The Peasantry is Dead, Long Live the Peasantry!

Cube ID
Art by Svetlin VelinovArt by Svetlin Velinov

500 Card Budget Peasant Cube

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Owned
$255
Buy
$123

The Peasantry is Dead,

Long Live the Peasantry !

(originally "First Start - Almost Peasant Cube)


  1. Introduction
  2. Strategies
  3. Combos
  4. Card Distribution

Introduction

Highly interested in the curation aspect of cubes, it was at the end of 2019 that I decided to build one myself. I wanted to spend (much/too much) time choosing cards and thinking about an infinite number of little synergies, while at the same time creating a game environment that could serve as an introduction to the draft format for friends and newer players.

Despite the changes that the cube undergoes as a result of the constant release of new cards, my intention remains the same: to create an accessible gaming environment, both in price and complexity.

Goals:

  • Designing a simple, yet profound game environment
  • Allow players to draft decks with the necessary support
  • Leave a little room for surprise and the unexpected by building the cube around 500 cards rather than 360.

Restrictions:

  • Only Common or Uncommon cards. I find Uncommon cards to be MTG's most beautiful game pieces: simple, effective and powerful. Unlike rares and mythics, peasant cards often have fewer words, resulting in a quicker understanding of the cards. This doesn't mean that the games are any less complex or deep. On the contrary, I think this allows players to use fewer mental resources understanding text and mechanics, and gives them the chance to focus more on board state, triggers and interactions. Less text, more plays.
  • Following the same reasoning, no double-sided cards (no werewolves, no flipping-sagas, no craft-artifacts, no battles, etc.). In my opinion, these cards tend to complicate the draft and the games, without adding any gameplay elements that other cards couldn't offer.
  • Reduce unique mechanics as much as possible and favor cards with simple, understandable designs. I love many of the new mechanics that come out set after set, but I don't want players to have to reread every time how unique mechanics like Blitz, Role-Token, Venture into the Dungeon or Incubate work.

Strategies

While this cube does not have clearly defined archetypes, here are some strategies that can be drafted:

For a more detailed explanation of the strategies, have a look at https://peasantrycube.wordpress.com/

w-uw-u Flicker w-uw-u

Main Tags: Blink, ETB, CA, Token Generator

u-bu-b Reanimator-Control u-bu-b

Main Tags: Reanimate, GY filler, GY value, Filter


b-rb-r Sacrifice b-rb-r

Main Tags: Sacrifice, Sac Engine, Sac Outlet, Token Generator


r-gr-g Stompy r-gr-g

Main Tags: Stompy, Ramp, Trick, Aura


g-wg-w +1/+1 Counters / Tokens g-wg-w

Main Tags: +1/+1, Token Generator, Go Wide


w-bw-b Aristocrats w-bw-b

Main Tags: Aristocrat, Sac Engine, Sac Outlet, Lifegain


u-ru-r Spellslinger & Draw Matters u-ru-r

Main Tags: Spells Matter, Burn, Tempo, CA


b-gb-g Graveyard Value b-gb-g

Main Tags: GY filler, GY value, Reanimate, CA


r-wr-w Aggro Go Wide r-wr-w

Main Tags: Go Wide, Aggro, Token Generator, Trick


g-ug-u Value Flash & Ramp g-ug-u

Main Tags: Ramp, Landfall, Stompy, +1/+1



Combos

If you're lucky enough and the packs contain the right cards, you'll be able to assemble several combos. Here is a non-exhaustive list (?).

Mirror Image enters the battlefield as a copy of Vesperlark. Activate Blasting Station and sac Mirror Image (copy of Vesperlark). When it dies, it triggers, returning itself from the GY to the battlefield as a copy of Vesperlark. Repeat. Results in infinite damage, infinite ETB, infinite sacrifice.

A similar result can be achieved by exiling your Hero of the Dunes with Fiend Hunter, then sacrificing Fiend Hunter with Blasting Station. This will bring Hero of the Dunes back onto the battlefield and trigger it's effet. Bring back Fiend Hunter from the GY to the battlefield and start all over again as often as you like.
Another variant of this combo uses Viscera Seer instead of Blasting Station. The set-up with Fiend Hunter and Hero of the Dunes is exactly the same, but the result is less brutal, as it will "only" give you infinite scry 1, infinite ETB and infinite sacrifice triggers.

If you manage to cast Ghostly Flicker targeting Peregrine Drake and Shipwreck Dowser and the spell resolves, you'll be able to bring Ghostly Flicker back into your hand and untap 5 lands. You can then take Ghostly Flicker back into your hand and recast it, choosing the same targets. This will give you infinite mana and infinite ETB.

A similar result can be obtained by replacing Shipwreck Dowser with Eternal Witness, Timeless Witness, Archaeomancer or Ardent Elementalist.

If you manage to put a +1/+1 counter on Scurry Oak (or Herd Baloth) while Rosie is on the battlefield, you'll generate a creature token and trigger Rosie. This will allow you to put a new +1/+1 counter on Scurry Oak, generating a new creature token and triggering Rosie again. Repeat this loop as often as you like and you'll have infinite creature tokens on the board and infinite +1/+1 counters on Scurry Oak (or Herd Baloth).

If you cast Mirror Image and bring it onto the battlefield as a copy of Felidar Guardian, you can then blink Felidar Guardian. When Felidar Guardian returns to the battlefield, blink Mirror Image. When Mirror Image returns to the battlefield, make it enter the battlefield as a copy of Felidar Guardian. Continue like this ad infinitum and you'll have infinite ETB and LTB.

If you sacrifice Kitchen Finks on one of your free sac outlets (Carrion Feeder, Grafted Wargear, Bogardan Dragonheart), this will trigger it's Persist ability and bring it back onto the battlefield. Since Renata is on the battlefield, the Persist's -1/-1 counter and the Renata's +1/+1 counter cancel each other out and Kitchen Finks returns to the battlefield with 0 counters on it. You can then resacrifice it and start all over again. Each time, you'll gain 2 life and a bunch of other benefits, depending on the other permanents you have on the battlefield (Bastion of Remembrance, Field of Souls, Mayhem Devil).

Any other creature with Persist can be used for this combo, such as Putrid Goblin or Murderous Redcap.


Card Distribution

Optimal Card Distribution for 360-cards Cube (8 players)

50 random per Color (13.88 % per Color)
45 random Lands (12.5%)
40 random Multicolored OR 4 random per Guild (11.11%)
25 random Colorless (06.94%)

72% of the 500 cards cube is drafted when playing with 360 cards.

Building the Packs: Full-Randomized Method A

Shuffle the 360 random cards together and constitute 24 packs of 15 cards.

Building the Packs: Semi-Randomized Method B

Shuffle each pile of 50 color cards and remove 2 cards from each pile. Each color pile now consists of 48 cards.

Take the 2 cards removed from each pile (10 in total) and shuffle them with the multicolored (40), colorless (25) and land (45) cards to make a random pile of 120 cards.

Now, to build the packs: take 2 random cards from each color pack, and add 5 random cards from the 120 card pack to form a 15 card pack. Repeat 24 times.