Art by Lius Lasahido
Jim's Temur TwobertA Twobert is a limited draft environment that is meant to be drafted with a small number of people, usually just two to four players. Each player will receive four packs of twelve cards to draft as normal. Unlike a traditional cube, each card in this cube is either Blue, Red, Green, or some combination of the those colors. Temur is Magic's most adaptive color triad so this cube focus on Temur's philosophy of adaptation through action. There are many draft archetypes and synergies that can be found as we explore this philosophy.
• Not Singleton: Most traditional cubes are singleton, meaning that no more than a single copy of any one card is included within it. That is not the case for the Temur Twobert. Some of the Themes and Archetypes that I explore when fleshing out and exploring this cube's main theme of adaptation through action led me to areas of Magic that just aren't as fleshed out as some of it's other themes. I will point out where duplicates are used and why they are used as we progress.
• Focus on Midrange Combat: has access to some of Magic's Best ramp and efficiently costed creatures. This cube doesn't support aggo in the traditional cube sense but is still very combat focused, however, you'll be trading haymakers with your opponent instead of jabs.
• Infinite Combo: I typically shy away from including infinite combos in my cubes and, when I do include them, they are usually pretty well hidden so they reward drafters who find them with a fun or interesting interaction. That is not the case with this cube. Infinite combos are present and out in the open.
• Enemy Color Hate: For years the color of Magic's color pie had ally and enemy colors and interactions between them. This cube compensates for fact that is the worst color triad at targeted removal by capitalizing on hate cards. Cards like pyroblast or Flash Flood serve as removal and as a reminder of Magic's past with old color pie breaks that would never be printed in a modern set.
• Burn as Removal: I have made a conscious choice for all of the burn spells in this cube to be primarily used as creature removal. None of the burn spells in this cube will be able to be pointed at your opponent's face. My Stipulation for a burn spell being included was that it had to do at least four damage to a creature and it couldn't target a player.
Ramp
- Play creatures that tap for mana and spells the put extra lands onto the battlefield so that you can take advantage of the extra mana that you will have available to you. You will be able to deploy bigger threats sooner than your opponents will be able to.
Mutate- Force your creatures to evolve into devastating threats that your opponents will not be able to match. Each of the Mutate Creatures featured in this cube is presented in their Manga art versions so keep an eye out for them.
Landfall- Playing lands are a fundamental part of the game so drafting this strategy rewards you for doing what all decks naturally want to do. Look for bounce lands like Gruul Turf to allow you to return a land to your hand so you can keep making land drops on further turns.
Twin Combo- This infinite combo has been around since for ages. There are several creatures that can go infinite with Splinter Twin/Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker however you won't find Pestermite or Deceiver Exarch in this cube. This combo is based primarily in so you may not be as familiar with some of the combo pieces.
Second Card Drawn- This archetype is a fairly recent concept that we've seen we've seen in Magic. Look for cards like Merfolk Looter that pair with your natural draw step draw to trigger your permanents that are looking to reward you for drawing your second card each turn. Instants like Faithless Salvaging, Thrill of Possibility, or Frantic Search can help you trigger your rewards on an opponent's turn too by drawing both cards at once.
Spell Slinger- Cast a barrage of instant and sorcery spells and flood the battlefield with tokens. Look for creatures that love it when you cast lots of spells like Arclight Phoenix, Thing in the Ice, or Stormwing Entity.
Elementals- Elementals are this cube's premier tribal synergy and you will find plenty of them throughout the list. Draft their pay offs aggressively because many of the best elementals also overlap with other archetypes so you won't be the only drafter that wants them.
Coral Helm Combo- Get infinite landfall triggers by bouncing lands over and over again.
Kodama Bounce- Loop a bounce land for infinite landfall trigger, also works with > Oboro, Palace in the Clouds too.
Curious Niv-Mizzit- Infinite draw and damage combo, also works with Keen Sense too.