Ep 4 - The Shard Cube

After much time away, Erich and Hayden return with a cube featuring commons and uncommons only, colloquially known as a peasant cube! It was built from a template based process that Erich created and now uses to create cubes quickly. Erich and Hayden will discuss this process in the hopes that it can provide some insight for budding cube designers out there looking to build their first cube!The cube list and all cards mentioned can be found hereCube Cobra - Peasant CubeLinks discussed in this episodeErich's 180, 270, & 360 Cube Templates (Imgur)Front Mission 3 (Wikipedia)Erich's Photography (Instagram)Timestamps00:00 Introduction00:46 Where we've been02:20 Cube overview & process overview05:27 Cube size, number breakdown, & process07:46 Where Erich starts when building a new cube11:32 Collection organization tips & cutting cards15:43 Why a peasant cube18:38 Picking common and uncommon lands23:54 Post-draft discussion25:25 Hayden's deck discussion29:31 Erich's deck discussion33:27 The other decks that got drafted39:17 What to add & what to remove43:38 Final thoughts on the cube49:35 Peek at the Week!59:07 Podcast future1:02:53 Outro & CreditsYou can find the hosts’ on Cube Cobra:⁠Erich's Profile⁠⁠Hayden's Profile⁠Cover art by ⁠Brittanie Thompson⁠MusicMy District by Lesfm/Oleksii Kaplunskyi --⁠ ⁠https://pixabay.com/music/funk-my-district-152701/⁠⁠guitar riff 1.wav by kaponja --⁠ ⁠https://freesound.org/s/54253/⁠⁠ -- License: Attribution 3.0

Erich and Hayden introduce The Shard Cube, an environment focused on Magic’s allied three colour groups and built with a love of Alara block. Rich discussions on the initial difficulty of achieving one’s desired power level and what criteria to examine cards with when making changes ensue. The cube list and all cards mentioned can be found here Cube Cruisin - The Shard Cube v1 Cube Cruisin - The Shard Cube v2 Links discussed in this episode SCG’s The Resleevables Shards of Alara Episode (Podbay.fm) Shards of Alara Flashback Draft Primer (Reddit) Conflux Flashback Draft Primer (Reddit) Scryfall.com Future Islands (Official Website) Find Your Local Library (usa.gov) Timestamps 00:00 Introduction 00:37 Episode overview & background with Shards 04:00 Cube philosophies/What are Shards to us? 07:25 Cube construction & archetypes 15:15 What do we hope to learn? 24:33 How we’re drafting 27:07 First draft discussion 40:59 Cube changes & second draft discussion 47:54 How did we like & what did we learn? 55:29 Peek at the Week! 1:02:51 Outro & Credits You can find the hosts’ on Cube Cobra: Erich's Profile Hayden's Profile Cover art by Brittanie Thompson Music My District by Lesfm/Oleksii Kaplunskyi -- ⁠https://pixabay.com/music/funk-my-district-152701/⁠ guitar riff 1.wav by kaponja -- ⁠https://freesound.org/s/54253/⁠ -- License: Attribution 3.0

This episode delves into Erich’s Triple Threat cube born from lofty constraints, most notably that it features cards with Mana Value 3 or less. Erich and Hayden will discuss how low curving cards affect the draft, the impact on manabases, and curating which effects to include that are valuable from early to late game. The cube list and all cards mentioned can be found here Cube Cobra - Triple Threat Cube Links discussed in this episode How to Pancake Draft (RiptideLab) Criterion Channel (Streaming) V-Rising (Steam) Timestamps 00:00 Introduction 00:46 Episode overview & cube philosophies 08:40 Cube construction & number breakdown 15:24 Multicolor & archetypes 33:44 How we’re drafting 35:01 What we’re hoping to learn 39:01 First draft discussion 48:58 Cube changes post-first draft 1:02:09 How did we like the cube? 1:05:43 What did we learn? 1:12:56 Peek at the Week! 1:22:00 Outro & Credits You can find the hosts’ on Cube Cobra: Erich's Profile Hayden's Profile Cover art by Brittanie Thompson Music My District by Lesfm/Oleksii Kaplunskyi -- ⁠https://pixabay.com/music/funk-my-district-152701/⁠ guitar riff 1.wav by kaponja -- ⁠https://freesound.org/s/54253/⁠ -- License: Attribution 3.0

In this episode, Hayden and Erich put Hayden’s Artifact Twobert to the test. Covering how initial tinkering will only get one so far, the value of playtesting with rapid iteration and what that means for the design process. The cube list and all cards mentioned can be found here Cube Cruisin - Artifact Twobert v1 Cube Cruisin - Artifact Twobert v2 Links discussed in this episode ⁠What is Grid Draft (Lucky Paper)⁠ BUS Game Devs (Youtube) Slice & Dice (Steam) Timestamps 00:00 - Introduction 00:43 - Overview of the episode & Why Artifacts? 03:12 - Cube philosophies 05:03 - Cube breakdown and numbers 16:00 - Archetypes & What we’re hoping to learn 20:41 - How we’re drafting 24:52 - FIRST draft overview & Revisions 34:49 - SECOND draft overview after revisions 46:37 - Did we like it & What did we learn 54:53 - Final thoughts & What we would change 55:44 - Peek at the Week 1:03:18 - Outro & Credits You can find the hosts’ on Cube Cobra: Erich's Profile Hayden's Profile Cover art by Brittanie Thompson Music My District by Lesfm/Oleksii Kaplunskyi -- ⁠https://pixabay.com/music/funk-my-district-152701/⁠ guitar riff 1.wav by kaponja -- ⁠https://freesound.org/s/54253/⁠ -- License: Attribution 3.0

In the inaugural episode, Erich and Hayden discuss their version of THE JUND CUBE through the lens of a 2 player experience. They explore what it means to “Jund Em Out”, discuss their application of that philosophy into this cube, and experience how a single top deck can blast an opponent out of the water. The cube list and all cards mentioned can be found here Cube Cruisin - 2P Jund Cube Links discussed in this episode What is "jund em out" mean? (Reddit) When in Doubt, Jund ’em Out (Hipsters of the Coast) The Jund Cube: The JUNDERDOME (Cube Cobra) How to Pancake Draft (RiptideLab) How to Housman Draft (Lucky Paper) What is Grid Draft (Lucky Paper) Timestamps 00:00 Introduction 00:43 Overview of the episode & What is JUND? 07:19 Cube philosophies and numbers 09:54 What we’re hoping to learn 12:07 How we’re drafting 16:11 Draft overview 24:46 How’d we like the cube 27:09 Did we capture the feeling of ‘JUND em out’? 28:18 What would we change? 33:03 Peek at the Week 36:31 Outro & Credits You can find the hosts’ on Cube Cobra: Erich's Profile Hayden's Profile Cover art by Brittanie Thompson Music My District by Lesfm/Oleksii Kaplunskyi -- https://pixabay.com/music/funk-my-district-152701/ guitar riff 1.wav by kaponja -- https://freesound.org/s/54253/ -- License: Attribution 3.0