I would like to build a cube for my brother as a christmas present.
My brother had built himself a 360 Cube, which we played a lot and was very funny.
Unfortunately this cube was stolen a few years ago (The backpack in which the cube and other magic cards were in).
Since then he has not played Magic anymore. He played some MTGO but this is not the same.
Now I would like to build my brother a Cube for Christmas and surprise him with it
The challenge:
I can play Magic but I have no idea how to build a Cube.
I am willing to spend 300$ for it but I probably have to start from zero.
So I think it will be a budget unpowered 360 Cube. That would be a good basis for my brother to continue building from there.
I have already seen thebudget list gesehen, should I just try to get all these cards?
Are there already Budget Cubes that I should maybe rebuild?
What would you recommend?
My personal recommendation would be a Peasant Cube (commons and uncommons only), as you don't have to sacrifice as much power for budget. I have three cubes - Peasant, 2HG, and Silver-Bordered - with a fourth (Tiny Leaders) on the way, but the Peasant Cube is the most re-playable; it's the bread and butter that consistently creates fun and exciting drafts.
If you want funny, silver-bordered un-cube certainly fits, and it's dirt cheap (only 30-50% of your projected budget). It makes for the wackiest games and plenty of funny stories.
I have no experience with unpowered with rares, but I'm sure there are some fun budget lists out there. What types of archetypes do you want to run? What play styles does he enjoy?
The guys at Solely Singleton have put together The Starter Cube. The goal of this cube is to be able to purchasable on a budget of $120. I would start here, then look towards ways to upgrade it with any remaining money you wish to spend. My recommendation for first steps to upgrade would be the manabase, you should be able to fit all 10 shocklands in with the remaining money and upgrading the manabase won't cause any unbalances to the format like non-lands might.
FunkyDragon is right that peasant cube (commons and uncommons only) is both cheap and infinitely excellent. If you go to the peasant cube thread, you'll see a lot of people link their cubes in their signatures. Funkydragon's is a good one, and there are others for reference as well.
But there's really no reason to dogmatically reject all rares. Many rares are quite powerful, very cheap, and excellent for the format. The list of budget cube cards is a great reference for this.
Most cubes you see linked outside of the peasant section will be for cubes mostly unconcerned by budget, but they can still be great references. It's just that instead of playing Jace, Vryn's Prodigy, you'll play Merfolk Looter or Wharf Infiltrator.
My cubes are linked below. The 425 card cube contains rares, and is very budget-light and low power (and in need of an update). You could probably build a cube like it for less than 100$, and spend the rest of the budget on specific valuable cards that you really want to try, or on good lands. My 1600 card cube is mostly budget, and can give you some idea of a lot of the powerful (but not overpowered) options available. I tend to go a little off-base of how most people build though.
Another thing you can do is look at a cube from one of the more serious unpowered cubers around here, and just copy the list. Then for any card costing over say 10$, look for a cheaper alternative.
You don't have to think too much about archetypes if you don't want to. Just make sure to build a cube with all decent cards that you would be happy to play in your deck. Archetypes will naturally start to form, and you can sprinkle in a few archetype-supporting cards like Tortured Existence.
There are all kinds of cubes, but for any standard build like you're looking for, you'll want to make sure you have several things Sorry if some of these seem obvious.
For every card I mention, there are other options to do basically the same thing. You don't have to play any of the cards I mention to fulfill every role.
Probably between 48 and 55 of each color depending on how many colorless and multicolored cards you want.
Between two and four cards of each color pair. There are lots of great options for these, and you can never play many. At 360, you probably shouldn't play any 3+ color cards.
two or three lands of each color pair. I personally would recommend two of each color pair, and full cycle of tri-lands (Mystic Monastery etc.).
A number of colorless cards and artifacts that makes up the remainder of your cards. If you want an artifact theme, obviously cut colored card slots for artifacts. You'll definitely want some generic lands like Ash Barrens, Terramorphic Expanse, and Evolving Wilds. These are indespensible. Other rainbow lands like City of Brass are fantastic, but tend to cost more for the good ones.
Some bombs in each color. These don't have to be super bombs, but there should be powerful payoff cards topping the curve in each color. Cheap mythics like Greenwarden of Murassa and Dream Eater are often ideal for this slot. If you want to play cheat cards like Goblin Welder, Animate Dead, and Elvish Piper, make sure to include some really big monsters like Inkwell Leviathan and Terrastodon.
Play your favorite cards! The best thing about cube is that it can be whatever you want it to be. As long a card is decently strong by itself, and doesn't require a lot of special conditions, you might as well play it, even if it's not the strongest option. We all have pet cards.
Don't play broken cards. If you're not playing lots of broken cards, just a few of them is bad for the format. So just don't play Sol Ring, even if you have it.
thanks for your help.
I had already looked at a few cubes before but all of them were over 1000$ so I thought that with 300$ I couldn't build a cube with rares. But as I see it is possible.
I think for my brother the fun and replay factor is the most important, so I think I will try to build FunkyDargon's Peasent Cube.
Depending on how much money is left over I will see if I add some rares.
But first I will read all the cubes carefully to understand how they are built.
Thanks again it really helps me and I think I can make my brother happy.
I think building a Peasant Cube for starters (on paper) is really your best bet when starting on a budget. If you then feel like spicing things up, nothing will and should stop you from adding rares. As the others have said, upgrading to rare Lands is one of the best things you can do, since it is really nice to be able to play the spells you have in your hand.
If you have something built you can share the list here so maybe we can assist you with some comments or suggestions.
I'm flattered that you would consider my cube, and while I absolutely love it, feel free to make changes. Here are just a few things to consider:
- My cube does not support as much pure aggro as some others. I prefer a powerful and interactive mid-game, while some players like a fast and efficient early game. If you look at the Average Peasant Cube thread (there's a new one each year, and the 2020 one should be coming soon), you can see some of the popular cards I didn't include, like Cloudfin Raptor, Carnophage, Vampire Lacerator, Jackal Pup, etc. If you or your brother like fast aggro, you may want to add some of these.
- I do not ban anything for power reasons, preferring instead to add more answers. This means I run cards some Peasant cubers choose to ban as too powerful, like Skullclamp, Sol Ring, Loxodon Warhammer. If you are thinking of adding rares, this probably shouldn't be a problem for you, though.
- Peasant+ (Peasant with some rares added) is also an awesome budget choice. As Mergatroid_Jones said, you don't have to be strictly peasant. In fact, there are a few things, largely color fixing and board wipes, that could be improved by adding cheap rares. I choose to keep the limitation in part to distinguish from my other cubes, but I would also love to add things like Mizzium Mortars and Fabled Passage if not for the common/uncommon-only restriction.
- Among the archetypes I support (and each color/color-pair does have specific ones), I have a heavy emphasis in ETB triggers and getting value through re-using these. There are other archetypes you could totally explore more in-depth if you prefer. For example, while I have a fair amount of recursion (like 17+ cards), I apparently have less of a dedicated reanimator archetype than other cubers (this came out recently in a conversation in the Peasant Cube Discussion Thread). Feel free to pick the archetypes you and your brother like the most and swap them in. Cube really is about cultivating the play environment you most enjoy.
- When considering individual cards for a cube, not only do you want to consider how it fits into your archetypes, but you also want to consider the card's floor and ceiling. A card's floor is the worst it will reasonably perform, and its ceiling is how well you can really expect it to perform. If you have a lot of cards with high variation between the floor and ceiling, play will be very unpredictable, and one player can get stomped just because the cards did or didn't work out. Low floor/low ceilings cards will never be powerful, while high floor/high ceiling almost always will be. The main thing for consistent re-playability is to try to keep your cards reasonably in the same range.
- If you choose to copy exactly, awesome, let me know how it goes. If you choose to make changes, awesome, let us see what you do, and we may be able to make suggestions. Cube really is fun, and your brother is super lucky that you're doing this for him.
I would like to build a cube for my brother as a christmas present.
My brother had built himself a 360 Cube, which we played a lot and was very funny.
Unfortunately this cube was stolen a few years ago (The backpack in which the cube and other magic cards were in).
Since then he has not played Magic anymore. He played some MTGO but this is not the same.
Now I would like to build my brother a Cube for Christmas and surprise him with it
The challenge:
I can play Magic but I have no idea how to build a Cube.
I am willing to spend 300$ for it but I probably have to start from zero.
So I think it will be a budget unpowered 360 Cube. That would be a good basis for my brother to continue building from there.
I have already seen thebudget list gesehen, should I just try to get all these cards?
Are there already Budget Cubes that I should maybe rebuild?
What would you recommend?
Many thanks in advance for your help.
Kind regards
Seabear
My personal recommendation would be a Peasant Cube (commons and uncommons only), as you don't have to sacrifice as much power for budget. I have three cubes - Peasant, 2HG, and Silver-Bordered - with a fourth (Tiny Leaders) on the way, but the Peasant Cube is the most re-playable; it's the bread and butter that consistently creates fun and exciting drafts.
If you want funny, silver-bordered un-cube certainly fits, and it's dirt cheap (only 30-50% of your projected budget). It makes for the wackiest games and plenty of funny stories.
I have no experience with unpowered with rares, but I'm sure there are some fun budget lists out there. What types of archetypes do you want to run? What play styles does he enjoy?
2023 Average Peasant Cube|and Discussion
Because I have more decks than fit in a signature
Useful Resources:
MTGSalvation tags
EDHREC
ManabaseCrafter
[180 classic cube]
FunkyDragon is right that peasant cube (commons and uncommons only) is both cheap and infinitely excellent. If you go to the peasant cube thread, you'll see a lot of people link their cubes in their signatures. Funkydragon's is a good one, and there are others for reference as well.
But there's really no reason to dogmatically reject all rares. Many rares are quite powerful, very cheap, and excellent for the format. The list of budget cube cards is a great reference for this.
Most cubes you see linked outside of the peasant section will be for cubes mostly unconcerned by budget, but they can still be great references. It's just that instead of playing Jace, Vryn's Prodigy, you'll play Merfolk Looter or Wharf Infiltrator.
My cubes are linked below. The 425 card cube contains rares, and is very budget-light and low power (and in need of an update). You could probably build a cube like it for less than 100$, and spend the rest of the budget on specific valuable cards that you really want to try, or on good lands. My 1600 card cube is mostly budget, and can give you some idea of a lot of the powerful (but not overpowered) options available. I tend to go a little off-base of how most people build though.
Another thing you can do is look at a cube from one of the more serious unpowered cubers around here, and just copy the list. Then for any card costing over say 10$, look for a cheaper alternative.
You don't have to think too much about archetypes if you don't want to. Just make sure to build a cube with all decent cards that you would be happy to play in your deck. Archetypes will naturally start to form, and you can sprinkle in a few archetype-supporting cards like Tortured Existence.
There are all kinds of cubes, but for any standard build like you're looking for, you'll want to make sure you have several things Sorry if some of these seem obvious.
For every card I mention, there are other options to do basically the same thing. You don't have to play any of the cards I mention to fulfill every role.
Low-power cube enthusiast!
My 1570 card cube (no longer updated)
My 415 Peasant+ Artifact and Enchantment Cube
Ever-Expanding "Just throw it in" cube.
thanks for your help.
I had already looked at a few cubes before but all of them were over 1000$ so I thought that with 300$ I couldn't build a cube with rares. But as I see it is possible.
I think for my brother the fun and replay factor is the most important, so I think I will try to build FunkyDargon's Peasent Cube.
Depending on how much money is left over I will see if I add some rares.
But first I will read all the cubes carefully to understand how they are built.
Thanks again it really helps me and I think I can make my brother happy.
If you have something built you can share the list here so maybe we can assist you with some comments or suggestions.
Sounds like an amazing Christmas present!
- My cube does not support as much pure aggro as some others. I prefer a powerful and interactive mid-game, while some players like a fast and efficient early game. If you look at the Average Peasant Cube thread (there's a new one each year, and the 2020 one should be coming soon), you can see some of the popular cards I didn't include, like Cloudfin Raptor, Carnophage, Vampire Lacerator, Jackal Pup, etc. If you or your brother like fast aggro, you may want to add some of these.
- I do not ban anything for power reasons, preferring instead to add more answers. This means I run cards some Peasant cubers choose to ban as too powerful, like Skullclamp, Sol Ring, Loxodon Warhammer. If you are thinking of adding rares, this probably shouldn't be a problem for you, though.
- Peasant+ (Peasant with some rares added) is also an awesome budget choice. As Mergatroid_Jones said, you don't have to be strictly peasant. In fact, there are a few things, largely color fixing and board wipes, that could be improved by adding cheap rares. I choose to keep the limitation in part to distinguish from my other cubes, but I would also love to add things like Mizzium Mortars and Fabled Passage if not for the common/uncommon-only restriction.
- Among the archetypes I support (and each color/color-pair does have specific ones), I have a heavy emphasis in ETB triggers and getting value through re-using these. There are other archetypes you could totally explore more in-depth if you prefer. For example, while I have a fair amount of recursion (like 17+ cards), I apparently have less of a dedicated reanimator archetype than other cubers (this came out recently in a conversation in the Peasant Cube Discussion Thread). Feel free to pick the archetypes you and your brother like the most and swap them in. Cube really is about cultivating the play environment you most enjoy.
- When considering individual cards for a cube, not only do you want to consider how it fits into your archetypes, but you also want to consider the card's floor and ceiling. A card's floor is the worst it will reasonably perform, and its ceiling is how well you can really expect it to perform. If you have a lot of cards with high variation between the floor and ceiling, play will be very unpredictable, and one player can get stomped just because the cards did or didn't work out. Low floor/low ceilings cards will never be powerful, while high floor/high ceiling almost always will be. The main thing for consistent re-playability is to try to keep your cards reasonably in the same range.
- If you choose to copy exactly, awesome, let me know how it goes. If you choose to make changes, awesome, let us see what you do, and we may be able to make suggestions. Cube really is fun, and your brother is super lucky that you're doing this for him.
2023 Average Peasant Cube|and Discussion
Because I have more decks than fit in a signature
Useful Resources:
MTGSalvation tags
EDHREC
ManabaseCrafter