New Capenna Preliminary Review Part XII

 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 

Rigo, Streetwise Mentor 3

Not triggering himself is an issue. If you can flop this out, immediately attack with a little dork and draw a card then continue to do so Rigo is amazing. Mostly neither of these things will happen. I expect your triggers per resolution of Rigo are going to be significantly less than one. Rigo appeals more in green than white where cards like BoP and other cheap mana dorks empower him a lot but that turns Rigo from a card card you can play in mono white, azorius, selesnya or bant into one that you really only want in the latter two of those. Notably not the mono which would be the place most play could be found. 

Tenacious Underdog 6

This doesn't hang together quite well enough for me. I love the blitz mode but it is value rather than tempo. It is sort of an ongoing or persistent threat but four mana to attack for 3 is a lot, it is shut down by four toughness and easily outpaced with most other stuff. It is vulnerable to bounce and exile and frankly just seems less interesting than Castle Lochthwain as a means to draw cards. Black has a lot of means to recur aggro dorks from the bin and lots of means to pay life to draw cards. Why would you want to combine the two in a way that makes both sides less efficient? Also, you have to get Underdog in the bin before you can get value making it desire discard/mill support. That or you can just make a 3/2 for two mana and wait upon its natural death. Hardly a line that is improving the value of this card. All told this is fine on power level and may even have a chance being somewhat rounded and interesting. It just seems at odds with itself  in terms of why you would play it. And so I wont. 

Soul of Emancipation 5

I thought, this seems crap compared to Terrastodon but then I remembered that Terrastodon was a 9 mana spell not a 7 mana spell I became more impressed with this. You can actually consider casting seven drops, especially green ones. You can play this in a deck that isn't extreme ramp or cheating big things into play and yet it still has a power level appropriate for being a cheat out target consideration much like Grave Titan. Soul can't hit lands making it a lot less dangerous than Terrastodon early in the game. It can however kill creatures making it a bit more useful further down the line. It is a little too niche to fit into some cubes (mine included) but some will want it and it won't look out of place in most. It is just useful rather than a go to card or anything like that. I suspect Terrastodon will still be played more and purely because it can hit lands.   

Even the Score 1

This is very hard to trigger and isn't even all that good once you do. I want to play it in a Baral deck with loads of cost reducing effects and Time Twisters so that I can draw cards for free. Beyond that I have zero interest in running this at all. X based draw spells are not all that good in cube settings. By the time they are looking efficient the draw can be a bit too much! I find I use them more often as finishers than card advantage spells these days and that is a long way from often. 

Sanctuary Warden 7

This feels like the best six drop white dork. It does the things you want from a top end card. The big flying body gives it threat. The shield counters give some tempo security on your big investment. The card draw gives you card security on your investment as well as the potential to generate ongoing card advantage should Warden remain in play. Being able to produce two bodies immediately affords a good deal of protection for yourself as well allowing you to somewhat recover a board state you are behind in. I like this a whole lot more than Sun Titan. The body is more relevant and reliable while the value side of things needs far less in the way of setup and support. This oozes suitability but it doesn't quite so much in terms of excitement or power. It is fine for power but might simply not get played so as to allow a deck to have a lower curve. I can entirely see myself cutting this for an Angel of Sanctions simply so I can be more confident with my mana situation.

Meeting of the Five 0

This is pretty laughable for an 8 mana card using all the colours. I am not even going to bother building with this or theorizing for it, there just seems no point. It is too weak to bother. 

Structural Assault 0

A very narrow mass removal tool that isn't even that cheap for what it does. Feels like I am better off with cheaper cards that hit dorks or artifacts rather than trying to cram both into one clumsy conditional card. This looks like it might be good against Urza decks but rubbish elsewhere.

Inspiring Overseer 8

Both Cloudkin Seer and Priest of Ancient Lore get outclassed in one fell swoop by this Angel. Both of those are cards that see a solid amount of cube play. They are absolutely filler cards but they are the kind of filler that cube thrives on. Pretty sure I will pack Overseer in every deck with a decent chunk of white in it. The control loves the chumps that don't cost cards. The life will go down nicely too. Aggro decks will be all over the evasion offered. Midrange decks love flicker targets as well as loving everything else this offers to both control and aggro. This might rival Thraben Inspector for the amount of cube play it gets which is testament to the suitability of the card. It has that top tier playability but it also has a reasonable dollop of power to back that up which is going to ensure we see a whole lot of this card. I equate this to the white Llanowar Visionary which is high praise indeed. 

Titan of Industry 7

I would like to see less pun based card designs, it seems to be a significant source of inspiration these days.... Criticize as I might this is a very cube friendly card. This is option rich and provides a lot of those key things a top end card commands. This can disrupt, this can protect itself and/or you with life, shields, and extra blockers. It can end a game with a pile of stats and some evasion. The only green seven drop or higher that gets any love in cube these days is Avenger of Zendikar and it is starting to look a little tired. I can see this stealing Avengers spot pretty easily. This just does so much more right away without need of land support. Titan is also less linear and less easily disrupted. This card is just a big generic green mess but it does line up well for cube use and so I expect to be seeing more of it. Despite how powerful and well suited it is the card is still a seven drop so it will still see rather less play than most five and six drops in cube and will need to perform significantly above and beyond such cards to keep a slot. 

Lagrella, the Magpie 2

Messy card lacking in power or any particular use. It is fine but fine on a three colour card doth not get the bacon.