Peasant's Broken Jukebox
Welcome to PBJ
a.k.a. Peasant’s Broken Jukebox
Card criteria
More Unique
More Interesting
More Degenerate
Call me 大山 Big Mountain. PBJ is my pet project that I began working on in 2016. It started out as Ben's 360 Peasant cube from Cube Tutor and I slowly changed up the list with cards I found cool. I wanted to represent everything interesting and innovative Magic has to offer.
Eventually, I landed on the philosophy of "strictly better", taking inspiration from the MTGO Vintage cube. With Un-cards, conspiracies, and playtest cards you can find unique Vintage-power gameplay offered nowhere else!
I hope to create something unique, powerful, and exciting for my friends and me and showcase 25+ years of Magic history. Welcome to PBJ a degenerate peasant cube.
Contents
Overview
My philosophy for this Cube for a long time was to add universally good cards. This meant the cube didn't have strongly defined archetypes so decks trended to be very value-based. Flicker decks ran all over the place and aggro decks were outclassed. Since then, Wizards has been pushing the power level of commons and uncommon which I am stoked about. As you will see I use any means to up this Cube's power :D But this also meant there were a lot more cards to add. My cube's size grew and grew again, and finally, after many long nights, I got the Cube to stay at 540.
I took on the philosophy that each card should offer something unique (unless they were really really good of course). This allowed me to continue showcasing as much Magic as possible and to provide people a lot of room to explore, be creative, and discover synergies on their own. With powerful and unique cards I want people to feel smart and create rare and memorable moments.
I did not shy away from enlisting the help of Silver-bordered, Playtest, and Alchemy cards. I have access to them, so why not use’em.
I don’t have a definitive ban list but some notable cards I have not yet included in the Cube are: Lotus Petal | Sol Ring | Mental Misstep | Ancient Tomb | Library of Alexandria
Sol Ring has been added to the Cube!
Recently I have made the decision to run rare lands for mana-fixing. Even though there are some powerful uncommon fixing, I think this will help out the weaker archetypes more such as more value-based and mid-rangy decks that are splashing a third or even fourth colors. I'm keeping the fixing simple, I don't want dual lands with additional effects like Celestial Colonnade. I even think the Surveil Lands and Horizon Lands offer too much.
Special Rules
With some special rules, I hope to spice up the draft more, support a few more archetypes, and up the power level a bit more.
Grinders (Burning cards)
Named after Cogwork Grinder, I wanted to find a way to include some cards with unique mechanics that would not be possible in a singleton format. I did not want to add extra copies of the same card as that meant I needed to cut more other cards :( . But at the same time, I wanted to ensure you are guaranteed to play with multiples of the cards if you draft it. With Grinding you still have to make hard and interesting choices during the draft. These are incredibly powerful, especially when combined with Conspiracy cards.
Grind 3 --- Draft ~ face up. As you draft a card, you may remove it from the draft face up. You can remove up to 3 cards with ~ .
During the deckbuilding phase, add X copies of ~ to your draft pool, where X is the number of cards you removed from the draft with ~ that shares the same color identity.
Bundles
Some cards are bundled together; meaning they are drafted together using only one pick. These highly synergistic cards can stand on their own but are expected to be played together, and I wanted to guarantee that. Bundling them also brings up the power level of some cards to be more on par with the rest of the Cube
When you draft ~ , add [ card ] to your draft pool.
Climate Change
All Basic lands are Basic Snow Lands.
I say this is a special rule because I didn’t want to have all my Basics to be Snow Basics. Where else Am I going to put all the cool Basic full arts?
Archetypes
The archetypes in this Cube are what you would usually expect. There are no be-all-end-all strategies. Control, midrange, aggro, and combo decks can all thrive. With tons of interaction, there are a variety of strategies for you to discover and put together.
- Tempo, Blink, Control
- Control, Reanimator, Tempo, Mill
- Aggro, Aristocrats, Control
- Midrange, +1/+1 Coutners Combo, Ramp
- +1/+1 Counters, Persist Combo, Historic, Tokens
- Aristocrats, Control, Reanimator, Tokens
- Spellslinging, Control, Tempo
- Midrange, Reanimator, Magecraft Combo
- Aggro, Equiment, Control
- Midrange, Ramp
- Shrines
Achievements
- Cascade into a Cascade spell
- Cast Slivdrazi Monstrosity
- Cast Sunimret with Reverse Miracle
- Take two extra turns back to back
- Start the game with four or more Conspiracies
- Cast Rocco, Cabaretti Caterer with X > eight
- Complete the Undercity
- Win with Commander damage
- Win with no cards in your Library
- Have all five colors of shrines on the Battlefield
- Have five experience counters
- Sneak Cheatyface into play
- Catch an opponent sneaking Cheatyface into play
- Crew Colossal Plow
- Take eight damage from Sylvan Library and win
- Create a Hellion token
- Have three or more Planeswalkers on the Battlefield
- Win without attacking
- Pay the Ransom
- Draw five cards with Accumulated Knowledge
- Draft ten or more cards with Agent of Acquisitions
- Cast Cogwork Librarian
- Control a 3-power flier on turn one
- Win on turn two
- Win on turn one
- Search your library with Lagomos, Hand of Hatred
- Have seven keywords on Animus of Predation
- Return five cards with Reconstruct History
Things to try
- Channel + Fireball
- Erinis, Gloom Stalker + Strip Mine
- Devoted Druid + Vizier of Remedies
- Ivy Lane Denizen + Scurry Oak
- Rosie Cotton of South Lane + Basking Broodscale
Basic Lands Gallery
Basics are the most visually diverse cards. From the full arts to actually borderless, basic lands have had rich and innovative treatments. Instead of having identical basics, I wanted to use this opportunity to continue showcasing the art and visual design of Magic. From promos to panoramas and easter eggs to ”otherworldly” cardboard.
Un-believable
| Plains | Island | Swamp | Mountain | Forest | Unglued
| Plains | Island | Swamp | Mountain | Forest | Unhinged
| Plains | Island | Swamp | Mountain | Forest | Unstable
| Plains | Island | Swamp | Mountain | Forest | Unsanctioned
| Plains | Island | Swamp | Mountain | Forest | Unfinity
| Plains | Island | Swamp | Mountain | Forest | 2
Pokemon Energies
| Plains | Island | Swamp | Mountain | Forest | Theros Beyond death
| Plains | Island | Swamp | Mountain | Forest | Pokémon Energies
Fuller Art
Double Masters
Bolas' Sunset
| Plains | Island | Swamp | Mountain | Forest | AKH
| Plains | Island | Swamp | Mountain | Forest | HOU
Bolas' Feast
| Plains | Island | Swamp | Mountain | Forest | WAR
Snowy
| Plains | Island | Swamp | Mountain | Forest | MH2
| Plains | Island | Swamp | Mountain | Forest | Kaldheim
Pokémon Stadium
| Plains | Island | Swamp | Mountain | Forest | BBD
| Plains | Island | Swamp | Mountain | Forest | MagicFest 2020
Home Town
| Plains | Island | Swamp | Mountain | Forest | M21
Guild Territory
| Plains | Island | Swamp | Mountain | Forest | Ravnica Weekend
| Plains | Island | Swamp | Mountain | Forest | 2
| Plains | Island | Swamp | Mountain | Forest | 3
| Plains | Island | Swamp | Mountain | Forest | 4
Jace is Lost
| Plains | Island | Swamp | Mountain | Forest | XLN
Ruins
| Plains | Island | Swamp | Mountain | Forest | DOM
Lands with Lore
| Plains | Island | Swamp | Mountain | Forest | AFR
| Plains | Island | Swamp | Mountain | Forest | 2
White Bordered
| Plains | Island | Swamp | Mountain | Forest |
Zendikar
| Plains | Island | Swamp | Mountain | Forest | Zendikar Rising
| Plains | Island | Swamp | Mountain | Forest | Battle for Zendikar
| Plains | Island | Swamp | Mountain | Forest | Zendikar
Woodcut Prints
| Plains | Island | Swamp | Mountain | Forest | NEO
| Plains | Island | Swamp | Mountain | Forest | 2
Spooky
| Plains | Island | Swamp | Mountain | Forest | MID
| Plains | Island | Swamp | Mountain | Forest | Vow
Etched
| Plains | Island | Swamp | Mountain | Forest | MH2
Jumpstart theme lands
| Plains | Island | Swamp | Mountain | Forest | SLD
| Plains | Island | Swamp | Mountain | Forest | 2
| Plains | Island | Swamp | Mountain | Forest | 3
Promos
| Plains | Island | Swamp | Mountain | Forest | FNM Promo Pack
| Plains | Island | Swamp | Mountain | Forest | MagicFest Sam Burley
| Plains | Island | Swamp | Mountain | Forest | Grand Prix Donato Giancola
| Plains | Island | Swamp | Mountain | Forest | Standard Showdown Alayna Danner
| Plains | Island | Swamp | Mountain | Forest | Standard Showdown Rebecca Guay
| Plains | Island | Swamp | Mountain | Forest | Mark Poole
Things people have done
3/23/2024
6/2/2024
Fixing & Utility Land Optional Rules
I probably played PBJ more times without these. Often playing with newer players, I did not feel the need to bring in the extra nuance and complexity.
There is also a big user experience concern. As much as I love playing with these extra rules, I did not want to compromise the smooth drafting experience. Requiring additional setup and table space is not ideal. I am walking a fine line where mechanics begin to impede play experience.
Duel Land Checklist Cards
Instead of drafting two-color mana fixing lands, you would draft cards that represents a two-color pair. When you draft that card, you trade it in for any fixing in that two-color pair. Currently, I have 3 checklist cards for each color pair.
Each color pair currently has 6 to 10 options:
Gain Lands | Bounce Lands | Artifact Bridges | Snow Duels | Tri Lands
Slow Fetches | Strixhaven Campuses | Playtest Cards | Clue Lands
New Capenna Fetches | New Capenna Canopies | Tainted Lands | Lairs
I want to keep the options open and let players find more synergies. Maybe you want to fetch a Rimewood Falls with your Bad River. Insert <look what they need to mimic a fraction of our power> meme.
Utility Land Snake Draft
You will notice that my list also did not have room for color-specific utility lands. There are still interesting synergies and raw power to be provided so there can be a separate pool of utility lands to draft from. The list is here.
After players finish drafting Pack One, starting with a random player and continuing clockwise, each player picks one card from the open pool of utility lands.
Repeat this process after Pack Two but snaking back with the last player that picked.
Right now pick order is determined at random, but perhaps people can bid for first pick by jettisoning cards in your draft pool.
Potential Stuff
Lessons to be Learned
Learn cards:
Grind --- Draft ~ face up. As you draft a card, you may remove it from the draft face up.
When you remove a card with ~ from the draft, draft a Lesson card that shares at least one color with the removed card.
Lesson cards are automatically provided: the pool is one of each peasant Lesson. Each person every game can only add one of each Lesson card once.
Cranking Contraptions
Assemble Contraption cards:
Grind --- Draft ~ face up. As you draft a card, you may remove it from the draft face up.
When you remove a card with ~ from the draft, draft a Contraption card.
Mainboard Changelist+22, -22
- Fetching Garden
- Taiga Stadium
- Noxious Bayou
- Aggressive Crag
- Silverbluff Bridge
- Fabled Passage
- Forsaken Crossroads
- City of Brass
- Prismatic Vista
- Gold Mine
- Bountiful Landscape
- Contaminated Landscape
- Deceptive Landscape
- Foreboding Landscape
- Perilous Landscape
- Seething Landscape
- Shattered Landscape
- Sheltering Landscape
- Tranquil Landscape
- Twisted Landscape
- Ebony FlyMox Poison
- Containment ConstructWho's That Praetor?
- Tezzeret's GambitMarchesa's Surprise Party
- SquidnapperJund 'Em Out
- Innocuous InsectOracle of the Alpha
- Infernal GraspCleaver Blow
- Imodane's RecruiterGoblin Bushwhacker
- Rorix Bladewing_____ Goblin
- Kazuul, Tyrant of the CliffsToralf's Disciple
- Plated CrusherAltanak, the Thrice-Called
- Sprite DragonSliv-Mizzet, Hivemind
- Rilsa Rael, KingpinRusko, Clockmaker