Magic is a great game, for many reasons:
- Easy to setup and take down.
- Easy to play with just two people.
- Short game length (usually less than 10 minutes).
- Can be played competitively or casually.
- Rich outside history and inside lore.
- Investment opportunities. (Just kidding.)
- Teaches creativity, math, logic, and critical thinking.
For that reason, I’m excited to teach Magic to my children in the near future, though I will not be including black cards or any other cards with mature artwork. (Some black cards do have age-appropriate artwork, but I decided that the time it would take to find such cards is not worth it.) In order to accomplish this, I created a “cube”, meaning a limited pool of cards that all future decks we create will draw from.
Specifically, this cube is 600 inexpensive, simple cards:
- Eternal keywords only
- No artifacts
- No planeswalkers
- No more than one sentence of if-then logic
- No cards requiring counters or tokens
The purpose is to focus on the fundamentals before moving onto normal competitive Magic, should that every happen. Indeed, I doubt that my daughters would desire to play paper Magic competitively and even more doubtful that I would even let them, given my distrust of the men in the competitive Magic scene.
Thus far I can say that white is too weak and green is too strong. Suggestions are welcome.
The Cube
4 Skyline Predator
4 Serra Angel
4 Might of Oaks
4 Arborback Stomper
4 Man-o’-War
4 Boomerang
4 Memory Lapse
4 Air Elemental
4 Latch Seeker
4 Curiosity
4 Cloud Sprite
4 Sage Owl
4 Mana Leak
4 Thieving Magpie
4 Messenger Drake
4 Muse Drake
4 Peregrine Drake
4 Spiketail Hatchling
4 Cloaked Siren
4 Dewdrop Spy
4 Nephalia Seakite
4 Sentinels of Glen Elendra
4 Spire Monitor
4 Stormrider Spirit
4 Essence Scatter
4 Savannah Lions
4 Elite Vanguard
4 Expedition Envoy
4 Loyal Pegasus
4 Longbow Archer
4 White Knight
4 Suntail Hawk
4 Healer’s Hawk
4 Armored Pegasus
4 Concordia Pegasus
4 Stormfront Pegasus
4 Pegasus Courser
4 Sungrace Pegasus
4 Trusted Pegasus
4 Mesa Unicorn
4 Puncturing Light
4 Divine Verdict
4 Tundra Wolves
4 Pacifism
4 Immolating Glare
4 Fire Elemental
4 Axegrinder Giant
4 Dwarven Trader
4 Feral Maaka
4 Gray Ogre
4 Balduvian Barbarians
4 Fearless Halberdier
4 Furnace Whelp
4 Rorix Bladewing
4 Volcanic Dragon
4 Torch Courier
4 Cerodon Yearling
4 Mad Prophet
4 Nest Robber
4 Bull Cerodon
4 Highspire Mantis
4 Honored Crop-Captain
4 Relentless Raptor
4 Sky Terror
4 Viashino Firstblade
4 Skyknight Legionnaire
4 Valley Dasher
4 Ember-Eye Wolf
4 Fanatical Firebrand
4 Torch Courier
4 Shock
4 Lightning Strike
4 Stone Rain
4 Trumpet Blast
4 Woodland Druid
4 Bear Cub
4 Centaur Courser
4 Alpine Grizzly
4 Feral Krushok
4 Tusked Colossodon
4 Gladecover Scout
4 Scaled Wurm
4 Ancient Brontodon
4 Conifer Strider
4 Argothian Swine
4 Bassara Tower Archer
4 Crested Herdcaller
4 Giant Warthog
4 Elvish Visionary
4 Giant Growth
4 Titanic Growth
4 Savage Surge
4 Fog
4 Canopy Spider
4 Grappler Spider
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Ranger’s Path
4 Lifespring Druid
4 Armored Wolf-Rider
4 Bronzebeak Moa
4 Centaur Healer
4 Conclave Cavalier
4 Grizzled Leotau
4 Leonin Armorguard
4 Risen Sanctuary
4 Steward of Valeron
4 Vernadi Shieldmate
4 Watchwolf
4 Wilt-Leaf Cavaliers
4 Azorius Knight-Arbiter
4 Cloudblazer
4 Judge’s Familiar
4 Minister of Impediments
4 Riptide Crab
4 Senate Guildmage
4 Sphinx of New Prahv
4 Spire Patrol
4 Talon Trooper
4 Vassal Soul
4 Boros Recruit
4 Capashen Knight
4 Fencing Ace
4 Fresh-Faced Recruit
4 Iroas’s Champion
4 Nightguard Patrol
4 Sunblade Angel
4 Truefire Paladin
4 Wojek Halberdiers
4 Burning-Tree Emissary
4 Nacatl Outlander
4 Outland Boar
4 Raging Regisaur
4 Raging Swordtooth
4 Rubble Slinger
20 Plains
20 Forest
20 Mountain
20 Island
4 Azorius Guildgate
4 Boros Guildgate
4 Gruul Guildgate
4 Selesnya Guildgate
4 Simic Guildgate