I am updating this thread to reflect changes I have made to my cube and the way it is drafted. There are many Commander cubes available as resources on the forums here, and several of them have an high level of thought and testing put into them. I encourage anyone interested to look to the cubes already established as a starting point, but to not worry about being constrained to any of their decisions. I am currently based in the Boston area, and am always looking to discuss cubing, EDH, or get together and play.
I created custom conspiracy cards that are currently included in the commander pool. There is one for each colour (and recently included one more). The colored ones increase the cost of your commander by one of the specific color. This of course may (or may not) alter the color identity for that general. In addition, they give your commander a color related ability. (Lifelink, Haste, Deathtouch, Flying, Trample). The 6th custom conspiracy allows you to name a creature at the beginning of the game; that creature is legendary (i.e., may be used as a commander). These have been major discussion starters and in general people are thrilled with them despite sometimes being initially confused by their purpose. Once explained their power level is understood. There was fear at the beginning that they may be too powerful, but the increased cost to cast your commander and the decrease in consistency due to demanding another color be supported by your mana base is not something to be taken lightly. Most notably, is that they do not need to be used only to increase your color availability, they can be used with a commander that already has the color but wants the ability. (this is most often the case with the red and white ones).
The cube is meant to be played multiplayer with the goal of a 4 person multiplayer EDH game. However, I have drafted it with just 3 and up to 610. I am considering increasing it's size to support 8 drafts that would then split into two play groups as I have not been able to get it cut down in size like I originally wanted. It has blossomed into a much larger pool than originally intended. It can currently support up to ten drafters. Game break down is based on number of players. 3-5 people play a single game, with a 5 person game being a Bang-rules variant for EDH (1 Sherrif, 1 Deputy, 2 Outlaws, and a Renegade). This helps streamline the decision making process for a large game and tends to speed up game play. 6-8, 10 players break into 2 games (2x3, 1x3 & 1x4, 2x4, 2x5 Bang, respectively). At 9 people I separate into three 3-player games.
I draft it as follows:
Each player gets a commander pack of 5 cards. You draft one card and pass the pack to your left as normal; however, you only pass twice resulting in 3 options. Sol Rings are part of the commander cube, you may draft a sol ring and play it in your deck but it is at the cost of a commander option to draft towards. (I realize this is quite restrictive commander options compared to how some cubes are drafted). Also, if you draft a commander that fits into another of your options' identities, you are welcome to play it in your deck. (for example, you can play Thassa in your Niv-Mizzet deck). However, you may not play a legend from the regular card pool as your general. Then players draft 8 packs of 8 cards each and proceed to make.
Originally I drafted commanders in a separate, first pack. I have come to dislike that strategy, as I feel those first few picks end up overriding many decision opportunities throughout the draft. As a lover of cube (and someone who cubes weekly from a plethora of cube lists and flavors), the part I enjoy most is the flow of decisions you are faced with from pick to pick, and ultimately pack to pack. With choosing commanders first, many people were happy to take a commander they enjoyed or wanted to play with, and then take cards that fit the color. After the first few picks of each pack, as cards of that(those) colors were depleted, the number of choices that drafter was faced with quickly reached 0.
It is important to point out that I did not receive complaints from people of this occurring. The people who made these picks were often very happy to be playing the commander they chose and ended up with decks they enjoyed playing. As such, there is nothing inherently wrong with drafting commanders separately, and it serves some people very well to do so. I observed this phenomenon over many drafts, and made a decision based on my desires for how the cube experience I was crafting was to evolve. As such, I have done away with the commander-only pack, and instead include a card from the commander pool in each pack as the 15th card. Players are not forced to pick a commander early this way and may instead draft towards a strategy hoping to later attain a general that will allow them to play it. This is risky, but that is something that comes with cubing - knowing when to move in or force a strategy versus playing it safe and staying open. The custom conspiracies I listed earlier are quite important in making this strategy as viable as it is. They allow drafters to staple a color onto a commander they may already have in order to achieve the color identity needed for their deck.
I now draft 5 packs of 14+1 cards each. This is a very deep pool and in the interest of time 4 packs of 14+1 is viable. I prefer, if possible, to draft a 5th pack. This greatly increases the power level of the decks as my cube is very synergy focused. Even with several hours dedicated to play on a weekend, getting more than 2 games in with a deck is difficult due to the naturally long duration of EDH games. Therefore, I prefer to play with the more powerful decks afforded by drafting the extra pack.
Pack construction is important - especially when only drafting with a few people. It is not difficult, when properly randomized, for a small section of the cube to contain poor color balance for a draft of only 4 or 5 players. To avoid this, and increase the consistency of each pack, I color sort when building the draft packs (I borrowed and modified this strategy from another designer in the cube group I draft with). There are 8 sections of cards, and each player takes 9 cards from each section. They include:
Black cards
Blue cards
Green cards
Red Cards
White cards
Multicolor cards (minus the 2-color identity lands)
Lands (all lands except for mono-identity (Volrath's Stronghold, Dryad arbor, etc)
Colorless cards
Then you make 5 packs of 14 from this pile of 72, discarding the 2 left over cards. You add a card from the commander pool to each pack, and proceed to draft. If the people you play with are respectful and dismantle their draft pools by section when done (which all drafters of cubes should aim to do) then this step adds very little time to pack construction. And considering how much easier it is to properly shuffle/randomize the individual sections of ~80 cards each versus shuffling the entire cube, it may even save time in the long run.
The cube itself contains many legendary creatures which may also be used as your commander. Additionally, cards that are in commander-only sleeves may be played in your deck - I simply ask drafters to swap the sleeves out with one from a sideboard card before play, and to please swap them back when finished. Each player builds a 60+1 edh deck following all colour restriction rules of edh. Games are played as normal with everyone starting at 40 life and 21 commander damage signifying a kill. The winner of the pod gets to sign one of the basic lands from the cube.
I have seen some EDH cubes that draft lands separately. I do not do this, as I feel mana base is an important consideration that drafters should be faced with. Players choosing to go 3 (or even 4 or 5!) colors need to prioritize lands differently in order to create a viable deck. This is a trade off inherent to the draft format and not something I wish to do away with. Additionally, it discourages mono color attempts as the ability to overlook fixing and multi-color lands is one of the main advantages of drafting a single color. This advantage is completely erased by drafting lands in a special pack.
Other changes that have proven necessary through drafting the cube is to remove any 3+ color identity cards from the main pool. Unfortunately, while this is EDH and gold cards are a personal love of mine, it did not take long to realize that cards like Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker and Maelstrom Wanderer were free wheels as it was very unlikely anyone else could legally play them if you wanted them.
I'm open to all discussion of the mechanics of edh cubing as I 'm relatively new to cubing in general and find the different ways of this style, in particular, very interesting. I'll try to take all criticism in stride
http://cubetutor.com/viewcube/4947
I have a second cube
of 50for commanders (which are kept in a different colored sleeve) that can be viewed here:http://cubetutor.com/viewcube/7592
I created custom conspiracy cards that are currently included in the commander pool. There is one for each colour (and recently included one more). The colored ones increase the cost of your commander by one of the specific color. This of course may (or may not) alter the color identity for that general. In addition, they give your commander a color related ability. (Lifelink, Haste, Deathtouch, Flying, Trample). The 6th custom conspiracy allows you to name a creature at the beginning of the game; that creature is legendary (i.e., may be used as a commander). These have been major discussion starters and in general people are thrilled with them despite sometimes being initially confused by their purpose. Once explained their power level is understood. There was fear at the beginning that they may be too powerful, but the increased cost to cast your commander and the decrease in consistency due to demanding another color be supported by your mana base is not something to be taken lightly. Most notably, is that they do not need to be used only to increase your color availability, they can be used with a commander that already has the color but wants the ability. (this is most often the case with the red and white ones).
The cube is meant to be played multiplayer with the goal of a
4 personmultiplayer EDH game. However, I have drafted it with just 3 and up to610.I am considering increasing it's size to support 8 drafts that would then split into two play groups as I have not been able to get it cut down in size like I originally wanted.It has blossomed into a much larger pool than originally intended. It can currently support up to ten drafters. Game break down is based on number of players. 3-5 people play a single game, with a 5 person game being a Bang-rules variant for EDH (1 Sherrif, 1 Deputy, 2 Outlaws, and a Renegade). This helps streamline the decision making process for a large game and tends to speed up game play. 6-8, 10 players break into 2 games (2x3, 1x3 & 1x4, 2x4, 2x5 Bang, respectively). At 9 people I separate into three 3-player games.I draft it as follows:
Each player gets a commander pack of 5 cards. You draft one card and pass the pack to your left as normal; however, you only pass twice resulting in 3 options. Sol Rings are part of the commander cube, you may draft a sol ring and play it in your deck but it is at the cost of a commander option to draft towards. (I realize this is quite restrictive commander options compared to how some cubes are drafted). Also, if you draft a commander that fits into another of your options' identities, you are welcome to play it in your deck. (for example, you can play Thassa in your Niv-Mizzet deck). However, you may not play a legend from the regular card pool as your general. Then players draft 8 packs of 8 cards each and proceed to make.Originally I drafted commanders in a separate, first pack. I have come to dislike that strategy, as I feel those first few picks end up overriding many decision opportunities throughout the draft. As a lover of cube (and someone who cubes weekly from a plethora of cube lists and flavors), the part I enjoy most is the flow of decisions you are faced with from pick to pick, and ultimately pack to pack. With choosing commanders first, many people were happy to take a commander they enjoyed or wanted to play with, and then take cards that fit the color. After the first few picks of each pack, as cards of that(those) colors were depleted, the number of choices that drafter was faced with quickly reached 0.
It is important to point out that I did not receive complaints from people of this occurring. The people who made these picks were often very happy to be playing the commander they chose and ended up with decks they enjoyed playing. As such, there is nothing inherently wrong with drafting commanders separately, and it serves some people very well to do so. I observed this phenomenon over many drafts, and made a decision based on my desires for how the cube experience I was crafting was to evolve. As such, I have done away with the commander-only pack, and instead include a card from the commander pool in each pack as the 15th card. Players are not forced to pick a commander early this way and may instead draft towards a strategy hoping to later attain a general that will allow them to play it. This is risky, but that is something that comes with cubing - knowing when to move in or force a strategy versus playing it safe and staying open. The custom conspiracies I listed earlier are quite important in making this strategy as viable as it is. They allow drafters to staple a color onto a commander they may already have in order to achieve the color identity needed for their deck.
I now draft 5 packs of 14+1 cards each. This is a very deep pool and in the interest of time 4 packs of 14+1 is viable. I prefer, if possible, to draft a 5th pack. This greatly increases the power level of the decks as my cube is very synergy focused. Even with several hours dedicated to play on a weekend, getting more than 2 games in with a deck is difficult due to the naturally long duration of EDH games. Therefore, I prefer to play with the more powerful decks afforded by drafting the extra pack.
Pack construction is important - especially when only drafting with a few people. It is not difficult, when properly randomized, for a small section of the cube to contain poor color balance for a draft of only 4 or 5 players. To avoid this, and increase the consistency of each pack, I color sort when building the draft packs (I borrowed and modified this strategy from another designer in the cube group I draft with). There are 8 sections of cards, and each player takes 9 cards from each section. They include:
Black cards
Blue cards
Green cards
Red Cards
White cards
Multicolor cards (minus the 2-color identity lands)
Lands (all lands except for mono-identity (Volrath's Stronghold, Dryad arbor, etc)
Colorless cards
Then you make 5 packs of 14 from this pile of 72, discarding the 2 left over cards. You add a card from the commander pool to each pack, and proceed to draft. If the people you play with are respectful and dismantle their draft pools by section when done (which all drafters of cubes should aim to do) then this step adds very little time to pack construction. And considering how much easier it is to properly shuffle/randomize the individual sections of ~80 cards each versus shuffling the entire cube, it may even save time in the long run.
The cube itself contains many legendary creatures which may also be used as your commander. Additionally, cards that are in commander-only sleeves may be played in your deck - I simply ask drafters to swap the sleeves out with one from a sideboard card before play, and to please swap them back when finished. Each player builds a 60+1 edh deck following all colour restriction rules of edh. Games are played as normal with everyone starting at 40 life and 21 commander damage signifying a kill. The winner of the pod gets to sign one of the basic lands from the cube.
I have seen some EDH cubes that draft lands separately. I do not do this, as I feel mana base is an important consideration that drafters should be faced with. Players choosing to go 3 (or even 4 or 5!) colors need to prioritize lands differently in order to create a viable deck. This is a trade off inherent to the draft format and not something I wish to do away with. Additionally, it discourages mono color attempts as the ability to overlook fixing and multi-color lands is one of the main advantages of drafting a single color. This advantage is completely erased by drafting lands in a special pack.
Other changes that have proven necessary through drafting the cube is to remove any 3+ color identity cards from the main pool. Unfortunately, while this is EDH and gold cards are a personal love of mine, it did not take long to realize that cards like Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker and Maelstrom Wanderer were free wheels as it was very unlikely anyone else could legally play them if you wanted them.
I'm open to all discussion of the mechanics of edh cubing as I
'm relatively new to cubing in general andfind the different ways of this style, in particular, very interesting. I'll try to take all criticism in strideSo, obviously, I have an EDH Cube: Cubemander