The Use and Abuse of Archetype Driven Design

Andy and Anthony talk about archetypes in Cube design. They discuss what archetypes are, why they’ve become a fundamental part of limited set design, and the uses and limitations of applying the same process to Cube design. Our listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 this week comes from Cassie’s cube, The Facedown Slide, heavily featuring morph, cycling and related mechanics. Timestamps: 5:24: Listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 13:59: What is an archetype? 15:35: 10, 2-color archetypes in limited design 19:19: Some differences between limited design and Cube design 26:33: What works about archetype driven Cube design 32:36: The texture and style of different deck archetypes 35:47: How to avoid low-agency, on-rails drafting 38:40: The approach to archetypes in the Regular Cube 42:32: Making archetypes meaningful with small numbers of cards 45:01: Emergent archetypes in the Combat Trick Cube 50:13: The relationship between build-arounds and archetypes 52:46: How many cards do you need to define an archetype 1:01:32: Summary and closing thoughts Discussed in this episode: Tungsten Cubes TC Tugger I Think You Should Leave Andy’s Combat Trick Mini Cube Maramas’ Entomb Pumpkin Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. 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, your pronouns, a link to your cube if relevant. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. 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.