Art by Steven BelledinA legion of horribles, hundreds in number, half naked or clad in costumes attic or biblical or wardrobed out of a fevered dream with the skins of animals and silk finery and pieces of uniform still tracked with the blood of prior owners, coats of slain dragoons, frogged and braided cavalry jackets, one in a stovepipe hat and one with an umbrella and one in white stockings and a bloodstained wedding veil...
— Cormac McCarthy
Physically updated: 2025/04/20
If you're looking for a quick reference on how to draft, check out our quick reference instructions. Here's a printer-safe version.
After the release of Commander Legends (CMR), I was inspired to create a Commander cube to invoke the feelings we had playing EDH. El WUBRG de Tucson: A Commander Cube is the result of several years of design, some of which was borrowed from the release of Commander Masters (CMM). Singleton, sixty card decks are the goal, using cards throughout the entire history of Magic.
NOTE: I have also decided to not include any cards which are explicitly Banned in the Commander format, such as Primeval Titan or Jeweled Lotus, but have included things like Silver border, Un-Known Event, Alchemy, and Mystery Booster Playtest cards in the draft for fun. Also, the lands are all Snow basics.
El WUBRG de Tucson: A Commander Cube operates in a similar way that a typical Commander Draft (ala Commander Masters limited) would. Players are given three packs of 20 cards (3x20) and draft two cards at a time from each pack, including their Legendary Creature commander cards. Packs are not seeded like Commander Masters, but the density of Legendary Creatures is high enough (220/800) such that players will not have any issue reaching their goal of a commander in their specific colors in the Zone.
That said, there are a few rules I implemented:
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Commanders with one or fewer colors in their color identity have partner and choose a Background, so making powerful two-color decks are possible and not outshined by three-color decks.
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In something a little more unique, Commanders that have exactly two colors in their color identity have partner with The Prismatic Piper to enable three-color shenanigans without the need for a three-color Commander, and offers a little bit more versatility in deck creation.
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Three-color Commanders get nothing, and I've specifically not included four or five color Commanders to require my drafters to actually think when selecting cards in the draft.
At the end of the draft, players are required to build exactly 60 card decks (including their Commander(s)). As with constructed Commander decks, the deck can include only cards allowed by the color identity of its commander. In addition, all players are given the following...
Here you're given a few free things. You can use them how you wish! You're not required to add them, but they're there for you regardless.
NOTE: For those watching a home, Arcane Signet is in the cube itself, as I didn't want to warp the format to be even more beneficial for big-mana strategies.
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We can all use a reminder from time to time, especially given the complexity of a Magic format that spans every era, and nearly every mechanic. Click here for a larger version, or here for a printer-safe version!
El WUBRG de Tucson includes some errata for cards, which I would highly recommend for a better drafting experience.
There's a couple cards which I urge players to Rule 0 as Commanders.
Ash, Destined Survivor
Errata: Ash, Destined Survivor can be your Commander. It is not Legendary. Groovy. If you're feeling extra generous in breaking rules, you can give him Partner with Chainsaw.
The Grand Calcutron
Errata: The Grand Calcutron was decreed as a Commander by Maro during the temporary time when Un-sets were Commander legal, and thus is legal as a Commander in this format.
In addition to the Rule 0 appeal, we've made some slight changes to a couple of the cards involving some Un-set mechanics. These are specifically for Contraptions and Attractions. At its most basic, if you draft a card that specifically brings into play these additional game pieces, they're added to your Starting Spellbook.
Overt Operative Errata: Overt Operative. The abilities of Overt Operative have a functional errata to include "Immediately following the draft, reveal Overt Operative. Draft each card in the Contraption booster pack." Feel free to design your own Contraption booster pack, I've included some cards here to get you started.
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Susan Foreman Errata: Susan Foreman. The abilities of Susan Foreman have a functional errata to include "Immediately following the draft, reveal Susan Foreman. You may draft each card in the Planechase booster pack." Feel free to design your own Planechase booster pack, or ignore the mechanic altogether. It's not necessary for the game to be enjoyed, it just offers a bit more incentive to draft Susan Foreman but might be difficult for those pressed for time.
Errata: Myra the Magnificent. The abilities of Myra the Magnificent have a functional errata to include "Immediately following the draft, reveal Myra the Magnificent. Draft each card in the Attractions booster pack." Feel free to design your own Attractions booster pack, I've included some cards here to get you started.
Commander cubes vary wildly in their limited environments. This is no exception. I've tried to make the architypes differ from my Vintage cube, MOX 1138: A Vintage Cube, as I want to create battlefields rife with large creatures and big plays.
STAX
The popular prison archetype returns! Slow but hardy, this deck succeeds by using creature based control strategies to slow or stop opponents from attacking or dealing with your spells and permanents.
THIEVES
Control Magics and reanimator spells can steal your opponent's spells and permanents in other cubes, but what cube runs Empress Galina? What's yours is now mine, from the battlefield, hand, graveyard, and library.
GROUP SLUG
Attacking one or attacking all, this archetype is meant to spread the love. Wrap up games in Commander like never before! Knock people out of the game with massive damage or life loss spells and permanents!
POWER MATTERS
Often called "Monsters," this archetype is all about big creatures. Attack and fight, while reaping the rewards of Power 4/5 or greater triggers.
TOKENS
Go wide with tokens and cheap creatures, buff them with anthems, and claim victory over your opponents! Overcommitting has never been so fun!
LIFEGAIN
Life gain has been often considered a non-viable strategy as it rarely effects your opponents. Teach them a lesson! Aetherflux Resevoir and Sanguine Bond can really do some damage.
SPELLS
The prodigal son returns! Cast spells to trigger tons of abilities and control your enemies' fates with some of Magic's most powerful instants and sorceries!
DREDGE
Bring out your dead! Self-mill to quickly produce bodies to overwhelm your opponents. Sacrifice at the altar of progress and animate the dead horde!
VOLTRON
Counters, auras, and equipment, this "Combat Matters" archetype is all about dealing damage. Control your destiny by controlling the battlefield, and try to take a few more combat steps if your heart desires.
BUILD-A-BEAST
Ramp and counters, this strategy is all about Hydras and mana. Cast some of the most ridiculously expensive spells, or build your own monster through +1/+1 counters, and have fun exploring your inner Timmy.
El WUBRG de Tucson: Spellbook for import into Tabletop Simulator.
Special thanks to my friends: Andrew, Blaine, Eric, Jake, John, Miguel, Ryan, Shay, and Trevor to giving me guidance and putting up with my mistakes. Thank you, Jeff, for getting me into Magic. Y'all are the best.
— Matt
To display cards needing upgrades, filter with
-tag:"foil" -tag:"no foil available" -tag:"ordered" -tag:"preferred version"
Announcement Date: April 22, 2025
Commander Cube:
- Gifts Ungiven is unbanned
Detailed explanations for each of these are below.
Estimated Date for Tabletop: May 7, 2025
View the list of all previous changes.
GIFTS RE-GIVEN
Gifts Ungiven is not a card which I feel will make a massive impact in draft, as there are essentially no major 4-card packages a player could even attempt to reliably draft. If anything, it will act as an instant speed "draw two" and might incentivize collusion and/or politics, which I am a major proponent of in this environment, as well as provide a fun little thinking mini-game.
X WAS UNBANNED, WHY NOT X?Other cards were also officially unbanned, however, I am not of the opinion that we need to transfer Braids, Cabal Minion from the Vintage cube to this one, as Stax is not represented outside its color archetype to prevent draft confusion and false signaling. Panoptic Mirror is an interesting one, though the presence of both Time Warp and Temporal Manipulation would push the cube into a more optimized territory, which I would like to avoid. Two card combos are not what I would consider fair in a limited environment such as this.
Necropotence has had a hard life. Once banned in every format, now sees play in none. It's hard to cast, but can offer a lot of versatility for combo decks in Constructed formats. As Lifegain is one of the archetypes here which would synergize well with it, and the card would be sitting in a box for the foreseeable future, I've decided to dust it off and throw it in here. Bloodchief Ascension might be too strong as it is essentially a Vicious Shadows for a single mana, triggering off spells and discard and dying. It's hard to remove as it's an enchantment, and is probably too fast on the clock for this cube. Welcome back, Necropotence, we've missed you.
WATCHLIST
Mishra's Toy Workshop may prove too confusing for my players, as the difference between spells and effects of spells creating tokens might be a little too obtuse.