## Overview The Devoid Cube is a 375 card eternal cube in which 99.7% of cards (all but 1) in the cube are colorless. In addition, the only basic land you can freely add to your deck is [[Wastes]]. [I took this article from 2014](https://articles.starcitygames.com/premium/the-colorless-cube/) as a challenge to design a Cube focused exclusively on colorless cards. A colorless cube represents a stark restriction for the game of Magic - colorless cards (including lands) represent only ~13% of Magic’s overall card pool. Despite this, the Devoid Cube is able to create an interesting, odd and unique draft experience with a variety of traditional magic archetypes. --- ## Designing the power-level of the Devoid Cube <<[[!6927d6d4-93fe-4ded-b091-a0c671c1716b]] [[!skullclamp]] [[!smuggler's copter]] [[!f77d5b90-5ea1-403e-ab85-3040e1da933b]]>> <<[[!a9a842eb-3583-4ce7-afab-e81adafd66eb]][[!chaos orb]] [[!be905e63-a7d5-4b75-ba03-32089c7e3063]][[!0c8f362c-f035-48b3-8e74-ef23240b44f7]]>> <<[[!3c0c495e-d2ac-45e4-9f75-5633e7ade26c]] [[!Tower of the Magistrate]] [[!Krark-Clan Ironworks]] [[!Field of the Dead]]>> The cards above are generally considered to be the cards at the top of the power-band for the Devoid Cube. Most of these cards need no introduction and are multi-format all-stars, including being high picks in traditional cubes. There are obvious additions that play specifically into the idea of a colorless cube - [[Mystic Forge]] and [[Forsaken Monument]] providing a staggering amount of value. Players familiar with powerful vintage cubes will obviously note that there are many powerful colorless cards that aren't represented in the above that you would expect to see in the colorless section of higher power cubes, such as [[Sol Ring]], [[Mana Crypt]], etc. These powerful cards are omitted by design. In games of Magic, there are a variety of different axes which balance power - card advantage, mana advantage, tempo, etc. In a traditional cube environment (or say, a Vintage deck), fast mana serves as a way to power out significant threats more quickly than the game intends (per the 1-land-per-turn rule). However, these advantages can generally be countered on alternative axes. Consider a cube where a player’s Turn-1 play is Island → [[Mana Crypt]] → [[Tinker]] for [[Blightsteel Colossus]]. That is an extraordinary mana advantage at the cost of card disadvantage. However, if that player’s opponent has an effective removal spell, like a [[Path to Exile]], they can easily recover from the first player’s mana advantage. If their opponent has a counterspell for the [[Tinker]], the player has lost a significant advantage. Within the restrictions of the Devoid Cube, there is limited traditional interaction (i.e. removal, counterspells, etc.) and it tends to cost a large amount of mana. As a result, balancing an environment of fast mana, when there’s not sufficient interaction for the advantage gained by quickly accelerating threats, is very important for games to be fun. As such, [[Ancient Tomb]] is the most powerful mana accelerant in the cube and the “fastest” mana is [[Palladium Myr]]/[[Worn Powerstone]]. The jump from 3 mana on Turn 3 to 6 mana on Turn 4 is sufficiently powerful to be a very strong strategy, without being too powerful for other decks to keep up. Similarly, the Cube does not have any of the traditionally “easy” ways to “cheat” out creature threats (Such as [[Quicksilver Amulet]] or [[Thran Temporal Gateway]]). --- ## Mana in the Devoid Cube While players are only allowed to add [[Wastes]] freely to their deck, there are many cards in the Devoid Cube that required colored mana, either to cast or to activate. Players who are looking to play colored cards can find access to colored mana within the draftable pool. There are cycles of lands, basic and non-basic, to support colored cards. The number of cards requiring colored pips is unbalanced within the cube, so not every land in a cycle exists within the pool. That said, below are some of the cycles of lands you can find in the draft: * 1x of each Basic Land and each Snow-Covered Basic Land * Mirrodin Artifact Lands * Kamigawa Neon Dynasty legendary “spell” Lands * Pain Lands * Broken cycles of Horizon Lands, Modern Horizon Bridges, and Filter Lands * 5+1 Rainbow Lands ([[Crystal Quarry]], [[Aether Hub]], [[Gemstone Mine]], [[Mirrodin’s Core]], [[Tendo Ice Bridge]], and [[Corrupted Crossroads]], kinda) In effect, playing spells with colored costs is similar to “splashing” in a more traditional draft environment. Depending on how consistently you want to be able to cast those cards or use their colored ability, the more you’ll need to spend draft picks on colored mana sources. There are non-land cards that also “fix” for basics (i.e. [[Pilgrim’s Eye]], [[Wayfarer’s Bauble]], [[Solemn Simulacrum]]) that command a higher premium when they are finding a consistent source of colored mana (i.e. a Basic or Snow-Basic) vs. just finding another [[Wastes]]. In addition to lands that generate colored mana, there are other sources of colored mana that can be drafted: * Mana Myr (Mirrodin/Scars of Mirrodin cycle) * “Eggs” ([[Chromatic Sphere]], [[Chromatic Star]], [[Noble's Purse]] etc.) Lastly, land destruction is relatively weak in the cube. There is no [[Strip Mine]] or [[Wasteland]]. Mana denial is essentially the other side of the fast-mana coin - if players are able to more directly attack an opponent's mana, it’s difficult for decks to catch up because card advantage is less efficient. All but one land destruction effect on a land cannot hit basics ([[Field of Ruin]] can). This means that Basics are far and away the most powerful version of colored mana that exists in the Cube. --- ## Removal in the Devoid Cube There are only a limited number of purely colorless removal spells in Magic. As such, much of the interaction in the cube ends up being creatures trading in combat and direct removal is at a premium in the cube. There are a few flavors of removal available to drafters: ### Premium Colorless Removal <<[[!Chaos Orb]] [[!acaee41d-5f7c-481d-8591-f9dc47c784e4]] [[!Titan's Presence]] [[!Invasion of Ravnica]]>> These are among the most powerful pieces of interaction in the cube, capable of removing most major creatures/permanents at a reasonable rate. ### Mass Removal <<[[!Nevinyrral's Disk]] [[!99b26da0-2ddb-4f73-bb2e-1288e349fb46]] [[!64f6a0e5-324b-4c34-a44f-9b184cd20ca8]]>> Colorless board wipes enable players to reset the board of aggressive opponents and answer powerful late-game permanents. ### Mana Value-dependent Removal <<[[!Karn's Sylex]] [[!The Filigree Sylex]] [[!Engineered Explosives]] [[!Powder Keg]]>> In addition to broad board wipes, cheaper, more targeted versions exist in order to enable players to interact with lower-curve aggressive strategies ### Colored Removal <<[[!Ghostfire]] [[!Oblivion Strike]] [[!Boseiju, Who Endures]] [[!Kozilek's Return]]>> Players who are willing to draft ways to cast colored mana symbols will find that they have access to cheaper, higher-power removal and interaction than players who simply focus on staying purely colorless throughout the draft. --- ## The Archetypes of the Devoid Cube One of the most important design goals of the Devoid Cube is that there be diversity of traditional Magic archetypes represented. The Cube supports archetypes across the spectrum of classic Magic macro- and micro-archetypes - from aggro/control/midrange to ramp and pure combo. A few different common archetypes are outlined below, including: 1. An overall game plan for how the deck would approach the game 2. Some key cards to be on the lookout for when drafting the deck 3. What signals you might see in the draft that would indicate you should move into the deck. ### Low-Curve "Affinity" Aggro **Game Plan**: Play cheap artifact creatures, usually equip them with powerful equipment and attack with creatures for damage. **Key Cards** <<[[!bd26d52d-7437-44cf-90b7-b536a5b8c94d]] [[!Myr Enforcer]] [[!9d779ef8-f09b-4111-acee-d28c51b77d53]] [[!3063fda2-d67f-43c3-a736-f4fd980efcbe]]>> **Ways to get into the Deck**: Draft an early piece of powerful equipment, like [[Cranial Plating]], [[Ghostfire Blade]], [[Grafted Wargear]], or [[Skullclamp]]. Then focus on picking up powerful/evasive 1-drops, like [[Gingerbrute]], [[Signal Pest]], and others. ### Counters Matter **Game Plan**: Focus on picking up synergistic counters cards - to gain value over time or to grow your team/combo kill quickly. **Key Cards** <<[[!eda7bda4-51cf-4648-8489-352d28d591fb]] [[!The Ozolith]] [[!Energy Chamber]] [[!Animation Module]]>> **Ways to get into the deck**: Take one of the high-power key cards above. Players will typically end up with either a synergistic aggressive deck or a high-synergy mid-range deck that takes advantage of proliferate more broadly with expensive cards like [[Contagion Clasp]], [[Contagion Engine]], or even a multi-color deck to take advantage of sunburst effects. ### Eldrazi Midrange **Game Plan**: Curve out powerful Eldrazi spells, picking up the Eldrazi Sol lands to accelerate the curve. Equip them if possible. Beat Down. **Key Cards** <<[[!Endless One]] [[!Eldrazi Mimic]] [[!Thought-Knot Seer]] [[!Reality Smasher]] [[!Eye of Ugin]] [[!Eldrazi Temple]]>> **Ways to get into the deck**: Pick an early [[Eldrazi Temple]] or [[Eye of Ugin]] and pick up the lower-curve, Mono- Eldrazi creatures. ### Red Aggro **Game Plan**: Similar to Eldrazi Aggro, but picking up red mana sources to unlock some of the powerful/unique Red effects in the cube. **Key Cards** <<[[!Bomat Courier]] [[!Eldrazi Obligator]] [[!Vile Aggregate]] [[!Skitterbeam Battalion]]>> **Ways to get into the deck**: Generally, players who draft this deck start off drafting non-colored aggressive cards and find an opportunity early to pick up a few red sources, enabling them to take the powerful Red cards that will typically go later in the pack due to their colored mana requirements. ### “Juggernaut Tribal” **Game Plan**: Pick 2-mana accelerants and powerful 4-6 drop creatures. **Key Cards** <<[[!Gold Myr]] [[!Traxos, Scourge of Kroog]] [[!Weaponized Scrap]] [[!Walker of the Wastes]]>> **Ways to get into the deck**: Pick up a few early 2-mana accelerants and then aggressively take powerful 4-5 drop creatures. ### Eldrazi Ramp **Game Plan**: Ramp into high power, expensive Eldrazi spells, potentially utilizing 1+ colors (U/G). **Key Cards** <<[[!Eye of Ugin]] [[!Eldrazi Temple]] [[!Oblivion Sower]] [[!Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger]]>> **Key Colored Cards** <<[[!Kozilek's Return]] [[!World Breaker]] [[!Elder Deep-Fiend]] [[!From Beyond]]>> **Ways to get into the deck**: Take a high-power Eldrazi finisher (1 of 3 Titans) and/or find an Eldrazi Sol land, and then pick up the corresponding piece. Round out with accelerants. ### Big Mana Ramp **Game Plan**: Play early/strong accelerants into powerful late game threats. **Key Cards** <<[[!Ugin, the Ineffable]] [[!Forsaken Monument]] [[!Cityscape Leveler]] [[!Worn Powerstone]]>> Key Colored Cards: <<[[!Wayfarer's Bauble]] [[!Solemn Simulacrum]] [[!Memnarch]] [[!World Breaker]]>> **Ways to get into the deck**: Pick powerful accelerants early, then late-game payoffs. If you can get access to colored mana sources, in particular some of the draftable basic lands, you can unlock the powerful payoffs with colored mana in their costs or abilities. ### 5-Color/Field of the Dead **Game Plan**: Aggressively take ramp and fixing to access powerful colored, multicolor and 5-color creatures, spells and abilities. **Key Cards** <<[[!Golos, Tireless Pilgrim]] [[!Field of the Dead]] [[!Boseiju, Who Endures]] [[!Slivdrazi Monstrosity]]>> **Ways to get into the deck**: Take an early [[Field of the Dead]] or [[Golos, Tireless Pilgrim]]. Aggressively take lands and powerful spells with colored costs or abilities. ### Control **Game Plan**: Control the board through tap effects, mass-destruction artifacts and win with high-power and/or resilient threats over time. **Key Cards** <<[[!Icy Manipulator]] [[!Nevinyrral's Disk]] [[!Touchstone]] [[!Karn's Sylex]]>> **Ways to get into the deck**: Of all the decks in the cube, this feels the most like the one you “fall into” - oftentimes this is what happens if you take a high-power ramp payoff and then...don’t really see the mana ramp cards/spells. Seeing mid-to-late mass removal, good “speedbump” creatures and tap effects is a sign that this kind of deck can be put together. ### Ironworks Combo **Game Plan**: The Devoid Cube’s Storm white whale. Assemble [[Krark-Clan Ironworks]], [[Scrap Trawler]], Mana Eggs and then Combo Kill or play a powerful high-mana card, like [[Ulamog the Ceaseless Hunger]]. **Key Cards** <<[[!Krark-Clan Ironworks]] [[!Scrap Trawler]] [[!Walking Ballista]] [[!Chromatic Star]]>> **Ways to get into the deck**: Open [[Krark-Clan Ironworks]]. If you open [[Scrap Trawler]] you can hedge a bit into an aggressive artifact creature deck with sacrifice synergies and hedge a bit in case someone passes you an Ironworks in Pack 2-3. ### UWx ETB Midrange **Game Plan**: Generate value and overwhelm opponents by (re)playing cards with powerful ETB effects. **Key Cards** <<[[!Eldrazi Displacer]] [[!Crystal Shard]] [[!Precursor Golem]] [[!Drowner of Hope]]>> **How to get into the deck**: Take an early/repeatable flicker/bounce effect. This archetype is often paired with green to be able to bounce/replay [[World Breaker]] or [[Mockery of Nature]]. ### Discard Matters **Game Plan**: Generate value by being able to use discard cards (for other costs/abilities) for value. **Key Cards** <<[[!Containment Construct]] [[!Currency Converter]] [[!Key to the City]] [[!Masticore]]>> **How to get into the deck**: Take an early [[Containment Construct]] and look for powerful effects that require discarding - turn those discarded cards into value as either mana/color accelerants, a steady stream of creatures, or even just being able to play discarded lands and cast discarded spells.