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Cube Templates

A cube design template to provide a framework for a balanced 360-card midrange cube.

Methodology

Guided by lots of cube hours and set design Nuts & Bolts methodology from Magic The Gathering Head Designer Mark Rosewater.

360-Card Midrange Cube Template

This cube design template works well for a creature combat focused 360-card cube. The sections below go into depth with examples, but a simple text file is available to View or Download as well.

  • 275 mono-color cards
    • 55 of each mono-color (White manaBlue manaBlack manaRed manaGreen mana)
  • 30 two-color guild cards
    • 3 of each two-color guild (5 ally and 5 enemy pairs)
      • If you want to include guild mana rocks (adding +10 guild cards), lower the count of each mono color by 0-2 and take the rest from colorless cards
  • 20 colorless cards
  • 35 lands
    • 3 of each two-color guild (5 ally and 5 enemy pairs)
    • 5 additional multicolored or mono-colored utility lands

Guilds

It’s usually easier to do the guilds first to find out what those color pairs do to then inform what the mono color cards should support.

  • 1 Signpost Card signaling to drafters this color pair’s strategy and play pattern
  • 1 Support Card for this guilds play pattern strategy
  • 1 Generically Good effect that fits well into decks playing either of the two colors

Azorius azorius (White manaBlue mana) Example

  • Signpost Creature: Soulherder - Repeat ETB effects of creatures for value
  • Support Card: Aethermage's Touch - Creature selection and cost discount with multiple ETB triggers
  • Generically Good: No More Lies - Just a great permission spell

Mono Colors

Each mono color is part of 4 different guilds so you want to make sure you include cards that support each of those guilds’ strategies in roughly equal amounts with a selection of cards that are generally useful for any deck of that color or even mono-color deck. Aim for 6 to 10 cards per guild strategy for a total of 24 to 40 cards with the rest being generically good cards you want to include that support your cube’s overall goals.

With each of selection of the 6 to 10 guild aimed cards you want to keep these things in mind:

  • Mana Value: You want a good distribution sprinkled about the range of different mana values (aggro will trend lower MV, control will trend higher MV)
  • Versatility: You want a good distribution of contested and non-contested picks sprinkled about the versatility spectrum defined from Zero: “No deck but 1 wants to play this card” to Ten: “Every deck wants to play this card”
  • 28 to 36 Creatures (or token creating instants & sorceries)
    • Typical creature count by color:
      • White mana White: 36
      • Blue mana Blue: 28
      • Black mana Black: 32
      • Red mana Red: 30
      • Green mana Green: 34
    • Typical creature count by mana-value: (Flash and Reanimate style cards can highly alter mana value expectations)
      • 2 to 4 one-drops
      • 8 to 15 two-drops
      • 6 to 10 three-drops
      • 3 to 6 four-drops
      • 2 to 5 five-drops
      • 1 to 3 six+-drops
  • 7 to 15 Removal Spells A mix of hard, soft, conditional, and different mana value removal spells.
  • 8 to 16 Other Spells remainder to support the archetypes
    • 5 to 8 instants
    • 1 to 5 sorceries
    • 2 to 4 enchantments / artifacts
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