Notes of Intent

I've created this cube to satisfy the child in everyone who held their first cards before the new borders were introduced. For me, these highly nostalgic cards remind me of my first Magic games, when I was learning the game in the damp tents of summer camps.

I remember being impressed by Thorn Elemental or Jareth, Leonine Titan and finding cards like Daze, Sulfuric Vortex or Graveborn Muse very mediocre. Nowadays, of course, my perspective has changed and I want to emulate those old fashioned games with my adult knowledge.

Goals

• My main goal is to recreate the feeling of the past, including only old border cards, in order to satisfy childhood nostalgia.
• Whilst only vaguely familiar with the Premodern format, I want to give players the chance to cast iconic spells from 1995 to 2003.

Design

• Back in the summer camps, the decks of my mates and myself were far from optimal, but full of surprises. I consequently decided to respect the singleton rule and to include more than 360 cards in order to avoid redundancy.

What Can You Expect ?

This cube takes up some of the most iconic themes of the pre-modern format. Decks will obviously be less consistent than in this constructed format, but here are some of the strategies you may be able to build:

Aggro

Sligh : A classic mono-red burn deck. The deck focuses on quickly overwhelming the opponent with low-cost, high-powered creatures, like Jackal Pup or Ball Lightning and burn spells, like Lightning Bolt and Flame Rift. By consistently dealing damage early in the game, the goal is to reduce the opponent's life total to zero before they can stabilize or mount a defense.

Black Suicide : The Mono Black Aggro deck focuses on utilizing aggressive creatures with evasion and efficient removal spells to quickly overwhelm the opponent. This deck aims to apply consistent pressure early in the game, using cards like Dauthi Horror, Foul Imp and Carnophage to attack relentlessly. Dark Ritual helps power out threats ahead of schedule, while Duress disrupts the opponent's game plan. Kill em' before you die.

Goblins (): This deck focuses on utilizing the speed and synergy of Goblins to overwhelm the opponent with a constant stream of aggressive creatures. By using cards like Goblin Lackey and Goblin Matron to search for key pieces, along with support from Goblin Warchief and Goblin King to boost their effectiveness, the deck aims to quickly build a board presence and finish the game before the opponent can stabilize. The deck can also include white to support cards like Goblin Trenches or Goblin Legionnaire.

Midrange

Deadguy Ale: The main idea of this deck is to quickly apply pressure on the opponent by playing aggressive creatures like Hypnotic Specter, Nantuko Shade, and later Exalted Angel. The deck aims to disrupt the opponent's hand and board presence through cards like Duress and Vindicate. With the inclusion of Phyrexian Arena for card advantage and Swords to Plowshares for removal, the Deadguy Ale archetype seeks to maintain control of the game while continuously pressuring the opponent.

Machine-Head : Reminiscent of a well-oiled machine, this deck aims to apply pressure with aggressive creatures like Hypnotic Specter and Grim Lavamancer, along with incremental damage from cards like The Rack or Cursed Scroll, while controlling the opponents board with efficient removal spells like Terminate.

The Rock : This deck focuses on utilizing a combination of powerful control cards and resilient creatures like Deranged Hermit and Blastoderm to overwhelm and outvalue opponents. The Rock archetype emphasizes resource denial and attrition, with cards like Pernicious Deed disrupting opponents' strategies. The inclusion of Recurring Nightmare allows for recurring powerful creature threats, while cards like Duress and Vendetta provide additional disruption and removal.

Ponza : Named after a deep-fried pizza dish, Ponza is a land-destruction deck. It focuses on disrupting your opponent's resources and controlling the board through a combination of land destruction, like Pillage or Wildfire, and creatures that synergize with this strategy like Avalanche Riders or Terravore. By consistently denying your opponent the ability to develop their mana base and dealing damage through various means, you can gain a dominant position in the game and eventually overwhelm your opponent.

Madness Flashback : The main concept of this deck is to utilize the madness mechanic to quickly overwhelm the opponent with aggressive creatures like Wild Mongrel and Arrogant Wurm, while also having access to counter spells Daze and Foil and card draw to maintain tempo and card advantage. The deck can be build aggressively or include flashback spells like Deep Analysis or Roar of the Wurm, to be armed towards the mid and late game. With Opposition and Saproling Burst, it can be oriented into a more control style deck.

Threshold : Similarly to the deck above, this deck focuses on building a strong board while filling the yard to unlock Threshold. Cards like Mystic Enforcer and Grizzly Fate will swing the game in your favour.

Control

Black-White Control : The main focus of this BW Control deck is to control the board through removal spells like Swords to Plowshares and Vindicate, along with hand disruption like Duress and Gerrard's Verdict. The deck also utilizes powerful finishers like Exalted Angel and Decree of Justice to close out the game. The inclusion of Eternal Dragon provides card advantage and resilience in the late game.

Standstill : This deck focuses on disrupting the opponent's strategy through counterspells and removal spells, like Wrath of God or Evacuation, while slowly building board presence with cards like Decree of Justice and Exalted Angel and gaining card advantage with cards like Standstill and Fact of Fiction.

Counter Burn : Similarly to the deck above, this deck focuses on staying in the game by controlling the opponent's threats with counterspells and removal spells like Wash Out and Fireblast, while grinding victory through burn spells like Hammer of Bogardan and Form of the Dragon.

Combo

Reanimator (): Thanks to spells like Mental Note or Tortured Existence, this deck focuses on quickly filling the graveyard with powerful creatures like Akroma, Angel of Wrath and Spirit of the Night, then bringing them back into play with cards like Reanimate and Animate Dead.

Sneak Attack Fling : The Gruul deck focuses on ramping and casting big hasty creatures Shivan Wurm or Skizzik affected by Fires of Yavimaya. When combined with spells like Sneak Attack and Fling, the deck can catch your opponent by surprise and gain victory from nowhere.