Art by Matt CavottaWelcome to the Chroma.Chrome, an unpowered Legacy Artifact Cube.
Within, you will find a number of your classic cube favourites, maintaining a relatively high overall power level. What you will not find are the fastest mana accelerants in the game, nor the highest-power payoffs. These have been left out intentionally go leave space for the midrange and synergy decks flourish, of which there are many.
This cube is designed to support several different artifact-based strategies, and blue is the colour with the most artifact synergy available. White, Red and Black synergise with equipment and treasure tokens, but don't rely so heavily on colourless cards for their archetypes to function. Green never relies on artifact synergy to perform, but has the best tools to keep the artifact decks in check. Green is the best colour for splashing and fixing, and there is ample support in this cube to encourage decks that run 3+ colours.
Each of the following archetypes represents a supported deck-building strategy. The sub-themes represent combos or engines that can sometimes come together within their archetypes. Don't let these archetypes limit your deck-building innovation: there are countless other strategies to be explored.
Archetype: Affinity for Artifacts Fight your battles in the name of progress an innovation. Flood the board with trinkets and ramp into massive threats. Support your machine doctrines with counter-magic and card advantage. The following cards are key early picks for this archetype:
Do you like thopters? Yes. Everybody likes thopters. Make all the thopters. This goes infinite with Urza.
Artificer tribal can be aggro or midrange depending on your build. Likely it's worth stretching your mana to summon Alela.
Hoard your precious treasures, food and clues. Sit high in your tower and watch as their value accumulates.
Rise and Shine my pretties!
Archetype: +1/+1 Counters In the early days, the machines were designed to replicate the beauty of nature. They were made to look the same, move the same, and even grow the same...
This archetype is usually quick and aggressive, and if left unchecked it will snowball out of control. Give your modified creatures evasion to finish the game. Key cards to begin growing your army:
If only they would also do the math for you.
Infinite life, infinite damage, infinite fun.
Archetype: Blink Use and re-use powerful ETB triggers for card advantage and board presence in this midrange/control archetype. Large flying threats will help you close out the game. Key effects include:
This is a value deck that has a blink plan or that can combo off with Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker. Generally more aggressive than the blue version.
Archetype: Spells Matter The Cult of Sorcerers, attuned to the planar elements, are opportunists at heart...
Overcome your opponent in a flurry of instants and sorceries. Pick up great tempo interaction in blue and cheap damage-based removal in red. Your payoffs will make tokens over and over and over again. Alternatively, drop a hasty dragon on your opponent. Up to you. These early picks will get you into the archetype:
Dive deeper into red for an aggressive spin on the spells deck.
What could go wrong?
Archetype: Lands Matter Some planeswalkers endlessly seek only the most powerful lands...
Once found, draft ways to pull them from your library and recur them from your graveyard. Outclass with your opponent with premium card quality, since you've probably ended up playing at least 4 colours.
Have your colour pie and eat it too.
Didn't get your land recursion? Missed out on enough fixing? This backup plan is actually one of the premium midrange archetypes in the cube, and the best way to smash artifact/combo decks!
Archetype: Graveyards Matter Rise your undead servants from the grave. All of the most important cards for the reanimator archetype are in black. Your best colour pair for the combo deck is blue, as it will help filter through your deck and discard your fatties.
Fill your graveyard fast, then delve it all away.
...those sneaky goblins...
Archetype: Ramp Play bigger spells faster! This archetype always begins in Green, where you will find the very best mana accelerants. You build this deck mono-green, but lots of available colour fixing lets you look for premium non-green threats too. There are also a few ways to skip from 4 to 10...
Is lots not enough?
Archetype: Control There aren't very many sweepers in this cube but they are extremely powerful since most decks rely heavily on their creatures. They may wheel because not many players are interested, but is it really worth the risk? Mana rocks are plentiful. You'll have competition from other drafters for the counterspells and spot removal, so I suggest starting there. Don't forget a finisher!
Winter Orb and Meekstone don't work while they're tapped.
Archetype: Equipment Mono white aggro makes the best use of the cube's equipment. This archetype is fast and resilient, and uses some artifact synergy for value along the way. You also get access some premium interaction.
Archetype: Red Deck Wins For the purists. There's no feeling quite like a legendary curve that leaves your opponent helpless.
Archetype: Sacrifice Profit from the demise of your loyal thralls. Lots of game actions, lots of triggers, lots of reach. All the while your opponent will suffer a slow death, one life drain at a time. The following cards are cornerstones to the archetype:
Incidental value while ramping and fixing turns out to be pretty busted. Remember to splash cards that you have no business casting. That's the real value of being in the treasure business.
Archetype: Ninja Tempo Cheap interaction in blue and black is at a premium, and essential for this archetype. Ninjutsu creatures will give you value when they connect, and you can replay your enablers for more value again. Keep your opponent guessing while you whittle their life total lower and lower.