This cube is supposed to be a pseudo-powerful vintage cube. The Power 9, original dual lands have not been included due to cost. MDFCs and DFCs have not been included to avoid the need to remove cards from their sleeves. I started working on this cube in 2019 with a pile of cards from prerelease events and random packs. This cube is being slowly upgraded into a traditional vintage cube (I'm borrowing a lot of ideas from wtwlf123's cube), but it still has a few janky pocket favorites. [[Risen Reef]] being one. ____________________________________________________________________________ Key cards in archetypes: {B} - Reanimator << [[!Reanimate|ae1ef31c-8ca5-444c-8f39-e1d1827318f5]][[!Terastodon|63195796-197e-47ec-85f0-d4ec0065f6e6]][[!Griselbrand|b51666ae-2aef-4cb1-9cd4-44aec81530f8]] >> Fill your graveyard as quickly as possible and cheat out your largest threats. The archetype is primarily in {B} with reanimators ( [[Unearth]], [[Exhume]], [[Stitch Together]], etc) and with reanimation targets like [[Archon of Cruelty]]. {G} also has beefy reanimation targets in [[Hornet Queen]] and [[Pelakka Wurm]]. {U} and {R} both have ways to fill your graveyard with looting effects like [[Looter il-Kor]] and [[Faithless Looting]]. {W}{U} - Flicker << [[!Soulherder|ea23111b-ccc1-4d5c-a9d2-9db14c728820]] [[!Ghostly Flicker|f0a44373-0c50-4e14-a7c6-0de66796b81e]] [[!Flickerwisp|a595d04e-4cdb-49d1-a323-7b6d1e3ccbe9]] >> Unwanted guests always knock twice (or thrice+). Use flicker and blink effects to abuse 'enters the battlefield' effects and to protect your own permanents. Flicker effects are in {W} and {U}, but strong ETBs exist in all colors ([[Imperial Recruiter]], [[Thragtusk]], etc). {B}{R} - Sacrifice << [[!Mayhem Devil|17416926-168b-49b3-9231-acbb8f8a1d13]] [[!Witch's Oven|04ef8493-d986-45f8-a718-617b028f7ad4]] [[!Cauldron Familiar|9a539a23-8383-4525-82dd-acfe1d219fe9]] >> Keep your friends close and your enemies close enough to throw in the stove. Bin recur-able creatures and creature tokens to activate cards that care about your creatures and other permanents entering the graveyard. Sacrifice and Aristocrats are functionally the same archetypes (and they're all centered in Mardu colors) but I've listed Aristocrats separately below to highlight some more cards. It's also worth noting differences between the payoff cards- pingers can be used for board control ([[Judith, the Scourge Diva|0a742125-730d-4082-bfd8-5feb7733def4]]) and drainers have a (mostly marginal) life-gain benefit ([[Zulaport Cutthroat|bc8a6636-eab2-4aee-bd55-4d62c2e2e266]]). Mayhem Devil has a symmetrical sac effect while Judith just cares about your own creatures dying. {W}{B} - Aristocrats << [[!Cruel Celebrant|87ead6ac-b1c5-4852-8413-7fa43c6cfc57]] [[!Bloodghast|730c521f-ba12-48fb-b18f-6bb55423a551]] [[!Clarion Spirit|86a4c348-1012-4339-960a-c7bc7fd84fbb]] >> Again, similar to Sacrifice above. Key difference is cards that care when permanent is sacrificed vs. cards that care about when a creature dies. Some recurring threats that you can pull back to play or your hand from the graveyard include [[Bloodsoaked Champion]], [[Gravecrawler]], [[Gutterbones]]. {W}{G} - Tokens / Go-Wide << [[!Trostani's Summoner|1921fa4e-2256-4ef1-b2fe-874f9fbbcdf3]] [[!Chatterfang, Squirrel General|57b819b7-c193-446d-b7cf-75a09e1d58a4]] [[!Elspeth, Sun's Champion|fd5b1633-c41d-42b1-af1b-4a872077ffbd]] >> Traditional board-flooding archetype. {W} allows access to flicker effects in order to recur ETB token generators ([[Blade Splicer]]) and incidental Landfall ([[Felidar Retreat]] and [[Titania, Protector of Argoth]]). {R} - RDW << [[!Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer|b3e685f9-cc0f-4dc6-98dc-4727944de445]] [[!Embercleave|aaae15dd-11b6-4421-99e9-365c7fe4a5d6]] [[!Monastery Swiftspear|b81c6c8b-a9cf-4866-89ba-7f8ad077b836]] >> Probably the simplest archetype in the cube, mono-{R} plays as traditional aggro. Prioritize low mana value while drafting and keep an eye on cheap pieces of interaction/burst ([[Lightning Bolt]], [[Shock]], etc). [[Young Pyromancer]] turns instants and sorceries into a wider board presence, turning on game-enders like an early [[Embercleave]]. [[Monastery Swiftspear]] can be a pay-off for {U}{R} Spellslinger. {W} and {B} also have aggro pieces that can be combined if the density of playable cards isn't high enough in a singular color. ____________________________________________________________________________ Combos and smaller packages: {R} - Kiki-Jiki / Splinter Twin << [[!Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker|a9814393-05f0-4b99-a599-0c62f0dc9c1d]] [[!Splinter Twin|580fbbf8-ba7e-4889-a5ea-d066f3ea8cea]] [[!Pestermite|f252ae53-443c-4a27-b8f0-639a9a2b8598]] >> The Kiki/Splinter combo uses flicker effects stapled onto bodies rather than {W}{U}'s instants and sorceries. {R} - Sneak / Breach << [[!Sneak Attack|d07dc95d-82a8-4a58-8ea2-d4513bd7316d]] [[!Through the Breach|789196df-143d-4a60-a8e4-5bdcfdfd7ba8]] [[!Emrakul, the Aeons Torn|67600383-bbb8-411c-b8e6-2296650bc747]] >> [[Sneak Attack|d07dc95d-82a8-4a58-8ea2-d4513bd7316d]] and [[Through the Breach|789196df-143d-4a60-a8e4-5bdcfdfd7ba8]] allow you to cheat creatures into play from your hand. The ideal play pattern involves them cheating an Eldrazi or similar sized threat into play, but they can also be used to add some redundancy to more mid-ranged {R} decks. Eventually I want to add [[Show and Tell]] to give {U} a cheating option and I need add some more creatures to the top end of my colorless section. {U} - Tinker << [[!Tinker|7da23b15-dfb8-4267-9b33-d7a4c035c434]] [[!Treasure]] [[!Sundering Titan|5402534d-ccd5-4047-9f0b-d4321b2f0bef]] >> [[Tinker|7da23b15-dfb8-4267-9b33-d7a4c035c434]] allows you to pull a huge threat for a relatively low opportunity cost. There are plenty of cheap artifacts (signets, etc) that can be sac'd and there are cards most colors that generate artifact tokens ([[Thraben Investigator]], [[Tireless Provisioner]], [[Daretti, Ingenious Iconoclast]]). I need to add some more colorless artifact beaters to the top end so [[Sundering Titan|5402534d-ccd5-4047-9f0b-d4321b2f0bef]] isn't so lonely. {C} - Field of the Dead << [[!Field of the Dead]] >> This deck only comes together as a 5-color soup of early-picked lands. A 2/2 every turn is a pretty small payoff and there are almost assuredly better decks to build in every draft. The card is likely getting cut in the next large revision but I want to see it win first. [[Scapeshift]] is probably needed for Field to be viable. ____________________________________________________________________________