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.

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Musical production by DJ James Nasty.