Art by Mark TedinIntro
My cube, a project years in the making. Started off with good cards I had lying around and slowly evolved to the more well thought-out list it is today. We mostly play sealed, winston or other 2 player variants, with the occasional 6p draft. 540 feels like a nice size: big enough for variety, but small enough to sustain a good power level and support some archetypes. It is an unpowered cube, but I am not really restricted by card availability. I like to have interactive games with good cards, balanced decks and a hint of nostalgia.
In my storage box I also have:
- all the tokens needed for the cards in the cube (if they exist)
- For each color I carefully chose 6 different basics from Portal I, Portal II, Invasion, Mercadian Masques, Onslaught and Odyssey. The sets with the coolest layout (old frame, full mana symbol) in my opinion. I aquired 5 of each, so 30 basic lands per color.
Design choices
- No flip or transform cards
- No combo finishes (storm combo was in the cube at one point, but felt too parasitic)
EDIT: As of 2022 I'm testing a few combo's. The reasoning is that midrange decks have a natural predator which they need to adjust for, which in turn could benefit the aggro decks. To balance everything out and prevent a midrange grindfest. - No power 9
- Cards also cut (or omitted) for power reasons: Sol Ring, Mana Crypt, Mana Vault, Grim Monolith, Mox Diamond, Chrome Mox, Sensei's Divining Top, Mana Drain (testing again), Jace, the Mind Sculptor (testing again), Mishra's Workshop, Library of Alexandria, Bazaar of Baghdad, Mind Twist, Pack Rat, Oko, Thief of Crowns, Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath, Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer, Umezawa's Jitte, Skullclamp, Minsc & Boo, Timeless Heroes
- I dislike cards with protection from certain colors. Hence no Swords of X and Y. Protection feels pretty random and can completely warp games.
- Monarch and Initiative are not included as I see them more as multiplayer mechanics. The ring tempts you adds another later of complexity that I do not think is worth it.
- Cards omitted for fun reasons: Eldrazi with annihilator
- I do not want too many planeswalkers: recently I cut down to just one per color. In multicolor I like them as a payoff/signpost card if they support a specific archetype, but no more than one per guild.
- I've got a soft spot for Saga enchantments.
Archetypes
Note that the archetypes are loosely supported. I want different strategies available without everything feeling 'on-rails'.
Control / Blink
Control / Artifacts
Aggro / Aristocrats
Big creatures
Tokens / +1/+1-counters
Tokens / Persist-combo
Midrange / Graveyard
Opposition / Flash
Spells matter / Splinter Twin-combo
Aggro
Included combos