Battle Box - Old School 1995
(449 Card Cube)
Battle Box - Old School 1995
Cube ID
Art by Douglas ShulerArt by Douglas Shuler
449 Card Battle Box Vintage Cube1 follower
Designed by gtg291b
Owned
$9,606
Buy
$6,059
Purchase
Mana Pool$8030.04

Description and Rules

This is an Old School 1995 Battle Box, that includes cards printed up through the Homelands expansion. Since this Battle Box is based on Brian Demar's Old School Danger Room, it largely adopts his game play rules.

  1. Players start the game with set of resources in the command zone.
  2. Players can play one land from the command zone each turn.
  3. Lands go to the command zone when destroyed, but can't be replayed.
  4. Players start the game with 5 cards.
  5. Players have a maximum hand size of 9 cards.
  6. Players share a common library.
  7. Players share a common graveyard. This allows players greater opportunity to use graveyard-based cards, like Skull of Orm or Argivian Archaeologist. The common graveyard also creates a small chaos element for triggering Nether Shadow. Moreover, imagine how fun it would be to Pyroblast your opponent's Nicol Bolas - and then Regrowth it! However, independent graveyards can be used - if all players agree to this before the game starts.
  8. The game starts with a Rainbow Vale and a Standing Stones in play. These resources enable better color-fixing, and allow players to cast spells with more than two devotion. They have the following errata
    • Rainbow Vale, "during their turn, a player may tap Rainbow Vale for one mana of any color. Activate this ability only once per turn."
    • Standing Stones, "Pay 1 life and 1 generic mana: add one many of any color to your mana pool"
  9. During their first turn, the starting player can either choose to draw a card OR activate the Rainbow Vale.

Lands

Players receive sets of lands, which are determined by the size of the playgroup.

In 2-person games, players receive 16 lands

_In 3-person or 4-person games, players receive 14 resources _

  • 2 of each basic (to limit costs, the Legends lands can act as basics)
  • 1 Strip Mine
  • 1 Mishra's Factory
  • 1 Desert
  • Fellwar Stone (to aid with color fixing). Fellwar Stone is errated to have shroud, indestructibility, and it cannot be countered.

Expansions

I have included two expansions for this Battle Box. These expansions can be played separately or simultaneously.

Elder Dragon Highlander Expansion

Expansion includes - All 5 Elder Dragons from Legends

  1. Players randomly determine selection order.
  2. Players then select one Elder Dragon from.

I have not included the option to select Nicol Bolas, because he would always be the first pick.

  1. The player that selects their set last takes the first turn.
  2. Players start the game with their Elder Dragon in the command zone.
  3. Players can cast commanders from the command zone.
  4. When destroyed or exiled, commanders return to the command zone.
  5. Players can replay their commanders from the command zone, if they pay the standard commander tax - that is an additional 2 for each time that it has already been played from the command zone.

World Deck Expansion

Expansion includes - 30 spells, artifacts, and enchantments

The world deck lets global effects happen randomly, without players having to draw and cast them. This concept is taken from MTG Battle Box: so, I largely adopt their rules.

  1. At the beginning of the game, shuffle the World deck and turn over the top card. If this card is an instant or sorcery, shuffle the World deck and repeat the process. The flipped card is then considered to be in effect.

  2. Whenever the top card of the World deck is turned over - if it is an instant or sorcery, it takes immediate effect. Once this effect resolves, flip over another card. For artifacts and enchantments, place a 6-sided dice on the card showing the number 6.

  3. At the end of each player’s untap step, lower the number on the dice by 1. If the dice would be lowered to 0, instead exile the current card and turn over the top card from the World deck.

  4. A player may at any time during his or her turn pay an amount of mana equal to the number on the dice to exile the current card and turn over the top card from the World deck. This is treated as an activated ability that goes onto the stack and can be responded to.

  5. When there are no cards left in the World deck, shuffle all exiled World cards into a new World deck.

  6. Cards from the World deck may not be targeted and are not affected by any other cards or effects.

For the World deck I selected cards that impact a variety of gameplay aspects. These cards are listed in the Maybeboard.

Wrath effects
.1) Tranquility - destroys all enchantments
2) Shatterstorm - destroys all artifacts
3) The Abyss - destroys a creature each turn

Resource management
4) Necropotence - trades life for cards
5) Pestilence - trades life for damage
6) Life Chisel& - trades creatures for life
7) Gate to Phyrexia& - trades creatures for artifacts
8) Ivory Tower - players choose to cast spells or gain life
9) Zuran Orb - trades lands for life
10) Coral Helm - trades cards for creature pump
11) Energy Flux - trades mana for artifacts
& Players can activate these abilities once per turn at instant speed

Combat Tempo
12) Mightstone - boosts attack
13) Weakstone - boosts defense
14) Concordant Crossroads - grants haste
15) Kismet - denies haste
16) Caverns of Despair - narrows combat in favor of fatties
17) Meekstone - narrows combat in favor of weenies
18) Total War - forces creatures to attack
19) Arboria - precludes creatures from attacking
20) Moat - limits attackers
21) Goblin War Drums - limits blockers

Assorted effects
22) Juxtapose - introduces chaos into the game
23) In the Eye of Chaos - limits instants and sorceries
24) Aether Storm - limits creature spells
25) Titania's Song - turns artifacts into creatures
26) Living Plain - turns lands into creatures
27) Worms of the Earth - players cannot play lands
28) Fastbond - players can play extra lands
29) Energy Storm - hates on direct damage spells and flyers
30) Arena of the Ancients - hates on legendary creatures

Card Errata (that has not been mentioned already)

Dust to Dust: Remove up to two target artifacts from the game
Falling Star: Taken from Eternal Central Choose any number of non-overlapping creatures on the battlefield. Flip Falling Star from at least a height of one foot. If Falling Star turns over completely at least 360 degrees during the flip, it deals 3 damage to each chosen creature it lands resting on. Any creatures damaged by Falling Star that are not destroyed become tapped.
Chaos Orb: Taken from Eternal Central 1, Tap: Choose a nontoken permanent on the battlefield. If Chaos Orb is on the battlefield, flip Chaos Orb onto the battlefield from a height of at least one foot. If Chaos Orb turns over completely at least 360 degrees during the flip, and lands resting on the chosen permanent, destroy that permanent. Then destroy Chaos Orb.

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