cube colorwheel

The Gladiator Cube (Common Uncommon)

By Piranesi

Score: 0

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Description

This cube is a love letter to draft purists. It’s a mash-up of many of the best limited cards ever printed – distilling the draft experience down to its essence, while at the same time keeping gameplay balanced. Premium limited creatures versus premium limited spells in a back and forth slugfest. Mythics and rares are excluded to make gameplay as interactive as possible. Furthermore, in an effort to reduce swingy gameplay, ‘instawin’ buttons such as Overrun, Rolling Thunder, and Loxodon Warhammer are not invited to the party. Though, cards of that caliber could potentially be added if additional spice is desired.

Due to the high quality creatures, having access to very efficient removal is fair. Games typically play out to just the right length, not so long that you get into giant board stalls, and not so fast that you don't get a chance to do much. There is a good enough mix of casting costs, and the possibility of drafting most color pairs in a variety of play styles ranging from aggro to control (some more than others). Creatures have a good amount of evasion to keep things moving, but I believe there are enough counters to evasion to keep it from being the only viable option. There are a healthy amount of build-arounds such as Sphinx’s Tutalege, Roaring Primadox, Sphere of Safety, and Vent Sentinel to add alternate strategic angles to the mix. I believe I’ve refined the power level of the cube to a sweet spot over time - but of course there's always room for improvement). The format tends to lean two-color, though three-color or even five-color are possible if a player prioritizes fixing highly. For those who dare (and to add an extra wrinkle of funk into the multi-color equation) fan-favorite draft archetypes Allies and Defenders have been added to all colors to give the ‘five color good stuff decks’ a bit more structure to aim for. The color pairs themselves are essentially loose archetypes, but due to the depth, layering, and cross-synergy between the cards selected – each new draft allows you to branch out into multiple directions even within the same color pair. The intent was to create interesting draft choices for players – choices between synergy or power level – even within the same color.

The pack distribution I use: 2 White 2 Blue 2 Black 2 Red 2 Green 2 Random (of any single color) 2 Multicolor 1 Colorless or Land

Colorless (62)

Land (24)

Artifact (20)

Creature (18)

Gold (71)

Creature (49)

Instant (9)

Sorcery (7)

Enchantment (6)

White (83)

Creature (56)

Instant (13)

Enchantment (10)

Sorcery (4)

Blue (80)

Creature (46)

Sorcery (13)

Enchantment (9)

Instant (12)

Black (81)

Creature (58)

Sorcery (11)

Instant (8)

Enchantment (4)

Red (80)

Creature (55)

Sorcery (16)

Instant (8)

Enchantment (1)

Green (83)

Creature (60)

Sorcery (10)

Instant (7)

Enchantment (6)

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Cards 540
Date added 8 years
Last updated 8 years

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