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The Cube: Construction and Card SelectionBy Anthony Avitollo on October 9th, 2009 · Filed in Casual, Limited · 48 CommentsThe Cube: Construction and Card Selection Don't be sad, you're in M10 at least! - No sideboard cards Another heated topic of debate amongst the forums! I firmly believe that putting sideboard-specific cards into the cube dilutes the card power, playability, skill intensity, and fun. Why would I want to spend picks on narrow cards like Disenchant, Pyroclasm, and the like when I can draft cards to make my deck better? There is a fair amount of cards with flexible abilities that can deal with problem cards, so there is by no means a dearth of answers in the cube. The naysayers will pose the questions, "But what if my deck can't beat X card? That isn't fun at all!" or "In real Magic you get to use sideboards, why shouldn't the cube be that way, too?" To those arguments, I say that if you can't beat a certain card, maybe it is because A) your deck isn't good enough because you made mistakes during the draft/construction; B) one card sided in against a terrible matchup isn't going to help that much anyway; or C) just suck it up and take your loss and win your next match. As far as "real" Magic is concerned, Magic existed before tournaments and is played way more without sideboards than with them (just ask people with terrible playtesting habits!) As an added bonus, it helps eliminate misplaced cards as well! - Allow powerful iconic cards like Balance, Tinker, and Demonic Tutor, e.g. There are cards on the banned list in Legacy that are iconic, powerful cards that are not unbalanced when restricted to one copy each. It also helps that there is not the amount of fast mana cards available to play these cards too early. Mind Twist is not included because that card isn't fun, even with the lack of fast mana cards. - Allow Un-cards I think this is self-explanatory. Some of the most fun (and powerful!) cards come from the Un- sets, and they deserve a spot in the cube. I don't want cards that win/lose the game immediately (The Cheese Stands Alone, Rocket-Powered Turbo Slug), have any manual dexterity (Farewell to Arms, e.g.), or break the rules too much (cards with fractions, e.g.). Basically, if a card is good and fun and not too much of a pain to play, then it warrants inclusion. Holiday promos also fit into this category. - No linear themes We did try this exact thing in the cube for a long while. More specifically, we had a mono-black theme running throughout the cube that included cards like Cabal Coffers, Tendrils of Corruption, Mutilate, and Korlash, Heir to Blackblade. While very powerful when drafted, too often a player would either get stuck drafting mono-black cards early but the rest of the linear cards weren't opened, thereby stranding early picks; or only pick the mono-black card when there was one card left in the pack. We found that the only way to effectively run a linear themed deck to the desired effect was to Rotisserie Draft the entire cube (since you have access to every card). While Rotisserie Drafting the cube is a ton of fun, it is very time-consuming and not a good enough reason to keep difficult-to-draft linear themes in the cube. Anybody want to trade for some foil rares for a white-based enchantment linear card? I just happen to have some lying around... OK, you can be in the cube too. We needed some ginger, anyway. - Not many expensive fatties Some cubes always love the fatties, but I personally can't stand the thought of spending 6+ mana on a creature only to have it die to a 1-3 mana spell without seriously impacting the game in some way. Not a single green creature costs more than five mana, and there are only 25 creatures total that cost six or more mana. Each one of these has either a significant impact on the game as it comes into or leaves play (Duplicant, Kokusho, the Morning Star, Broodmate Dragon), a way to cheat it into play (Greater Gargadon, Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni, Tombstalker), an ability that is extremely powerful (Oona, Queen of the Fae, Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind, Platinum Angel), or some way to protect itself (Simic Sky Swallower, Firemane Angel to an extent). A lot of them have more than one of these attributes, making them well worth the mana and the inclusion in the cube (Laquatas' Champion, Palinchron, Akroma, Angel of Wrath). Cube Construction How many cards? Some people like to take the cube theme to the limit, using 512 (or 8³) cards. Personally, I like enough cards to do an eight-person cube draft and still have some cards left over so that there is some variation in each draft. Doing the math, that means 45x8 (or 360) cards at a bare minimum for eight people, more if you like the card pool to be different with each draft. My cube is in the neighborhood of 480 cards, with the exact number changing a little bit as I tweak the cards based on play experience, new releases, and other factors. Ideally, you want each of the five colors to be balanced in number while still having room for artifacts, lands, and multicolor cards. In initially building the cube about four years ago, I reached about 45-50 cards in each of the colors before hitting a significant quality level drop-off. Each color has grown a little, as a number of sets have been released since the cube was first constructed and I did not want to drop cards I felt were worth keeping. Recently there has been a good deal of growth in certain colors (white especially), and while I hope that trend continues it does make it difficult to keep the cube size under control. Right now my cube is roughly 58 cards per color and artifacts, six for each color pair, one for each "shard," and a few other multicolored cards that don't fit into typical two- or three-color sections. The most important (and most maligned) part of the cube, in my opinion, is the lands. I currently have 66 lands in the cube, or about 13.6% of the total cards. This is something that I think a lot of cubes have very wrong. Other people have stated that they like to have about 10% or less land in their cubes. I see lots of talk on forums about how annoyed people are when they open packs with more than one land in it, or how they hate having to draft lands. I just don't understand it at all. Lands are possibly the single most important part of a good Cube deck, and they need to be valued as such not only in construction, but in drafting as well. Let me restate that, because it is important to note. Lands are possibly the single most important part of a good Cube deck, and they need to be valued as such not only in construction, but in drafting as well. If Shards of Alara block drafting has taught us anything, it is that you have to make sure you can cast your spells by investing thought and picks into your mana base. Even if you have a mono-colored deck, you can benefit greatly from having non-basics in your deck. If I had to pinpoint the least fun part of Magic in general, it would be mana/color screw. Personally, I like to avoid that part of this game as much as possible! For those who would argue that lands are "only mana," 26 of my 66 lands also have a function other than tapping for mana leaving only 40 of them (or 8% of the Cube), as "vanilla" lands. On a related note, I found that 30 basic lands of each type - with the same artwork, preferably - works just fine for eight players to build with. If you plan on playing with more players, you might want to bump it up to 35 or so. Card Selection For the most part, if a card has seen major play in the tournament scene it probably deserves to be in the cube. The only real exceptions are components of combo decks that are not powerful on their own (Necropotence but not Illusions of Grandeur/Donate, Tinker but not Darksteel Colossus, e.g.). There are some limited all-stars included that haven't quite seen the light of day in constructed (Scepter of Dominance, Mirror Entity, and Jaya Ballard, Task Mage come to mind), but are very powerful in Cube. There are some cards, however, that upon first glance seem very mediocre or very bad. They have been maligned, ignored, or never even been legal for constructed, but in the cube they have their chance to shine. These are their stories... *DUN DUN* Word of Seizing: This is a great example of the "junk" rare that really shines in Cube. Although it was pretty darn good in Time Spiral draft, it is nothing compared to its usages here. Examples of vicious beatings with Word of Seizing: Casting it on a Pernicious Deed, and then blowing up your opponent's board. Casting it on a Chandra Nalaar that has 8 loyalty counters. Ten ya! Casting it on a full-sunburst Etched Oracle. Casting it on Mother of Runes and saying "Word to your mother!" Convinced yet? Brooding Saurian: A four mana 4/4 isn't the worst deal, but that just isn't good enough. While its ability never really mattered in constructed, in the cube it effectively counters the effects of some pretty good cards that green mages really don't want to see. Treachery, Bribery, Vedalken Shackles, and Sower of Temptation are all weakened drastically; even cards like Animate Dead, Debtor's Knell, and Ink-Eyes take a hit as well. Door to Nothingness: A card that never really mattered in any format, but is a really fun build-around card in the cube. Slamming the door is one of the most prestigious ways to win a Cube match. Note: you must have enough good lands/mana fixers to make it work! Now you know! Shelldock Isle: "You might not know this, but this is actually the best card ever." - Alteration on Shelldock Isle, written by Adam Prosak Truer words may never have been written on a Magic card. Free spells are always awesome, and in a limited format the condition is way more likely to be met. Remember also that blue is a slower, more controlling color that has the ability to draw cards. Getting the picture, yet? Now imagine returning it with a Ravnica block bounce land after you use it... Rolling Earthquake: A lot of Portal Three Kingdoms cards could be included that are functional reprints (Armageddon/Ravages of War, Wildfire/Burning of Xinye), but this one has a subtly different ability than its partner Earthquake: being able to kill fliers, ground-pounders, and players all at the same time. Without any horsemanship in the cube, this card is a more powerful Earthquake alternative. Rare-B-Gone: An insanely powerful build-around card that is devastating in a rare-heavy format such as Cube. We play it with the rule that cards are considered rare only if their original printings were at the rare slot. There are a number of cards that have been reprinted at the rare slot (Hypnotic Specter) or have been made into rare promotional cards (Duress, River Boa), so ruling by the original printings makes it easy to determine rarity. Blast from the Past: Just a mediocre burn spell as is, but with all of the added abilities this card is a powerhouse in the late game. Cycling + madness alone is pretty impressive, but if you can instead start with the buyback or the kicker it fills in those late turns nicely at instant speed. Booster Tutor: Booster Tutor is used to tutor up a 15-card Cube pack from among the undrafted cards. Sometimes you get that land or removal spell you desperately need, sometimes you get a bomb, and sometimes you get an Armageddon that you can cast off of a signet in order to force your opponent to die to a Pact. What you always get, however, is awesomeness. Gifts Given: Arguably one of the best blue cards in the Cube, this holiday promo was obviously never used in any sort of constructed format. Combining the power of Jester's Cap, Gifts Ungiven, and Grinning Totem, Gifts Given is a powerful addition that should be included if you can find one for the right price. For the record, this card is almost too good. Instant speed land destruction for  anyone?Who/What/When/Where/Why: The last of the Un- cards included, this simply awesome card is the lone five-color addition to the cube; partly for coolness, partly for flexibility (you don't need all five colors to play it, and all of the modes are useful...yes, even the white one!), partly for Lil Jon impersonations, and partly for imprinting on Isochron Scepter. What more could you ask for? You can view the full contents of my cube to see how I've implemented my ideas in the Cube Forum on MTGS. My cube list does not include any Zendikar cards yet, as I will be adding those as I obtain them. I have a feeling that it will cause major additions/changes in the cube, so stay tuned for what those will be in the next installment. Let me know what you think of my awesome cube! I may be biased, but the best way to prove me right or wrong is to build one of your own and try out the cards yourself; you'll be glad you did. Even better, come meet me at Pro Tour-Austin and play it yourself! -Anthony Avitollo By Anthony Avitollo on October 9th, 2009 · Filed in Casual, Limited · 48 Comments |
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