I've Always Wanted to Make an M:tG Cube Part 1

So, I don't know if this counts as a New Year's Resolution or not, but I've decided to do some of the things that I've always wanted to do this year. And, I figured giving myself a deadline of posting a blog about it every Friday will keep me honest. So, here's the first project. I've always wanted to make a Magic: the Gathering Cube. If you don't know what a cube is, go ahead and click here for a brief introduction.

Now, I've fiddled around with this idea before. And, in fact, I've assembled a cube before. But, I didn't really build it. I just copied a list from somewhere, and while I had some fun playing with it, I never really took the steps to make it mine. And, if I'm honest, I never play it much anymore. So, this time, I'm making it on my own, and for me.

I've also already gotten a head start on this, as I put it in motion before the new year actually started. Here's what we know about the project already:

• I'm going to be building a kind of cube called a Twobert: smaller than a "normal" cube, and meant for play with a smaller number of players.
• I have gotten a box of Jumpstart 2020 (info here) to serve as the base for the cube, and won't be adding any cards other than lands for mana fixing to it.

So, we have the plan. Use the Jumpstart cards to make a Twobert cube of 180 cards. Here's the breakdown of what Jumpstart packets I have:

White

Heavily Armored (+1/+1 Counter themed) with rare Cathar's Crusade

Doctor (Lifegain themed) with rare Rhox Faithmender

Heavily Armored (+1/+1 Counter themed) with rares High Sentinels of Arashin and Duelist's Heritage

Blue

Archeology (Artifact recursion and Scarecrow themed) with rare Scarecrone

Wizards (Wizard creature and Spell themed) with rare Talrand, Sky Summoner

Well-Read (Card drawing themed) with rare Ormos, Archive Keeper

Under the Sea (Large sea creature themed) with rares Pursued Whale and Whelming Wave

Well-Read (Card drawing themed) with rares Mystic Archaeologist and Read the Runes

Black

Liliana (Liliana planeswalker themed) with mythic Liliana, Waker of the Dead and rare Liliana's Standard Bearer

Phyrexian (Phyrexian creature themed) with mythic Sheoldred, Whispering One

Witchcraft (Sacrifice for lifegain and advantage themed) with rares Bogbrew Witch and Witch of the Moors

Spooky (Creatures dying themed) with rare Harvester of Souls

Discarding (Discard themed) with mythic Tinybones, Trinket Thief

Reanimated (Creature recursion themed) with rare Reanimate

Red

Gobins (Goblin creature themed) with rares Goblin Chieftain and Goblin Goon

Dragons (Dragon creature themed) with mythic Terror of the Peaks

Goblins (Goblin creature themed) with rare Muxus, Goblin Grandee

Green

Tree-hugging (Treefolk and card drawing themed) with rare Jolrael, Mwonvuli Recluse

Elves (Elf creature themed) with mythic Allosaurus Shepherd

Tree-hugging (Treefolk and card drawing themed) with rares Soul of the Harvest and Verdant Embrace

Dinosaurs (Dinosaur creature themed) with rare Ghalta, Primal Hunger

Plus One (+1/+1 counter themed) with rares Branching Evoluion and Champion of Lambholt

Plus One (+1/+1 counter themed) with mythic Primeval Bounty

Tree-hugging (Treefolk and card drawing themed) with rare Primordial Sage

So, we can see a couple of themes developing. There are +1/+1 counters in Green and White. There's some card drawing stuff in Green and Blue. There's some recursion in Blue (for artifacts) and Black (for creatures). White and Black both can gain life. So, I'm thinking that these packets will form the core of what I build:

• Doctor and Heavily Armored for White
• Archelology, Well-Read, and Wizards for Blue
• Witchcraft, Spooky, and Reanimated for Black
• Goblins and Dragons for Red
• Tree-Hugging, Plus One, and Dinosaurs for Green

Obviously there will be some fiddling around the edges, but this is the bulk of a solid Twobert, I think. We'll have to work to get the numbers right. Maybe, we'll talk about that soon as well. Next week, I hope to be able to post a full Cube Cobra link, plus start doing color deep-dives.

I've always wanted to do this, and I'm glad that I finally am!