MTG Jumpstart Cube: Basics and White Spotlight

By Serena L

Hey guys! It’s Serena, back with something a bit different!

Today, we’re going to dive into the concept of Jumpstart. But more specifically, a Jumpstart Cube! I created a total of 20 different 20-card decks with the intent that, just like regular Jumpstart, each player will shuffle two of these decks together. My current Jumpstart cube is made with four decks of each color, each with a different theme. Some of the themes are based on creature type, some on a given keyword, and some on other factors. Now, on to the general construction of my cube.

I have each deck in a BCW Spectrum Card Cube 15 ct. box, each of which holds 15 cards, so I’m storing my basic lands separately in the Prime X4 XL Gaming Box, which houses the whole Cube. Each card in the cube is in a color-coded inner sleeve with some normal purple sleeves, keeping everything uniform. Normally, in a sealed Jumpstart pack, you would open six basic lands and one of the five Thriving lands of that pack’s color. However, in my Cube, I’ve elected to give every deck one copy of Evolving Wilds, as I find it makes for a more dynamic gameplay experience. I’ve also decided that this will be a higher power level, with each pack containing three rare or mythic cards. Each deck also contains at least one piece of removal, although some have more.

Today, we’re going to be going in-depth on the White decks I’ve put together.

The first of these decks is based on the thing White is best at: life gain! The three high-rarity cards making up the pack are Valkyrie Harbinger, Dawn of Hope, and Ajani, Strength of the Pride. Ajani can gain life and produce threats by making tokens of another card in the deck, Ajani’s Pridemate, which grows bigger each time we gain life. The Harbinger also gives us 4/4 flyers at the end of each turn if we gained at least four life. Dawn of Hope can also let us pay two mana to draw a card when we gain life. We have a couple of important cards with Soul Warden and Impassioned Orator, plus the ever-useful Angel of Vitality, a 3 mana 2/2 flying that increases the amount of life we gain, and if we have at least 25, life gets +2/+2. Our main removal spell in this will be Eriette’s Lullaby, which destroys a tapped creature and gains two life! You can find the decklist for the Lifegain theme on Moxfield.

The next deck is all about Auras! The heavy hitters here are A Tale for the Ages, Danitha, Benalia’s Hope, and a personal favorite, Light-Paws, Emperor’s Voice. A Tale for the Ages is a +2/+2 boost to all our enchanted creatures, Danitha is a 4/4 first striker for five that also gets a free aura put on her, and Light-Paws can buff herself with enchantments straight from our deck. The top end on our Auras is Sage’s Reverie, which draws us cards and buffs our creature’s power and toughness, and Serra’s Embrace, which gives Flying, Vigilance, and +2/+2. Ossification is the main removal spell. Spirited Companion, Nyxborn Unicorn, and Transcendent Envoy are all Enchantment Creatures, which means they can all trigger our Mesa Enchantress, too. The decklist for the Enchantment theme deck can be found on Moxfield.

The next deck on the list is my personal favorite of the White decks, built around Bushido! The rares are Sensei Golden-Tail, Takeno, Samurai General, and The Eternal Wanderer. The removal spell is Wanderer’s Intervention. Sensei Golden-Tail has Bushido 1 and can tap to make other creatures become Samurai and give them Bushido 1. Takeno is pricey but acts as a Lord, giving your other Samurai +1/+1 for each point of Bushido they have, and he himself has Bushido 2. We also have some Samurai from Neon Dynasty in here with cards like Imperial Subduer and Eiganjo Exemplar that get extra effects when a Samurai (or Warrior) attacks alone. We have a few low-cost creatures that can be threats, too, like Devoted Retainer, a Samurai with Bushido 1, and Motherider Patron, which is a flyer, both at one mana. Rounding out the deck, we have Now for Wrath, Now for Ruin, from the Lord of the Rings set, meant to be a finisher for the deck. You can find the list on Moxfield.

The last deck is based on the Boros Legion and the Soldier type. Many of the cards in this pack are Red/White hybrid cards, but the ones that aren’t are mono White. Our rares are Boros Strike-Captain, Valiant Veteran, and Elspeth Tirel (as Miku, Divine Diva, I couldn’t pass up a chance to use it). Most of this pack is more white-weenie style with cards like Fencing Ace, Cathar Commander, Boros Recruit, and Boros Elite. Defiant Strike and Refuse to Yield are fun combat tricks that can help you remove a threat or hit for lethal early, and the Ancestral Blade is an Equipment that also makes a Soldier token. You can find our regiment in their barracks on Moxfield.

Jumpstart is a super fun format with tons of replayability. I hope you all give it a try and join me next time when we dive into some Blue decks!