**** >>> # **THE SHOCK CUBE** <<< **** ` ` ` ` >>> <<[[!e4b8946b-6604-49ca-98db-18a540b1b4e5]][[!1d7dcf74-110c-421f-87db-c2133d7a8281]][[!9067f5b3-1685-42b6-b838-3e19f1f6b36e]]>> <<< ` ` ` ` Welcome to The Shock Cube, a 2-4 player Jeskai micro cube with one important change... YOU START AT 2 LIFE! The Shock Cube has fascinating interactions, intricate games, and deep replayability. It is designed primarily for heads-up 2-player drafts however it contains enough cards for 2 pairs to draft and then play round robin. There are a few rule changes to note and a specialized draft format detailed below. ` ` ` ` >>> ### **THE RULES** <<< **** * Player's starting life total is 2. * The minimum deck size is 25. * Any action a player takes that would cause the game to draw instead causes them to lose. * Players must reveal hidden agendas and announce the chosen card at the start of the draft. ` ` ` ` >>> ### **DRAFTING** <<< **** The Shock Cube is a heads-up 2-player draft experience. To achieve this there are special rules for the draft. Players each receive 5 packs of 10 cards. Each pack is drafted as such: - Pick 1 card - Burn 1 card - Pass the pack to your opponent - Pick 2 cards - Burn 1 card - Pass the pack to your opponent - Pick 3 cards - Burn the last 2 cards Players then build decks with a minimum of 25 cards and play a best of 3 match. ` ` ` ` >>> ### **DECK BUILDING** <<< **** The minimum deck size is 25, however, with [[Advantageous Proclamation]], decks may be as small as 20. As deck building is a little unusual here are some helpful tips: * For 25 card decks 7-9 lands are recommended. * For 20 card decks 6-7 lands are recommended. * For single-pipped cards you want at least 3 sources of that color * For double-pipped cards you want at least 5 sources of that color * Milling out is a concern! Make sure you have a game plan. All interaction and no win conditions is risky business. ` ` ` ` >>> ### **BALANCE** <<< **** When you hear about a 2-life cube you expect it to be a complete unbalanced joke. Though there are games where players get early kills, it is never simple. The cube is balanced so that anything that kills quickly needs at *at least* 2 cards. Examples of what early kills require: 1 land on board: [[Rite of Flame]]>[[Flame Rift]]>[[Intervention Pact]] 2 lands on board: [[Pact of the Titan]]>[[Pact of Negation]](Targeting Titan)>[[An Offer You Can't Refuse]](Targeting Negation)>[[Kazuul's Fury]] As you can see games are not won so easily. These are the broad design choices that keep the cube balanced: - Basically any creature that could pose a threat has to meet either casting or state-based conditions to do so. >>> <<[[!4a2d3ba4-07c7-46bd-8241-0fa41105b771]][[!f4ec6fc4-efbf-4071-860e-ba244e27e2d3]][[!dd8272ca-8e3d-4980-99f2-352a1db76d74]]>> <<< - Many of the threats and interaction peices are attached to artifacts and enchantments which means that White and Red's disenchant effects functionally can be considered a form of counter magic. The game is about jockeying for board presence with all kinds of permanents as opposed to just creatures. >>> <<[[!80fca8c0-ae3e-439e-b202-228b9f360e9a]][[!6dfc7060-e374-486f-8029-d3fdfe4b61e7]][[!41509414-9faf-472d-8d38-391d9594cd56]]>> <<< - There are a plethora of miniature build arounds. Almost no threats are generically good, which means players will have to think about how they build their decks. >>> <<[[!1250735d-d43b-488f-bddf-ed10261a6382]][[!c0d1ee33-e247-4ada-bb01-518611cd7d00]][[!326c7483-2c45-4804-85c4-d40ecdba4fc7]]>> <<< The other important design choices are the omissions. Below are a list commonly considered week/low power cards in regular limited that are banned for how overpowered they are in this cube. This is a small list as a majority of cards in magic are too strong for this cube, but this highlights the kind of balance that goes into this design. - [[Shock]] - [[Revitalize]] - [[Devastating Summons]] - [[Cathedral Sanctifier]] - [[Ensoul Artifact]] - [[Golden Urn]] - [[Cloudshredder Sliver]] ` ` ` ` **** >>> ### **Enjoy!** <<< ****