Budget Synergy Cube by arKie
(540 Card Cube)
Budget Synergy Cube by arKie
Cube ID
Art by Mark TedinArt by Mark Tedin
540 Card Budget Cube1 follower
Designed by arKie
Owned
$183
Buy
$111
Purchase
Mana Pool$209.70
Introduction

This is a budget synergy cube, designed for a "regular" draft experience. There are no Power cards here - this plays similarly to a strong officially released set e.g. Modern Horizons.

Ten archetypes with some cross-synergies allow for many interesting strategies:

wu Azorious Flicker
ub Dimir Discard
ur Izzet Spells
gu Simic Proliferate
wb Orzhov Life-Control
br Rakdos Sacrifice
bg Golgari Graveyard
rw Boros Artifact-ggro
rg Gruul Ramp
gw Selesnya Counters


wu Azorius Flicker

This archetype uses "Enters the battlefield" effects to gain a gradual advantage. It is also capable of winning by board tempo with bounce effects. Make a choice mid-draft: win with tempo (low mana curve, fliers and bounce effects/removal) or win with late game value (powerful ETB effects and flicker effects).


ub Dimir Discard

Dimir discard focuses on discarding your own cards instead of the typical hand disruption. This is paired with discard/draw matters kind of cards or reanimation. During draft, prioritize payoff cards and cheap discard sources, but keep an eye out for smaller synergies as well (eg. delve/flashback).


ur Izzet Spells

As the name implies, a heavy focus on non-creature spells is present with this color-pair. You can focus on creatures that benefit from spells and back them up with removal, or alternatively go for a grindier recur-your-spells build.


gu Simic Proliferate

Simic focuses on slowly building up it's board state by growing creatures. Should you wish to play this archetype, you should focus on creatures that are easy to enable - for example creatures that enter the battlefield with +1/+1 counters on them. The effects that enable these creatures are secondary. Your early board-state will probably be weaker than your opponent's, but should you survive to mid-late game your board will crush theirs.


wb Orzhov Life-Control

A lot of different mechanics are welded together here: life gain, removal, sacrifice... Typically you will gain small advantages in card count or board state, while life gain will give you the time to do so. Don't underestimate draining your opponents life total: it gives inevitability to your deck and a low life total also makes attacking you awkward (as there would be less blockers against your own attackers).


br Rakdos Sacrifice

The ever present, cliché archetype beloved by many. In this cube, the archetype is very flexible in terms of speed: a very aggressive build is just as viable as a grindy control variant. While drafting, it is important to find a balance between payoffs, sacrifice fodder and sacrifice sources.


bg Golgari Graveyard

This color-pair tries to gain value from your graveyard. It can gain card advantage with graveyard recursion or cards that can be cast from graveyard, but it's also possible to go for a reanimator deck with big cycling creatures and reanimation spells. Look for a blue splash as well, as these three colors have good synergies together.


rw Boros Artifact-ggro

The most aggressive archetype in the cube focuses on a low creature-curve with incidental artifact synergies. Equipment-creatures are a high priority while drafting, while removal - as essential as it is for an aggro deck - is less important, as it is plentiful in this color-pair. The plan is to get on board early and remove their blockers with cheap removal.


rg Gruul Ramp

Do stompy creatures and big spells sound fun? Then this deck is for you. Use ramp effects and mana dorks to cast powerful spells your opponent can't overcome. You should jump on this archetype if you see good payoffs for big mana (X-spells, top-end creatures, mana sinks, card draw) and ways to get that mana during your draft. Don't forget that this cube has a low mana curve, so you need early plays too!


gw Selesnya Counters

Selesnya is all about building a strong board presence and then pumping your creatures to push through enemy defences. During drafting, if you already have cheap creatures suitable for attacking and see higher costed creatures that distribute +1/+1 counters, consider moving to this archetype. Keep an eye out for removal spells against stompy opponents.

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