Welcome to Drakehaven. This cube is inspired by the game that hooked me back in the 1990s, improved with what I believe are Magic's greatest contributions in card design and art from the ensuing 25 years.

What to Expect

Power levels are low enough that combat tricks and threaten effects play. Removal is limited. Bombs aren’t that crazy.

Drakehaven is a simpler universe. There are no planeswalkers, vehicles, flip cards, sagas, or really any alternate border cards. And no tiny print.

Mana ramp and fixing are intentionally limited, outside of green. There are no three-color cards.

Exile effects are rare. Hexproof, protection, and indestructible are intentionally avoided.

Drakehaven is meant to be enjoyable for a variety of player types. Some colors have more obvious, simple strategies than others.

Themes and Archetypes:

White - White is mostly aggressive. Themes include life gain, +1/+1 counters, go-wide, soldier tribal, mono-white, and damage prevention/redirection shenanigans.

Blue - Blue can be aggressive, with tempo cards that pair well with white, but it can also play control, especially the blue/black discard deck. Blue/green is about drawing cards and +1/+1 counters.

Black - Black is the slowest color. Its small creatures are mostly defensive. Black mages have many nasty enchantments they seek to unleash upon the world. Steal and sacrifice with red. Creature recursion and graveyard with green.

Red - Red is goblins. Red wins through surprise, evasion, and audacity, rather than traditional superiority. Red bursts at opponents recklessly with haste and dash creatures and applies pressure with dangerous, powerful, but often self-destructive effects.

Green - Green is simple. Green is big and wants to fight. Green wins by value if it can stabilize. Green's large creatures and stacks of +1/+1 counters are punished by its traditional enemy, blue, with its bounce spells. But green's ETBs can also punish bounce. Green is the only color with mana fixing and ramp.

Flavor

The aesthetic is traditional high-fantasy--knights and dragons, angels and demons, elves and goblins, castles and catapults. Your army is typically presented generically, as types of soldiers or species of monsters. Legendary heroes and creatures are few and mostly in gold.

Final Thoughts

I believe Magic: The Gathering is the greatest game-building platform there's ever been, and I hope you will enjoy playing my cube.

I have refined the cube a lot based on actual drafting and play and hope to continue that. Big thanks to all the wonderful people who have contributed suggestions and played so many enjoyable games together!