With Double Masters 2022 fully spoiled and prerelease / preview weekend coming, there are important reprints for cubes of cards that are hard to come by or were maybe a bit pricey to justify buying for some. There is also a lot of downshifting that happens in these masters set that bring "new" cards to the pauper format and to peasant/pauper cubes. For this post, it's going to be a quick information guide on what cards got reprinted that are important to cube, what type of cubes they belong, and why you should run them. The analysis part won't be as detailed as that is not the intent of this. The order of the cards is irrelevant. For this post, I turned to the community (mostly r/mtgcube) to better understand on their feelings about the set.
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Notable Reprints
The cards listed below are cards that were already played in traditional cubes. These might have been out of your price range or were just harder to obtain. If you don't need them, sweet, if you don't, happy hunting or buying singles.
Notable Downshifts
The cards mentioned here were cards from previous sets that were downshifted to uncommon and common. This is huge for rarity restricted cubes such as pauper and peasant.
Peasant (Uncommon)
Originally printed as a rare, Graveblade Marauder has been downshifted to uncommon. This card seems potentially powerful for graveyard decks as its triggered ability gets stronger as your graveyard gets bigger. With death touch, this card is a viable attacker and blocker since its triggered ability will do damage.
Another rare downshift, Mentor of the Meek allows white to draw cards from creatures being played. This effect has not been seen at common yet, but at the rare level it is still being played in the form of Welcoming Vampire.
Downshift from rare, Body Double essentially functions as a blue reanimate spell, which adds further support for UB reanimator. Outside of those decks, it does let you recur your threat or finisher in a control deck.
This was one of the more exciting reprints that was announced. Originally a rare, Scion of Darkness is a strong reanimator target that swings the game towards your win. The card can cycle itself, so the only thing you really need is a way to reanimate it. Solid control finisher as well.
Myth Realized was always that did something cool, but was too weak to ft into higher power environment. With new life as an uncommon, it has a role in creature light decks. Opens up noncreature routes even further.
Though some of you might have already been running Prophetic Bolt due to an uncommon printing on MTGO, this is the first time it's been printed as an uncommon on paper. The card is strong as generally you're more than likely to kill a creature then impulse into a card.
Originally a rare, Aethermage's Touch essentially let's you use the ETB of a creature from the top 4 cards of your library, then bounces it back to your hand. You can keep the creature on board if you blink it. Card was never good enough for me to play in any format, but some of the community are interested in testing it for their cubes.
Lotleth Troll used to be one of the stronger options in the Golgari sections of unpowered cubes, but has been powercrept by better options. The downshift will bring back appreciation for this card in peasant cubes. It is versatile and resilient, which made it strong. From the feedback, I got from the community, this will make Golgari a much deeper color. Excited to see this card return.
Never really a prominent card in traditional cubes since at its floor, Livewire Lash is worse than Boneplitter. With a printing at uncommon now, some members are excited that the card can further support heroic strategies since it does give them an additional heroic trigger. I'm not too excited about this card, but combine with the other downshifted card Labyrinth Champion and you might have something crazy going on.
Labyrinth Champion is looking to be a strong player in heroic strategies. I clearly remember this card was never given a chance to playable in any format other than maybe THS limited. With this downshift, there's a chance for this card to finally find a home where it is better appreciated since it does turn all of your combat tricks into burn or removal, exactly like Livewire Lash. Unlike the Lash, I'm hoping to see some cool things with these cards.
Pauper
Relief Captain seems like a strong choice at white's 4 drops in pauper, again I'm not too knowledgeable about the format. As long as you curved out properly, card seems ridiculous as it is a pseudo anthem for your deck. It makes a strong flicker target as well.
Carrier Thrall is a solid option for midrange decks for pauper cube. It plays well with aristocrats and produces an extra body when it dies. The Scion token can be used as mana if you want it or just be a threatening second body. It's comparable to Doomed Traveler, so this should be a strong option.
Militia Bugler had some buzz about when it was first printed as it was a decent statted white card that would draw you a card. In higher rarity cubes, it had the potential to fetch you some gnarly choices like Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker. In pauper without cards like Mentor of the Meek, this may have a spot since it does keep fueling your deck.
A strong option in tempo decks with prowess. Jeskai Elder is best compared to Looter il-Kor, however without the evasion, it's not nearly as good. It can do more damage though and would be a solid addition alongside Looter il-Kor.
Premier red 1 drop that's been downshifted. Monastery Swiftspear isn't going to warp cubes, but this is going to make red aggro that much better alongside heroic and spells matter. This is one of the top cards for aggro in traditional cubes already and I mentioned it in my build guide for Boros Aggro. If you somehow never had the chance to play with this card. Enjoy. This is just insane.
Originally printed as a rare and is now downshifted all the way to common. Dark-Dweller Oracle always felt way too weak as a rare. It had an average body with an ability that it was really clunky to use since it costed mana to to use the ability and play the card you exile. As an uncommon, it might have been something of interest to peasant cubes, but as a common, though I'm not familiar with the format, this card does seem worth testing as it can turn your inefficient creatures into card advantage. So the community will decide the fate of this card.
Experiment One was still seeing play in cube lists that supported green aggro. The downshift does nothing but make it see even more play in cubes. This card is great since like Lotleth Troll, its resilient and a growing threat. I expect this to have an extended lifespan in cube.
Tuskguard Captain has always felt like a card that was just a little under playable for lower end unrestricted cubes. It was a payoff for +1/+1 counters that could grow itself. Had it had some stat adjustments, it would have been worth considering. As a common, this could see some life in pauper cubes.
I would have overlooked Vampire Sovereign, however some members of the community were excited about the downshift, which got me thinking about it. This reminds me a lot of one of my favorite cards Siege Rhino. It has the same drain effect and a respectable body, which can stabilize games. Combined with flying, you can stuff other fliers, while pushing damage. This seems like a solid control finisher for pauper.
Ground Assault is exciting to some as it is a uniquely Gruul removal that scales well into any point. This card is hard to evaluate for me, so we'll see how this card ends up playing.
Lyev Skyknight seems like a big deal for pauper cubes. I didn't play around the time of RTR limited, but I remember playing with this in another limited format and this card was bonkers strong. An aggressive flying body that is able to neuter one of your opponent's permanents, being able to blink it pushes it further. I still consider it for my traditional list, so I expect to see its inclusion.
Izzet Charm is a card I still playing in my traditional list. The versatility of the card has been great and still sees use even now. Outside of limited, I think it sees prominent play in Pioneer. With all the play it sees, pauper cubes should be having a great time with this.
Tenth District Legionnaire has some talking about it as it seems to be further support for the heroic decks. I ran the card for a little while to support Boros prowess as the card had haste and was an ability that encourage the archetype. It was fine, but wasn't better than the present prowess cards and was ultimately removed. With less powerful removal in pauper, I think this card can find a home where it will thrive in the right lists.
Dreg Mangler seems like a sweet card for pauper. A 3/3 with haste seems great in more aggressive Golgari list, being able to cash this card in the graveyard for 3 +1/+1 counters on any of your other creatures. This seems like it will be an allstar, though I could also be making up stuff. I like the card a lot and hope it does well.
Fireblade Artist has always been a card I keep looking at to consider in my Rakdos section. It's a bear with haste that has the potential to act as a sacrifice outlet to deal even more damage to player or planeswalkers. Simple, but effective.
The Wrap Up
This concludes any discussion I was planning for 2X2 since this is a reprint set. For us cubers, the main things we are looking for are the reprints that make cards more available to us and the downshifts. The downshifts have a much bigger impact on cubers than the reprints do since we already know how the reprints play.
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