Written by We’ve come to the end of my Avacyn Restored cube breakdown. Green has some spicy additions this time, and that’s always a good thing! There are a few Multicolor, Artifacts, and Lands that I’m also considering. Let’s get to it!
GREEN
Abundant Growth
This is a decent color fixer. It is very similar to Prophetic Prism which is not, typically, cube playable. The cantrip is helpful. It still won’t keep this card from being playable. I have several Strip Mine effects in my cube that would make this a raw deal. I think I’ll stick to the stronger artifact fixers like Coalition Relic. Mana-fixers that are also creatures, like Birds of Paradise seem stronger for Green.
Champion of Lambholt
This card could get out of hand when paired with White’s token prowess or even some on-color token producers like Deranged Hermit. The champion has the capability to make your army unblockable very quickly. It is quite weak to Wrath of God effects. I have begun testing this in my cube.
Druid’s Familiar
This card is deceptively powerful. It can be six power worth of creature for only four mana. It doesn’t feel like enough of a boon at that cost. The strong removal in cube will keep if from being playable, as well.
Nightshade Peddler
This card will often bait removal from your opponent because keeping it online is a very dangerous proposition. Trading two of your mana for their removal is not a bad deal most of the time. Also, giving deathtouch to pingers like Spikeshot Elder or Siege-Gang Commander is quite powerful.
Somberwald Sage
I am very excited about this card! It helps to cement Green into a ramp identity in my cube that it has not had before. It allows very explosive plays! It’s Black Lotus-like ability is great at casting powerful creatures.
Ulvenwald Tracker
This card takes a little setup, but is well worth it. It is one of the most efficient, green creature destruction abilities I’ve ever seen. It is fantastic with creatures you want to kill like Genesis. Deathtouch creatures are also amazing with the fight mechanic. Basilisk Collar is especially spicy! It is not what you want to see in topdeck mode, but can still be useful if drawn late. Most one-drop creatures are not very useful in this situation.
Wolfir Avenger
Another green, pseudo-removal creature, the flash ability is fantastic here and will make for some great surprise stories! He’s very efficient for three mana, which many Spikes can appreciate. I’ve been playing a lot of Super Smash Bros. Brawl lately. I can’t wait to see an alter of this card with Wolf O’Donnell in the art!
Wolfir Silverheart
The largest creature in the cycle with Druid’s Familiar. Wolfir Silverheart will often be a five mana 8/8 that will simultaneously boost your fliers and shadow creatures to the extreme! This is an auto-include for Green. It is fantastic with mana-ramping creatures like Llanowar Elves and Birds of Paradise. They can even take up the boost if you haven’t played another creature up to that point! Wolfier Silverheart makes me very excited to play with Green, and that is a rarity for me.
MULTICOLOR
Sigarda, Host of Herons
This is the only multicolored angel that I feel is worthy for cube admission. Like I have mentioned in previous articles, I am watching the amount of hexproof in my cube. I do not like the amount of non-interaction it generates. This card makes Diabolic Edict and other similar cards into dead draws. Unfortunately, “edict” cards are one of Black’s strong points, and Black is hurting right now. Sigarda being a 5/5 flier for five mana puts it in Baneslayer Angel territory in efficiency. I will be running this as soon as I can cut something from my meager multicolor section. This will be tough. White/Green is one of the stronger combinations already!
ARTIFACT
Conjurer’s Closet
This card is not nearly as exciting as Crystal Shard or Erratic Portal, and those cards are in decline already. I could see this making larger cubes or more budget-oriented ones. I would not run it before the previous two cards or Mimic Vat. Casting five mana cards that do nothing on their own is terrible these days with all the strong creatures and planeswalkers running around. Mirari’s Wake recently got the boot from my cube for the same reason.
Vessel of Endless Rest
I like Darksteel Ingot better in this position. Coalition Relic is also a much better card. The extra graveyard removal ability is nicely tacked on here. It’s hard to find room for cards like Relic of Progenitus or Tormod’s Crypt in your deck when you need to get creatures out of the graveyard permanently. This card hoses while having a decent ability to accelerate or fix your mana base. It will not be a dead, sideboard pick like the other graveyard-hosing cards.
LAND
Desolate Lighthouse and Slayers’ Stronghold
I don’t run too many lands with colored activation costs, but Desolate Lighthouse and Slayers’ Stronghold are excellent additions for your cube, if you choose to do so. The Merfolk Looter-like ability and activated haste and creature pump are strong effects on lands that are innately uncounterable and often difficult to destroy.
I only chose to highlight specific cards from the set to keep the article shorter. There are a lot of cards in the set that are fun for the Avacyn Restored limited environment. Also, Pauper formats received some robust additions like Seraph of Dawn. Avacyn Restored is a strong set for cube! I look forward to shuffling up with some of the new cards, soon!
Join me next time where I’ll go over some pretty obscure MAGIC cards I’ve cubed with!
Thanks for reading,
DJ
cuberdj@gmail.com
All images owned by Wizards of the Coast/Hasbro and its affiliates.
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