Mana Curve in Cube
Limited forum
Posted on Oct. 22, 2015, 7:06 a.m. by Sai
Hi all
I've been wondering about the mana curve in cube draft. And I'm talking about what cards should I pick when cube drafting.
The general rule for mana curve of creatures for regular limited format is this:
One mana: 0-2 creatures.
Two mana: 4-6 creatures.
Three mana: 3-5 creatures.
Four mana: 4 creatures.
Five mana: 3 creatures.
Six+ mana: 1-2 creatures.
Of course in cube this is different, because cube is a mix of constructed and limited. So this made me think are the so called "limited bombs" also bombs in cube?
Obviously it debends on the cube aswell because cubes are different, some people have their own personality in them.
In my friendgroup, we play very budget cube. None of the more expensive legacy cards. And also we have cards there that are fitting for our firendgroup, some of them are even fun cards.
What I noticed too was that in some legacy powered cubes, there are some certain cards in there that are "non-passable". You know, cards that you can't let the next player have no matter what, Mind Twist for example. And I personally find this to be kind of uncool to have cards like that in a cube.
But anyway my question in the nutshell: What kind of mana curve should I look for when drafting cube, generally speaking? and are the same cards that are bombs in regular limited format, also great in cube format? (Wingmate Roc for example). And cards like Duress for example usually sucks in a regular limited format but in a cube format it might be very good, so how highly should I value some cube staple cards?
Karns_Pyromancer says... #3
Cube is often archetypal. What I mean by that is that there are going to be a lot of different decks you can build.
My Cube, for instance, can draft most major archetypes. (My Cube is in the process of becoming powered, it started very casual). I even have some archetypes like Rack or Azami/Maniac draftable just because they're fun.
October 22, 2015 9:07 a.m.
I am still in the process of making a fully functional cube--my first didn't even have equal color representation and was a proof of concept--but from it, I can say a few things.
--Boza is exactly right that synergy is more important than BREAD in cube. Depending on the other cards in the cube, synergy may actually override curve concerns because you can probably work around a bump in your CMC, but you can't work around a card that doesn't fit in your deck archetype.
--Just by focusing on synergy you will (probably) wind up with a respectable curve. Wizards offers enough variety of cards at enough different CMCs that it fills most of the gaps in automatically. But do check the curve to make sure this happens, just in case.
--The real danger to your cube's curve is a completely empty spot in the middle of the curve. This forces players to have empty turns (in addition to the empty turns bad luck will already be giving them). A cube with a lot of 3-4 CMC cards and 7-8 CMC cards, but almost nothing in 5 and 6 will be significantly more frustrating to play than if there were as many 5 and 6 CMC cards as 7 and 8.
--That said, you don't have to be paranoid about there being a perfect, exponential decay curve in your CMC like WotC. Flat or even a slight dip seems to work just fine--especially if your group repeatedly drafts the cube and learns to draft around the pot-hole. The complete absence, however, will always cause problems for everyone.
October 22, 2015 11 a.m.
Thanks for the comments. Certainly very helpful information.
Boza says... #2
You cannot apply normal draft/limited logic to cubing. In draft, every deck is 10+ dudes and 17 lands and some non-creature spells. But if you cube draft a reanimator, ramp, control deck, etc. that will not be true.
Without knowing the exact cube, this is impossible to evaluate. In most cubes, a Wingmate Roc will be OK, middle of the road.
Cube golden rule: synergy > BREAD. Pick cards that fit your archetype instead focusing on bombs, removal, etc.
Final note - Mind Twist does not seem that broken in cube and is certainly a very passable card.
October 22, 2015 7:15 a.m.