This is THE commander cube.

---Overview and History---

What is in it you ask?

Gas, straight gas.

This cube has been playtested hundreds of times by a dedicated group of cubers for almost 4 years now, and I have been carefully crafting, editing, and testing it the whole time. What we have been perfecting throughout this process is truly the culmination of all the bests parts of Magic the Gathering. Let me explain.

Normal draft is an amazing way to test your deckbuilding skills in a vaccuum, allowing the pay to win aspect of magic to be reduced and put everyone on the same playing level with opportunity. Unfortunately, standard sets are kinda lame. Bulk commons only allow so much enjoyment, and you better hope your opponents didnt open a better bomb than you did. Standard set drafts are volatile, and only offer so much replayability.

Many tote commander as the best MTG format, and indeed the social opportunity of four-player magic allows an interesting social dynamic inside and outside the game. Unfortunately, the deckbuilding only happens once for each commander deck and often ends with just wallet wars, where a deck's power is often proportional to money invested.

This cube combines both formats (draft and commander) into the perfect culmination, a place where everyone comes in on equal footing, where your drafting skills, your deckbuilding skills, and your playing skills are tested in the arena of battle that is The ULTIMATE Commander Cube.

So, who is this cube for? This cube is not built for casuals. In a similar manner to vintage cube, Casual players can absolutely still play and enjoy this cube, but they are not the intended audience. The better you are at magic, the more powerful interactions you will notice and create, and the more fun you will have. Ultimately, this cube was built for me and my friends to enjoy playing, and over the past 4 years, it has successfully fulfilled that role. I have made this cube public so that hopefully other gamers out in the aether can derive enjoyment from this project.

---How to Play the Cube---

Here is how it works.

The cube is two drafts combined into one.

FIRST, is the 'commanders draft'. Everyone gets a pack of 4 commanders from the commander pool (https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/33l6e). They are all at least 3 colors*, and you draft them one at a time, like any other draft. Now, there are PLENTY of other legendary creatures throughout the cube, and you are welcome and encouraged to use them as your commander. These 4 commanders you start drafting with allow you to have directions to go towards through the rest of your draft.

*There are many two-color commanders in the commander pile. However, all of these commanders have one color ADDED to their color identity to give them a 3 color identity. For example, brado, ghost chieftan (white/blue) has green added to his color identity, making him bant (white/blue/green). This changed color identity is represented through a paper printout 'prismatic piper' with the added color identity written on it.

After the 'commanders draft', you do the main draft. The real meat of the cube. We have tried multiple different pack amounts and size, but in the end we have settled on drafting 4 packs each, with each pack being made up of 15 cards. Feel free to try 3 packs of 20 or any other drafting styles you think could be fun. There ARE 'draft matters' cards in this section, often adding powerful effects to the drafting process. For example, when someone drafts 'Loreseeker', they add a new 15-card pack into the draft, and they get first pick.

Of course, a large supply of basic lands are available after the draft to finalize the deck.

NOW, YOUR DONE WITH THE DRAFT (imo the most fun part of the whole night).

All you have to do is add basic lands, cut your deck down to 60 cards, and start shuffling! Of note, all players start at 30 life. This shortens game length, allows aggro more of an opportunity, and in general gives games more tension. Of course commander cube recommends pods of 4 players. The most fun way to draft in my opinion is with 8 people, drafting together, then splitting into 2 pods of 4 people, and switching pods after game one.

---Some Notes---

--Time Gating--

We play with a strange drafting mechanic called 'time-gating', restricting you from drafting certain cards without skipping picks afterwords as cost.

What time gate represents is a value on a variety of the strongest cards in the cube (power 9, powerful conspiracies, banned commander cards, fast mana, etc). These are cards that, without this mechanic, would be almost always be first picked and bless the player lucky enough to open them. We did not like the feast or famen nature of opening packs and hoping to hit the small handful of insane cards, so we created, tested, and then implemented this mechanic. On the cards that are time-gated, a piece of paper sits inbetween the card and the sleave, covering it up with a number, often 1-5.

As you open the pack and see this number, and look at the card it is covering, you are faced with a decision. Pick a different card, and continue drafting normally. OR, pick the card. However, if you pick a time gated card, you must replace the white paper covering the card, and draft it face up in front of you. The white paper will block everyone from seeing what card you drafted, all they will know and see is the time-gate value written on the card. Now, whatever the value written on the card is, that is the number of picks you have to SKIP before you can start drafting again. For example, pack one pick one you draft Mox Sapphire (Time gate value 4). You draft it face up with the white sleave blocking the image and the #4 showing to the table. Then, you have to skip the next 4 picks that are passed to you. After 4 packs are passed to you, and can resume drafting.

It seems very strange, but it is a really cool mechanic and creates a LOT of tension when deciding what cards to draft. I very much enjoy this mechanic.

--Side board--

Every card you draft that isnt in your main deck is in your sideboard, meaning a couple of things. First, you can trade out cards between games. Second, you can use cards from your sideboard for 'wish' effects even if they are not in your colors. So, you can grab off-color signets from your sideboard with Karn the Great Creators ability. Or, grab a creature that is not in your colors with Living Wish.

Also, since companions are starting in your sideboard, and your sideboard does not have to match your commander's color identity, you can run companions outside your commanders color identities, as long as you meet their requirement. AKA, you can run an 80-card Yorion, the Skynomad deck with your Grixis or Sultai commander. Color identity restrictions only apply to the cards in your 60 card deck.

--Combos--

THERE ARE INFINITE COMBOS. A decent amount in fact. If you see a card that looks like a combo piece, it probably is.

Kiki-jiki, the mirror breaker/splinter twin + Zealous Conscripts/pestermite

Felidar Guardian + Saheli Rai

Basalt Monolith + Rings of Brighthearth/Kinnan, Border Prodigy

Isochron Scepter + Dramatic Reversal

Devoted druid + Swift reconfiguration/vizier of remedies

Dual caster mage + Twinflame

Mikeaus the unhallowed + walking ballista

helm of the host + Godo, bandit warlord

helm of obedience + rest in piece/dauthi voidwalker/leyline of the void

Deadeye navigator/temur sabertooth/eldrazi displacer + peregrine drake/ great whale/palinchron/dockside extortionist

There are also some three-card combos, but those require more setup and you can figure those out on your own as you draft :)

These combos are strong win conditions and are part of the reason interaction is so highly valued during the draft.

--SYNERGIES--

This cube is largely value-based, but there are some marked synergies found within the cubes. Listed below are certain color pairings that have had marked success within each archetype, with a commander who could support it.

This cube is largely value-based, but there are some marked synergies found within the cubes.

(Commanders: https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/33l6e)

Blink/ETB: (Yarrock the Desecrated [sultai], Chulane Teller of Tails [bant], Animatuo the Fateshifter [esper])

Graveyard Reanimator/Value: (muldrotha, the gravetide [Sultai], zur the enchanter [esper], old stickfingers [Abzan])

Big spell value: (Maelstrom wanderer [Temur], abbaddon the despoiler [Grixis], kykar winds fury [Jeskai])

Control/Policing: (Tasigur golden fang [sultai], Tivalt seller of secrets [esper], Will the wise+Chief Jim Hopper [mardu])

STAX: (queen marchesa [Mardu], Sen Triplets [esper], Ruric Thrar the Unbowed [naya])

Storm: (Kess Desident Mage [Grixis], Vadrick Astral Archmage [jeskai], Riku of the Two Reflections [temur])

Token Synergies: (Prosh sky raider [Jund], sidisi brood tyrant [sultai] shorikai genesis engine [Jeskai])

Enchantress: (Sythis, voice of harvest [naya])

Land Ramp/Value: (Zacama, Primal Calamity [Naya], Soul of Lord Windgrace [Jund])

General Value: (Derevi, Empyrial Tactician [bant], Max the Daredevil + Lucas the Sharpshooter [Temur].

And thats it. I hope you will have the pleasure of drafting the ULTIMATE commander cube, and join me and all my friends that have become cube pilled. There is no going back.

Major Change Log:

(8.5 - Summer 2024: Ofc, dozens of cuts and additions, with MH3 coming out and more. Back to 4 packs of 15, 4 commanders, but testing out chaos draft rules)

(8.0 - Spring 2024: Another 50+ cuts since 7.5, new cube season involving NO TIMEGATES, 5 commanders in commander pack, and 5 packs of bulk instead of usual 4, Officially Start Calling cube 'CEDH Cube' instead of 'EDH Cube')

(7.5 - Winter 2024: Major card changes ~50+ cuts, ~50+ adds, major visual update, commanders tuning)

(7.0 - Fall 2023: New Dragon shield Petrol sleaves, edits on bulk, changing time-gating style)

(6.5 - Spring 2023: Lots of cuts, MOM+~20 new cards + 10 new commanders)

(6.0 - Winter 2023: Added 'Time-Gating', combined non-basic lands with bulk)

(5.0 - Summer 2022: Added prismatic piper to commanders to create minimum 3 color commanders)

(4.0 - Summer 2021: Separated banned cards and broken cards into 'powered cube expansion pack')[Also resleaved with dragonshield sleaves instead of ultrapro]).

(3.0 - Spring 2020: Major card additions and card cuts)

(2.0 - Spring 2019: Remade cube entirely [and reprinted with colored cards])

(1.0 - Summer 2018: First draft of commander cube, printed in black and white using ultra pro sleaves)