AZ Power Cube (Cube)

Cube is a beast of its own in comparison to any other types of formats within the Magic the Gathering game. Although the basis and set up in the cube is very similar to that of a draft, the idea of active drafting is much more prevalent in this format. The idea that "one" card will win you the game is not a truth here seeing as each card has a complement and everyone has an equal chance to get that complement. As said, I am creating this post as an aide for those who are having trouble, wish to get the edge, or just learn how to draft/cube better.

Section One: Active drafting

This is one of the most important concepts that I can think of when drafting in the cube, or just in general. As some drafts (that of zen, WW, or m11) they are very forgiving and can allow a player to pass things that otherwise would be a better choice. This is not the case in cube (mirrodin and rise have a similar feeling to them) because once a card is passed, if all other players are actively drafting and doing so correctly you will never see that card again. So with that assumption one must learn to draft appropriately in these pretenses. The format of the layout of the cube draft are presented in this form for the hierarchy of what one should pick when drafting cube.

Bombs: Big is not always better...

The concept of "bombs" have been placed into our mind as amazing cards that are more beef that any other in the pack or one of the best. This is not always true, when picking cards for first packs bombs are not always a good pick (unless its the Akroma twins: Wrath and Fury. Cards like Palinchron or Inkwell Leviathan are in all aspects bombs, but realistically these are not good picks on the first pack. Bombs in cube are a lot less subtle in showing themselves to the player. For example, a Mother of Runes is an amazing bomb, she allows your creatures to be virtually indestructible to your opponents creatures and removal, and at the same time allowing you to swing in when the opportunity presents itself. Equipments are another of these bombs. These are limited in the cube but having a Jitte or any of the three swords will win you the game. PERIOD. SoBaM, SoFaI, SoLaD. So remember when drafting look for an all around useful card that can win the game for you when pulling the first bomb.

Removal: Suicide, or death by fire

Removal is a very powerful element in any draft and is a consistent theme in most formats of draft (not including WW...........) and therefore should be observed when drafting. Each color offers its own type of removal for all the situations that are presented to it. As most know black and red present the most removal in any format; in cube red is a primary trailblazing color chalk full of bolts, bursts, and the occasional fireball. Red is an easy pick, black is a very fickle one in this set and very few people venture into the darker realm of existence. Do not fear the path of the dark side when seeing cards like Snuff Out, Slaughter Pact, or even Bane of the Living. Suicide is prevalent here and one must understand that, and knowing that you can use this to make black a very handy removal color. White is the catch all for removal, offering multiple board wipes for both aggro and control decks (Wrath, Day, Rout) and even has those pesky instance cards like path, condemn, and swords. Blue removal can be a bit more tricky to see. This type of removal shows itself in cards like Treachery and Vedalken Shackles. Using your opponents creatures against them is a definite plus as its a two for one, a removal of their creature and one more ally on your side of the table. Also blue has a "pre-board" removal type included in that of just one simple word: Counterspell. Green is the lack luster child of the removal field, but it does offer some amazing pieces that can be very instrumental in a game when you least realize it. Cards like Naturalize and Wicker Bough Elder are amazing for killing your opponents equipments or artifacts that are totally thrashing you. (Which represents 1/6th of the cubes cards). Green combined with any other color and the right splash of removal will do wonders when you beat your opponent down as they realize that all their bombs and wonderful creatures are being removed from existence. This holds true for all types of removal in any color. As a final note on removal, be wary of the amount of removal 5-8 pieces is an appropriate amount for almost all cases, too little or too much can kill you and turn the balance of the game against you.

Evasion: AKA Fliers Win

It is not always true, in most cases, that fliers win, but in most cases this is what evasion means. The cube offers many different types of evasion that one can draft. The sword set is an excellent any color choice when looking for evasion, it gives protection from colors, and if your opponents are in those colors then... well the story speaks for itself. Aside from green all other colors offer flying. White has the most active flying and protection with cards like White Knight, Baneslayer, and Spectral Lynx or the elusive Commander Eesha. Black has its own answers to these threats by throwing cards like Black Knight, Necrogen Scudder, and Dunerider Outlaw. Blue just throws threat of flying all over the board with whatever means it can find. Even red has some interesting tactics with that Blood Knight and the big beast Kargan Dragonlord. Green represents a very intriguing form in that of the Boas (mire and river).

Aggro: Is My Beef Bigger Than Your Beef

Aggro has seemed to be a very persistent form of how to win the game. Different forms exist in this and grabbing good aggro early can be the key to taking home the extra booster pack or two. Cards like Boggart Ram-Gang, Slith Firewalker, any of the knights, and even that suicidal Wretched Anurid. Aggro is an amazing tactic to win. By dropping a creature each turn you can insure that each swing will get you closer to winning, and combining that with removal to counter act your opponents aggro, a very successful campaign is at hand. As a lasting note on aggro, bombs can also fall into this category, watch for quality creatures like Ravenous Baloth or his brother Obstinate Baloth.

Hate Draft: Pick Up The Slack

Last thing to remember when looking for what to pick in a quality and active draft is to watch for what to hate draft. Sometimes you can do this when there is nothing in the pack for yourself, or you may not want to hand that Time Warp over to a blue/white player. This is always key to remember, watching the colors around the table and watch what your opponent may be taking by paying attention to the colors what is being taken in what direction and by whom.

Section Two: Cards and Quality

Bodies That Do Things

This is an important thing to be watching for when drafting, bodies that do things is an amazing concept to use. What I mean by this is Ronom Unicorn for example, you can put a 2/2 creature into the battle field for two (quality creature, aggro, low mana curve) and she sacrifices to do things; for nothing. This may not seem that powerful, but imagine if you have a recurring theme in your deck like Oversold Cemetery combined with Skullclamp. Now things have become more powerful with two cards and a blocker for 3 mana each turn. Other cards that can correspond with this are Sakura-Tribe Elder, or Ravenous Baloth......... Squirrels?

Recursion: Night of the Living Dead

Recursion is a very good theme in this format also, with creatures and cards constantly going to the graveyard looking for ways to get this back is an important thing. Recursion is far and few in between, but it does exist in a few cards. Oversold Cemetery is a good conditional card if you are running heavy aggro. But two of the most influential cards are Genesis, a monster that can swing and bring whatever you want back. The cream of the crop though is Eternal Witness, she can be very powerful if you can get your hands on multiple recursion methods grabbing anything that you may need from path, Vendetta, or even Mana Drain.

Two For Ones: Great Deals

Looking for cards that do two for ones effectively can be difficult but we can sort our way through this mess pretty easy. The first cards that come to mind are the two walls, Blossom and Omens. These guys come into play and let you draw (1) and then are bodies to defend (2). Two for ones. Karmic Guide is a amazing form of this type of card in use. She is a 2/2 protection black flying (Body +1, double evasion +2, but with echo -1, with recursion she can be potent) and she brings a creature back (+2 in my book). +4 is what I rate her at, well above what a bomb should be at maybe a +2 or +3. Other good conditonal cards that can be very useful are the bane of Tis Dan's existence. The Titans: Inferno, Sun, Grave, Primeval, and Frost. These guys are beef, bombs, and quality all packaged into one..... Again Squirrels?Cube is a beast of its own in comparison to any other types of formats within the Magic the Gathering game. Although the basis and set up in the cube is very similar to that of a draft, the idea of active drafting is much more prevalent in this format. The idea that "one" card will win you the game is not a truth here seeing as each card has a complement and everyone has an equal chance to get that complement. As said, I am creating this post as an aide for those who are having trouble, wish to get the edge, or just learn how to draft/cube better.

Mana Curve: Follow the Curves

Mana curve in is a highly spoken topic, and the same goes for cube. If you have a large portion of one cost creatures you will eventually run out, no card advantage your opponents larger creatures will eventually smash you. Like wise if you draft all the titans, Ink-Eyes, and Mindslaver will get you know where fast except one way trip to a loss. The natural curve of my cube is set to revolve around an average of 3. This means by the law of averages you should have around a draft of pulling a curve of 3. For the slower crowd this means that on average adding all the casting costs of all my cards and dividing my total number of cards I should be in a deviance of about 2.5-3.5. Example I have 24 cards to put into my deck not including lands so adding the total casting cost of my cards: 3 one costs, 6 two costs, 5 three costs, 4 four costs, 4 five costs, and 2 six costs. Adding all the costs of each card up gives me 72, divide this by 24 equals 3. Easy as sliced bread, right? Not always the case, combined with everything else this is one of the hardest things to do, so watch and attempt to keep up with what you can when you can. It is one of the hardest things to do on the fly, but with time and practice it becomes almost natural.

Mana Fixing: Know A Good Plumber?

Mana fixing... the bane of all existence to players all around the world. Players blame mana for a lot of losses, “If I wold have just had another – Mana” and you can fill in the blank. It will always happen, and is prevalent and will always exist. The key is to find and grab that mana fixing for your deck early will save you scrambling later. The cube consists of four types of dual lands for each color, five tri lands, and a few five colored lands. Although some would laugh, by considering picking up City of Brass as a first pick in the cube could give you that edge when your playing with a tri color deck while looking for that second red mana to cast Thundermaw Hellkite to swing in for the win. Always keep your eyes and ears open for mana fixing because most of the time IT WILL NOT COME BACK. With so many players playing players will potentially be in your colors as well, or even the few risky tri color players will be scooping up all they can when they can.

For now I will leave it at this, its a lot of information to take in but I hope that everyone can at least get a quasi understanding of what is going with the cube. Next post will contain deck types and more sections on how to determine what is quality, how good a deck is, and even sample hands of the cube and what I would pull and play. As a final note, I don't assume myself as an expert at this by any mean, but Its just an informational piece for players who are curious on how I am so successful at draft, or cube draft for that matter. The owner ship of the cube has nothing to do with this as many of your fellow players will admit, I have been beaten with my own cube many times, and I expect to many time to be beaten again. The idea is to learn and have fun. Good luck and hope to see you at the next cube.