The Optimal Multiplayer Cube - 2014
Contents
- Introduction
- White
- Blue
- Black
- Red
- Green
- Gold
- Colourless
- Non-Basic Land
- Optimal Multiplayer Cube 2014
- Budget Version
- Legacy-Legal Version
- Conclusion
Optimal Multiplayer Cube 2014
Okay, we're almost there! We've done the hard work and identified the top multiplayer cards available. In order to fill out the final 20% of our cube, it's time to add our archetypes in.
The Archetypes
It's important to note here that the archetypes being added here are by no means the best possible to add. That will always be subjective and meta-dependent. What you should be considering when adding archetypes to your cube is whether it forms a cohesive strategy, whether every element is draftable, and, most importantly, whether it is fun.
This is usually where the cube designer adds the pet cards and strategies that their meta loves. As an example, my own personal cube has an Enchantress archetype onboard - not because it's the most effective strategy, even in a Limited environment (because it isn't - I won't waste any more pixels on why openly inviting people to two-for-one your creatures is a bad idea), but because the guys I play with adore it (and yes, it has won games out of my cube)! This is what keeps people coming back to an environment like Cube - not because they can draft what they know are the best cards available, but because of the stonkingly fun time they can have doing so. In that regard, it makes sense to have a bit of fun with the last 20% of your cube!
And it's for that reason that I will change up the archetypes onboard the Optimal Cube this year - not because they're the best available, but to give people an idea of the fun you can have throwing ten cohesive cards together at the back end of a cube section. Take these ideas and make them your own, or better yet, come up with your own (and tell me what works! I'd love a reason to have a Banding archetype, or something similarly ludicrous at first sight)!
White - Soldiers
Gold helpfully brought Assemble the Legion into the Cube for us, so we might as well give this a go! Our archetype example suggested the following:
+1 Captain of the Watch
+1 Field Marshal
+1 Knight-Captain of Eos
+1 Darien, King of Kjeldor
+1 Intrepid Hero
+1 Mobilization
+4 support cards
That all looks really good, so we just have to find those last four spells. Soldiers want anthems and token production, really. The white curve wants us to stay well away from CC3 after adding Field Marshal, Intrepid Hero and Mobilization, too.
Elspeth Tirel plays nicely with the soldiers, and offers a chance to produce more. Honor of the Pure and Gerrard's Battle Cry are both good anthems (sorry, Spear of Heliod... you were good, but you were the wrong CC!), and we might as well give Murder Investigation a try, just to see some janky combos (imagine sticking that on your own gorilla, and then axing it with Intrepid Hero for the tokens...).
+1 Elspeth Tirel
+1 Honor of the Pure
+1 Gerrard's Battle Cry
+1 Murder Investigation
Blue - Control
Let's get some blue hate happening.
As per the blue archetype suggestions...
+1 Barrin, Master Wizard
+1 Ertai, Wizard Adept
+1 Tradewind Rider
+1 Daring Apprentice
+1 Rising Waters
+1 Opposition
+4 support cards
Control wants countermagic and enchantments that wring the life out of their opponents' game plans. The blue curve is pretty even, but we've just added a fair few at CC3 and CC4.
Counterbalance. People hate it. It's perfect! At least we don't have the Top to go with it...
Desertion was a late cut from our initial 40, and plays into our strategy perfectly.
Muddle the Mixture is another counterspell that can conveniently tutor for other things (making it somewhat useful outside of this archetype).
... and then there's Tamiyo, the Moon Sage. She's about the most controlling mono-blue thing we can find under $20, to be honest.
+1 Counterbalance
+1 Desertion
+1 Muddle the Mixture
+1 Tamiyo, the Moon Sage
Black - Mono-Black Devotion
In honour of Obliterator and Griselbrand always appearing in the Top 40 and getting dumped because of their casting costs! The black archetype example suggests the following:
+1 Phyrexian Obliterator
+1 Griselbrand
+1 Nirkana Revenant
+2 other creatures
+1 Liliana of the Dark Realms
+1 Hecatomb
+1 Strands of Night
+2 other spells
We already have Gary, Crypt Ghast, Tendrils of Corruption, Cabal Coffers and Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx in our cube. This is going to be good...
For our two other creatures, let's pick things that really encourage black (and really hate everything else). Crypt Rats and Midnight Banshee, come on down!
As for our two spells, it's probably wise to allow a little bit of reanimator play here, given we've added two of the biggest black finishers ever to grace tables. We do have a few reanimation methods already in (including Strands of Night above). What we don't have, other than Buried Alive are ways of getting them in the graveyard. It sounds like a discard outlet or two is in need, but Zombie Infestation is about the only one worth running. Oh well, one more reanimation spell. And let's make it a permanent, so we up the black devotion count!
+1 Crypt Rats
+1 Midnight Banshee
+1 Zombie Infestation
+1 Animate Dead
Red - Goblins
We haven't done Goblins before (because they've sucked). Might as well give it a try, now that things are changing.
The red archetype example suggests the following:
+1 Siege-Gang Commander
+1 Goblin Rabblemaster
+1 Ib Halfheart, Goblin Tactician
+1 Goblin Wardriver
+1 other Goblin creature
+1 Goblin Warrens
+1 Empty the Warrens
+1 Mogg Infestation
+1 Goblin Offensive
+1 support spell
Goblins, like Soliders, want anthems and token production. The creatures are already stacked with token production, so we might as well add a Goblin that plays nicely with the rest of red... like Mogg Maniac (bring on Blasphemous Acts)! Finally, a lot of our Goblin stuff likes having extra mana available, so let's throw in Brightstone Ritual for some extra incentive.
+1 Mogg Maniac
+1 Brightstone Ritual
Green - Treefolk
Green almost mapped out an entire Treefolk archetype for us, so let's use that. It suggested:
+1 Timber Protector
+1 Dauntless Dourbark
+1 Dungrove Elder
+1 Wickerbough Elder
+1 Woodfall Primus
+1 Treefolk Harbinger
+1 Lignify
+1 Rootgrapple
+1 Reach of Branches
+1 support card
It suggested something that stuck more forests on the table, which makes sense. How about we just make everything a forest, and throw in Prismatic Omen? The Dourbark and Elder will love that!
+1 Prismatic Omen
Gold
Okay, we have our five archetypes set. It's now time to add a card from each two-colour guild that at least pretends to support at least one of these.
Azorius: Daxos of Meletis just so happens to be a Soldier (and a good one at that).
Dimir: Do you think something that says "don't make my creatures leave play" will work nicely with all that bounce we put in for blue? Vela the Night-Clad can have her day in the sun.
Rakdos: Murderous Redcap. Goblin? Check. Nice for black devotion? Check.
Gruul: Well, there's no such thing as a Goblin Treefolk. Yet. So let's grab something that fishes out all these creature-based strategies and beefs them. Sounds like a job for Domri Rade.
Selesnya: No Treefolk Soldiers yet, either. Same issue here. Dauntless Escort is a good, cheap Soldier that will help both tribes.
Orzhov: Can you believe we made it this far without any version of Sorin in the Cube? Sorin, Lord of Innistrad will aid both colours here.
Izzet: About the best thing we can put in here is Nivix Guildmage, really.
Golgari: A Treefolk that likes black devotion? That sounds like Sapling of Colfenor all over.
Boros: Soldiers and Goblins! That means Rise of the Hobgoblins for sure!
Simic: Treefolk control... I don't think that exists. But control and hitting land drops sure does. It goes by name of Kiora, the Crashing Wave.
+1 Daxos of Meletis
+1 Vela the Night-Clad
+1 Murderous Redcap
+1 Domri Rade
+1 Dauntless Escort
+1 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
+1 Nivix Guildmage
+1 Sapling of Colfenor
+1 Rise of the Hobgoblins
+1 Kiora, the Crashing Wave
Colourless
We want to add six colourless cards here, focusing on the archetypes in question.
There's not going to be too much in the way of tribal support that we can add, but we are after anthems and mana-ramp, and Caged Sun gives us that in spades. There will be at least three of our five archetypes very happy to see that.
The treefolk are also concerned with hitting land-drops, and Burnished Hart is one of the best at ensuring that.
Lashwrithe plays nicely with Big Black, and is a good choice here.
Door of Destinies would be another strong tribal piece.
Erratic Portal is a strong control tool that would be right at home in our blue control suite.
And from there, we probably just want to add one more half-decent card. What's the best colourless thing we haven't added yet, other than a reset or a finisher? Expedition Map was just outside. Perfect.
+1 Caged Sun
+1 Burnished Hart
+1 Lashwrithe
+1 Door of Destinies
+1 Erratic Portal
+1 Expedition Map
Non-Basic Land
Almost there... six land to go.
Let's not pretend that there are too many lands that fit our archetypes. Big Black already has Cabal Coffers and Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx (in other words, it has more than it needs). Soldiers will be fine without Kjeldoran Outpost, as will Goblins without Goblin Burrows. There's nothing much for Treefolk, and about the only thing you'd really want to put in for blue control is Maze of Ith, which is far from budget (so we'd like to avoid it if we can).
Maybe it's best if we just keep it beautifully simple this year? The Innistrad duals are in, but the Core Set duals are not. Let's fill the sixth slot with Terramorphic Expanse (so that our budget version can at least have another fetch), and all is right with the world.
+5 Core Set Neo-Duals
+1 Terramorphic Expanse
We Have Our Cube!
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