TL;DR: Peasant Bar Cube featuring Showcase Frames only.

One of my favorite connections to MTG is the art - this project is to use all those beautiful cardboard rectangles that are often banished to the chaff pile. This list is meant to be played anywhere without fear of card damage - it is an ode to the old days where you played anywhere. The stark differences in the art styles allows new conversations in public of curious onlookers (or dormant MTG players) that may challenge what they think MTG looks like. The Bar ethos also allows for just showing up to play the game without having to have external parts or having to have your friend’s pack their gear.

SHOWCASE:

Cards that feature only Showcase Frames that were introduced via Project Booster Fun since ELD.

PEASANT:

Commons & Uncommons Only. I also have opted to use cards at or under a quarter (<=$0.25 USD).

BAR:

Cards with no outside components required (Dice, Tokens, Dungeons, Backgrounds, The Ring, etc.). Cards that have limited shuffling or searching effects. No overly complicated effects. Cube is meant to be sleeveless - so no doublesided cards. This project was inspired by the Bar Cube, The No Nonsense Bar Cube, & The Mini Quarter Express Bar Commander Cube. A great video overview of Bar Cubes by Chill MTG can be found here.

TWOBERT:

A small cube for 2-4 players. It can be used 1v1 or serve a 4-person table. Learn about Twoberts at this article by Ryan Overturf

Archetypes

While this first build is limited in the size of the card pool, here are the approximate archetypes:
: Fliers
: Deathtouch & Lifelink
: Aggro
: Go Wide
: Disruption
: Spells Matter
: Lands Matter
: Attacking & Dying
: Reanimate/Return
: Landfall Bulk-Up

How to Draft

Drafting instructions from the link article above:

“Minneapolis Draft is a two-player draft format where both players make eight packs of seven cards. Each player starts by simultaneously opening their first pack without showing the contents to the other player, drafting one card face down, and then trading their first pack with the other player. Then each player takes two cards from the other player’s pack and trades back. Finally, players take an additional two cards from the pack they had opened and the last two cards in each pack are discarded face-down from the draft. To reiterate, that’s one first pick, two picks from the other player’s pack, and then two last cards from the pack you opened before discarding the remaining two cards from the draft. Players continue this process until all eight of their packs have been drafted. From here players add any number of basic lands to their deck and play some 40-card Limited Magic."

Four-player drafts call for five, nine-card packs per player - using all 180 cards.

A land station of 25 of each basic is also included.

Aesthetic Vision

All cards are non-foil to ensure minimal pringling. Ideally, the non-basic lands used would be in a special treatment border. However, at this time, there is limited options. Each basic selected will be a unique, full-art basic land. I hope cheap, fun basics will get more exciting frames in the future.

Scryfall Searching

to find the showcase arts and remove cards with certain features like token or counter making, use the following:
is:showcase r<r -fo:token -fo:tempts -fo:background -fo:roll -fo:transform -fo:venture -fo:counter -fo:dice not:dfc not:digital -type:basic usd<=.25

Scryfall Card Search.

As of 9/12/24, there are 323 cards that meet this criteria. As more cards are printed, this pool will grow.

Scryfall Basic Lands Search
type:basic (game:paper) is:fullart unique:prints usd<=0.25

Mechanics Reminders

• Ninjitsu: When you attack with a creature and it isn't blocked, you may pay the ninjutsu cost of a card in your hand and then put it onto the battlefield in place of the unblocked creature. (The unblocked creature card goes to your hand.)
• Bushido: A combat mechanic that helps your creatures, whether they're on offense or defense. Whenever a creature with bushido blocks or becomes blocked, it gets +N/+N, where N is the number printed next to bushido.
• Madness: A keyword ability on spells that allows a player to cast that spell for an alternate cost if the card is discarded.
• Convoke: An ability that allows you to tap creatures to pay for a card's mana cost. Every creature you tap counts as either one generic mana or one mana of one of that creature's colors.
• Basic Landcycling: An activated ability that allows players to search their library for a basic land card and put it into their hand
• Mutate: An ability that lets you cast a creature spell and merge it with another non-human creature, either putting the Mutate creature on top or underneath. The combined creature keeps the abilities of both.
• Suspend: A keyword ability in Magic that allows you to pay a specific mana cost and exile a card with a number of time counters on it. You remove one of these counters from the card at the beginning of your upkeep and then cast it without paying its mana cost when the last counter is removed.

Future ideas

I would be interested in exploring adding one gold signposts at rare to help boost the power. I would still like to keep that card under $0.50.

Feedback

If you have any ideas of inclusion, reply on the latest blog post. Thanks!