Best cube I've ever made was the mtg holiday cube, now known as the vintage cube. We printed out every card at our public library, used a paper cutter, then sleeved up all the cards with some sleeves. Amazing time.
I think I'll do this with Lorwyn/Shadowmoor. It'd be cool to show some of my friends who are newer to Magic how the older draft formats felt back in the day
I like that one of your out-of-set inclusions was Herbology Instructor. I personally wouldn't have included cards from other planes as replacements in a set cube. Loved this video. Really glad to see content on paper Cube!
Great Video!! This is my collecting philosophy as well. Have a collection you can play. I don’t particularly care about the expensive cards, so I have gathered a lot through bulk lots and budget buys, and filled out all the commons and uncommons no problem for several sets. Each set I gathered is now peasant draft ready. I also have a good chunk of bulk rares if I ever wanted to make the packs spicier. :)
Hey! I actually ordered all the cards 2 days ago to build this exact cube (it's going to be my first cube), had no idea there was a video to go along with it! So awesome, can't wait to get it to the table, thanks for building it! :)
I love this idea . I am currently trying to complete all the sets of magic from the modern era . But instead making a dedicated cube for each draft able set would be amazing !!!
This looks really fun! Especially since I want to have more opportunities to draft, and am not comfortable enough yet to just draft willy nilly. I tried to make a NEO set cube once, but wasn't sure how to really tweak it to make it more playable.
I'd suggest just throwing something together and playing as often as possible - the people you play with will often have feedback you haven't considered as a cube designer, and might even have their own ideas for archetypes/new cards! In the end the group you play with will (in my experience) have the greatest impact on your design philosophy and choices.
I have been wanting to build my own cube and this is a very good resource, thank you. PS. If i am not mistaken, jumbo dice come in fat packs(booster bundle) and the small regular dice come in the prerelease packs.
I've been reducing my collection to a cube like status in singleton. 4500 cards roughly in packets for them and a few bundle boxes of random cards that are ultimately playable but not necessarily for general play. The collection itself is personal but can support 4 to 8 players with enough land as well. (3000 nonland and 1500 land) I can't seem to assemble a playgroup of either size with time to be creative so screw it- I will build decks as I feel the need to for lgs casual play. Everything is sleeved the same for compatibility and adaptability with all necessary tokens in a separate color and 2 stanley cases for storage of it all. I can travel the multiverse and strixhaven happens to be a plane I like as well. I don't believe in balance. Some mages and planeswalkers should be allowed to be quite scary and powerful. I consider that fun and fair is not the answer because without struggle there is no need to learn or excel. Play should always be provocative and challenging. Otherwise we cant really appreciate lighter styles of play and developmental prerogatives. My collection is legacy singleton 4of 60 card formats are too boring and predictable even in a cube in my opinion. Restrictions hinder development to me at least. To each their own of course. It's nice to see a set thematic cube, I do cherish the effort and thought and thank you for sharing your cube. Liked, subbed and I would like to see some video of it in operation!
I just finished a tarkir bloc cube! I only included cards that were from fate reforged, dragons of tarkir, and khans of tarkir. Super fun. I miss playing it In standard
I played Magic in high school, then stopped playing when I went to college in 1999. I got back into it just in time for the Neon Dynasty prerelease, and ended up playing a *lot* of Strixhaven (I am a mathematician who teaches at a community college---the Quandrix flavor was spot on for me, both in terms of the fractal creatures and the academic infighting). I bought a ton of boosters to draft with, and kind of accidentally ended up with a Strixhaven cube. My cube is a little less thought out---4 copies over each common, 2 of each uncommon, and 1 of each rare / mythic. I did not include the Mystical Archive cards, as they felt too "swingy" for me *and* some of them quite expensive, and I didn't want to buy a second set for my cube (I have a complete set of the Mystical Archives in a binder). I have the cube sorted into (a) lessons, (b) commons, (c) uncommons, and (d) rares/mythics. To create a pack for drafting, I select cards at random: 1 lesson (could be any rarity), 9 commons, 3 uncommons, and 1 rare/mythic. This is basically the structure of the original packages, minus the Mystical Archive card. I have *really* enjoyed playing the set this way, but I very much get what you are saying about dead cards in the limited environment. I am going to have to look at what you have done, and maybe move some cards around. That being said, I would still like keep things on the Plane of Arcavios. There are a few cards from MoM and Aftermath to pull in (e.g. I like that the Phyrexians did not do away with tenure when they arrived, and that the Tenured Oilcaster still has a job), and I am optimistic that the return to Strixhaven set will let me make a much better cube when the time comes, but options are a bit limited at the moment.
Re: Cube Size - I'm a fan of the 4/2/1 distribution, but I also think you should trim the fat so it's an 8 man cube with no extras, and then sort by rarity so that when you make packs, each pack contains 11 (C)s, 3 (U)s, and 1 (R) (or you could do 16 card packs and 2 rares, or whatever, you get the idea...). Guaranteeing a pack contents is a great way to send signals. (Note that I don't mind duplicate (C)s or (U)s in the cube; the cost of making sure only 1 of each card per pack is high, and the benefits low.)
7:14 - I see what you're going or here - adding things that leave the graveyard, but mixing colors and adding new mechanics can be confusing. Might I suggest Abiding Grace (animates 1 drops each turn), Helping Hand (a white Unearth), Not Forgotten, etc. If you want to add Flashback to the WR archetype... that seems like a big departure. Flashback's a GREAT mechanic, but there are more elegant solutions.
This an amzing video man!! Deserves more views!! I'm gonna make a theros cube like this! How do you think you would approach building a block cube as apposed to just one set?
I’d probably go for like 2-3 copies of every common from Theros and 1 of every common from Born of the Gods, Journey into Nyx. The first set in the block is like the anchor, so I think that’d be a good place to start. Good luck with your project!
Kaldheim has been my favorite the past few years but the Strixhaven lesson mechanic was remarkable in terms of versatility. Didn't get much credit for that. Divide by Zero was so good it was banned in some formats.
@@BartNLD83 No we didn´t build a list, we just want to emulate the draft experience have all Rares and Mythics once and remove some DUD-Rares. Half of the Cube is still just 2 Sealed Draft boxes we need to play through and add to the cube later : )
I honestly didn’t really consider it. I guess you could do that, but as I think about it, you’d have to remove some of the more powerful cards and they’re really fun to play with. I’m not sure I would try to balance by nerfing, but that’s just me
Been wanting to do this for the Alara block for years. I know, I know. But I love Alara. Unfortunately, I can't even get my playgroup to draft my vintage (unpowered) cube so I'm not super inspired to make another cube.
It's hard to get it to line up. With the 4/2/1 you get a lot of leftover rares and uncommons once you run out of commons, and adjusting those ratios means buying a bunch of extra Cocommons, plus the sleeves for those extra commons, plus storage space for those extra commons... It's a whole headache 😂
Aside from the time/money/space arguments, it really comes down to whether you want the store experience or the set experience. A lower ratio like 3/2/1 let's more of the set shine in any given draft, and if you're one of those cube drafters who just creates packs from a single shuffled pile, you'll see more rares and mythics. There was a whole channelfireball article with the maths n everything, but it doesn't seem to exist any more.
7:00 I think this should be Nantuko Husk or Carrion Feeder; I see what you're going for here, but your selection leads to repetitive gameplay and makes removal feel really bad, while Husk or Feeder are more efficient, free outlets without the card advantage. Poacher makes games go longer, but Husk and Feeder can lead to swift ends when you sac your board. There are other similar sacrifice outlets, but those two a constructed playable (C)s with (U) variants if you need to tweak things.
Re: Vanilla Creatures - I like vanilla creatures when they're *good*; see Savannah Lions @ (C) in masters sets, for example. To be fair, relatively few vanilla creatures are any good, and they're better in tribal sets (as just being a goblin or zombie or whatever is synergistic), so you're right to remove them from this set. I would, however, be interested in french vanilla white and/or red spirits for synergies...
I’m thinking of doing a whole video about it, but there’s a bunch of different ways. You can do sealed, Winchester, Rochester, glimpse, and I’m sure I’m forgetting a few off the top of my head
I wish I knew friends who loved limited and draft enough to feel incentivised to build a cube. Sadly so many people are a lot more inclined towards Commander these days. I have a Kamigawa Neo cube about 70 percent built. The next challenge is finding friends!
I think I’ve drafted with a 8 player pod (that I put together) like 3 or 4 times EVER. It’s definitely the hardest part of being a limited fan. I’ve heard some have had success bringing their cubes or battle boxes to the LGS to play between rounds or before / after. I play at home with two all the time and three sometimes and love playing cube even with small groups
Best cube I've ever made was the mtg holiday cube, now known as the vintage cube. We printed out every card at our public library, used a paper cutter, then sleeved up all the cards with some sleeves. Amazing time.
Another great way to play with your favorite set and play quick games without all the setup is a battlebox
I think I'll do this with Lorwyn/Shadowmoor. It'd be cool to show some of my friends who are newer to Magic how the older draft formats felt back in the day
I like that one of your out-of-set inclusions was Herbology Instructor.
I personally wouldn't have included cards from other planes as replacements in a set cube.
Loved this video. Really glad to see content on paper Cube!
Great Video!! This is my collecting philosophy as well. Have a collection you can play.
I don’t particularly care about the expensive cards, so I have gathered a lot through bulk lots and budget buys, and filled out all the commons and uncommons no problem for several sets.
Each set I gathered is now peasant draft ready. I also have a good chunk of bulk rares if I ever wanted to make the packs spicier. :)
Hey! I actually ordered all the cards 2 days ago to build this exact cube (it's going to be my first cube), had no idea there was a video to go along with it! So awesome, can't wait to get it to the table, thanks for building it! :)
That’s awesome! Did you find this on CubeCobra originally?
I love this idea . I am currently trying to complete all the sets of magic from the modern era . But instead making a dedicated cube for each draft able set would be amazing !!!
Thank you so much for this amazing video. It gives me a clear starting point to build up a KTK block cube. Cheers!
This looks really fun! Especially since I want to have more opportunities to draft, and am not comfortable enough yet to just draft willy nilly. I tried to make a NEO set cube once, but wasn't sure how to really tweak it to make it more playable.
I'd suggest just throwing something together and playing as often as possible - the people you play with will often have feedback you haven't considered as a cube designer, and might even have their own ideas for archetypes/new cards! In the end the group you play with will (in my experience) have the greatest impact on your design philosophy and choices.
I have been wanting to build my own cube and this is a very good resource, thank you.
PS. If i am not mistaken, jumbo dice come in fat packs(booster bundle) and the small regular dice come in the prerelease packs.
Yep, I think you’re right on that
good video. i like the enthusiasmus, love and thoughts that went into this project. well done. i hope you have for a long time fun with this game :)
I've been reducing my collection to a cube like status in singleton. 4500 cards roughly in packets for them and a few bundle boxes of random cards that are ultimately playable but not necessarily for general play.
The collection itself is personal but can support 4 to 8 players with enough land as well. (3000 nonland and 1500 land)
I can't seem to assemble a playgroup of either size with time to be creative so screw it- I will build decks as I feel the need to for lgs casual play.
Everything is sleeved the same for compatibility and adaptability with all necessary tokens in a separate color and 2 stanley cases for storage of it all.
I can travel the multiverse and strixhaven happens to be a plane I like as well.
I don't believe in balance. Some mages and planeswalkers should be allowed to be quite scary and powerful. I consider that fun and fair is not the answer because without struggle there is no need to learn or excel. Play should always be provocative and challenging. Otherwise we cant really appreciate lighter styles of play and developmental prerogatives. My collection is legacy singleton 4of 60 card formats are too boring and predictable even in a cube in my opinion. Restrictions hinder development to me at least.
To each their own of course.
It's nice to see a set thematic cube, I do cherish the effort and thought and thank you for sharing your cube. Liked, subbed and I would like to see some video of it in operation!
Huge labor of love! You should immortalize every set hahah! True mastery
the amount of rizz that tree has for me and my car is insane
I've had this idea rattling around in my head to make a Ravnica plane cube where it would be a combination of all the sets that took place on Ravnica.
I have a crazy amount of cards from Strixhaven and Khaldheim. I definitely have to try this
I just finished a tarkir bloc cube! I only included cards that were from fate reforged, dragons of tarkir, and khans of tarkir. Super fun. I miss playing it In standard
I played Magic in high school, then stopped playing when I went to college in 1999. I got back into it just in time for the Neon Dynasty prerelease, and ended up playing a *lot* of Strixhaven (I am a mathematician who teaches at a community college---the Quandrix flavor was spot on for me, both in terms of the fractal creatures and the academic infighting). I bought a ton of boosters to draft with, and kind of accidentally ended up with a Strixhaven cube.
My cube is a little less thought out---4 copies over each common, 2 of each uncommon, and 1 of each rare / mythic. I did not include the Mystical Archive cards, as they felt too "swingy" for me *and* some of them quite expensive, and I didn't want to buy a second set for my cube (I have a complete set of the Mystical Archives in a binder). I have the cube sorted into (a) lessons, (b) commons, (c) uncommons, and (d) rares/mythics. To create a pack for drafting, I select cards at random: 1 lesson (could be any rarity), 9 commons, 3 uncommons, and 1 rare/mythic. This is basically the structure of the original packages, minus the Mystical Archive card.
I have *really* enjoyed playing the set this way, but I very much get what you are saying about dead cards in the limited environment. I am going to have to look at what you have done, and maybe move some cards around. That being said, I would still like keep things on the Plane of Arcavios. There are a few cards from MoM and Aftermath to pull in (e.g. I like that the Phyrexians did not do away with tenure when they arrived, and that the Tenured Oilcaster still has a job), and I am optimistic that the return to Strixhaven set will let me make a much better cube when the time comes, but options are a bit limited at the moment.
Based. MTG is at its best in limited formats imo
Re: Cube Size - I'm a fan of the 4/2/1 distribution, but I also think you should trim the fat so it's an 8 man cube with no extras, and then sort by rarity so that when you make packs, each pack contains 11 (C)s, 3 (U)s, and 1 (R) (or you could do 16 card packs and 2 rares, or whatever, you get the idea...). Guaranteeing a pack contents is a great way to send signals. (Note that I don't mind duplicate (C)s or (U)s in the cube; the cost of making sure only 1 of each card per pack is high, and the benefits low.)
7:14 - I see what you're going or here - adding things that leave the graveyard, but mixing colors and adding new mechanics can be confusing. Might I suggest
Abiding Grace (animates 1 drops each turn), Helping Hand (a white Unearth), Not Forgotten, etc. If you want to add Flashback to the WR archetype... that seems like a big departure. Flashback's a GREAT mechanic, but there are more elegant solutions.
This an amzing video man!! Deserves more views!! I'm gonna make a theros cube like this! How do you think you would approach building a block cube as apposed to just one set?
I’d probably go for like 2-3 copies of every common from Theros and 1 of every common from Born of the Gods, Journey into Nyx. The first set in the block is like the anchor, so I think that’d be a good place to start. Good luck with your project!
Thx for this gem, congrats for the polish ans work well done, super cool :)
Kaldheim has been my favorite the past few years but the Strixhaven lesson mechanic was remarkable in terms of versatility. Didn't get much credit for that. Divide by Zero was so good it was banned in some formats.
My wife and I build kamigawaND and are now building Ixalan cube
I’m building a Neon Dynasty cube also! Do you have a card list you want to share?
@@BartNLD83 No we didn´t build a list, we just want to emulate the draft experience have all Rares and Mythics once and remove some DUD-Rares. Half of the Cube is still just 2 Sealed Draft boxes we need to play through and add to the cube later : )
Great video. Instant subscribe!
I might have a go at this. I had trouble building a Strixhaven Commander deck so I might do this instead as Strixhaven gives me that Hogwarts feel
How/why did you decide to increase the power of the weaker archetypes as opposed to nerfing the stronger archetypes?
Prolly for the same reason
I honestly didn’t really consider it. I guess you could do that, but as I think about it, you’d have to remove some of the more powerful cards and they’re really fun to play with. I’m not sure I would try to balance by nerfing, but that’s just me
Beautiful
Great project great video
I made this last summer with the LOTR Set, it’s amazing
That actually sounds so sick, do you have a list?
@@travis_approved sure, commons x4 - unco x3 - rare/mythic x1
I bought dragon shield box booster, 9 commons 4 uncommons 2R/M in 1 booster
Draft it
Enjoy the game
Been wanting to do this for the Alara block for years. I know, I know. But I love Alara. Unfortunately, I can't even get my playgroup to draft my vintage (unpowered) cube so I'm not super inspired to make another cube.
Check out battle box, might get more use than a full blown cube
Why not have the same rare, uncommon, and common distribution as the draft boosters?
He explains it bro. It could be over 1000 cards, which is costly in both money and time.
It's hard to get it to line up. With the 4/2/1 you get a lot of leftover rares and uncommons once you run out of commons, and adjusting those ratios means buying a bunch of extra Cocommons, plus the sleeves for those extra commons, plus storage space for those extra commons...
It's a whole headache 😂
Aside from the time/money/space arguments, it really comes down to whether you want the store experience or the set experience. A lower ratio like 3/2/1 let's more of the set shine in any given draft, and if you're one of those cube drafters who just creates packs from a single shuffled pile, you'll see more rares and mythics. There was a whole channelfireball article with the maths n everything, but it doesn't seem to exist any more.
yeeee. fuck yeeee. i love set cube. thanks for the video. if you want to talk more about set cube. pleaseeeee do (:
7:00 I think this should be Nantuko Husk or Carrion Feeder; I see what you're going for here, but your selection leads to repetitive gameplay and makes removal feel really bad, while Husk or Feeder are more efficient, free outlets without the card advantage. Poacher makes games go longer, but Husk and Feeder can lead to swift ends when you sac your board. There are other similar sacrifice outlets, but those two a constructed playable (C)s with (U) variants if you need to tweak things.
Thanks for the ideas and thanks for watching!
@@casualrob It was a nice video. I like the QR code & Website idea. I'd be interested to hear updates.
Re: Vanilla Creatures - I like vanilla creatures when they're *good*; see Savannah Lions @ (C) in masters sets, for example. To be fair, relatively few vanilla creatures are any good, and they're better in tribal sets (as just being a goblin or zombie or whatever is synergistic), so you're right to remove them from this set. I would, however, be interested in french vanilla white and/or red spirits for synergies...
How do you draft with 2 people?
I’m thinking of doing a whole video about it, but there’s a bunch of different ways. You can do sealed, Winchester, Rochester, glimpse, and I’m sure I’m forgetting a few off the top of my head
I personally like Grid draft. It goes quickly and allows for some legit hate-drafting. Can be lots of fun.
I wish I knew friends who loved limited and draft enough to feel incentivised to build a cube. Sadly so many people are a lot more inclined towards Commander these days.
I have a Kamigawa Neo cube about 70 percent built. The next challenge is finding friends!
I think I’ve drafted with a 8 player pod (that I put together) like 3 or 4 times EVER. It’s definitely the hardest part of being a limited fan. I’ve heard some have had success bringing their cubes or battle boxes to the LGS to play between rounds or before / after. I play at home with two all the time and three sometimes and love playing cube even with small groups
how much did all this cost? if you said it in the video i must've missed it.
Would have like to know how much this would have cost
What a sweet gift for your wife! :3
Cool video
What's the box you're using?
This guy: dexprotection.com/product/supreme-game-chest/
If I wanted to do this I would have had to have stopped time in about 2015
I’m doing this with the unfinity set 💀
It sucks that mtg designers have to balance sets for multiple game modes and metas and add new mechanics that will last a while in mtg
W WIFE
strixhaven harry potter set is so lame lmfao
chad Jace just teaching himself, virgin mana dorks going to mana dork school
Eh, it was ok. I'll take that over the recent Scooby doo set.