This is my Jumpstart-inspired Cube.
For those unfamiliar with Jumpstart, it's a Magic product with packs containing a random, fixed 20-card deck. To play Jumpstart, each player takes 2 Jumpstart packs, opens them, and shuffles them together to create a deck.In that vein, this is my attempt to create an alternate, slightly higher-powered version of Jumpstart.
Draft/Deckbuilding Formats
- The Casual method - Randomly draw 2 packs for your deck.
- The Official(?) Paper method - Randomly draw 4 packs, pick 2 to be your deck for the game/match/session.
- The Arena method - Randomly draw 3 packs, pick 1. Randomly draw 3 more packs, pick 1. These 2 packs become your deck for the match/session.
Design Points
- 1 Mythic Rare per pack for most packs. A mythic rare should be emblematic of the deck's theme.
- A large portion of packs should be monocolor.
- Gold packs should be something you can't find in 1 color. Maybe in monocolor it's low on pieces or missing a good payoff or bomb, but adding a 2nd color finishes it. Maybe it's a mechanic that really only showed up in a set as a guild identity, etc.
- Color balance in themes is less important than a breadth of themes.
- A single pack shouldn't be able to do everything. There shouldn't be all of enablers, payoffs, card advantage, removal, and ramp in a single pack.
- This cube will in no way interact with the retail JumpStart set.
- Every card within a pack should be 100% usable without using a "choose a color" or "any color" source. A green pack may use G/B dual lands for access to an activated ability (Thelon) or alternate cost (Spider Spawning). Exceptions are made when either the card is being added strictly for its on-color effects (Golos in 8-Post) or for multicolor MDFCs in a pack which only expects to use 1 side.