I draft my cube with two people almost exclusively, and we've been experimenting with a variety of formats. Currently we do a mixture of Winston and Grid drafting, but last week I remembered an old solitaire game I used to play called Crazy Quilt, and the Cube Quilt draft was born. It's still in early testing stages, but so far it has made for a very fun, different Rochester/Winchester variant.
Here's how it works:
Deal out 64 cards in a grid, with each card rotated 90 degrees from the previous. This is the "quilt". See here:
The rules are simple. You can only choose a card with a narrow edge exposed. That's it! So in the photo above, you can't draft Ajani Vengeant until someone picks Azorius Signet or Squee. Once Ajani Vengeant is taken, Bloodline Keeper would become available, and so forth. No-one is likely to ever take Solemn Simulacrum since your opponent would take that Wurmcoil Engine...
When 32 cards (i.e., half) have been drafted, you scoop up the board and deal out a second 64 cards and do it again. At the end, each person will have drafted 32 cards, 16 from each quilt.
Having to spatially plan what you think you can get from a board makes this a very unique method of drafting. Personally, I prefer some amount of hidden information in my drafts, and will only do this as a change of pace, but for those who enjoy Rochester-style games this should be fun. We've found that drafts can go very differently--sometimes people are careful not to expose their opponent's best cards, hatedrafting is rampant, and decks are weaker. Other times players focus on getting their cards, and decks are strong and streamlined.
I'll be interested to hear how it works for others. Enjoy!
"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean - neither more nor less." -Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass
I find this quite interesting, and since my group's cube is usually only drafted with 2-4 people we shall definitely be trying this out in the near future. (I figure for 4 people we have 2 different quilts for each set of people. Or perhaps you pick from one quilt, then the other. We'll see how it works out.)
Have a helicopter drop you off out front. Light your cigar with a small Indonesian boy holding a black lotus. Then bust out a craw wurm deck with no sleeves. Raw dog shuffle, loose terribly, flip the table, leave in a hovercraft.
Humpty, it's based on a solitaire card game played with two decks called Crazy Quilt. It's actually one of the better solitaire games.
KingsRanger, this might well work with three or four players--it would be more difficult to control the tableau, so hatedrafting is less likely, I imagine. You could experiment with 9x9 grids or having two or more redeals. Let me know how it goes if you test it out!
I'll definitely try this with my edh cube sometime; probably doing 3-4 rounds of 64 card drafts and a 4x4 general draft phase as well. I frequently draft this cube with 2 other friends, so I'm likely to try out the 9x9 3-player variant you've suggested as well. Thanks for posting this!
Like pretty much everyone with a cube, I'm always into hearing about new formats. I am curious though, how did you guys come to the conclusion of drafting 32 cards? I can see the benefit of 'resetting' the quilt somewhere around halfway, the picking process gets much less interesting as the quilt disappears I'm sure; I'm wondering though, did the smaller number of picks make your deckbuilding more challenging or in this format are your picks typically 80~90% playables?
Like pretty much everyone with a cube, I'm always into hearing about new formats. I am curious though, how did you guys come to the conclusion of drafting 32 cards? I can see the benefit of 'resetting' the quilt somewhere around halfway, the picking process gets much less interesting as the quilt disappears I'm sure; I'm wondering though, did the smaller number of picks make your deckbuilding more challenging or in this format are your picks typically 80~90% playables?
This would be my concern as well. 32 seems like a rather small number, especially considering some number of picks would just be made to setup later picks. That's like 1/3 of what you'd get from a grid draft.
We experimented a bit. If you stay focused with your picks and don't worry about revealing cards your opponents need, you can draft a strong deck. If you hatedraft and play defense, it can be difficult to get a really streamlined deck. I don't mind this tension, but some might. You can plan quite a bit with this format, so you never get a really bad pick if you're not hating.
We ended up at 32 because it felt like you didn't have to work to dig for the key cards for your deck if you drafted more than half of a quilt, and the 8x8 size seemed the best balance. You get to the middle of a smaller grid too quickly, we found, to play enough defense or have to make tough choices.
I'd be interested to hear how a third quilt would play, or a 9x9 grid (maybe drafting 36 or 41 of the 81?) I guess if you liked stronger decks you could also do a 9 card 6x6 bonus round, or something.
Having to spatially plan what you think you can get from a board makes this a very unique method of drafting. Personally, I prefer some amount of hidden information in my drafts, and will only do this as a change of pace
I've been thinking about this and how about if you just make the entire quilt face down? And then only flip over the cards who has at least 1 narrow edge exposed, and then proceed drafting and only flip over cards as their narrow edge becomes exposed. Would that work or would that be too random?
How about to add more planning to the equation, flip over only cards whose adjacent to any face up cards?
I've been thinking about this and how about if you just make the entire quilt face down? And then only flip over the cards who has at least 1 narrow edge exposed, and then proceed drafting and only flip over cards as their narrow edge becomes exposed. Would that work or would that be too random?
How about to add more planning to the equation, flip over only cards whose adjacent to any face up cards?
This would take a bit more time just on execution and, more importantly, would even further reduce the quality of decks drafted.
My brother made an Esper deck. While I made a RUG deck.
Overall, I was very pleased how our Draft went. It was fun because my brother just tried to screw me over with my picks. While I just tried to get the best cards I possible could. It was really interesting to see how our two different ways of drafting worked. Like for Example he took Mana Leak and opened up Lightning Bolt for me which then opened up Doom Blade for him. It makes you realize and see if cards are really worth getting because you might open up a BOMB for someone else.
Scale 1-10
"Fun" Factor 9.2
Power Level of Decks 9.8
Ease of Drafting 10
Overall 9.4
Thanks posting it and showing everyone how to do it. We had a blast.
This would take a bit more time just on execution and, more importantly, would even further reduce the quality of decks drafted.
That's not really true at all. The amount of time taken to flip over pickable cards is pretty negligible - see winston drafting.
Additionally, decks drafted this way are actually very powerful. 32 cards might not seem like a lot - it isn't, but the amount of choice given by the format is so huge that it's easily enough.
I tried 1v1 quilt drafting last night. It was a blast. He went 4 color control, where I built an W/U life gain control, then completely sideboarded into a Boros Aggro. The only problem I see with quilt drafting is the huge sideboard. I could have changed my Meta so many times that my opponent wouldn't even begin to think how to sideboard properly.
I tried 1v1 quilt drafting last night. It was a blast. He went 4 color control, where I built an W/U life gain control, then completely sideboarded into a Boros Aggro. The only problem I see with quilt drafting is the huge sideboard. I could have changed my Meta so many times that my opponent wouldn't even begin to think how to sideboard properly.
How many quilts did you draft? Strictly following the OP directions leaves you with about 7 sideboard cards.
So far I have done two of these drafts, And it is some of the most fun I have had cubing in months.
My biggest problem with the format is that if you take an edge card facing towards the center, it does not unlock the card immedietly going one deeper into the cube, only the two sideways edge cards.
First draft we did the standard method explained in the OP. I drafted this RBW stax/braids deck that used razormane masticore/precuror golem as my win condiction. One game I went Demonic Tutor -> Imperial Recruiter -> Stoneforge Mystic -> Sword of War and Peace. My opponent and I felt that 16 cards per quilt is too few. We are going to raise it to 17 next time and see how it goes.
Next time we drafted an 8x10 quilt with everything but the selectable cards being face down. Because we were going to have to "burn" more picks randomly picking cards we raised it to 20 cards per quilt. I ended up drafting this.
I've been wanting to test out Contagion Clasp for awhile and ticking up Everflowing Challice, Garruk, and Scavenging Ooze was awesome.
All in all we felt like 20 cadrs per quilt was too much and we are knocking it down to 19 next time and seeing how that works.
We are tinkering with the idea about giving people the ability to "burn" a pick by taking a face down card in the center. This would help to unlock the center and not just taking a useless card if the board is currently dead to you. We haven't decided about it yet though.
ATTACHMENTS
IMG_20130401_234741
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
That's the remarkable thing about life. It's never so bad that it can't get worse
Calvin and Hobbes Cube Tutor
We are tinkering with the idea about giving people the ability to "burn" a pick by taking a face down card in the center. This would help to unlock the center and not just taking a useless card if the board is currently dead to you. We haven't decided about it yet though.
Another possibility: deal out quilt face down. Turn face up each card with any edge exposed, and continue to do so as cards are drafted. Seems like a good compromise that retains some of the strategy of drafting, but avoids information overload.
Will definitely try out quilting next time I 1v1 cube.
Glad to hear it went well! I like the idea of an 8x10 grid--the last draft we did, I think I had two cards in my sideboard (due to all the lands I drafted). It worked, but a bit more flexibility would be nice. I'll try 18 picks in an 8x10 grid, and see how it goes. I have noticed, though, that the more sideboard picks you are allowed, the easier it is to hatedraft. Which isn't a bad thing!
Hatedrafting is odd in this format--sometimes your opponent really wants a card (i.e., he played W/x tokens/Opposition last time, and Elspeth Tirel was in the middle), and there is no way you'd open it up for them. So if they take one of the "covering" cards, you pretty much have to waste a pick taking it to keep them from getting the bomb. Thus, if the covering card is even a marginally useful one for them and the bomb isn't in your colors, they have essentially forced you to hatedraft and waste a pick. It's an odd tension.
The flip-the-cards-over version seems intriguing, too. Since I thought of this as a perfect information Rochester variant, I hadn't considered it. (Although since I typically don't like perfect information drafts, I don't like Rochester, so...) My concern is that it would drastically decrease the depth of the decisions you have to make; you might accidentally unveil the key card for their deck, and can't plan nearly as much. Perhaps you could also flip over the cards that would be uncovered? Maybe once a turn each player can flip over the two cards about to be unveiled BEFORE you take a card, and then you can change your mind?
In any case, I'm glad you had fun. I think this makes for an interesting base for folks to experiment with, and I'm happy it's mutating so quickly...
Here's one recent quilt. What would you firstpick and why? What should the other drafter then do?
Here's how it works:
Deal out 64 cards in a grid, with each card rotated 90 degrees from the previous. This is the "quilt". See here:
The rules are simple. You can only choose a card with a narrow edge exposed. That's it! So in the photo above, you can't draft Ajani Vengeant until someone picks Azorius Signet or Squee. Once Ajani Vengeant is taken, Bloodline Keeper would become available, and so forth. No-one is likely to ever take Solemn Simulacrum since your opponent would take that Wurmcoil Engine...
When 32 cards (i.e., half) have been drafted, you scoop up the board and deal out a second 64 cards and do it again. At the end, each person will have drafted 32 cards, 16 from each quilt.
Having to spatially plan what you think you can get from a board makes this a very unique method of drafting. Personally, I prefer some amount of hidden information in my drafts, and will only do this as a change of pace, but for those who enjoy Rochester-style games this should be fun. We've found that drafts can go very differently--sometimes people are careful not to expose their opponent's best cards, hatedrafting is rampant, and decks are weaker. Other times players focus on getting their cards, and decks are strong and streamlined.
I'll be interested to hear how it works for others. Enjoy!
My $40 MTGO cube
Draft my cube at Cubetutor!
Gonna have to give this a shot (if I can find enough table space haha)
[Developing] 430+ Peasant Cube Thread --- [and on Cube Cobra]
Something about this feels familiar. Is it based on another, non-magic, card game? I'm sure I've seen a table with cards laid out like that before...
My 380 Beginners’ Cube on Cube Tutor
"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean - neither more nor less." -Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass
KingsRanger, this might well work with three or four players--it would be more difficult to control the tableau, so hatedrafting is less likely, I imagine. You could experiment with 9x9 grids or having two or more redeals. Let me know how it goes if you test it out!
My $40 MTGO cube
Draft my cube at Cubetutor!
"Personally I love high-riak, low-reqars gambles. Life's best with a decent amount of riak. And f*** reqars."
Like pretty much everyone with a cube, I'm always into hearing about new formats. I am curious though, how did you guys come to the conclusion of drafting 32 cards? I can see the benefit of 'resetting' the quilt somewhere around halfway, the picking process gets much less interesting as the quilt disappears I'm sure; I'm wondering though, did the smaller number of picks make your deckbuilding more challenging or in this format are your picks typically 80~90% playables?
This would be my concern as well. 32 seems like a rather small number, especially considering some number of picks would just be made to setup later picks. That's like 1/3 of what you'd get from a grid draft.
We ended up at 32 because it felt like you didn't have to work to dig for the key cards for your deck if you drafted more than half of a quilt, and the 8x8 size seemed the best balance. You get to the middle of a smaller grid too quickly, we found, to play enough defense or have to make tough choices.
I'd be interested to hear how a third quilt would play, or a 9x9 grid (maybe drafting 36 or 41 of the 81?) I guess if you liked stronger decks you could also do a 9 card 6x6 bonus round, or something.
Let me know how it goes if you try it...
My $40 MTGO cube
Draft my cube at Cubetutor!
I've been thinking about this and how about if you just make the entire quilt face down? And then only flip over the cards who has at least 1 narrow edge exposed, and then proceed drafting and only flip over cards as their narrow edge becomes exposed. Would that work or would that be too random?
How about to add more planning to the equation, flip over only cards whose adjacent to any face up cards?
This would take a bit more time just on execution and, more importantly, would even further reduce the quality of decks drafted.
My brother made an Esper deck. While I made a RUG deck.
Overall, I was very pleased how our Draft went. It was fun because my brother just tried to screw me over with my picks. While I just tried to get the best cards I possible could. It was really interesting to see how our two different ways of drafting worked. Like for Example he took Mana Leak and opened up Lightning Bolt for me which then opened up Doom Blade for him. It makes you realize and see if cards are really worth getting because you might open up a BOMB for someone else.
Scale 1-10
"Fun" Factor 9.2
Power Level of Decks 9.8
Ease of Drafting 10
Overall 9.4
Thanks posting it and showing everyone how to do it. We had a blast.
That's not really true at all. The amount of time taken to flip over pickable cards is pretty negligible - see winston drafting.
Additionally, decks drafted this way are actually very powerful. 32 cards might not seem like a lot - it isn't, but the amount of choice given by the format is so huge that it's easily enough.
Draft it on Cubetutor!
How many quilts did you draft? Strictly following the OP directions leaves you with about 7 sideboard cards.
Of course, the important thing is that it was fun... This is an easily customized draft format, and I hope people report what tweaks work for them.
My $40 MTGO cube
Draft my cube at Cubetutor!
This also seems scalable to any number of participants, so thanks for the introduction!
My biggest problem with the format is that if you take an edge card facing towards the center, it does not unlock the card immedietly going one deeper into the cube, only the two sideways edge cards.
First draft we did the standard method explained in the OP. I drafted this RBW stax/braids deck that used razormane masticore/precuror golem as my win condiction. One game I went Demonic Tutor -> Imperial Recruiter -> Stoneforge Mystic -> Sword of War and Peace. My opponent and I felt that 16 cards per quilt is too few. We are going to raise it to 17 next time and see how it goes.
Next time we drafted an 8x10 quilt with everything but the selectable cards being face down. Because we were going to have to "burn" more picks randomly picking cards we raised it to 20 cards per quilt. I ended up drafting this.
1 Arbor Elf
1 Lotus Cobra
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Eternal Witness
1 Bloodbraid Elf
1 Siege Gang Commander
1 Batterskull
1 Acidic Slime
1 Krosan Tusker
1 Sundering Titan
1 Everflowing Challice
1 Bonfire of the Damned
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Searing Spear
1 Contagion Clasp
1 Rampant Growth
1 Survival of the Fittest
1 Wheel of Fortune
1 Cultivate
1 Chormatic Lantern
1 Coalition Relic
1 Garruk Wildspeaker
1 Wildfire
1 Taiga
1 Stomping Ground
1 Scalding Tarn
I've been wanting to test out Contagion Clasp for awhile and ticking up Everflowing Challice, Garruk, and Scavenging Ooze was awesome.
All in all we felt like 20 cadrs per quilt was too much and we are knocking it down to 19 next time and seeing how that works.
We are tinkering with the idea about giving people the ability to "burn" a pick by taking a face down card in the center. This would help to unlock the center and not just taking a useless card if the board is currently dead to you. We haven't decided about it yet though.
Calvin and Hobbes
Cube Tutor
Do you mean 20 per player per quilt? Out of the 80 card quilt or the 64?
Another possibility: deal out quilt face down. Turn face up each card with any edge exposed, and continue to do so as cards are drafted. Seems like a good compromise that retains some of the strategy of drafting, but avoids information overload.
Will definitely try out quilting next time I 1v1 cube.
"I'm the Best!"
Toad, Mario Kart 64
Hatedrafting is odd in this format--sometimes your opponent really wants a card (i.e., he played W/x tokens/Opposition last time, and Elspeth Tirel was in the middle), and there is no way you'd open it up for them. So if they take one of the "covering" cards, you pretty much have to waste a pick taking it to keep them from getting the bomb. Thus, if the covering card is even a marginally useful one for them and the bomb isn't in your colors, they have essentially forced you to hatedraft and waste a pick. It's an odd tension.
The flip-the-cards-over version seems intriguing, too. Since I thought of this as a perfect information Rochester variant, I hadn't considered it. (Although since I typically don't like perfect information drafts, I don't like Rochester, so...) My concern is that it would drastically decrease the depth of the decisions you have to make; you might accidentally unveil the key card for their deck, and can't plan nearly as much. Perhaps you could also flip over the cards that would be uncovered? Maybe once a turn each player can flip over the two cards about to be unveiled BEFORE you take a card, and then you can change your mind?
In any case, I'm glad you had fun. I think this makes for an interesting base for folks to experiment with, and I'm happy it's mutating so quickly...
Here's one recent quilt. What would you firstpick and why? What should the other drafter then do?
My $40 MTGO cube
Draft my cube at Cubetutor!