Each player's deck is like a character.
--Richard Garfield

Choose Your Class: Format

After drafting, each player chooses a class card.

Your class card will always be available to you without having to draw it. It starts on the table (but not in play) in the class zone. You may play it from the class zone as if it were in your hand. If your class card would be removed from the battlefield, you may move it to the class zone instead. Any level progress is lost.

All classes are available to all players; multiple players can choose the same class. Class cards won't be drafted -- only selected after draft -- so there are no class cards in the cube's list. When playtesting here, you can find the class cards in the basic land section.

Class cards function like commanders, but we're not using the other aspects of Commander format. Choose Your Class is designed for 1v1 play; classes do not impose any color restrictions on decks; players start with 20 life; and the cost of playing class cards does not increase if they are cast multiple times.

Design Principles

1. Most of the class cards should be viable and as balanced as possible. They should have an important role in gameplay and an important influence on draft decisions.
2. Well-drafted decks should feel powerful. The draft experience should be non-linear, and there should be a wide variety of ways to build a successful deck.
3. I try to include cards with strong D&D flavor as long as they are playable and don't detract from the above goals. You will notice lots of MTG spells that also exist in D&D.

Class Rebalancing

When playing with one of the uncommon class cards (Cleric Class, Druid Class, Warlock Class, Wizard Class) or Rogue Class, the class card starts out in play instead of in the class zone.

The Classes

• Bard Class is supported by lots of legendary creatures and planeswalkers. Note that planeswalkers are legendary even if it's not stated on the card.
• Cleric Class is supported by a strong lifegain package. Clerics can do the "Heliod combo" even without Heliod.
• Druid Class can be an engine of lifegain or mana acceleration. Note the powerful interaction with Courser of Kruphix and Radha, Heart of Keld. Druids are best equipped to take advantage of several strong landfall effects and bounce lands (Simic Growth Chamber). There is no targeted land removal, so bounce lands won't backfire. With their built-in source of life gain, Druids can easily take advantage of Archangel of Thune and Trudge Garden.
• Fighter Class can tutor for one of several pieces of strong equipment.
• Monk Class benefits from lots of cantrips.
• Paladin Class benefits from lots of support for wide strategies. Note Giant Solifuge's potential as a finisher.
• Ranger Class is just great.
• Rogue Class is complemented by ninjas and evasive creatures.
• Sorcerer Class has built-in draw/discard, which can support delve, Search for Azcanta, and Jace, Vryn's Prodigy. Potential sorcerers should note the cube's many cantrips and recurring spells. Consider the interaction with Manaform Hellkite.
• Warlock Class synergizes with delirium, delve, and sacrifice mechanics.
• Wizard Class has built-in card draw, useful in any blue deck. Cantrips can make +1/+1 counters accumulate quickly. Note the interaction with Benthic Biomancer.
• I don't expect Barbarian Class to be competitively viable, but you can choose it if you want.

Notes

• It's important to consider how the presence of the class cards affects the power level of certain cards. For instance, Portable Hole, Vraska, Golgari Queen, Aura Blast, and Reclamation Sage.
• For two-player drafts, I suggest creating 18 packs of 9 cards. Give each player two packs. Then grid draft the rest.