# Introduction This has been a huge project from, what I would consider, a novice designer. Since seeing the Command Zone's episode featuring Brandon Sanderson I have been drafting, redrafting, designing, and redesigning this cube. The funny bit was that I had already begun working on a traditional 1v1 cube, when I saw the episode and it opened me to the possibility that a draft could try and capture the magic of commander games. # Design Goals - My number one goal is (and has always been) to create an experience that is fun to draft and fun to play. - A goal is to create an environment that plays like commander and encompasses similar feeling, emotion, and gameplay. - A goal is to create a cube with varying themes and deck types to give different players options for their preferred deck construction (i.e. Timmy/Tammy, Johnny/Jenny, Spike/Spike). - A goal is to have archetypes that are well-constructed and blend together for 2-color or 3-color decks to be made. - A goal is to have combat feel relevant and powerful (which can be a challenge for multiplayer). - A goal is to stray away from (without altogether abandoning) commander staples for a more diverse set of cards. - A goal is to consistently reassess what should and shouldn't be included in the list, new sets and new ideas should lead to consistent iteration. Now onto the fun stuff! # Archetypes >>> {W}{G} **White Green Tokens** <<< --- <<[[!Torens, Fist of the Angels]][[!Join the Dance]][[!Intrepid Adversary]][[!Tovolar's Huntmaster]]>> --- > *Nobunari looked into the eyes of the six under his command. They all knew, in that moment, that against the masses arrayed against them the only victory would be a victory in honorable defeat.* Join the ranks of an unending army, go wide and buff your team to victory! This deck will play out as it's written on the tin. Get the biggest board in the game. Provide buffs with counters, enchantments, and anthems. When you swing you will devastate your opponents with a flood of bodies. Speaking of bodies don't be afraid to utilize those extra bodies for alternative methods of getting value. >>> {R}{G} **Red Green Stompy** <<< --- <<[[!Minsc & Boo, Timeless Heroes]][[!Domri's Ambush]][[!Resilient Khenra]][[!Thundering Raiju]]>> --- > *"Alright big gal. I guess it's just you and me."* - Famous last words. Just like you Timmys and Tammys have always wanted, ramp or play aggressive creatures early. Curve out into having the biggest and baddest board in the game and take advantage of putting power down via +1/+1 counters. Then you just turn your stuff sideways and stomp your way to victory. >>> {B}{R} **Black Red Sacrifice** <<< --- <<[[!Anje, Maid of Dishonor]][[!Mayhem Devil]][[!Squee, the Immortal]][[!Skullport Merchant]]>> --- > *"It's simple, really. We put bodies in the ground and we profit."* - Jack Maggot. Leader of the Lower City Maggots. You've played this deck before in many a limited format. Put cheap bodies on the board to establish a presence that denies your enemies damage. Get ways to benefit from those bodies getting into the graveyard. Proceed to sacrifice said bodies and build up a massive advantage with your engine that runs on blood. Perfect for all you Johnnys and Jennys who love to make lots of decisions and eke out a win with incremental value. >>> {U}{B} **Blue Black Reanimator** <<< --- <<[[!Araumi of the Dead Tide]][[!Extract from Darkness]][[!Organ Hoarder]][[!Pharika's Spawn]]>> --- > *"Please Tommen! It's me, it's Mary." Though she screamed and cried it changed nothing, for vibrations in the air and salinated water matter little to the dead.* Mill, discard, and sacrifice your way to victory with this graveyard-centric deck. Normally you don't want your own graveyard to fill up but when you have cards with Flashback, Escape, and reanimator effects it's really like you graveyard is just a way to extend your hand. Eliminate threatening targets and bring back your own big threats to finish off what's left of your opponents. >>> {W}{U} **Blue White Flyers** <<< --- <<[[!Inniaz, the Gale Force]][[!Skycat Sovereign]][[!Sapphire Dragon]][[!Luminous Broodmoth]]>> --- > *"Bring him down?! Yeah, why don't you try bringing him down in heavy armor with a sword Mr. Brilliant Commander. He's 300 feet up."* - Unknown Soldier, dishonorably discharged from service. Fly high over the battlefield to gain an advantage over any adversary! The joke about this deck is that it feels like if R&D doesn't know what theme to give Blue White they get flyers. So this is a classic deck that constantly gets new pieces. While your opponents gum up the ground you can chip in with flyers, gain value with spells, deny key threats, and keep swinging away for the win. >>> {W}{B} **White Black Aristocrats** <<< --- <<[[!Teysa Karlov]][[!Cruel Celebrant]][[!Herald of the Dreadhorde]][[!Sigardian Savior]]>> --- > *"No. No. Fret not. If you cannot pay in gold we can always find... Other means of payment."* This deck should play out in a similar strategy to most sacrifice decks. You're looking at getting creatures on the board in the early game to protect yourself and put some pressure on opponents. Before establishing bonuses that can happen when you sacrifice said creatures in the mid and late game for value. However, the twist here is that you also have a bent towards tokens. White being one of the main token-making colors allows you to get a lot of bodies quickly and maybe you could even pivot into more anthems and look at swinging instead of sacrificing for a win. >>> {B}{G} **Black Green Reanimator** <<< --- <<[[!Izoni, Thousand-Eyed]][[!Poison-Tip Archer]][[!Krosan Tusker]][[!Woe Strider]]>> --- > *"Fear not the course of life; for all life leads to death and in death we flourish anew."* - Golgari Proverb. By this point you're probably noticing a theme, the graveyard features heavily in this cube. You've got a similar game plan to other decks here, get threats into your graveyard and utilize your reanimation spells to get further value out of your creatures that die. Use cards like Krosan Tusker to pull double duty as a ramp piece early and a big body out of the grave late. Eventually you want to use your big green creatures to overwhelm your opponent and drag them into the grave with you. >>> {G}{U} Green Blue +1/+1 Counters <<< --- <<[[!Zegana, Utopian Speaker]][[!Merfolk Skydiver]][[!Nadir Kraken]][[!Verdurous Gearhulk]]>> --- > *"These upgrades are just the start. Even the best among my subjects are never truly compleat."* - Elesh Norn. One of the most time-tested and fun themes Magic has to offer. Buffing your team with +1/+1 counters is always a ton of fun and constantly getting new tools to play with. As this theme appears a lot in standard draft environments it actually means this deck will follow its theming and consistently see upgrades. >>> {U}{R} Blue Red Spells Matter <<< --- <<[[!Kaza, Roil Chaser]][[!Experimental Overload]][[!Whispering Wizard]][[!Burning Prophet]]>> --- > *"Voltage will be set at maximum in order to determine the upper capacities of the device. We're going to see what this baby can do!"* - Last recorded words of an Izzet scientist. This deck is geared to be exciting for people who like a deckbuilding challenge. There are good spells and there are creatures that want you to cast spells. The trick is finding the right number of each. Too many spells and your board will get run over by creatures. Too many creatures and you won't have enough spells to reliably trigger your abilities. Those who construct their deck well will be heavily rewarded by pinging down life totals and making plenty of tokens to boot.