Pink Sleeves Expanded @ Kung Fu Tea, August 11 2025
10 players, 3 packs of 15 | Pink Sleeves + Expansion | cubecobra.com/c/pink + cubecobra.com/c/pinkx
A few months ago I had the idea of creating a 90 card expansion to Pink Sleeves. The goal would be to add new gameplay specifically for 10 player drafts: more build arounds, different textures, etc. Transformative, not just the same experience stretched out. I got as far as assembling a rough draft from cards on hand, and on the Monday it turned out the choice for drafting wasn't prepped in time, so Pink Expanded was on deck for a 10 player draft.
And yes, it was a different experience. For me, it was surreal, seeing a bunch of barely thought through cards added into my cube I've drafted dozens of times. For the table, I think it was a net negative compared to the normal list, but may have been better than the alternative of smaller packs and smaller pools. There were two stories of the night:
Dom's Storm Deck(!? I'll get to that in a minute), and
The density of interaction
One drafter asked, "you said there is efficient removal, but is there a better black removal spell than Collective Brutality? Because I didn't see any." That gave me pause for a second, because I've had good drafters say they take Collective Brutality highly here, but the point being made was the density. My black removal suit is extremely "normal ass cube" staples: Dismember, Fatal Push, Ravenous Chupacabra, Bone Shards, Shriekmaw, Infernal Grasp, Murderous Cut, Disfigure, Fell... Y'know normal ass.
The problem was the density, and the people fighting over the same cards. We had ≥3 Blood Crypt-wanters at the table, and you can see a lot of this stuff went to one of the 3-1 RB decks. It also allowed the 3-1 GW deck to victimize decks that didn't get enough interaction... until it ran into that RB deck.
So obviously the expansion needs more removal. Easy enough. Very simple takeaway to move forward with.
However, the question also has me pondering a more philosophical question: is there anything to be done for untrusting drafters, either in design or presentation? The question was rhetorical, but also I think sincerely asking if I had misrepresented the cube when I described it as having efficient interaction.
I don't have an answer to the following, but are there choices designers can make that will re-assure drafters who are a little more skeptical? If this drafter had trusted that I was right that interaction was efficient, but none was coming around, it would have been a strong signal that black was not open in that seat. That's an oversimplification, because the expansion did drop the density by 20%*, and sometimes skepticism toward the designer serves drafters well ("you're telling me it's a 'fair' environment, but I think I'll just be taking every card that says 'Monarch' on it").
*that is, when you go from x/360 to x/450 you get a drop of, like, 2.8% to 2.2%. It's a 20% relative drop, not a 20 percentage point drop (like 30% to 10%).
One thing I try is to only provide information that is objective ("there are this many land cycles") or empirical ("these are things that have been successful in the past"), but mostly I don't want this cube to require an introduction.
It's something I'll be thinking about.
3-1 Ux Storm Control drafted by Dom Harvey
The other story of the night was this masterpiece. Dom is the polar opposite of my idealized drafted, but it was amazing to see him assemble an infinite loop that I had no idea was possible. I might be getting this wrong, but he used combinations of The Mirari Conjecture (from the expansion), Frantic Search, Noxious Revival, Galvanic Iteration, Mystic Sanctuary, and Universal Flicker (a custom card: {W/U} instant. Exile target permanent, then return it to play under its owner's control) to recur and copy spells, with duplicated or recurred Lightning Bolt or Fiery Confluence as a wincon. It was masterful.
To be clear, I'm quite sure he didn't know this was possible going in: The Mirari Conjecture was in the expansion, and I have it unlisted on CubeCobra. He figured it out on the spot.
Surrounding that was a wicked control shell, and the dual threat of Sprite Dragon and Laboratory Maniac, both of which put opponents on a clock, sometimes simultaneously.
Dom commented that if he ran custom cards, Universal Flicker would be the first, which feels like a ringing endorsement of it being the only one I have.
This really made me want to put The Mirari Conjecture back in the main list, even though it makes a combo technically possible... But I don't think many players would be able to see through time and space to assemble and then pilot this deck. It's also the only time Galvanic Iteration has been relevant, as far as I know, so that was validating.
What do you think?
3-1 SelesnyaDies2Pyroclasm.dec drafted by Nat
The deck that beat Dom.
Nat is a very good magic player, and also identified that this deck was extremely open in his seat. Under normal density removal I think this deck is slowed down a bit, but it's still very good. Esika's Chariot and Parallax Wave have both been winning a lot of matches, and again, I like that being where we're at.
Dom neutralized Rancor with Spellskite, which blew a minds. Briarhorn (another card that was long ago cut but then added to the expansion) was surprisingly effective. Mostly, this deck was able to just attack all the time.
3-1 Rakdos Confidant drafted by inferiorphilly
The deck that beat Nat. All it took was some kill spells.
Inferiorphilly: "someone needs to stop me from drafting Bob and Liliana every chance I get."
This sure is a Bob curve. The dual machine gun of Goblin Bombardment and Mayhem Devil is disgusting (positive). Young Pyromancer and Sedgemoor Witch provide fodder, with Manamorphose for a nice extra deck-thinning trigger. I love this deck.
Harmonic Prodigy is a candidate for call-up to the big leagues.
2-1 UWb Control, drafted by Scootland [deck & pick order]
The deck that beat inferiorphilly (and lost to Dom)
Inferiorphilly: "Close ass games but silly me casted my Devil's Play for lethal into a Mana Leak by paying extra into it in case he gained life somehow"
We chuckled when Dom grabbed Mindwhisker to read it. A couple turns later he decided to Swords to Plowshares it.
Dom declared Ashiok Dream Render to be "hateful," which, fair. Normal cube doesn't have the Landscapes, so it's normally less of an issue. I think I've mostly liked the play patterns, but yeah, shuts down Dom's deck.
2-1 WU Token Control drafted by CTide
Despite the rocks, Balance didn't do the whole thing. This is another example of the scripted plays being under-supported. Sublime Epiphany is very very good: fixed hands and made lots of Spirits.
CTide brought up Elspeth, Sun's Nemesis as potentially a rough play pattern with all the chumping and escaping. It's totally true that's something that can happen, but in the time I've been running it I don't think it's been a problem. It's a strong card, but it's often played proactively (especially as a repeatable source of Humans) and I haven't heard moaning about it. This is one where I want to wait for it to happen (or see a white planeswalker I like better).
Gx Golos Field drafted by Enzymat1c
Enzymatic had his first Golos activation!
When I added the lands deck two or three years ago I was unsure how well it would go over, and it very quickly became just one of the standard decks that someone always latches onto.
0-3 Rakdos Living Artist drafted by me
This deck was bad, it needed cards from the 3-1 BR deck 😁.
One stray thought: it's interesting that in these two drafts most of the decks were 2 colours, or 1 base colour with multiple splashes. Relatively even 3 colour decks have become much rarer since I moved to the triple shock mana base.
The Expansion needs a lot of revisions before Id be happy pulling it out again, but I knew that. Mostly just glad I got to draft more!
Not pictured: 2Sleepy, Gobi, and MoxPebble
