History

I opened my first cube cobra list in March of 2020 when I found myself with quite a bit of extra time on my hands for some reason. I finally cobbled together a 360 card list 2 years later in April of 2022. However, when I was finally cracked the first pack to test with my Dad and brother, my Dad read for 10 minutes in silence before abruptly showing me a Queen Marchesa and asking what "the monarch" was.

Needless to say we did not complete that draft.

From that day I set out to create a cube, this cube, to lower the barrier of complexity for my father without sacrificing any of the depth and intricacy sought by my brother and me. This cube which would eventually journey thousands of miles up and down the Pacific coast between my less experienced friends/family in Washington and my highly experienced playgroup in California, earning it its title:

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The West Coast Cube

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Introduction:

The West Coast Cube is a fast-paced, low curving, complexity-conscious environment which aims to support rare and classic archetypes in harmony. You will find a 'Populate' token-copying theme lovingly supported alongside good old-fashioned blue-red spell slinger. Without needing to read through walls of text, all the focus will be on strategic decisions and gameplay.

• There are no infinite combos.
• Singleton is broken on many nonland cards and the entire manabase.
• Many decks end up as 2 colors & an optional splash of a 3rd color, each featuring a synergistic sub-theme.
• This 360-card cube is designed as 2x 180 card modules to be drafted by 2-4 players with 5 packs of 9 cards

• It can also be shuffled together and drafted classically by 5-8 players with 3 packs of 15 cards.

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Design goals: Individually simple and efficient game pieces

• Ensure unfamiliar drafters can easily understand each card when viewing a 15 card pack (avoid intimidating walls of text)
• Card interactions work as you would intuitively expect
• Reuse game pieces whenever possible (e.g. flashback-style mechanics, multiple uses for a clue token ect.)

Accessible to new players

• Correct oracle text on all cards (accomplished by proxies where necessary)
• Reminder text for all non-evergreen mechanics
• Limited mechanics which are not intuitive to learn (Raid versus Banding)

Quick, interactive games always driving towards a conclusion

• Incentives to attack, minimal life gain
• Creatures' power typically greater than toughness
• Fundamental need to interact with your opponent
• Low average mana value of spells
• Card advantage helps players chain multi-spell turns

Synergy in the heart of most effective strategies

• Power outliers rely on synergy/interactions with other game pieces Legion Extruder
• Power outliers are build-around i.e. the best card in one draft could be last-pick in another Gravecrawler
• Creatures beyond 4/4 are typically modified (How do you make your Swiftblade Vindicator take down an Earthshaker Giant)

A splash of creativity is typically possible

• Mana bases for 2 color decks are easy to come by
• Splashing a few cards in a 3rd color is encouraged

Kindred archetypes guide new players and support power outliers for experienced players

• Faeries Talion's Messenger
• Humans Greymond, Avacyn's Stalwart
• Zombies Gravecrawler

Rare archetypes alongside Classic archetypes

A sampling of power-levels which exist together in this enviornment

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Errata & Custom cards

Can be used per the image overwrites or as the card being overwritten (e.g. Return to Obscurity can go back to being Prohibit)

Errata include:

• Changing creature types:
  Resolute Reinforcements -> Tokens changed to Human type
• Universes within:
  Triarch Praetorian -> A handsome scarecrow
• Eliminating keyword overheard:
  Marionette Apprentice -> Just say what it does directly instead of “Fabricate”
• Reducing word count:
  Prohibit -> Mana value 3 or less, no kicker
• Some "Errata" that are actually custom cards:
  Delver of Secrets -> no longer a DFC, now uses Threshold to gain +2/+1 & flying

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List of ALL Keyword Abilities (not ability words :P)

• Flashback: Cast a spell with flashback from the graveyard for its flashback cost, then exile it
  
  

  
• Plot: Exile a card from your hand for its plot cost, cast it for free as a sorcery on any later turn
  
  

  
• Investigate: A token artifact that can be sacrificed for 2 mana to draw a card
  
  

  
• Treasure: A token artifact that can be sacrificed for mana
  
  

  
• Blood: A token artifact that can be sacrificed by paying 1 mana and discarding to draw a card
  
  

  
• Populate: Create a copy of a creature token you control
  
  

  
• Reconfigure: Equipment that act as creatures when not equipped, and can be manually unequipped
  
  

  
• Unearth: Activate this ability to return a creature from your graveyard with haste. Exile it at end of turn or when it leaves the battlefield