Hello,

Welcome to the Abecedarian Cube. I built this cube specifically for new magic players.

(Abecedarian [ey-bee-see-dair-ee-uhn] - a beginner in any field of learning. I just love how it literally sounds like ABC-dairian.)

Themes:

• First and foremost, do I think the card will be fun for a new player. "That Shivan Dragon looks so awesome. And it's like it has fire breathing." This is what I want to hear as they play the cube.
• Simple, but not boring. I want the cards to be easily understood but interesting enough to generate battlefield decisions.
• Strictly better lesson - I include both the weak and stronger version of the card; this helps new players to directly compare the cards and understand why a card is 'strictly better.' For example, Flying Men and Pteramander. Additionally, both cards fit into the Azorius archetype, and Pteramander fits into the Selesnya archetype, hinting at a blue splash.
• Using only primary Evergreen keywords:
  • White: Double strike, first strike, flying, indestructible, lifelink, vigilance
  • Blue: Counter, flash, flying, hexproof, scry
  • Black: Deathtouch, menace
  • Red: Double strike, first strike, haste
  • Green: Fight, reach, trample
  • Colorless: Equip, indestructible

Archetypes:

Mono-color: I want these to be archetypes to be fun and strong enough to keep up with the guilds. The idea is to be able to tell a novice drafter to just choose a color and ride that rail all the way.

• White:
• Blue:
• Black:
• Red:
• Green:

Guilds - Spice things up a bit, but not too much.

• Azorius (W/U): Other creatures you control with flying get +1/+1.
• Dimir (U/B): A touch of recursion.
• Rakdos (B/R):
• Gruul (R/G): Big creatures
• Selesnya (W/G):
• Orzhov (W/B):
• Izzet (U/R): X is equal to the number of instant and sorcery cards in your graveyard.
• Golgari (B/G):
• Boros (W/R): Fast and make it double.
• Simic (U/G):