Stats and numbers: cards per set

Ever wonder what the best set or block for peasant cube is? Were the last couple of blocks less powerful, or are the old sets more impactful? I do, so I went and find out.

Notes:
- This will count the number of cards from each set, not the quality (that's for a different day).
- Reprints and functional reprints are not counted.
- Masters sets cards are reprints, and as such are counted as coming from their original set.
- In most cases I tend to run the oldest version of a card (A/B/U not always included). The overall outcome will be accurate enough, but I'm sure something slipped through.
- Moment of counting is January 10th, 2018

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The set with the most cards in my cube is: 

Khans of Tarkir (23 cards)

Contributing 10 lands helps tremendously, finishing the full cycle of tri-lands and life gain lands.
I had not anticipated this, but this means that Khans was even more important to my cube than even the highest number would suggest.

Runners up are: A/B/U and Magic Origins (both 17), Zendikar (16), Kaladesh and Odyssey (14), Return to Ravnica/Innistrad/Rise of the Eldrazi/Lorwyn/Time Spiral/Ravnica (13 each)

A/B/U didn't surprise me, as it has some of the more powerful cards and format staples. Origins did, but after checking it has a number of archetype enablers. I don't think other people have as much Origins cards as I do. Zendikar also has 5 lands, but the rest is not archetype specific. Kaladesh and Odyssey also score high because they featured archetypes I run: +1/+1 counters and graveyard matters, respectively.

Highest scoring 2nd/3rd sets are: Rise of the Eldrazi (13), Hour of Devastation (12), Avacyn Restored/New Phyrexia/Urza's Legacy (10 each)

It's not a surprise that the highest numbers of cards come from first sets of the block. What's also not a surprise, is that some of the highest scoring 2nd/3rd sets are standalone/bigger (Rise, Avacyn). Hour of Devastation scores just as high as its 1st set, Amonkhet, which is fun. Urza's Legacy comes from a very powerful block. And we all knew Phyrexian mana is broken: a whopping SIX of the 10 cards from New Phyrexia have it.

The sets with the least cards in my cube are:

Legions, Prophecy and Alliances (0 cards)

The first two are not a real surprise, because both are not exactly know for being super powerful. Alliances is weird, because I know I've run multiple cards from that expansion in the past and expect this to change depending on the current version of my cube.
There are also a couple of non-standard sets that yield 0 cards: Commander 2014, Starter 2000, Portal 3 Kingdoms and Unglued.

Runners up are: Eventide/Saviors of Kamigawa/Scourge/Coldsnap/Fallen Empires/Legends (1 each)

Also no surprises there, I guess. Most of them are small, some really mediocre. There are a slew of sets with 3 and 4 cards as well.

Lowest scoring big sets are: Legends (1 card) and Onslaught (2 cards)

Legends is, well, Legends. Filled with mediocre legendary creatures and confusing old cards. Onslaught had a couple of (semi-)parasitic or low power themes: morph, cycling matters, tribal. Also not a big surprise.

The block with the most cards in my cube is:

Khans of Tarkir block (32 cards)

Again, it's the lands that really put it over the top. At this point I wasn't expecting anything else, but I still think it's funny. I don't remember Khans to be especially powerful, nor do I have a real emotional attachment to it as far as single cards go.

Runners up are: Zendikar block (31), Innistrad block and Ravnica block (27 each), Lorwyn-Shadowmoor block (26), Amonkhet block (24), Kaladesh block (23)

Now, these are the real big hitters. I don't mean that Khans shouldn't be at the top, because adding 10 lands is very important, but 2 full cycles of 5 cards do make it easier to score high.
Lorwyn-Shadowmoor is also a bit of a cheat, because it's 4 sets (over 900 cards!), but that doesn't mean it doesn't deserve it either. It does make it especially remarkable that both Amonkhet and Kaladesh blocks (each ~450 cards) score so high. It might also have something to do with the fact that they're a lot newer, so time will tell if they keep their high score.
It does make a lot of sense that Zendikar, Innistrad and Ravnica blocks score so high. All three were powerful blocks, and all three are among my favorite draft formats.

The block with the least cards in my cube is:

Onslaught (3 cards)

Well that's not much. Maybe this is a fun block to go treasure hunting in for a future article. Like I wrote above, the theme's in this block were either somewhat parasitic or not very powerful. Still, I do love tribal in my cube and you'd think that at least another handful of cyclers would've made it in because it's such a great ability, but no.

Runners up are: Ice Age block (5), Kamigawa block (7).

Again, not a lot of surprises as both are not known for their overall power. To put it into a fun perspective: before including Rivals of Ixalan, Ixalan block already has 7 cards. Like with Amonkhet and Kaladesh blocks, I expect this to be partly because the cards are newer and need more testing. Cards overall are also just better designed.

Data per set

Ixalan block - 7+
Rivals of Ixalan - ?
Ixalan - 7

Amonkhet block - 24
Hour of Devastation - 12
Amonkhet - 12

Kaladesh block - 23
Aether Revolt - 9
Kaladesh - 14

Shadows over Innistrad block - 19
Eldritch Moon - 8
Shadows over Innistrad - 11

Battle for Zendikar block - 11
Oath of the Gatewatch - 3
Battle for Zendikar - 8

Magic Origins - 17

Khans of Tarkir block - 32
Dragons of Tarkir - 3
Fate Reforged - 6
Khans of Tarkir - 23

Theros block - 17
Journey into Nyx - 6
Born of the Gods - 3
Theros - 8

Return to Ravnica block - 22
Dragon's Maze - 3
Gatecrash - 6
Return to Ravnica - 13

Innistrad block - 27
Avacyn Restored - 10
Dark Ascension - 4
Innistrad - 13

Scars of Mirrodin block - 19
New Phyrexia - 10
Mirrodin Besieged - 4
Scars of Mirrodin - 5

Zendikar block - 31
Rise of the Eldrazi - 13
Worldwake - 2
Zendikar - 16

Shards of Alara block - 17
Alara Reborn - 6
Conflux - 2
Shards of Alara - 9

Lorwyn-Shadowmoor block - 26
Eventide - 1
Shadowmoor - 6
Morningtide - 6
Lorwyn - 13

Time Spiral block - 19
Future Sight - 2
Planar Chaos - 4
Time Spiral - 13

Ravnica block - 27
Dissension - 6
Guildpact - 8
Ravnica - 13

Kamigawa block - 7
Saviors of Kamigawa - 1
Betrayers of Kamigawa - 2
Champions of Kamigawa - 4

Mirrodin block - 20
Fifth Dawn - 7
Darmsteel - 4
Mirrodin - 9

Onslaught block - 3
Scourge - 1
Legions - 0
Onslaught - 2

Odyssey block - 21
Judgment - 5
Torment - 2
Odyssey - 14

Invasion block - 16
Apocalypse - 6
Planeshift - 2
Invasion - 8

Masques block - 10
Prophecy - 0
Nemesis - 5
Mercadian Masques - 5

Urza block - 23
Urza's Destiny - 5
Urza's Legacy - 10
Urza's Saga - 8

Tempest block - 20
Exodus - 5
Stronghold - 4
Tempest - 11

Mirage block - 12
Weatherlight - 3
Visions - 5
Mirage - 4

Ice Age block - 5
Coldsnap - 1
Alliances - 0
Ice Age - 4

Old sets - 11
Fallen Empires - 1
The Dark - 2
Legends - 1
Antiquities - 3
Arabian Nights - 4

Core sets - 42
Magic 2015 - 7
Magic 2014 - 3
Magic 2013 - 3
Magic 2012 - 6
Magic 2011 - 4
Magic 2010 - 2
Alpha/Beta/Unlimited - 17

Commander sets - 12
Commander 2017 - 2
Commander 2016 - 3
Commander 2015 - 4
Commander 2014 - 0
Commander 2013 - 2
Commander 2011 - 1

Casual Supplements - 7
Conspiracy: take the Crown - 3
Conspiracy - 1
Planechase 2012 - 3

Starter Sets - 3
Starter 2000 - 0
Starter 1999 - 1
Portal Three Kingdoms - 0
Portal Second Age - 1
Portal - 1

Un Sets - 3+
Unstable - ?
Unhinged - 3
Unglued - 0

Stats and numbers: Build-around cards

Everyone knows that the best cube cards are flexible and easy to play in a lot of decks. Cards with a reasonably high power level that stays more or less the same in every situation and deck.

Not Build-around cards.

Build-arounds are cards that, well, you want and have to build around to make them worth drafting/playing. They're generally not flexible, go into specific decks, and their power level is dependent on the deck they're in.

Ok, so why do you want to play them?

The short answer is that they're fun and can be really powerful.

Apart from that: They can make drafters feel excited and smart for doing something different (think Sneak Attack in rare cubes). They make drafters evaluate cards differently (do you take the slightly more powerful card or the one that goes with your build-around?). They make you pay more attention to signals (when is an archetype open/should you abandon your build-around?).

But, you do have to support them well. There's nothing worse than drafting a build-around card highly a couple of times because you think it's fun and the deck basically never comes together. You want to reward your drafters for going deep. This does mean that you have to keep an eye on the amount of support cards for a build-around.

Today, I wanted to check in on a couple of my own build-arounds to see if support (as of November 4th, 2016) for them is high enough.

Name (and similar)
Archetype(s) - 
[Category] - Number (percentage of cube)
AsFan - This number is the amount of this category of support card you can expect in each pack
Thoughts

Custodi Soulcaller
Archetype(s) - BW and WR (mostly aggressive and/or sacrifice decks)
1-drop creatures - Total 44 (8%), white 10 (1.8%), blue 3 (0.5%), black 10 (1.8%), red 13 (2.4%), green 7 (1.3%), colorless 1 (0.2%)
AsFan - Total 1.20, W/R/B 0.9
A new addition, not sure yet if it's worth it. Numbers seem decent enough, with just under 1 white/red/black 1-drop in each pack. In a draft of 8 people that means there are 21-22 1-drop creatures in the draft. Custodi Soulcaller needs only a couple of 1-drops to get value, so it looks fine for now.

Intangible Virtue
Archetype(s) - Tokens, mainly WG
Tokens - Total 47 (8.5%), white 11 (2%), blue 3 (0.5%), black 9 (1.6%), red 5 (0.9%), green 12 (2.2%), WG/GB 2 each (0.4%), WR/WB 1 each (0.2%), colorless 1 (0.2%)
AsFan - Total 1.28, WG 0.71
There are a good number of token makers in the cube. But, different from Custodi Soulcaller, you actually need more than a couple in your deck to make Intangible Virtue worth it. The effect is really good, but because it doesn't do anything on its own, I'd want at least 7 or 8 token makers in deck. With an AsFan of 1.28 (or, 31 total in an 8 man draft) you would need to pick up about 25% of all the token makers in the draft. The thing is, that's counting all the colors equally. Let's say I would only want white/green (as the 'easiest' color pair). With an AsFan of 0.71, or 17 cards total in an 8-man, you'd have to pick up 40-50% of all token makers in the draft. That's a lot to ask, considering that most token makers are very playable in any deck and I run cards like Roar of the Wurm that don't really go into Intangible Virtue decks.
I think I should probably cut it, or step up my token game.

Blightcaster/Blessed Spirits/Yavimaya Enchantress
Archetype(s) - WB, GB, GW enchantments, but I've seen UW, GU and BU as well.
Enchantments- Total 75 (13.6%), white 19 (3.5%), blue 13 (2.4%), black 15 (2.7%), red 5 (0.9%), green 16 (2.9%), GR 1 (0.2%), GW/WB/WR 2 each (0.4%)
AsFan - Total 2.01, white 0.52, blue 0.35, black 0.41, green 0.44
Enchantments as an archetype look well supported. There should be a total of 48 enchantments in a given 8-man, which would be enough to support multiple enchantment decks. On average, any non-red color combination should have access to around 19 enchantments in an 8-man.

Rage Forger/Abzan Falconer/Armorcraft Judge
Archetype(s) - +1/+1 counter stuff in any WRG combination.
Cards that have/give +1/+1 counters - Total 36 (6.5%), white 14 (2.5%), red 11 (2%), green 7 (1.3%), GR/GW 1 each (0.2%), Colorless 2 (0.4%)
AsFan - Total 0.98, white 0.38, red 0.3, green 0.19
Hm, numbers for this are lower than I thought. In theory, both GR and GW see a +1/+1 counter card every other pack. If nobody is in those colors/the archetype, a Gruul +1/+1 counter player could be able to pick up 12 +1/+1 counter cards. Together with a couple of pay-off cards, that would make a deck. Boros is a little better. But, if anyone else picks up a couple of the cards, the deck will probably not come together as well. In practice, we have the archetype come together more often than the number suggest. Here you notice the difference between 8-man drafts and 1v1 drafts. We mostly do 1v1, which means there are less people to compete with you for the same archetype (although it does happen that we're in the same boat).
Having said that, most of the +1/+1 counter cards are good enough on their own that you will still have a great deck if the actual counter archetype doesn't come together.
Still, it might be a good idea to start looking for more creatures with +1/+1 counters.

Bramblewood Paragon (warriors)
Archetype(s) - Mostly GR aggro or midrange. Overlaps with +1/+1 counters.
GR Warriors - Total 20 (3.6%)
AsFan - 0.55
I love checking the AsFan on different stuff. Apparently, Gruul Warriors have a higher AsFan than Gruul +1/+1 counters does. In practice, the 2 overlap more often than not, but Bramblewood is fine without specific +1/+1 counters support. I don't really feel like I need to push Warriors a lot, because the overlap with counters and otherwise incidental tribal synergy is enough for this card to work.

Thunderclap Wyvern
Archetype(s) - UW flyers, duh.
UW creatures with flying, including token makers - Total 40 (7.3%) (excluding defenders)
AsFan - 1.09
With every pack having at least 1 Azorius card with flying, this is quite an easy card to build around. Better yet, other than some other build-arounds, you can pick this up towards the end and slot it in most UW decks with creatures and have it function.

Weapons Trainer
Archetype(s) - Any Boros go-wide deck. Tokens, weenies, etc.
Colorless equipment - Total 13 (2.4%)
AsFan - 0.35
This is a more narrow build-around, because there's not a huge amount of equipment in the cube. With 8 equipment in an average 8-man it's not likely that you end up with more than 2-3 if you prioritize them. This is actually fine though. I wouldn't want more than 3 equipment in my aggro deck anyway, and you only need 1 in play for Trainer to work. Plus, it's still a 3/2 creature for 2 mana. It's not the most powerful option for Boros, but it's fun.

Silver-Inlaid Dagger
Archetype(s) - Aggro decks
Humans- Total 67 (12.2%)
AsFan - 1.83
Not the best equipment ever, but +2 power for 1+2 equip is fine enough. +3 Power, however, is actually quite sizable for that cost. With just under 1/8th of the entire cube having the human subtype (almost a quarter of all creatures in the cube), it's not hard to meet the conditions for the Dagger.

Isochron Scepter
Archetype(s) - Control decks, or spells-matter decks
Instants of cmc 2 or less - Total 37 (6.7%)
AsFan - 1.01
The AsFan of ~1 is a little deceiving here. A lot of available spells are either not good on Scepter  period (Lightning Axe), or go better in creature decks where Scepter doesn't shine (pump spells, blink spells, Undying Evil). Realistically, I count ~23 cards that I actively want on a Scepter, reducing the AsFan to 0.63 spread across colors. That's still not bad, I guess, but that does mean that if you pick up an early Scepter you have to prioritize imprint targets and sometimes not get there. I guess that's not bad, because the imprint targets are great in most decks so you'll still likely have a good deck even if you have to cut Scepter. Plus, Scepter is quite the insane card when you get it running, so maybe it shouldn't be too easy to pull off.
Btw, I used to have a lot more instants, but I know I've cut a number of them to support enchantments as an archetype. Maybe I should cut a couple of the blue and red enchantments for spells again, giving WBG the enchantment decks and UR the spells decks.


I hope this stats-based peek into supporting archetypes was interesting.
Personally, I think looking into certain cards/archetypes statistically is sometimes necessary to see what works and what doesn't. Sometimes a gut feeling, or personal preference, can create a false or flawed judgment about an archetype/card.
This little thought exercise gave me some deeper insight in my cube and I will look into making changes accordingly.