Summary

Improbable Alliances is a Commander cube with a focus on the political aspect of the game.

It features many built-for-multiplayer mechanics (Melee, Myriad, Encore) and plays on the "who's the archenemy?" dynamic of the format. Many cards and archetypes encourage playing your commander (Lieutenant, Backgrounds) and reward proactive plays (Monarch).

Draft rules:

• Each legal commander has "Choose a background"

Otherwise, this cube follows Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate draft rules, notably:

• Packs contain 20 cards
• Draft 2 cards each time

Deck construction rules:

• Deck size: 60 cards, including commander(s)
• No more than one of each card except basic lands
• Each player gets a copy of each of the following cards added to their pool, along with basic lands: Command Tower, Commander's Sphere, Faceless One, The Prismatic Piper

Otherwise, official Commander rules apply.

Game rules:

Official Commander rules apply; notably:

• Players start with 40 life
• Commander damage applies
• No sideboard

Design philosophy

The cube aims for the kind of commander games I like:

• winning happens primarily through combat
• power outliers exist, but you have to work for them
• no extreme mana or cards acceleration in the early game

The cube categorically excludes the following categories of cards:

• Mana positive cards: Jeweled Lotus, Sol Ring, Mana Crypt.
• Free spells: Fierce Guardianship, Flawless Maneuver, Force of Will, etc.
• Cards that weren't built for modern rules or the commander format: Mana Drain, Rhystic Study.
• WOTC admitted (TM) design mistakes: Edgar Markov, Arcane Signet, Dockside Extortionist, etc.

Cube designer notes

To support a reliable number of legendaries, backgrounds, fixing lands and interaction when scaling down from 8 players to 6 or 4, this cube has a core section that includes the most important of these cards. This core is always drafted, supplemented by however many cards needed from the rest of the list. Core cards are tagged on CubeCobra with core.

Why a commander cube?

I often get asked what's the added value of a commander cube. Besides just shaping and playing a format that I like, there are three distinct advantages compared to constructed commander.

1. There are no intangible laws of civility.
   Casual commander rests on an unstable gentleman's agreement that everyone should try to do something cool and strong, but really not try to win too hard. The guidelines on what strategies you can play, and how strong your deck should be are inherently vague.
   Commander cube solves this problem because it presents a fixed card pool. Within the pool, you are expected to draft and build the strongest deck possible.

2. There are no conflicts of interest in the rules committee
   The commander ban list is a hodgepodge of cards and clashes with the officially stated format philosophy. Having a cube allows me to exclude cards that warp games, or even include cards from the list (currently only Gifts Ungiven).

3. The format isn't warped by new printings
   Made-for-commander cards can be totally fine, and the cube features lots of them. However, WOTC occasionally overshoots and prints a busted card, and those mistakes simply won't make it in.