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The 270 Classic
(270 Card Cube)
OverviewListHistoryPlaytestAnalysisBlog
The 270 Classic
Cube ID
270classic
Art by Marcelo VignaliArt by Marcelo Vignali
270 Card Unpowered Vintage Cube10 followers
Designed by Rook221
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Owned
$894
Buy
$1,119
Purchase
Mana Pool$1348.15
The 270 Classic

Smaller cube for my smaller playgroup. Made to support 2-6 people.

Most recent update: September 2024

I recommend configuring the drafting sim with one of the following settings:

  • 6 seats, 3 packs, 15 cards
  • 6 seats, 4 packs, 11 cards
  • 4 seats, 5 packs, 9 cards

(This cube is undergoing a transition period. See the design section for details.)

Archetypes

I designed this cube around the following 3-color wedge themes:

  • Abzan (wbg): Counters
  • Jeskai (wur): Instants & Sorceries
  • Sultai (ubg): Graveyard Shenanigans
  • Mardu (wbr): Tokens
  • Temur (urg): Ramp

Here is a brief overview of this cube's (intended) archetypes:

wbg Persist Combo


There are a few combos built into wbg that, while a bit difficult to set-up, allow for either a lot of recurring value or an on-the-spot win. The clearest one involves combining Vizier of Remedies and Devoted Druid to generate infinite mana. More complicated combos involve playing an enabler, a persist target, and a sacrifice engine:

The persist combo deck benefits from a slight red splash (Goblin Bombardment) and from cards that let you search your library for creatures (Diabolic Intent, Green Sun's Zenith, Birthing Pod).

In wg (and to a lesser extent b), there is also a general midrange sub-theme. Abzan Falconer plus Venerated Loxodon or Verdurous Gearhulk can give your whole board flying; Collected Company into two powerful three-drops like Tireless Tracker or Courser of Kruphix is stronger than most turn 4 plays in this cube; Birthing Pod can provide recurring value with some of the good the ETB effects in white (Wall of Omens, Blade Splicer), green (Eternal Witness, Reclamation Sage), and black (Ravenous Chupacabra, Harvester of Misery, Noxious Gearhulk).

wu Flicker


The wu flicker deck involves playing powerful enter-the-battlefield effects and 'flicker' spells that allow you to trigger those ETB effects multiple times. Notable cards include:

There is one infinite combo in wu that involves casting Ghostly Flicker repeatedly on Peregrine Drake and Archaeomancer.

ur Tempo


The ur deck combines cheap instants and sorceries with creatures that benefit from casting instants and sorceries. Notable cards include:

This deck also benefits from discard/graveyard synergies (Inti, Seneschal of the Sun, Torrential Gearhulk).

bg Graveyard Value


The bg graveyard deck is an aggressive creature-centric deck that benefits from self-mill, sacrifice, recurring sources of value. Notable cards include:

ub Reanimator


The ub reanimator deck has two pieces: putting creatures in graveyards and reanimating them. Notable cards include:

To get a reanimation target in the graveyard, the best option is Entomb, followed by Lively Dirge. Other options are self-mill (Stitcher's Supplier) and discard (Shoreline Looter, Collective Brutality, Bitter Triumph).

wr Go-Wide


The wr go-wide deck generates a lot of tokens and then buffs them. Notable cards include:

br Sacrifice


The rb sacrifice deck generates a lot of tokens and then sacrifices them. Notable cards include:

A few pieces of this deck double as token generation and a sacrifice outlet. There is a minor 'goblins' subtheme (Sling-Gang Lieutenant, Siege-Gang Commander).

urg Midrange / Ramp


The urg ramp deck casts expensive green creatures alongside the efficient removal and card draw of blue and red. Notable cards include:

This deck can go in a number of directions: all-in on green ramp, slower control with counterspells (Counterspell, Mana Leak) and card-draw (Mystic Confluence, Lórien Revealed), or more aggressive with cheap removal (Burst Lightning, Lightning Bolt) and red creatures (Bonecrusher Giant, Thunderbreak Regent). Cards with alternative expensive modes find a natural home in these colors (overload with Cyclonic Rift and Mizzium Mortars; eternalize with Champion of Wits and Earthshaker Khenra).

Assorted (Unorganized) Design Thoughts
  • Because I've recently been testing out higher-powered cards via proxies, you may notice that the power level is a bit all over the place. On one end, I've included Jace, the Mind Sculptor and Orcish Bowmasters; on the other, I've included Fain, the Broker, Intangible Virtue, and Archaeomancer. I'm aware of this. I plan to slowly even-out the power level of the cube as I acquire cards (or high-quality proxies) and have more opportunities to playtest.
  • Why 270 cards? In a traditional draft, each player drafts a total of 45 cards (15 cards per pack * 3 packs). For 6 players, this totals 270 cards.
  • Originally, I planned to tie each wedge to 2 two-color pairs, where each pair would play off of the wedge's theme in some distinctive way. For example, both wr 'go-wide' and br 'sacrifice' fit under the wbr 'tokens' theme. However, as it stands, only Jeskai, Mardu, and Sultai are in line with this original vision. Abzan and Temur have gone in different directions. At some point, I'd might expand these wedges to give their associated color pairs a more distinctive identity.
  • For the archetypes I do support, I've attempted to include only a few parasitic cards. (In general, I prefer a cards like Kitsa, Otterball Elite over those like Delver of Secrets, even though Delver of Secrets might work well, and may even be stronger, in a very refined ur deck.) I'd like drafters to have some leeway, and for decks to not follow the same regimented structure every draft. The most parasitic archetype I'm currently testing is wbg Persist Combo. (In general, combo decks become weaker in smaller cubes, and so I'm not sure how long the persist combo stuff will stick around.)
  • The 'maybeboard' on the list page is somewhat of a mess: it includes everything from cards I'm seriously considering, to cards I own that seem cube-able-ish, to cards that are staples in more powerful cubes (and so I'd like to keep an eye on them).
  • I unfortunately don't have the opportunity to cube very often. When I do, it's rarely with a consistent group of players or in a consistent format (though most often 2-player winston draft or 4-6 player booster draft). I'm never quite sure how much my most recent changes mess with balance. (So, while anyone is welcome to borrow from my list or design choices, do so at your own peril!)
  • I started playing magic in 2014 and started building this cube in 2015. Back then, this cube was just a pile of the best rares I owned in a box. A few of the cards you'll find here are still included for nostalgia, as opposed to for their coherence with my overall design vision.
  • I'm always open to feedback! Feel free to share thoughts about this cube by commenting on your most recent draft or on my most recent blog post.
Sleeves, Storage, Etc.

Card versions should be accurate on the list page. As for other details, I currently store the entire cube in a Dex Protection Supreme One Row, have 32 of each basic land, double sleeve with KMC perfect fits (inner sleeve) and Ultra Pro Eclipse Matte White (outer sleeves), and have every token available in Legion Double Matte Alchemy. I'm considering changing the outer sleeves to Dragon Shield Matte White Sleeves and getting 32 of the same basic land for each color (potentially the Rebecca Guay C17 land cycle).