I was avoiding myriad because I wanted players to commit resources to attack (I think the mechanic is a bit of a freebie), but it'll probably be necessary for enabling more attacks. Hammers of Moradin looks sweet indeed. I'm looking forward to your suggestions if you get the time to do so. Thanks a lot!
I get that (feeling like it's a freebie), especially on the upper end - I mean, Herald of the Host is a strictly better Serra Angel for no additional cost or drawback, but you also have three times the opponents running removal who will want it dead. On the lower end, I would run Hammers of Moradin (it's an all-star) or possibly even Genasi Enforcers (okay but far from amazing), but not even myriad makes Wyrm's Crossing Patrol worth running in most situations. I suppose it depends on why your drafters would like the ability - getting damage in on multiple players can and does happen, especially with the larger or more evasive options, but you want to avoid suiciding the original, and you have to realize that most of the time the tokens will be blocked. It's great for ETB triggers (Impact Tremors, General Kreat, the Boltbringer) or sac fodder/aristocrats/death triggers, if you support those.
What I like:
I looked over your cube, and you have a lot of great cards that will make for fun games, whether multiplayer or duels. Almost 30% of your cards are in my peasant cube, and some of the others are ones I've played in Commander. Things I liked in your cube:
-Versatile cards - Touch the Spirit Realm as blink or removal, Valorous Stance as protection or removal, You Come to a River as bounce (protection or tempo removal) or as evasion. Cards like these help you to address a wider number of situations and give you options. Multiplayer tends to shift the power balance more often than duels, and you may be facing an entirely different board after a turn around the table.
-Monarch - this mechanic helps encourage interaction and keeps things from growing too stagnant
-Goad - Again, forces some interaction and keeps games from stagnating. Of note here are two cards:
--Coronation of Chaos - An underrated card in multiplayer. Three creatures can't block this turn and likely won't be able to the next turn either, as they are forced to attack. It can open one player up for two full turns, or you can spread the love. You don't even have to be attacking the player whose creatures you goad - you can just use it to attack another player without leaving you vulnerable to this one.
--Kardur, Doomscourge - Technically better than goad, as it affects even creatures not yet on the board if they enter and have haste before your next turn. He does tend to draw a lot of hate in Commander, but as you aren't building a constructed deck designed to retrigger him turn after turn, it's more of a one time effect.
-Attack payoffs - Curses, pump on attack (Dauntless Veteran, Rhox Veteran, Syr Alin, the Lion's Claw), Talents )Hunter's and Gossip's) - Anything to help promote damage and apply pressure throughout the game.
Things to cut:
-As Leelue said, pure aggro isn't great. Unlike a duel, where you can swap damage and try to race each other, in multiplayer you can't afford to tap out; it's very hard to outrace three opponents. You didn't have a glaring number of pure aggro cards, but some like Accorder Paladin will probably only ever attack once, and it's not even great on defense.
-Intangible Virtue - This is parasitic - it does nothing on its own. Even worse, it only works with 31 other cards in your cube (8.6% or roughly 1-in-12 cards). It may feel like an archetype signpost card, but it will too often do nothing based on board state.
-Servo Expedition - Unless you care about the tokens being artifacts, it feels like a strictly worse sorcery-speed Raise the Alarm/Resolute Reinforcements (both of which you are already running).
-Crusader of Odric - Whether an overcosted 1/1 on an otherwise empty board or an undercosted fatty on a full board, it can't even be called win-more because it lacks any sort of evasion or ability to really leverage its potential size. This is just a vanilla with a hard to predict power/toughness.
-Domesticated Hydra - I get that it can do +1/+1 counters, but as a midrange creature that can grow larger, it feels a bit weak and mana intensive. Untamed Kavu fills a similar niche lower on the mana scale but feels like a much better deal for the mana. If you're looking for other mid-range to high-end options, green has plenty of good, beefy creatures.
Suggestions:
I'm going to throw a bunch of general suggestions and card recommendations here, but if you have more specific questions, that can help find better recommendations.
-Vigilance - You have a handful of these (8-10n creatures and a couple of spells), but I find vigilance to be very underrated in multiplayer. Enabling you to attack and defend allows you to apply pressure without opening yourself to other attacks - if this is true in a duel, it's triply so in multiplayer. In particular, I recommend Dalkovan Packbeasts - It's an efficient three mana package with its 4 toughness, vigilance, and token-spawning ability.
-In addition to Myriad, Monarch and Goad, I would check out another multiplayer ability - Encore.
-Impulsive Pilferer can net you four treasure and three other token bodies.
-Coastline Marauders grows the longer the game goes, and hitting each opponent with one can be a finisher in the right circumstances.
-Bloodthirsty Blade - Removing a creature in multiplayer puts you and its owner down a card, leaving the other two players virtually up a card. It's often better to pump and goad the creature so it becomes another person's problem, perhaps even drawing out their removal so it can no longer be used on your creatures. And the blade is repeatable. The only major drawback is when you get down to a duel, but even then you might be able to force unfavorable combat on your opponent.
-Rite of the Raging Storm - This is another way to help your opponents throw damage at each other. They don't have to, but who can resist attacking with a free but temporary 5/1 trampler? As more blockers die, it will open your opponents up even more damage.
-Barrow-Blade - A pet card of mine that I don't think gets near enough love. You should see how much this affects games of Commander when people realize they will lose first strike, lifelink, deathtouch, indestructible, hexproof, triggers, etc. Players would much rather attack elsewhere when faced with this. In my own peasant cube, I've had it on both Fog Bank and Vampire of the Dire Moon to great effect.
-Blood Frenzy - It's a shame your cube overview specifies modern border only, but I'm going to plug another pet card of mine anyway because it's so great in multiplayer. This is budget Berserk, at common. Sure, you could use it on your own creature, but multiplayer gives you much better options. Opponent A attacks Opponent B - you could potentially kill Opponent B while removing Opponent A's strongest piece, but at the very least, you turn a block or attack less favorable and get to remove a problem creature in the process.
-Orzhov Advokist - You automatically get two +1/+1 counters a turn, but you also trade counters to your opponents for information - if they all take it, you know you're safe; if anyone refuses, you know to keep up answers for them.
-Portal Mage and/or Portal Manipulator - Being able to change who a creature attacks is even more powerful than goad and can help you to cripple two or more opponents while potentially saving yourself.
-You're already running two curses, so I'd recommend considering Curse of Predation and/or Curse of Opulance.
-Deadly Brew and/or Rise of the Witch-king - Affects all four players while offering you an advantage.
-Arabella, Abandoned Doll deals damage to each opponent and seems a lot more impactful than Stun Sniper.
What wishes does everyone have for 2026? I'm hoping we get some new strong options for Boros and Simic, those guilds could use some help.
I wish for more multiplayer options. Particularly seeing more designs for Monarch, Myriad, Encore and other mechanics that work well in multiplayer. I'd love to see more Conspiracies and "draft matters" cards, too.
I also have a soft spot for 2HG, so anything that considers "all attacking creatures", affects other players in a good way (to target teammates) or the like would be amazing.
But mostly, I think BG needs a clear mechanic that does not depend on too much graveyard setup. Food is a good theme, but other than that it's either too parasitic on graveyard to work well or too slow. While I do like some mechanics, like Scavenge (that is just added value on the card), I think BG is a bit dry. Hoping for more Saprolings for Slimefoot, at least.
I also have a soft spot for 2HG, so anything that considers "all attacking creatures", affects other players in a good way (to target teammates) or the like would be amazing.
I totally neglected to ask what style of multiplayer you like. When you draft your cube, do you play 2HG or free-for-all, or do you switch it up?
For a few years, I ran a 2HG micro-cube (140 cards, based around the Battlebond partner pairs and other multiplayer mechanics, each team drafted 2 cards at a time and split their draft piles to build decks only after all the cards were drafted).
If you do 2HG with your cube, there are more cards to consider - like the battalion mechanic (when this and at least 2 other creatures attack...) because it counts your teammates attackers, too. Or abilities like Voyaging Satyr that can ramp you or a teammate.
I finally made (a lot of) changes to my cube. Here's a link, if you'd like to have a look.
Looking pretty good. I'd love to hear what you think of the changes when you get to play them.
I do have some questions about your Boros equipment archetype. You're running a bunch of signpost cards - Koll, the Forgemaster, Akiri, Fearless Voyager, Bruenor Battlehammer, Brass Squire, Kemba, Kha Regent, etc. - but only have 13 equipment that can be attached to your own creatures, and a lot of those (especially the colorless ones) will be snapped up by any drafter, not just the ones trying to play an equipment theme. Do you find that the Boros player usually gets enough enablers and payoffs, or do they feel shorted on the equipment side?
(Also, random note about your cube - Grafted Wargear and Loxodon Warhammer don't even appear in a search for equipment because they are listed as type "Artifact" rather than "Artifact - Equipment" like all the other equipment.)
I would think you might need a few more to guarantee enough density or as-fan to support those decks (If I'm wrong, ignore the rest of this reply). Choosing red or white equipment would make them less universal and more likely to be available to the Boros drafter. Here are a few suggestions:
-Rabbit Battery - Starts as a hasty 1/1 but has a cheap reconfigure cost to grant +1/+1 and haste to another creature. Please note that reconfigure is not equip and Bruenor's 0 second ability does not apply to reconfigure.
-Lavaspur Boots - Small pump and small protection, but it all adds up, especially with haste and a cheap mana cost.
-Zephyr Boots - Cheap flying and looting (card selection).
-Something that grants vigilance (you've got Forebear's Blade, but adding more can encourage more attacking and still allow for defense) - Short Bow, Batterbone, Kor Halberd - I used a scryfall search for peasant equipment by popularity in commander
-Bladehold War-Whip - I personally am not a fan of "For Mirrodin!" and the overcosted equip costs associated with it, but this offers you a few specific advantages beyond the three mana 2/2 doublestriker. Being in Boros, it won't get snapped up by just any player. And between Bruenor and Brass Squire, you've got support to possibly cheat the five mana equip cost.
-Diamond Pick-Axe - Hard to remove itself, encourages attacks, and gives treasure.
-Fiendlash - It makes blocking tricky and opens up political deals if your players like that ("Block this but don't kill it, and I'll send the damage at that player.")
-Barrow-Blade - I will never stop advocating for this one. For such an unassuming ability, it has a surprising number of uses and nixes so many abilities and death triggers.
I also have a soft spot for 2HG, so anything that considers "all attacking creatures", affects other players in a good way (to target teammates) or the like would be amazing.
I totally neglected to ask what style of multiplayer you like. When you draft your cube, do you play 2HG or free-for-all, or do you switch it up?
For a few years, I ran a 2HG micro-cube (140 cards, based around the Battlebond partner pairs and other multiplayer mechanics, each team drafted 2 cards at a time and split their draft piles to build decks only after all the cards were drafted).
If you do 2HG with your cube, there are more cards to consider - like the battalion mechanic (when this and at least 2 other creatures attack...) because it counts your teammates attackers, too. Or abilities like Voyaging Satyr that can ramp you or a teammate.
Oh, for this cube I'm not planning on running 2HG, it'll be mostly 4-player free-for-all. I just really enjoy playing 2HG and have plans of building something (either a cube or a battlebox) focused on it in the future.
Looking pretty good. I'd love to hear what you think of the changes when you get to play them.
I do have some questions about your Boros equipment archetype. You're running a bunch of signpost cards - Koll, the Forgemaster, Akiri, Fearless Voyager, Bruenor Battlehammer, Brass Squire, Kemba, Kha Regent, etc. - but only have 13 equipment that can be attached to your own creatures, and a lot of those (especially the colorless ones) will be snapped up by any drafter, not just the ones trying to play an equipment theme. Do you find that the Boros player usually gets enough enablers and payoffs, or do they feel shorted on the equipment side?
(Also, random note about your cube - Grafted Wargear and Loxodon Warhammer don't even appear in a search for equipment because they are listed as type "Artifact" rather than "Artifact - Equipment" like all the other equipment.)
I would think you might need a few more to guarantee enough density or as-fan to support those decks (If I'm wrong, ignore the rest of this reply). Choosing red or white equipment would make them less universal and more likely to be available to the Boros drafter. Here are a few suggestions:
-Rabbit Battery - Starts as a hasty 1/1 but has a cheap reconfigure cost to grant +1/+1 and haste to another creature. Please note that reconfigure is not equip and Bruenor's 0 second ability does not apply to reconfigure.
-Lavaspur Boots - Small pump and small protection, but it all adds up, especially with haste and a cheap mana cost.
-Zephyr Boots - Cheap flying and looting (card selection).
-Something that grants vigilance (you've got Forebear's Blade, but adding more can encourage more attacking and still allow for defense) - Short Bow, Batterbone, Kor Halberd - I used a scryfall search for peasant equipment by popularity in commander
-Bladehold War-Whip - I personally am not a fan of "For Mirrodin!" and the overcosted equip costs associated with it, but this offers you a few specific advantages beyond the three mana 2/2 doublestriker. Being in Boros, it won't get snapped up by just any player. And between Bruenor and Brass Squire, you've got support to possibly cheat the five mana equip cost.
-Diamond Pick-Axe - Hard to remove itself, encourages attacks, and gives treasure.
-Fiendlash - It makes blocking tricky and opens up political deals if your players like that ("Block this but don't kill it, and I'll send the damage at that player.")
-Barrow-Blade - I will never stop advocating for this one. For such an unassuming ability, it has a surprising number of uses and nixes so many abilities and death triggers.
The equipment archetype is a bit of a new thing. I found that the previous go-wide theme for RG had little identity and competed with GW's token making along with +1/+1 counters. Felt a bit like a trap. So I decided to change it into equipment so it had more identity.
At first I thought the number of slots for equipment was ok when compared to other cubes, but you're right: in slower games people are more incentivized to pick colorless equipment than in 1x1, so I should take it into account. Thank you very much for bringing this up, I'll add a couple more options. I'll be back when I get it done.
I decided against Reconfigure to keep things a bit simpler. For the same reason, For Mirrodin! and Living Weapon are also out. Barrow-Blade indeed looks awesome, but that would be the first Universes Beyond card in the cube, so I'll avoid adding it for now. If I ever concede to adding UB cards, this will very likely be the first addition.
I added several other equipment and equipment-matters cards to the maybeboard for future analysis. Thank you very much for your feedback, this means a lot to me.
Hello everyone, first time posting on these forums! I am looking for constructive criticism on my peasant cube (it's my first cube ever). I'm not against powering up the cube, but I have to make do with what I own and/or can get my hands on, so there won't be force of will nor mana drain here.
Here is the list: https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/baa22181-066e-478e-be6a-6c149d47d483
My main issue is that I feel like aggro cannot exist (the curves might be too high) and the archetypes aren't exactly balanced.
Hope you guys can help me, thanks so much in advance.
I'm no expert (also building my first cube), but based on other lists I have seen I think in order to aggro to be viable you need a good mass of 1-2-3 drop threats that can add up to the board and some ways to reward either having more creatures or having your opponent pressured. Slow mana fixing also makes aggro worse (since splashing gets that much harder), and if there is too much incidental lifegain it can be also rendered unfeasible.
In my multiplayer cube, going all-in aggro shouldn't be an option, so I shaved most 1-drops. This alone made a ton of difference when comparing to 1v1 peasant cubes.
@blitkun
Thanks for your feedback. This cube is meant to be a 1V1 experience, and I'd rather keep it at 360 if possible for upkeep issue (sleeving, storing and moving the cube around + I feel like seeing every card when we are a full pod is very satisfying). I've always felt like 1 or 2 drop had such a low impact on the game that they ended up being removed, but it led to the demise of aggro (note you can still win by turning overwhelming your opponent, mainly through pings/drain effects as well as go wide and go tall strategies). So far we have drafter the cube twice and every time have had a diversity of decks, I'm just not seeing real aggro. In green, I ended up removing all the mana fixing because green just became a base colour for splashing everything and it wasn't much fun. Also, we're lacking true high impact bombs to justify spending so much mana on ramping. There is definitely a lot of lifegain in the cube, I might have to cut some, not sure (on the other hand there are numerous ways to do incidental damage)
First off, thanks for the warm welcome and the feedback ! I'll try to address the concerns you've raised one by one, bear in mind I basically built this cube with the cards I found in my drawers:
Few 1 drops: I couldn't find impactful enough 1 drops (and probably critical mass) and ended up cutting them, which might explain why aggro isn't viable.
Kind of the same thing, I didn't find enough space for impactful spells AND good 2 drops. I ended up removing most of them. The 2 left are super high quality cards
My balance between spells and creature is off, mainly due to 2 things: I wanted to have kind of a spellslinger/burn vibe in Izzet and I wanted big spells in blue. The other creatures weren't not good enough and didn't make the cut (hard to compete against things like Serra's Sphinx)
Guild cards: That's quite interesting, it's mainly due to the limited pool of cards I had to draw from and my lack of knowledge about the format, feel free to suggest cards I could try to find to supplement those (I'd love to have more guild oriented cards, it's just very hard to cut now)
Which dual lands are you referring to ? The gates ? I'm in the process of reshaping the manabase with trilands and/or basic type bilands (no idea how to call them). I'm still looking for a few cards and I want my online list to be true to my paper version at all times.
What is wrong with mogg flunkies ? I like the card and it felt like a way to build aggro when playing 2 colours. I mean I know it's not very good but still, it might be nostalgia.
You're right about the red cards, I'm in a pickle now.
We have been having a blast with this cube, but I'm trying to make a better every time and keep it fresh.
@blitkun
Thanks for your feedback. This cube is meant to be a 1V1 experience, and I'd rather keep it at 360 if possible for upkeep issue (sleeving, storing and moving the cube around + I feel like seeing every card when we are a full pod is very satisfying). I've always felt like 1 or 2 drop had such a low impact on the game that they ended up being removed, but it led to the demise of aggro (note you can still win by turning overwhelming your opponent, mainly through pings/drain effects as well as go wide and go tall strategies). So far we have drafter the cube twice and every time have had a diversity of decks, I'm just not seeing real aggro. In green, I ended up removing all the mana fixing because green just became a base colour for splashing everything and it wasn't much fun. Also, we're lacking true high impact bombs to justify spending so much mana on ramping. There is definitely a lot of lifegain in the cube, I might have to cut some, not sure (on the other hand there are numerous ways to do incidental damage)
Great to hear that you and your friends are already drafting it and having a blast! Have they provided any feedback on the experience other than what you shared here?
There are quite a few powerful (and cheap) 1-drop options that can shape the game. For aggro, you need early and constant pressure, so 1-drops that either grow your resources or that can do something later are at a premium. Cheeky House-Mouse can be an early beater or a late trick that comes with a body Dauntless Bodyguard can be an early beater or some protection for another threat Descendant of Storms is a mana sink that can go tall or wide, given enough time Recruitment Officer beats early and later nets some gas Usher of the Fallen is worse than Descendant of Storms, but still threatening on turn 1 Embereth Veteran beats early and upgrades another creature when it would die Greasewrench Goblin adds to the board and later can get rid of trash for some gas Kumano Faces Kakkazan grows your 2-drop then gives you a 2/2 haste for your troubles Norin, Switft Survivalist along with other cheap creatures makes trading impossible
(this is not an exhaustive list)
First off, thanks for the warm welcome and the feedback ! I'll try to address the concerns you've raised one by one, bear in mind I basically built this cube with the cards I found in my drawers:
Few 1 drops: I couldn't find impactful enough 1 drops (and probably critical mass) and ended up cutting them, which might explain why aggro isn't viable. If you're not trying to push aggro then yeah I can understand not playing many.
I think this decision makes the cube susceptible to building a disproportionate number goodstuff grindy value decks, but if that's what you're into then go for it. I do think it's a shame to not have at least one Llanowar Elves varient though.
Kind of the same thing, I didn't find enough space for impactful spells AND good 2 drops. I ended up removing most of them. The 2 left are super high quality cards
I think you're seriously overrating Augur of Bolas. A 1/3 that puts the top three cards of your library onto the bottom more than half the time isn't anything to write home about.
My balance between spells and creature is off, mainly due to 2 things: I wanted to have kind of a spellslinger/burn vibe in Izzet and I wanted big spells in blue. The other creatures weren't not good enough and didn't make the cut (hard to compete against things like Serra's Sphinx)
That's fair enough, but you win games of limited with creatures turning sideways and your players will need them to play the game. I'd suggest looking at the creature:spell ratios and mana curves in retail sets to get an idea of what "normal" looks like. You can deviate from that, but I wouldn't recommend straying too far on your first go.
Guild cards: That's quite interesting, it's mainly due to the limited pool of cards I had to draw from and my lack of knowledge about the format, feel free to suggest cards I could try to find to supplement those (I'd love to have more guild oriented cards, it's just very hard to cut now)
Guild cards are only playable in 10% of decks (an Izzet card can only be played in a deck that is both red AND blue). A red card on the other hand can be played in 20% of decks. By dedicating 15% of your list to these cards, you're severly reducing the proportion of the drafted cards that your players will actually be able to use. At 360 I would not go above 4 per guild, and in the past have gone as low as 2.
The issue of playing different numbers of guild cards in different guilds is that it's effectively advantaging the drafters in those guilds compared to the rest of the table. You can do that if you want to, but it's something that you as the designer should be aware of and do with a purpose.
Which dual lands are you referring to ? The gates ? I'm in the process of reshaping the manabase with trilands and/or basic type bilands (no idea how to call them). I'm still looking for a few cards and I want my online list to be true to my paper version at all times.
Karoos were on their way out in most lists over a decade ago, but they're mechanically interesting and I wouldn't fault anyone for running them.
Gates on the other hand had their time in the sun a long time ago (Gainlands came out with KTK in like 2013 right?). Consider the following list of vaguely increasing power/utility:
What is wrong with mogg flunkies ? I like the card and it felt like a way to build aggro when playing 2 colours. I mean I know it's not very good but still, it might be nostalgia.
A 1R 3/3 with downside has been massively power-krept in the last decade. There's lots of different options but I'll just say Belligerent Yearling off the top of my head.
You're right about the red cards, I'm in a pickle now.
Yeah might be worth reconsidering these cards. You don't want to have traps for your drafters in the list that make them think that a certain strategy is a supported when it's not really.
There's also very weird choices like Knightfisher with no other birds in the cube. What's the idea behind playing this card?
I'm glad you and your friends are having fun and it's your list so feel free to ignore all my academic complaints and run whatever list you like.
@blitkun
Thanks for your feedback. This cube is meant to be a 1V1 experience, and I'd rather keep it at 360 if possible for upkeep issue (sleeving, storing and moving the cube around + I feel like seeing every card when we are a full pod is very satisfying). I've always felt like 1 or 2 drop had such a low impact on the game that they ended up being removed, but it led to the demise of aggro (note you can still win by turning overwhelming your opponent, mainly through pings/drain effects as well as go wide and go tall strategies). So far we have drafter the cube twice and every time have had a diversity of decks, I'm just not seeing real aggro. In green, I ended up removing all the mana fixing because green just became a base colour for splashing everything and it wasn't much fun. Also, we're lacking true high impact bombs to justify spending so much mana on ramping. There is definitely a lot of lifegain in the cube, I might have to cut some, not sure (on the other hand there are numerous ways to do incidental damage)
Great to hear that you and your friends are already drafting it and having a blast! Have they provided any feedback on the experience other than what you shared here?
There are quite a few powerful (and cheap) 1-drop options that can shape the game. For aggro, you need early and constant pressure, so 1-drops that either grow your resources or that can do something later are at a premium. Cheeky House-Mouse can be an early beater or a late trick that comes with a body Dauntless Bodyguard can be an early beater or some protection for another threat Descendant of Storms is a mana sink that can go tall or wide, given enough time Recruitment Officer beats early and later nets some gas Usher of the Fallen is worse than Descendant of Storms, but still threatening on turn 1 Embereth Veteran beats early and upgrades another creature when it would die Greasewrench Goblin adds to the board and later can get rid of trash for some gas Kumano Faces Kakkazan grows your 2-drop then gives you a 2/2 haste for your troubles Norin, Switft Survivalist along with other cheap creatures makes trading impossible
(this is not an exhaustive list)
Cheers for the list of 1 drops, unfortunately I don't own any of those, so I'll have to see if any of my friend has some physical copies. I'll keep it in mind and try to get to that critical mass to allow aggro to be an archetype ! (probably in W, R or Boros. Still cutting cards will be hard, maybe guild cards ? As to their feedback so far they were happy with the cube, but they are kind of new to drafting as well so I don't expect them to be too hard on me you know ...
I think this decision makes the cube susceptible to building a disproportionate number goodstuff grindy value decks, but if that's what you're into then go for it. I do think it's a shame to not have at least one Llanowar Elves varient though.
You're right, I should look into it and add 2/3 llanowar elves variants.
I think you're seriously overrating Augur of Bolas. A 1/3 that puts the top three cards of your library onto the bottom more than half the time isn't anything to write home about.
Yes probably, I kept it for the Izzet spellslinger deck, but it acts like a gold card for this deck and even then it might not be this good. ^^
That's fair enough, but you win games of limited with creatures turning sideways and your players will need them to play the game. I'd suggest looking at the creature:spell ratios and mana curves in retail sets to get an idea of what "normal" looks like. You can deviate from that, but I wouldn't recommend straying too far on your first go.
Do you have any idea where I can find this information condensed ?
Guild cards are only playable in 10% of decks (an Izzet card can only be played in a deck that is both red AND blue). A red card on the other hand can be played in 20% of decks. By dedicating 15% of your list to these cards, you're severly reducing the proportion of the drafted cards that your players will actually be able to use. At 360 I would not go above 4 per guild, and in the past have gone as low as 2.
The issue of playing different numbers of guild cards in different guilds is that it's effectively advantaging the drafters in those guilds compared to the rest of the table. You can do that if you want to, but it's something that you as the designer should be aware of and do with a purpose.
I knew something was off with the guild cards even though I love playing them, I'll try to keep the best of the best, but it breaks my heart truly.
Karoos were on their way out in most lists over a decade ago, but they're mechanically interesting and I wouldn't fault anyone for running them.
Gates on the other hand had their time in the sun a long time ago (Gainlands came out with KTK in like 2013 right?). Consider the following list of vaguely increasing power/utility:
And all the other nonbasic lands that tap for multiple colours like Cryptic Spires
First off, I love karoos, so they aren't going anywhere, I love the gameplay and having access to another one drop (+ re ETB lifegain is sweet). As for the other lands, it's mainly because I don't own any of them, but as I said I'm trying to acquire all 10 trilands (the likes of Mystic Monastery) to incorporate them. I haven't dabbled into utility lands so much (strip mine, bojuka bog and such), I might give it a try later, not sure. Gates need to go, I used to run some gates payoffs, but I removed them as well.
A 1R 3/3 with downside has been massively power-krept in the last decade. There's lots of different options but I'll just say Belligerent Yearling off the top of my head.
I didn't even know about this card, I clearly need to find some good uncos to add to my collection which is a bit old now, power be creeping.:gaping:
Yeah might be worth reconsidering these cards. You don't want to have traps for your drafters in the list that make them think that a certain strategy is a supported when it's not really.
I have no idea what to do with them, it might need a complete overhaul.
There's also very weird choices like Knightfisher with no other birds in the cube. What's the idea behind playing this card?
This card is here simply because I had it and thought it was a decent beater in U decks!
Cheers for the list of 1 drops, unfortunately I don't own any of those, so I'll have to see if any of my friend has some physical copies. I'll keep it in mind and try to get to that critical mass to allow aggro to be an archetype ! (probably in W, R or Boros. Still cutting cards will be hard, maybe guild cards ? As to their feedback so far they were happy with the cube, but they are kind of new to drafting as well so I don't expect them to be too hard on me you know ...
Oh, I wouldn't expect anyone to go hard on you. Building a cube is a process, and takes some effort. The initiative itself (having it built, getting to run drafts) is already a huge step in the right direction. The most important thing is to have fun with it, and deliver the experience you intent with the cube. Regardless if it's being drafted by veterans or newbies to drafting, the enjoyment being there is a great sign.
It means your group likes this idea and wants more of it. Making adjustments based on feedback is merely part of the process. Most of the cards for peasant are quite cheap and easy to find, so I'm rooting for you to get a hold of anything you deem worthy of adding and get to further drafting. Keep the drafts going, keep your friends invested!
That's fair enough, but you win games of limited with creatures turning sideways and your players will need them to play the game. I'd suggest looking at the creature:spell ratios and mana curves in retail sets to get an idea of what "normal" looks like. You can deviate from that, but I wouldn't recommend straying too far on your first go.
Do you have any idea where I can find this information condensed ?
You can start by making some searches at Scryfall. Go to "All Sets", pick a set of your choice and try the following filters:
t:creature c:w (check how many creatures there are for each color, in this example, white)
(t:instant or t:sorcery) c:w (check how many instants and sorceries there are for each color)
Then compare both numbers. In my multiplayer cube (there's a link in my signature) I went for roughly 50/50 split. There are a number of instants and sorceries that make tokens. This is because multiplayer is already prone to board stalls, so having more one-shot effects that do not add to the board help mitigate that. This was a deliberate choice.
For a 1v1 aggressively costed cube, you would want to go the other way: if players are too pressured from the first turns, adding to the board is not optional. So if you want players to have defensive options, you should add things like Wall of Omens, The Birth of Meletis, Gifted Aetherborn and the like to be highly valuable. Otherwise, if you want people to fight over the most cost-efficient threats, take the defensive cards away and make removal more expensive, since it would make 1 and 2 drops that much better. Think of having enough cards of a kind as "knobs" you can turn to tune the cube.
Again, I'm no expert, I'm still learning how to turn those knobs too.
Mark Rosewater has written a lot over the years on the nitty gritty of set design. This would be a useful reference to read. Most cubes deviate from the default skeleton he presents to varying degrees, but the underlying theory is very relevant.
I have another question, I'd like to draft the cube online with a friend, is there a simple way to do so ? Thanks !
I know Draftmancer because Cubecobra redirects there when you want to draft online with other people. Cubecobra itself supports drafting with bots too.
There might be better options out there, but Draftmancer worked really well for my needs. After drafting my friends and I went to Cockatrice, built the drafted decks and played a couple of matches.
Thank you very much for the suggestions. I'm looking at other encore cards such as Kinsbaile Courier, Briarblade Adept and Exquisite Huntmaster. I also think i'll add Gravelighter somewhere to improve the "each opponent sacrifices" effects.
I'm giving a lot of thought into what to do with my cube now. I'll come back here when I make some changes.
My Casual (Shared) Graveyard Matters Battlebox
I wish for more multiplayer options. Particularly seeing more designs for Monarch, Myriad, Encore and other mechanics that work well in multiplayer. I'd love to see more Conspiracies and "draft matters" cards, too.
I also have a soft spot for 2HG, so anything that considers "all attacking creatures", affects other players in a good way (to target teammates) or the like would be amazing.
But mostly, I think BG needs a clear mechanic that does not depend on too much graveyard setup. Food is a good theme, but other than that it's either too parasitic on graveyard to work well or too slow. While I do like some mechanics, like Scavenge (that is just added value on the card), I think BG is a bit dry. Hoping for more Saprolings for Slimefoot, at least.
My Casual (Shared) Graveyard Matters Battlebox
I finally made (a lot of) changes to my cube. Here's a link, if you'd like to have a look.
My Casual (Shared) Graveyard Matters Battlebox
For a few years, I ran a 2HG micro-cube (140 cards, based around the Battlebond partner pairs and other multiplayer mechanics, each team drafted 2 cards at a time and split their draft piles to build decks only after all the cards were drafted).
If you do 2HG with your cube, there are more cards to consider - like the battalion mechanic (when this and at least 2 other creatures attack...) because it counts your teammates attackers, too. Or abilities like Voyaging Satyr that can ramp you or a teammate.
Looking pretty good. I'd love to hear what you think of the changes when you get to play them.
I do have some questions about your Boros equipment archetype. You're running a bunch of signpost cards - Koll, the Forgemaster, Akiri, Fearless Voyager, Bruenor Battlehammer, Brass Squire, Kemba, Kha Regent, etc. - but only have 13 equipment that can be attached to your own creatures, and a lot of those (especially the colorless ones) will be snapped up by any drafter, not just the ones trying to play an equipment theme. Do you find that the Boros player usually gets enough enablers and payoffs, or do they feel shorted on the equipment side?
(Also, random note about your cube - Grafted Wargear and Loxodon Warhammer don't even appear in a search for equipment because they are listed as type "Artifact" rather than "Artifact - Equipment" like all the other equipment.)
I would think you might need a few more to guarantee enough density or as-fan to support those decks (If I'm wrong, ignore the rest of this reply). Choosing red or white equipment would make them less universal and more likely to be available to the Boros drafter. Here are a few suggestions:
-Rabbit Battery - Starts as a hasty 1/1 but has a cheap reconfigure cost to grant +1/+1 and haste to another creature. Please note that reconfigure is not equip and Bruenor's 0 second ability does not apply to reconfigure.
-Lavaspur Boots - Small pump and small protection, but it all adds up, especially with haste and a cheap mana cost.
-Zephyr Boots - Cheap flying and looting (card selection).
-Something that grants vigilance (you've got Forebear's Blade, but adding more can encourage more attacking and still allow for defense) - Short Bow, Batterbone, Kor Halberd - I used a scryfall search for peasant equipment by popularity in commander
-Bladehold War-Whip - I personally am not a fan of "For Mirrodin!" and the overcosted equip costs associated with it, but this offers you a few specific advantages beyond the three mana 2/2 doublestriker. Being in Boros, it won't get snapped up by just any player. And between Bruenor and Brass Squire, you've got support to possibly cheat the five mana equip cost.
-Diamond Pick-Axe - Hard to remove itself, encourages attacks, and gives treasure.
-Fiendlash - It makes blocking tricky and opens up political deals if your players like that ("Block this but don't kill it, and I'll send the damage at that player.")
-Barrow-Blade - I will never stop advocating for this one. For such an unassuming ability, it has a surprising number of uses and nixes so many abilities and death triggers.
2024 Average Peasant Cube|and Discussion
Because I have more decks than fit in a signature
Useful Resources:
MTGSalvation tags
EDHREC
ManabaseCrafter
Oh, for this cube I'm not planning on running 2HG, it'll be mostly 4-player free-for-all. I just really enjoy playing 2HG and have plans of building something (either a cube or a battlebox) focused on it in the future.
The equipment archetype is a bit of a new thing. I found that the previous go-wide theme for RG had little identity and competed with GW's token making along with +1/+1 counters. Felt a bit like a trap. So I decided to change it into equipment so it had more identity.
At first I thought the number of slots for equipment was ok when compared to other cubes, but you're right: in slower games people are more incentivized to pick colorless equipment than in 1x1, so I should take it into account. Thank you very much for bringing this up, I'll add a couple more options. I'll be back when I get it done.
My Casual (Shared) Graveyard Matters Battlebox
I decided against Reconfigure to keep things a bit simpler. For the same reason, For Mirrodin! and Living Weapon are also out. Barrow-Blade indeed looks awesome, but that would be the first Universes Beyond card in the cube, so I'll avoid adding it for now. If I ever concede to adding UB cards, this will very likely be the first addition.
The equipment suite now is the following:
W
Kor Halberd
Greatsword of Tyr
Mace of the Valiant
Plate Armor
R
Fiendlash
Lightning Spear
Two-Handed Axe
C
Bonesplitter
Hunter's Blowgun
Infiltration Lens
Lavaspur Boots
Zephyr Boots
Inquisitor's Flail
Mask of Memory
Quick-Draw Katana
Short Bow
Angelic Armaments
Forebear's Blade
Grafted Wargear
Loxodon Warhammer
This adds to 20 equipment (plus the Bloodthirsty Blade) for the RW archetype. The specific cards for this archetype are:
W
Danitha Capashen, Paragon
Kemba, Kha Regent
R
Champion of the Flame
Valduk, Keeper of the Flame
Blacksmith's Talent
C
Brass Squire
(R/W)
Koll, the Forgemaster
Akiri, Fearless Voyager
Bruenor Battlehammer
There are also creatures that carry equipment very well, such as Brightblade Stoat, Fencing Ace and Aerial Responder.
I added several other equipment and equipment-matters cards to the maybeboard for future analysis. Thank you very much for your feedback, this means a lot to me.
My Casual (Shared) Graveyard Matters Battlebox
Here is the list:
https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/baa22181-066e-478e-be6a-6c149d47d483
My main issue is that I feel like aggro cannot exist (the curves might be too high) and the archetypes aren't exactly balanced.
Hope you guys can help me, thanks so much in advance.
A few structural things stood out to me after a very quick review.
Why are you running:
Draft it on Cubetutor here, and CubeCobra here.
Treasure Cruise did nothing wrong.
In my multiplayer cube, going all-in aggro shouldn't be an option, so I shaved most 1-drops. This alone made a ton of difference when comparing to 1v1 peasant cubes.
My Casual (Shared) Graveyard Matters Battlebox
Thanks for your feedback. This cube is meant to be a 1V1 experience, and I'd rather keep it at 360 if possible for upkeep issue (sleeving, storing and moving the cube around + I feel like seeing every card when we are a full pod is very satisfying). I've always felt like 1 or 2 drop had such a low impact on the game that they ended up being removed, but it led to the demise of aggro (note you can still win by turning overwhelming your opponent, mainly through pings/drain effects as well as go wide and go tall strategies). So far we have drafter the cube twice and every time have had a diversity of decks, I'm just not seeing real aggro. In green, I ended up removing all the mana fixing because green just became a base colour for splashing everything and it wasn't much fun. Also, we're lacking true high impact bombs to justify spending so much mana on ramping. There is definitely a lot of lifegain in the cube, I might have to cut some, not sure (on the other hand there are numerous ways to do incidental damage)
First off, thanks for the warm welcome and the feedback ! I'll try to address the concerns you've raised one by one, bear in mind I basically built this cube with the cards I found in my drawers:
We have been having a blast with this cube, but I'm trying to make a better every time and keep it fresh.
Great to hear that you and your friends are already drafting it and having a blast! Have they provided any feedback on the experience other than what you shared here?
There are quite a few powerful (and cheap) 1-drop options that can shape the game. For aggro, you need early and constant pressure, so 1-drops that either grow your resources or that can do something later are at a premium.
Cheeky House-Mouse can be an early beater or a late trick that comes with a body
Dauntless Bodyguard can be an early beater or some protection for another threat
Descendant of Storms is a mana sink that can go tall or wide, given enough time
Recruitment Officer beats early and later nets some gas
Usher of the Fallen is worse than Descendant of Storms, but still threatening on turn 1
Embereth Veteran beats early and upgrades another creature when it would die
Greasewrench Goblin adds to the board and later can get rid of trash for some gas
Kumano Faces Kakkazan grows your 2-drop then gives you a 2/2 haste for your troubles
Norin, Switft Survivalist along with other cheap creatures makes trading impossible
(this is not an exhaustive list)
My Casual (Shared) Graveyard Matters Battlebox
I think this decision makes the cube susceptible to building a disproportionate number goodstuff grindy value decks, but if that's what you're into then go for it. I do think it's a shame to not have at least one Llanowar Elves varient though.
I think you're seriously overrating Augur of Bolas. A 1/3 that puts the top three cards of your library onto the bottom more than half the time isn't anything to write home about.
That's fair enough, but you win games of limited with creatures turning sideways and your players will need them to play the game. I'd suggest looking at the creature:spell ratios and mana curves in retail sets to get an idea of what "normal" looks like. You can deviate from that, but I wouldn't recommend straying too far on your first go.
Guild cards are only playable in 10% of decks (an Izzet card can only be played in a deck that is both red AND blue). A red card on the other hand can be played in 20% of decks. By dedicating 15% of your list to these cards, you're severly reducing the proportion of the drafted cards that your players will actually be able to use. At 360 I would not go above 4 per guild, and in the past have gone as low as 2.
The issue of playing different numbers of guild cards in different guilds is that it's effectively advantaging the drafters in those guilds compared to the rest of the table. You can do that if you want to, but it's something that you as the designer should be aware of and do with a purpose.
Karoos were on their way out in most lists over a decade ago, but they're mechanically interesting and I wouldn't fault anyone for running them.
Gates on the other hand had their time in the sun a long time ago (Gainlands came out with KTK in like 2013 right?). Consider the following list of vaguely increasing power/utility:
And all the other nonbasic lands that tap for multiple colours like Cryptic Spires
A 1R 3/3 with downside has been massively power-krept in the last decade. There's lots of different options but I'll just say Belligerent Yearling off the top of my head.
Yeah might be worth reconsidering these cards. You don't want to have traps for your drafters in the list that make them think that a certain strategy is a supported when it's not really.
There's also very weird choices like Knightfisher with no other birds in the cube. What's the idea behind playing this card?
I'm glad you and your friends are having fun and it's your list so feel free to ignore all my academic complaints and run whatever list you like.
Draft it on Cubetutor here, and CubeCobra here.
Treasure Cruise did nothing wrong.
Cheers for the list of 1 drops, unfortunately I don't own any of those, so I'll have to see if any of my friend has some physical copies. I'll keep it in mind and try to get to that critical mass to allow aggro to be an archetype ! (probably in W, R or Boros. Still cutting cards will be hard, maybe guild cards ? As to their feedback so far they were happy with the cube, but they are kind of new to drafting as well so I don't expect them to be too hard on me you know ...
I'll have a look at your cube to get inspiration.
You're right, I should look into it and add 2/3 llanowar elves variants.
Yes probably, I kept it for the Izzet spellslinger deck, but it acts like a gold card for this deck and even then it might not be this good. ^^
Do you have any idea where I can find this information condensed ?
I knew something was off with the guild cards even though I love playing them, I'll try to keep the best of the best, but it breaks my heart truly.
First off, I love karoos, so they aren't going anywhere, I love the gameplay and having access to another one drop (+ re ETB lifegain is sweet). As for the other lands, it's mainly because I don't own any of them, but as I said I'm trying to acquire all 10 trilands (the likes of Mystic Monastery) to incorporate them. I haven't dabbled into utility lands so much (strip mine, bojuka bog and such), I might give it a try later, not sure. Gates need to go, I used to run some gates payoffs, but I removed them as well.
I didn't even know about this card, I clearly need to find some good uncos to add to my collection which is a bit old now, power be creeping.:gaping:
I have no idea what to do with them, it might need a complete overhaul.
This card is here simply because I had it and thought it was a decent beater in U decks!
Oh, I wouldn't expect anyone to go hard on you. Building a cube is a process, and takes some effort. The initiative itself (having it built, getting to run drafts) is already a huge step in the right direction. The most important thing is to have fun with it, and deliver the experience you intent with the cube. Regardless if it's being drafted by veterans or newbies to drafting, the enjoyment being there is a great sign.
It means your group likes this idea and wants more of it. Making adjustments based on feedback is merely part of the process. Most of the cards for peasant are quite cheap and easy to find, so I'm rooting for you to get a hold of anything you deem worthy of adding and get to further drafting. Keep the drafts going, keep your friends invested!
You can start by making some searches at Scryfall. Go to "All Sets", pick a set of your choice and try the following filters:
t:creature c:w (check how many creatures there are for each color, in this example, white)
(t:instant or t:sorcery) c:w (check how many instants and sorceries there are for each color)
Then compare both numbers. In my multiplayer cube (there's a link in my signature) I went for roughly 50/50 split. There are a number of instants and sorceries that make tokens. This is because multiplayer is already prone to board stalls, so having more one-shot effects that do not add to the board help mitigate that. This was a deliberate choice.
For a 1v1 aggressively costed cube, you would want to go the other way: if players are too pressured from the first turns, adding to the board is not optional. So if you want players to have defensive options, you should add things like Wall of Omens, The Birth of Meletis, Gifted Aetherborn and the like to be highly valuable. Otherwise, if you want people to fight over the most cost-efficient threats, take the defensive cards away and make removal more expensive, since it would make 1 and 2 drops that much better. Think of having enough cards of a kind as "knobs" you can turn to tune the cube.
Again, I'm no expert, I'm still learning how to turn those knobs too.
My Casual (Shared) Graveyard Matters Battlebox
https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/making-magic/nuts-bolts-13-design-skeleton-revisited-2021-03-22
Draft it on Cubetutor here, and CubeCobra here.
Treasure Cruise did nothing wrong.
I know Draftmancer because Cubecobra redirects there when you want to draft online with other people. Cubecobra itself supports drafting with bots too.
There might be better options out there, but Draftmancer worked really well for my needs. After drafting my friends and I went to Cockatrice, built the drafted decks and played a couple of matches.
My Casual (Shared) Graveyard Matters Battlebox