So, since LadyMapi cracked the code on my Cube as seen here
I figured that I should finally do a write-up. While it is a smidge different from this, close enough, good job.
Okay so here is how it works.
- There are no lands in your deck
- On one of your main phases you may discard a card into the graveyard to get a corresponding land of that cards colors
- *All multicolored lands enter in tapped
- All other regular rules of Magic stay exactly the same
*(I use guildgates and tapped tri-lands but depending on how fast your Cube is, it may be better to ignore this rule and use dual lands or fetch-lands or shocks or even bouncelands instead.)
So because I was bred in the riplab I had to make a format that absolutely destroys drake haven. But that was too strong so instead I play bone miser in my occasionals. This format is way different than a normal cube. For one, you will always draw gas. Aggro decks get faster, control decks get control-y-er, and you can now put more jank into your jank deck.
But thirty cards is way too many cards in the deck if the players draft 45. Most players will only have five or so cuts, and leaving them in might not be the best idea.
So now we come to a hack in order to draft this monster.
Instead I do
- 2 packs of 12 (passed left then right, or vice versa if you're feeling spicy)
- You get two of whatever you drafted
Now with this simple change it is very easy to craft a deck, and now just like your regular cubes, the drafters will be trying to find cuts rather than wondering if this deck will even work.
There's also a hidden synergy within this draft. Parasitic cards are way less parasitic if you get two of them! I feel like that is obvious, but it is exceptionally crazy that I can play mutate, cycling, graveyard synergy, aristocrats, +1/+1 counters, self-mill and some subthemes like cares about X and heroic all in the same Cube. It probably also has something to do with the fact that 0% of the draft is lands
I think that's basically it, I'll eventually write up a Cube blog, but as noted in the FAQ below the Cube is very rough. I will finally link it in my signature and post it down below.
I clearly remember that doubling up the draft idea was thought up right as I was going to bed. This was while I was working on my Cube for the third time and realized that I would have to make my Cube have 480 cards to support 8 players getting 60 cards and I knew that I did not want to sit through that draft or try and find the perfect amount of how many cards that I should double up on to fit my crappy power level. So I instead cut my 360 Cube in half, and doubled it.
It might be fun to do some land-bounce synergy instead and use stuff like deprive/daze, gush, or meloku, the clouded mirror.
So I instead play explore, faeburrow elder, and cards that can grab stuff from your graveyard like mythos of brokkos and so on. I personally feel like explore is a smidge too strong, but I've been able to get by without making some major custom cards, so I'm not sure if I want to make that plunge.
https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/tddtf (fully updated, but has occasionals sprinkled in as the 13th card of the packs)
https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/tddt (without the occasionals, but less up to date)
I mean, the BTP solution would be to turn gold cards into MDFCs.
front,
I figured that I should finally do a write-up. While it is a smidge different from this, close enough, good job.
Okay so here is how it works.
Duel
- 30 card decks- There are no lands in your deck
- On one of your main phases you may discard a card into the graveyard to get a corresponding land of that cards colors
- *All multicolored lands enter in tapped
- All other regular rules of Magic stay exactly the same
*(I use guildgates and tapped tri-lands but depending on how fast your Cube is, it may be better to ignore this rule and use dual lands or fetch-lands or shocks or even bouncelands instead.)
So because I was bred in the riplab I had to make a format that absolutely destroys drake haven. But that was too strong so instead I play bone miser in my occasionals. This format is way different than a normal cube. For one, you will always draw gas. Aggro decks get faster, control decks get control-y-er, and you can now put more jank into your jank deck.
But thirty cards is way too many cards in the deck if the players draft 45. Most players will only have five or so cuts, and leaving them in might not be the best idea.
So now we come to a hack in order to draft this monster.
Dual: aka doubling the Cube
So while in this format you could draft three rounds of 20 card packs and it would be alright. I doubt you and your players will want to do that.Instead I do
- 2 packs of 12 (passed left then right, or vice versa if you're feeling spicy)
- You get two of whatever you drafted
Now with this simple change it is very easy to craft a deck, and now just like your regular cubes, the drafters will be trying to find cuts rather than wondering if this deck will even work.
There's also a hidden synergy within this draft. Parasitic cards are way less parasitic if you get two of them! I feel like that is obvious, but it is exceptionally crazy that I can play mutate, cycling, graveyard synergy, aristocrats, +1/+1 counters, self-mill and some subthemes like cares about X and heroic all in the same Cube. It probably also has something to do with the fact that 0% of the draft is lands
Customs
The only customs I actually run is sharpie-ing out human from all of my creatures except for Gideon, martial paragon. That's just to make mutate a little less parasitic but I feel like the cube would probably be fine if I didn't do that. I also only run Plargg, dean of chaos without his backside.I think that's basically it, I'll eventually write up a Cube blog, but as noted in the FAQ below the Cube is very rough. I will finally link it in my signature and post it down below.
Why is there a FAQ?
Why don't other people do FAQs is the real question.How did you come up with this insane idea?
Well actually if you look at my first post on this forum I have had this idea for a long while, no idea where I had the original idea though, probably just some loose thoughts on how to fix mana flood and mana screw. I know that I had it before I found out about Duel Masters, but those awful GBA games (great tcg though) definitely helped me to get the idea behind what I wanted from the Cube.I clearly remember that doubling up the draft idea was thought up right as I was going to bed. This was while I was working on my Cube for the third time and realized that I would have to make my Cube have 480 cards to support 8 players getting 60 cards and I knew that I did not want to sit through that draft or try and find the perfect amount of how many cards that I should double up on to fit my crappy power level. So I instead cut my 360 Cube in half, and doubled it.
Doesn't this make multicolored cards more desirable?
Idk why you would ask that question as if it's a bad thing.Isn't this broken by...?
Well yeah, duh. But this is Cube, I can ban problematic cards whenever I want. The strongest card in my Cube is kess, dissident mage. But she doesn't have a ton of great targets, so I think she's pretty much fine.Can I just use LadyMapi's idea instead?
Absolutely, while my cube was curated with a ton of graveyard synergy in mind; yours doesn't have to be.It might be fun to do some land-bounce synergy instead and use stuff like deprive/daze, gush, or meloku, the clouded mirror.
Why aren't there any good ramp spells in your format?
That's partially just due to the lack of good cards that can ramp that fit in my format. Like cultivate and rampant growth just straight up don't work.So I instead play explore, faeburrow elder, and cards that can grab stuff from your graveyard like mythos of brokkos and so on. I personally feel like explore is a smidge too strong, but I've been able to get by without making some major custom cards, so I'm not sure if I want to make that plunge.
Why haven't you posted yet? This seems pretty simple.
Mostly just because I haven't been able to play as much as I would like to be completely confident in this. I also know that my current cube is a terrible template, there's probably way too many colored 2 and 3 drops, (and likely too many 5+ cards as well). But keeping a lot of 2's and 3's might be worth it to help aggro, and although the removal seems lacking, in the games it feels just about right, but I am not sure if I want my removal to stay this low-powered since "ramp" and recursion decks are some of the best decks in my Cube. Which is great for a Timmy like me, but I want everything to be at least viable and currently it isn't. It's a really weird mess of cards right now, where I am not sure who the problem children are so I can stop this nonsense... Maybe I should rebuild the cube from the ground up for the fifth time...https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/tddtf (fully updated, but has occasionals sprinkled in as the 13th card of the packs)
https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/tddt (without the occasionals, but less up to date)
