Hello! My name is David McDarby, and I'm an operations administrator and game designer here at Wizards of the Coast. You might know me from being the creator of Commander VS, or that guy who's been cosplaying as Jace Beleren or Ral Zarek for about a decade.
I'm here to tell you about a cube that I've been working on, which is the next entry in the Cube Spotlight Series: Live the Dream!
Ask any of my friends or coworkers, and they'll tell you that I'm pretty into Commander. I've been on multiple design teams for it and have created tons of content for it, with this cube being my most recent endeavor. The main goal of this cube is to carry over some of the feelings of playing that format into a Limited environment where you get to feel like you're building a Commander deck on the fly! What this means is that this is a format with multiple layered synergies and archetypes in a slow enough environment to allow crazy multi-card machinations to unfold, but not quite as time-consuming as your average Commander game. Shenanigans abound in this cube, with so many wacky combos and decision trees that you might even experience something that inspires you to build a new Commander deck. I sure did!
The power band here is a bit lower than in most cubes, with cards generally chosen for their raw potential for greatness and their interactivity with other parts of the cube, rather than for their brutal efficiency. We'll leave that for 60-card formats. Here, cards cost more mana, have more versatility, and are more, dare I say, mythic. So instead of cards like Jackal Pup and Counterspell, we're talking Fiery Emancipation and Sublime Epiphany.
But I had a lot of help devising this complex web of maniacal synergies. David White (@thrilryder) was there 11 years ago when I just started playing this wonderful game to tell me that Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind and Curiosity was not a good way to make friends while navigating a format called "EDH." It is only fitting that over a decade later, he applied some rationality to my more ambitious ideas and reined in my fierce appetite to make every card have an average of three mana symbols and a converted mana cost of 5.
Working on every Limited environment we construct here at Wizards combined with my love of Commander deck building drew me to an archetype-heavy cube that aims to blend the line between synergy and combo. Now, when I say combo, I don't mean combining Deceiver Exarch and Splinter Twin on turn four to immediately end the game. I mean things like Righteous Confluence and Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose. Mizzix's Mastery and Aminatou's Augury. Each color pair has an archetype with the potential to, as we say in the biz, Live the Dream.
Let's just take a look at each of the eleven archetypes.
White-Blue Blink
Enter the battlefield effects are aplenty in all the colors in this format, but white and blue have the best tools to abuse them. Attempt to wreak havoc in the skies and grind all who oppose you to dust one cantrip at a time! Now Thassa good time.
Blue-Black Ninja Thievery
Ninja Pose! Sneak through your opponent's defenses with evasive creatures and turn their own spells against them! Maybe even pick up some of your own creatures for ninjutsu value as you pick up your opponent's goodies. Plus, you get to say cool things like "I Despise you" and "I attack with Looter il-Kor" as you turn your opponent's dreams into their own nightmares.
Black-Red Self-Discard
Generally, you want your opponents to discard cards, but here, you want to pitch those cards from your hand into your graveyard and turn it into a rave-yard. Madness? No, this is Cube. Whether you're cheating Yidaro, Wandering Monster into play, churning through your deck with Tomb Robber, or just casting big 'ol Rakdos, the Showstopper, your music will be playing at double speed, as somebody's life total is sure to be low.
Red-Green Bigguns
If you prefer large creatures, and you cannot slander, have I got an archetype for you. Set up with some small creatures that make mana, then go to town and start deploying high-powered creatures to mess up said town. All creatures beeg and smol are able to help keep the cards and damage flowing at a remarkable rate, and I've yet to meet somebody who can outsmart a 12/12 on turn four.
Green-White Copy Populate
Like most everything else in this cube, this theme goes over the top. Going wide with a battalion of 1/1s is fine and all, but what about an army of Honored Hydras? Sculptures, Food, Cats, Wolves, Wurms, Treasure, Phyrexian Praetors; really anything in this cube can be doubled. Splash a Mirror March, and you could even go infinite! Doubling Season's interaction with planeswalkers in this cube is a feature, not a bug.
White-Black Life Manipulation
People may laugh at you for playing cards that gain life in your deck, but they won't be laughing when you drain them for 15. The game's only over once somebody runs out of life, and you've got the most of it. This is the archetype that will make you the most thankful when Play Design puts "gain two life" onto a removal sell.
Blue-Red Chonky Spells
Cast spells with more chonk than is reasonable for the midgame, and if you're really feeling it, copy them a time or two. Planeswalkers and extra turns are a combo, and you don't need mana fixing for Cruel Ultimatum or Inspired Ultimatum when you're casting them without paying their mana costs. For you math fans, I've included Double Vision, Precursor Golem, and Rite of Replication. Good luck!
Black-Green Graveyard Critters
If you're reading this, you probably enjoy Spider Spawning. Good news everyone: it's an entire archetype! Mill it with Carrion Grub, find it with Gravebreaker Lamia, or rebuy it with Greenwarden of Murasa; the possibilities are endless. As long as these possibilities involve arachnids or insects.
Red-White Damage Redirection
Sometimes red spells deal more damage than is reasonable to creatures, and being unreasonable is what this cube is all about. While removal spells alone cannot traditionally win you the game, it sure can here. Red-white decks are not as combat oriented in this cube as in most environments but pile up the damage doublers, and even Thraben Inspector will be a force to reckon with in the archetype that finally proves Chain Lightning can be better than Lightning Bolt.
Green-Blue Flash
Everybody loves mana, but instead of doubling it to cast ten mana spells on turn five, here we double it wide to cast spells on your opponent's turn. Getting to "untap" every turn means you're playing twice as much! Plus, who wants to auto yield all the time when you've got cards to draw? This is the color pair most likely to draw two cards with Fblthp, the Lost, and is there any greater dream than that?
Five-Color Dream
The dreamiest archetype of them all aims to cast all the sweetest cards in the multiverse. Bloom Tender and Faeburrow Elder will be your BFFs, and ideally, your cards will just be better than your opponents'. Get yourself a good Companion at your side, some nice mana fixing, and if your cards don't say "win the game" de jure, they sure say it de facto.
And those are just the eleven main archetypes of the cube! If you're not feeling any of these, I've also included a dino-sized helping of single-card build-arounds. Like any Izzet mage worth their Mizzium, not even I can fully comprehend what this cube is capable of, but I hope y'all find ways to break it, and most importantly, have fun doing so.
I've dedicated my life to this game and have had a blast designing and playing this cube, and I plan on streaming it all next week at www.twitch.tv/linuka. Feel free to reach out to me in whatever way works for you if you'd like to chat about this cube or Magic. While I've been living the dream being #WotCStaff for over half a decade, I sincerely hope you are also able to live your own dream; whether it's while drafting this cube, aspiring to achieve any other goal you may have in life, or just casting Cruel Ultimatum.
—David McDarby
@J_Beleren on Twitter
Linuka on Twitch
Full Cube List
| Card Name |
Color |
|---|
| Giver of Runes |
W |
| Rhys the Redeemed |
W |
| Thraben Inspector |
W |
| Bounty Agent |
W |
| Charming Prince |
W |
| Hero of Precinct One |
W |
| Knight of the White Orchid |
W |
| Selfless Spirit |
W |
| Soulfire Grand Master |
W |
| Wall of Omens |
W |
| Blade Splicer |
W |
| Doomed Artisan |
W |
| Flickerwisp |
W |
| Kitchen Finks |
GW |
| Lurrus of the Dream-Den |
WB |
| Mangara of Corondor |
W |
| Mentor of the Meek |
W |
| Mirror Entity |
W |
| Recruiter of the Guard |
W |
| Resplendent Angel |
W |
| Stormwild Capridor |
W |
| Verge Rangers |
W |
| Emiel the Blessed |
W |
| Gisela, the Broken Blade |
W |
| Palace Jailer |
W |
| Restoration Angel |
W |
| Rhox Faithmender |
W |
| Selfless Squire |
W |
| Swans of Bryn Argoll |
WU |
| Angel of Sanctions |
W |
| Archangel of Thune |
W |
| Cavalier of Dawn |
W |
| Crested Sunmare |
W |
| Karmic Guide |
W |
| Lyra Dawnbringer |
W |
| Regal Caracal |
W |
| Reveillark |
W |
| Wingmate Roc |
W |
| Felidar Sovereign |
W |
| Sun Titan |
W |
| Sunblast Angel |
W |
| Bruna, the Fading Light |
W |
| Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite |
W |
| Ajani, Strength of the Pride |
W |
| Serra the Benevolent |
W |
| Elspeth Tirel |
W |
| Elspeth, Sun's Champion |
W |
| Ephemerate |
W |
| Angelic Ascension |
W |
| Blessed Alliance |
W |
| Sundering Growth |
GW |
| Unexpectedly Absent |
W |
| Valorous Stance |
W |
| Generous Gift |
W |
| Orim's Thunder |
W |
| Entrapment Maneuver |
W |
| Settle the Wreckage |
W |
| Finale of Glory |
W |
| Martial Coup |
W |
| Entreat the Angels |
W |
| Righteous Confluence |
W |
| Austere Command |
W |
| Dawn of Hope |
W |
| Banishing Light |
W |
| Oblivion Ring |
W |
| Anointed Procession |
W |
| Cast Out |
W |
| Faith's Fetters |
W |
| Elspeth Conquers Death |
W |
| True Conviction |
W |
| Spectral Sailor |
U |
| Fblthp, the Lost |
U |
| Ghostly Pilferer |
U |
| Lighthouse Chronologist |
U |
| Looter il-Kor |
U |
| Mindshrieker |
U |
| Snapcaster Mage |
U |
| Watcher for Tomorrow |
U |
| Barrin, Tolarian Archmage |
U |
| Champion of Wits |
U |
| Sea Gate Oracle |
U |
| Thada Adel, Acquisitor |
U |
| Vizier of Tumbling Sands |
U |
| Wavebreak Hippocamp |
U |
| Phyrexian Metamorph |
U |
| Sakashima's Student |
U |
| Sower of Temptation |
U |
| Spark Double |
U |
| Thassa, Deep-Dwelling |
U |
| Urza, Lord High Artificer |
U |
| Djinn of Wishes |
U |
| Master of Predicaments |
U |
| Mulldrifter |
U |
| Omnispell Adept |
U |
| Riftwing Cloudskate |
U |
| Thryx, the Sudden Storm |
U |
| Voracious Greatshark |
U |
| Yorion, Sky Nomad |
WU |
| Deadeye Navigator |
U |
| Dream Eater |
U |
| Torrential Gearhulk |
U |
| Scholar of the Lost Trove |
U |
| Teferi, Master of Time |
U |
| Censor |
U |
| Narset's Reversal |
U |
| Pull from Tomorrow |
U |
| Remand |
U |
| Thassa's Intervention |
U |
| Complicate |
U |
| Dominate |
U |
| Supreme Will |
U |
| Whirlwind Denial |
U |
| Fact or Fiction |
U |
| Insidious Will |
U |
| Ætherspouts |
U |
| Spell Swindle |
U |
| Sublime Epiphany |
U |
| Supplant Form |
U |
| Commit // Memory |
U |
| Dig Through Time |
U |
| Nexus of Fate |
U |
| See the Truth |
U |
| Mythos of Illuna |
U |
| Rite of Replication |
U |
| Part the Waterveil |
U |
| Aminatou's Augury |
U |
| Expropriate |
U |
| Knowledge Exploitation |
U |
| Temporal Mastery |
U |
| Temporal Trespass |
U |
| Midnight Clock |
U |
| Search for Azcanta |
U |
| Shark Typhoon |
U |
| Asylum Visitor |
B |
| Brain Maggot |
B |
| Glint-Sleeve Siphoner |
B |
| Kitesail Freebooter |
B |
| Mire Triton |
B |
| Order of Midnight |
B |
| Coffin Queen |
B |
| Doomed Necromancer |
B |
| Embodiment of Agonies |
B |
| Isareth the Awakener |
B |
| Kheru Mind-Eater |
B |
| Murderous Rider |
B |
| Plaguecrafter |
B |
| Stinkweed Imp |
B |
| Tomb Robber |
B |
| Undead Gladiator |
B |
| Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose |
B |
| Carrion Grub |
B |
| Corpse Augur |
B |
| Gonti, Lord of Luxury |
B |
| Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet |
B |
| Nightmare Shepherd |
B |
| Rankle, Master of Pranks |
B |
| Ravenous Chupacabra |
B |
| Archfiend of Ifnir |
B |
| Bone Miser |
B |
| Doom Whisperer |
B |
| Gravebreaker Lamia |
B |
| Puppeteer Clique |
B |
| Shadowborn Demon |
B |
| Shriekmaw |
B |
| Street Wraith |
B |
| Syr Konrad, the Grim |
B |
| Witch of the Moors |
B |
| Gyruda, Doom of Depths |
UB |
| Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni |
B |
| Noxious Gearhulk |
B |
| Rune-Scarred Demon |
B |
| Sheoldred, Whispering One |
B |
| Liliana, Death's Majesty |
B |
| Erebos's Intervention |
B |
| Tragic Slip |
B |
| Heartless Act |
B |
| Mythos of Nethroi |
B |
| Makeshift Mannequin |
B |
| Price of Fame |
B |
| Vraska's Contempt |
B |
| Despise |
B |
| Divest |
B |
| Agonizing Remorse |
B |
| Collective Brutality |
B |
| Finale of Eternity |
B |
| Mire in Misery |
B |
| Murderous Compulsion |
B |
| Ransack the Lab |
B |
| Ichor Slick |
B |
| Parting Thoughts |
B |
| Praetor's Grasp |
B |
| Extinction Event |
B |
| Final Parting |
B |
| Living Death |
B |
| Whip of Erebos |
B |
| Bolas's Citadel |
B |
| Heartless Summoning |
B |
| Necromancy |
B |
| Sanguine Bond |
B |
| Dismissive Pyromancer |
R |
| Generator Servant |
R |
| Marauding Raptor |
R |
| Rix Maadi Reveler |
R |
| Bonecrusher Giant |
R |
| Dualcaster Mage |
R |
| Feldon of the Third Path |
R |
| Glint-Horn Buccaneer |
R |
| Imperial Recruiter |
R |
| Izzet Chemister |
R |
| Seasoned Pyromancer |
R |
| Sin Prodder |
R |
| Squee, Goblin Nabob |
R |
| Stromkirk Occultist |
R |
| Heart-Piercer Manticore |
R |
| Neheb, Dreadhorde Champion |
R |
| Rosheen Meanderer |
RG |
| Shaman of the Great Hunt |
R |
| Spitemare |
RW |
| Surly Badgersaur |
R |
| Wildfire Devils |
R |
| Brash Taunter |
R |
| Ilharg, the Raze-Boar |
R |
| Neheb, the Eternal |
R |
| Obosh, the Preypiercer |
BR |
| Terror of the Peaks |
R |
| Thunderblust |
R |
| Combustible Gearhulk |
R |
| Etali, Primal Storm |
R |
| Flayer of the Hatebound |
R |
| Spitebellows |
R |
| Drakuseth, Maw of Flames |
R |
| Yidaro, Wandering Monster |
R |
| Chandra, Torch of Defiance |
R |
| Jaya Ballard |
R |
| Lightning Bolt |
R |
| Abrade |
R |
| Electrodominance |
R |
| Fists of Flame |
R |
| Shredded Sails |
R |
| Thrill of Possibility |
R |
| Chaos Warp |
R |
| Fiery Temper |
R |
| Grab the Reins |
R |
| Violent Eruption |
R |
| Searing Wind |
R |
| Chain Lightning |
R |
| Faithless Looting |
R |
| Gamble |
R |
| Rolling Earthquake |
R |
| Avacyn's Judgment |
R |
| Cathartic Reunion |
R |
| Collective Defiance |
R |
| Fight with Fire |
R |
| Cut // Ribbons |
BR |
| Fiery Confluence |
R |
| Ignite the Future |
R |
| Mizzix's Mastery |
R |
| Chandra's Ignition |
R |
| Blasphemous Act |
R |
| Star of Extinction |
R |
| Pyromancer's Goggles |
R |
| Pyrohemia |
R |
| Sarkhan's Unsealing |
R |
| Double Vision |
R |
| Fiery Emancipation |
R |
| Mirror March |
R |
| Warstorm Surge |
R |
| Avacyn's Pilgrim |
G |
| Gilded Goose |
G |
| Llanowar Elves |
G |
| Bloom Tender |
G |
| Fauna Shaman |
G |
| Fiend Artisan |
BG |
| Génesis Hydra |
G |
| Incubation Druid |
G |
| Lotus Cobra |
G |
| Satyr Wayfinder |
G |
| Scavenging Ooze |
G |
| Voracious Hydra |
G |
| Wildborn Preserver |
G |
| Beanstalk Giant |
G |
| Courser of Kruphix |
G |
| Dryad of the Ilysian Grove |
G |
| Eternal Witness |
G |
| Glademuse |
G |
| Llanowar Visionary |
G |
| Reclamation Sage |
G |
| Reki, the History of Kamigawa |
G |
| Selesnya Eulogist |
G |
| Selvala, Heart of the Wilds |
G |
| Shaman of Forgotten Ways |
G |
| Somberwald Sage |
G |
| Tireless Tracker |
G |
| Beast Whisperer |
G |
| Bramble Sovereign |
G |
| Briarhorn |
G |
| Goreclaw, Terror of Qal Sisma |
G |
| Neyith of the Dire Hunt |
G |
| Nightpack Ambusher |
G |
| Seed Guardian |
G |
| Vizier of the Menagerie |
G |
| Yeva, Nature's Herald |
G |
| Conclave Naturalists |
G |
| Génesis |
G |
| Keruga, the Macrosage |
GU |
| Kessig Cagebreakers |
G |
| Seedborn Muse |
G |
| Greenwarden of Murasa |
G |
| Honored Hydra |
G |
| Kogla, the Titan Ape |
G |
| End-Raze Forerunners |
G |
| Ghalta, Primal Hunger |
G |
| Nyxbloom Ancient |
G |
| Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner |
GU |
| Garruk, Primal Hunter |
G |
| Vivien, Monsters' Advocate |
G |
| Grapple with the Past |
G |
| Beast Within |
G |
| Primal Might |
G |
| Commune with the Gods |
G |
| Finale of Devastation |
G |
| Rhonas's Last Stand |
G |
| Winding Way |
G |
| Migration Path |
G |
| Spitting Image |
GU |
| Vivien's Arkbow |
G |
| Birthing Pod |
G |
| The Great Henge |
G |
| Garruk's Uprising |
G |
| Unbound Flourishing |
G |
| Guardian Project |
G |
| Parallel Lives |
G |
| Wilderness Reclamation |
G |
| Doubling Season |
G |
| Momentary Blink |
WU |
| Soulherder |
WU |
| Brago, King Eternal |
WU |
| Elite Guardmage |
WU |
| Cloudblazer |
WU |
| Venser, the Sojourner |
WU |
| Thief of Sanity |
UB |
| Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow |
UB |
| Atris, Oracle of Half-Truths |
UB |
| Etrata, the Silencer |
UB |
| Hostage Taker |
UB |
| Fallen Shinobi |
UB |
| Havengul Lich |
UB |
| Silent-Blade Oni |
UB |
| Angrath's Rampage |
BR |
| Grenzo, Dungeon Warden |
BR |
| Anje Falkenrath |
BR |
| Azra Oddsmaker |
BR |
| Kolaghan's Command |
BR |
| Chainer, Nightmare Adept |
BR |
| Rakdos, the Showstopper |
BR |
| Apocalypse Hydra |
RG |
| Radha, Heart of Keld |
RG |
| Nikya of the Old Ways |
RG |
| Zilortha, Strength Incarnate |
RG |
| Ravager Wurm |
RG |
| Ruric Thar, the Unbowed |
RG |
| Dragonlord Atarka |
RG |
| Eladamri's Call |
GW |
| Vitu-Ghazi Guildmage |
GW |
| Voice of Resurgence |
GW |
| Faeburrow Elder |
GW |
| Knight of Autumn |
GW |
| Advent of the Wurm |
GW |
| Trostani, Selesnya's Voice |
GW |
| Karlov of the Ghost Council |
WB |
| Vizkopa Guildmage |
WB |
| Kaya's Guile |
WB |
| Kaya, Ghost Assassin |
WB |
| Vona, Butcher of Magan |
WB |
| Sorin, Grim Nemesis |
WB |
| Skull Prophet |
BG |
| Nyx Weaver |
BG |
| Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord |
BG |
| Polukranos, Unchained |
BG |
| Spider Spawning |
BG |
| Underrealm Lich |
BG |
| Izoni, Thousand-Eyed |
BG |
| Hydroid Krasis |
GU |
| Frilled Mystic |
GU |
| Mystic Snake |
GU |
| Prime Speaker Vannifar |
GU |
| Rashmi, Eternities Crafter |
GU |
| Prophet of Kruphix |
GU |
| Progenitor Mimic |
GU |
| Electrolyze |
UR |
| Jhoira of the Ghitu |
UR |
| Ral Zarek |
UR |
| Ral, Storm Conduit |
UR |
| Prophetic Bolt |
UR |
| Expansion // Explosion |
UR |
| Boros Charm |
RW |
| Lightning Helix |
RW |
| Boros Reckoner |
RW |
| Sunforger |
RW |
| Truefire Captain |
RW |
| Gisela, Blade of Goldnight |
RW |
| Response // Resurgence |
RW |
| Kess, Dissident Mage |
UBR |
| Cruel Ultimatum |
UBR |
| Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker |
UBR |
| Ghired, Conclave Exile |
RGW |
| Inspired Ultimatum |
URW |
| Villainous Wealth |
BGU |
| Zaxara, the Exemplary |
BGU |
| Yarok, the Desecrated |
BGU |
| Alesha, Who Smiles at Death |
RWB |
| Offspring's Revenge |
RWB |
| Temur Ascendancy |
GUR |
| Kalamax, the Stormsire |
GUR |
| Riku of Two Reflections |
GUR |
| Sisay, Weatherlight Captain |
WUBRG |
| Chromanticore |
WUBRG |
| Golos, Tireless Pilgrim |
WUBRG |
| Jegantha, the Wellspring |
WUBRG |
| Kenrith, the Returned King |
WUBRG |
| Maelstrom Archangel |
WUBRG |
| Maelstrom Nexus |
WUBRG |
| Niv-Mizzet Reborn |
WUBRG |
| Coalition Victory |
WUBRG |
| Stonecoil Serpent |
colorless |
| Walking Ballista |
colorless |
| Burnished Hart |
colorless |
| Palladium Myr |
colorless |
| Pilgrim's Eye |
colorless |
| Crystalline Crawler |
colorless |
| Solemn Simulacrum |
colorless |
| Precursor Golem |
colorless |
| Stuffy Doll |
colorless |
| Wurmcoil Engine |
colorless |
| Karn, Scion of Urza |
colorless |
| Shadowspear |
colorless |
| Wayfarer's Bauble |
colorless |
| Azor's Gateway |
colorless |
| Azorius Signet |
colorless |
| Blackblade Reforged |
colorless |
| Boros Signet |
colorless |
| Dimir Signet |
colorless |
| Fellwar Stone |
colorless |
| Golgari Signet |
colorless |
| Gruul Signet |
colorless |
| Idol of Oblivion |
colorless |
| Izzet Signet |
colorless |
| Key to the City |
colorless |
| Mind Stone |
colorless |
| Orzhov Signet |
colorless |
| Prismatic Lens |
colorless |
| Rakdos Signet |
colorless |
| Selesnya Signet |
colorless |
| Simic Signet |
colorless |
| Sword of the Animist |
colorless |
| Thaumatic Compass |
colorless |
| Treasure Map |
colorless |
| Bonder's Ornament |
colorless |
| Chromatic Lantern |
colorless |
| Heirloom Blade |
colorless |
| Mimic Vat |
colorless |
| Oblivion Stone |
colorless |
| Empowered Autogenerator |
colorless |
| Firemind Vessel |
colorless |
| Hedron Archive |
colorless |
| Helm of the Host |
colorless |
| Conjurer's Closet |
colorless |
| Chromatic Orrery |
colorless |
| God-Pharaoh's Gift |
colorless |
| Glacial Fortress |
WU land |
| Hallowed Fountain |
WU land |
| Irrigated Farmland |
WU land |
| Tundra |
WU land |
| Drowned Catacomb |
UB land |
| Fetid Pools |
UB land |
| Underground Sea |
UB land |
| Watery Grave |
UB land |
| Badlands |
BR land |
| Blood Crypt |
BR land |
| Canyon Slough |
BR land |
| Dragonskull Summit |
BR land |
| Kessig Wolf Run |
RG land |
| Rootbound Crag |
RG land |
| Sheltered Thicket |
RG land |
| Stomping Ground |
RG land |
| Taiga |
RG land |
| Savannah |
GW land |
| Scattered Groves |
GW land |
| Sunpetal Grove |
GW land |
| Temple Garden |
GW land |
| Godless Shrine |
WB land |
| Isolated Chapel |
WB land |
| Scoured Barrens |
WB land |
| Scrubland |
WB land |
| Vault of the Archangel |
WB land |
| Bayou |
BG land |
| Blooming Marsh |
BG land |
| Overgrown Tomb |
BG land |
| Woodland Cemetery |
BG land |
| Breeding Pool |
GU land |
| Hinterland Harbor |
GU land |
| Lumbering Falls |
GU land |
| Tropical Island |
GU land |
| Steam Vents |
UR land |
| Sulfur Falls |
UR land |
| Temple of Epiphany |
UR land |
| Volcanic Island |
UR land |
| Clifftop Retreat |
RW land |
| Plateau |
RW land |
| Sacred Foundry |
RW land |
| Sunbaked Canyon |
RW land |
| Seaside Citadel |
GWU land |
| Arcane Sanctum |
WUB land |
| Crumbling Necropolis |
UBR land |
| Savage Lands |
BRG land |
| Jungle Shrine |
RGW land |
| Indatha Triome |
WBG land |
| Raugrin Triome |
URW land |
| Zagoth Triome |
BGU land |
| Savai Triome |
RWB land |
| Ketria Triome |
GUR land |
| Arid Mesa |
RW land |
| Bloodstained Mire |
BR land |
| City of Brass |
WUBRG land |
| Exotic Orchard |
Land |
| Fabled Passage |
Land |
| Field of the Dead |
colorless land |
| Flooded Strand |
WU land |
| Grand Coliseum |
WUBRG land |
| Mana Confluence |
Land |
| Marsh Flats |
WB land |
| Misty Rainforest |
GU land |
| Polluted Delta |
UB land |
| Prismatic Vista |
Land |
| Reflecting Pool |
Land |
| Scalding Tarn |
UR land |
| Shelldock Isle |
U land |
| Verdant Catacombs |
BG land |
| Windswept Heath |
GW land |
| Wooded Foothills |
RG land |
Wizards of the Coast
Hello! My name is David McDarby, and I'm an operations administrator and game designer here at Wizards of the Coast. You might know me from being the creator of Commander VS, or that guy who's been cosplaying as Jace Beleren or Ral Zarek for about a decade.
I'm here to tell you about a cube that I've been working on, which is the next entry in the Cube Spotlight Series: Live the Dream!
Ask any of my friends or coworkers, and they'll tell you that I'm pretty into Commander. I've been on multiple design teams for it and have created tons of content for it, with this cube being my most recent endeavor. The main goal of this cube is to carry over some of the feelings of playing that format into a Limited environment where you get to feel like you're building a Commander deck on the fly! What this means is that this is a format with multiple layered synergies and archetypes in a slow enough environment to allow crazy multi-card machinations to unfold, but not quite as time-consuming as your average Commander game. Shenanigans abound in this cube, with so many wacky combos and decision trees that you might even experience something that inspires you to build a new Commander deck. I sure did!
The power band here is a bit lower than in most cubes, with cards generally chosen for their raw potential for greatness and their interactivity with other parts of the cube, rather than for their brutal efficiency. We'll leave that for 60-card formats. Here, cards cost more mana, have more versatility, and are more, dare I say, mythic. So instead of cards like Jackal Pup and Counterspell, we're talking Fiery Emancipation and Sublime Epiphany.
But I had a lot of help devising this complex web of maniacal synergies. David White (@thrilryder) was there 11 years ago when I just started playing this wonderful game to tell me that Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind and Curiosity was not a good way to make friends while navigating a format called "EDH." It is only fitting that over a decade later, he applied some rationality to my more ambitious ideas and reined in my fierce appetite to make every card have an average of three mana symbols and a converted mana cost of 5.
Working on every Limited environment we construct here at Wizards combined with my love of Commander deck building drew me to an archetype-heavy cube that aims to blend the line between synergy and combo. Now, when I say combo, I don't mean combining Deceiver Exarch and Splinter Twin on turn four to immediately end the game. I mean things like Righteous Confluence and Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose. Mizzix's Mastery and Aminatou's Augury. Each color pair has an archetype with the potential to, as we say in the biz, Live the Dream.
Let's just take a look at each of the eleven archetypes.
White-Blue Blink
Enter the battlefield effects are aplenty in all the colors in this format, but white and blue have the best tools to abuse them. Attempt to wreak havoc in the skies and grind all who oppose you to dust one cantrip at a time! Now Thassa good time.
Blue-Black Ninja Thievery
Ninja Pose! Sneak through your opponent's defenses with evasive creatures and turn their own spells against them! Maybe even pick up some of your own creatures for ninjutsu value as you pick up your opponent's goodies. Plus, you get to say cool things like "I Despise you" and "I attack with Looter il-Kor" as you turn your opponent's dreams into their own nightmares.
Black-Red Self-Discard
Generally, you want your opponents to discard cards, but here, you want to pitch those cards from your hand into your graveyard and turn it into a rave-yard. Madness? No, this is Cube. Whether you're cheating Yidaro, Wandering Monster into play, churning through your deck with Tomb Robber, or just casting big 'ol Rakdos, the Showstopper, your music will be playing at double speed, as somebody's life total is sure to be low.
Red-Green Bigguns
If you prefer large creatures, and you cannot slander, have I got an archetype for you. Set up with some small creatures that make mana, then go to town and start deploying high-powered creatures to mess up said town. All creatures beeg and smol are able to help keep the cards and damage flowing at a remarkable rate, and I've yet to meet somebody who can outsmart a 12/12 on turn four.
Green-White Copy Populate
Like most everything else in this cube, this theme goes over the top. Going wide with a battalion of 1/1s is fine and all, but what about an army of Honored Hydras? Sculptures, Food, Cats, Wolves, Wurms, Treasure, Phyrexian Praetors; really anything in this cube can be doubled. Splash a Mirror March, and you could even go infinite! Doubling Season's interaction with planeswalkers in this cube is a feature, not a bug.
White-Black Life Manipulation
People may laugh at you for playing cards that gain life in your deck, but they won't be laughing when you drain them for 15. The game's only over once somebody runs out of life, and you've got the most of it. This is the archetype that will make you the most thankful when Play Design puts "gain two life" onto a removal sell.
Blue-Red Chonky Spells
Cast spells with more chonk than is reasonable for the midgame, and if you're really feeling it, copy them a time or two. Planeswalkers and extra turns are a combo, and you don't need mana fixing for Cruel Ultimatum or Inspired Ultimatum when you're casting them without paying their mana costs. For you math fans, I've included Double Vision, Precursor Golem, and Rite of Replication. Good luck!
Black-Green Graveyard Critters
If you're reading this, you probably enjoy Spider Spawning. Good news everyone: it's an entire archetype! Mill it with Carrion Grub, find it with Gravebreaker Lamia, or rebuy it with Greenwarden of Murasa; the possibilities are endless. As long as these possibilities involve arachnids or insects.
Red-White Damage Redirection
Sometimes red spells deal more damage than is reasonable to creatures, and being unreasonable is what this cube is all about. While removal spells alone cannot traditionally win you the game, it sure can here. Red-white decks are not as combat oriented in this cube as in most environments but pile up the damage doublers, and even Thraben Inspector will be a force to reckon with in the archetype that finally proves Chain Lightning can be better than Lightning Bolt.
Green-Blue Flash
Everybody loves mana, but instead of doubling it to cast ten mana spells on turn five, here we double it wide to cast spells on your opponent's turn. Getting to "untap" every turn means you're playing twice as much! Plus, who wants to auto yield all the time when you've got cards to draw? This is the color pair most likely to draw two cards with Fblthp, the Lost, and is there any greater dream than that?
Five-Color Dream
The dreamiest archetype of them all aims to cast all the sweetest cards in the multiverse. Bloom Tender and Faeburrow Elder will be your BFFs, and ideally, your cards will just be better than your opponents'. Get yourself a good Companion at your side, some nice mana fixing, and if your cards don't say "win the game" de jure, they sure say it de facto.
And those are just the eleven main archetypes of the cube! If you're not feeling any of these, I've also included a dino-sized helping of single-card build-arounds. Like any Izzet mage worth their Mizzium, not even I can fully comprehend what this cube is capable of, but I hope y'all find ways to break it, and most importantly, have fun doing so.
I've dedicated my life to this game and have had a blast designing and playing this cube, and I plan on streaming it all next week at www.twitch.tv/linuka. Feel free to reach out to me in whatever way works for you if you'd like to chat about this cube or Magic. While I've been living the dream being #WotCStaff for over half a decade, I sincerely hope you are also able to live your own dream; whether it's while drafting this cube, aspiring to achieve any other goal you may have in life, or just casting Cruel Ultimatum.
—David McDarby
@J_Beleren on Twitter
Linuka on Twitch
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