Our letters

<3

I think there is a general consensus that there are these legendary 2-drops in Magic. And I think there is a general consensus that you are the black one. Created by one of the greats of this game, Bob Maher, you took the game by storm when you were first printed. Taking over Standard, Extended, Legacy and even Vintage. I personally never played you in my constructed grinder days, but I have been playing you a lot in the best format Magic has ever seen: Cube. 

I did play a lot against you. I remember playing you back in 2006 in this random Standard tournament in the beautiful city of Delft. I was playing the Heartbeat of Spring combo deck. I played every tournament I could find in those days, trying desperately to qualify for the Dutch National Championships (which I in the end did). It was going well that day, I needed one more win for top 8. I was paired against the black and white menace playing you: Hand in Hand. 

Hand in Hand was a black and white midrange deck with you at the center of the deck. I remember losing game 1. Then for sideboarding I picked up my whole sideboard and boarded all 15 cards out again. Back in those days, thanks to Maximilian Bracht, most Heartbeat players were playing a transformational sideboard. I didn’t, but I did always fake it. I won game 2, my opponent stuck with all this creature removal in his hand, while I just assembled my combo. Game 3 was a really interesting game where my opponent was applying a lot of pressure and thus also attacked with you, Bob, into my Sakura-Tribe Elder. This might not sound that weird these days, but back then damage still went on the stack. So I could block with my Sakura-Tribe Elder, put damage on the stack, sacrifice it to find a basic land and then you would still die. So without thinking too much about it I did that line. I should have thought about it. 

A turn or 2 later I was forced to try and go off, I was facing lethal. My opponent had played some hand disruption that game so I couldn’t assemble 20 damage. But I didn’t need 20 damage, I only needed 14 because of the damage you did to my opponent. I should have let you live, Bob. Because I could only assemble 13 damage with my Invoke the Firemind. 

These days I am on the other end of that interaction. Even though I strongly prefer to play paper Cube, I do fire up Arena from time to time for a Cube draft. I love playing black and white midrange in the Arena Vintage Cube, preferably with you Bob. Managing your life loss during the draft, deck construction and the games is so much fun. You have dominated constructed for years, but I think that limited, and especially Cube, is where you shine the most. Because I love cards that offer drafters additional context to take into account during the draft. I love it that on the surface you look a lot more like a card that mainly works in constructed, wasn’t a really strong card in conventional limited, but has been a Cube staple since day one.  

With love, 

Hanjo

<3

I love cantrips. I love Xerox Theory. I love the card selection cantrips offer. I love how consistent they make your deck. I love how difficult they are to play correctly. Every card selection cantrip you play is like a mini game you get to solve. I just love it. 

At some point I decided to build a gauntlet for my favourite times of construction: Extended 2006. I built 17 different decks from that era, with all the classics. I asked all of my friends who played a certain deck in that era to help me build them, including all the research I could do digging into old decklists. One of those decks is Scepter Chant. The main focus was the 2005 Pro Tour Los Angeles top 8 list played by Ryuichi Arita. When I started discussing with my dear friend Roy on how to build the deck I asked him why it didn’t play you, Opt. And all he could say is that it is so weird that people didn’t play you, Opt, that much back then, because with the cantrip knowledge we have now, it should have been a clear 4 off. And all the testing (jamming games) we did since then proves it: you, Opt, are amazing in that deck. 

And you are not just amazing in that deck. I love it that you were a sneaky little cantrip that didn’t become a true constructed staple years later. I love how hindsight works and how we don’t think twice about putting you in a Cube these days. Because even though you aren’t as good as your buddies Ponder and Preordain, when it comes to cantrips you want redundancy and you fit right in. 

With love, 

Hanjo

<3

A long long time ago, when I was just starting out building Cubes, I built this Abzan Cube. Back then it was still called a ‘Junk’ Cube, because that was what Abzan was called before it was called Abzan. This Junk Cube was a fitting name, because the Cube was complete junk. I demolished it quite quickly. 

Building a three color Cube never left my mind. For a while I had a really fun Temur Cube (before Temur was called Temur), but unfortunately I also demolished that Cube because back then I still demolished Cubes and CubeCobra didn’t exist yet. These days I don’t demolish Cubes anymore, I just build them on a budget so I don’t have to. The first 3 color Cube I built that I never demolished anymore is my Grixis Cube. At first it was your classic Legacy power level Cube: all the bangers. 

At some point I realised, it’s not fun to just play a non-powered Grixis version of the Vintage Cube. I wanted to play all those bangers that were just not good enough for the top power level, but that are still very strong. You, Lazav, are one of those. No Balefull Strix in this Cube, no you are my blue black 2 drop of choice. On the surface you are a decent body packed with a lot of card advantage. But more importantly, in my Grixis Cube there are a lot of graveyard shenanigans. And having that exile line of text on you is really what I am looking for: “exile target card from a graveyard”. Because I don’t want to hose graveyard strategies, but I do want to offer some graveyard interaction and you are perfect for that. You hit that perfect axis of being strong but also not well known. That is what I was looking for for this Cube, to offer cards like you a home. 

With love, 

Hanjo

<3

I loved playing you in the old Big Red standard deck in 2004/05. My favourite line was a turn 1 Chrome Mox into Slith Firewalker, turn 2 a Seething Song into you plus equip and attack. That play pattern always felt so unfair and it always felt so much fun for a 14/15 year old me. 

I have always been a big Swords enjoyer. You and all your other versions have been Cube staples since day one. I always get teased by my friends that I value you, Sword of Fire and Ice, and you counterparts too highly. For example, take my dear friend Frank his Old Border Cube. In my opinion both you and Sword of Feast and Famine are prime cards in that Cube, top 50 pickups. You are the reason to go Green in that Cube in my opinion, pairing you with Birds of Paradise and Llanowar Elves and the likes. A turn 2 Sword, turn 3 equip attack is a very potent line of play. But my friends don’t agree. They always mock me for loving you as much as I do. 

A couple of years ago we did a Rotisserie draft with Frank his Old Border Cube during a Cube Invitational I organised. I made a whole list of potential strategies to jump into, I spent hours preparing. I remember that my first 2 picks were Thoughtseize and Recurring Nightmare and that since no one else was committing into Green, I was going to do so. And quite early I slammed both you, Sword of Fire and Ice, and your buddy Sword of Feast and Famine, to combine you guys with all the mana dorks I picked up and could still pick up. I remember getting remarks, because I always valued you guys too highly. But it was not me who was wrong, because when someone demolish everyone with their Swords and go on an undefeated 3-0 run, they are right. 

With love, 

Hanjo

<3

The very first deck I’ve ever made and played at an FNM was with you when I was 14 years old. I combined you with 2 complete bangers: Raise the Alarm and Purge. You see, I built a White Weenie equipment deck and everyone else was playing Affinity so I actually won most of my games by imprinting Purge with you. Maindeck. 

You are one of those few cards that stood the test of time for my Peasant Cube. I do miss those days where you could still imprint Fire//Ice with you, those days were awesome. I was always amazed by those decks combining Orim’s Chant and Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir together with you. That 3 cards could work together in such a way always amazed me. Plus just playing Fire//Ice as the only win condition in those decks was so cool. But on the 28th of April 2017 with the release of Amonketh they changed the rules. But it didn’t change how cool you are. 

Because it was never about abusing you to gain mana advantage. It is by using you as intended, is that one abuses the game. You are so unfair. But also a lot of fun, because you ask something from your drafters: a critical mass of instants with mana value 2 or less. And that is what I love to do in my Peasant Cube. Abuse you with cards like Magma Jet, Remand, Path to Exile, Go for the Throat or Lightning Helix. It’s just way too much fun to cast those spells, over and over and over again. Reminds me of casting Purge, over and over and over again. Slaughtering one Affinity opponent at the time.

With love, 

Hanjo

<3

I built my Hanjo Masters #2 about 12 years ago. There is a strong artifact theme in this Cube, combining with a strong equipment theme. So I wanted some artifact removal to be in there, preferably an instant or sorcery and Red because of the Izzet spells matter theme. As a Cube designer I would like artifact removal to be modal, because it’s a narrow effect, even in such an artifact heavy Cube. I don’t want it to destroy lands, so cards like Pillage are off the table. To be honest, there weren’t many good options back then. 

I chose Smash, a non-modal but very strong removal card because it was always a 2-for-1. Plus I like instants a lot more than sorceries. If you look at the Scryfall search I did back then, the only real modal options were Fury Charm and Scrap. I can get why I chose Smash back then. 

But if you look at what has been printed since I’ve built the Cube, the options are great. Here are just a couple of examples just looking at commons and uncommons: 

• Abrade
• Agate Assault
• Cast into the Fire
• Explosive Derailment
• Embereth Shieldbreaker
• Giantfall
• HULK SMASH!
• Overwhelming Surge
• Reckless Air Strike
• Shredded Sails
• Siege Smash
• Smash to Dust
• Suplex
• Untimely Malfunction
• You Find Some Prisoners

So many amazing options for me as a Cube designer in the last 12 years compared to the 20 years before. That is why curating Cubes is so much fun, there are always great new options to discover. From all the options on this list, I did fall in love with you, Explosive Derailment. I love the modality of either hitting a creature or an artifact, but also the value you offer at 5 mana. I want to offer my drafters that value if I’m cutting down on the Smash value without losing out on the modality. You offer it all. 

With love, 

Hanjo

<3

I have always enjoyed creatures like you. I loved to see a Kami of Ancient Law in the top 8 of Pro Tour Honolulu. Such an elegant design, such fun play patterns. I am a real sucker for your type of cards as a Cube designer and player. I am a big fan of you and all your buddy’s. For example Cathar Commando in Power Cube, such a flexible card. But you Inspired Insurgent offer so much more to me. 

In my Hanjo Masters #2 is a strong Ally theme. And because my friend Daan asked to play that Cube, I’ve been down a rabbit hole of giving that Cube its first big update in years. Thanks to the set you were printed in, Avatar the Last Airbender, I’ve got so much more Allies at my disposal for this update. But you are by far my favourite for one simple reason: the current white common 2 drop Ally in that Cube is just not good enough: Ondu Cleric.

Allies is a very aggressive theme in this Cube. A 2 mana 1/1 that doesn’t apply the pressure isn’t just that interesting. And it doesn’t add anything to any other theme. You Inspired Insurgent, add something to every other deck. Because there is a strong artifact theme in that Cube, plus an equipment theme, and then I am not even starting about a couple of potent enchantment build arounds. You are an Ally that every other deck would want because you destroy one-third of the non-land permanents in that Cube. And that is a very good rate for an Ally common 2 drop in that Cube and I love it. 

With love, 

Hanjo

<3

I haven’t updated my Hanjo Masters #2 Cube in quite some time. That is a result of owning 19 Cubes, you can’t update each and every one of them regularly. There are a couple I update more regularly, others I update when there is a reason to do so. Usually it is because I’m going to feature the Cube somewhere, or my friends want to play it again. That last case happened this week with my Hanjo Masters #2 Cube, my friend Daan asked to play it. 

I haven’t updated that Cube in 1,5 years and even then I only did a couple of minor updates to be fair. One of the big themes in that Cube is the Ally theme. I really enjoyed these janky 5c Ally decks that used to see some play in either Standard or Modern. Fun thing about Allies is that a lot of them can get +1/+1 counters, so there is a nice overlap with the +1/+1 counters theme in that Cube. But for the longest of time there haven’t been any real possible updates to the Ally theme in that Cube. That was until the 18th of November 2025. 

The 18th of November last year the Universes Beyond set Avatar, the Last Airbender was released. I am not a big Universes Beyond fan, but it is always easier to see IP that you really love get inserted into Magic, and I love Avatar. Plus it was a limited set I actually enjoyed playing. And even better: it’s full of Allies. I knew directly that this set would be a major upgrade for my Hanjo Masters #2 Cube when I would work on it again, but back then I didn’t realise how big. 

Because a lot of the Allies actually also Earthbend, a Mechanic that puts +1/+1 counters on lands, so more overlap. But there is a third theme benefiting because of Earthbending and I didn’t realise that until I started doing Scryfall searched after Daan asked to play this Cube. Because there is a major Landfall theme in this Cube and if you have seen the finals of Pro Tour Secrets of Strixhaven a couple of months ago, you would know that Earthbending works great with any type of fetch land for landfall decks (when Earthbending a ‘fetch’ land, you get extra landfall triggers when you sacrifice it). And that is why, Earth Kingdom General, I completely fell in love with you when I saw you in my Scryfall search today. You are so perfect for this Cube and I’m going to have such a blast playing with you in this Cube. 

With love,

Hanjo

<3

Sometimes, just sometimes, Wizards make these cards where I get the idea they made them especially for me. Where they just fit one of my Cubes just a bit too good it’s almost suspicious. You, Skyrider Elf, are one of those cards. 

You fit just a tad too good in my Hanjo Masters #2 Cube. It’s easy to explain:

• You cost blue and green at a base level
• You are an Ally
• You get +1/+1 counters
• You support 5 color decks

I have built 6 Masters Cubes by now. In some of them I’ve put a couple of Tribal themes, usually 2. Once upon a time I tried my hand at a Tribal Cube and I found out what every other person ever found out: Tribal Cubes are boring. They have such a low replayability, they steer the drafters so much. But having 2 tribal themes in a Masters Cube works out great. Some drafters really focus on trying to get their Tribal theme to work, but the challenge as a designer is to keep them flexible. That a lot of the tribal cards are also good in other decks so they can read the draft and pivot. Because if too many people are trying to draft the same Tribal deck, they all end up with a train wreck. But you also don’t want all the Tribal cards to be free pickups for the person drafting them. 

And in my Hanjo Masters #2 I support an 5 color Ally theme. It really rewards the drafters that get there, because if you alone get to pick up all the Ally bangers, you get an insanely strong deck. But quite some Ally creatures actually work great in other themes as well, and you do in 2 others. You support the +1/+1 counter theme and you are also a great pickup for the 5 color landfall/domain deck. You fit so perfectly in this Cube that I think Wizards is spying on me.

With love, 

Hanjo 

<3

You are such a fun card, a real part of an engine. There are 2 copies of you in my Hanjo Masters #2. A Cube where there are 3 of every common, 2 of every uncommon and 1 of every rare. Trying to mimic the draft and gameplay of the Modern Masters sets. The Cube is really synergy based, supporting all 10 color combinations. But sometimes with these Cubes it’s hard to connect every color combination to a certain theme, and in this Cube with black and green, that was the case. Green has a very strong +1/+1 counter theme together with white and blue. But because of you I give drafters the choice to go for a black splash, because combining you with +1/+1 counter cards makes for such a strong engine. 

And that is what is fun about you, combining you with +1/+1 counter cards like Young Wolf, Abzan Falconer or Cloudfin Raptor. Building an engine, like actually building one. Because that is something Commander has given Magic that I don’t like. Commander has tempted Magic designers to build cards that are complete engines on their own, they don’t need any help. Take Ka-Zar of the Savage Land for example, getting extra lands and getting a way to benefit from those extra lands. You don’t have to build that engine, Ka-Zar is an engine. As much as I like playing with engines, I like building them more. 

Imagine this. You are drafting my Hanjo Masters #2 Cube. The first booster went well, you’ve picked up a whole bunch of sweet green and white +1/+1 cards like Dromoka, the Eternal, Kami of Whispered Hopes and Experiment One. A solid start to your draft. You open up the second booster and see you, Korozda Gorgon. Your heart jumps, because you can imagine completely demolishing the opponent in the late game with the engine you offer. Deciding to splash black, because you are worth it. 

With love, 

Hanjo