So I am currently thinking of getting a second cube in paper (to run alongside my Pauper cube), and I like the idea of a Cube based on the Duel Decks series.
My questions are:
1) Do you think this idea is viable? There was a thread about Duel Decks: Anthology + Commander Precons as a cube but this is a bit different.
2) If I make it should it be Vanilla (just sleeve up all the Duel Decks, minus basic lands but no other changes) or Chocolate (making a few tweaks)?
3) If I go Chocolate should I just be trimming the junk, or should I consider adding a few cards here and there to supplement the archetypes?
Currently I like the idea of a very streamlined 360 card Cube made with only cards from with the Duel Decks, i.e. making some cuts but no additions. What does anyone else think?
I think the latter makes the most sense. Just jamming in all the duel decks is going to result in a vast gulf of power level, from a lot of frankly unplayable commons all the way to a couple of the best planeswalkers in the game. That seems massively luck dependent and weak on archetypes. I think you could put together a decent cube by cutting 75% of the card pool down, though.
I'm currently trying to put together a list on Cube Tutor, I think Blue is probably going to be my limiting factor, and then maybe green. I've also discovered there were a lot of Red Duel Decks (and almost as many white!) so the Red pool seems really strong, probably going to be trimmed to a Goblins/RDW plus something a bit more janky with Tibalt.
On which note, I've added a personal rule, the face cards (the promo foils) are all staying. This is fine when it is Ajani Vengeant but less good with Phyrexian Negator
For your delectation: the full list of cards in duel decks I'm going to start trimming tomorrow at some point, there are some easy cuts but there will also be a few tricky ones!
the thing i'd like help with most is figuring out Archetypes. So far I think Mono Red Goblins is going to be strong, I can see a Black Green/Red reanimator deck working ok and Black Green rock also working ok. White Weenie looks strong, I think there is a Blue Black control deck etc etc etc.
I think shuffling every duel deck together and calling it a cube is a bad idea.
Perhaps a way to go about the "theme deck cube" idea would be to have a "modular cube." You could make a ~45-60 card "pack" for each duel deck, planeswalker, or whatever other theme you want to represent. At the start of each draft, each player picks one "pack" and you shuffle all of those packs together and that's your "cube" for the session.
This way, instead of being "limited" to duel decks, you can make an Elves pack and a Goblins pack--taking inspiration from the duel decks but also trying to support at least two archetypes (and maybecolors) in each. Taking inspiration from (rather than "being a slave to") duel decks lets you be a bit more contemporary and "powerful," but it also lets you have more freedom tuning things to each other.
You could even go so far as to give each player a bonus for adding a specific "pack" to the draft. Like, someone who picks the Jace pack might automatically get a Jace, Architect of Thought where as a player who picks the goblins pack might get a Raid Bombardment and some other stuff.
As far as logistics, it might be a good idea to have a "base" part of the cube with less exciting cards like Sunpetal Grove and its counterparts, along with cards that commonly show up in duel decks to "smooth" them out like Forgotten Cave.
And if you want to have a method for sorting your cubes between drafting, you could double-sleeve your cards and add "set symbol" stickers to the "perfect fit" sleeve to remind you (and your players!) which cards go where.
Edit: So I wanted to include a joke saying I'm advocating for "dark chocolate." But I'm not sure if my suggestion is dark chocolate or milk chocolate.
Well I finished the tinkering! I ended up adding cards for the missing Shard/Wedge combinations as well as a couple of Dual lands for Dimir and Simic who otherwise didn't get anything. I've intentionally kept fixing to a minimum, if you've ever played a Duel Deck you'll know they have rocky mana bases which leads to slow games, something I wanted to replicate here.
That said I am worried about Red. I think Red Deck Wins is just going to crush in this cube, if that happens I guess I could try resurrecting the lifegain deck from the Ajani precon?
My questions are:
1) Do you think this idea is viable? There was a thread about Duel Decks: Anthology + Commander Precons as a cube but this is a bit different.
2) If I make it should it be Vanilla (just sleeve up all the Duel Decks, minus basic lands but no other changes) or Chocolate (making a few tweaks)?
3) If I go Chocolate should I just be trimming the junk, or should I consider adding a few cards here and there to supplement the archetypes?
Currently I like the idea of a very streamlined 360 card Cube made with only cards from with the Duel Decks, i.e. making some cuts but no additions. What does anyone else think?
On which note, I've added a personal rule, the face cards (the promo foils) are all staying. This is fine when it is Ajani Vengeant but less good with Phyrexian Negator
For your delectation: the full list of cards in duel decks I'm going to start trimming tomorrow at some point, there are some easy cuts but there will also be a few tricky ones!
the thing i'd like help with most is figuring out Archetypes. So far I think Mono Red Goblins is going to be strong, I can see a Black Green/Red reanimator deck working ok and Black Green rock also working ok. White Weenie looks strong, I think there is a Blue Black control deck etc etc etc.
What do you guys think?
Perhaps a way to go about the "theme deck cube" idea would be to have a "modular cube." You could make a ~45-60 card "pack" for each duel deck, planeswalker, or whatever other theme you want to represent. At the start of each draft, each player picks one "pack" and you shuffle all of those packs together and that's your "cube" for the session.
This way, instead of being "limited" to duel decks, you can make an Elves pack and a Goblins pack--taking inspiration from the duel decks but also trying to support at least two archetypes (and maybe colors) in each. Taking inspiration from (rather than "being a slave to") duel decks lets you be a bit more contemporary and "powerful," but it also lets you have more freedom tuning things to each other.
You could even go so far as to give each player a bonus for adding a specific "pack" to the draft. Like, someone who picks the Jace pack might automatically get a Jace, Architect of Thought where as a player who picks the goblins pack might get a Raid Bombardment and some other stuff.
As far as logistics, it might be a good idea to have a "base" part of the cube with less exciting cards like Sunpetal Grove and its counterparts, along with cards that commonly show up in duel decks to "smooth" them out like Forgotten Cave.
And if you want to have a method for sorting your cubes between drafting, you could double-sleeve your cards and add "set symbol" stickers to the "perfect fit" sleeve to remind you (and your players!) which cards go where.
Edit: So I wanted to include a joke saying I'm advocating for "dark chocolate." But I'm not sure if my suggestion is dark chocolate or milk chocolate.
That said I am worried about Red. I think Red Deck Wins is just going to crush in this cube, if that happens I guess I could try resurrecting the lifegain deck from the Ajani precon?
Draft the full list here!