This is a cube to scratch an itch. I'm aiming to keep all cards within a reasonable (under)power level. Few cards should exceed about $1 on cobra's speculation. Or if they do, they should be rational decisions, with an eye on power creep (nothing higher than 1500 elo). There are plenty of pet cards and niche archetypes that I enjoy, and as I've pruned and reworked this cube, this cost clamp-down has slipped a bit in favour of themes. 53 each colour ( >=30 creatures) 50 multicolour (4 each) 55 colourless 35 lands (manlands, tapped duals, thrive, cappenna) ### Breakdown and Distribution Main colours are distributed with mind to each of their parent archetypes. 10 Cards from each block are for each of their dual colour pairs. 6 cards are for each of the non colour-pair themes (either counter or synergistic). The 5 remaining cards are meant for removal or smoothing the game out, but often become pet cards, or attempt to patch a hole that the colour might need. Colourless cards are split in two parts; the first half is mana fixing and card draw. The second half has 1 card dedicated to each theme. Multicolour cards are meant to be interesting value cards, or nudges to build decks around non-central themes. There are two cards that 'signpost' the colour pair, the next is meant to be a value card that might find use in many cases, and the last is a foray into a different theme. ### Distribution of Cards In a Colour | Dual #1 | Dual #2 | Dual #3 | Dual #4 | Non-Dual Themes | Artifact Interaction | Free Cards | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 5 | ### Archetypes **[ {w}{u} ] Phyrexian** Blue-White focuses on victory through incremental advantage. Phyrexian cards in this colour pair lean on artifact generation and other mechanics of attrition to establish and maintain a solid and driving control of the game. There is a small Golem subtheme that runs through the cube that Phyrexian decks can seek to exploit. <<[[!Malcator, Purity Overseer]] [[!Essence of Orthodoxy]] [[!Transplant Theorist]] [[!Reject Imperfection]]>> **[ {u}{b} ] Adventures** Blue-Black likes card advantage, and it's expressed here with Adventures. Double-dipping with your deck slots can be particularly nasty in limited, and it feels appropriate to round out this colour pair with Faeries and other shenanigans. <<[[!Oona, Queen of the Fae]] [[!Storyteller Pixie]] [[!Murderous Rider]] [[!Brazen Borrower]]>> **[ {b}{r} ] Raiders** Red-Black wants to establish an early game foothold and leverage its powerful creatures. Cards in this archetype reward you for consistently applying pressure with Raid, Blitz or Dash effects, and some recursion when things go awry. <<[[!Kolaghan, the Storm's Fury]] [[!Tenacious Underdog]] [[!Alesha, Who Smiles at Death]] [[!Repeating Barrage]]>> **[ {r}{g} ] Power Matters** Red-Green cares about the power of their creatures and how it's applied. Lots of ferocious and fight effects combine with high-ratio creatures to establish a substantial board state and maintain tempo. <<[[!Jolene, Plundering Pugilist]] [[!Clear Shot]] [[!Shaman of the Great Hunt]] [[!See the Unwritten]]>> **[ {g}{w} ] +1 Counters** Green-White focuses on synergies and buffs to creatures with +1/+1 counters on them. Constantly ramping threats and damage prevention can create strong board states throughout the game. <<[[!Leinore, Autumn Sovereign]] [[!Hooded Hydra]] [[!Constable of the Realm]] [[!Lae'zel, Vlaakith's Champion]]>> **[ {g}{u} ] Morph & Friends** Blue-Green uses all of the Morph variations to establish unknown threats that can spring traps, destroy valuable cards, or evolve into large creatures. Ramp, control, and tempo can all find good success in this archetype. << [[!Secret Plans]] [[!Whisperwood Elemental]] [[!Kheru Spellsnatcher]] [[!Deathmist Raptor]] >> **[ {u}{r} ] Treasures** Red-Blue lends itself well to caring about artifacts, and in this case, Treasures. It fields a suite of creatures that push the player to fill the board with Treasure tokens, and pays off with rushing out bombs or exploiting the artifacts you've created. Decks in this pair can effectively leverage early board state and late game control, but often find most success with mid-game tempo and burst damage. <<[[!The Belligerent]] [[!Big Score]] [[!Xorn]] [[!Rise and Shine]] >> **[ {r}{w} ] Heroic** Red-White combines *Heroic* with combat tricks and multi-target spells to establish early aggression and close out the game through combat damage. <<[[!Feather, the Redeemed]] [[!Mavinda, Students' Advocate]] [[!Fabled Hero]] [[!Dreadmaw's Ire]] >> **[ {w}{b} ] Party typal** This archetype cares about assembling a party and playing high-value cards that get much stronger when you have a firm board presence. Adaptability is this archetype's strength. Plenty of Warriors, Clerics, Wizards and Rogues are seeded throughout other archetypes, and changelings are included to ease the requirements for party to trigger. <<[[!Nalia de'Arnise]] [[!Tazri, Beacon of Unity]] [[!Archpriest of Iona]] [[!Burakos, Party Leader]] >> **[ {b}{g} ] Food** Green-Black naturally leans towards sacrifice effects. I wanted to nudge this into using food as a resource for resource generation and incremental advantage. <<[[!Savvy Hunter]] [[!Rapacious Guest]] [[!Tireless Provisioner]] [[!Bake Into a Pie]]>>