THE COLD STONE CUBE

450 Cards | Unpowered | Legacy

KEY INFO:

• Strix 8: unpowered legacy, quality mana base, top-tier threats and answers, limited fast mana
• Drafters only have access to snow-covered basics; ABUR duals are altered snow-covered.
• High-quality fixing, including ABUR duals, shocklands, and fetchlands.
• Companion cards are played as written; we do not use the errata for this mechanic.
• Draft matters cards like Lore Seeker and Cogwork Librarian are present. When the former is drafted, an additional pack is made from excess cube cards.

MAIN ARCHETYPES:

Highlighted below are some of the main archetypes in each color and guild. There are other possible archetypes, build-arounds, combos, and inter-archetypal strategies, but the intent of this summary is to give first time drafters a sense of the Cold Stone environment.

DEATH & TAXES -- play efficient creatures and tax effects to take over the game while limiting what your opponent can do. You can break parity using symmetric effects with proper preparation.
Thalia, Guardian of Thraben | Rishadan Port | Balance | Council's Judgement

CONTROL -- keep your opponent in check with efficient removal and counterspells until you find one of your big finishers.
Counterspell | Shark Typhoon | Ugin, the Spirit Dragon | Torrential Gearhulk

REANIMATOR -- fill your graveyard with discard and mill effects then reanimate a big threat. Remember to build in some redundancy for your reanimation spells and targets, though!
Reanimate | Animate Dead | Griselbrand | Archon of Cruelty | Putrid Imp | Heir of Falkenrath

AGGRO -- take your opponent from 20 to 0 as fast as possible using cheap attackers and burn spells.
Goblin Guide | Chain Lightning | Fireblast | Hazoret the Fervent

RAMP -- abuse this color's ability to generate a lot of mana to quickly play many threats or a few big ones.
Elvish Mystic | Craterhoof Behemoth | Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary | Into the North

FLICKER/BLINK -- flicker and bounce your creatures to dodge removal and take advantage of strong enter the battlefield (ETB) effects. Note that this deck can easily pivot into many other archetypes due to the general playability and abundance of ETB effects.
Restoration Angel | Blade Splicer | Mulldrifter | Soulherder | Panharmonicon | Ephemerate

EVASIVE TEMPO -- take advantage of evasive threats using Ninjutsu and equipment. These colors naturally have strong removal and interaction, which makes for a strong midrange shell.
Fallen Shinobi | Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow | Looter il-Kor | Baleful Strix | Rankle, Master of Pranks

ARISTOCRAT AGGRO -- play aggressive bodies then sacrifice and recur them for value. Your board is far more resilient to removal and board wipes than most, but watch out for graveyard hate and exile effects.
Judith, the Scourge Diva | Goblin Bombardment | Bloodsoaked Champion | Bloodghast | Bitterblossom

STOMPY -- play powerful creatures and turn them sideways. Often, the best creatures will be resilient to removal (either with protection or by creating multiple threats).
Hazoret the Fervent | Carnage Tyrant | Questing Beast | Kessig Prowler

COUNTERS -- take advantage of counters synergy (potentially infinitely) to overwhelm your opponent numerable, persistent threats.
Kitchen Finks | Devoted Druid | Metallic Mimic | Good-Fortune Unicorn

DISRUPTIVE AGGRO -- chip away at their life total while taking away their threats and answers with discard, tax, and sacrifice effects. You can break parity using symmetric effects with proper preparation.
Thoughtseize | Thalia, Guardian of Thraben | Rankle, Master of Pranks | On Thin Ice

RECURSIVE MIDRANGE -- out-value your opponent with efficient threats, strong removal, and reanimation effects. Often, the best creatures will be resilient to removal (either with protection or by creating multiple threats). Depending on what cards are available, this strategy could lean towards stompy, dredge, or ramp.
Deep Forest Hermit | Fatal Push | Recurring Nightmare | Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis

FLASH TEMPO -- play cards that deny your opponent resources and/or eke out advantage. Often, modal and flash cards allow you to hold up mana for interaction or play threats on their turn.
Ice-Fang Coatl | Vendilion Clique | Mystic Confluence | Nightpack Ambusher | Prophet of Kruphix

SPELLSLINGER -- cast powerful blue and red spells while taking advantage of cast and draw triggers. This archetype can lend itself to aggressive or controlling strategies, depending on the preference of the drafter.
Sprite Dragon | Brainstorm | Young Pyromancer | Lightning Bolt

GO-WIDE AGGRO -- play many small threats to overwhelm your opponent before they can develop a board presence. Often (but not always), an aggressive deck such as this will lean heavily into a base color with a slight splash into a second.
Goblin Rabblemaster | Hellrider | Brimaz, King of Oreskos | Secure the Wastes