Well, you inspired me to get my cube posted, finally. Now I'm looking at the cards in yours for inspiration--stuff others don't run, but are dirt cheap, like dread and living hive.
While this cube began as a very budget cube--I have an early iteration saved at the bottom of this first post, for those interested--through a combination of the generosity friends and family and my total inability to stop spending money, my cube has developed into a fairly respectable unpowered cube. I still work hard not to spend too much, and am now limiting myself to $10-$15 per new set. I only have a few "holes" left in the cube that I'm actively looking to fill, and the easy pickings from the older cards have already been bought. So I'm not going to spend any more, right? Right?
I also have a fully powered Space Cube, so I want to keep my two cubes as distinct as possible in gameplay. I am not looking to build the most powerful cube I can, but the most enjoyable one. I don't mind this cube being a bit slower and looser. I want to be able to play the not-quite-top-tier cards that are a lot of fun--cards like Ludevich's Test Subject that don't quite make it into most cubes. I enjoy and support aggro, but not nearly as much as many people here. My average CC is 3.06, and that feels about right for me. I try to keep my curves fairly lean, but also like to have an extra fatty or two in each color. I am less concerned with a Woodfall Primus going late a lot than a ramp/reanimation deck not having a finisher available in a Winston. It has happened to me enough time that I don't mind the extra fat.
90% of my drafts are with two people, now in a hybrid of Winston and Grid drafting. This skews how the cube plays, requiring more support for some archetypes. When I practice draft this on tappedout.net, I'm amazed at the streamlined synergistic decks I can make, and the strong aggro. Two-player drafts tend more towards midrange/control slugfests.
I don't enjoy cutting cards, and my cube has slowly grown from 450 to 500. I don't expect it to grow much more, partially because I bought a nice box that just fits it.
Since cube is the only MTG I play, I am more likely to test marginal new cards in the cube to try them out. There will be a lot more temporary swaps of mediocre cards here than in most cubes, as a result.
I run fast artifact mana, including Mana Vault and Grim Monolith. I have recently decided to cut Sol Ring, as the single best card in the cube by a wide margin, and not particularly interesting, either. I am considering cutting all fast mana (along with the Tezzerets and the artifact deck).
I use a guild system, but am not rigid about it. I run 8 cards in each guild, but currently run a 9th in Dimir. I am pretty loose with hybrids--to make space in the guilds, I put Dryad Militant in white, Kitchen Finks in green, for example.
Note: Finally, this list is up to date as of 4/26/2103
Basic Information Cube Size: I am now at 503. Breakdown: 70 of each color, 8 in each guild, 5 shard, 15 lands, 55 artifacts/phyrexian. Standard or Theme: Standard Snow Lands: No Average Number of Players: Sadly, 2 will be most common. How Often Drafted: Roughly once a week, recently.
Card Selection Proxies: Perhaps a dozen gold-bordered cards Powered: Not at all Portal: No "Un" Cards: Booster Tutor Banned Cards for Power-Level: Considering the weakness of this cube, yep. Sol Ring has already been cut. Banned Cards for Time Constraints: No Banned Cards for "fun" factor: I might ban stuff that was unfun, none banned yet.
Cube Design Standard or Multiplayer: Standard Sideboards?: Yes Color Balance: Yes Gold Balance: Yes Hybrid/Split/Kicker as Gold: Yes, so far. Color Triggers as Gold: Most often. Perfectly Balanced CMC: Ye gods no
Average cc=2.87. ($222) Blink and tokens (and thus anthems) are unusually well-supported, as well as the usual wraths and white weenie.
I am an on-again/off-again Magic player who fell in love with the idea of a Cube. I had sold all of my cards off around Mirrodin, but when my sister-in-law asked me to teach her the game I quickly bought a few odd lots of cards to build some decks again. I got lots of draft cast-offs from a playgroup nearby and a bunch of Alara stuff. I won an eBay auction for a huge lot of recent unplayable rares, too. This was the basis of my first attempt at a cube, and it was horrible. Due to the sets I was working from, the cube was maybe two-fifths multicolored, and most all of the best cards were gold. I carefully balanced the casting costs and ratios, but it was simply not a fun drafting experience.
Fortunately, I found these forums. I’ve wasted far too much time at work reading people’s pauper and peasant cubes, and looking at Eidelon’s indispensable list of the most cubable cards. In the last month, I’ve placed two tcgplayer orders for around $30 total, and my cube is vastly, vastly improved. Gold is still too big, but is manageable. Basically, if there was a card available for $0.20 or less that was in ANYONE’S cube, I picked it up. I sorted the best-of lists by price, and have now picked much of the lowest-hanging fruit. I told myself I wouldn’t spend a dollar on any one card, and so far I haven’t. I discovered that the best commons and uncommons were often much more expensive—and I realize that making the distinction between a $0.20 rare and a $0.75 uncommon is ridiculous in a cube forum—than interestingly bad or suboptimal rares, so my cube is chock-full of bad rares. I enjoy having a dirt-cheap cube--I don't even sleeve the things, shockingly. The oddest inclusions are usually stuff I just happened to have for some reason, and the best cards (Path, Coalition Relic, Bloodbraid Elf) are stuff that I lucked into for some reason.
I have a fairly firm limit of $20 to finish fixing the cube, for the time being at least. Since there is so much work still to be done, I’m hesitant to spend $3-4 on any one card, no matter how good it is. (For example, I really need a Wrath effect in white, but…) I have relied on many of the stats available here to find good cheap cards, but would like some more advice. I love lists of “dark horse” cards and odd picks, and also need suggestions as to what is the most cuttable among this dreck.
Thanks for the help this community has already given!
Basic Information Cube Size: My aim is to get this to around 350, but I’m not picky. Breakdown: 50 of each color, 50 artifact/land, 6 of each Gold/Hybrid color pair. Note that I am not there yet, and have too many in some sections. Standard or Theme: Standard, unless “crap rare” is a theme… Snow Lands: No Average Number of Players: Sadly, 2 will be most common. How Often Drafted: Not sure yet; hopefully twice a month
Card Selection Proxies: No, I (gasp!) don’t sleeve my cards. Powered: This cube is more antipowered than unpowered… Portal: No "Un" Cards: Not against it, but don’t have any Banned Cards for Power-Level: Considering the weakness of this cube, yep Banned Cards for Time Constraints: No Banned Cards for "fun" factor: I might ban stuff that was unfun, none banned yet
Cube Design Standard or Multiplayer: Standard Sideboards?: Don’t know yet Color Balance: Yes Gold Balance: Yes Hybrid/Split/Kicker as Gold: Hybrid yes, kicker no. Color Triggers as Gold: No Perfectly Balanced CMC: Ye gods no
I try to enable White Weenie to work, and have a general grab bag of suboptimal removal spells. (See Neck Snap…) There are no classic white board sweepers, such as Wrath of God, as they are all out of my miserly price range.
I seem to have drifted into a clone/steal theme with blue, alongside typical counterspells and flying critters. I dearly love silly tricks like Willbender and the obviously unworthy Aetherplasm. My counterspells are suboptimal, but I will be getting Counterspell soon, at least.
I have spent the most, relatively speaking, on getting reanimator to work as an archetype in the cube. I think I need more discard effects, though. I may have too many “kill nonblack creature” spells in, but they always are appreciated.
I started with a cube that was roughly one-third multicolor and hybrid, due to the odd collection I started with. I am now down to five or six in each color, and plan to keep cutting.
Since they’re so widely playable, I have upgraded this section the most. I had truly awful stuff in before, and now it’s simply bad. I love crap rares like Lightning Coils and Minion Reflector, sadly… Equipment probably needs the biggest upgrade.
My land is by far the weakest section. Good land tends to be pricey, so for now at least, I am sadly breaking the highlander rule and running four each of Terramorphic Expanse and Shimmering Grotto. I want three-color decks to be possible, and with almost all basic land it was simply too risky.
Aw, man. Your previous thread inspired me to start typing up my own fantastically underpowered cube to put up here, and get over my embarrassment. Now you've posted yours, and it's more powered than mine! Seriously, though, it's in far better shape than I expected from your earliest posts, at least from my lowly position.
Now Eidilon and the other tech masters can do their thing...
Oh, my bad. Most of the exciting, high risk/high reward cards with unique and memorable effects tend to be rares, unfortunately.
I had a very underpowered peasantish cube, and decided to redefine "peasant" to mean common, uncommon, or rare that costs less than $.25, for this reason. Now my cube is full of crappy fun rares, and I have to spend to most to get uncommon stuff like Calciderm and Cloudgoat Ranger...
I see you have Lost Auramancers in white--it's the only other cube I've found with that in it! If you're open to stuff like that--i.e., cards so underpowered most cubes wouldn't touch them--I also enjoy the interesting fog effect of Chronomantic Escape.
My favorite card is the only Un-card I run in my cube: Booster Tutor. It's absurdly powerful (we flip 14 cards from the undrafted cube box), skill-testing, and dramatic.
Genesis
Contagion Clasp
Boros Charm
I also have a fully powered Space Cube, so I want to keep my two cubes as distinct as possible in gameplay. I am not looking to build the most powerful cube I can, but the most enjoyable one. I don't mind this cube being a bit slower and looser. I want to be able to play the not-quite-top-tier cards that are a lot of fun--cards like Ludevich's Test Subject that don't quite make it into most cubes. I enjoy and support aggro, but not nearly as much as many people here. My average CC is 3.06, and that feels about right for me. I try to keep my curves fairly lean, but also like to have an extra fatty or two in each color. I am less concerned with a Woodfall Primus going late a lot than a ramp/reanimation deck not having a finisher available in a Winston. It has happened to me enough time that I don't mind the extra fat.
90% of my drafts are with two people, now in a hybrid of Winston and Grid drafting. This skews how the cube plays, requiring more support for some archetypes. When I practice draft this on tappedout.net, I'm amazed at the streamlined synergistic decks I can make, and the strong aggro. Two-player drafts tend more towards midrange/control slugfests.
I don't enjoy cutting cards, and my cube has slowly grown from 450 to 500. I don't expect it to grow much more, partially because I bought a nice box that just fits it.
Since cube is the only MTG I play, I am more likely to test marginal new cards in the cube to try them out. There will be a lot more temporary swaps of mediocre cards here than in most cubes, as a result.
I run fast artifact mana, including Mana Vault and Grim Monolith. I have recently decided to cut Sol Ring, as the single best card in the cube by a wide margin, and not particularly interesting, either. I am considering cutting all fast mana (along with the Tezzerets and the artifact deck).
I use a guild system, but am not rigid about it. I run 8 cards in each guild, but currently run a 9th in Dimir. I am pretty loose with hybrids--to make space in the guilds, I put Dryad Militant in white, Kitchen Finks in green, for example.
Many of the priciest cards are gold-bordered World Championship cards (Survival of the Fittest, Rishadan Port, etc.) Otherwise I don't proxy.
You can practice draft the current list here:http://tappedout.net/mtg-cube-drafts/tomchaps-budget-cube/. I have just learned to play on MWS, so if someone actually wants to draft and play, send me a PM!
Note: Finally, this list is up to date as of 4/26/2103
Basic Information
Cube Size: I am now at 503.
Breakdown: 70 of each color, 8 in each guild, 5 shard, 15 lands, 55 artifacts/phyrexian.
Standard or Theme: Standard
Snow Lands: No
Average Number of Players: Sadly, 2 will be most common.
How Often Drafted: Roughly once a week, recently.
Card Selection
Proxies: Perhaps a dozen gold-bordered cards
Powered: Not at all
Portal: No
"Un" Cards: Booster Tutor
Banned Cards for Power-Level: Considering the weakness of this cube, yep. Sol Ring has already been cut.
Banned Cards for Time Constraints: No
Banned Cards for "fun" factor: I might ban stuff that was unfun, none banned yet.
Cube Design
Standard or Multiplayer: Standard
Sideboards?: Yes
Color Balance: Yes
Gold Balance: Yes
Hybrid/Split/Kicker as Gold: Yes, so far.
Color Triggers as Gold: Most often.
Perfectly Balanced CMC: Ye gods no
Average cc=2.87. ($222) Blink and tokens (and thus anthems) are unusually well-supported, as well as the usual wraths and white weenie.
1 Elite Vanguard
1 Savannah Lions
1 Mother of Runes
1 Weathered Wayfarer
1 Student of Warfare
1 Isamaru, Hound of Konda
1 Steppe Lynx
1 Goldmeadow Harrier
1 Dryad Militant
Two CMC
1 Soltari Monk
1 Cloistered Youth
1 Soltari Priest
1 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
1 Accorder Paladin
1 Lone Missionary
1 Nearheath Pilgrim
1 Kor Skyfisher
1 Precinct Captain
1 Wall of Omens
1 Soltari Trooper
1 Knight of Meadowgrain
1 Knight of the White Orchid
1 Eight-and-a-Half Tails
1 Flickerwisp
1 Blade Splicer
1 Mirror Entity
1 Kor Sanctifiers
1 Pianna, Nomad Captain
1 Mirran Crusader
1 Soltari Champion
1 Silverblade Paladin
Four CMC
1 Hero of Bladehold
1 Restoration Angel
1 Exalted Angel
1 Emeria Angel
1 Hokori, Dust Drinker
Five CMC
1 Cloudgoat Ranger
1 Baneslayer Angel
1 Reveillark
1 Sun Titan
1 Eternal Dragon
1 Mikaeus the Lunarch
1 Path to Exile
1 Harm's Way
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Mana Tithe
Two CMC
1 Disenchant
1 Honor of the Pure
1 Journey to Nowhere
1 Luminarch Ascension
1 Balance
1 Temporal Isolation
1 Shrine of Loyal Legions
1 Glorious Anthem
1 Oblivion Ring
1 Spectral Procession
Four CMC
1 Parallax Wave
1 Armageddon
1 Angelic Destiny
1 Faith’s Fetters
1 Ajani Goldmane
1 Day of Judgment
1 Wrath of God
1 Elspeth Tirel
1 Gideon Jura
1 Decree of Justice
1 Increasing Devotion
1 Catastrophe
1 Austere Command
1 Martial Coup
Average cc=3.18. ($334) I run a bit more bounce than normal, it seems. Apparently I'm also three cards short!
1 Enclave Cryptologist
Two CMC
1 Snapcaster Mage
1 Ludevic's Test Subject
1 Mindshrieker
1 Looter Il-Kor
1 Merfolk Looter
1 Willbender
Three CMC
1 Man-O-War
1 Vesuvan Shapeshifter
1 Aether Adept
1 Pestermite
1 Sea Gate Oracle
1 Wake Thrasher
1 Deceiver Exarch
1 Serendib Efreet
1 Glen Elendra Archmage
1 Sower of Temptation
1 Venser, Shaper Savant
1 Dungeon Geists
Five CMC
1 Mulldrifter
1 Meloku of the Clouded Mirror
Six Plus
1 Frost Titan
1 Consecrated Sphinx
1 Keiga, the Tide Star
1 Shelldock Isle
1 Faerie Conclave
One CMC
1 Preordain
1 Ancestral Vision
1 Brainstorm
1 Ponder
1 Force Spike
1 Mystical Tutor
Two CMC
1 Mana Leak
1 Impulse
1 Miscalculation
1 Memory Lapse
1 Into the Roil
1 Cyclonic Rift
1 Counterspell
1 Remand
1 Jace Beleren
1 Capsize
1 Tinker
1 Thirst for Knowledge
1 Psionic Blast
1 Forbid
1 Frantic Search
1 Complicate
1 Vedalken Shackles
1 Exclude
1 Topsy Turvy
Four CMC
1 Gifts Ungiven
1 Deep Analysis
1 Control Magic
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Opposition
1 Time Warp
1 Temporal Mastery
1 Bribery
1 Force of Will
1 Tezzeret the Seeker
1 Upheaval
1 Treachery
1 Desertion
1 Condescend
1 Repeal
1 Future Sight
Average cc=2.91. ($220) I've been experimenting with a bit of Pox/recursion, as well as the usual aggro one drops and reanimator.
1 Vampire Lacerator
1 Carnophage
1 Diregraf Ghoul
1 Gravecrawler
1 Sarcomancy
Two CMC
1 Nantuko Shade
1 Bloodghast
1 Dauthi Horror
1 Nezumi Graverobber
1 Oona’s Prowler
1 Vampire Hexmage
1 Pack Rat
1 Blood Artist
1 Reassembling Skeleton
1 Hypnotic Specter
1 Bone Shredder
1 Liliana’s Specter
1 Dauthi Marauder
1 Vampire Nighthawk
Four CMC
1 Bane of the Living
1 Sewer Nemesis
1 Skinrender
1 Graveborn Muse
1 Braids, Cabal Minion
1 Nekrataal
1 Bloodline Keeper
1 Murderous Redcap
1 Desecration Demon
1 Puppeteer Clique
1 Shriekmaw
1 Ob Nixilis, the Fallen
Six Plus
1 Grave Titan
1 Massacre Wurm
1 Sheoldred, Whispering One
1 Volrath's Stronghold
One CMC
1 Inquisition of Kozilek
1 Dark Ritual
1 Booster Tutor
1 Duress
1 Despise
1 Reanimate
Two CMC
1 Exhume
1 Ultimate Price
1 Chainer's Edict
1 Go For The Throat
1 Hymn to Tourach
1 Animate Dead
1 Doom Blade
1 Terror
1 Bitterblossom
1 Diabolic Edict
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Dance of the Dead
1 Phyrexian Arena
1 Stupor
1 Recurring Nightmare
1 Necromancy
1 Necropotence
1 Buried Alive
Four CMC
1 Makeshift Mannequin
1 Diabolic Servitude
1 Snuff Out
1 Consuming Vapors
1 Barter in Blood
Five CMC or X
1 Liliana Vess
1 Sorin Markov
1 Profane Command
1 Living Death
1 Black Sun's Zenith
1 Life's Finale
Average cc=2.81. ($169) Aggro is strong, but I want to leave a few tools for red control, too.
1 Stromkirk Noble
1 Grim Lavamancer
1 Jackal Pup
1 Goblin Guide
1 Spikeshot Elder
1 Greater Gargadon
1 Rakdos Cackler
1 Reckless Waif
Two CMC
1 Plated Geopede
1 Fireslinger
1 Stormblood Beserker
1 Keldon Marauders
1 Hellspark Elemental
1 Torch Fiend
1 Lightning Mauler
1 Mogg War Marshal
1 Ash Zealot
1 Gore-House Chainwalker
1 Manic Vandal
1 Zo-Zu the Punisher
1 Fire Imp
1 Chandra's Phoenix
1 Hell's Thunder
1 Keldon Vandals
Four CMC
1 Flametongue Kavu
1 Hellrider
1 Hero of Oxid Ridge
1 Avalanche Riders
1 Keldon Champion
1 Blistering Firecat
1 Siege-Gang Commander
1 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
1 Zealous Conscripts
Six Plus
1 Inferno Titan
1 Akroma, Angel of Fury
1 Burst Lightning
1 Reckless Charge
1 Lightning Bolt
1 Firebolt
1 Faithless Looting
Two CMC
1 Incinerate
1 Searing Blaze
1 Searing Spear
1 Pyroclasm
1 Magma Jet
1 Arc Trail
1 Smash to Smithereens
1 Final Fortune
1 Staggershock
1 Shrine of Burning Rage
1 Wheel of Fortune
1 Sulfuric Vortex
1 Rivalry
1 Chaos Warp
1 Arc Lightning
1 Flames of the Firebrand
1 Char
1 Brimstone Volley
1 Molten Rain
1 Pillage
1 Slagstorm
1 Chandra the Firebrand
1 Koth of the Hammer
Five Plus
1 Chandra Nalaar
1 Fireblast
1 Wildfire
1 Devil's Play
1 Earthquake
1 Red Sun's Zenith
1 Starstorm
Average cc=3.08. ($241). Not much aggro support anymore, but ramp and big dudes.
1 Avacyn's Pilgrim
1 Ulvenwald Tracker
1 Birds of Paradise
1 Fyndhorn Elves
1 Experiment One
1 Arbor Elf
1 Joraga Treespeaker
1 Llanowar Elves
1 Wolfbitten Captive
Two CMC
1 Fauna Shaman
1 Mayor of Avabruck
1 River Boa
1 Lotus Cobra
1 Strangleroot Geist
1 Wall of Blossoms
1 Skinshifter
1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
1 Wild Mongrel
1 Wall of Roots
1 Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary
1 Scryb Ranger
1 Eternal Witness
1 Ohran Viper
1 Uktabi Orangutan
1 Yavimaya Elder
1 Troll Ascetic
1 Wolfir Avenger
1 Somberwald Sage
1 Champion of Lambholt
1 Kitchen Finks
Four CMC
1 Wickerbough Elder
1 Phantom Centaur
1 Master of the Wild Hunt
1 Obstinate Baloth
1 Deadbridge Goliath
1 Chameleon Colossus
1 Vengevine
1 Yeva, Nature's Herald
1 Thrun, the Last Troll
1 Oracle of Mul Daya
1 Thornling
1 Wolfir Silverheart
1 Deranged Hermit
1 Acidic Slime
1 Indrik Stomphowler
Six Plus
1 Krosan Tusker
1 Hornet Queen
1 Woodfall Primus
1 Primeval Titan
1 Treetop Village
One CMC
1 Vines of Vastwood
1 Worldly Tutor
1 Rancor
Two CMC
1 Survival of the Fittest
1 Regrowth
Three CMC
1 Harrow
1 Kodama's Reach
1 Cultivate
1 Beast Within
1 Awakening Zone
1 Call of the Herd
1 Harmonize
1 Birthing Pod
1 Bramblecrush
1 Garruk Wildspeaker
1 Garruk Relentless
Five Plus
1 Plow Under
1 Garruk, Primal Hunter
1 Primal Command
1 Green Sun's Zenith
Average cc=3.58. ($435) My budget lands work quite well, thank you. I wish I had more space for spells and creatures...
1 Grand Arbiter Augustin IV
1 Venser, the Sojourner
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Azorious Signet
1 Celestial Colonnade
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Seachrome Coast
1 Glacial Fortress
Blue/Black
1 Shadowmage Infiltrator
1 Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
1 Havengul Lich
1 Dimir Signet
1 Creeping Tar Pit
1 Drowned Catacomb
1 Watery Grave
1 Darkslick Shores
1 Duskmantle Seer
Black/Red
1 Sarkhan the Mad
1 Terminate
1 Bituminous Blast
1 Dreadbore
1 Lavaclaw Reaches
1 Blackcleave Cliffs
1 Blood Crypt
1 Dragonskull Summit
Red/Green
1 Bloodbraid Elf
1 Sarkhan Vol
1 Kessig Wolf Run
1 Ghor-Clan Rampager
1 Rootbound Crag
1 Raging Ravine
1 Stomping Ground
1 Copperline Gorge
1 Selesnya Charm
1 Mirari's Wake
1 Qasali Pridemage
1 Razorverge Thicket
1 Temple Garden
1 Sunpetal Grove
1 Stirring Wildwood
1 Gavony Township
White/Black
1 Desolation Angel
1 Gerrard's Verdict
1 Lingering Souls
1 Orzhov Signet
1 Isolated Chapel
1 Godless Shrine
1 Vault of the Archangel
1 Caves of Koilos
Blue/Red
1 Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius
1 Electrolyze
1 Izzet Charm
1 Izzet Signet
1 Sulfur Falls
1 Steam Vents
1 Shivan Reef
1 Izzet Boilerworks
Black/Green
1 Glissa, the Traitor
1 Putrefy
1 Lotleth Troll
1 Vraska the Unseen
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Woodland Cemetery
1 Llanowar Wastes
1 Golgari Rot Farm
1 Ajani Vengeant
1 Lightning Helix
1 Figure of Destiny
1 Boros Reckoner
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Battlefield Forge
1 Clifftop Retreat
1 Slayers' Stronghold
Green/Blue
1 Mystic Snake
1 Trygon Predator
1 Edric, Spymaster of Trest
1 Prime Speaker Zegana
1 Simic Signet
1 Simic Growth Chamber
1 Hinterland Harbor
1 Breeding Pool
Shard
1 Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker
1 The Mimeoplasm
1 Maelstrom Wanderer
1 Wild Nactl
1 Sen Triplets
Average cc=3.13 ($375). Lots of unusual and fun stuff in here. I support fast mana, but am considering cutting it.
1 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Sundering Titan
1 Kozilek, Butcher of Truth
1 Lodestone Golem
1 Razormane Masticore
1 Moltentail Masticore
1 Spellskite
1 Squee, Goblin Nabob
1 Perilous Myr
1 Phyrexian Revoker
1 Precursor Golem
1 Myr Battlesphere
1 Masticore
1 Porcelain Legionnaire
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
Equipment
1 Skullclamp
1 Mortarpod
1 Basilisk Collar
1 Bonesplitter
1 Sword of Body and Mind
1 Grafted Wargear
1 Loxodon Warhammer
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Bonehoard
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Sword of War and Peace
1 Everflowing Chalice
1 Gilded Lotus
1 Lotus Bloom
1 Chromatic Lantern
1 Mana Vault
1 Grim Monolith
1 Mind Stone
1 Coalition Relic
Miscellaneous
1 Mimic Vat
1 Smokestack
1 Pithing Needle
1 Memory Jar
1 Nevinyrral's Disk
1 Tangle Wire
1 Powder Keg
1 Cursed Scroll
1 Winter Orb
1 Mindslaver
1 Icy Manipulator
1 Ankh of Mishra
1 Crystal Ball
1 Crystal Shard
1 Black Vise
1 Erratic Portal
1 Dismember
1 Trading Post
1 Contagion Clasp
1 Helm of Possession
Most of the land is now in the guild section...
1 Mishra's Factory
1 Gemstone Mine
1 City of Brass
1 Evolving Wilds
1 Grand Coliseum
1 Rishadan Port
1 Zoetic Cavern
1 Wasteland
1 Strip Mine
1 Vivid Marsh
1 Vivid Creek
1 Vivid Meadow
1 Vivid Grove
I am an on-again/off-again Magic player who fell in love with the idea of a Cube. I had sold all of my cards off around Mirrodin, but when my sister-in-law asked me to teach her the game I quickly bought a few odd lots of cards to build some decks again. I got lots of draft cast-offs from a playgroup nearby and a bunch of Alara stuff. I won an eBay auction for a huge lot of recent unplayable rares, too. This was the basis of my first attempt at a cube, and it was horrible. Due to the sets I was working from, the cube was maybe two-fifths multicolored, and most all of the best cards were gold. I carefully balanced the casting costs and ratios, but it was simply not a fun drafting experience.
Fortunately, I found these forums. I’ve wasted far too much time at work reading people’s pauper and peasant cubes, and looking at Eidelon’s indispensable list of the most cubable cards. In the last month, I’ve placed two tcgplayer orders for around $30 total, and my cube is vastly, vastly improved. Gold is still too big, but is manageable. Basically, if there was a card available for $0.20 or less that was in ANYONE’S cube, I picked it up. I sorted the best-of lists by price, and have now picked much of the lowest-hanging fruit. I told myself I wouldn’t spend a dollar on any one card, and so far I haven’t. I discovered that the best commons and uncommons were often much more expensive—and I realize that making the distinction between a $0.20 rare and a $0.75 uncommon is ridiculous in a cube forum—than interestingly bad or suboptimal rares, so my cube is chock-full of bad rares. I enjoy having a dirt-cheap cube--I don't even sleeve the things, shockingly. The oddest inclusions are usually stuff I just happened to have for some reason, and the best cards (Path, Coalition Relic, Bloodbraid Elf) are stuff that I lucked into for some reason.
I have a fairly firm limit of $20 to finish fixing the cube, for the time being at least. Since there is so much work still to be done, I’m hesitant to spend $3-4 on any one card, no matter how good it is. (For example, I really need a Wrath effect in white, but…) I have relied on many of the stats available here to find good cheap cards, but would like some more advice. I love lists of “dark horse” cards and odd picks, and also need suggestions as to what is the most cuttable among this dreck.
Thanks for the help this community has already given!
Basic Information
Cube Size: My aim is to get this to around 350, but I’m not picky.
Breakdown: 50 of each color, 50 artifact/land, 6 of each Gold/Hybrid color pair. Note that I am not there yet, and have too many in some sections.
Standard or Theme: Standard, unless “crap rare” is a theme…
Snow Lands: No
Average Number of Players: Sadly, 2 will be most common.
How Often Drafted: Not sure yet; hopefully twice a month
Card Selection
Proxies: No, I (gasp!) don’t sleeve my cards.
Powered: This cube is more antipowered than unpowered…
Portal: No
"Un" Cards: Not against it, but don’t have any
Banned Cards for Power-Level: Considering the weakness of this cube, yep
Banned Cards for Time Constraints: No
Banned Cards for "fun" factor: I might ban stuff that was unfun, none banned yet
Cube Design
Standard or Multiplayer: Standard
Sideboards?: Don’t know yet
Color Balance: Yes
Gold Balance: Yes
Hybrid/Split/Kicker as Gold: Hybrid yes, kicker no.
Color Triggers as Gold: No
Perfectly Balanced CMC: Ye gods no
I try to enable White Weenie to work, and have a general grab bag of suboptimal removal spells. (See Neck Snap…) There are no classic white board sweepers, such as Wrath of God, as they are all out of my miserly price range.
1 Elite Vanguard
1 Loam Lion
1 Steppe Lynx
1 Soul’s Attendant
1 Soul Warden
Two CMC
1 Blade of the Sixth Pride
1 War Priest of Thune
1 White Knight
1 Lone Missionary
1 Stormfront Pegasus
1 Sigiled Paladin
1 Mistral Charger
1 Blinding Mage
1 Wall of Omens
1 Mistmeadow Skulk
1 Soltari Trooper
1 Hedron-Field Purists
1 Flickerwisp
1 Kor Hookmaster
1 Kor Sanctifiers
1 Ballynock Cohort
Four CMC
1 Aven Riftwatcher
1 Seht’s Tiger
1 Celestial Crusader
1 Calciderm
1 Meadowboon
1 Guardian of the Guildpact
1 Knight Captain of Eos
1 Cloudgoat Ranger
Six Plus
1 Deathless Angel
1 Vengeful Archon
1 Path to Exile
1 Scout’s Warning
1 Hyena Umbra
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Condemn
Two CMC
1 Disenchant
1 Journey to Nowhere
1 Leonin Sun Standard
1 Pacifism
1 To Arms!
1 Triclopean Sight
1 Survival Cache
1 Arrest
1 Oblivion Ring
1 Prison Term
1 Excommunicate
Four CMC
1 Faith’s Fetters
1 Neck Snap
1 Divine Verdict
1 Miraculous Recovery
1 Nomads’ Assembly
1 Chronomatic Escape
I seem to have drifted into a clone/steal theme with blue, alongside typical counterspells and flying critters. I dearly love silly tricks like Willbender and the obviously unworthy Aetherplasm. My counterspells are suboptimal, but I will be getting Counterspell soon, at least.
1 Enclave Cryptologist
Two CMC
1 Waterfront Bouncer
1 Looter Il-Kor
1 Merfolk Looter
1 Willbender
Three CMC
1 Man-O-War
1 Aether Adept
1 Sea Gate Oracle (Need to put back in)
1 Rootwater Hunter
1 Calcite Snapper
1 Pestermite
1 Wonder
1 Thieving Magpie
1 Clone
Five CMC
1 Mulldrifter
1 Aeon Chronicler
1 Djinn of Wishes
1 Ixidron
1 Guile
1 Sphinx of Jwar Isle
1 Roil Elemental
1 Sphinx of Magosi
1 Gigadowse
1 Preordain
1 Brainstorm
1 Ponder
1 Unsummon
Two CMC
1 Mana Leak
1 Train of Thought
1 Impulse
1 Negate
1 Boomerang
1 Essence Scatter
1 Spell Syphon
1 Miscalculation
1 Memory Lapse
1 Into the Roil
1 Counterspell
1 Divination
1 Cancel
1 Runeboggle
1 Capsize
1 Frozen Solid
1 Forbid
Four CMC
1 Rite of Replication
1 Protective Bubble
1 Sleep
1 Sift
1 Deep Analysis
1 Coastal Piracy
1 Forsee
1 Control Magic
1 Dismiss
1 Concentrate
1 Mind Control
1 Inundate
1 Repeal
1 Mind Spring
I have spent the most, relatively speaking, on getting reanimator to work as an archetype in the cube. I think I need more discard effects, though. I may have too many “kill nonblack creature” spells in, but they always are appreciated.
1 Vampire Lacerator
1 Death’s Shadow
Two CMC
1 Black Knight
1 Nezumi Cutthroat
1 Nezumi Graverobber
1 Nezumi Shortfang
1 Child of Night
1 Ravenous Rats
1 Razortooth Rats
1 Nirkana Cutthroat
1 Needle Specter
1 Royal Assassin
1 Liliana’s Specter
Four CMC
1 Gravedigger
1 Abyssal Specter
1 Thought Gorger
1 Soul Collector
1 Puppeteer Clique
1 Enemy of the Guildpact
Six Plus
1 Tar Fiend
1 Nihilith
1 Archdemon of Unx
1 Pestilence Demon
1 Fatal Blow
1 Disfigure
1 Inquisition of Kozilek
1 Virulent Swipe
1 Dark Ritual
1 Cry of Contrition
1 Duress
Two CMC
1 Plunge into Darkness
1 Doom Blade
1 Terror
1 Sign in Blood
1 Assassinate
1 Mind Rot
1 Infest
1 Witch’s Mist
1 Dark Banishing
1 Expunge
Four CMC
1 Dread Return
1 Makeshift Mannequin
1 Chill to the Bone
1 Pestilence
1 Barter in Blood
1 Diabolic Tutor
1 Final Punishment
I’ve added a lot of cheap creatures to try to get aggro to work, but am not sure it’s enough. There’s also burn, dragons… y’know, red stuff.
1 Goblin Bushwhacker
1 Goblin Patrol
1 Magus of the Scroll
1 Goblin Arsonist
1 Raging Goblin
Two CMC
1 Plated Geopede
1 Ember Hauler
1 Kiln Fiend
1 Hearth Kami
1 Bloodmark Mentor
1 Keldon Marauders
1 Hellspark Elemental
1 Manic Vandal
1 Tuktuk the Explorer
1 Rage Nimbus
1 Mudbutton Torchrunner
Four CMC
1 Changeling Beserker
1 Rakka Mar
Five CMC
1 Glarewielder
1 Hoarding Dragon
1 Thunderblust
1 Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs
1 Shivan Dragon
1 Mordant Dragon
1 Knollspire Dragon
1 Burst Lightning
1 Flame Slash
1 Forked Bolt
1 Lightning Bolt
Two CMC
1 Incinerate
1 Searing Blaze
1 Pyroclasm
1 Shattering Pulse
1 Shatter
1 Staggershock
1 Words of War
1 Puncture Blast
1 Stone Rain
1 Thunderblade Charge
Four CMC
1 Elemental Appeal
1 Splinter Twin
1 Wild Ricochet
1 Breath of Fury
1 Aftershock
1 Chandra's Outrage
1 Hellion Eruption
1 Stone Idol Trap
Basic green here—lots of ramp and big, dumb creatures. I need to cut some 4cc creatures for 3cc creatures, though.
1 Wild Nacatl
1 Birds of Paradise
1 Arbor Elf
1 Joraga Treespeaker
1 Llanowar Elves
Two CMC
1 Thornweald Archer
1 Nest Invader
1 Silhana Ledgewalker
1 River Boa
1 Deadly Recluse
1 Seeker of Skybreak
1 Skyshroud Elf
1 Leatherback Baloth
1 Farhaven Elf
Four CMC
1 Wickerbough Elder
1 Centaur Omenreader
1 Cudgel Troll
1 Kozilek’s Predator
1 Briarhorn
1 Imperiosaur
1 Wildheart Invoker
1 Kodama of the North Tree
1 Ant Queen
1 Changeling Titan
1 Acidic Slime
Six Plus
1 Krosan Tusker
1 Kalonian Behemoth
1 Pelakka Wurm
1 Terastodon
1 Vines of Vastwood
1 Prey's Vengeance
Two CMC
1 Rampant Growth
1 Farseek
1 Naturalize
1 Gleeful Sabotage
Three CMC
1 Moment’s Peace
1 Harrow
1 Cultivate
1 Growth Spasm
1 Overgrowth
1 Snake Umbra
1 Moldervine Cloak
1 Tower Above
1 Creeping Mold
1 Stonewood Invocation
Five Plus
1 Hibernation’s End
1 Soul’s Majesty
1 Bestial Menace
1 Overrun
1 Hurricaine
I started with a cube that was roughly one-third multicolor and hybrid, due to the odd collection I started with. I am now down to five or six in each color, and plan to keep cutting.
1 Deft Duelist
1 Aven Mimeomancer
1 Wall of Denial
1 Supply/Demand
1 Messenger Falcons
Blue/Black
1 Slave of Bolas
1 Recoil
1 Inkfathom Infiltrator
1 Trial/Error
1 Nemesis of Reason
Black/Red
1 Blood Cultist
1 Lightning Reaver
1 Deathbringer Thoctar
1 Terminate
1 Wrecking Ball
Red/Green
1 Bloodbraid Elf
1 Colossal Might
1 Mage Slayer
1 Savage Twister
1 Giant Ambush Beetle
1 Quasali Pridemage
1 Behemoth Sledge
1 Enlisted Wurm
1 Knotvine Paladin
1 Dauntless Escort
White/Black
1 Orzhow Pontiff
1 Blind Hunter
1 Souls of the Faultless
1 Unmake
1 Tidehollow Sculler
Blue/Red
1 Swerve
1 Wee Dragonaughts
1 Gelectrode
1 Izzet Chronarch
1 Goblin Flectomancer
Black/Green
1 Putrid Leech
1 Nath of the Gilt-Leaf
1 Necrogenesis
1 Life/Death
1 Putrefy
1 Stun Sniper
1 Skyknight Legionnaire
1 Flame-Kin Zealot
1 Bull Ceredon
1 Intimidation Bolt
Green/Blue
1 Leafdrake Roost
1 Vedalken Heretic
1 Winged Coatl
1 Spitting Image
1 Lorescale Coatl
Since they’re so widely playable, I have upgraded this section the most. I had truly awful stuff in before, and now it’s simply bad. I love crap rares like Lightning Coils and Minion Reflector, sadly… Equipment probably needs the biggest upgrade.
1 Bottle Gnomes
1 Transguild Courier
1 Juggernaut
1 Grim Poppet
1 Triskelion
1 Ulamog’s Crusher
1 Artisan of Kozilek
Equipment
1 Trusty Machete
1 Bonesplitter
1 Whispersilk Cloak
1 Grafted Wargear
1 Magebane Armor
1 Sword of the Meek
1 Mana Cyclix
1 Coalition Relic
1 Fieldmist Borderpost
1 Mistvein Borderpost
1 Firewild Borderpost
1 Veinfire Borderpost
1 Wildfield Borderpost
1 Azorious Signet
1 Boros Signet
1 Dimir Signet
1 Golgari Signet
1 Gruul Signet
1 Izzet Signet
1 Orzhov Signet
1 Rakdos Signet
1 Selesnya Signet
1 Simic Signet
1 Wandering Twig
1 Prophetic Prism
1 Everflowing Chalice
1 Obelisk of Alara
1 Farsight Mask
1 Seer’s Sundial
1 Icy Manipulator
1 Lightning Coils
1 Minion Reflector
1 Ward of Bones
My land is by far the weakest section. Good land tends to be pricey, so for now at least, I am sadly breaking the highlander rule and running four each of Terramorphic Expanse and Shimmering Grotto. I want three-color decks to be possible, and with almost all basic land it was simply too risky.
4 Shimmering Grotto
1 Svogthos, The Restless Tomb
1 Rupture Spire
1 Gargoyle Castle
1 Quicksand
1 Zoetic Cavern
1 Evolving Wilds
1 Selesnya Sanctuary
1 Gruul Turf
1 Golgari Rot Farm
1 Rakdos Carnarium
1 Boros Garrison
1 Azorius Chancery
1 Simic Growth Chamber
1 Izzet Boilerworks
1 Orzhov Bailica
Now Eidilon and the other tech masters can do their thing...
I had a very underpowered peasantish cube, and decided to redefine "peasant" to mean common, uncommon, or rare that costs less than $.25, for this reason. Now my cube is full of crappy fun rares, and I have to spend to most to get uncommon stuff like Calciderm and Cloudgoat Ranger...
I see you have Lost Auramancers in white--it's the only other cube I've found with that in it! If you're open to stuff like that--i.e., cards so underpowered most cubes wouldn't touch them--I also enjoy the interesting fog effect of Chronomantic Escape.