Yan's Commander Cube
Massive update is complete as of 4/15/2024
The descriptions are the only things remaining to be cleaned up a little bit and updated.
Special thanks to DankTrainTom for the inception of this cube. He was the originator of the cube and we've worked together to create an incredible commander cube over the past several years! I've taken this version in a slightly different direction. You can find the original here
Sections
- Overview
- Archetypes
- Draft/Commander Rules
- Draft Primer
- Rules Quick Guide
- Other
OVERVIEW
Since the release of Commander Legends, this cube has became my greatest MtG project. This cube is designed to replicate a fun and engaging EDH experience that is new every time you sit down to play. Supporting upwards to 16 players, draft with your friends and break into 4-player pods.
WHAT TO EXPECT
-
Games feel like EDH: I've curated this list to include the staples that are synonymous with Commander. Cards are powerful, fun, splashy and decks should feel as though they were genuine-made Commander decks.
-
Combos that reward creative deck building and player knowledge: combos exist but should be easy to interact with and require many pieces to achieve. I want combos to be a rare occurrence but vital to ensure that every game can end in a reasonable amount of time and decks don't devolve into boring goodstuff piles.
-
Combat focused gameplay: the cube rewards combat to prevent boring board stalls and keep games shorter with effects like ninjutsu, goad, monarch, initiative, and more. I've pushed most archetypes into being aggressive in some way, such as curating with cards that require attacking for payoff.
-
Archetypes that are well-supported and overlap together: many of the 3-color generals exemplify this. Each of the archetypes should have interesting synergies with each other to keep drafting and gameplay smooth and fresh every time.
-
Streamlined drafting and deck building rules: I tried to keep from deviating from the standard rules of Magic. The draft rules from Commander Legends are used here with little innovation to make the process as simple and intuitive as possible.
-
A handful of illegal cards in EDH: Mystery Booster playtest cards, Conspiracy cards, un-cards, and cards that are banned in EDH give a unique experience you can only get with cube. View the cards not legal in EDH by filtering with "legality!=Commander".
Effect Tags
- tag:Commander: Seeded commanders
- tag:Background: Seeded backgrounds that are drafted in a unique way. These can only be drafted by forgoing a draft pick to select 1 background amongst the available backgrounds remaining. (1 Background per mono-colored partner drafted).
- tag:Ramp: Grows your manabase (does not include land-to-hand tutors)
- tag:Card Advantage: Nets at least 1 card, under normal circumstances
- tag:Cantrip: Replaces itself
- tag:Filter: filters your draw
- tag:Tutor: Searches your library for a card
- tag:Recursion: Returns cards from graveyards ("pseudo-draw") or Replaces itself by returning a card from a graveyard ("pseudo-cantrip")
- tag:Recursion: Replaces itself by returning a card from a graveyard ("pseudo-cantrip")
- tag:Creature-Removal: Removes almost any creature immediately, though not necessarily permanently.
- tag:Conditional-Removal: Removes a subset of creatures but not all; or removes creatures very temporarily; or lets your opponent choose which creature they remove; or removes a creature after a delay; etc.
- tag:Board-Wipe: Removes (almost) all creatures
- tag:Artifact-Removal: Removes one or more artifacts
- tag:Enchantment-Removal: Removes one or more enchantments
- tag:Planeswalker-Removal: Removes one or more planeswalkers
- tag:Graveyard-Hate: Prevents recursion. Includes traditional graveyard hate, plus creature removal that exiles rather than destroys.
- tag:Lifegain: Gains you life
- tag:Top Considerations: Cards in the maybeboard that are top considerations for entering the mainboard.
Archetype/Sub-Archetype Tags
- tag:+1/+1 Counters
- tag:Aggro
- tag:Aristocrats
- tag:Sacrifice Outlet
- tag:Blink
- tag:Anthem
- tag:Tokens
- tag:Lifedrain
- tag:Reanimator
- tag:Theft
- tag:Mill
- tag:Spellslinger
- tag:Stompy
Cast creatures through the Blind Eternities as a powerful aethermage.
This classic blink deck plays permanents with "enters the battlefield" effects and builds value by exiling them and returning them to the battlefield to re-trigger their effects.
Notable generals: Tivit, Seller of Secrets, Pramikon, Sky Rampart, and Derevi, Empyrial Tactician
Send in operatives to turn your opponents' strongest spells against them.
This deck is an aggressive version of the theft strategy. It heavily rewards dealing damage to opponents in exchange for taking their spells and/or drawing cards.
Notable generals: Sen Triplets, Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge, and The Mimeoplasm
Harness pain magic that cause as much suffering to your opponents as possible.
No pain, no gain. This group-slug style deck wants you and your opponents to sacrifice permanents to gain value. While the core theme is sacrificing, many cards in this archetype also deal increments of damage and cause opponents to discard cards.
Notable generals: Extus, Oriq Overlord, Nekusar, the Mindrazer and Henzie "Toolbox" Torre
Call upon the world to your aid. Crush your foes with the very land beneath your feet!
This deck is the go-tall stompy strategy. Ramp into large threats with attack and landfall triggers that put pressure on your opponents' life totals.
Notable generals: Haldan, Avid Arcanist + Pako, Arcane Retriever, Marisi, Breaker of the Coil, and Henzie "Toolbox" Torre
Unite the many and overrun your enemies with the power of the largest army.
This deck wants to go-wide with an onslaught of tokens. Utilize anthems and combat tricks to make an unbeatable army.
Notable generals: Phabine, Boss's Confidant, Derevi, Empyrial Tactician, and Ghave, Guru of Spores
Sacrifice the unworthy and beckon their spirits to do your bidding.
This aristocrats style of play wants you to generate tokens or play creatures with death triggers and sacrifice them for greater value. There is a secondary strategy of "dark deals" where you offer your opponents small advantages in exchange for a bigger pay off.
Notable generals: Extus, Oriq Overlord, Tivit, Seller of Secrets, and Ghave, Guru of Spores
Assemble unorthodox combos that shock your way to victory!
This is the spell-slinging, combo-adjacent deck. Many of the cards in this archetype will care about the casting of non-creature spells and reward explosive turns where you cast many spells in succession.
Notable generals: Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge, Kykar, Wind's Fury, and Kalamax, the Stormsire
Control the very circles of life. All things must die and new creatures will consume the remains.
This is the reanimator/morbid strategy. This archetype rewards you for putting cards in graveyards with discard and removal as well as allows you to use the graveyard as a resource to pull back from.
Notable generals: Myrkul, Lord of Bones, Lord Windgrace, and Muldrotha, the Gravetide
Master the art of combat by wielding powerful weapons and controlling your opponents' every move.
This archetype is centered around aggression and controlling combat. It takes advantage of creatures with attack triggers, equipment to suit them up, and combat tricks.
Notable generals: Marisi, Breaker of the Coil, Pramikon, Sky Rampart, and Isshin, Two Heavens as One
Wield evolutionary magic to grow your creations into true apex predators.
This deck wants to ramp into big threats and make them bigger with +1/+1 counters. Many cards in this archetype will care about power and toughness and the manipulation of counters.
Notable generals: Falco Spara, Pactweaver, Haldan, Avid Arcanist + Pako, Arcane Retriever, and The Mimeoplasm
MAIN POOL DRAFT RULES
Players draft from 3 packs of 20 from the cube and build a deck of 60 (59/58 + general(s)). Players draft two cards at a time. Each pack is seeded with two legendary creatures from the Commander section of the cube. "Partner with" cards are automatically drafted together and are treated as a single card for draft purposes (draft a Haldan, Avid Arcanist and get a Pako, Arcane Retriever for free). Any card with "Choose a Background" also has "Partner" and vice versa.
In order to replicate the feel of commander (and for the sake of balance and drafting freedom), it is vital that some staples be made available to all players. Players each start the draft with the following cards in their draft pool:
SIDE POOL DRAFT RULES
There are 40 cards in the cube that make up a side pool draft. These cards consist of backgrounds and extra mono-colored partners and are labeled "Background" and are color-coded pink in the list. They should all be shuffled into a deck prior to the beginning of a traditional draft.
You can draft from the side pool once per draft round for a total max of 3 draft entries in the side pool (Since there are 3 packs per player, there are 3 rounds of drafting).
The draft works as follows: After viewing the cards in any given pick you may announce that you will be drafting from the side pool this pick (In the case of multiple people opting to take this action, priority is given to whoever announces this first. Each subsequent player will follow after the first player). Forego your current 2 picks by burning 2 cards at random facedown from your current pick. Then, draw and draft cards from the side pool deck as follows:
The round of drafting is irrelevant, the structure will always look like this.
Additionally, all cards that aren't selected must be shuffled and placed randomly at the bottom of the side pool deck.
1st Pick (20 cards in hand): Draw 10 ---> Draft 3
2nd Pick (18 cards in hand): Draw 9 ---> Draft 2
3rd Pick (16 cards in hand): Draw 8 ---> Draft 2
4th Pick (14 cards in hand): Draw 7 ---> Draft 2
5th Pick (12 cards in hand): Draw 6 ---> Draft 1
6th Pick (10 cards in hand): Draw 5 ---> Draft 1
7th Pick (8 cards in hand): Draw 4 ---> Draft 1
8th Pick (6 cards in hand): Draw 3 ---> Draft 1
9th Pick (4 cards in hand): Draw 2 ---> Draft 1
10th Pick (2 cards in hand): Draw 1 ---> Draft 1
If you are doing sealed draft, in addition to the 6 packs that everyone gets from the main pool, each player draws 5 cards from the side pool deck.
DRAFT PRIMER
I've found that this cube does a really good job of appealing to different types of drafters. Newer players should have an easy time grabbing the first legendary creature they like and forcing a deck that should work fairly well, however, the draft environment doesn't have to be all "on-rails" as you might expect. I've developed a guide to the value drafter that should help players build nuanced, effective, and fun decks.
During the draft you should prioritize your picks effectively. The following guide is to help beginners with the cube accomplish this:
There are 4 major card types to look out for in packs 1 and 2.
-
Game Enders -- the highest priority are the game winning cards. This includes cards like Approach of the Second Sun, Expropriate, Rise of the Dark Realms, Insurrection, and Craterhoof Behemoth. These cards are first pick-able, as resolving one will usually result in a game win.
-
Fixing/Ramp -- Second is mana fixing. Both lands and rocks fit nicely here. It is often correct to pick these up before you are even locked into any colors, as the ability to cast your spells more consistently greatly increases your deck viability.
-
Commanders -- Third is your general. Many players will snap up legendary creatures immediately, passing up on cards that would otherwise greatly improve their deck. I find it is often best to make sure you aren't passing either of the first two categories of cards first before making a move into locking your deck's colors and strategy down. This does still need to be a high priority as your deck legality hinges on it.
-
Haymakers -- Finally are cards that, no matter what, will always make the cut and are strong signals that a color is open when passed. Notable cards in this category are Luminarch Ascension, Teferi's Protection, Smothering Tithe, Cyclonic Rift, Rhystic Study, Deadeye Navigator, Reanimate, Summon the Pack, Revel in Riches, Dockside Extortionist, Etali, Primal Storm, Blasphemous Act, Avenger of Zendikar, Triumph of the Hordes, and Oracle of Mul Daya.
After these conditions are met, you should begin looking for cards that fit your deck appropriately and help along your game-plan.
RULES GUIDE
- Start with Command Tower
- Draft 3 packs of 20
- Draft 2 cards at a time
- Commander damage is 21
- Minimum deck size is 60
- Starting life totals are 40
- Friendly mulligan rules (first mulligan is free)
- CANNOT pair two two-colored partners together. Therefore, at most you can only have a 3 color deck.
- Cards with "Partner" have "Choose a Background" and vice versa
- Conspiracies DO NOT count towards your deck limit. So if you decide to play 2 partner commanders and 3 conspiracies, this is legal. In this case your deck effectively has 65 cards.
- Unlike traditional Commander, you may place cards in your deck if they are hybrid and/or if you're able to cast the spell given your commanders colors. For example, a Timeless Lotus can go in any deck because any deck can produce 5 generic mana. For similar reasons Opening Ceremony can be played in any red deck, Deathrite Shaman can be played in any green deck, etc...
OTHER
For any rule not specifically covered, feel free to house rule it. Do what works best for your play group. For example: for cards like Booster Tutor, Summon the Pack, and Stocking Tiger that refer to a "sealed Magic booster pack", use whatever method you want to pull from unused/undrafted cards from the cube.