General Hoden's Archetype Clinic

[Hodenkobold]

The thing I most love about Cube is how cube-owners go about constructing themes and archetypes, and the creative solutions many come up with to either add depth to an archetype. This can be Erratas, including multiples of a card, creating custom cards, squadron picks etc..
My cube list that I've been trying to build has been slow to compile, as I spend to much time thinking about what themes I want to include and how I want to support them. Alas, I've come to the conclusion that I might as well share my thoughts , and either get confirmation that I'm not just rambling, or get advice and maybe develop actual themes!
The format for this thread is as follows: Each Monday (Australian Eastern) I will do a write-upon a theme I've been trying to brew and make work, and then listen to your feedback. At the end of each article, there will be a poll on which archetype you want me to do next, or I will announce which archetype I'm going to examine next if it's something I've been working on for a long time. I'm very excited to start writing and hope I can impress with my ideas. Thanks, and stay tuned for the first Clinic on Affinity/Artifact Weenie!

 

[Hodenkobold]

Patient History

Before we begin dissecting the archetype how we can transplant into a cube environment, we need to look back in history. For length’s sake, I will only discuss when the original affinity cards and Arcbound Ravager were standard legal, as many of the same strengths carried over in the modern version of affinity.

The years is 2003, and Wizards of The Coast had just released their newest set, Mirrodin. After Antiquities, this was only the second-ever set to be centered around artifacts, and introduced artifact lands, equipment and affinity. While many players remember Mirrodin for introducing affinity, it was perhaps it’s introduction of equipment that would prove to be it’s most significant design choice, although we’ll get to that later.

For now, the biggest mechanic to come out of Mirrodin was affinity. While not nearly as much data-sharing occurred in 2003, many realised that affinity was a strong mechanic, and especially so when combined with the artifact lands. However, affinity was still a long-shot from the powerhouse it would end up being. While the deck was capable of fast openings such as Turn 2 Double Frogmite into Turn 3 Myr Enforcer into Turn 4 Broodstar, it was not the premier aggressive deck of the format. Instead, a popular affinity deck was Sarnia Affinity, a Tempo/Control deck which backed up the cheap affinity threats with 12 mainboard counter spells. Mono-red Goblins and UW Control rounded out the Tier 1 decks of the format, while many other decks, such as Clerics and R/W Rift Slide were also competitive. All in all, a balanced format. But not for long…

The second set of the block, Darksteel was released on schedule, and this is when the proverbial shit hit the fan. Darksteel contained Arcbound Ravager, which turned Affinity into the explosive aggro deck that would become the bane of the format. Even more impactful than Ravager though would be Skullclamp. While somehow getting past internal testing, Clamp completely warped the format around it. Clamp made creature decks like Goblins, Affinity and Tooth and Nail so good that Control was completely bullied out of the format. After all, how could they keep up with the raw card advantage generated by Clamp? The format ended up dividing into two type of decks: Decks that abused Clamp or decks that combated against it with main deck artifact-hate.

The release of Fifth Dawn sought Clamp being banned, but also brought Affinity a replacement in Cranial Plating. The banning of Clamp worsened creature decks but Affinity stayed strong throughout with Plating. An addition to the deck that might not even have played well with Clamp, Plating was all the better off without it and Affinity was as well. Popular decks after the ban were R/W Rift that looped artifact hate and other cards with the help of Eternal Witness, and of course Affinity.

Part 2: Diagnosis to follow soon!
(Hopefully tomorrow, writing is harder than I anticipated as there is so much to talk about!)

 

[Chris Taylor]

I just want to say kudos for the images