how to make a cube
Limited forum
Posted on Nov. 8, 2013, 11:16 p.m. by lord_of_the_snakes
how do i make a cube, i have thought this would be interesting but don't really know where to start, can anyone point me in the right direction
I personally have only scraped the surface of cubing, but I have a little insight. First of all, decide what card pool you want to use; that could mean pauper, peasant, rares only, whatever you want. Then, figure out how many people you want the cube to support, and how much variety you want in packs. After that, you can choose some themes for your cube to support. This could be as simple as balancing control and aggro, or as complex as making things like storm, dredge, or affinity draftable decks. Lastly, use a gatherer search engine to find all the cards you need to support what you want, or at least to supplement what cards you already have.
November 9, 2013 12:23 a.m.
vagueabond says... #4
Think about why you want a cube, and that should help to inform your design process.
Do you want to play with the most powerful cards in Magic's history? Do you want a fun, deep limited environment that (once built) doesn't cost you or your friends anything to draft? Miss a certain era of Magic and want to replicate it? Do you think white is super awesome and should be highlighted? Are you just not that into blue? Designing a cube is a fun project, but if you don't work out a vision for what your cube will be, you're not going to end up having that much fun once it comes time to play it.
Read articles on the mothership about design (modern masters design in particular, since that was an entirely-reprints set and some of the guiding principles really aren't that different). Read more articles about design. Work out how big you want your cube to be, whether or not you want it to be evenly split, colour-wise, and then go through and think about what pet cards you want in there.
One of the bigger mistakes that I think gets made in Cube design is not thinking about limited strategy. Try to have coherent ideas for how colour pairs can come together and what synergies they should have. Wizards Design try to have a major and a minor theme for each pair when constructing limited environments. These can be as detailed or as simple as you like (my (admittedly weird) cube has themes ranging from BR goblin aggro (major) to UB laboratory maniac self-mill (minor)).
Also, it can be a pretty good idea to check out other cubes with similar themes/constraints as the ones you end up going with to get ideas for cards to include.
More sites that can help:
www.riptidelab.com
http://www.cubedrafting.com/
http://www.mtgsalvation.com/1207-cube-design-philosophy.html
http://www.reddit.com/r/mtgcube
http://www.gatheringmagic.com/andrewrogers-design-limited-05162013-how-to-design-a-pauper-cube/
I wish you the best of luck! A well-designed cube environment is lots of fun.
(also don't be afraid to just keep on tinkering; your first draft won't be as fun to play as your fifth.)
November 9, 2013 12:47 a.m.
Cubing is a fantastic way to not only help build your skills as a player, but also learn about new combos and situations in the game. The first thing you have to decide is what kind of cube you want to build. Like want's already been stated, there are many different themes you could build towards.
Here is the link to the peasant cube (which is commons and uncommons only) that I've been playing for sometime now. It's really a blast and everyone that plays always has a good time.
If you have any questions about gameplay or set up please let me know. It's always great to see more people developing an interest in cubing.
Good Luck and Happy Hunting!
November 9, 2013 1:26 a.m.
vagueabond says... #7
A cube is a collection (typically 360 or 450) of cards which its assembler believes best fits their vision for the environment they built it for. These cards are then shuffled, divided into piles of fifteen, and each pile is treated as a booster pack would be during a regular draft.
After you're all done, you put the cards back together and take them out again the next time you want to draft.
Traditional cubes (which aim to create powerful environments) feel almost like a hybrid between limited and constructed based on the power level and potential complexity of the decks that get made.
November 9, 2013 9:14 p.m.
Hallowed_Titan says... #8
Sounds fun. How many people typically draft in it?
November 9, 2013 11:26 p.m.
vagueabond says... #9
It varies. 360 cards is enough for up to eight people, and I've cubed with anywhere from four to a full pod.
vampirelazarus says... #2
I found this but don't know of its any good, as I didn't read, and have never actually been interested in Cube.
Good luck.
November 8, 2013 11:43 p.m.