Dear Skyrider Elf, 

<3

Sometimes, just sometimes, Wizards make these cards where I get the idea they made them especially for me. Where they just fit one of my Cubes just a bit too good it’s almost suspicious. You, Skyrider Elf, are one of those cards. 

You fit just a tad too good in my Hanjo Masters #2 Cube. It’s easy to explain:

• You cost blue and green at a base level
• You are an Ally
• You get +1/+1 counters
• You support 5 color decks

I have built 6 Masters Cubes by now. In some of them I’ve put a couple of Tribal themes, usually 2. Once upon a time I tried my hand at a Tribal Cube and I found out what every other person ever found out: Tribal Cubes are boring. They have such a low replayability, they steer the drafters so much. But having 2 tribal themes in a Masters Cube works out great. Some drafters really focus on trying to get their Tribal theme to work, but the challenge as a designer is to keep them flexible. That a lot of the tribal cards are also good in other decks so they can read the draft and pivot. Because if too many people are trying to draft the same Tribal deck, they all end up with a train wreck. But you also don’t want all the Tribal cards to be free pickups for the person drafting them. 

And in my Hanjo Masters #2 I support an 5 color Ally theme. It really rewards the drafters that get there, because if you alone get to pick up all the Ally bangers, you get an insanely strong deck. But quite some Ally creatures actually work great in other themes as well, and you do in 2 others. You support the +1/+1 counter theme and you are also a great pickup for the 5 color landfall/domain deck. You fit so perfectly in this Cube that I think Wizards is spying on me.

With love, 

Hanjo