Overview:
Ortega Legends – Commander Cube offers swingy EDH gameplay on a power-level spectrum between upgraded Commander precons and focused, archetype-conscious homebrews. Initially a Commander Legends (CMR) set cube, Ortega Legends – Commander Cube has grown past CMR's Limited environment and into an identity all its own. The cube relies on and amplifies the Partner mechanic—a fundamental building block for the cube's design—and multifarious multicolored commanders. Whether you're alpha-striking with Tevesh Szat, Doom of Fools // Kamahl, Heart of Krosa; harnessing the cumulative power of Legendary creatures with Kethis, the Hidden Hand; or Cascade-ramping into value pieces with Averna, the Chaos Bloom, Ortega Legends – Commander Cube sets the stage for robust bouts of Commander.
Draft/Gameplay Guidelines:
–Pack Collation: Each pack should contain 20 cards with 2 random white cards; 2 random blue cards; 2 random black cards; 2 random red cards; 2 random green cards; 1 random multicolor card; 1 random Artifact/Land card; and 8 random cards from the cube overall.
–Each of up to eight players receives a Command Tower and Commander's Sphere prior to the draft, and all players have access to up to two copies of The Prismatic Piper to run as a commander, if needed.
–The planeswalkers Nahiri, the Lithomancer, Teferi, Temporal Archmage, and Freyalise, Llanowar's Fury are each considered to have Partner. So are the creatures Syr Konrad, the Grim, Breeches, Eager Pillager, Captain Lannery Storm, and Imaryll, Elfhame Elite.
–With eight players, 480 of the set's 540 cards (besides Command Tower, Commander's Sphere, and The Prismatic Piper) get drafted in 20-card packs.
–Three packs are distributed to each player, per normal draft rules.
–Players draft two cards at a time.
–Commanders are drafted in the main draft; there's no separate commander draft, nor a mana-base draft.
–Players construct a 60-card deck that, aside from the number of cards, follow all other Commander/EDH rules, except that wish cards function in tandem with players' sideboards.
–If there are eight players, they break out into two pods of four; if there are six, pods of three. Seven players may break up into pods of four and three. Five players may play a form of Star.
–Starting life is 40; commander damage is 21.
–Draft Archetypes–
White-Blue – Flying
Blue-Black – Self-Mill and Encore
Black-Red – Sacrifice
Red-Green – "Power Matters," Kicker subtheme
White-Green – +1/+1 Counters
White-Black – Tokens
Blue-Red – Pirates
Black-Green – Elves
Red-White – Equipment and Auras
Blue-Green – Cascade and "Mana Value 6+ Matters"
… Plus "Legendary Matters" and the Monarch
Color identities over two colors blend and inflect archetypes for deeper texture.
–Hall of Fame–
Emrakul, the Aeons Torn – Yup.