Art by James RymanWelcome to the primer for my first cube. This will probably be primarily used to show potential decks that can be drafted to help out newer players and give them an idea of what to expect.
Artifact Aggro | Artifact Tokens | Artifacts | Lifegain | Humans | Ninjas | Flash | Sacrifice | Spellslinger | Blink | 5 Color | +1/+1 Counters | Tokens | Death's Shadow | Graveyard | Pod | Combo
Archetypes/DecksArtifact Aggro
This deck is primarily focused on killing the opponent quickly while using many artifacts and getting paid off for using artifacts.
Key Cards:
This archetype spans all of the colors in the cube. Different colors will utilize the tokens in different ways. Blue might animate it's tokens while black and green might sacrifice them for value.
Key Token Generators:
Different Flavors of Payoffs
Animation:
Cheaty Face:
Sacrifice:
Misc:
/
You can also just play a general artifact based deck without focusing on tokens or being aggressive. There's at least a little support for this in every color but the primary support would be in white and blue.
Key Cards:
This deck is all about gaining life and then getting paid off for gaining life. This deck is primarily white and black but green can also support this archetype as well.
Key Lifegain Cards:
Key Payoffs
Name:
Humans is one of the only tribal decks that is really supported. The deck is primarily white and green but there are humans in any of the colors that you could use.
Key Cards:
Ninjas is the other tribal deck supported in the cube. Although, unlike humans, this deck doesn't rely on having a mass number of tribe members. Instead this deck focusses on being a tempo deck, having small evasive creatures that can get through to the opponent and using the ninja's ninjutsu ability to get value.
Key Support Cards:
Key Payoff Cards:
This deck is all about playing on your opponents turn using a wide variety of instants and spells with flash. Werewolves also work really well in this strategy since you can consistently flip them onto their back side by not casting any spells on your turn!
Key Payoff Cards:
This deck is all about sacrificing your own permanents for value. Token generators and recursive creatures are important to keep a constant flow of sacrifice fodder coming. You'll also want ways to sacrifice your creatures or get payed off when they die.
Key Payoff Cards:
Key Support Cards:
This deck is all about casting spells and getting payed off for it. You'll want a lot of instants and sorceries to cast in this deck.
Key Payoff Cards:
/
This deck is all about having creatures with effects that trigger when they enter the battlefield and getting as much value as possible from those triggers. This is primarily centered in blue and white but can be used in any colors.
Key ETB Triggers:
Key Payoff Cards:
If you heavily prioritize drafting cards to make your mana better you can play all 5 colors and there are a few cards that even pay you off for playing more colors.
Enablers:
Payoffs:
/
This deck is all about putting +1/+1 counters on your creatures. It is found primarily in green and white but shows up at least a little bit in all 5 colors.
Key Payoff Cards:
You'll also want plenty of cards that can make +1/+1 counters. Tokens
This deck is all about creating as many creature tokens as you can and then getting payed off for it. There are plenty of cards that are useful for making creature tokens in all of the colors. There are also different ways for getting payed off. This can be anything from buffing all of your tokens up, sacrificing them for value, or some other miscellaneous payoff. This archetype can overlap a bit with some of the previous archetypes.
Payoffs:
/
This is very unique deck. The primary focus of the deck is to get your own life total low and have multiple payoffs for it. This deck tends to also be aggressive and tries to get the the opponents life total low as well, which is why red is also a good pairing for this archetype.
Payoffs:
Enablers:
//
There are also a lot of opportunities to build decks that use and abuse the graveyard. These decks are primarily black and green, and then blue, but there is support in all colors.
Key Enablers:
Again, there are all kinds of payoffs. Here are a few:
/
This deck is built around the namesake card, Birthing Pod. It's all about upgrading your creatures up the mana curve and taking advantage of recursive creatures and enter the battlefield effects at the same time.
Key Cards:
Support Cards:
I've currently got a few infinite combos in the cube. There's a couple 2-card combo and a few 3-card combos (that I'm aware of anyway). I'm not sure if these combos will prove to be too powerful for the cube environment so they may need to come out in the future. But I'm willing to give them a shot first.
Combo 1: Scurry Oak CrusadeThis combo just requires you to have both of these cards on the battlefield and to trigger the Cathars' Crusade. This will put a +1/+1 counter on Scurry Oak which will make a 1/1 Squirrel token. The 1/1 Squirrel token entering the battlefield will cause the Cathars' Crusade to trigger again, thus putting another +1/+1 counter on all of your creatures. Repeat this process for infinitely large infinite squirrels!
(Alternatively you could substitute Cathars' Crusade with both Lunarch Veteran and Cleric Class) Combo 2: Heliod Ballista Combo
This combo just requires you to have Heliod, Sun-Crowned on the battlefield as well as Walking Ballista with at least 2 counters on it. Pay 2 mana to activate Heliod's ability giving the Ballista lifelink until end of turn. Now that the ballista has lifelink, remove a +1/+1 counter from it to do 1 damage to any target. Because it has lifelink the 1 damage it deals will cause you to gain 1 life. When you gain life Heliod's other ability triggers, allowing you to put a +1/+1 counter on the Ballista. You now have infinite damage and lifegain!
This is a 3-card combo with a few interchangeable pieces that will get you infinite life and potentially infinite +1/+1 counters on any creatures other than kitchen finks that you have on the battlefield. You'll need a card from each of these 3 categories on the battlefield at the same time for this combo to work. First you will sacrifice the Kitchen Finks using one of your sac outlets. Then, because of persist, the kitchen finks will come back with a -1/-1 counter. But because of piece B, it will also come back with a +1/+1 counter. The -1 and +1 counters will cancel each other out and it will then have no counters on it. You'll gain the 2 life from it entering and then you can sacrifice again. If you also happen to have anything like a [Blood Artist]] in play you can also infinitely drain your opponent to kill them on the spot!
Piece A: Kitchen Finks
Piece B: A Way to put +1/+1 counters on each time it enters
Piece C: A sacrifice outlet
Another 3-card combo with interchangeable pieces. For this combo you'll need a walking ballista in play with at least 2 +1/+1 counters on it and a Cleric Class that's at least level 2. You give the Walking Ballista lifelink with either Sorin or Vito. Then use the ballista's ability to remove a counter to do 1 damage to any target. Because the ballista now has lifelink, when it deals the 1 damage you will gain 1 life. Because of the level 2 cleric class, when you gain the life you can put another +1/+1 counter on the ballista. You now have infinite life and infinite damage to any target(s)!
Piece A: Walking Ballista
Piece B: A Way to give the Walking Ballista lifelink
Piece C: A way to get +1/+1 counters onto the ballista when you gain life