Howdy, gamers, and welcome to another list of most Cubeable cards from a Magic: The Gathering expansion! Modern Horizons 3 is still very new, so the release schedule this time of year feels kind of out of control, but MTG – Assassin’s Creed is a small set with only so many notables for most players. Let’s start by taking a look at the macro themes of this release.
Assassins
Unsurprisingly, the Assassin’s Creed set references Assassins heavily! I’ve never seen a Cube with an Assassin typal theme, but that could certainly change! More to my interest is that this set includes a lot of relevant Humans, but there’s definitely some space to explore with the new freerunning mechanic for those who are looking to give assassin’s a spin!
Historic
And the other theme is, of course, creed! I mean, historic permanents! This release has a good number of artifacts, Sagas, and legendary permanents to offer even more support to this Dominaria-original term that has since been featured quite heavily in Magic at large. Every day we inch closer and closer to Mox Amber being a totally busted Cube card. The rates in this set are generally pretty modest, but there are some hits here if you’re trying to push a historic theme. That said, let’s move on to my list of the Top 10 most Cubeable cards from MTG – Assassin’s Creed!
10. Become Anonymous
This is a small release that is generally designed more to get Assassin’s Creed fans into Magic than to push the power level on any individual card, and as such, the lower entries on my list today are much more on the “fun” side of things than “powerful.” This is not to say that Become Anonymous is weak, just that the most powerful use for a spell like this is to protect your creature from a removal spell and four mana is a lot for that sort thing.
But when we set that aside and just think about casting the card? This invites a really fun mini-game! Not only can you hide a creature that maybe has something like a hit trigger to make it scary, but you also add potentially scary things entering from the top of your library into the mix! I’m a little bit of a disguise hater because of the added complexity over morph and the way that ward 2 is really punishing in any instance when using spot removal on the face down creature is the play, but I do consider effects that cloak other cards more fun than cards that themselves have disguise.
9. The Aesir Escape Valhalla
The Aesir Escape Valhalla is another card that adds something of a mini-game to a game of Magic. Normally I’m against cards that so obviously exist with the intention of looping them over and over, but the rate on this card is so modest that I see this is a potentially very net-fun addition to something like a Peasant Cube and not a busted and reductive monster like Recurring Nightmare.
The Aesir Escape Valhalla does a pretty poor Eternal Witness impression on power level given its many restrictions, but there are plenty of ways to build around this card. A deck full of creatures with enter the battlefield or sacrifice abilities could easily leverage it, and it plays quite naturally with other Sagas as well!
8. Assassin Gauntlet
Assassin Gauntlet comes at a very modest rate, but it is a unique enough design that I could see it breaking in to Cubes of middle-of-the-road power levels. Equipping automatically for the first time is significant, even if three mana for +1/+1 and a looting hit trigger is a little steep. It’s the tapping your opponent’s creatures part that potentially puts this card over as a unique way to break a board stall.
Is it fun to just tap your opponent’s creatures to shove for lethal in a game that had a lot of potentially interesting things going on otherwise? Not necessarily! But I do see this as another entry into the long list of Equipment that adds additional texture to Stoneforge Mystic and other Equipment-based packages.
7. Ezio, Brash Novice
Ezio, Brash Novice is one of those cards that would have been in a lot of Cubes ten or so years ago and is, in truth, not very appealing today. There are a couple things going on here that make the card worth highlighting though.
The most significant aspect of the card is that it costs hybrid mana, so if you’re trying to support both mono-white and mono-red aggressive decks as well as enabling both colors to be aggressive with their non-Boros pairings, that matters. The other significant thing to note is that any two counters on Ezio will earn it first strike, which opens the door for a lot of potential synergies. There are all kinds of synergies with Human as a creature type too, so while this card isn’t incredible on rate, it is still a potentially appealing game piece!
6. Basim Ibn Ishaq
Basim Ibn Ishaq won’t just fit into any Cube, but a two mana 2/2 with a relevant creature type that can draw extra cards, become unblockable, and grow over time is definitely worth some Cube consideration!
I mentioned at the top of the article that historic is something that just gets more and more support all the time, and while a Cube with a lot of Sagas and specific artifact or legendary support would be most interested in this card, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if a lot of Cubes just naturally ended up with a lot of ways to enable a historic micro-archetype just by naturally getting updates with recent releases.
Whether you surround Basim Ibn Ishaq with Fable of the Mirror-Breaker, Mox Opal, Sword of Fire and Ice, or Kaervek, the Punisher, this looks like a card that can do some real work.
5. Distract the Guards
Distract the Guards may be a bit more specific than Basim Ibn Ishaq, but it’s a home-run in Cubes that want it, which is mostly going to be Peasant Cubes and those with support for Humans as a creature type. The freerunning ability is honestly kind of an eyesore, and distracts from the fact that this is primarily the white Hordeling Outburst.
Much like Hordeling Outburst in red, there are a lot of white three-mana cards that rank ahead of Distract the Guards for higher powered environments. That said, cards like Spectral Procession are still great in rarity restricted and lower-powered Cubes, and while weaker, this one is easier to cast. I haven’t worked with Assassins at all myself, but I will concede that the freerunning ability is potentially relevant in that space! I have worked with Rogues though, and I do always like to see more party support.
4. Mary Read and Anne Bonny
Mary Read and Anne Bonny reads a little weird by calling out Pirates and Vehicles, but it’s not uncommon for blue decks to have some extra Islands to discard! I was initially a little cold on this card for its seeming specificity, but the more I’ve sat with it, the more I’ve liked it.
We do actually get a decent clip of three-mana 3/3 hasters these days, but that kind of body with a looting ability tacked on when you don’t have good attacks is pretty appealing. The thing that really puts this card over though, is that the clause to get Treasure triggers off of any discard. At minimum, that means that I’m going to need a copy of this one for Spooky Cube.
3. Shay Cormac
Entering as a two-color, two-mana 1/1 isn’t anything to write home about, but Shay Cormac does a lot more than that once its on the battlefield! I’ve come to appreciate a little hexproof, ward, and what-have-you in Cube, and while I have never liked the clause on Shadowspear to remove them, I do love the flavor of an Assassin doing so!
Setting that aside, Shay Cormac also just gets huge in any Cube that’s about attrition on the battlefield. The first kill spell used in conjunction with it already leaves you with a 3/3, and things get really out of hand after that. Human, Knight, and Rogue are all also potentially relevant creature types! This one is a lock for the Tempo Twobert.
2. Senu, Keen-Eyed Protector
A two-mana 2/1 with flying and vigilance that offers an ability to cash it in for some value when that body is no longer relevant is already worth some attention, and the ability for Senu to return from exile opens up some really powerful potential. I mentioned Mox Opal as a Cube card waiting in the wings earlier, and I daresay it might be time for the return of Isamaru to the fold and for Yoshimaru’s day in the sun!
Ultimately, these legendary synergies can’t quite hang in the highest power environments, but there is some powerful and fun stuff happening here. Senu easily stands out as one of the most appealing rates in this release.
1. Tax Collector
I love Tax Collector, and I expect that if it were released in a Standard-legal set, it wouldn’t take long to realize just how obnoxious making all of your opponent’s spells cost one more for a turn can be! Sure, Tax Collector won’t be a great topdeck as the game goes long, but how many two drops are? And even then, the detain ability is still potentially useful. I believe Tax Collector is just a solid rate that could be plainly obnoxious to blink!
The most important thing to remember is that the tax effect only affects your opponent, and it increases the cost of all spells, not just non-creatures. That means removal, blockers, additional attackers, sweepers, all of it! It’s possible that some blink synergies and/or taking advantage of the Human creature type will be important to really leverage this card, but I expect it to be at least a solid Peasant Cube card and is one that I intend to try in multiple environments.
For my money, MTG – Assassin’s Creed hits exactly right for the style of release it is. There are some cool Commander cards, a lot of flavor for fans of the source IP, and nothing that enfranchised Magic players are really going to need. I’ll be picking up a handful of cards for myself, and it looks like they shouldn’t be too expensive! I certainly don’t mind that after how much I’ve been spending on Modern Horizons 3!
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