Cloned from [Turbo Cube](/c/5f5d768ced6023105164a65f) # Turbo Cube Players begin the game with an emblem: > All spells and activated abilities cost {2} less. ![Turbo Cube Emblem](https://imgur.com/W6Cd3Js.jpg) If you have more fun casting [[Arcum's Astrolabe]] than [[Prophetic Prism]], get ready for the next level. This is a Cube for you. The Cube is intended to be drafted in **4 packs of 13 cards.** --- *For a primer on drafting this cube, listen to [Episode 118 of Lucky Paper Radio](https://luckypaper.co/podcast/118/). It was also the focus of [Episode 13](https://luckypaper.co/podcast/13/) and comes up from time to time in [other episodes](https://luckypaper.co/podcast).* *It was featured at Cube Con 2022 with [this list](https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/63bad74b77557d2552c2de2a)* --- ## Turbo Cube Gameplay With reduced costs, everything in the Cube becomes hyper-powered. It's like vintage but with more power and [[Black Lotus]] draws you cards too. Games are often explosive. Players frequently empty their hands and take tons of game actions in a short span of turns. It's like everyone's playing some kind of storm combo. The gameplay is "turbo charged" but is often also complex and puzzle-like. Players have to make difficult decisions about optimal sequencing or where to target critical interaction. If players aren't aiming to have an explosive start, they better be ready to answer one. Disription, taxes, hand hate, and more are powered up too to punish the most greedy strategies. ## Qs (Frequently Asked and Otherwise) **Doesn't that make [[Prophetic Prism]] a _rainbox mox that draws a card_!?** Yes. Enjoy it, as a treat. **Isn't _cycling_ an activated ability!?** Correct. Have a ~~good~~ turbo time. **Isn't "_equip_" an activated ability!?** You've solved my sword puzzle. **If I draft only artifacts that cost {2} do I even put lands in my deck!?** They certainly won't help you cast your spells. **Is this finally the format that breaks [[Bag of Holding]]!?** ~~You can bet I intend to find out.~~ It's not bad! **Do games even go past turn 2 or 3?** Often not. If you're not prepared to threaten an explosive start, be prepared to stop one. **Can I still make [[saprolings|Saproling]] if I want?** Of course! Those little guys are always on the menu! **Does the discount enable whole new combos, never seen before to discover?** Sure does! **Can I cycle cards from zones other than my hand?** No! Why are you even asking me that? Cards fly all around in between zones, and while you might shortcut playing the top card of your library or a card from exile as a card in your hand, be mindful it's not. ## Neat things to try: - Crack clues and eat food for free. - Cast [[Harrow]]. See how you feel. - Cycle every card in your opening hand. - Attack for ~~27~~ 512* (or maybe more!) on turn one. - Survive that attack. - Ramp into... [[Jade Mage]]? - Draw your whole deck before your opponent notices. - Quick! Put your whole deck back in your library! - Enjoy a last pick [[Oko, Theif if Crowns]] * Ok, we've found some infinite power combos finally A note on bot drafting: keep in mind since cards are changed wildly by the special rules, simulated bot-drafts will not be a good representation of the kinds of decks you can draft in a pod of humans.* --- ## Detailed Draft Guide Drafting the Turbo Cube is simple. Take the most broken stuff. Prioritize cheap spells as much as possible — cards that cost an effective 0 or 1 mana. The discount you get on a spell that normally costs 3 is so much better than 4 or 5. There are no individual cards that are "actually broken" by the rules (think [[Basalt Monolith]]). Even two card combos are rare (although some are created that exist nowhere else!). Instead, overwhelm your opponent with ruthless and explosive efficiency, complex non-linear combos, or, be the heel and slow things down. Games often end very quickly. The feel of a full game is often compressed into two or three turns. Be prepared to have a fast start or answer one. #### Eggs The premier cards of the format are the "eggs". We've turned jank into bank and then some. The classic [[eggs|Darkwater Eggs]] and similar that draw cards and generate mana at no cost enable the most explosive starts. Don't pass them without careful consideration and read carefully so you don't miss them. >>> <<[[!Darkwater Egg]][[!Prophetic Prism]][[!Chromatic Sphere]]>> <<< #### Premium Cards The next most relevant set of cards generate tremendous amounts of value or resources while doing waht you're already doing. >>> <<[[!Chrome Host Seedshark]][[!Monastery Mentor]][[!Aetherflux Reservoir]][[!Retrofitter Foundry]]>> <<< >>> <<[[!Arcbound Ravager]][[!Paradoxical Outcome]][[!Galvanic Relay]]>> <<< These cards are fueled by casting lots of spells, drawing many cards, general durdling about, and are largely focused on artifacts and blue cards Token generators like [[Seedshark|Chrome Host Seedshark]], [[Mentor|Monastery Mentor]], and [[Sai|Sai, Master Thopterist]], among others, are some of the best ways to close out a game. [[Galvanic Relay]] and [[Yawgmoths Will]], especially combined with the best of the last category can generate tremoundous card advantage. [[Tolarian Academy]], [[Gaea's Cradle]], and [[Birgi|Birgi, God of Storytelling]] can generate huge amounts of mana, even on turn 1. #### Cycling & Free Stuff Anything with cycling for {1} or {2} is free to cycle! At the very least they reduce your effective deck size making it more consistent. So, it's reasonable to take them highly, above any replacable card. Some decks specifically care about drawing cards or filling the graveyard which will want them even more highly. Be wary though. Some decks can tax card drawing and leave dead cards stuck in your hand. Cyclers also make mulligan decisions more difficult too as part of your opening hand is unkown. #### Mana Fixing Mana fixing is important as always, but plentiful. Since in practice many cards have extremely high devotion, costing for example just {R} or {U}, having the right dual lands is critical to being able to cast all your spells. The mana way you get those dual lands might look a little unusual though. >>> <<[[!Steam Vents]][[!Ruin Grinder]][[!Igneous Pouncer]]>> <<< Land cyclers function as fetch lands and are in some ways even better. Note that there are double typed fetches (e.g. Swampcycling & Mountaincycling), single type, and basic land cyclers. There are two of each shockland, and a few other fetchable typed lands. Because of free cyclers and other free spells, and the overall low mana curve, decks need very few lands. Typical decks may have about 5-10 "lands" counting land cyclers. #### Aggro If you're not building the a storm-y combo-y deck, which can be difficult since enablers will be fought over, the next best thing to do may be to kill your opponent before they notice. Fast mana still leads to explosive starts. [[Birgi|Birgi, God of Storytelling]] and other mana positive or neutral cards are extremely valuable. Haste is even more powerful in such short games. It can be flavored with artifacts with [[Thopter Engineer]] and [[Jawbone Skulkin]]. It can have it's own combo flavor making [[Devilish Valet]] a huge turn 1 threat or [[Molten Nursury]] and other stacked triggers. [[Subira|Subira, Tulzidi Caravanner]] can force through damage and refill your hand. Red decks can also finish the game with [[burn|Fiery Confluence]] and punish unfair decks with [[extra damage|Cemetery Gatekeeper]]. #### Taxes Another way to play the meta is to tax the unfair decks. White is rife with (mostly symmetrical) effects that limit [[spellcasting|Archon of Emeria]], [[card draw|Spirit of the Labyrinth]], or even [[tutoring|Aven Mindcensor]]. Many of these are threats on their own. Deploying mutliple threats turn 1 and ending with a [[Phyrexian Censor]] can slow your opponent down while giving you a clock. There are also a handful of artifact tax effects like [[Sphere of Resistance]], [[Thorn of Amethyst]], and [[Void Mirror]]. #### There are Green Cards Green was the most difficult to design (see notes below), but it can do some of it's own powerful things. [[Gaea's Cradle]] and [[Fastbond]] can generate a lot of mana. You can dump that mana into making [[saprolings|Jade mage]] and make them huge with [[Assault Formation]]. More land focused decks can really make [[Tireless Tracker]] hum and take advantage of [[Horn of Greed]] or [[Crucible of Worlds]]. Green decks can be exceptional in their mana bases. Where other decks might only have 2 or 3 mana producing lands and a few more ways to fetch them. Green decks might need a lot of lands to get in play. >>> <<[[!Tireless Tracker]][[!Fastbond]][[!Oracle of Mul Daya]][[!Gaea's Cradle]]>> <<< >>> <<[[!Assault Formation]][[!Chatterfang, Squirrel General]][[!Jade Mage]]>> <<< Green also has access to many disenchants which gives it a way to try and slow down the most unfair decks. #### Role Players Many other card are more replaceable or narrow. Compared to many of the explosive thigns that can happen in this environment a simple [[removal spell|Ob Nixlis's Cruelty]] looks a bit underwhelming, but having access to one or two can be critical to remove a tax effect locking you out of a game, or for disrupting a plan. Some easily overlooked cards can be surprisingly relevant. With mill being a top tier win con and players digging quickly through their own deck an [[Elixer of Immortality]] or [[Clear the Mind]] can swing a game. Fiddly artifacts like [[Synod Sanctum]], [[Voltaic Key]], and [[Strionic Resonator]] often find a use in complex boards. #### Traps A few cards are worth calling out that could be misleading. [[Sol Ring]], one of the most iconic broken cards in the game, is ok here. _Just_ ok. There are not many ways to spend colorless mana. Just being a free artifact is often relevant, and it sometimes beats taxes or counters, but it's almost better to think of it as a build-around. [[Oko, Thief of Crowns]] is here almost more as a benchmark for the way card evaluations are twisted. He's not completely unplayable. But it's not weird to see him at the end of a pack, and I will, in fact, take [[Bag of Holding]] over him. [[Umezawa's Jitte]] is in a simlar camp. It does what it says, but with so few combat steps in most games it can be unimpactful, unless you have a plan to draw out the game. I'm hoping to get [[Nettlecyst]], [[Skullclamp]], or even [[Ring of Valkas]] if I play [[Stoneforge Mystic]]. ### A Note From Our Rules Lawyer This discount applies to spells and activated abilities. This _does not_ reduce any other costs such as the tax imposed by [[Convolute]] (or triggered abilities with a mana cost but these are excluded to avoid confusion). The cost reduction _only_ applies to generic mana. It doesn't reduce colored {R}, colorless {C}, or phyrexian {P/R} mana costs. There's no such thing as a negative mana cost. The cost of a {1} [[mana spell|Gingerbrute]] will be reduced to zero. Casting it will _not_ generate a mana. The cost reduction _does not_ change the mana value of cards. [[Tribute Mage]] still fetches artifacts with a {2} in the corner, and it _can_ be targeted with [[Epic Downfall]]. The cost reduction _does_ effect alternate costs including morph. Cost reduction effects are applied _after_ any additional costs, this means they can reduce the cost of effects like kicker or effects that impose an _additional cost_ on spells or abilities. It also means with a [[1 mana tax|Thorn of Amethyst]] {1} mana spells are still free. Cycling is an ability you can only activate from your hand. You can not cycle from exile, your graveyard, or the top of your library. (This has nothing to do the rules modification, but it just needs to be said, apparently.) ![Turbo Cube](https://i.imgur.com/27OSyHT.jpg)