Hello and welcome back to the Magic Super Cube!

If you didn’t know, this is the blog where I look through the history of Magic sets that were released that were Standard legal or would have been Standard legal had the format existed and pick cards from those sets to make a huge Cube.

We are now entering a block that was deliberately made at a lower power level to try and rebound from the massive power that was present in Urza’s block by jumping into the first set of Masques block, the titular Mercadian Masques.

This set does have a bit of a power decrease, but with it still being a large set, there are still plenty of solid picks and plenty of cards that are strong. What’s more this set also experimented with some ways to cast spells for free, which is always a topic of contention depending on the card and how the spell is freely cast.

Let’s get started!

White

With there being no multicolor cards, I was able to once again choose four cards for each color, and white was in the middle of the pack in terms of how easy it was to pick cards for.

The noncreature spells were pretty easy, with a card that was printed in a previous set being chosen because of it being a decent removal spell and the other card being a, at the time, unique way to protect yourself from your opponent.

The creature spells were a bit tougher, mostly because there was a prominent creature type that debuted in this set that proved to be pretty decent during its time in Standard. In the end I chose one representative of that particular creature type and the other creature being another way to protect your things from your opponents.

My picks for white are Afterlife, Fountain Watch, Ivory Mask, and Ramosian Sky Marshal.

Blue

I would say that blue was probably the toughest of all five colors, and that was primarily a reason of very good picks and not very good picks.

For the creatures this is where the not very good picks stood out because there were some that could be interesting but not for what I would like from the Cube. In the end I chose a creature that works well in typal strategies and has a way to enter the battlefield for free and a big evasive creature.

The noncreature spells is where I was pretty spoilt for choice and had to make some tough decisions. The spells I ended up choosing was a free spell that could be a solid form of card advantage if played correctly and the other is a powerful tutor effect that takes your opponents things instead of your own.

My picks for blue are Bribery, Gush, Saprazzan Legate, and Tidal Kraken.

Black

Black was the second toughest to pick from, although the difficulty was really just limited to the noncreature spells.

Speaking of, the noncreature spells that I could have chosen were plentiful and also pretty strong. I decided to pick a way to generate a good amount of mana if a certain condition is met that can be built around in multiple ways in black and a free removal spell that is pretty iconic.

The creature spells were a bit easier, and there were some interesting options to choose from. The creatures that I did end up choosing were a creature that showcases a pseudo-mechanic that is tied to a creature type and debuted in this set that works really well in black and a creature that has a unique way of reviving itself and can definitely be a build around.

My picks for black are Black Market, Bog Witch, Nether Spirit, and Snuff Out.

Red

Red was the second easiest to pick from, but I had a bit of a back and forth with some cards.

The creatures were the easiest to pick from, with one creature being an icon of Magic that while pretty iconic, also has a unique ability among many cards in the game, even among other versions of this character, and a typal creature that can get itself onto the battlefield potentially for free.

The noncreature spells were a little trickier because there were several solid options, but in the end I chose a way to deal damage and be a potential board wipe that can be cast for free, and a way to deal damage if you decide to play a particular strategy that focuses on getting creatures in play.

My picks for red are Cave-In, Furious Assault, Kyren Legate, and Squee, Goblin Nabob.

Green

Green was by far the easiest to pick from, and that is still with there being a couple of tough picks.

The noncreature spells are really where I felt this, although that was more with the second pick for the color. There was one that was an obvious pick because of how iconic the card is and the other choice ended up being a solid card, but one that works better for a particular strategy.

The creatures came along a little easier, and that was more so because they were a creature that played well as a bit of a generic typal payoff no matter what creature type you choose, and the other is a creature that can be cast at instant speed and for free.

My picks for green are Ancestral Mask, Caller of the Hunt, Food Chain, and Vine Dryad.

Artifacts and Lands

Now I wanted to put artifacts and lands together, not because that there was only one choice of either and a bunch of the other, but because there were fewer artifact picks then there were land picks, but a bunch of the lands share a similarity that they would effectively be the same number of cards for each.

For the artifacts, I decided that going for a couple of fun artifacts served better for the Cube and ended up with a way to potentially make a bunch of tokens, give a creature a bunch of abilities, or a complex way to potentially get a bunch of extra turns.

The lands were pretty simple for the most part since there were two major cycles that were made available, with the main cycle I chose being the one that would be a bit more interesting to play with because of their temporary nature. I also chose two other lands with one being a way that helps as a sacrifice outlet and the other being a way to control the opponent’s mana if played correctly.

My picks for artifacts are Magistrate’s Scepter, Monkey Cage, and Power Matrix while my land picks are Remote Farm, Saprazzan Skerry, Peat Bog, Sandstone Needle, Hickory Woodlot, High Market, and Rishadan Port.

In Conclusion

Overall Mercadian Masques was not too difficult to pick cards from, but with that being said there were still some choices that I would have picked if I had more options, but as per the rules of making the Cube I ended up not picking them.

That isn’t the end for some cards, since there are plenty that do end up being reprinted since The Reserved List was abolished and there isn’t as much of a limiter for what could be reprinted in future sets.

When we return to the Cube, we continue on in looking at Masques block by taking a look at Nemesis, which has some pretty well known cards within the set, which while small has some solid hitters within the set.

As usual, here is the Moxfield link to keep up with all the cards in the Cube!

See you next time!

Peace,

From, J.M. Casual

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