Art by Mark TedinMy first attempt at a small cube. There's two ways to build each color-pair and a few worthwile splashes for some archetypes.
WU: Blink & Heroic
WB: Lifedrain & Warriors
WR: Equipment & Tokens/Combat tricks
WG: Convoke/Tokens & +1/+1 counters
UB: Control & Reanimator
UR: Artifacts/Treasure & Spell-slinging
UG: Self-Mill & Turbolands
BR: Madness & Sacrifice
BG: Recursion value & Recycling
RG: Power 4+ matters & Ramp
Key cards and strategies
WU Blink
Blink (exile and return to the battlefield) and bounce (return to hand) your own creatures to reuse enter-the-battlefield-effects. Win the game by making your opponent's removal less potent and by accumulating value over time.
Shenanigans:
Try evoking a Mulldrifter and blinking it before it dies. You might never be the same again.
If you have the right lands (or treasure), consider splashing off-color creatures whose etb-abilities affect the board like Shriekmaw or Cyclops Electromancer.
WU Heroic
Cast Auras and combat tricks on your heroic creatures to trigger their abilities and to protect them from removal. Win the game by out-tempoing the opponent.
Shenanigans:
You can put Cage of Hands on your heroic creatures and return it to your hand as often as it pleases you.
Red has a few nice combat tricks (and Flame Jab) to trigger heroic, but if you have enough to make it worth it you might just want to kick blue entirely and go WR instead.
WB Lifedrain
Hide behind big butts and slowly drain your opponent's life force with Extort creatures and similar effects. Use your life as a resource while the opponent bleeds dry.
Shenanigans:
Syphon Life will end the game once you've stabilized. Darkblast kills more creatures than you'd think and is easily extortable.
WB Warriors
Pick the cards that say Warrior on them...go wide and win.
Shenanigans:
Raiders' Spoils is double nice with double strike.
WR Equipment
Accumulate Voltron by putting Equipment on creatures that know how to wield them. Alternatively, use double-strikers. Win the game by hitting hard and fast.
Shenanigans:
Valduk is totally fine with sitting in a Cage of Hands for a little while.
WR Tokens
Put as many creatures on the battlefield as you possibly can, then use mass pump to push through enough damage to win.
Shenanigans:
These guys don't have time for shenanigans. Unless you have access to black mana and want to splash Falkenrath Noble or Bastion of Remembrance.
WG Convoke
Make use of your wide board to cast bigger spells, to grow your creatures, and to tap down your opponent's. If necessary, use mass pump to win even more.
Shenanigans:
Very straightforward, so there isn't much to say. But there are a few mass removal effects in the cube, so try not to overextend too much if you can afford to hold back.
WG +1/+1 counters
There's lots of +1/+1 counters in there and several cards that benefit from those counters. You'll figure it out.
Shenanigans:
Casting Homestead Courage on your Skyclave Sentinel gives you a decently costed flyer. Fertilid plus Roaring Earth lets you slowly get lands out of your deck.
UB Control
Put up your shields and prepare for the long game. Use (mass) removal and counterspells to disrupt your opponent and eventually win with a big finisher. Prioritize instants over sorceries so you can more easily hold up counterspell mana.
Shenanigans:
Reassembling Skeleton can keep one attacker at bay every round if you have the spare mana. Phyrexian Reclamation plus Gifted Aetherborn might buy you quite some time, as well.
UB Reanimate
Put cards from your library into your graveyard until you hit a haymaker. Or discard one, if you have it in your hand. Reanimate your big finisher and hold up some sort of protection just in case. Win.
Shenanigans:
Consider going into green for some big creatures. Color requirements don't matter much when you cheat.
UR Artifacts/Treasure
Accumulate treasure tokens (as well as other artifacts) and either use them to cast bigger (or off-color) spells, or to throw them at your opponent's face until you win.
Shenanigans:
Treasure reduces Qumolox's mana cost AND can pay for it. That's two mana per treasure, baby!
UR Spell-slinging
Draft as many noncreature spells as you can afford to make the most of your triggers. Spells with flashback give you additional triggers and spells that make creature tokens give you some board presence. Sling spells until the opponent is no more.
Shenanigans:
Teferi's Time Twisting your Mnemonic Wall lets you cast an instant every turn for potential triggers.
UG Self-Mill
Shovel your library into your graveyard and use flashback spells and similar effects to increase your options. Use spells that reshuffle cards into your library before you mill yourself out. Several archetypes want to fill their own graveyards, so consider picking the cards that help with that early.
Shenanigans:
Once your library is small enough, Witness the Future plus Devious Cover-Up will let you redefine what shenanigans even are.
UG Turbolands
Use ramp to get to eight or more lands quickly in order to turn on your creatures and to cast big finishers.
Shenanigans:
If you feel like you're lacking a finisher or removal, you can easily splash for other colors. Valakut Invoker kills eventually.
BR Madness
Pick discard outlets (ideally cheap/free ones) and cast your Madness spells with a discount and at instant speed to catch your opponent off-guard.
Shenanigans:
E.g., if you activate Putrid Imp to discard Hell Mongrel after your opponent has declared attackers, you will suddenly have an angry dog ready to block and devour an unsuspecting creature.
BR Sacrifice
Put some creatures on the board and kill them to satiate your bloodlust. With the right setup, your opponent won't be able to afford to kill your creatures.
Shenanigans:
There is just the one Treason effect (Song-Mad Treachery), so don't get too excited. But I think the whole deck is shenanigans anyway.
BG Recursion value
Put as many creature cards into your graveyard as you can to power up your spells. Return the value creatures to your hand and grind the opponent down. Several archetypes want to fill their own graveyards, so consider picking the cards that help with that early.
Shenanigans:
Nothing extraordinary as far as I can tell. Just try to have a critical mass of creature cards in your graveyard before you start returning some. If you end up putting Roar of the Wurm into your graveyard, that's a very cheap 6/6.
BG Recycling
Unlike the Recursion deck, this one doesn't care which cards are in the graveyard as long as it's a lot. Make use of every single card in your bin and take control of the gameflow. Win by demonstrating proper resource management. Several archetypes want to fill their own graveyards, so consider picking the cards that help with that early.
Shenanigans:
You could steal from blue and splash Treasure Cruise pretty easily...maybe even Rise from the Tides if your deck makeup works with it. Be mindful of exiling the right cards from your graveyard in that case.
RG Power 4+ matters
Get out some early high-powered creatures to trigger your cards' effects. Use said big creatures to deal big damage to your opponent.
Shenanigans:
Who needs shenanigans when you have O-Naginata?
RG Ramp
Those who control the mana, control the universe. Ramp out big creatures and activate expensive abilities to win the game.
Shenanigans:
Who needs shenanigans when you have the mana to honestly cast Artisan of Kozilek?