In these lands, souls are a precious commodity. Some dark magic has cursed the inhabitants, causing many of them to be born Soulless; vacant-eyed, emotionless facsimiles of their parents. The curse has carved deep scars in the psyche of the tribes; beleaguered soldiers stand watch for days on end, envious of the elves hiding in their treetop fortresses. The great drakes, once proud emperors of the skies, rarely leave their anxiously guarded roosts. Even the prolific goblins and rats of the mountain warrens are regularly torn apart by infighting over the Soulless creatures in their midst.

Some unscrupulous actors have leveraged these beings to their own ends, amassing great armies of the Soulless to gain power and land. Others have performed the unthinkable and turned to the grave, enlisting the souls of the long-departed to defend their lands. Will you help defend against the rising tide of the Soulless? To what lengths are you willing to go to secure your safety?

This cube is designed to play on the tension between graveyard shenanigans and tokens with a healthy dose of tribal synergies. There is plenty of low-to-the-ground aggro available in and good midrange strength in with being comfortable in either speed. There is also a lot of cycling modality with large creatures being easy to play in a deck without needing to be high-impact.

In order to compensate for the amount of synergy present in some of the archetypes in the cube, each drafter starts with a Cogwork Librarian in their draft pool. This allows for narrower archetypes to take advantage of packs with unbalanced densities of their needed cards.

Using a Cogwork Librarian allows you to draft an additional card from a pack by replacing the desired card with the librarian. They are in special sleeves to make it easy to tell when they are making their way around the table. Make sure you keep an eye out for these cards so you can use them to their fullest strength!

In a traditional 8-person draft, each drafter will get three packs each containing 16 cards. Draft progresses normally, but the last card of each pack is discarded face-up in the middle of the table instead of being passed.

There are no significant custom cards contained within this cube. However, to support each color pair equally, the incomplete bicycle and horizon land cycles have been finished. When (if ever) WotC decides to finish either of these cycles, they will be replaced by their official counterparts.

Custom Horizon Lands

Custom Bicycle Lands

The design of this cube is flexible enough to allow emergent strategies to be abundant, but there are still some strategies that are explicitly supported and are easier to build around.

Death & Taxes (Soldiers)

Monowhite is built around a classic D&T strategy mainly from pieces in recent history with a focus on hand and graveyard disruption. Both Thalia, Guardian of Thraben and Thalia, Heretic Cathar are great stax pieces to slow your opponents' strategies while you whittle away at their life total with hard-to-block creatures like Elite Spellbinder and golems created by Blade Splicer.

The Soldier strategy shares many of the same pieces, but values token creation like Entrapment Maneuver and anthem effects like Valiant Veteran and Intangible Virtue over the disruptive exile and blink cards.

Draw (Drakes)

The premier strategy in monoblue is a control deck built around cards that care about drawing tons of cards and outvaluing your opponent through attrition. Counterspells like Miscalculation and Countervailing Winds are modal options to shut your opponents down or dig for a big threat like Dream Eater, but Ominous Seas, Teferi, Temporal Pilgrim and Teferi's Tutelage are the best way to outvalue your opponent in the long run.

The drake strategy shares much of the same card pool as its tribe-less color mate, but will value cycling and instants/sorceries even more highly for Drake Haven and Talrand, Sky Summoner respectively.

Discard (Rats)

Monoblack decks in this cube seek to quickly rid their opponent of any cards in hand via discard effects like Liliana of the Veil and Raven's Crime and then whittling them to death with The Rack and Shrieking Affliction. Keep in mind that a critical mass of Burglar Rat cards played in quick succession can rapidly rid your opponent of a midgame, but don't overextend yourself without a way to refill like Waste Not.

The Rat tribal deck uses discard disruption as a way to slow the opponent down until they are overrun by a horde of cheap rats and rat tokens. Karumonix, the Rat King and Lord Skitter, Sewer King are obvious signposts, but Piper of the Swarm is quietly the most important card to the rat strat. Lurrus of the Dream-Den is good in any deck, but it is at its strongest in a deck filled with Burglar Rats, even without using it as a companion.

Aggro (Goblins)

Red aggro is alive and well in this cube, utilizing a combination of low-to-the-ground hasty creatures like Legion Loyalist and Feldon, Ronom Excavator and with a healthy dose of Lightning Bolt and his more expensive, more flexible cousins like Abrade. This deck can struggle in the late game, so either pick up tools to make blocking harder like You Come to the Gnoll Camp or get value out of your cannon fodder with Siege-Gang Commander.

The Goblin deck has almost complete overlap with the standard red aggro deck. Just look out for Volley Veteran and Rundvelt Hordemaster, the main pieces tribeless monored will likely ignore.

Lands (Elves)

In this cube, green wants lots of lands. With all the bicycle and horizon lands, it is very easy to end up with a deck full of half-green lands like Sheltered Thicket that Ramunap Excavator would love to see in your graveyard, and even off-color lands like Sunbaked Canyon can be nice for their incidental card-draw. Rampaging Baloths is a great choice in any land deck, but Titania, Protector of Argoth is the best at leveraging lands in the 'yard.

The elf deck wants to go a little bit faster than the land deck, valuing elf payoffs like Elvish Warmaster and Imperious Perfect to get a strong board presence early. This can be a strongly synergistic archetype, so pay close attention to any signals that might require you to pivot. Selesnya tokens is a good bet if you are stuck with a Hunting Triad, and you could always pivot to another tribe if you have a few other tribe-agnostic payoffs.

A Quick Note on Tribal Decks

Much has been said about the parasitism of tribal decks in cube. Cogwork Librarian seeks to correct awkward pack distribution, but it doesn't remove the problem of "drafting on rails" that tribes can produce. To alleviate this effect, several "tribe-agnostic" cards are included to allow drafters to pivot from one tribe to another without losing all cards currently drafted. Cards like Adaptive Automaton, Metallic Mimic and Obelisk of Urd are some examples of cards that allow that transition. Note that there are no cost-reducing or on-cast triggers in the tribal archetypes; this is by design, as all the tribes are token-focused.

Blink

is a blink-y midrange deck in this cube. A well-constructed blink deck will have plenty of tempo-gaining and drops like Charming Prince and Aether Channeler with a healthy amount of disruption like Elite Spellbinder and Fairgrounds Warden. These are solid cards by themselves, but combined with a flicker effect like Teleportation Circle it can get oppressive quickly. Special mention goes to Torrential Gearhulk and Displacer Kitten which, when played together, allow you to cast every instant and sorcery from your graveyard. Look for expensive cyclers like Boon of the Wish-Giver or even Grave Upheaval when you get both of them.

is best friends with the golem deck as many of the golem token generators like Master Splicer love to be blinked. It is also the deck most likely to find a home for Wing Splicer, since most golem decks tend to prefer for its token synergies. Just be careful not to target Precursor Golem with a blinking instant or sorcery; blink abilities from cards like Flickerwisp are okay, but if you Ephemerate him then all your golem tokens will be exiled and won't come back.

Descend

is so good at filling graveyards that there are two solid strategies depending on the card type wanted. There is more specific support for descend, which wants permanent cards in your graveyard. Stalactite Stalker is the best aggressive -drop in the cube, and this is where he thrives best. It overlaps beautifully with reanimator, but it's best splash is with bombs like Muldrotha, the Gravetide and Grim Flayer being particularly nasty.

The other archetype wants instants and sorceries in the graveyard. It isn't as explicitly supported, but having a litany of removal and counterspells like Bloodchief's Thirst and Complicate serve a dual purpose in both filling the 'yard and clearing the way for cards like Haughty Djinn to win in a few swings. This build also likes but would rather focus on the removal and Young Pyromancer effects than reanimator targets, and has enough removal and disruption to make a control deck perfectly playable.

Reanimator

is a reanimating strategy that focuses on milling your own deck and then bringing back the big bois from the graveyard. Cards like Stitcher's Supplier, Faithless Looting, and Undead Butler are used to fill your graveyard, then follow them with cards like Reanimate and Exhume to return big threats like Terror of Mount Velus, Ruin Grinder or Burning-Rune Demon to the battlefield without paying their mana costs. Don't be afraid to snag an off-color reanimation target like End-Raze Forerunners if you are confident in the other aspects of the strategy.

makes a good splash for a parallel ramp strategy to reanimation, and the plethora of large creatures in like Maul Splicer provide additional options for reanimation. is another option for a more controlling build with plenty of big monsters that are great at getting themselves binned early, like Mirrorshell Crab and Marauding Brinefang. In fact, the whole cycle of big landcycling creatures can be great here.

Haste

The most aggressive archetype in the cube is aggro. There are some fun synergies around the haste keyword like Deathleaper, Terror Weapon, but as long as you're turning your creatures sideways every combat step you'll be okay. The drop goblins (Squee, Dubious Monarch, Goblin Rabblemaster, etc.) are good at early pressure, especially if you can curve a Llanowar Elves into one of them on turn 2. Like aggro, this deck can struggle in the late game, so prioritize a few late-game pieces that can break through a boardstall like Froghemoth, End-Raze Forerunners, or even Chancellor of the Forge.

As the most low-curve, aggressive deck in the format, doesn't really want to splash if it can afford it. There are enough low-cost cards in the colors that it should be able to make it work with just and . If a splash starts to seem necessary, speculate on for its disruptive early game a la Burglar Rat and removal suite. can also be good since it has powerful low-cost creatures like Sungold Sentinel and Resolute Reinforcements, but a heavy splash will likely strain your mana base.

Tokens

The color pair can play a number of different ways, but the most supported deck is a big tokens strategy. Although has cards like Martial Coup and has Hunting Triad, this deck is strongest when the tokens you make are big monsters like those created with Advent of the Wurm or even medium-sized ones like golems from Vital Splicer. Having some early tokens is important to stabilize against faster decks, so keep around a Resolute Reinforcements or Imperious Perfect to survive the early game.

Because every tribe has tokens, this archetype can splash synergistically with relative ease. That said, the strongest options for splashes are actually shoring up other weaknesses in the deck rather than getting more tokens. Removal like Eyeblight's Ending or Unholy Heat can keep the early board clear for you, and spell-slinger payoffs like Talrand, Sky Summoner or Efreet Flamepainter can net you additional benefits from your Second Harvests and other token spells.

Legendary

Although the official archetype for is a synergy deck around legendary permanents, it is secretly another Death and Taxes strategy. Cards like Thalia, Guardian of Thraben make casting cards harder, and Kiku, Night's Flower does a good job clearing the board of large threats. Of course, getting a giant Yoshimaru, Ever Faithful is always fun, and the Icingdeath, Frost Tongue token made by Icingdeath, Frost Tyrant is surprisingly great at breaking through a boardstall.

There isn't an abundance of legends in other colors, but does have a few that are nice. Lier, Disciple of the Drowned is a card-advantage engine on its own and Malcator, Purity Overseer provides a good bridge into the golems deck. Traxos, Scourge of Kroog can be scary, especially when granted vigilance through Homestead Courage or Sentinel's Eyes.

Spellslinger

is a spellslinger deck full of cards that like to see instants and sorceries cast (Monastery Swiftspear), in the graveyard (Haughty Djinn), or both (Exalted Flamer of Tzeentch). Keep up early advantage with Third Path Iconoclast and Fading Hope and then blow out the late game with Tolarian Terror or Crackling Drake. Prioritize the good instants and sorceries over the spellslinger payoffs as a Stormwing Entity is a lot more likely to wheel than a Cathartic Pyre.

The strongest splash is certainly with an abundance of synergies with the heroic deck. Favored Hoplite can turn a Reckless Rage into a Flame Slash and most of a Take Up the Shield, and getting a second Swords to Plowshares with Snapcaster Mage is enough to break most boardstates wide open. This version of the deck is quietly great at going wide, so consider picking up a goblin engine like Legion Warboss to truly flood the board.

Full Graveyard

If wants to fill the graveyard so it can get big things later, wants to fill it so it can get big things NOW. Some cards reward you for multiple card types like Grim Flayer and others care about a lot of creatures in the graveyard like Necrogoyf, but both really want ways to get cards into the graveyard easily. is better at this than , so watch out for Undead Butler, Mire Triton, and the like.

is an excellent splash for , getting access to self-mill through their surveillance suite like Ephara's Dispersal and tons of creatures that put themselves in the 'yard like Mirrorshell Crab. It also turns on the full kicker opportunity for Urborg Lhurgoyf, though this should not be a priority on its own. is also great as reanimator and full graveyards go together like peanut butter and jelly (or Ruin Grinder and delirium).

Heroic

The heroic deck is surprisingly versatile and an excellent place to pivot to if prowess or soldiers seem competitive. Cards like Phalanx Leader and Labyrinth Champion might seem a bit weak without many enablers, but after even a single heroic trigger they become worth it. Recursive instants and sorceries like Homestead Courage are the most important cards in the deck, so Angelfire Ignition is a must-have.

As stated before, heroic plays very well with the litany of prowess cards, and don't be afraid to Fading Hope your own creatures to dodge a removal spell. has enough support to have possible and heroic decks, with some powerful targeting spells like Bushwhack and Boon Satyr plus a few creatures who want to be able to attack like Primeval Herald. Hero of Leina Tower is one of the strongest cards in a -flavored heroic deck, turning a well-timed Twinferno into a death sentence.

Manlands

is a powerful pairing in this cube with an abundance of viable strategies, but the one explicitly supported is a "manland" strategy full of cards that animate lands like Llanowar Loamspeaker or Tatyova, Steward of Tides while removing opponent's threats through spells like Consuming Tide. Also, be sure to pick up some land recursion spells like Ramunap Excavator or Conduit of Worlds to get your threats back.

is far and away the best splash for manlands. Uurg, Spawn of Turg feeds on a land-heavy graveyard, plus solid removal like Infernal Grasp is always welcome. can also be a good option for its removal suite, but know that animating a Den of the Bugbear with cards like Wrenn and Realmbreaker doesn't actually give it the ability to create extra goblin tokens unless you pay its activated ability first.

Golems

Sitting happily between blink and tokens is the golems deck, benefitting from both archetypes. Displacer Kitten blink your Master Splicers to your heart's content and then double your golems with a well-timed Second Harvest. The mana can be a little tricky to cover all three of , but you should be able to commit to and one other while splashing the third. There is also a good amount of support for the archetype with Solemn Simulacrum, Precursor Golem, and the tribe-agnostic cards like Bloodline Pretender all being safe choices.

The most common mistake with this archetype is overvaluing synergy and forgetting removal. Make sure to pick up a Path to Exile or Cast Out to handle the big things your opponents can do. Kenrith's Transformation is awkward since it can block your golem tokens pretty well, but Primal Might can remove the problems you don't counter.

Cycling

Cycling is a weird one. There are plenty of cards with cycling in the cube, but to really make the archetype work you need to get a powerhouse card for it like Zenith Flare and/or Irencrag Pyromancer. The odd Flourishing Fox or Hollow One are powerful some of the time but aren't strong enough to carry the archetype alone. Luckily, the cycling archetype has card draw baked into its strategy, so digging for your powerhouse cards happens naturally.

Any split of the three colors can function in the cycling deck, although the gameplan does vary significantly between them. is a hybrid between cycling and blink usually relying on 's disruption and 's lategame. The cards that benefit from additional draws are key in this archetype, so look for Teferi, Temporal Pilgrim and Alandra, Sky Dreamer. leans more on drawing cards, so the aforementioned draw payoffs are great alongside Improbable Alliance. doesn't have the powerful draw payoffs, but Zenith Flare and Irencrag Pyromancer are trucks on their own that can carry the archetype.

Those are the major archetypes present in the cube, but there are plenty of other smaller synergies scattered throughout! Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy the Soulless Cube!