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Dragon’s Maze Cube Review

Hello, good people! Wizards of the Coast has graced us with another Magic the Gathering set, which means only one thing! It is time to update our cubes! In this article, as I did with Return to Ravnica and Gatecrash, I am going to tell you which cards from Dragon’s Maze are traps, which ones you should test, and which are the absolute bomb-diggity. Let’s get to it!

There are significantly fewer mono-colored cards than in most sets in Dragon’s Maze. I’ll be addressing at least one card from each color, but unlike the other two sets in this block, this review will be broken down into monocolored cards and multicolored. As always, if I don’t address a card that you’d like my opinion on, feel free to contact me in the comments section!

Monocolored

[card]Lyev Decree[/card]
I could see this fitting into some commons/uncommons cube. It is certainly a unique effect and aggressively costed. The versatility of detain can’t be underestimated, as Decree could be used to push damage through or prolong an aggro deck from smashing your face in until you can stabilize. I would probably test this in smaller C/U cubes, and lean towards inclusion in larger ones.

[card]Aetherling[/card]
Hoo boy! [card]Morphling[/card] hasn’t looked this good since damage still used the stack! A consummate blue finisher, Aetherling is a very strong card for cubes. It probably is the fourth-best blue six-drop, ranking behind [card]Sphinx of Jwar Isle[/card], [card]Frost Titan[/card], and [card]Consecrated Sphinx[/card], but in the right situation this guy is stone unkillable and also blocks anything on the ground and lives to tell the tale. It dodges Wrath effects, spot removal and, well, opposing creatures. A much better finisher than [card]Keiga, the Tide Star[/card], which has begun to fall out of favor, Aetherling really pushes it right out of the picture. I’ll be happy to slam this into my pile any day.

[card]Blood Scrivener[/card]
Black in cube is constantly in a state of flux. Some people support aggro, other people favor Pox-based attrition strategies, but there is always a debate on how to fix the color to have a distinct identity. Luckily, every now and again Wizards gives us a card that will be universally adopted. Blood Scrivener is a fantastic tool for any black strategy. As a 2/1 for two, it can bring the beats in the early game, and also has fantastic synergy with discard effects such as [card]Liliana of the Veil[/card] or [card]Lotleth Troll[/card]. If your cube still supports black aggro, it helps to draw you gas at a minimal cost while advancing your board state. It isn’t great in UB control decks, as presumably those will have a lot of card advantage effects already, but in other decks, this innocuous little 2/1 can really shine. A test (at least) for most cubes.

[card]Pyrewild Shaman[/card]
This guy is seriously driving me wild, because I can’t figure out if he is going to be a complete stud or a total dud. Let’s begin by looking at his stats: 3/1 for 2R.That’s fairly unimpressive for a three-drop in cube, especially without haste. Except he’s got bloodrush for 1R; +3/+1 isn’t a huge boost, but it could be useful for forcing through those last few points of damage or trading up with a large monster. And he has functional buyback whenever one of your guys gets through. Three mana is pretty steep for that effect in a red aggro deck though. Pyrewild Shaman could be very good, but nothing in his stats leads me to believe that he’ll be incredibly strong. I would test him in larger cubes only, as I don’t think he’s good enough for the 360 environment.

[card]Skylasher[/card]
I swear this card is going to give some people PTSD. If you don’t believe me, just look at the art! That bird is getting absolutely destroyed. Blue mages should be absolutely terrified of this guy. Obvious statements aside, this card is in a very strange position in cube. It’s very aggressively costed, but I just don’t feel that this does enough against enough decks. It trades with a random red creature, gets rolled by the three- and four-mana slot in black, and can’t really block profitably in the green mirror or against the infinite mass of first strike in white. I want to run this card simply to beat the blue decks that everyone loves to play (I hear Magic players love to say no), but I can’t really justify including him.

Addendum: If you ever want to see a blue player squirm, just first pick [card]Thrun, the Last Troll[/card] and go from there. But then again, I’m of the opinion he is one of the best cards in cube, period.

Multicolor

[card]Advent of the Wurm[/card]
First we had [card]Elephant Ambush[/card]; now we have Surprise Wurm! Now, while I think this card is insanely powerful and will see serious constructed play, I am not sure it is what the GW decks want in cube. The triple color commitment on turn four is not to be taken lightly, and while a 5/5 with flash and trample is definitely very strong, the utility provided by its fellow GW staples such as [card]Qasali Pridemage[/card], [card]Kitchen Finks[/card] and [card]Selesnya Charm[/card] have proved to be more valuable in testing. If you want to see for yourself, by all means test this card, because it is undeniably powerful. I am just not sure it will stand up to the stiff competition for slots.

[card]Blood Baron of Vizkopa[/card]
Every now and again, we get a card from Wizards that is so blatantly pushed that it feels like they are not even trying anymore. Last time we had that kind of admission from the mothership, they were talking about [card]Obzedat, Ghost Council[/card]. Well, Orzhov is showing again just how powerful its higher-ups in the syndicate can be. When you look at the base stats of this guy, he’s clearly a game-ending bomb that is aggressively costed and very difficult to remove. His growth effect, while it shouldn’t be that hard to trigger, very much feels “win-more.” For smaller cubes, I can see this guy missing the cut simply because he compares unfavorably to Obzedaddy despite being much easier to cast.

[card]Deputy of Acquittals[/card]
I absolutely love this card. While I don’t think [card]Whitemane Lion[/card] 2.0 is powerful enough for rare environments, it should shine in C/U cubes. You can even just run her out there as a bear on turn two, because unlike her kitty companion, she does not force you to return a creature. It’s merely a gigantic blowout when you do. Expect to see a lot of this card in 60-card formats, and the next time you are drafting some C/U cubes, prepare to pick up this card or lose to it over the course of the draft.

[card]Emmara Tandris[/card]
HAHAHAHA, NOOOOPE.

[card]Far // Away[/card]
This is the first fuse card we’ve gotten to, and let me tell you, I am absolutely blown away by this new mechanic. Everyone is a fan of split cards, and now that we don’t have to choose anymore really puts the icing on the cake. This card really is (channel inner LSV…) far and away the best fuse card for cube, as well as the top contender for best cube card in the set. Better put up or shut up, [card]Ral Zarek[/card]! I don’t think it’s possible to out-enthuse Evan Erwin, who spoiled this card, but man, have you read this card? Enjoy your [card]Geist of Saint Traft[/card] and [card]Troll Ascetic[/card] while you can, because the Dimir wants those guys dead, and they’re willing to go through your entire team to do it! An auto-include in all cubes, save the pauper variety.

[card]Gaze of Granite[/card]
Ah, [card]Pernicious Deed[/card], how I love thee. Let me count the ways. Zero, one, two, three… Well, you get the idea. This card, no matter how I much I want it to be, is not Pernicious Deed. It will fit the bill for all of my 60-card needs, but for cube, I would rather have the original. Mostly because I can recur the original with [card]Sun Titan[/card]. This card also requires that you pay all the mana upfront, which can be somewhat unreasonable when you are staring down the faster decks in the format. It pains me to say it, but pass on this one.

[card]Krasis Incubation[/card]
Hey, look, a Simic [card]Arrest[/card]! This is a fantastic gift to the C/U cubers out there, as blue and green are traditionally colors that have an extraordinarily difficult time permanently dealing with creatures. I can’t imagine a C/U cube that this doesn’t fit right into, as it is a unique effect for a color combination that desperately needed it.

[card]Legion’s Initiative[/card]
There has been an astounding amount of hype surrounding this card. Frankly, I don’t see the appeal, and I’m a guy who has [card]Restoration Angel[/card] described as my Invitational card. I just don’t see where it will fit in. Aggro decks wasting a turn on an early anthem is not where I’d like to be, and they certainly don’t want to have to hold up mana to break in case of Wrath. Midrange decks probably won’t benefit much from the Anthem effect even if they do have mana to spare for the blink, and control decks… Well, it’s an anthem. What was the last control deck that wanted an anthem? I’m convinced that this card is a great big trap. If you want to test, by all means go right ahead, but I don’t see this card being what you want at all.

[card]Notion Thief[/card]
I really want to put this in my cube for one reason and one reason only. Say I control a Consecrated Sphinx. My opponent taps out during his draw step to cast Notion Thief with my Sphinx trigger on the stack. Assuming neither my opponent nor I has any additional actions, what happens? Respond in the comments section.

That said, Notion Thief, while having a cool effect (and I do love [card]Plagiarize[/card] as much as the next guy) will not have an impact in enough games to be included. Unless you are playing some sort of blue mirror or your opponent controls [card]Phyrexian Arena[/card], I can’t see this guy being much good. Relegate him to the sidelines.

[card]Plasm Capture[/card]
I am a huge fan of this card. I mean, it’s [card]Mana Drain[/card], for crying out loud! It probably will not make most cubes save those that have very large multicolor sections, but I think this is a pretty good upgrade over Mystic Snake. GGUU is not all that much harder to hit than 1UUG, and the upgrade from a 2/2 body to, well, casting [card]Woodfall Primus[/card] the next turn is pretty significant. If you have room, I would definitely give this card a go.

[card]Putrefy[/card]
There isn’t much to say here. Putrefy is a reprint that is already a cube staple. I highly recommend picking up the new one though, because the art is just so much better. I cannot wait to see this in foil (hopefully at the Prerelease!). I might not be able to get my jaw off the floor for several hours.

[card]Ral Zarek[/card]
I have heard more differing opinions on Ral Zarek than on just about any card in existence. Its most direct comparison is [card]Ajani Vengeant[/card], one of the more powerful planeswalkers and a cube staple. While this lightning-slinging Izzet mage is not the most vengeful of cats, he is very powerful in his own right. His +1 will be a fantastic tempo swing in aggressive UR strategies, while in more controlling builds he can protect himself. What really pushes him over the top for me is that he can come down and kill two things in a row. No planeswalker short of [card]Karn Liberated[/card] or [card]Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker[/card] has been able to do that. I know I would pay 2UR for [card]Lightning Bolt[/card] with rebound. Niv-Mizzet’s right hand should be an auto-include in pretty much any cube.

[card]Sin Collector[/card]
Apparently, the Orzhov hate instants and sorceries. Who knew? At any rate, this man will have no such wizardry in the Church of Orzhova. Sin Collector is very strong but suffers from the problem that most cubes are seeing these days; there are simply too many good multicolored cards. At this time, he compares most directly to [card]Tidehollow Sculler[/card], and there are just so many more things to like about the Sculler than this guy. Depending on room, Sin Collector should be a fine addition to C/U cubes and powered cubes with large multicolor sections.

[card]Sire of Insanity[/card]
Oh jeez. Wizards, what on earth were you thinking? I’m not certain anyone ever wants to see this thing staring them down. It dodges most black removal, rips your hand apart on the end step that he is played, and is still a six-mana 6/4. Just about the scariest thing I can imagine in cube is turn one [card]Entomb[/card] for this guy, turn two reanimate effect. I literally just shuddered while writing that sentence! I don’t know if most cubers will want him or even have the room, but there is no denying that this guy is, well, insane.

[card]Tithe Drinker[/card]
More C/U goodness! [card]Syndic of Tithes[/card] was already a major player to come out of Gatecrash, and while this card will not be adopted by cubes that use rares, as that little extort bear was, Tithe Drinker should see plenty of play in C/U cubes as a cheap extort enabler that even has lifelink attached. A solid addition to most C/U cubes.

[card]Turn // Burn[/card]
Say it with me. This is not [card]Fire // Ice[/card]. It is quite good in its own right and should see play in C/U cubes as a versatile answer to whatever creature plagues you. I can’t see it making the leap to powered environments though. Adding one mana each to [card]Turn to Frog[/card] and [card]Shock[/card] is not what the doctor ordered for cubes that use rares. More efficient answers are available there.

[card]Unflinching Courage[/card]
[card]Armadillo Cloak[/card]! You’ve returned! If you still do use Armadillo Cloak in your cube, do not replace it with this new, flashy card. They actually function quite differently. Because the Cloak has not been changed to grant lifelink instead of its gain life trigger, you can still use Armadillo Cloak as a [card] Pacifism[/card] of sorts. In C/U cubes, I could see wanting both of them, but if Cloak is still in your rare- using cube, I’d leave well enough alone.

[card]Viashino Firstblade[/card]
This guy is pretty sweet, and should be an easy inclusion in C/U cubes. He hits very hard when he comes down and is a solid body afterwards. A nice piece for aggro decks, as RW doesn’t have many quality cards at the lower rarities.

[card]Voice of Resurgence[/card]
There’s been a lot of good things said about this guy for Constructed, but very little of it, I think, applies to cube. Stagtusk and [card]Advent of the Wurm[/card] have similar problems; they are in an extremely strong color combination that does not have a lot of use for their effects. GW’s issue has never traditionally been slower blue decks that want to do things on your turn, and the hate-bear feature isn’t really something that Cube is looking for.

[card]Warleader’s Helix[/card]
Well, if this comparison doesn’t show us just how broken [card]Lightning Helix[/card] actually is… All in all, this should be a solid addition for C/U cubes. Four mana is a little expensive for four damage in powered environments, and Boros has given all kinds of fun goodies where none existed before. A strong limited card, and might see some play in constructed as well, but should not find a home in rare cubes.

[card]Wear // Tear[/card]
This card is so simple yet so brilliant. Wear and Tear should be in every cube from now until the end of time. No longer must we wait for awkward land counts for [card]Duergar Hedge-Mage[/card]. No, now we have 1R, kill your [card]Umezawa’s Jitte[/card]; W, nuke your [card]Bitterblossom[/card]; or, hey, you can have your cake and eat it too! This card is flat-out amazing, and I will be happy to be casting it over and over.

That concludes my cube review for Dragon’s Maze! I’m hoping to see some sweet new ideas and strategies taking place now that we have access to all the cards in the Return to Ravnica block. If you would like to discuss cube (or Commander!) with me, drop me a line at earaff@bu.eduor find me on Twitter @egooglegon. I’ll be working at the SCG Weekend in Somerset, NJ, the Classic in Springfield, MA, GP Providence, and other events in the next few months! Come say hi!

Have fun and keep cubing,

Elliot Raff

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