A Variant on the Desert Cube
Cube list here:
http://www.cubetutor.com/visualspoiler/95985
This list first came together out of two impulses; one, I needed place to put cards that didn't make the cut in my main cube, and two, I was inspired by the OG desert cube*.
To that end, the main design considerations are as follows:
1. Dwindling Resources:
Given the draft process is a struggle for lands, that feeling of desperation should translate to the gameplay. Lifegain is minimised/almost entirely absent, ramp should only come from lands in the graveyard, sacrifice of resources is a major theme, decking out is a major threat (accelerated by mill/self-mill themes), and each colour tends to have access to flavourful but painful (for the opponent) cards:
Hopefully, the presence of 'bleeder' type cards and milling themes helps push grindy games to a finish.
2. OG deserts/the strong survive:
With the original Desert being a many-of in the draft process, most creatures should expect to die. x/1 creatures are particularly threatened, and this ties in to a subtle 'power matters' theme generally. Most spells excel at removing small creatures and clearing out tokens, while larger creatures are (relatively) safe.
Since you need to draft your lands, these big creatures are your reward for prioritizing lands properly during the draft - resource denial should help balance out their power.
3. 'Shifted shards' archetypes
The archetypes here are rather loose, but are organised around shards of a re-arranged colour pie as per:
https://www.channelfireball.com/articles/cube-design-tri-color-cards/
: Discard, Cycling
: Self-mill/Lands, landfall
: Enchantments, prison
: Sacrifice
: Artifacts
: Discard, Cycling
Slow, grindy decks looking to set up a discard/cycling engine and ride the value to win:
: Self-mill/Lands, landfall
Blue has an explicit mill theme, while red and green interact with lands in the graveyard. Blue's currently lacking in the lands department and needs an overhaul.
: Enchantments, prison
RW come together to make an enchantment prison, really not happy with what green is bringing to the table though. Thinking of moving it to a Heartbeat of Spring type package to make the most out of limited land resources.
: Sacrifice
Less driven by token sacrifice, more an outlet for your 1/1's when they get tired of running into deserts.
: Artifacts
Strong focus on recurring artifacts, bolstered by a large colourless section - with high potential for colour-screw, colourless cards are needed to fill out the curve and keep players in the game.
Given the strong potential for non-games, cycling (while concentrated in URb) exists across all the colours to help mitigate mana screw/flood and dig for cards, and the slow pace ensures you don't get run over by aggro and have a chance to recover from a weak start.
The colourless section is also rather hefty to help fill out the curve, though the mana rocks either cause you pain (i.e. talismans) or make colourless mana.
Naturally, a cube focused around suffering, resource deprivation and the cheapness of (creature) life doesn't get drafted often, but it's a fun side cude project to be thinking about.
Edit: With 8 players the draft is conducted with 4x15 card packs, which'll give each player just enough lands with some headroom for variability. For fewer players 4x15 is also used, but lands and non-lands are kept at a constant ratio as per the whole cube.
Cube list here:
http://www.cubetutor.com/visualspoiler/95985
This list first came together out of two impulses; one, I needed place to put cards that didn't make the cut in my main cube, and two, I was inspired by the OG desert cube*.
To that end, the main design considerations are as follows:
1. Dwindling Resources:
Given the draft process is a struggle for lands, that feeling of desperation should translate to the gameplay. Lifegain is minimised/almost entirely absent, ramp should only come from lands in the graveyard, sacrifice of resources is a major theme, decking out is a major threat (accelerated by mill/self-mill themes), and each colour tends to have access to flavourful but painful (for the opponent) cards:
Hopefully, the presence of 'bleeder' type cards and milling themes helps push grindy games to a finish.
2. OG deserts/the strong survive:
With the original Desert being a many-of in the draft process, most creatures should expect to die. x/1 creatures are particularly threatened, and this ties in to a subtle 'power matters' theme generally. Most spells excel at removing small creatures and clearing out tokens, while larger creatures are (relatively) safe.
Since you need to draft your lands, these big creatures are your reward for prioritizing lands properly during the draft - resource denial should help balance out their power.
3. 'Shifted shards' archetypes
The archetypes here are rather loose, but are organised around shards of a re-arranged colour pie as per:
https://www.channelfireball.com/articles/cube-design-tri-color-cards/
: Discard, Cycling : Self-mill/Lands, landfall : Enchantments, prison : Sacrifice : Artifacts : Discard, CyclingSlow, grindy decks looking to set up a discard/cycling engine and ride the value to win:
: Self-mill/Lands, landfallBlue has an explicit mill theme, while red and green interact with lands in the graveyard. Blue's currently lacking in the lands department and needs an overhaul.
: Enchantments, prisonRW come together to make an enchantment prison, really not happy with what green is bringing to the table though. Thinking of moving it to a Heartbeat of Spring type package to make the most out of limited land resources.
: SacrificeLess driven by token sacrifice, more an outlet for your 1/1's when they get tired of running into deserts.
: ArtifactsStrong focus on recurring artifacts, bolstered by a large colourless section - with high potential for colour-screw, colourless cards are needed to fill out the curve and keep players in the game.
Given the strong potential for non-games, cycling (while concentrated in URb) exists across all the colours to help mitigate mana screw/flood and dig for cards, and the slow pace ensures you don't get run over by aggro and have a chance to recover from a weak start.
The colourless section is also rather hefty to help fill out the curve, though the mana rocks either cause you pain (i.e. talismans) or make colourless mana.
Naturally, a cube focused around suffering, resource deprivation and the cheapness of (creature) life doesn't get drafted often, but it's a fun side cude project to be thinking about.
Edit: With 8 players the draft is conducted with 4x15 card packs, which'll give each player just enough lands with some headroom for variability. For fewer players 4x15 is also used, but lands and non-lands are kept at a constant ratio as per the whole cube.
*For anyone reading who isn't familiar with the desert cube concept, go check it out. The main restriction is you must draft all your lands from packs, no adding basics at the end.
