While it has only been about a week since its release, it’s interesting to see The Big Score having a big effect on Constructed as a whole. With only 30 cards featured, it seemed unlikely that The Big Score would have much of an impact. Surprisingly, multiple different cards have made their presences felt.
Most notably,
Simulacrum Synthesizer
Simulacrum Synthesizer
When this artifact enters, scry 2.
Whenever another artifact you control with mana value 3 or greater enters, create a 0/0 colorless Construct artifact creature token with "This token gets +1/+1 for each artifact you control."
has proven to be an elite Affinity payoff in Legacy and Modern.
Lost Jitte
Lost Jitte
Whenever equipped creature deals combat damage, put a charge counter on Lost Jitte.
Remove a charge counter from Lost Jitte: Choose one —
• Untap target land.
• Target creature can't block this turn.
• Put a +1/+1 counter on equipped creature.
Equip {1}
, while maybe not as powerful as some players were hoping it would be, has shown up in multiple different
Urza’s Saga
Urza’s Saga
(As this Saga enters and after your draw step, add a lore counter. Sacrifice after III.)
I — This Saga gains "{T}: Add {C}."
II — This Saga gains "{2}, {T}: Create a 0/0 colorless Construct artifact creature token with 'This token gets +1/+1 for each artifact you control.'"
III — Search your library for an artifact card with mana cost {0} or {1}, put it onto the battlefield, then shuffle.
shells. It even helped a unique Tron variant focused on abusing
Coretapper
Coretapper
{T}: Put a charge counter on target artifact.
Sacrifice this creature: Put two charge counters on target artifact.
and
Surge Node
Surge Node
This artifact enters with six charge counters on it.
{1}, {T}, Remove a charge counter from this artifact: Put a charge counter on target artifact.
make its way into top eight of a Magic Online Modern Challenge.
Pest Control
Pest Control
Destroy all nonland permanents with mana value 1 or less.
Cycling {2} ({2}, Discard this card: Draw a card.)
has also popped up in a variety of different archetypes. Interestingly, all of these cards received some hype during spoiler season and, for the most part, have not disappointed. One card, however, that did not garner much attention, is
Collector’s Cage
Collector’s Cage
Hideaway 5 (When this artifact enters, look at the top five cards of your library, exile one face down, then put the rest on the bottom in a random order.)
{1}, {T}: Put a +1/+1 counter on target creature you control. Then if you control three or more creatures with different powers, you may play the exiled card without paying its mana cost.
. Collector’s Cage certainly has potential to pop off, but looked like the setup cost might be too high for Constructed.
As it turns out, the card has shown up in Pioneer and Modern. Maximizing Hideaway is surprisingly easy in the right deck, and the upside of casting a game-breaking permanent is certainly high. Let’s start by taking a look at the most common archetype that Collector’s Cage has slotted into.
Basic Humans Shell
At its core, this deck is extremely similar to a traditional mono-white Humans deck in Pioneer. From
Dauntless Bodyguard
Dauntless Bodyguard
As this creature enters, choose another creature you control.
Sacrifice this creature: The chosen creature gains indestructible until end of turn.
to
Hopeful Initiate
Hopeful Initiate
Training (Whenever this creature attacks with another creature with greater power, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature.)
{2}{W}, Remove two +1/+1 counters from among creatures you control: Destroy target artifact or enchantment.
, this deck utilizes a bunch of efficiently costed Humans to start attacking with. By focusing on maintaining a large density of Humans specifically, this deck is able to leverage the power of
Thalia’s Lieutenant
Thalia’s Lieutenant
When this creature enters, put a +1/+1 counter on each other Human you control.
Whenever another Human you control enters, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature.
and
Coppercoat Vanguard
Coppercoat Vanguard
Each other Human you control gets +1/+0 and has ward {1}. (Whenever it becomes the target of a spell or ability an opponent controls, counter it unless that player pays {1}.)
exceptionally well.
Arguably the biggest payoff for playing a low to the ground Humans deck, though, is
Adeline, Resplendent Cathar
Adeline, Resplendent Cathar
Vigilance
Adeline's power is equal to the number of creatures you control.
Whenever you attack, for each opponent, create a 1/1 white Human creature token that's tapped and attacking that player or a planeswalker they control.
. This card is simply messed up. It has four toughness, making it tough to kill right away. It grows your army every turn that you attack. If that weren’t enough, it also has the potential to be a very large attacker.
With Adeline and the Human “Lords” in the mix, this deck is fully capable of running over the opponent even without drawing
Collector’s Cage
Collector’s Cage
Hideaway 5 (When this artifact enters, look at the top five cards of your library, exile one face down, then put the rest on the bottom in a random order.)
{1}, {T}: Put a +1/+1 counter on target creature you control. Then if you control three or more creatures with different powers, you may play the exiled card without paying its mana cost.
. When this deck does draw Collector’s Cage, though, it becomes a whole different beast.
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Adding the Collector’s Cage Package
Collector’s Cage has the potential to be a game-breaking Artifact for only two mana, but it does require some setup. First, you ideally need to hit some sort of haymaker in the top five cards of your library when Collector’s Cage enters the battlefield. This ensures that if you put in the work to be able to cast the card you exiled via Hideaway, the reward is worthwhile.
Second, you need to meet these requirements, which in this case, revolve around you controlling three Creatures each with different power. Initially, I thought this would be quite difficult to achieve, especially in a removal-heavy format like Pioneer. However, I clearly underestimated the general activated ability of Collector’s Cage.
If your opponent doesn’t have removal at the ready, you can resolve Collector’s Cage and get your payoff as early as turn three. To do this, you need to cast three one-drops during the first two turns. One of them must be
Hopeful Initiate
Hopeful Initiate
Training (Whenever this creature attacks with another creature with greater power, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature.)
{2}{W}, Remove two +1/+1 counters from among creatures you control: Destroy target artifact or enchantment.
, and the other two can be any mix of two-power Creatures. Then on turn three, you can follow up with Cage, immediately put a +1/+1 counter on one of the two-power Creatures, and you’re golden.
Enabling Cage turn three certainly requires a bit of luck and lack of interaction from the opponent, but doing so turn four is easier than it may seem. On top of that, Cage’s ability to grow your Creatures at Instant speed turn after turn should not be underestimated. Even your puny one-drops become scary threats over time. This means that, even in the face of ample removal spells from the opponent, Cage still puts in work.
Of course, if the opponent doesn’t have removal, casting
Moonshaker Cavalry
Moonshaker Cavalry
Flying
When this creature enters, creatures you control gain flying and get +X/+X until end of turn, where X is the number of creatures you control.
from exile via Cage is typically game over. Moonshaker Cavalry lets the Humans deck go over the top of large blockers, which can be essential in a field dominated by
Vein Ripper
Vein Ripper
Flying
Ward—Sacrifice a creature.
Whenever a creature dies, target opponent loses 2 life and you gain 2 life.
and
Amalia Benavides Aguirre
Amalia Benavides Aguirre
Ward—Pay 3 life.
Whenever you gain life, Amalia Benavides Aguirre explores. Then destroy all other creatures if its power is exactly 20. (To have this creature explore, reveal the top card of your library. Put that card into your hand if it's a land. Otherwise, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature, then put the card back or put it into your graveyard.)
combo. This deck also utilizes a playset of
Emeria’s Call
Emeria’s Call
Create two 4/4 white Angel Warrior creature tokens with flying. Non-Angel creatures you control gain indestructible until your next turn.
, which doubles as both a Land-drop when necessary or an excellent card to Hideaway.
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Modern Additions
Collector’s Cage is such a scary card that players have even begun incorporating it into Modern Humans decks! Modern Humans managed to go undefeated in a recent Magic Online Modern Preliminary event, further showcasing the power of Collector’s Cage. Unlike Modern Humans decks of the past, this is not a multi-color
Aether Vial
Aether Vial
At the beginning of your upkeep, you may put a charge counter on this artifact.
{T}: You may put a creature card with mana value equal to the number of charge counters on this artifact from your hand onto the battlefield.
shell. Instead, we have a mono-white build with a lot of similarities to Pioneer decklists.
Coppercoat Vanguard, Thalia’s Lieutenant, and Adeline all remain high-quality options. There are a few notable upgrades, however. Champion of the Parish is a much stronger one-drop than Dauntless Bodyguard, for instance. Getting to incorporate
Solitude
Solitude
Flash
Lifelink
When this creature enters, exile up to one other target creature. That creature's controller gains life equal to its power.
Evoke—Exile a white card from your hand.
is also a huge deal. One of the major weaknesses of the Pioneer version is that any copies of Moonshaker Cavalry that you naturally draw during the game are generally useless. In Modern, simply pitch them to Solitude.
Most importantly, the Modern Humans variant gets some extra redundancy thanks to the inclusion of
Windbrisk Heights
Windbrisk Heights
Hideaway 4 (When this land enters, look at the top four cards of your library, exile one face down, then put the rest on the bottom in a random order.)
This land enters tapped.
{T}: Add {W}.
{W}, {T}: You may play the exiled card without paying its mana cost if you attacked with three or more creatures this turn.
. This deck has a more consistent chance of finding Moonshaker Cavalry and breaking the game wide open.
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Other Ideas
Beyond the general Humans builds, many players are exploring the different possibilities that Collector’s Cage opens up. In Pioneer, some players have tried adding green. Llanowar Elves and
Elvish Mystic
Elvish Mystic
{T}: Add {G}.
are excellent mana accelerants that can help make turn three Cage combos more reliable. Meanwhile,
Lovestruck Beast
Lovestruck Beast
This creature can't attack unless you control a 1/1 creature.
and Esika’s Chariot can each create multiple Creatures, making you less vulnerable to removal.
Other players have begun experimenting with Convoke-style Modern shells. Adding
Ornithopter
Ornithopter
Flying
and
Memnite
Memnite
takes the deck’s explosive nature to a new level.
Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
This spell can't be countered.
When you cast this spell, take an extra turn after this one.
Flying, protection from spells that are one or more colors, annihilator 6
When Emrakul is put into a graveyard from anywhere, its owner shuffles their graveyard into their library.
acts as the ultimate finisher here. Getting to take an extra turn and attack for a 15 damage in the air, all while forcing the opponent to sacrifice six permanents should be more than enough to win the game.
Collector’s Cage certainly has a lot of potential in Pioneer and Modern. The question is, what cards make up the strongest supporting cast? As players continue to work towards answering this question, make sure to keep Collector’s Cage on your radar. The powerful Artifact can take over the game with even the most unassuming of board states if you’re not prepared.
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