This is the first cube I've built and the only one I currently own in paper. The list and philosophy of it are loosely inspired by Dekkaru's Cube. Specifically, I've tried to cut degenerate archetypes as much as possible, while trying to keep the power level relatively high. #### **Macro-Archetypes** *** ##### **Aggro:** This cube supports aggro in white and red. Black is also built aggressively in order to be a good support color for this kind of strategy. <<[[!Porcelain Legionnaire]] [[!Goblin Guide|636603a2-98d7-4d1e-a270-68756024b448]] [[!Bomat Courier]] [[!Bloodsoaked Champion]]>> *** ##### **Control:** Control is strongly featured in white and blue, while also having a good support color in red. Red can also be played alone as Big Red, with the main plan involving [[Wildfire]] and [[Burning of Xinye]]. [[Cruel Ultimatum]] and [[Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker]] are also in the cube as strong Grixis Control finishers. <<[[!Wrath of God|a91be77a-bd5b-485f-b5ca-0e6148c236ca]] [[!Cryptic Command|38806839-c820-4a19-a92c-70f6f21d2aea]] [[!Torrential Gearhulk]] [[!Cruel Ultimatum]]>> *** ##### **Midrange:** It's actually very difficult **not** to support midrange in cube and this cube makes no exception. Powerful value cards are distributed among all colors and I've tried to keep the power level of the answers high. <<[[!Huntmaster of the Fells|aae6fb12-b252-453b-bca7-1ea2a0d6c8dc]] [[!Hymn to Tourach]] [[!Fiery Confluence|7b61c9bc-16e8-417f-99e7-8bd83d4666c5]] [[!Grist, the Hunger Tide]]>> *** ##### **Combo:** As mentioned before, I've cut many combos from the first draft of the cube, but some still remains. Notable combos are 1. [[Mindslaver]] + [[Emry, Lurker of the Loch]]/[[Academy Ruins]] 1. [[Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker]] + [[Zealous Conscripts]]/[[Restoration Angel]] There are also some very powerful sinergies in [[Urza, Lord High Artificer]] + [[Winter Orb]], [[Ramunap Excavator]] + [[Strip Mine]], and strong build-around cards like [[Wilderness Reclamation]], [[Upheaval]] and [[Opposition]]. <<[[!Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker]] [[!Mindslaver]] [[!Upheaval|9e201229-34a6-48c8-a07c-d8aefcf5f8a7]] [[!Wilderness Reclamation]]>> *** ##### **Ramp:** Ramp is, of course, green territory. [[Primeval Titan]] is in the cube, as well as two Eldrazi as finishers. Two other powerful finishers/build-around for ramp are [[Golos, Tireless Pilgrim]] and [[Genesis Ultimatum]]. <<[[!Genesis Ultimatum]] [[!Primeval Titan|6d5537da-112e-4679-a113-b5d7ce32a66b]] [[!Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre]] [[!Golos, Tireless Pilgrim]]>> #### **Micro-Archetypes** The following is a list of some specific draftable archetypes of the cube. *** {R} **Big Red** The goal of this archetype is to keep the board clear of creatures and denying our opponent of mana, in order to win with a big splashy spell or with powerful planeswalkers. To achieve the first step, watch out for cards like <<[[!Burning of Xinye]] [[!Wildfire]] [[!Fiery Confluence]] [[!Delayed Blast Fireball]]>> This archetype has a natural cross sinergy with artifacts. Our mana curve is usually higher than normal, so we need ramp spells, which usually comes in the form of Signets, [[Basalt Monolith]], [[Coalition Relic]], ecc. You should also remember that [[Burning of Xinye]], [[Wildfire]] and even [[Nevinyrral's Disk]] *do not* affect planeswalkers! This means that, for instance, with [[Daretti, Scrap Savant]] you can set up a loop with [[Nevinyrral's Disk]] to continuously blow up the board. >>> <<[[!Daretti, Scrap Savant]] [[!Nevinyrral's Disk]]>> <<< *** {W}{U} **Blink** Blink is a creature-based archetype, focused on gaining a big advantage on the back of powerful enter-the-battlefield (EtB) effect <<[[!Mulldrifter]] [[!Solitude]] [[!Spell Queller]] [[!Venser, Shaper Savant]]>> and by constantly repeating them with cards like <<[[!Ephemerate]] [[!Restoration Angel|c2ad8639-e586-47f4-baca-2a1af5aa281b]] [[!Soulherder]] [[!Flickerwisp]]>> Despite being centered primarily around the UW combination, both Green and Black are solid color in support of the archetype. Black gives us powerful EtB effects in [[Gonti, Lord of Luxury]], [[Shriekmaw]] and [[Ravenous Chupacabra]], while providing a good blinking effect in [[Kaya, Ghost Assassin]]. Similarly, green has good EtBs in [[Acidic Slime]], [[Kitchen Finks]] and [[Reclamation Sage]], recursion with [[Eternal Witness]] and "blinking" effects with [[Bramble Sovereign]]. *** {W}{B}{R} **Aristocrats** This archetype takes its name from the cards [[Cartel Aristocrat]] and [[Fanlkenrath Aristocrat]], the latter being in the cube. The power of these creatures sits in the fact that they can be used as repeatable sacrifice effects, which can be activated at instant speed. These can be abused in conjunction with powerful death abilities and/or recursive creatures. When drafting an Aristocrats deck, it is important to have a good mix of enablers (i.e. sacrifice effects), such as <<[[!Falkenrath Aristocrat]] [[!Goblin Bombardment]] [[!Carrion Feeder]] [[!Priest of Forgotten Gods]]>> sacrifice fodder, like <<[[!Gravecrawler]] [[!Bitterblossom]] [[!Ophiomancer]] [[!Goblin Rabblemaster]]>> and finally good payoff, such as <<[[!Blood Artist]] [[!Zulaport Cutthroat]] [[!Judith, the Scourge Diva]] [[!Cruel Celebrant]]>> *** {B}{W} **Reanimator** Reanimator is a primarily black strategy, with cross sinergy in almost every other color. The main idea is to find a way to send to our graveyard a big creature, like <<[[!Archon of Cruelty]] [[!Sundering Titan]] [[!Dragonlord Atarka]] [[!Terastodon]]>> and then to cheat it into play thanks to cards such as <<[[!Exhume]] [[!Corpse Dance]] [[!Persist]] [[!Priest of Fell Rites]]>> This can be done very quickly, potentially by turn 2! For this strategy to work it is then of utmost importance to find good cards which help us fill the graveyard. Luckily, there are plently of options: [[Faithless Looting]], [[Entomb]], [[Jace, Vryn's Prodigy]], etc. *** {W}{U}{B}{R}{G} Birthing Pod Pod decks can be extremely strong or extremely weak, hence it's important to know how to read the signals during the draft and what to prioritize. Let's start from the main engines >>> <<[[!Birthing Pod]] [[!Prime Speaker Vannifar]] [[!Fauna Shaman]]>> <<< At least one of these cards is needed to build a good Pod deck. A Pod deck is usually creature based, and its main strength is adaptability: you should be able to always find the right silver bullet to deal with your opponent's deck. The three cards above are crucial to this goal. **Draft tip:** You should always prioritize picking [[Birthing Pod]]. On the other hand, [[Prime Speaker Vannifar]], being multicolored, usually tables. Plan your picks accordingly! Once the main engine is established, you need to find good creatures which have a strong impact on the board ([[Eternal Witness]] [[Solitude]] [[Restoration Angel]] [[Deep Forest Hermit]]). However, don't focus too much on always picking the best creature! Playing some manadorks and having a good mana base is also very important for this kind of decks. Finally, you can set up a win in many way. Either with blink cards, or using clones ([[Saheeli Rai]], [[Phantasmal Image]]), or locking up the board ([[Prophet of Kruphix]], [[Mystic Snake]]), or even setting up a giant [[Living Death]]! *** {G} Lands [To do] >>> <<[[!Field of the Dead]] [[!Thespian's Stage]] [[!Dark Depths]] [[!Strip Mine]]>> <<<