Art by Caroline GaribaCloned from High Stakes Challenge (HSC) Vintage Cube
Description below may not be entirely accurate, but it’s close within a few cards.
A fun and potent 360 card Vintage Cube designed for enjoying and exploiting the most powerful cards from throughout MTG's history. Optimized to maintain balance while preserving the significant Vintage Cube archetypes.
As you can see from the blog, we make frequent changes to the cube to maximize the gameplay experience while adhering to the following four core cube tenants:
1) Power LevelAs a lean vintage cube with the Power 9 and heaps of ultra-fast artifact mana, the HSC cube seeks to intensify cube speed and power level. Along these lines, we try to incorporate as many busted vintage-level combos as possible, as long as they’re also fun and (at least sometimes) interactive. As you’ll see in the archetype descriptions below, the HSC cube has maximized threat density, while cutting the chaff from vintage cube. 2) Balance
All of the color combinations and major vintage cube archetypes should be well supported & competitive, without there being too many duplicative effects. Many of our changes are designed to preserve HSC cube balance as much as power level. Whenever one archetype starts to dominate, we take steps to re-balance, ideally by strengthening the remaining archetypes, rather than weakening the dominant one. 3) Diversity & Replayability
Perhaps the biggest strength of vintage cube is that firing up new drafts truly never gets boring. The HSC cube seeks to amplify this strength by emphasizing fixing and multicolor support, so that drafters who pursue unique & less streamlined approaches are rewarded for their efforts. That said, mono color aggro & ramp decks are still very strong. 4) Fun
While fun is a subjective quality, we think there’s broad agreement in the MTG community that a direct correlation exists between interactivity and fun in MTG gameplay. In vintage cube, there will always be a certain number of un-interactive blowouts — think turn 1 Lotus/Lurrus loops, turn 1-2 Channel/Emrakul, turn 1/2 Strip Mine locks, etc. These are unavoidable, and are baked into the format. However, design choices can also be made to enhance interactivity, and thus fun. The HSC cube seeks to incorporate cards with fun & interactive effects, and exclude boring, unanswerable cards (such as Manifold Key, Progenitus, True-Name Nemesis, etc.) or archetype-blanking hate cards.
1) Speed
The HSC cube is faster than MTGO’s vintage cube. It has all the same explosive artifact mana from MTG’s early days, but with 360 cards vs. 540 for MTGO, there’s a much higher density of power in each draft. There are 78 cards in the HSC cube that aren’t in MTGO’s vintage cube (highlighted in purple on the cube list), including plenty of high end threats like Time Vault & Hullbreacher.
2) Better FixingThere are plenty of additional multicolor fixers that the MTGO cube lacks, like Lotus Cobra, Dryad of the Ilysian Grove, Delighted Halfling, Fellwar Stone, Exotic Orchard, etc. to enable your Omnath/Golos piles. The HSC cube has a high density of multicolor fixing (17%, 61/360), and the quality of that fixing is top notch, as all the strongest fixers (Fetches, Duals, Shocks, etc.) are included, but many of the weaker fixers that etb tapped or can’t be fetched have been cut. There’s also a host of powerful multicolor additions to the cube to reward drafters for splashing additional colors.
3) Cut Fringe Archetypes & CardsSome hard choices were made to trim the cube down to 360 cards. In doing so, some weaker/slower cards that generally underperform or can get blown out like Oath of Druids, Eureka, the equipment swords, Palinchron, etc. were cut. Plenty of powerful cards were cut as well, like Kiki-Jiki (a bit slow), Smokestack (but there’s Stasis), and Skullclamp (lack of enablers with Bitterblossom, Ophiomancer, Lingering Souls, and other token generators cut). However, as you’ll see below, 95%+ of the classic vintage cube archetypes were preserved (and a couple new ones unlocked).
4) Cut Hate CardsWe believe the MTGO vintage cube has far too many graveyard & archetype-blanking hate cards, and cut almost all of them in HSC. So, no more Relic of Progenitus, Containment Priest, Lion Sash, Red Elemental Blast, Dauthi Voidwalker, Scavenging Ooze, Endurance, etc. Interacting with GYs is one of the most iconic & fun things to do in vintage cube, and so we eliminated the cards which prevent this, giving a boost to Reanimator, Storm, Time Walk Recursion, Land Destruction, Emry/Lurrus/Serra Paragon decks, etc. However, a few broader hate cards were preserved, like Thalia/Esper Sentinel, Fiery Confluence, Sheoldred the Apocalypse, and plenty of sweepers to rein in aggro.
5) More Planeswalkers, Legends, & Better RemovalThe HSC cube has 66 Legendary cards (18.3%), including 24 Planeswalkers (20 of which have mana values of either 3 or 4). Removal in the HSC cube is also faster and more compelling. We cut most of the sorcery and enchantment based removal in favor of flexible, instant speed removal spells that hit a broader range of targets than creatures alone.
1) Aggro
The mono red and WW decks set the pace for the cube, and you should always have a plan in mind for dealing with their hyper-efficient threats. The mono red aggro deck is the fastest build in the HSC cube, and it sacrifices resiliency for speed. Its WW counterpart is (slightly) slower, but has stickier creatures and PWs, and more flexible removal. Boros Aggro is also stronger in the HSC cube than on MTGO (where adding a color to your aggro deck is a drawback). Don’t sleep on Winota — she hits hard! The addition of white initiative creatures, better white removal in HSC vs. MTGO, and fast red finishers like Combat Celebrant, Embercleave, and Solphim keep these aggro decks in the top tier of competitive play.
2) Time VaultOne of the most significant additions which has distinguished the HSC cube from MTGO’s vintage cube is the Time Vault package. This combo is fun and rewarding, and has notably enhanced the cube. The key Time Vault enablers are Scheming Fence (UW), Ral Zarek (UR), Paradox Engine, Mirage Mirror, and Enlightened Tutor, as well as both Pestermite & Deceiver Exarch, which each provide an extra turn by untapping your TV (and more with Ephemerate). Scheming Fence is the cheapest combo piece, but it also has to survive a turn of summoning sickness on the battlefield before it can be activated. However, Mirage Mirror, Ral Zarek, and Paradox Engine are good to go immediately. We decided against including Manifold/Voltaic Key in the cube because that combo is simply too fast & uninteractive - it spoils the fun of Time Vault.
3) StormStorm is significantly stronger in the HSC cube than in MTGO’s vintage cube, because of the much higher density of both fast artifact mana and cheap spells. The HSC cube consists of 28.9% (104/360) cheap (1-2 mana) non-creature, non-land spells — a significantly higher ratio than in MTGO’s vintage cube. Therefore, Storm drafters have an ample pool of firepower from which they can seed their decks. It’s a very fast and potent combination when paired with classic finishers like Brain Freeze & Tendrils and key enablers like YawgWill, Underworld Breach, LED, etc. Just watch out for Lose Focus, one counterspell that can give Storm decks some headaches.
4) Gruul Ponza/DepthsUsually Gruul based, the lands archetype is very well supported in the HSC cube, and benefits from the addition of Minsc & Boo. Because of the prevalence of cheap & fast artifact mana, we added several additional enablers to empower players to quickly find their Thespian’s Stage/Dark Depths combo, or Strip Mine/Wasteland. Along with Crop Rotation, we included Expedition Map and Once Upon a Time as supplementary land tutors (or Gamble if you’re feeling spicy). And once you’ve launched the LD assault, there are ample ways to recover lands from your GY with Wrenn & Six, Crucible, and Life from the Loam. Cards like Fastbond, Lotus Cobra, Oracle of Mul Daya, Augur of Autumn, Dryad of Ilysian Grove, Tireless Tracker, and Tireless Provisioner all help supplement this archetype’s strategy. And don’t forget, Mirage Mirror and Vampire Hexmage offer additional ways to combo off with Dark Depths, without the need for Thespian’s Stage. A splash for Enlightened Tutor helps this deck find its Mirage Mirror, Expedition Map, Fastbond, etc.
5) ReanimatorBy eliminating all GY hate cards, and increasing the density of turn 1, black disruption spells (added Dreams of Steel and Oil), Reanimator decks are also much stronger & more consistent in the HSC cube than in MTGO’s vintage cube. This is true for both the traditional reanimation variants utilizing spells like Reanimate, Animate Dead, Necromancy, and Recurring Nightmare, as well as instant speed reanimation decks that use Shallow Grave and Corpse Dance to annihilate their opponents with Eldrazi attacks. Splash blue for more options (like Flash & Frantic Search), and to gain access to a new tutor in Lim-Dul’s Vault, and other Dimir threats. Additionally, we added Unmarked Grave as a secondary Entomb for consistency, as this was usually the biggest bottleneck holding Reanimator decks back. Archon of Cruelty & Atraxa, Grand Unifier are also sweet new reanimation targets to complement Griselbrand.
6) Mono Green RampThe HSC cube’s philosophy for strengthening the mono green ramp deck was fairly straightforward — add a second Craterhoof effect, and help the deck cast those hasty tramplers even faster. Welcome to the show End-Raze Forerunners. To further turbo charge green ramp decks, we added Monster Manual to complement Channel & Natural Order in enabling lethal attacks ahead of schedule. And that’s of course in addition to pre-existing green powerhouses like Nissa, Who Shakes the World and Garruk Wildspeaker. Spicy Natural Order targets like Atraxa, Koma, Atarka, and Terastodon keep things interesting. There’s also Worldly Tutor to fetch up your favorite beast, boar, giant, elephant, dragon, serpent, or corrupted angel. We cut most of the 4-5 mana midrangy green creatures (but not Questing Beast or Undermountain Adventurer) in order to streamline the archetype’s focus. Mono Green Ramp is once again a top tier archetype.
7) Izzet/TwinIzzet is one of the strongest color combinations in vintage cube. You have access to the full range of broken blue spells & counters, flexible burn spells, premium artifact destruction & theft in Fiery Confluence & Dack Fayden, as well as fun combos like Twin. Don’t let the lack of Kiki-Jiki fool you — Twin is very much still a thing in the HSC cube. The other key combo pieces remain, including Splinter Twin, Zealous Conscripts, Fable of the Mirror-Breaker, Pestermite, and Deceiver Exarch. Combat Celebrant combos off with Twin as well. There is also a strong UR build of the Time Vault combo, utilizing Ral Zarek. Ledger Shredder & DRC help filter your deck, and flexible, efficient spells like Prismari Command & Expressive Iteration always deliver and round out this high performing guild.
8) Simic/OkoThis archetype takes advantage of the fact that even in a hyper-fast, 360 card vintage cube that’s been optimized for power, slamming Oko on turn 2 will still just win the game for you 90% of the time. And when paired with either blue power like Time Walk/Ancestral, or explosive green cards like Natural Order, this deck is a consistent top performer. Simic is also one of the most flexible color pairings, and there are a variety of different directions you can build towards — Time Walk recursion, Draw 7s, Natural Order, Lands, Ramp, and 4-5c Uro/Omnath/Golos piles are all possibilities. When paired with mana dorks/rocks, Kinnan Bonder Prodigy really helps to accelerate any of those game-plans (plus Kinnan combos with Basalt Monolith to generate infinite colorless mana).
9) Artifacts/Tinker/UpheavalArtifact decks are consistent top performers in the HSC cube, with many of the same key pieces that you see in MTGO’s vintage cube — Mishra’s Workshop, Tolarian Academy, Urza’s Saga, Balance, Stoneforge Mystic, Tinker, Upheaval, Urza Lord High Artificer, Emry, Lodestone Golem, Retrofitter Foundry, Myr Battlesphere, Blightsteel Colossus, Karn Scion of Urza, Goblin Welder — all present, along with heaps of fast artifact mana. Paradox Engine and Mirage Mirror are also great in this deck, standalone or as part of the Time Vault combo.
10) Draw SevensThis combo build anchors itself by pairing some or all of the cube’s four “Draw 7” spells (Timetwister, Wheel of Fortune, Time Spiral, Memory Jar), alongside the three 3-drops which shut down an opponent’s ability to draw extra cards (Hullbreacher, Narset, Leovold). Supplementing this core combo should be a host of tutors, cantrips, draw effects, counterspells, and removal/disruption. Oh, and Fastbond. This archetype has really suffered on MTGO without its most potent combo piece (Hullbreacher), but routinely delivers backbreaking finishes in the HSC cube.
11) Azorius Control/BlinkEphemerate gave this archetype a huge boost, and synergizes with a whole suite of U and W creatures including Venser, Flickerwisp, Resto, Charming Prince, Thraben Inspector, Solitude, Skyclave Apparition, Loran, Palace Jailer, White Plume Adventurer, Seasoned Dungeoneer, Scheming Fence, Snappy, V-Clique, Elite Spellbinder, Spellseeker, Aether Channeler, Guardian of Ghirapur, etc. Ephemerating an evoked Solitude can be devastating — delivering a one-mana double Swords to Plowshares, a free 3/2 Lifelinker, and then you can do it again on the next upkeep. This archetype also enjoys plenty of powerful PWs (both Teferi’s & Jace), and the full complement of counters, cantrips, and other blue staples.
12) Heavy Blue ControlThis archetype is at its best when it pairs a few sticky, powerful threats with efficient cantrips, card draw, and a large dose of board controlling instant speed counters & removal. It should either include a combo finisher (Time Vault or Twin), a Time Walk recursion strategy, or be able to land (and protect) one of the PWs that tend to run away with the game, or a creature that does the same (Consecrated Sphinx, Hullbreaker Horror, etc.) The addition of Stasis helps this deck slow down aggro opponents and survive the early game, where it is sometimes vulnerable.
13) 4-5 Color Omnath/GolosThe HSC cube has prioritized enablers for 4-5c Omnath/Golos builds, because they’re just so much fun when they come together. In addition to a high density of mana dorks & multicolor fixing, the inclusion of Tireless Provisioner (which can really pop off with fetchlands), Lotus Cobra, and Dryad of Ilysian Grove help this deck deliver its bigger threats ahead of schedule. While often sharing many of the key components of the lands archetype (especially Crucible, Wrenn, Fastbond, & Crop Rotation), this build is distinct and very hard to stop once it gets a full head of steam.
14) Sneak & ShowThis archetype has gotten weaker in recent iterations of MTGO’s vintage cube, and so we’ve added additional support to keep it at the highest tier of competition in the HSC cube. In addition to Sneak Attack, Show & Tell, and Through the Breach, there are now new ways to cheat creatures onto the battlefield in Monster Manual and Flash (which synergizes especially well with Chaos Defiler, Sundering Titan, and Archon of Cruelty). This deck benefits from additional tutors in Gamble & Worldly Tutor — both absent from MTGO’s vintage cube. Chaos Defiler is an explosive new Sneak/Breach target, and Seething Song, Faithless Looting, plus quality multicolor fixing help round out this archetype.
This list is far from exhaustive. Powerful fan favorites like Bolas’s Citadel (alongside Sensei’s Divining Top) wins games all on its own, and often gets added to Tinker decks, Reanimator decks (with Dark Ritual), or Lurrus decks (with Black Lotus).
Solid fixing paired with extremely powerful PWs like Minsc & Boo, Grist, and Daretti enable all sorts of 3-4 color shenanigans. Well crafted Golgari/Sultai, Rakdos/Grixis, Gruul/Jund/Temur, Jeskai, and Esper decks tend to perform quite well in the HSC cube.
Orzhov and Selesnya have generally underperformed in the cube, because each guild lacks a powerful payoff (usually a 3-4 mana Planeswalker) to reward drafters in those color combinations. Because of this, we’ve reduced those guilds to the bare minimum of just 2 cards each, as a signpost for drafters.
Have fun drafting, and enjoy the cube!!