Art by Phil FoglioCloned from The Simple Cube by @TheOinkinator
Contemporary Magic has a lot of...upkeep. Perhaps too much.
So let's skip the upkeep.
Magic card design has become bogged down by excessive external game pieces: tokens, counters, double-faced cards, among many others. These add longevity and variety to Magic design, but the bloat can be tiring at times.
Hence, The Simple Cube's restrictions:
No counters (on cards! Counterspells are ok!)
No tokens
No double-faced cards
No cards that shuffle
These restrictions generate a distinct environment with unique twists to classic game plans and synergies. The cube avoids prescriptive archetypes, but each color possesses synergistic hooks at its disposal.
White: Blink and Flash | Blue: Spells and Graveyard | Black: Graveyard and Artifacts
Red: Artifacts and Madness | Green: Graveyard and Lands | Subtheme: Adventures
The cube's "Mechanical Aesthetic" comes through in how all colors touch on the most time-honored traditions, like graveyard, artifacts, and a low curve.
Some all-around cards are more powerful, but many slots are dedicated to roleplayers that might fall short of higher-powered environments.
To keep things "Simple," the designer prioritizes elegant rules text, avoiding the "wall of text" feel in formats like C*******r.
Gameplay feels like fundamental Magic with archetypal twists, and avoiding combo in general.