A few missed gems from last sets

Red

–Imperial Recruiter, +Risk Factor

Imperial Recruiter can fetch many targets but provides very low initial tempo with a measly 1/1 for 2R body. We found out it was too inefficient to be a silver bullet and as specific combos such as Kiki-Jiki are not supported, decks would just opt for more redundancy over a slow, expensive tutor.

Risk Factor had good results in other cubes and standard. In aggressive red decks both outcomes are good for you. Likely even in not-so-quick red decks, taking 8 damage is very dangerous. The card has plenty of positive interactions, especially with conspiracies, prowess and looting effects.

 

–Verix Bladewing, +Experimental Frenzy

Verix is not good enough in 4 mana mode compared to red’s four drops. The 7 mana mode was never used. Unlike other top end creatures, it cannot see reasonable play in cheat strategies. Frenzy is a fun card we want to experiment with. It has a high ceiling, and is maximized in low curve decks or with Oracle of Mul Daya. Personally I am skeptical; it obviously suits only proactive decks and I think it will be too slow for aggro. Waiting for a full turn for your card to do anything is not where I want to be with that deck type.

 

Colorless

–Muzzio’s Preparations, +Treasure Map

We finally got tired of Preparations + Glen Elendra Archmage. As MP is a low pick, the combo got assembled often and is oppressive. There are very few ways to break out of it, you need a creature that can exile/control other creatures and the latter is mitigated by you playing blue.

Treasure Map is a slow card, but has a high powerlevel and several good homes. Obviously, a colorless source of card quality, draw and ramp has an appeal. As a cheap artifact, it is a natural to the artifacts decks, and it can provide three artifacts in one card. As a ramp card, it goes well with green ramp decks. Lastly, it is good in any slow matchup just as plenty of card advantage for the price. In control the treasures enable you to play a threat with counter mana backup. I’ve heard the card is good in cube from multiple sources.