QUICK NOTES ==================

Cutting Vampires and Lifegain themes. Orzhov will be token-themed now.

===================== THE ACTUAL OVERVIEW =====================

==== List Construction Guidelines ====

Planning on making a singleton 610-cards list.

That means ~ 8.5 dual-colored cards for 10 guilds, 2 tri-color cards for each wedge.

==== Gameplay Principles ====

60-card decks.

Creatures without an immediate board impact must be playable in this environment.

For multiplayer (4 dudes) gameplay.

Focus on decks of 2-4 colours. 5-colour should be viable, but not omnipresent.

I guess, I don't want almost any planeswalkers in this list, besides our God and Savior Nicol Bolas. IMO, they make gameplay more complicated. Multiplayer formats are more complex in and of themselves, so why exacerbate the problem?

Some archetypes (GB aristocrats, for instance) require token-makers to be present in the list. However, I don't want the board to be consistently swarmed by all kinds of 1/1's. Players must be supplied with token hate and mass-ping damage cards.

==== Draft&Deckbuilding Principles ====

In development.

Perhaps, no color identity and no separate packs for fixing and commanders.

==== Cube's Theme Principles ====

Focus on archetypes, clear themes and identities. An example: a sacrifice Jund deck rather than the Modern-/Legacyt-type good-stuff Jund decklist.

Trying to create the atmosphere of a real political fight between several generals. This includes fighting for resources (trying to get your hands on your opponent's Damia, for instance), deals between players and the presence of alt-win conditions.

Good fixing (maybe, not top-tier, but plentiful enough), but little less efficiency in terms of removal, so that dudes without immediate board impact could actually bring value?

==== Archetypes ====

I guess, aggro just doesn't exist in such cubes. It's partial equivalent is midrang/beatdown.

Below will be the list of colour-combinations and their mechanics, as well as "identities".

2-colour pairs should have an identity of their corresponding Ravnica guild. For example, for Dimir it means being based on blue control-magic-type effects, casting cards from opponents' hands or libraries, using clones and other spy-themed cards.

g-b Aristocrats, Living Death.. Midrang.
u-b midrang? Maybe, reanimator, but it shouldn't be as degenerate as it is in MTGO Vintage cube.
r-b Rakdos, Lord of Riots (burn for mana), discard, more aggressive aristocrats; alternatively: vampires (parasitic?). Midrang.
u-w FLyers, counterspells, blink, Second Sun's Dawn? Midrang/Control.
r-w Lightning Bolts & Helixes, sweepers, angels. Midrang.
w-b Lifegain, death and taxes, midrang.
w-g Tokens, maverick toolbox? Maybe, we just don't have WG outside of Bant?
g-r rAgE attacc midrang, throwing lands at our opponents. "Anti-civilization" subtheme (non-creature spells hate, mass artifact destruction).
u-r Spellslinger, draw a bunch, discard a bunch, Niv-Mizzet+curiosity combo? "Lightning", "experiment", drake (not tribal) subtheme (basically take cards out of WotC's "Seize Control" commander precon - and you get that flavor).
u-g +1/+1 counters (can it be not parasitic?). "Evolving mutants" subtheme. Lizards, ooze, slime, plazma... Maybe Biovisionary + clones?

Grixis: Basically cosplaying Bolas.
Abzan: Aristocrats, Living Death.
Temur: eh...
Bant: Maverick, Voltron?
Mardu: More aggressive aristocrats?
Sultai: maybe, we don't have it?
Naya: ?
Jund: Aristocrats.
Esper: maybe, we don't have it?
Jeskai: Something with spells.