Cube: Beta - The Dark

[Ace/Homebrew]

I finally sold off my goblins deck.
But the deck that got me into Legacy will live on in spirit by helping finance my cube!

I am a huge fan of the look and style of the original sets of Magic. I also suffered a minor bite from the collector bug at some point in my life. This project will let me indulge in my desire to own and play with many cards I would otherwise never have had the excuse to own or play with. This thread will act as a blog of sorts, documenting the construction and development of my cube. Eventually I hope to post pictures of the 40 card decks constructed from drafts for everyone to enjoy.

So here are the guidelines I have set for myself:

• All cards must be from Beta, Antiquities, Arabian Nights, Legends, or The Dark (Alpha is excluded because of price and different corners)
• This is NOT a powered cube
• This is NOT a highlander cube
• No Banding

The original sets were not designed with drafting in mind. But there is a large enough card pool to pick and choose a selection of cards that encourage a fun limited environment. Most cards will only have one copy in the cube, but some seem fine to have in multiples (Lightning Bolt, Giant Growth, Terror all come to mind). There are also cards with 4 different arts (Mishra's Factory, Strip Mine) which seem safe enough to include 4 copies of. Legendary cards will be one-of's as well as cards that name a specific thing (I'm looking at you Uncle Istvan).

My first goal is to get 360 usable cards. From there I will slowly start adding more valuable cards until I am happy with the balance between power and enjoyment. Due to the collectability of cards from these sets, I fear I have been priced out of getting any Birds of Paradise... Wah wah! Pricing will probably limit me to one copy of many iconic cards like Wrath of God and Shivan Dragon. But we will see what the future brings!

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*UPDATE*
This project has grown in scale pretty significantly since I originally posted about it. From my experiences documented within the thread, I've determined a static cube can get stale or solved after enough use. I've also found it difficult at times to find 7 other people willing to spend an evening playing Magic with my cards rather than the ones they've purchased and compiled into decks...

So I've expanded the cardpool all the way to Alliances and no longer intend to have a static group of 360 cards. Instead I will do my very best to acquire as many of the cards from Beta through Alliances. From that cardpool I will be able to construct a cube of 360 cards or even as few as 180 (because it is usually easier to find 3 interested players). This will allow me to find several different ways to make a fun cube and will hopefully keep the experience fun and exciting for anyone choosing to join me.

Link to of all the cards I currently have.