ninjutsu has a lot of play to it, especially when it comes cheap, and this card comes with a great effect.
Network Disruptor
The Good: If you're looking for a good Flying Men variant, this should definitely be considered. It's the turn 1 play you want to trigger Ninjutsu on turn 2, and then on turn 3 maybe tap down a creature to get another Ninja hit in.
The Bad: I don't think this is better than Faerie Seer or Wingcrafter and is probably environment dependent. Sometimes it will literally just be Flying Men.
The Verdict: Just a nice option to consider depending on your cube. A more tempo oriented Flying Men.
Planar Incision
The Good: Just a solid card if you need the density in your flicker archetype.
The Bad: It's just a flicker card.
The Verdict: Not much to say, just bringing it up as another flicker option. I'd play this before Teferi's Time Twist.
Dokuchi Shadow-Walker
The Good: I think this card will impress people despite it looking so ordinary. A 5/5 is a threat that will likely eat a removal spell if it comes down early on. If on turn 4 you spend 4 mana to deal a quarter of your opponents health in damage and make them spend a removal spell on this, that's just going to be pretty good.
The Bad: Very bad in the face of instant speed removal. Ninjutsu this into open mana at your own risk.
The Verdict: I don't think this card is anything special but I do think it would work well in some pauper environments so if you dismissed this card maybe just give it a second look.
Okiba Reckoner Raid // Nezumi Road Captain
The Good: If you run some kind of black aggro deck at the pauper level this is a must run. Any doubts I had due to how slow it is are gone after playing with it in NEO limited. This is the Common with the highest winrate of NEO limited and in cube this card has access cards like Bonesplitter.
The Bad: If I got this review out in a timely fashion I might've said it was too slow, but really it just kicked so much ass in NEO limited.
The Verdict: People should at the very least try this one. It probably isn't a slam dunk in all environments, but it's certainly playable.
You Are Already Dead
The Good: I'm glad this thing says "Draw a card" so I can talk about it. Really though the fact that this card replaces itself makes it a real consideration if Blocking is integral to your cube. It's cheap, cantrips, and can make your opponents think twice before attacking their giant threat into your 1/1.
The Bad: It will be dead in hand here and there.
The Verdict: I'm going to run this if only for the name, but I also think it will perform decent.
Experimental Synthesizer
The Good: Some have been calling this Red Mulldrifter and I honestly think that's not far from the truth. 4 mana for a 2/2 Vigilance and 2 cards from your library is great value, with the option to split the costs and effects too. Sure it's impulsive draw, but it's not hard to start a turn off with this to see if you hit a land drop or something better to do and then later in the game do the same thing for a bit more mana.
The Bad: Until the end of your next turn sounds way too greedy so I don't think there's much to complain about here.
The Verdict: Definitely worth testing and possibly very good. It easily had the highest winrate of red commons in NEO limited if that tells you anything.
Title
The Good: I love Bloodrush as a mechanic and I think this is very playable. A nice cheap way to push through damage as a combat trick or a big hasty boy to finish off your opponent.
The Bad: If this was 5 mana it would be a slam dunk, at 6 it's a little slow.
The Verdict:
The Shattered States Era // Nameless Conqueror
The Good: A lot of mana but a whole lot of value. Threaten effects can be pretty powerful when you start adding more value on top of them.
The Bad: The speed on this one does concern me. 5 mana for only Threaten the turn it comes down and then a board dependent effect on the next turn may be too bad.
The Verdict: I honestly don't like most 5-drop red cards for pauper cube so if you need one this doesn't see a ton of competition. My cube is just going to stay without red 5-drops at all for now.
Greater Tanuki
The Good: Krosan Tuskar's biggest downfall is that it's 7 mana instead of 6, so what if it costed 6 and had trample? This card is flexible and both modes are good so it gets high praise from me.
The Bad: I do think I'd still run Krosan Tuskar first, the 3 mana mode is the most common mode and drawing 2 is better than ramping 1.
The Verdict: Great card for pauper cubes, run it along side Krosan Tuskar!
Master's Rebuke
The Good: I'm always looking for better fight effects for green. Instant speed removal and doesn't actually kill your creature by fighting is good in my book.
The Bad: These are the worst removal effects, unless you're monogreen you probably can find something better in the draft.
The Verdict: If you need green removal cards, 2 mana and instant speed makes this one of the better ones.
Uncharted Haven
The Good: That makes a nice round five 5-color pauper lands for my cube!
The Bad: N/A
The Verdict: It's a 5-color tapland in the vein of the Thriving Lands instead of Evolving Wilds, not much else to say.
And that's what I got for pauper cards from NEO! I have to say it really turned out to be a great set. Again sorry for getting this out so late but I'm excited to say I have a lot more time to write these going forward for a bit so expect more than just the New Capenna posts. Thanks for reading!
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