*Currently drafted as 3 packs of 16 cards, with a land in each pack* This is a cube I built to play sealed and draft with established players, newer players, and returning players as well. To facilitate this end, the cube design philosophy seeks to fulfill the following goals: ##### •Synergy The goal of this cube is *not* to be a museum of "mythic" uncommons. Instead, this cube is designed so that cards are synergistic and slot into several archetypes. Assembling the pieces of the puzzle is both fun and rewarding, and makes the challenge of utilizing your limited resources deeper than just piling up the best individual cards you pulled. Even so, drafting "the hard way" is still very possible and effective. Commons and uncommons are the backbone of retail draft, and the lower power level allows many different archetypes to flourish, even penumbral ones that I never even designed for! The design challenge here is to balance archetype support with cards that fit in many decks. ##### •Intelligibility "Reading the Card Explains the Card" is the maxim to follow here. With few exceptions (Eldraine *adventures*, dual-faced cards) all of the cards in the set should *look* like Magic cards and have the most up-to-date text box. New and returning players have enough trouble parsing cards without them also looking *weird*. It is up to me and other players to be able to briefly explain how the card works, and if that's a challenge, then that's a problem. Intelligibility isn't *just* an aesthetic concern, but also a mechanical one. Mechanics high on the Storm Scale(✝) because they're outmoded, highly parasitic, or just clunky and unfun, make for a confusing environment for players of all sorts. While not every card can be as instantly intelligible as [[Bolt|6ab06973-6440-4b12-8947-8c412500fa41]], there's still plenty of room for power and complexity that *isn't* "wait, wut" levels of confusing. This could be completely avoided with a Core Set/evergreen cube, so there is some compromise here for the sake of gameplay for more experienced players. This has become more difficult with recent "novel on a card" design trends. The design challenge here is finding the level of complexity the average player can navigate easily. ##### •Fun Fun is the most important goal! Meeting the previous two goals should make for a fun environment, but I think the cube being a peasant cube also lends a lot to this. New cube drafters often get lost in rarities, and one of the major flaws in retail draft is how some rare/mythics can be devastating on their own, but others are only playable in constructed. Someone who considers themselves a "Spike" does curate this cube though, and Magic is a zero-sum game. So some cards *are* very powerful, but there's also answers to everything. A fun cube isn't possible with just analysis and card evaluation, it's a matter of asking players; "what didn't work for you this time?", "what card did you really need to pull your deck together?" "did anything not work the way you wanted to or thought it should?" The answers to those questions are what will make a fun cube, and plenty of tweaks to the cube have been made based on quality feedback(though that feedback does come with a fair deal of salt at times). The design challenge here is to... make a great cube! ##### Sample Archetypes: **Izzet**{U/R} - Artifacts/Spells matter <<[[!Sprite Dragon]]>> **Azorius**{W/U} - Blink/Fliers <<[[!Elite Guardmage]]>> **Rakdos**{B/R} - Menace/Sacrifice <<[[!Azra Oddsmaker]]>> **Selesnya**{G/W} - Tokens/Auras <<[[!Maja, Bretagard Protector]]>> **Gruul**{R/G} - Fires/Stompy <<[[! Invigorating Hot Spring]]>> **Boros**{R/W} - Equipment/Combat <<[[!Reyav, Master Smith]]>> **Golgari**{B/G} - Graveyard Value/Food <<[[!Savvy Hunter]]>> **Dimir**{U/B} - Control/Reanimator <<[[!Obsessive Stitcher]]>> **Simic** {G/U} - Flash/ETB <<[[!Frilled Mystic]]>> **Orzhov**{W/B} - Lifegain/Go Wide<<[[!Indulging Patrician]]>> ##### Restrictions: 1) Peasant — Only cards printed at common or uncommon. 2) Paper — This is a paper cube. All of the cards must be attainable IRL with a silver or black set symbol. 3) No Old border/New border when possible — I don't have a problem with the look of old border cards, but they'll stick out in a bad way if I include them now. 4) No outmoded keywords — My preference for *menace* means the mechanic is better without *intimidate* or *fear*. 5) Cards must look like Magic cards — This one is rough with all the special versions of cards coming out, but it keeps the aesthetic consistent and makes the game less scary for newer players. 6) No Planeswalkers ###### Other Lists in the Frost Cube Expanded Universe • ["Ship of Theseus" Frost Cube](https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/sot-fr0st) — The original Frost Cube list, preserved in all of its janky glory. • [The Waiting Room](https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/e3c00805-f118-4e84-84e3-8207f73eadb7) — An extended Maybeboard that I use as a repository for cards that I'd like to fit in at some point, or replacements for test cards. • @FallenH3RO16's [Thai Cube](http://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/eec66253-10cb-4204-ae43-d48d04f8b028) — Basically the designer for the {w/b} and {u/b} sections of my cube designed their own using this one as a template. Kinda feels like this cube, but from an alternate universe. Check it out! • @Oeklampadius's [Starter Cube](https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/oekla) — A peasant+ fair magic cube that started out life as a clone of this one, but with it's own unique twists.