MTG Cube: March of the Machines Preliminary Review: Part 10

0 - unplayable in 40 card singleton

1 - effectively unplayable

2 - has low tier constructed decks it might go in

3 - has mid tier constructed decks it does go in

4 - pretty powerful stuff with several potential homes, able to perform well in lower powered cubes

5 - powerful stuff that is either just too narrow or has too many superior alternatives

6 - fringe cube worthy

7 - cube worthy

8 - cube staple

9 - unpowered cube bomb

10 - powered cube bomb

Invasion of Gobakhan 6

Well, I love this. Not sure if it is any good but I am a fan. I love the early disruption and information aspect. This can really mess up cards that have channel or that want to be discarded. It can also just disrupt their curve or snipe out their potential to Wrath the following turn. It is very easy to flip being cheap, a little disruptive, and needing just three damage. The flipped side is curious, a Seal of Heroic Intervention, and a kind of Stromkirk Noble / Slith style after the fact growth for your whole team. Good for evasive dorks and good against a lack of good blocks! White has a lot of (manaless) protective effects and they seem to scale with one another. It is so hard to beat Serra Paragon with things like Giver of Runes and Selfless Savior kicking about. This will add to those difficulties. Overall this card seeks like a total kicking for control decks and potentially a bit of a do nothing against other lists. If I had to guess I would assume this card fails to make the cut, most do after all! Really hoping it does cut it however. This is spot on card design and spot on for the colour pie.

Collective Nightmare 2

This looks pretty good but in practice I am playing the more powerful 4 mana convoke removal or I am playing 1 or 2 mana removal without convoke.

Khenra Spellspear 4

Looks cool but is probably just a bit tame on the front end to last. Sure, I'll play this if I need to in my prowess style decks but I really shouldn't need to these days, the two slot is stacked with good options. I do like that you can pretty much ride this to victory by itself if you so desire. Tempo decks like to be able to operate well on a low dork count. Even so, this is just on the fair side.

Djeru and Hazoret 2

This is fine but all a bit gold and random to want in cube. Where this is rather more interesting is in a place where you can setup some big Eldrazi to cast with the trigger. Empty my hand ramping, dump out this and flip an Emrakul that I stuck on top in one of many ways! Seems to be one of the more reliable ways to get out Emrakul plus the cast trigger. If not built around and heavily abused the card is pretty unplayable in cube.

Kroxa and Kunoros 2

Powerful but super top end, super gold, and a little narrow. Always feels a bit harsh giving cards with such immense power a 2, obviously this would look really impressive in play in almost any cube game. It is a 2 out of 10 for opportunity cost, the other many better, more playable, or more suitable, 6 mana alternatives this would be taking the place of.

Rona, Herald of the Invasion 7.5

Merfolk Looter has come a long way! This is +0/+2 on a Looter or +1/+1 on little Jace. This gets to double loot sometimes or be tricky in other ways with the untap. And then, if that wasn't enough, this can just sink 5 or 6 mana and become a 5/5 trample that they are going to have to try and avoid damaging while having cards in hand. That will hold off a lot of attacks and attack pretty well itself. This is just one of those cards that can't not be good. It is a cheap card that starts off in a really good place with an impressive floor, the kind of floor you might even consider playing. Then they just layer on some juicy perks. This is not a bomb, it is probably still a chunk weaker than little Jace, but it is none the less a pretty ideal and rounded cube card.

Invasion of Eldraine 1

Mind Rot into weak Rack Drake. Unplayable front end results in unplayable card.

Rampaging Raptor 6

This looks like a bomb, it looks like a Questing Beast or something and yet my gut is that even this isn't good enough anymore. That is largely down to it being red, I think all the other colours would snap this up but red just isn't in the market for cards like this. If it is paying 4 mana for something it wants more raw power or more threat diversity. Red doesn't need hard hitters like this at four mana when it has things like Rabblemaster and Laeila at three mana! Obviously this is a lot of card and it is quite on theme with what red gets upto and so it will perform fine in cube but I do not see it getting more play than Torbran, Torch of Defiance, or even Outpost Siege and the Nalaar parents. Those cards all offer something different that you can build up and scale up, this is just more of the same. If that is the case then what is the point of having this in cube.

Invasion of Theros 2

A niche tutor and on the fringes of playability in terms of cost. This will certainly see commander play but beyond that I doubt it. Not like you are playing this in modern to find Heliod for your combo. Not and expecting to survive long enough to go off anyway. The back side is certainly pretty powerful and would work nicely in an aura based deck. Still however feels like over extending somehow! Regardless all way too narrow for draft settings.

Invasion of Pyrulea 5

Well 2 mana to scry 3 and draw a card is pretty close to the mark. A 1U instant at that would be better than Impulse. This however is gold and sorcery speed and mostly forces you into drawing land. That all quite handily ruins this card's chances. The back end is meaty and certainly worth the cost of life given away, mana, and card, and probably even the time delay most of the time, if you were assured it. But as with all battles you are not and have to work with the floor. To me this feels right on the line and it clearly isn't, it is either really obviously awful or rather good and a very small amount of testing will bear that out. Absolutely I will cautiously lean on the side of it being rubbish but I have feelings of doubt about my doubts!