Cubes are personal. They are expressions of a zeitgeist using the tools made available by Wizards of the Coast. After many months, I have covered all the two-color combinations and how they fit into my Cube. The development of these archetypes took many years and accurately reflects how I want games of Magic to play out. Yet, even with almost four hundred cards, it was impossible to include everything I find fascinating and awesome about Magic in my Cube. This is partially because I find so many attributes of the game amazing, but it’s also because I wanted to craft a Limited environment with a high level of strategy and replayability. However, I get wistful once in a while and think about the Cube that could have been.

The Graveyard

In a Pauper Cube, the graveyard becomes a powerful resource. Since the power level of most commons is similar, being able to gain something extra out of a spent resource means that there is more value to be had. If one card yields more from a singular investment, one can pull ahead.

Building a Pauper Cube around the graveyard causes it to go more toward the Odyssey and Innistrad card pools. If the goal is to make the graveyard matter in ways it does not already, there are ways to make that work. There are a few common Zombify cards: Breath of Life and False Defeat. Stir the Grave and Angelic Renewal also fit the bill.

Here are some other cards that can facilitate a reanimator strategy in a Pauper Cube:

• Necromancer's Assistant
• Satyr Wayfinder
• Forbidden Alchemy
• Armored Skaab

There are other ways to turn on the fengraf. Focusing more on black, the discard pile can become a sort of tool box. In this case, the following cards can be included:

• Grim Harvest
• Disturbed Burial
• Tortured Existence
• Remember the Fallen
• Woodland Sleuth

From here, there can be a suite of utility creatures that one would want to cast over and over, such as Mournwhelk. Cards already in my Cube that fit the bill include Mulldrifter, Yavimaya Granger, Ghitu Slinger, and Benevolent Bodyguard. Adding cards like Relic of the Progenitus and Nihil Spellbomb makes sense as a way to combat a heavier graveyard strategy.

Tribal

This drastically alters the shape of a Cube. It forces games to play out in the red zone. On top of this, most of the on-tribe creatures at common are smaller than 3/3. This means that green would have to be closely monitored to make sure its creatures do not become virtual copies of The Abyss. Some cards to look at for a tribal-focused Cube include:

• Goblin Matron
• Vampiric Fury
• Elvish Branchbender
• Lys Alana Huntmaster
• Goblin Lookout
• Ghoulraiser
• Vengeful Dead
• Silvergill Douser

More Power

I have intentionally left some of the higher-power commons out of my Cube. I find that it improves gameplay and promotes interactivity. If I wanted to take this in the opposite direction, I would find home for Rolling Thunder again, as well as Kaervek's Torch. I would also include Crypt Rats and Grim Harvest while also pushing up green’s early aggressive options to help combat these stronger late games (as green has traditionally lacked cards this strong). Guardian of the Guildpact and the Invasion and Conflux cycles of protection bears could also find a home as niche answers and threats. If I wanted to pursue this route, however, I would expand the Cube to a Commons/Uncommons build to help maintain color balance.

All That Glitters

I would also endeavor to devise a new system for tracking multicolored cards. Certain pairs and triads have worse cards than others, and having those decks be at an immediate disadvantage would not make for a good Draft experience.

Rather, if I pursued this route, I would push the guild, shard, and wedge identities very (and I mean very) hard. This means there would be cards that were A+, windmill-slam picks in certain archetypes while being completely useless in others. These would be de facto gold cards. I would also end up leaning more heavily on cards with hybrid mana in their costs as a way to smooth out games and color balance. This is very hard to do at common, and it is one reason I have avoided doing so, but Khans fills me with hope.

White: Protect the House

White is currently the color that dominates combat. In an alternate world, it could just as easily be the color of defense. The aforementioned Guardian of the Guildpact could find a home alongside an increase in Shelter effects. These spells make creatures with heroic triggers more enticing and could increase to power of that deck. In this world, white becomes a controlling color, playing up its hard-to-deal-with removal, while Naturalize effects become more prevalent. Black and red would need to increase their damage output and reach to make sure they can circumvent white’s answers.

Blue: The Mindful Beatdown

I have intentionally tamped down blue’s prowess in combat. In another life, blue would have multiple 3-power evasive creatures, including Infiltrator il-Kor and Cloud Spirit (and friends). Looter il-Kor replaces Merfolk Looter while cards like Sudden Storm and Frost Breath help to keep opposing shields down. This would probably have to come at the cost of some of blue’s stronger card-draw in order to keep a similar power level. As an aggressive color, it may also be correct to whittle away some counterspells to make sure that blue does not just go ahead and stay ahead.

Black: Eyes Closed Straight Ahead

Black beatdown is a pipedream, but it is so enticing. As I learned earlier this year, having black act as a clock is a tall order indeed. The preview of Mardu Skullhunter, however, gives the deck a shot. Carnophage and Vampire Lacerator make an appearance. Pulse Tracker and Quag Vampires also stop by, as they can help force through more damage in the late game. Dauthi Horror and Dauthi Slayer earn a spot again even though they are nearly impossible to deal with in combat. More than this, black would have to add more Raise Dead effects, especially those that retrieve multiple creatures (Soul Stair Expedition, Macabre Waltz, Death's Duet) in order to give the color some oomph in the mid- and late game. If any option receives a boost from the Mardu Horde, it will be this one.

Today, I took my Cube to the universe of Planar Chaos. While none of these is a road I want to walk down regularly, it may be fun to give some of them a try once in a while. If that is the case, I may be investigating the idea of an Augmented Draft. Proposed by author Brandon Sanderson, this would act as a sideboard for the whole Cube. Depending on the Draft, different augmented packs could be seeded into the packs to help keep the variety high without ruining the overall balance of the Cube.

Draft is awesome, and keeping the Drafts fresh is a true road happiness. How do you keep your Cube fresh and exciting?