Cloned from 4 Packs of Magic (CUBECON2022 EDITION)

PRESERVING THIS LIST FOR POSTERITY

So what's up with this cube anyway?
This is a 512 card cube. Each person drafts 4 packs of 16 cards.

NOW WITH 2XM DRAFT PICKS = EVERYONE GETS TWO FIRST PICKS FROM EACH PACK!

??? Four Packs is a LOT of cards and a longer draft. Is it worth it? ???
I think so! There's a couple of factors at play here: Bigger pools means more opportunity to build a streamlined deck, more chances to get enough lands, and the option to build a meaningful sideboard plan!

The central design idea here is to evoke constructed Magic play patterns. This is held up by the mana fixing, a mechanical design choice that influences most (if not all) of the cubes archetypes.

What do I mean when I say 'constructed Magic play patterns?'

• Redundancy. By approximating similar threats and effects (even breaking singleton!) drafters can build a more consistent gameplan.

• Efficiency. It means our card evaluation is primarily concerned with rate.

• Have a Plan. This might sound like 101, but decks > cards.

Wait... you said you broke Singleton?? What gives?
I did! But only a little bit. We believe Singleton is a restriction, not a given, and once you experiment with singleton breaks there's a lot of design space that opens up to you.
If we use the framework of 'Limited vs. Constructed' when evaluating intended gameplay, I believe we're able to make better decisions about what cards we play, and why we play them.

Okay, okay, let's talk about the archetypes. All my singleton breaks point to the primary supported archetypes in the cube. You should be able to effectively build around them. Here's a list of my singleton breaks, what the decks might look like, and what colors they tend to be:

1. Stoneforge Mystic. This is classic Modern/Legacy Stoneblade, compleat with Batterskull and Kaldra Compleat, often a midrange or control deck that strongly leans . You can also build more creature-centric decks which take advantage of the rest of the equipment package, cards like Sword of Fire and Ice and Umezawa's Jitte.

2. Ephemerate. A recent addition (still needs testing) that points towards Big Game value decks (think Eternal Witness, Soulherder, Omnath, Locus of Creation etc) which we think are more multicolor in execution.

3. Delver of Secrets. Just like in Legacy, you can go heavy on cheap spells here: brainstorm, lightning bolt, fatal push and build a midrangey deck with snowballing threats like dreadhorde arcanist. Often built as with a splash.

4. Risen Reef. Another untested idea, rooted in wanting a Big Game deck. There's a small elemental package in Solitude and the other pitch elementals, but you want to build an overwhelming board state with this deck, and Risen Reef might be the bridge.

5. Death’s Shadow. Adding in Godless Shrine and other Black shock lands is important to this deck. There's a bevy of painful removal spells (Vendetta, Ulcerate), ways to recur (Unearth) or protect (Stubborn Denial) your Death's Shadow, so stay low to the ground and go !

6. Tarmogoyf. Classic midrange piles for anyone (like me) who loves a good attrition game. The gang's all here: Liliana of the Veil, Bloodbraid Elf, Abrupt Decay. Go get em.

7. Collected Company. Most of the creatures in the cube are hits, which means building around Collected Company isn't hard to do. Always Creature-heavy, you'll likely end up and put a ton of pressure on the opponent.

8. Mayhem Devil. An 'Aristocrats' sacrifice deck! Abuse fetchlands! Make game objects (Treasure, Blood, Clues) and sacrifice them for value!

9. Wild Nacatl. Putting this back into the cube after cutting it months ago. Was one of the best performing decks, and the only true aggro deck in the cube. Get in there with Steppe Lynx and Brushfire Elemental and finish the job with Become Immense or Scale Up. .

10. Urza’s Saga. While this isn't a cube with heavy artifact support, Urza's Saga is sometimes a simple value engine, with a few tutor targets. I've approximated this approach to deckbuilding and provide the drafter with everything from Pithing Needle to Relic of Progenitus to Shadowspear. This is likely best supported in reactive, midrangey decks.

11. Arclight Phoenix. Get value off chaining spells together! Utilize the graveyard! .