__Welcome!__ ========= Welcome to my proudest work as a cube curator, the Legendary Awesome Ridiculously Gargantuan EDH Cube, or the L.A.R.G.E. Cube for short :D Ever since this cube's inception in 2017, I have worked hard to adapt it to what I believe is the perfect marriage of my two favorite formats: limited and commander. What do I love about these formats? For limited, I mostly prefer draft, but this cube's immense and ever-growing size allows for flexible sealed play as well. In a draft, what I enjoy is crafting a tight pool of cards that synergizes together in ways I might not have thought of beforehand. In sealed, I love the challenge of crafting a working deck out of a limited spread of cards that can also lead to unexpected value. When it comes to commander, everything about the format is endearing to me as it is my favorite way to play Magic. What I love most about it is the ever-growing plethora of decks available to build and the creativity in deck building that varies from player to player, allowing for a beautifully diverse format that never ceases to amaze, nor to please. How Does Limited EDH Work? --------- My EDH cube is curated thoroughly and the list is constantly under review, but what is likely most off-putting is that I have no intention to limit its size. As the commander format evolves and new cards are printed in every set, I see no reason to rotate cards out. We may have moved past cards like [[Zurgo Helmsmasher|31f21aae-e25b-4d14-b558-a848a9372f92]] and [[Sigarda, Host of Herons]], but in cube, we can combine oldies-but-goodies with the chaos of high power modern Magic! Because both cube and commander are singleton, including redundant effects such as [[Slice in Twain]] and [[Crush Contraband]] allows decks across the color pie access to effects necessary for any game. This example is less likely to cause as much confusion as keeping [[Rosethorn Acolyte]] in despite the constant reprinting of [[Llanowar Elves]] and other less common, but equally relevant one mana dorks such as [[Elvish Mystic|deb5ca6a-f91d-443d-ad84-6fe1e80bfb51]], [[Birds of Paradise|e6bc963e-042f-4cdc-be38-de8e386c00b3]], [[Arbor Elf]], etc. Other curators like the brilliant [Brandon Sanderson](https://www.brandonsanderson.com/) would have likely cut cards like this from his [renowned cube](https://collected.company/brandon-sandersons-commander-cube/) as its size is kept around a specific number, but I keep them for variance. I have played many games of constructed EDH where one player is piloting Mizzix Storm or Derevi Combo while others are on Budget Selvala or Vorel Anything with Counters. Naturally, some have led to oppressive gameplay, but we generally keep it casual and make sure everyone has fun. That is not to say I don't mitigate power level in this cube, but rather I allow both powerful and jank commanders so as to provide players with the opportunity to kick back and be a Timmy or go ham like Spike. How Is This Playable or Balanced? --------- Between my personal review and that of the players I have shared my cube with, I believe that the constant scrutiny to which this list is subject makes it as playable and interesting as possible at its ever-growing size. There are, however, a few glaring issues to address. __BANS__ <<[[!Leovold, Emissary of Trest]][[!Primeval Titan|6d5537da-112e-4679-a113-b5d7ce32a66b]][[!Braids, Cabal Minion|27691efa-052d-4afe-b9ef-159858ca660f]][[!Hullbreacher]]>> "Whoa, whoa, Eve! How could you possibly ignore the carefully curated banlist?" First, call me by my full name. In all seriousness though, I hear you. In many respects I agree with the banlist for constructed EDH, but this is a cube, and a living one at that. By no means does this mean I think the cards above should be unbanned, but the limited format allows for more flexibility. This is one of the most heavily scrutinized aspects of the L.A.R.G.E. Cube. If ever we have a game where a traditionally banned card gets out of hand, we discuss how it happened and whether is warrants removal from the list. __PROBLEM CARDS__ >>> <<[[!Rafiq of the Many]][[!Smothering Tithe|861b5889-0183-4bee-afeb-a4b2aa700a8e]][[!Sol Ring|71357a3d-9a9f-4ec6-8e01-1966b220206c]]>> <<< This section only needs one example. In every game where someone played [[Rafiq of the Many]] as their commander, that player won by a landslide. We increased the amount of removal and wraths and nothing changed. We added more stax pieces to hose voltron in general, but that just ended up making everyone miserable. No matter what we did, Rafiq was too powerful for this format, so we cut him. This is a plain and simple case wherein the playgroup gets to make the call. We had an early discussion where we decided to ban [[Smothering Tithe|861b5889-0183-4bee-afeb-a4b2aa700a8e]] and [[Sol Ring|71357a3d-9a9f-4ec6-8e01-1966b220206c]], and I encourage anyone who builds their own cube in this style attempt to fix the problem by adding or swapping cards first and if that doesn't work, be open to cuts. __JANK__ >>> <<[[!Toxic Stench]][[!Inferno|3db90782-fa89-4470-bec5-27614e88a0a9]][[!Nebuchadnezzar|76a0b7cc-0889-4980-a23e-6f5088b374f8]]>> <<< Now don't get me wrong, these cards are stone unplayable in most EDH metas, but there are reasons to play jank in this cube just as there are to play jank in constructed. [[Toxic Stench]] is the easiest to defend as some of the most powerful decks in EDH are graveyard decks. Because of this _Threshold_ is quite easy to achieve and therefore, we have a perfectly reasonable additional removal spell that can easily get rid of an X/1 in the worst case. [[Inferno|3db90782-fa89-4470-bec5-27614e88a0a9]] is also pretty easy to defend in that it is an instant speed board wipe in mono red. You don't get many of those in the first place, but I am aware that [[Blasphemous Act]], [[Hour of Devastation]], and [[Star of Extinction]] exist. Each of these more often played examples have their role, but [[Inferno|3db90782-fa89-4470-bec5-27614e88a0a9]] is just another way to fill out the wrath portion of the cube. At last we come to the true jank and one of the best examples of "Why Is This Here?" [[Nebuchadnezzar]] is a bad card. A 3/3 for {3}{U}{B} would be bad by itself, but nowadays Legendary Creatures with these stats come with pretty solid upside (e.g. [[Tatyova, Benthic Druid]]). This Dimir legend's ability: > {X}, {T}: Choose a card name. Target opponent reveals X cards at random from their hand. Then that player discards all cards with that name revealed this way. Activate only during your turn. > does not make it any better. This is where I apply Rule 0 of EDH. We are primarily here to have fun, and so why not see how [[Nebuchadnezzar]] fares when toe-to-toe with [[Omnath, Locus of Creation|9b5bc5d7-c0f8-4632-adb7-dd3b75a3d87d]]? The result may surprise you! __UN-CARDS__ >>> <<[[!Crow Storm]][[!Sword of Dungeons & Dragons|bf451d4b-0884-4ab5-8d85-312d9db82e76]][[!Urza, Academy Headmaster]]>> <<< You may wonder what would possess someone to subject themselves to un-cards in a non-un-set format - what a mouthfull. I believe that there are a handful of cards from silver bordered Magic that make for quite interesting commanders. I will discuss how this works in the next section for cards like [[Urza, Academy Headmaster]], but rest assured, these are just as balanced and playable as and maybe even more fun than the jank above. How Do I Draft? How Does Sealed Work? --------- __PACKS AND POOLS__ Over the iterations of this format, I have found that 4 packs of 20 cards yield the most playable pools. I also follow the two-pick rule from the Commander Legends formats such that the draft goes swiftly and to shake things up a bit. As for sealed, I haven't tested enough to offer plain and simple rules, but I would suggest a minimum of 6 packs of 20. Beyond that, feel free to add more packs, change the number of cards per pack, allow a certain number of trades during the building process, or whatever feels right to you! Ideally, decks are 60 cards, including commanders. __FIXING THE MANA ISSUE__ >>> <<[[!Raugrin Triome|c303a627-cce3-4045-81f8-fe7427e0a941]][[!Zagoth Crystal]][[!Immortal Servitude]]>> <<< As the cube grows and the mana rocks and nonbasic lands are diluted between the boxes, we have found it best to be lenient when it comes to color identity. The first and easiest decision we have made on this front is when it comes to fixing, you can play any rocks or nonbasics you want as long as they fit at least one color in your commander's identity. For example, if a player drafts a [[Zedruu the Greathearted|f851b861-4e9c-4422-8156-37d7bf2928cd]] deck and a [[Nomad Outpost|f32ff85d-0a5d-4bab-adc3-27a140ebef1d]], they can run said land despite it not fitting within their commander’s color identity; however, [[Jungle Hollow|b6ed20a4-bc8a-44b1-b9b7-c82518c287b8]] would not be allowed in the same deck. There is also the issue of hybrid mana to assess. Some may argue that a spell like [[Immortal Servitude]] should be allowed to be played in black _or_ white decks rather than only in black _and_ white decks - I’m sure there are plenty of us who remember [LRR](https://twitter.com/LRRMtG)’s lovely [Serge Yager](https://twitter.com/sergeyager) playing [[Kitchen Finks]] in nonwhite decks. We have decided to allow this for more flexibility in the drafts and more variance in deckbuilding. One may argue on the same train of thought that some of the new multicolor adventures such as [[Twining Twins]] should be allowed in off-color decks. We will deliberate on this, but for now, I would say it's best to keep those restricted as they tend to work best when both modes are easily cast. __PARTNERS & BACKGROUNDS & DOCTORS, OH MY__ <<[[!The Prismatic Piper]][[!Cecily, Haunted Mage]][[!Faceless One]][[!Sarah Jane Smith|ba416ffc-dea7-4272-b391-c66540031366]]>> With the introduction of [[The Prismatic Piper]] and [[Faceless One]] in the two Commander Legends sets, I have had to consider how I want to address multiple commander keywords in the L.A.R.G.E. Cube. Partner was quite simple. There exists enough partners and diversity among them that simply including them in the cube maintains enough density such that players can pick two and have up to a four color partner deck. There also exist multiple copies of [[The Prismatic Piper]] in the supplement for the cube which I discuss further below such that, for example, if a player has a solid Mardu pool, but only [[Ravos, Soultender|dde62b0c-ea15-4b25-9cb1-697cc2e459c0]], they can slap the good ol' Piper on for free. With _Universes Within_ and _Secret Lair: Stranger Things_, the _Friends forever_ mechanic threw a new wrench in the plans and Backgrounds are even more complicated. Following some deliberation with my fellow curators, we have decided it is viable to add both _Friends forever_ as well as _Choose a Background_ commanders and Background enchantments. As I said before this decision, I will include enough copies of [[Faceless One]] to allow for the same process as described with _Partner_ above. The catch is that we have implemented a new ruling for what we call Multiples Commanders. In order to increase the viability of the more complicated and narrow Multiple Commanders (i.e. _Partner_, _Partner with_, _Friends forever_, _Choose a Background_, Background), we have decided that any player may run two of these in the command zone no matter what the rules of the game permit. As for the _Doctor's Companion_ cards as introduced in the _Universes Beyond: Doctor Who_ commander decks, the nuance is a bit more important. Seeing as these cards effectively work as a midway point between _Partner_ and _Partner with_ in terms of flexibility, much consideration of balance is necessary. We have decided to treat _Doctor's Companion_ cards both properly as they were designed _and_ to incorporate them into our Multiple Commanders ruling. Following are a few examples of how the rule works with all of these mechanics in mind. There will be a single copy of [[Clara Oswald]] in the supplement so as to allow players who pick a Doctor to draft with three colors in mind as has been best practice. For example, if I were to pick [[Hargilde, Kindly Runechanter|281f1182-8ab2-4ae6-a38c-13cdbdb1fe43]] early and start building an artifact deck, I could later pick up an [[Agent of the Iron Throne]] and run that alongside them. I cannot, however, run any of these cards as though they had _Doctor's Companion_. [[The Third Doctor|1ee72f96-0989-42ca-a60a-7f88ce7440c2]] can still be paired with [[Sarah Jane Smith|ba416ffc-dea7-4272-b391-c66540031366]], but not with [[Agent of the Iron Throne]], [[Hargilde, Kindly Runechanter|281f1182-8ab2-4ae6-a38c-13cdbdb1fe43]], [[Shabraz, the Skyshark]], or [[Tana, the Bloodsower]]. __WALKERS IN THE ZONE__ >>> <<[[!Lord Windgrace]][[!Narset of the Ancient Way]][[!Nicol Bolas, God-Pharaoh]]>> <<< I also wish to discuss Planeswalkers when it comes to unique commander options. As of INR, of the 284 non-DFC Planeswalkers in this game, only 21 are legal as commanders in constructed. I disagree with this ruling and believe any Planeswalker should be legal as a commander. Take our good pal [[Urza, Academy Headmaster]]. If you want to go for a chaotic five-color-good-stuff deck, Urza is perfect with its fun AskUrza.com random generator. In a more serious sense, I know there are plenty of players who would love to play [[Nicol Bolas, God-Pharaoh]] and have even seen unique games from this very cube with him in the command zone. With this in mind, be aware that any planeswalker has been house-errata'd to say "This can be your commander"! __"LEGENDARIES"__ <<[[!Questing Phelddagrif|be97f18f-84f7-4ef5-b99e-267d6e7981e8]][[!Blood Tyrant|ac2bfaf0-3b92-44f6-8fc0-f38cc12ba3b1]][[!Madrush Cyclops]][[!Ankle Shanker]]>> In a similar vain to the Planeswalker rule, any creature that is three or more colors is legal as a commander in this cube. This allows a handful of unique play experiences as well as some much needed flexibility. It also is a catchall that ropes in the popular Nephilim. __MISSING PIECES__ <<[[!Nissa's Encouragement]][[!Krav, the Unredeemed]][[!Throne of Empires]][[!Snow-Covered Island]]>> You will notice some cards from Paneswalker decks, _Partner with X_ cards, and others that just don't work as well without their counterparts. In the physical version of the cube, these cards are considered one pick and so if you take [[Haldan, Avid Arcanist]], you can grab [[Pako, Arcane Retriever]] from the supplement in one of the boxes that house the cube. You may also notice that while cards like [[/Jorn, God of Winter|950ecba7-90b1-42bc-a5f4-ab8d9e9607ee]] are included in the list, there is a distinct lack of snow-lands. Currently, my favorite basics are the THB ones used as the basics for this digital version of the cube. I don't intend on changing them until better looking ones come out. Because of this, we simply treat all basics as snow such that snow-specific cards function. There may be some further deliberation as to whether we should designate a certain number of permanents in Jorn decks as snow during deck building as well - kind of like regalia from Brandon Sanderson's cube - but that is a bridge to cross when we come to it. __Brothers Unite!__ >>> <<[[!Mishra, Excavation Prodigy]][[!Urza, Powerstone Prodigy]]>> <<< If you thought the Brothers' War was over, you're wrong! Not actually. I don't have any say over what happens in the Magic story, nor do I intend to invalidate the decisions that Wizards makes in a silly blogpost for a cube that already says to heck with the rules of the game. Anyway, the point of this section is to let you all know that the we have decided to house-errata [[Mishra, Excavation Prodigy]] and [[Urza, Powerstone Prodigy]] to have _Partner with (the other one)_ and be included in the list of Missing Pieces above such that one is in the supplement and you get both if you draft the other. This means they may be played together in the command zone! __Guaranteed Supplemental Cards__ >>> <<[[!Command Tower]][[!Cryptic Spires]]>> <<< If you want to incorporate some fixing and acceleration balancing when you run this list, consider giving players some guaranteed cards in deck building that they can rely on to smooth out the process and even out the playing field. My current testing phase for this rule uses [[Command Tower]] and [[Cryptic Spires]]. The former is a staple of the EDH format for a reason, and I have a handful of copies with unique art to make the question of "Who goes first?" a bit more engaging. The latter, however, is more nuanced. The current plan is that everyone playing a deck with two or more colors will be allowed a number of [[Cryptic Spires]] equal to the number of unique color pairs in their commanders' color identities up to a max of five. This will hopefully help four/five color decks fix somewhat on par with three/two color and even mono color decks. We have tested [[Sol Ring]] and it was too high variance in a 60-card limited commander format. Accessing the Supplement --------- If you are playing the physical cube with me or have decided to make it yourself, for the latter of the two, welcome to my special corner of insanity :D I have typed up a booklet for reference so you can translate foreign cards, see what DFCs do on their flip sides, and check for pieces in the supplement without disrupting the draft too much. The link is [here](https://www.canva.com/design/DAF2LOjNmT4/dbfSHfNjSrynGCiVny9eNg/edit?utm_content=DAF2LOjNmT4&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=sharebutton) for you to check it out! Updates --------- I will try to edit this portion of the Overview whenever I overhaul the list as new sets come out. As of recent, the list is updated to include cards up to *Duskmourn*. Notably, some of the card versions are incorrect as a handful have been upgraded and I was unable to change them in the list at the time. I hope you players who find this cube have fun drafting and perhaps proxying this massive beast! I am excited to see where it goes in the future. Here's to some great games, *EnchantedEve* (she/they) ![alt](https://uploads.mwp.mprod.getusinfo.com/uploads/sites/68/2022/10/lgbti-flag-artwork-CMYK-print-768x439.jpg)