Playing to Win: Evaluating New Cubes

Andy and Anthony talk about how they approach drafting a cube they’ve never played before. What do they look for in the list to optimize their chances of success, and have a good time doing it. After discussing power outliers and big picture structure of an environment, they agree one of the most important aspects to focus on is the speed of the format, which shapes the tempo-value balance and the effectiveness of different strategies. It’s challenging to evaluate an environment just by looking at the list, and they share some heuristics they use to get a head start. Our listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 this week comes from Ryan’s Peasantish Cube. Timestamps: 0:00 Show Intro 1:57 Introduction of Main Topic 6:43 Anthony’s First Point: Read the Cube Overview 10:04 Andy’s First Point: Look for Supported Broken Strategies 14:55 Anthony’s Second Point: Look for Patterns and Familiar Cards 17:11 Andy’s Second Point and Anthony’s Third Point: Determine the Speed of the Environment 24:59 Andy’s Third Point: Quantity and Quality of Removal and Board Wipes 26:50 Should the Density of Mana Fixing Affect How You Draft an Environment? 39:22 Andy’s Fourth Point: Look at What the Cube Wants You To Do 40:46 Familiarity Bias 42:04 Know Your Opponent and Meta 46:44 Anthony’s Bonus Point: Look at the Low Mana Value Cards 49:15 Listener Submitted Pack 1, Pick 1 1:03:53 Outro You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at [email protected]. Please include how you’d like to be credited on air, your pronouns, and if you’re submitting a cube for the pack 1, pick 1, a link to said cube. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.