Usually, when people talk about their Cubes, they are rambling on about all the good times they have during the Draft: the insane picks, the sweet decks, the good and bad beats. Rarely do drafters utter words regarding the darker, dare I say the darkest, side of Cubing:

I can honestly think of no sadder Cube-adjacent occurrence than having the chance to draft slip through my fingers like so many first picks. But that doesn’t quench the fire to pass a pack of cards one occupant down.

No, in these instances, I trudge home, Cube in tow, and go about analyzing the constructed packs on my own. If I’m feeling especially adventurous, I’ll build a pool of ninety cards and try to construct three decks. If the sadism strikes, I’ll also impose a time limit on myself.

That exercise often yields fruit, as it forces me to see new interactions and sometimes encourages me to try new draft strategies. What also bears fruit is breaking down different boosters and seeing how the draft could flow from varied directions.

Now that Cube is listed here for reference, let’s look at some packs.

Sigiled Skink, Scrapskin Drake, and Doomed Traveler are not cards I am willing to pick first. They are fine in the abstract but not nearly strong enough to take at an early point.

Sign in Blood and Twisted Abomination are both excellent cards in any black deck, but they’re speculative first picks. I could absolutely see taking Sign in Blood first and trying to force a mono-black deck. However, Sign in Blood lacks the raw power of a Corrupt or a Gray Merchant of Asphodel, two cards that do great jobs of pushing one toward devotion.

Hooting Mandrills occupies the spot as the biggest beat stick in the pack. Setting it up to be cast on turn three or four is not a high bar. If the pack were even weaker, I could see taking it first, but the next five cards cast a serious shadow on the Ape.

Custodi Squire, Oblivion Ring, Puncture Blast, Llanowar Elves, and Tumble Magnet are all clear steps above the other cards. Tumble Magnet is the worst of these, but it gains some merit by being colorless. The ability to shut down a key attacker or blocker and the mere threat of activation make Tumble Magnet a sneaky good card. While not my choice from this pack, taking it means I am keeping my eyes out for ways to reuse the tapper, such as Kor Skyfisher, Ghostly Flicker, or Invasive Species.

The cream of this crop are Puncture Blast, Oblivion Ring, and Custodi Squire. The two removal spells are of a similar power level—O-Ring is a catchall, but Blast is an instant—and are largely interchangeable. Removal is plentiful in the Cube, but Custodi Squire presents a relatively unique combination of abilities. First, it is a 3/3 flying creature, which is a serious threat alone. Tack on the fact that the Squire is often going to double as a Gravedigger, and it becomes that much more enticing. Passing up removal is never easy, but with the prospect of an evasive creature that comes with an additional card, my pick from this pack is Custodi Squire.

Next pack!

Looking at this pack, it is easy to set aside the following: Stormfront Pegasus, Font of Return, Inner-Flame Acolyte, Retromancer, Slaughterhorn, Frostburn Weird, and Selesnya Sanctuary. All of the creatures are just bodies that can attack and block. Compared to the powerhouse that is Custodi Squire, these monsters just do not hold up. Just like before, Selesnya Sanctuary is a powerful card but not worth being step one on the draft path.

The next rung up includes Vithian Stinger, Cultivate, and Probe. Vithian Stinger represents a relentless source of damage and frustration. It effectively gives every creature on your side an additional point of power while also acting as a life-total oppressor. Cultivate is ramp and card advantage in a nice little package. Ramp and fixing are valuable in the Cube, and first-picking this spell means going multicolored green. While that’s highly defensible, unless you are looking to play all the things, I would pass on Cultivate. However, taking the fixer early opens up the possibility of taking otherwise-ignorable gold cards, such as Probe. Do not let the old frame fool you—Probe is a serious beating and can put the caster up quite a few cards. First-picking Cultivate is the move if the plan is to wheel Probe, but given the quality of the cards left in the pack, it makes sense to eschew this plan for one with more potential power.

Man-o'-War is an exceptional pick if you want to pursue a tempo strategy. Playing it at nearly any point in the game is going to generate some sort of benefit. It jumps up quite a bit in this pack, as it can negate the efficacy of Arrest, Claustrophobia, and Pillory of the Sleepless. That being said, there is a better version of this creature residing in the pack one color over. Faceless Butcher is my pick here. Not only is it a removal spell, but its 2/3 statistics matchup well with other creatures (outside of green). While not a permanent answer, Faceless Butcher is a creature, meaning it is relatively easy to get back for seconds in this Cube. Picking the Butcher first means I am going to be watching out to grab Font of Return on the second pass, setting me up for a strong, controlling black deck.

One more!

Knight of Sursi – This is a fine play on turns one or four. While not a dominating creature, it is hard to deal with in the air. Blue matches up well with the Knight due to cards like Spire Golem and Sky Ruin Drake. If we take the Knight first, we may want to pair it with blue to mitigate the blockers while also looking for cards good at clearing out large blockers.

Supply-Line Cranes – Slower than its color-coded brethren, Supply-Line Cranes is at its best when it can come down early thanks to mana acceleration. The Cranes wants a deck that can win combat phases, so it is a solid pairing with green decks thanks to tricks and large monsters

Into the Roil – This is a solid catchall with both tempo and card advantage applications. Bounce is plentiful, and this is more expensive than Repulse (a strong first pick). A strong pick for tempo-based blue decks, either paired with red or green, Into the Roil can be a first pick here.

Psychic Barrier – There is very little better than just saying, “No.” Being able to take away a life point helps quite a bit, but the double-blue in the casting cost is a heavy commitment. If this were Exclude, it would be an easy take, but as is, it is merely fine.

Blind Creeper, Dead Reveler, and Fallen Askari – These all fill a similar role of early, aggressive black creatures. They are all of a similar power level and attack rather well. Picking any one of these means an attempt to be the beatdown and look to pair black with red for a Rakdos deck with some serious reach.

Ill-Tempered Cyclops – Not nearly the quality of the other cards in the pack, it is still a fine inclusion in any midrange deck. Ideally paired with green for mana ramp and utility, it can still find a home in non-Gruul decks.

Splatter Thug – Fitting a similar mold as the black cards above, Splatter Thug can absolutely dominate combat. Best with Equipment or white decks with battle-enhancing spells, Splatter Thug still fails as a first pick here.

Leeching Bite – Part combat trick and part removal for utility creatures, Leeching Bite can do some serious work. Unlike some other removal spells, this one is not easily splashed, so taking it before you are solidly green may be a trap. As such, it should not be picked here.

Yavimaya Granger – While Yavimaya Granger may not stick around thanks to echo, it is going to fix your mana and find you another land drop. The Granger is a reasonable first pick here since it does come a full card attached, and paying the echo is not the worst thing in the world.

Myr Sire – Among the best blockers in the Cube, Myr Sire just cannot keep up with the other cards in this pack.

Prophetic Prism – Like Yavimaya Granger, the Prism helps to fix mana without actually costing a card. Unlike the Elf, it does not accelerate you on land drops. Prophetic Prism is a solid card, but it is at its best in nongreen decks that need fixing—and going for that from pick one just does not make sense.

Izzet Boilerworks – Izzet Boilerworks comes with the potential for some card advantage, and it can enable splashes. However, neither color the land can produce has good splash cards available in the pack. This is about as close as Boilerworks can be to a first pick, as there are still a dozen cards ahead of it here.

So, what is the pick? I am taking Yavimaya Granger and hoping to wheel Supply-Line Cranes, Sentinel Spider, or Ill-Tempered Cyclops. My goal is to pick up ramp cards and draft a deck that can go over the top with bigger, better beaters. What would you take from this pack? Sound off on Twitter or in the comments.

A Draft not firing isn’t a reason to be down. Rather, it’s a chance to look at a Cube in a new way. Learning what is worth picking is a great step in understanding the inherent soul of a Cube, and figuring out potential paths is almost as fun as Draft.

Nah, just kidding. Let’s draft instead!