Hey again,
So, on Monday, I talked a bit about how to make an event out of having everybody bring Magic cards to combine into what's called a "cube". That article is here in case you missed it.
With all of that level of event hosting-type logistics out of the way, it's time to think about your own contribution to the cube. You'll have a single color to use, for our example, let's go with Green; but that leaves a lot of leeway in terms of what actually shows up to the table. Today, I'll go into a few different ways to approach this, counting down from five.
#5: All-Stars
This is what you'll typically see in a standard cube. Just go through your color and choose some of the best individual cards available. There might be some issues with cohesion of strategy for the player(s) who choose your color, but the quality of individual cards could offset that, especially when considering that players will be taking them home to add to their own decks. In green, you might have cards like Concordant Crossroads or Exploration.
#4: Borrow the Set
When I say "borrow the set", what I mean is to pull all of the cards from the same block, or even the same expansion. This will give a narratively strong set with a cohesive tone, and many of the cards will work well together. That said, you are, in the end, just borrowing on the set design Wizards of the Coast has already done. For highly popular and thematic sets, like the Kamigawa block, the unique feel and relative obscurity of some of these cards might be worth it; but this may not be the way to go for everyone. If you do this, try to find a set that feels "right". The Innistrad feel could come through strong in white, black, or maybe green, but that gothic tone might not translate as well if you're bringing red or blue to the table.
#3: Creature Tribes
This is a slightly modified version of borrowing the set, as Wizards of the Coast has explored single creature sets in the past. However, with MTG's long backlog of cards, some creatures could form an entire set despite never having come together like that before. One thing you'll want to be sure of, if you want to make this really mechanically viable, is to include cards that have benefits to using that creature type. Green could work well with Elementals, Spiders, Wolves, Elves, or find one that looks good to you.
#2: Single Keyword
This is where you'll probably start getting players well on board with your choices for the color. If you build your color strong for a single keyword you'll start to see a clear strategy that players can immediately grasp and get behind. Certain keywords are better than others. "Defender" probably won't be much good, and "Reach" is a risky proposition, as you're counting on someone else having thrown enough "Flying" into the block to make it worthwhile. For our example of Green, the obvious go-to would be "Trample", but you could also shoot for "Hexproof", "Delirium", "Landfall", or anything else there seems to be enough of to make it work well.
#1: Modified Deck
. . . and now we come to the point where this could be too specific, or just specific enough, to make or break your color in the cube. For this one, you're essentially building a single strategy deck and modifying the numbers to make ti work well in a draft format. In Green, this might be a mana-ramping deck, a pit-fighter deck, or even a modified version of a deck you already own (best to pick up all the cube cards as a separate purchase though, since you won't necessarily be getting the same cards back). By this point, you're just taking a deck strategy and making it the definition of that color in that cube.
So, there we go, a few different ways to think through building a contribution to a pot luck cube for your next MTG draft. Hopefully, between Monday and today, you've got the info you need to make this great format a reality for your group.
Happy gaming, all.
No comments:
Post a Comment