I am working on a cube that pushes people to play monocolour decks. I would have a LOT of hybrid cards, and most of the cube would have 2-5 mana symbols in each card.. Though I will one drops and a cycle of hybrids with 1 mana symbol in their costs).
Since I am going to be full of things like Overbeing of Myth and Deus of Calamity and Leatherback Baloth, my goal is to push people to choose a colour and build the best deck without splashing a second colour.
My reason for this is that there are a lot of cubes in my playgroup and there is nothing that encourages mono-colour play. I would have huge devotion payoffs, and also have very limited mana fixing.
However, I am concerned about draftability. Without supporting multicolour draft archetypes, how can I make the cube support an 8-person draft?
The best advice I can give you as an individual is too look at the draft enviroments of Theros block and Shadowmoor block.
Theros has Devotion, which encourages monocolour play. Shadowmoor has a lot of hybrid which... doesn't encourage monocolour play.
Removing much manafixing will, naturally, force players to play with a more colour identity mindset. Similarly, putting in cards with 4-6 hybrid mana as their costs will encourage people to diversify in an attempt to more easily play those cards.
You need a better mix of hard mana cards and hybrid cards. The big splashes should be the top end, feature pieces. For instance, Benalish Marshal encourages more monocolour play than Hearthfire Hobgoblin does, simply for the fact one can only be cast with white, while the other encourages me to seek red cards too.
To really reward players, you'd be looking for 'Chroma' cards, both figuratively and literally. That and Devotion both reward monocolour play. Incidently mana fixing such as Seething Song can also encourage monocolour play in the correct enviroment.
Similarly, it's also worthwhile to minimise the overlap of deck archetypes between colours, which is a little odd as it's the exact opposite of what you normally want to do. So pick five themes/archetypes you want, and then try to build each in monoclour. That's a good thought experiment for testing and figuring out how to make this cube work.
Speaking of which, test regularly. Smaller, tested changes are much better than sweeping, speculative changes, as when something doesn't work it's a lot easier to figure out why.
I wish you all the best of luck, and am sure someone more experienced with Cube may be able to be more useful than me
I am just trying to figure out how I make it draftable by 8 people if I only make 5 archetypes. It feels like 2 people would draft unopposed alone in their colours, which is not ideal.
So I am trying to figure out how to make additional archetypes that can be drafted. Do I go with thinks like Wilt-Leaf Liege? I am really unsure, which is why I am here for help. I am afraid of making 2-colour archetypes and then ruining the point of the whole thing.
I am just trying to figure out how I make it draftable by 8 people if I only make 5 archetypes. It feels like 2 people would draft unopposed alone in their colours, which is not ideal.
So I am trying to figure out how to make additional archetypes that can be drafted. Do I go with thinks like Wilt-Leaf Liege? I am really unsure, which is why I am here for help. I am afraid of making 2-colour archetypes and then ruining the point of the whole thing.
That's why I said it was a thought experiment. If it works, it should be repeatable. You want multiple deckarchetypes in each colour that overlap 'within' the colour, but not with other colours. For example, White Weenie, White Tokens, Soldiers, +1/+1 counters and Flying Matters all easily overlap within white, but can also be their own decks. Likewise green can do Elves, Beasts, Ramp, Aggro, Pod? (I think it's called Pod). Red has goblins and burn off the top of my head.
Plus, the idea was to test if it's doable to build the archetypes in monocolour so it's easier to figure out which archetypes could easily be supported in mono-cube without having too much accidental overlap with other colours.
The user before did list many good suggestions for Chroma/Devotion like cards. These are a good way of encouraging rather than forcing players to draft monocolour. Similarly, there is likely to be cases where people really need to draft a two colour deck, so when they do it should still be manageable.
The two main reasons I see people go for multicolour decks in cube, psychologically speaking, is a desire to play ''all the best'' cards, mixed with what is often a high level of access to manafixing. Naturally this varies from cube to cube, but the player profiles that WOTC uses do come into draft, and understanding them does help: Make your big curve toppers look splashy for Johnny, include a handful of fun/unique/qwerky cards for Timmy, and then drop some powerful pieces along the curves for Spike.
I'd say make a draft cube with what you know you want in it on something like CubeTutor, test it, see where things get nudged into multicolour, and figure out if there is a regular number of mono-colour decks per average in say, 5 drafts, and if not, which cards really pull people across colours. Plus 50 fun points if you do it in person for more group-involved fun.
You want multiple deckarchetypes in each colour that overlap 'within' the colour, but not with other colours. For example, White Weenie, White Tokens, Soldiers, +1/+1 counters and Flying Matters all easily overlap within white, but can also be their own decks. Likewise green can do Elves, Beasts, Ramp, Aggro, Pod? (I think it's called Pod). Red has goblins and burn off the top of my head.
This definitely seems the best approach for Dunharrow. In my peasant cube, I try to encourage multi-color decks by overlapping archetypes across colors, but this cube wants the opposite, so constraining archetypes within each color while still offering multiple archetype options per color seems best.
I am just trying to figure out how I make it draftable by 8 people if I only make 5 archetypes. It feels like 2 people would draft unopposed alone in their colours, which is not ideal.
So I am trying to figure out how to make additional archetypes that can be drafted. Do I go with thinks like Wilt-Leaf Liege? I am really unsure, which is why I am here for help. I am afraid of making 2-colour archetypes and then ruining the point of the whole thing.
I get that hybrid cards could be grabbed by multiple people, which is good. Wilt-Leaf Liege could be snagged by the white player or the green player and would benefit either deck. Too much hybrid, however, would encourage multicolor decks, as it becomes easier to cast things without having specific lands. So you'll need to find the right balance.
One thing I wonder about - I think you will have to draft more cards per player to ensure they have enough cards to run a mono-color deck, especially if two people went for the same color. So, instead of 45 cards per player, they may need to pull 60.
As for archetypes, the sky's the limit. One approach is to look at the cards that people will want to build around and provide the support to do so. What do the cards you know you want to run suggest? Gray Merchant of Asphodel is great in a black devotion deck and uses it for life drain/lifegain - that could be one archetype, but it also works well with aristocrats and reanimator to keep bringing it back. Or tribal Zombies. Whereas Phyrexian Obliterator may suggest other options.
I like LeyShade's suggestion of building a test version on CubeTutor - run through a few test drafts and see how it works out. I'd be willing to do a couple test drafts if you posted a link.
Thank you for all the suggestions. Lots of great ideas.
I don't want it to be a 4 pack draft, so to ensure that there are enough cards when two people are in the same colour, I think I need to have a lot of hybrid.
If I lean on hybrid cards that have a lot of mana symbols, it makes it harder to just play all the good multicolour things. Divinity of Pride is going to be good in monoblack and monowhite, and could be played if someone wanted to play black and white, but it would be really bad in a deck that was trying to play any other colours. You aren't playing Divinity of Pride and Deus of Calamity in a Red-Black deck.
Running some numbers in my head.
360 cards. Let's say I have 10 lands.
That leaves 70 cards per colour.
Or... if I have 5 hybrids for each colour pair... it is more like 80 cards per colour.
Obviously, this needs testing. I just feel like the better starting point is more hybrid cards and to tone it down if that really causes people to play multicolour.
I would need to make sure that there aren't a lot of cards that are easily splashable. You are not likely to play Goblin Chainwhirler and Benalish Marshal in the same deck, even if you have a Nobilis of War. For this reason I think the cube could support a lot of hybrid cards without making multicolour viable.
If you want 8 players to share 5 colors then each color should have 2-3 archetypes. White can be weenie (Celestial Crusader) or tax/control (Wraths, Geddon). Green can be elves or ramp, again they have a big overlap.
I don't want it to be a 4 pack draft, so to ensure that there are enough cards when two people are in the same colour, I think I need to have a lot of hybrid.
If I lean on hybrid cards that have a lot of mana symbols, it makes it harder to just play all the good multicolour things. Divinity of Pride is going to be good in monoblack and monowhite, and could be played if someone wanted to play black and white, but it would be really bad in a deck that was trying to play any other colours. You aren't playing Divinity of Pride and Deus of Calamity in a Red-Black deck.
During Shadowmoor block, there was A LOT of hybrid. WOTC supposed it would encourage mono-colour decks. It did the opposite. With so much hybrid, people just took 'the best' cards, then smashed basics together from 3-4 colours, as they'd almost always have something they could play with the varied mana. And it wasn't uncommon to see draft decks with cards like those two smashed together.
Hybrid has long been one of my favourite game elements since it's inclusion, but it's a very double edged sword. Not only is there is colour pie philosophy to consider when designing cards, but also it's game play impact.
A more accurate statement based on yours would be, 'I need hybrid cards with a lot of mana symbols'. Those cards are great at the top end of the curve for the mono-colour experiment, but too many smaller hybrid cards on the curve before and people will go multi-colour.
Running some numbers in my head.
360 cards. Let's say I have 10 lands.
That leaves 70 cards per colour.
Or... if I have 5 hybrids for each colour pair... it is more like 80 cards per colour.
Obviously, this needs testing. I just feel like the better starting point is more hybrid cards and to tone it down if that really causes people to play multicolour.
I would need to make sure that there aren't a lot of cards that are easily splashable. You are not likely to play Goblin Chainwhirler and Benalish Marshal in the same deck, even if you have a Nobilis of War. For this reason I think the cube could support a lot of hybrid cards without making multicolour viable.
It's entirely fair to start high and chip away, that's a totally fair argument and I'm all for practical testing, as we can't truly know who is right until it's constructed and tested. However, I can assure you I would run both Marshal and Chainwhirler in the same deck if I got a Nobilis of War, and would be aiming for that deck with the goal of using easier to play (hybrid would allow this) cards to replace them.
I mention this because Boros Aggro is pretty popular in cubes that support it, even the Nonsense in my sig supports iterations of it.
I've decided to compile a temporary list on CubeTutor of all the suggested cards from all parties, so I can more easily see the curves and structure in a literal sense so I can offer more card suggestions and observations when I'm around. This is a very curious project to me, as I enjoy the unique, and think such projects can be great community learning experiences for everyone who joins in.
I too would also be willing to nominate time to testing your cube alike JinxedIdol, as I wholeheartedly support the idea of community collaboration across Magic's various formats. Thank you for providing this oppourtunity to engage with a unique project Dunharrow.
Running some numbers in my head.
360 cards. Let's say I have 10 lands.
That leaves 70 cards per colour.
Or... if I have 5 hybrids for each colour pair... it is more like 80 cards per colour.
Obviously, this needs testing. I just feel like the better starting point is more hybrid cards and to tone it down if that really causes people to play multicolour.
I would need to make sure that there aren't a lot of cards that are easily splashable. You are not likely to play Goblin Chainwhirler and Benalish Marshal in the same deck, even if you have a Nobilis of War. For this reason I think the cube could support a lot of hybrid cards without making multicolour viable.
What about artifacts? Colorless cards may solve some problems for this cube - they are easily run in any deck without encouraging people to dip into a second color.
If you want to encourage monocolor play then avoid hybrid and play all landtype matters and color matters type spells. Make your bombs stuff like Dawn Elemental that costs WWWW or all of those demons that have BBB in their casting cost. Also monocolor tribes, perhaps? Put in a bunch of goblins but only the red ones or zombies but only the black ones.
Cut pretty much all fixing. So no duals or mana rocks except for ones that make only one color.
Favour removal and other bomby spells that cost double color. So wing shards instead of pacifism.
@Dunharrow - Are you planning to make a test cube on CubeTutor? I'm not trying to be pushy, but with only 3.5 weeks left before mtgsalvation closes, I though I'd ask. I'd definitely be interested to see what you come up with and playtest it. It sounds really unique, so I'm intrigued.
@Dunharrow - Are you planning to make a test cube on CubeTutor? I'm not trying to be pushy, but with only 3.5 weeks left before mtgsalvation closes, I though I'd ask. I'd definitely be interested to see what you come up with and playtest it. It sounds really unique, so I'm intrigued.
I will not have time to do this for a while. Sorry!
Well, they called off the shutdown, so mtgsalvation will still be here whenever you do get a chance. I'm interested to see what you come up with. And M20 has a card to consider - Diamond Knight. Colorless, so anyone can pick it up, but locks in a color as it enters, and is most effective in a mono-color deck.
The Throne of Eldraine spoilers got me thinking about this cube again. The Adamant mechanic is perfect, as well as some of the mana costs that are gearing up for a return to Theros (and likely devotion). Clockwork Servant gives that colorless flexibility for drafting while wanting only one color of mana for casting. Ayara, First of Locthwain and Irencrag Feat require and reward a heavy devotion to just one color.
FunkyDragon has been saying a lot of useful things. Eldraine is definitely a boost with adamant cards (Slaying Fire) and a cycle of quad-cost hybrids (Covetous Urge). Most of the adamant cards are pretty mediocre, but some should go in. The hybrids are likewise not auto-includes even here. Elite Headhunter is super mediocre, for example, but they are still considerations.
Heraldic Banner is perfect here. Everyone in this cube wants that card. I could even see playing two.
I would say that the best way to do it is to incentivize monocolor decks in all the ways that have been suggested, but not to be worried about people sometimes building two color decks, or frequently splashing a second color. As you say, in an 8 person draft, it's difficult to share only five colors in such a way. The biggest problem I see is for several people to dedicate to the same color early, leading to a major imbalance in the draft. Players will have to watch signals closely and jump out of colors aggressively.
I also agree that you should have a larger than normal colorless section, since those will be played by everyone. As such, it would make sense to have an artifact theme in blue or maybe red. Maybe a little in both.
Three drop white creatures- My 410 peasant cube has 9, so that's a fine number:
If all your sections look something like this, it'll be hard to pay two color unless one is a splash. Use the single pip slots you have to include cards that feed into archetypes you want to feed into. Both Thalia and Stonecloaker do things that more color-intense options don't do. I'm not saying those are the cards you should play, of course.
Spells will be done a little differently than creatures. You might want to play the more standard card than the more color heavy one. For example, you might want to play Oblivion Ring over Stasis Snare (or play both). You can also do things like play Sundering Growth instead of Disenchant, but there are gonna be places where it's best to just play the basic option, like with Doom Blade.
Note: if you don't already know this, Scryfall is the best place to search for cards if you are looking for things like the number of colored symbols in the mana cost.
I am working on a cube that pushes people to play monocolour decks. I would have a LOT of hybrid cards, and most of the cube would have 2-5 mana symbols in each card.. Though I will one drops and a cycle of hybrids with 1 mana symbol in their costs).
Since I am going to be full of things like Overbeing of Myth and Deus of Calamity and Leatherback Baloth, my goal is to push people to choose a colour and build the best deck without splashing a second colour.
My reason for this is that there are a lot of cubes in my playgroup and there is nothing that encourages mono-colour play. I would have huge devotion payoffs, and also have very limited mana fixing.
However, I am concerned about draftability. Without supporting multicolour draft archetypes, how can I make the cube support an 8-person draft?
Do you have any suggestions?
8.RG Green Devotion Ramp/Combo 9.UR Draw Triggers 10.WUR Group stalling 11.WUR Voltron Spellslinger 12.WB Sacrificial Shenanigans
13.BR Creatureless Panharmonicon 14.BR Pingers and Eldrazi 15.URG Untapped Cascading
16.Reyhan, last of the Abzan's WUBG +1/+1 Counter Craziness 17.WUBRG Dragons aka Why did I make this?
Building: The Gitrog Monster lands, Glissa the Traitor stax, Muldrotha, the Gravetide Planeswalker Combo, Kydele, Chosen of Kruphix + Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa Clues, and Tribal Scarecrow Planeswalkers
Theros has Devotion, which encourages monocolour play. Shadowmoor has a lot of hybrid which... doesn't encourage monocolour play.
Removing much manafixing will, naturally, force players to play with a more colour identity mindset. Similarly, putting in cards with 4-6 hybrid mana as their costs will encourage people to diversify in an attempt to more easily play those cards.
You need a better mix of hard mana cards and hybrid cards. The big splashes should be the top end, feature pieces. For instance, Benalish Marshal encourages more monocolour play than Hearthfire Hobgoblin does, simply for the fact one can only be cast with white, while the other encourages me to seek red cards too.
To really reward players, you'd be looking for 'Chroma' cards, both figuratively and literally. That and Devotion both reward monocolour play. Incidently mana fixing such as Seething Song can also encourage monocolour play in the correct enviroment.
Similarly, it's also worthwhile to minimise the overlap of deck archetypes between colours, which is a little odd as it's the exact opposite of what you normally want to do. So pick five themes/archetypes you want, and then try to build each in monoclour. That's a good thought experiment for testing and figuring out how to make this cube work.
Speaking of which, test regularly. Smaller, tested changes are much better than sweeping, speculative changes, as when something doesn't work it's a lot easier to figure out why.
I wish you all the best of luck, and am sure someone more experienced with Cube may be able to be more useful than me
This user has language problems due to their mental health problems and sometimes may not use the best wording to explain their thoughts.
Draft the "'What Is This Nonsense?'" casual cube.
In your opinion, could this support an 8 person draft or will multicolour need to be supported?
8.RG Green Devotion Ramp/Combo 9.UR Draw Triggers 10.WUR Group stalling 11.WUR Voltron Spellslinger 12.WB Sacrificial Shenanigans
13.BR Creatureless Panharmonicon 14.BR Pingers and Eldrazi 15.URG Untapped Cascading
16.Reyhan, last of the Abzan's WUBG +1/+1 Counter Craziness 17.WUBRG Dragons aka Why did I make this?
Building: The Gitrog Monster lands, Glissa the Traitor stax, Muldrotha, the Gravetide Planeswalker Combo, Kydele, Chosen of Kruphix + Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa Clues, and Tribal Scarecrow Planeswalkers
White: Brave the Elements, Celestial Crusader, Crusade, Mass Calcify, Guardians' Pledge, Ivory Giant/Blinding Light
Blue: Sunken City, Inundate, Paragon of Gathering Mists, Breaching Leviathan
Black: Bad Moon, Ascendant Evincar, Corrosive Mentor
Red: Bloodmark Mentor, Paragon of Fierce Defiance
Green: Bellowing Tanglewurm, Patron of the Orochi
2023 Average Peasant Cube|and Discussion
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I pulled most of these aside already, but thank you for the suggestions.
Absolutely, I want to reward going monocolor with things like Honor of the Pure and Karametra's Acolyte. Heck, even Ring of Thune.
I am just trying to figure out how I make it draftable by 8 people if I only make 5 archetypes. It feels like 2 people would draft unopposed alone in their colours, which is not ideal.
So I am trying to figure out how to make additional archetypes that can be drafted. Do I go with thinks like Wilt-Leaf Liege? I am really unsure, which is why I am here for help. I am afraid of making 2-colour archetypes and then ruining the point of the whole thing.
8.RG Green Devotion Ramp/Combo 9.UR Draw Triggers 10.WUR Group stalling 11.WUR Voltron Spellslinger 12.WB Sacrificial Shenanigans
13.BR Creatureless Panharmonicon 14.BR Pingers and Eldrazi 15.URG Untapped Cascading
16.Reyhan, last of the Abzan's WUBG +1/+1 Counter Craziness 17.WUBRG Dragons aka Why did I make this?
Building: The Gitrog Monster lands, Glissa the Traitor stax, Muldrotha, the Gravetide Planeswalker Combo, Kydele, Chosen of Kruphix + Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa Clues, and Tribal Scarecrow Planeswalkers
That's why I said it was a thought experiment. If it works, it should be repeatable. You want multiple deckarchetypes in each colour that overlap 'within' the colour, but not with other colours. For example, White Weenie, White Tokens, Soldiers, +1/+1 counters and Flying Matters all easily overlap within white, but can also be their own decks. Likewise green can do Elves, Beasts, Ramp, Aggro, Pod? (I think it's called Pod). Red has goblins and burn off the top of my head.
Plus, the idea was to test if it's doable to build the archetypes in monocolour so it's easier to figure out which archetypes could easily be supported in mono-cube without having too much accidental overlap with other colours.
The user before did list many good suggestions for Chroma/Devotion like cards. These are a good way of encouraging rather than forcing players to draft monocolour. Similarly, there is likely to be cases where people really need to draft a two colour deck, so when they do it should still be manageable.
The two main reasons I see people go for multicolour decks in cube, psychologically speaking, is a desire to play ''all the best'' cards, mixed with what is often a high level of access to manafixing. Naturally this varies from cube to cube, but the player profiles that WOTC uses do come into draft, and understanding them does help: Make your big curve toppers look splashy for Johnny, include a handful of fun/unique/qwerky cards for Timmy, and then drop some powerful pieces along the curves for Spike.
I'd say make a draft cube with what you know you want in it on something like CubeTutor, test it, see where things get nudged into multicolour, and figure out if there is a regular number of mono-colour decks per average in say, 5 drafts, and if not, which cards really pull people across colours. Plus 50 fun points if you do it in person for more group-involved fun.
This user has language problems due to their mental health problems and sometimes may not use the best wording to explain their thoughts.
Draft the "'What Is This Nonsense?'" casual cube.
One thing I wonder about - I think you will have to draft more cards per player to ensure they have enough cards to run a mono-color deck, especially if two people went for the same color. So, instead of 45 cards per player, they may need to pull 60.
As for archetypes, the sky's the limit. One approach is to look at the cards that people will want to build around and provide the support to do so. What do the cards you know you want to run suggest? Gray Merchant of Asphodel is great in a black devotion deck and uses it for life drain/lifegain - that could be one archetype, but it also works well with aristocrats and reanimator to keep bringing it back. Or tribal Zombies. Whereas Phyrexian Obliterator may suggest other options.
Green is usually the color of fixing, and in order to keep ramp alive as an arhetype but not encourage multi-color fixing, you would probably want only cards that produce green (Llanowar Elves instead of Birds of Paradise), that can only find Forests (Elvish Aberration, Nature's Lore, Nissa's Pilgrimage, Nissa's Triumph), or that interact with Forests in another way (Dungrove Elder, Howl of the Night Pack, Scryb Ranger, Reach of Branches).
There are actually a few Treefolk that refer to Forests in their text, so maybe Treefolk could be a supported archetype - Treefolk Harbinger, Timber Protector, Seedguide Ash, Reach of Branches, Kalonian Twingrove, Everbark Shaman, Dungrove Elder, Dauntless Dourbark, Battlewand Oak all specify interaction with Forests, and several work well with other Treefolk.
I like LeyShade's suggestion of building a test version on CubeTutor - run through a few test drafts and see how it works out. I'd be willing to do a couple test drafts if you posted a link.
Random - I just remembered the Shadowmoor lands that care about having at least two permanents of a given color - Leechridden Swamp, Sapseep Forest, Mistveil Plains, Moonring Island, Madblind Mountain - they somewhat encourage monocolor though I'd only consider some of them, and none are really great.
2023 Average Peasant Cube|and Discussion
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I don't want it to be a 4 pack draft, so to ensure that there are enough cards when two people are in the same colour, I think I need to have a lot of hybrid.
If I lean on hybrid cards that have a lot of mana symbols, it makes it harder to just play all the good multicolour things.
Divinity of Pride is going to be good in monoblack and monowhite, and could be played if someone wanted to play black and white, but it would be really bad in a deck that was trying to play any other colours. You aren't playing Divinity of Pride and Deus of Calamity in a Red-Black deck.
Running some numbers in my head.
360 cards. Let's say I have 10 lands.
That leaves 70 cards per colour.
Or... if I have 5 hybrids for each colour pair... it is more like 80 cards per colour.
Obviously, this needs testing. I just feel like the better starting point is more hybrid cards and to tone it down if that really causes people to play multicolour.
I would need to make sure that there aren't a lot of cards that are easily splashable. You are not likely to play Goblin Chainwhirler and Benalish Marshal in the same deck, even if you have a Nobilis of War. For this reason I think the cube could support a lot of hybrid cards without making multicolour viable.
8.RG Green Devotion Ramp/Combo 9.UR Draw Triggers 10.WUR Group stalling 11.WUR Voltron Spellslinger 12.WB Sacrificial Shenanigans
13.BR Creatureless Panharmonicon 14.BR Pingers and Eldrazi 15.URG Untapped Cascading
16.Reyhan, last of the Abzan's WUBG +1/+1 Counter Craziness 17.WUBRG Dragons aka Why did I make this?
Building: The Gitrog Monster lands, Glissa the Traitor stax, Muldrotha, the Gravetide Planeswalker Combo, Kydele, Chosen of Kruphix + Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa Clues, and Tribal Scarecrow Planeswalkers
During Shadowmoor block, there was A LOT of hybrid. WOTC supposed it would encourage mono-colour decks. It did the opposite. With so much hybrid, people just took 'the best' cards, then smashed basics together from 3-4 colours, as they'd almost always have something they could play with the varied mana. And it wasn't uncommon to see draft decks with cards like those two smashed together.
Hybrid has long been one of my favourite game elements since it's inclusion, but it's a very double edged sword. Not only is there is colour pie philosophy to consider when designing cards, but also it's game play impact.
A more accurate statement based on yours would be, 'I need hybrid cards with a lot of mana symbols'. Those cards are great at the top end of the curve for the mono-colour experiment, but too many smaller hybrid cards on the curve before and people will go multi-colour.
It's entirely fair to start high and chip away, that's a totally fair argument and I'm all for practical testing, as we can't truly know who is right until it's constructed and tested. However, I can assure you I would run both Marshal and Chainwhirler in the same deck if I got a Nobilis of War, and would be aiming for that deck with the goal of using easier to play (hybrid would allow this) cards to replace them.
I mention this because Boros Aggro is pretty popular in cubes that support it, even the Nonsense in my sig supports iterations of it.
I've decided to compile a temporary list on CubeTutor of all the suggested cards from all parties, so I can more easily see the curves and structure in a literal sense so I can offer more card suggestions and observations when I'm around. This is a very curious project to me, as I enjoy the unique, and think such projects can be great community learning experiences for everyone who joins in.
I too would also be willing to nominate time to testing your cube alike JinxedIdol, as I wholeheartedly support the idea of community collaboration across Magic's various formats. Thank you for providing this oppourtunity to engage with a unique project Dunharrow.
This user has language problems due to their mental health problems and sometimes may not use the best wording to explain their thoughts.
Draft the "'What Is This Nonsense?'" casual cube.
2023 Average Peasant Cube|and Discussion
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Cut pretty much all fixing. So no duals or mana rocks except for ones that make only one color.
Favour removal and other bomby spells that cost double color. So wing shards instead of pacifism.
2023 Average Peasant Cube|and Discussion
Because I have more decks than fit in a signature
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I will not have time to do this for a while. Sorry!
8.RG Green Devotion Ramp/Combo 9.UR Draw Triggers 10.WUR Group stalling 11.WUR Voltron Spellslinger 12.WB Sacrificial Shenanigans
13.BR Creatureless Panharmonicon 14.BR Pingers and Eldrazi 15.URG Untapped Cascading
16.Reyhan, last of the Abzan's WUBG +1/+1 Counter Craziness 17.WUBRG Dragons aka Why did I make this?
Building: The Gitrog Monster lands, Glissa the Traitor stax, Muldrotha, the Gravetide Planeswalker Combo, Kydele, Chosen of Kruphix + Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa Clues, and Tribal Scarecrow Planeswalkers
2023 Average Peasant Cube|and Discussion
Because I have more decks than fit in a signature
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EDHREC
ManabaseCrafter
2023 Average Peasant Cube|and Discussion
Because I have more decks than fit in a signature
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EDHREC
ManabaseCrafter
Heraldic Banner is perfect here. Everyone in this cube wants that card. I could even see playing two.
Other random cards from recent sets: Dread Presence, Endling, Defile, Nissa, Who Shakes the World, and the M20 Cavalier cycle.
Here's my theorycrafted monoblack cube, which might contain some ideas that would help, at least in black.
If you want one planeswalker per color, I'd go for Liliana of the Dark Realms, Jace, Wielder of Mysteries, Koth of the Hammer, Nissa, Who Shakes the World, and Elspeth, Knight-Errant. The white one is the only one without a really obvious choice. It's up to the kinds of things you want white to do, but Elspeth makes sense with all of white's anthems.
I would say that the best way to do it is to incentivize monocolor decks in all the ways that have been suggested, but not to be worried about people sometimes building two color decks, or frequently splashing a second color. As you say, in an 8 person draft, it's difficult to share only five colors in such a way. The biggest problem I see is for several people to dedicate to the same color early, leading to a major imbalance in the draft. Players will have to watch signals closely and jump out of colors aggressively.
I also agree that you should have a larger than normal colorless section, since those will be played by everyone. As such, it would make sense to have an artifact theme in blue or maybe red. Maybe a little in both.
If all your sections look something like this, it'll be hard to pay two color unless one is a splash. Use the single pip slots you have to include cards that feed into archetypes you want to feed into. Both Thalia and Stonecloaker do things that more color-intense options don't do. I'm not saying those are the cards you should play, of course.
Spells will be done a little differently than creatures. You might want to play the more standard card than the more color heavy one. For example, you might want to play Oblivion Ring over Stasis Snare (or play both). You can also do things like play Sundering Growth instead of Disenchant, but there are gonna be places where it's best to just play the basic option, like with Doom Blade.
Note: if you don't already know this, Scryfall is the best place to search for cards if you are looking for things like the number of colored symbols in the mana cost.
Low-power cube enthusiast!
My 1570 card cube (no longer updated)
My 415 Peasant+ Artifact and Enchantment Cube
Ever-Expanding "Just throw it in" cube.