Cube Draft Masterclass pt1: Perfecting Pick 1 with F.O.C.U.S.

Draft a better mtg cube deck! This series’ first video establishes the fundamentals of my draft philosophy and offers a new pick order mnemonic. P1P1 the best card in the pack!
Part One: This video!
Part Two: • Cube Draft Masterclass...
Part Three: (Forthcoming)
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►PATREON!: / culticcube
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Addenda:
Thank you all so much for your questions and feedback! You all have raised a number of great points that I’d like to address with a couple clarifications:
1. I made a mistake in leading into FOCUS via BREAD, because while BREAD styles itself a strict pick hierarchy, I want to offer FOCUS as a loosely hierarchized constellation of concerns. If you value Open cards over Fixing for instance, I think that’s fine -- what is important is that you rate those features highly.
2. An extension of the above is that, as I tried to insist in the video but may not have underscored well enough, Cheat is highly mobile, such as the best cheat is definitely top pick. I would not take an Underground Sea over a Mox Jet or a Mind Twist.
3. The scene that begins at 5:40 with Mind Twist in the background is not a pick order. I did not intend the layout of the cards to mean that I would perforce take Jace the Mind Sculptor over Demonic Tutor (I generally would not!), for example. I meant only to categorize different kinds of cheat, not to rank them.
CubeCon information: / cubecon
Decklists and Cards Cited:
List of cards mentioned in the video: bit.ly/2NxH3Eo
I have partnered with TCGPlayer, so if you purchase any cards via the link above, I will receive a small commission at no additional cost to yourself. I appreciate your support!
Show contact:
Twitter: @CulticCube
Email: [e-mail]
Eleusis Cube: cubecobra.com/cube/list/culti...
Works Cited:
CubeCon: / cubecon
Fora for Cube Discussion:
MTG Cube Brainstorming Discord: / discord
MTG Cube Talk Discord: / discord
Riptide Lab: riptidelab.com/forum/
MTG Cube on Reddit: / mtgcube
MTG Salvation: www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/t...
Special Thanks:
AfroSamurai
@AndrewMagrini
@Angry_Gibson
@anonymosnuke
artlessbread
@AvinanDaily
BigHatLogan
boelboelboel
@BouqMtg
@BrandoSuperhero
buildingadeck
@CJWitherz
@cubedraft
@cubefortwo
@CubeofWill
@CubeVitational
@depthofend
@desmadri
@DGallenMtg
Flake-Lord Palpatine
fleish dawg
@gather_me_daddy
@HousseMan
@Kechl1
@Metallix87
MoonShadow
MrRazorFox
n1lzer0
noshadowkick
pixels
@QUADNINES
@rexxraul
RocketSpace
@SFVintageCube
SirFunchalot
@slightbiosis
@SwamiSwami
@tamriilin
TeamJbro
@TheDuckMane
@TheKristenEmily
@TimWinGame
@xlson
Usman Jamil
Wes_Mantooth
xakuyer
@Zolthux
Legal Disclaimer:
Cultic Cube is unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Fan Content Policy. Not approved/endorsed by Wizards. Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast. ©Wizards of the Coast LLC.

[@Frog_Cat_]

Before the draft: "I'll pick the best cards" During the draft: "I'll just draft my favorite cards" After the draft: "what have I done..."

[@CulticCube]

Too real.

[@Devynwithawhy]

before the draft, you forgot to account for the "human factor" and under compensated

[@scottkaczmarski5238]

Some of the best MTG content completely changed changed my cube for the better love ur vids never stop.

[@CulticCube]

That makes my day. Thank you so much for stopping by to say so. :)

[@Devynwithawhy]

3,216 views, 153 likes, and 0 dislikes. I have never seen a video with even a thousand views and 0 dislikes. This cubemunity is very very wholesome. Moi Grande!

[@CulticCube]

It is a great community! And regarding the numbers, we don't need balance in *all* things, so please don't go correcting the ratio, lol!

[@lovis8424]

I will probably show this to my playgroup, who are new to cubing and have trouble with drafting it. the music is a bit loud, but besides that, this was a great vid!

[@CulticCube]

Please do! Good note about the volume. Are you listening via headphones or in some other fashion? I thought I'd achieved a pretty good mix, but also I'm ancient and probably half deaf. And hey, thanks for liking the video on all of the Discords where I posted it! We share all the same circles.

[@kolmis11]

I also recomend some compression for the speech. Apart from that, the video and topic is excellent.

[@CulticCube]

​@@kolmis11 You think my vocals should be more compressed? I run them through a leveling filter, but honestly I don't know what I'm doing. I've learned bits and pieces about audio production as I've made these videos, but really I'm flailing around in the dark. If you have any recommendations for resources that might be helpful to me, I would love to hear about them! My email and twitter are in the video description. Thank you!!

[@Zolthux]

FOCUS. I like it

[@antoinenguyen5430]

great video !

[@emilschroder4796]

never clicked a video so fast

[@CulticCube]

Lol, glad I can help keep your clicking finger fighting fit! :)

[@DanSternofBeyer]

Wow. I completely agree with all of this. You have put into words what I have been striving to create for my cube. When building with these qualities in mind I've moved away from tribal, color hosing, and gold cards in favor of fixing, cheats, tokens, graveyard, and more generally mid range. I can't wait for your next video. (also, if you are interested in the old boarder cube : cubetutor.com/cubeblog/146182)

[@CulticCube]

I am totally with you on how you describe refocusing your cube's priorities and modes of interaction. Old border cube sounds awesome! I am sure it's a blast to play!

[@Rev0care]

new cultic cube poggers

[@taikidd2320]

Just subscribed, I started my cube 2days ago. Thanks for the tips

[@CulticCube]

Hey, glad you found something of use here! And yay for the new cube journey!!

[@alwaysdowhatsright]

Another wonderful video! Well done John keep up the great content!!

[@CulticCube]

Thanks so much Jonathan! And congrats to you for maintaining your habitual -- though hard-won! -- place at the top of the MTGO Vintage Cube trophy boards this season. Stop making cube look so easy! Go TeamJbro!

[@richanderson1275]

I needed this last week lol

[@snackplaylove]

Rich Anderson commenting as my MTG Chanel so I can find this easier lol

[@cabzxs]

Really love your content, sorry that it never took off. I think your sound editing may have something to do with it, as well as the overall narration. I know it was not easy to make a video like this, and I thank you for the information.

[@SoulsNThings]

Nice to see you back. Happy New year to you and yours.

[@CulticCube]

Thanks so much CBEpyon! Same to you!

[@An_Otter_Dennis]

Great Video as always. I would have loved a some seconds inbetween revealing the pack and discussing your pick to have time to pause the video and think about it for myself.

[@CulticCube]

That's a good idea! I can think about how to balance that in future videos. Maybe a short countdown timer before putting picks on the screen.

[@An_Otter_Dennis]

@@CulticCube Just say something like "pause the screen and take some time as if you would open this for real and than return to see if we agree and if not what would you made differently write it in the comments" or something similar :D

[@CulticCube]

I love it. That's great, thanks! :)

[@girlsinacoma]

One of these two codes is good for 6 packs on mtg arena (I think it's the second one): EHH-tkbB-4kf KN9-8btL-nBu

[@CulticCube]

Thanks for sending these! I haven't gotten into MTGA, but I am so excited to learn that WotC plans to support cube there - so I'm sure that I will! It's very kind of you to share these codes - thank you!

[@ruttokyrpa3472]

Do you have any experience/opinions about slivers in cube? Arcane Adaption made me think about those bastards. I think they are pure dirt for someone not going for them so thats a red flag for me

[@CulticCube]

None, I'm afraid. I don't care for tribal support as a rule, as it can lead to an "on rails" draft experience. Though I'm sure it can be done well or in an interesting way. I think humans can work without much effort and some incidental support.

[@hopehawk]

Not sure I agree with tossing BREAD in favor of FOCUS....especially when midway through the video you're like, well actually, I'll take all of these before fixing....you know what "these" were? Yeah, those were the bombs which constitute the B of BREAD.

[@CulticCube]

Hey, good to hear from you, hopehawk! It sounds as if we're on the same page when it comes to the upper echelon of first pick material! It is my experience that many people have a much broader (and often more creature-centric) definition of "bomb" than I do. I elected to use different nomenclature in the hope of reducing misunderstanding, creating categories that carry more descriptive weight than BREAD, and underscoring that I'm always picking a fetch over Grave Titan.

[@hopehawk]

@@CulticCube You're always so nice in response to my sassy self. I like fetches too, but I'm not sure I'd pick them over Grave Titan P1 P1. Titan is a monocolor (doesn't commit you to multiple colors) hardcastable, reanimator friendly, scaling pressure, guaranteed to trade, bomb. There are certainly many cards I'd pick over Titan but probably not fetches.

[@CulticCube]

Fair enough! :)