Reject Rare Cube

Let's start out by saying I love my cube (duh) and there are so many untapped decks that I haven't built from it yet.

That said, I got the idea last night to build another cube, this one themed in some way. I like James's common and uncommon cube, and I like the way it changes the game subtly. I want another cube in the same way I like to play Big Deck because it changes the paradigm of the game.

So what should the theme be? A couple options that have been done before:

Tribal
Formatted (Standard, Extended, Legacy, etc)
Powered (pretty much mine with fast mana)
Un (-hinged and -glued)

Or something more original. I had a fleeting idea for an all-creature cube, but there aren't enough with flash, and making everything sorcery speed is BORING. Creatureless seems like it changes the game too much.

There was a guy at the Invitational who created a full cube and completely made up every card. A lot of pop culture references, and stuff like that. I didn't get to look at it, I just saw people looking at it talking about it.

Snow-covered isn't deep enough. I can't think of anything else. Any "requests?"

Hmmm ... Trying to think how you can make it unique ...

I'll just start rambling right about now:

-Tribal
-Paupers (All commons)
-Poor Man's (Commons/Uncommons)
-Rich Man (Rares/Mythics)
-CMC
-Only Creatures
-No Creatures
-EDH Theme (Legendary Permanents ONLY)

That's all I got. Weren't you making a CMC cube or was that a Big Deck? If you go that route you could do like 'Black has X CMC, White has Y CMC, ...' I like the EDH one though, I just don't know how big (or small) of an impact this will have on differentiations from of cube games.

~Zuty

What about reject rare? It will be extra cheap to do that way.

Reject Rare could be pretty fun, though we already use that theme a lot in our Big Decks ("Conflux.... really?"). You'd have to look for some really crappy rares...

You'd still need some staples though, just to hold the whole thing together (Cultivate, Ponder, Lightning Bolt, etc).

i vote for reject rare.

I'm about halfway through planning it. You can see what I've chosen so far at http://tappedout.net/mtg-cube-drafts/reject-rare-cube/

This is either going to be hilarious or a complete mess. Possibly both. I'll let you know when I need to cut it down. I'm aiming for 500 or so.

How's this for an opening pack:

Spoiler:

redxxii wrote:You'd still need some staples though, just to hold the whole thing together (Cultivate, Ponder, Lightning Bolt, etc).

See, the fun of Reject Rare Draft is that you don't have staples. Instead of something simple like Lightning Bolt, you have to use this guy instead. Since rares are mostly more complex than commons and uncommons, it makes you look at the game a whole new way. Though, I should say, I am including cards that actually DO something (no Pale Moon, no Mudhole, etc).

The trick is going to be finding a way to not gum up the board with expensive fatties. Removal tends to be unnecessarily convoluted, and at a premium, so there needs to be a way to break through... that's also unnecessarily convoluted. The big question is "Is that actually fun?" Hopefully I'll figure that out before I'm 400 cards in.

And yes, it is very much like Big Deck, only there are no staples, and I purposely include the bad rares too.

Ok, the inital list is up. I'm at 532 cards (oddly, almost exactly the same as my original cube).

http://tappedout.net/mtg-cube-drafts/reject-rare-cube

I know this is a massive question, but... any thoughts for cards I should add? Right now it's a bit unbalanced:

Artifacts: 38
Black: 76
Blue: 78
Green: 85
Lands: 34
Multi: 54
Red: 81
White: 68

So I need more white cards and fewer green cards. I'd be glad just to cut or add cards, rather than replace; I don't care if it's exactly 530 cards.

If you log in, you can draft it. Since there are really no good cards, I just don't know what to expect. At the very least, this will be an exercise in deckbuilding.

Funny notes:

There are 5 cycles that I can remember adding:

Planeswalker's ______ from Planeshift
Words of ______ from Onslaught
Depletion Lands from Ice Age
ETBT Painlands from Tempest
Filterlands from Odyssey

Also, I might have to include more maindeck enchantment destruction, since there are so many bad enchantments.

Finally, thank you Masques, Odyssey, Ice Age, and Tempest for having so many shitty cards.

That is all.

EDIT: Ok, I just drafted it... here's my deck:

http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/reject-rare-cube-2011-01-14/

I couldn't figure out how to add lands, so I didn't.

So reject rares is crappy rares and only rares, right? Or am I missing something ...

~Zuty

That's it. The kind of stuff the gums up the binder.

So basically my entire collection. Alright, I REALLY like that idea ... Any way you determine what is crap and what isn't? Or is it just kinda you look at the card and know? I'm sure I can find some more cards you could add to your cube that no one even touches or know exists, just need to know the limitations, if any, that you set on what is in and what is out.

~Zuty

Take a look at the list at the above link. I already created a 532 card cube, but there's not enough white and too much green and red. Here's the criteria I used:

1. Sub-optimal card that actually has a use in a vacuum (Aboroth, not Pale Moon).
2. Try to maintain a decent curve. This is tough because most crappy rares are by definition poorly costed. But I don't want everything to be a 6 drop. This is important because if everything is a 5 drop or higher with an effect that's strong but costly (Baneful Omen, for instance), then it just becomes a slow format. I want lower costed decks to have a chance.
3. Don't gum up combat too much. There are tons of crappy rares that prevent combat damage, or are just x/7 dudes that defend. I want ways to break through in combat, or even have ways of winning within combat.
4. Cards that are fun to play. No Mudslides or Grip of Chaos.
5. Cards that people actually will play (no Tempting Wurms).
6. No color hosers.

I have balanced the cube for color and multicolor. It's now 75 of each color, with just about equal numbers of each color pair in the multicolor section.

There are an inordinate number of enchantments, so I tried to add some enchantment hate and some enchantment matter cards (Auratog, Fracturing Gust, etc).

There's also a coin flipping subtheme, complete with Krark's Thumb and (a personal favorite) Fiery Gambit.

Give it a spin and try drafting it. It's pretty hilarious.

http://tappedout.net/mtg-cube-drafts/reject-rare-cube/

Big thanks to Brandon and John O for helping to fill out a huge chunk of my new cube. I think I'm over halfway there now. I also traded lots of great cards for some horrible cards. I feel a bit sick.

Chuck, I'll be organizing my stuff on Monday when I get back to my work computer (where of course I keep my Magic notes). I'll send you a list of the balance that I need to finish, broken down by set.

And for the rest of you who had a glance at what this thing is turning into, I hope you're as excited about it as I am.

I'm still stuck on about 230 cards. Could you check your collections for the following:

Spoiler:

After Chuck supplied me with the bottom of the bottom (er... that came out wrong), I believe I have enough for an inaugural RRC draft. Chuck gave me what looks like close to 100 or so cards yesterday, putting it around 400. That's enough for us to play.

I will likely be sleeving it up and taking it to C&M this Sunday. I'll post an event after I make my count tonight.

Slyphidine wrote:After Chuck supplied me with the bottom of the bottom (er... that came out wrong), I believe I have enough for an inaugural RRC draft. Chuck gave me what looks like close to 100 or so cards yesterday, putting it around 400. That's enough for us to play.

I will likely be sleeving it up and taking it to C&M this Sunday. I'll post an event after I make my count tonight.

remove or mark off what you got so i can check your list for what i might have as i had yet to do so and i have a PILE of what could be considered reject rare.

Here's the latest list of what I need:

Spoiler:

The Brass Herald needs to be from 8th Edition.

Thanks!