Cloned from [Political Giant](/c/5f988c16ac5df139f0a02262) Missing in paper [[secluded courtyard]] [[court of embereth]] [[dimir aqueduct]] [[rakdos carnarium]] [[simic growth chamber]] [[adaptive automaton]] ### Overview Political Giant is designed for [Free-For-All](https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/casual-formats-2008-08-11#multiplayer) and [Two-Headed Giant](https://magic.wizards.com/en/content/two-headed-giant-format) formats. This cube leans into the [[Monarch|40b79918-22a7-4fff-82a6-8ebfe6e87185]] mechanic with plenty of ways to ensure a constant fight for the crown while providing meaningful tools for table politics. #### Design Tenets Encourage combat and interaction over turtling. - monarch - creature evasion, vigilance - clocks that are not reliant on combat damage Provide players the tools to remain engaged on every turn, not just their own. - avoid tutor & shuffle effects - density of instants, activated abilities and triggered abilities for interaction and politicking - mechanics that involve all players Empower players to stifle leads and avoid a single player snowballing to victory. - no infinite combos or cards that likely end the game immediately - incentives for attacking opponents - meaningful answers to threats Try to cultivate a theme of a kingdom at war while maintaining the tenets above. - cuts and inclusions are based on a card's ability to support this theme while maintaining relevancy in both FFA & 2HG - prefer kings & clerics over merfolk & dinosaurs, something akin to the settings of Conspiracy and The Elder Scrolls. #### Hidden Agendas Conspiracies have worked well both in terms of play experience and the overall theme of the cube. This list is currently testing Hidden Agendas to build on this but, being designed with a typical rarity draft pack distribution in mind, they are somewhat invalidated by a singleton cube. As a house rule, our playgroup names the card for the Hidden Agenda on the fly rather than pre-defining them prior to the game. This has allowed for more Conspiracy effects in the cube without the potential feel bad of draft picks sometimes being invalidated/irrelevant and the additional overhead of pre-game activities. If your playgroup is less interested in modifying mechanics, or Conspiracies in general, then these might be easy cuts for tuning this cube for other groups. ## Themes Each color is designed to support the tenets above and work effectively with or without any critical mass of the themes/synergies below. The goal of these themes is to avoid generic/homogenous decks of "multiplayer good stuff" while providing cards that are still relevant outside of of their archetypes. There are also plenty of cards outside of these themes that provide powerful synergies to those with some imagination. #### {g} Elves <<[[!Priest of Titania|965c33c3-0c68-4516-b8b0-5a0552ed44b6]][[!Ezuri, Renegade Leader|e9544132-bbb5-4ec4-af82-dad56e5091af]][[!Immaculate Magistrate]][[!Wolverine Riders]]>> Mono {g} provides access to a traditional ramp strategy through Elves to quickly deploy large threats and scale up those same mana dorks in the late game. [[Caller of the Untamed]] and [[Emissary's Ploy]] provide an efficient means to gain access to other off-color tribal creatures like [[Leovold, Emissary of Trest]] and [[Edric, Spymaster of Trest]]. Splashing {b} can extend those tribal synergies through [[Conspiracy]] and [[Pact of the Serpent]] and/or lean more heavily into token-based strategies through cards like [[Lathril, Blade of the Elves]] and [[Bastion of Remembrance]]. #### {w}{b}{g} Hardened Scales <<[[!Hardened Scales]][[!Walking Ballista]][[!Drana, Liberator of Malakir]][[!Champion of Lambholt]]>> In this cube, [[Hardened Scales]] compliments many of the strategies present in {g}. From improving mana dorks like [[Gyre Sage]] and [[Marwyn, the Nurturer]] to scaling up power houses like [[Champion of Lamabholt]] and [[Yorvo, Lord of Garenbrig]], [[Hardened Scales]] can accellerate many {g} based strategies. [[Hardened Scales]] also layers nicely with cards throughout {b} and {w}. {b} offers multiple vampires with +1/+1 counter abilities, most notably [[Drana, Liberator of Malakir]], and layers nicely with a host of synergistic cards like [[Blade of the Bloodchief]] and [[Slaughter Specialist]]. {w} has several powerhouses such as [[Gideon's Avenger]] and [[Cathars' Crusade]] that perform very well on their own and quickly get out of hand when doubled. #### {w} Knights <<[[!Knight Exemplar]][[!Sigiled Sword of Valeron]][[!Silverwing Squadron]][[!Valiant Endeavor]]>> Whether the deck seeks to go wide with [[Hero of Bladehold]] and [[Silverwing Squadron]] or go big with [[Auriok Steelshaper]], [[Danitha Capashen, Paragon]] and the numerous pieces of equipment, cards like [[Knight Exemplar]] and [[Kinsbaile Cavalier]] will help get it there. Splasing {b} provides access to, among other things, [[Conspiracy]] to extend knights-matter effects to other creatures. [[Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose]] pairs well with other effects in {w} like [[Blind Obedience]] and [[Kenrith, the Returned King]] while several strong knights also become available such as [[Knight of the Ebon Legion]] and [[Elenda, the Dusk Rose]]. #### {u}{r} Spells <<[[!Guttersnipe]][[!Archmage Emeritus]][[!Unruly Catapult]][[!Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius]]>> This archetype seeks to slow the table by burning and countering away important cards to keep opponents off of a critical mass of synergistic effects while building up its own. {u} grants the expected control alongside repeatable draw effects through cards like [[Azami, Lady of Scrolls]] and [[Coastal Piracy]] to keep your hand full. [[Isochron Scepter]] and [[Double Stroke]] provide additional cast triggers while [[Arcane Savant]] enables the deck to help power out a big spell like [[Expropriate]] or grant access to powerful effects in other colors like [[Casualties of War]] or [[Regna's Sanction]]. {r} provides a myriad of effects to turn spells into damage such as [[Firebrand Archer]] and [[Guttersnipe]]. These, paired with the burn spells available in {r}, provide an engine to turn your control and removal into meaningful pressure across the table. [[Torbran, Thane of Red Fell]] and [[Fiery Emancipation]] amplify this further, turning a single spell into 3-9+ damage off of a single [[Firebrand Archer]] or [[Thermo-Alchemist]] effect or more with [[Guttersnipe]]. If the game goes long, [[Teleportal]], [[Cryptic Command]], [[Archetype of Imagination]] and others can allow the deck to alpha strike out of seemingly nowhere as life totals begin to dwindle. #### {w}{u}{b} Statecraft <<[[!Statecraft]][[!Blind Obedience]][[!Court of Cunning]][[!Twilight Prophet]]>> Flavorful, unique, blue...what isn't there to love about [[Statecraft]]?! There is not a high density of control or stax effects in this cube by design, but Statecraft allows the deck maintain its life total and Monarch status with effective blockers. It can win through Court effects, e.g. [[Court of Cunning]], or can build card advantage while maintaining its life total until [[Statecraft]] can be [[Repeal]]ed for an alpha strike through [[Keeper of Keys]] or [[Archetype of Imagination]]. With {w} the deck gains access to [[Blind Obedience]], which is exceptional at applying pressure through non-combat damage while [[Brave the Sands]] allows doubles the efficiency of the deck's nearly indestructible blockers to maintain Monarch. [[Odric, Master Tactician]] provides another means for an alpha strike when the time is right, which is made easier as {w} has the highest density of enchantment removal to remove [[Statecraft]] from the board if/when necessary. {b} is a great color to win through non-combat damage, which offsets [[Statecraft]]'s drawback. [[Court of Ambition]] and [[Twilight Prophet]] play well to this plan while providing card advantage. [[Blood Artist]], [[Blood Seeker]] and similar effects provide consistent noncombat pressure the table. #### {w}{b}{g} Tokens <<[[!Intangible Virtue]][[!Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder]][[!Deranged Hermit]][[!Cathars' Crusade]]>> Junk tokens seeks to do janky token things in any combination of {w}{b}{g}. It can go big through {w}{g} effects like [[Cathars' Crusade]] and [[Mirari's Wake]] or play a more controlling game with [[Attrition]] and [[Twilight Prophet]]. It is also a great home for [[Throne of the God-Pharaoh]]. {w} makes makes each token much more impactful through [[Intangible Virtue]] and [[Brave the Sands]]. [[Reconnaissance]] allows all tokens to attack and save those that would be blocked/lost to keep the mass of creatures high while still applying pressure. [[Mentor of the Meek]] triggers on literally every creature token ETB to keep the hand as full as necessary. {b} provides best repeatable token generators. [[Ophiomancer]] and [[Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder]] ensure you've no shortage of tokens while [[Ayara, First of Locthwain]] and [[Bastion of Remembrance]] effects turn those tokens into non-combat damage to the rest of the table. While {g} has a lower density of token generators than {w} or {b} it offers a combination of powerful one-shot effects like [[Deep Forest Hermit]] and [[Deranged Hermit]] alongside high-impact cards that care about those tokens such as [[Circle of Dreams Druid]], [[Champion of Lambholt]] and [[Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa]]. #### {b}{r} Vampires <<[[!Stromkirk Noble]][[!Cordial Vampire]][[!Sanctum Seeker]][[!Olivia's Wrath]]>> Some tribes in this deck seek to win through card or mana advantage; vampires seeks to win by outsizing all of its opponents through evasion and effects that provide +1/+1 counters like [[Blade of the Bloodchief]], [[Cordial Vampire]] and [[Sengir, the Dark Baron]]. It has access to many evasive threats that reward dealing combat damage like [[Necropolis Regent]] and [[Falkenrath Marauders]]. Notably, the high density of humans in this cube make effects like [[Stromkirk Noble]] and [[Falkenrath Aristocrat]] relevant. [[Sanctum Seeker]] can be a house in this deck, especially when paired with [[Twilight Prophet]] to deal damage to the whole table in a very short period. #### {w}{r} Voltron <<[[!Auriok Steelshaper]][[!Wyleth, Soul of Steel]][[!Grenzo's Ruffians]][[!Embercleave]]>> There's no shortage of equipment to provide all sorts of effects from evasion to card advantage and everything in between. What makes {w} and {r} particularly well-suited for this archetype are the equipment & aura matters effects like [[Danitha Capashen, Paragon]] and [[Koll, the Forgemaster]] as well as some of the best equipment & auras in the cube like [[Embercleave]] and [[Unquestioned Authority]]. While accumulating a high density of these effects is going to be effective in any color, [[Odric, Lunarch Marshal]] grants the same keywords to your entire board while equip targets like [[Markov Blademaster]], [[Grenzo's Ruffians]] and [[Wyleth, Soul of Steel]] are unmatched for this strategy. #### {u}{b} Wizards <<[[!Azami, Lady of Scrolls]][[!Smogsteed Rider]][[!Vela the Night-Clad]][[!Archetype of Imagination]]>> Wizards has the highest ceiling for card draw across all of the themes in this cube. This allows a wizard-based strategy to play a control plan of counters and targeted removal in a profitable way. It's often best to use the control elements at this deck's disposal to protect its growing mass of tribal synergy until some combination of [[Azami, Lady of Scrolls]], [[Archmage Ameritus]], [[Murmuring Mystic]] and [[Beguiler of Wills]] are online and then seek to close out the game through [[Lighthouse Chronologist]], [[Throne of the God-Pharaoh]], court effects, and/or an evasive board via [[Keeper of Keys]], [[Archetype of Imagination]], [[Smogsteed Rider]] or [[Vela the Night-Clad]].