MTG Cube Fixing and Mana: Target Ranges That Make Drafts Feel Fair

Table of Contents

This post helps MTG cube owners tune mana fixing targets (by power band) to prevent non-games, so drafts feel fair and decks get to actually do their thing.

TLDR

  • If drafts are producing non-games, you almost always need more fixing density, faster fixing, or less color-hungry gold. Usually all three, a little.
  • A clean starting point is 11% / 15% / 18% of your cube as “fixers” (lands plus the best non-land fixing), depending on how ambitious you want decks to be.
  • In faster, higher-power cubes, “fixing” needs to be untapped more often, or you just trade color screw for tempo screw.
  • Use the checklist below to find the real problem in 5 minutes instead of vibe-balancing for a month.

What “unfair mana” looks like in cube

A draft can be full of great picks, sweet lanes, and cool decks… and still feel awful if mana keeps deciding games.

Here are the classic cube non-games:

  • Color screw: keepable hand, can’t cast spells for 3–4 turns.
  • Tempo screw: you “fixed,” but every land enters tapped, so you die with spells in hand.
  • Gold trap: drafters take powerful multicolor cards early, then discover the cube doesn’t actually support that many color requirements.
  • Splash mirage: players try to splash a third color with one fixer and a prayer.

The goal is not “everyone always casts everything.” The goal is:

  • Most decks can cast their early plays on time, and
  • Most games are decided by decisions and sequencing, not by staring at a hand of off-color spells.

The three knobs that control fixing

When you tune cube fixing, you are really adjusting three things:

1) Density (how much fixing exists)

More fixing means fewer non-games, but it also makes 4–5 color piles easier. Density is the “volume knob.”

2) Speed (how often fixing is untapped)

In low-power cubes, tapped lands are mostly fine. In high-power cubes, tapped lands can be a death sentence. Speed is the “tempo knob.”

3) Flexibility (how broadly fixing works)

  • Guild fixing (Azorius land for Azorius decks) reinforces lanes.
  • Rainbow fixing (City of Brass style) smooths everything and makes greed easier.

Flexibility is the “lane integrity knob.”

If your cube feels unfair, figure out which knob is failing before you add another land cycle and hope.

Good / Better / Best targets by power band

First, a quick way to count “fixers”

Count cards whose main job is to help cast spells:

  • Nonbasic lands that tap for 2+ colors (duals, tri-lands, rainbow lands, fetches)
  • Mana rocks that make colored mana (Signets, Talismans, Arcane Signet style)
  • Green ramp that fixes colors (Farseek, Nature’s Lore, Three Visits style)
  • Wildcards (Evolving Wilds style lands, treasure-makers if they are common and intentional)

Do not count “nice-to-have smoothing” (random cantrips) as fixing. That helps, but it is a different lever.

Fixing density targets (works for any cube size)

These are “how much fixing exists in the card pool” targets.

Target tierFixers as % of cube360450540720
Good (2-color, light splash)~11%~40~50~60~80
Better (2–3 color reliably)~15%~54–55~68~81~108
Best (3+ color supported)~18%~65~81~97~130

Now we match those tiers to power bands, because the type of fixing that works changes a lot.

Power band 1: Beginner-friendly / low power

Slower games, fewer punishing 1-drops, less “turn-three you’re dead.”

Good (simple, fair 2-color)

  • Density: ~11%
  • Speed: Most fixing can ETB tapped, but each guild should have some “not tapped” options.
  • Flexibility: Keep rainbow fixing low. Prefer guild fixing.
  • Notes: Great for teaching and for “draft what you see” vibes.

Better (comfortable splashes, fewer trainwrecks)

  • Density: ~15%
  • Speed: Aim for roughly half of your fixing lands to be conditionally untapped (checklands, painlands, fastlands, pathways, similar).
  • Flexibility: Add a small handful of rainbow lands or universal rocks so 3-color decks do not feel punished.
  • Notes: This is the sweet spot for “fair drafts” in many casual cubes.

Best (3-color feels natural)

  • Density: ~18%
  • Speed: Increase untapped options per guild. Tapped-only fixing starts to feel like a tax.
  • Flexibility: Add a little more rainbow fixing, but watch for 5-color soup.
  • Notes: If everyone starts drifting into 4-color goodstuff, pull back on rainbow and add more guild-specific lands instead.

Power band 2: Mid-power / unpowered “most cubes live here”

Games can be fast, removal is efficient, and curves matter.

Good (2-color aggressive decks function)

  • Density: ~11%
  • Speed: Each guild should have at least one strong untapped option. Aggro needs this to exist.
  • Flexibility: Prefer guild lands over rainbow.
  • Notes: If you run lots of gold, “Good” will feel tighter than you think.

Better (the “draft feels fair” default)

  • Density: ~15%
  • Speed: Multiple untapped options per guild. Players should be able to build a mana base that does not time-walk them.
  • Flexibility: A small package of rainbow lands and/or universal fixing rocks.
  • Notes: This is usually enough to stop most non-games without turning every deck into 4 colors.

Best (greed is allowed, but still earned)

  • Density: ~18%
  • Speed: A meaningful chunk of fixing is untapped (or untapped with realistic conditions).
  • Flexibility: Add more cross-color fixing, but compensate by tightening gold requirements or reducing the spikiest 4-color payoffs.
  • Notes: Great for cubes that want 3-color decks to be common, not “the brave choice.”

Power band 3: High power (still unpowered)

The cube is fast and punishing. Your fixing cannot be cute.

Good (functional, but disciplined)

  • Density: ~11%
  • Speed: Prioritize untapped fixing. ETB tapped duals should be the exception, not the baseline.
  • Flexibility: Mostly guild fixing, a few rainbow lands.
  • Notes: If your aggro decks are strong, too many tapped lands will create “I died holding spells” games.

Better (high power, low nonsense)

  • Density: ~15%
  • Speed: Several untapped options per guild plus efficient fixing rocks if your environment wants them.
  • Flexibility: Moderate rainbow fixing, but not enough that every control deck becomes 5-color.
  • Notes: This is where drafts start feeling like “real Magic games” more consistently.

Best (high power with smooth gameplay)

  • Density: ~18%
  • Speed: Your best fixing is mostly untapped. If players take fixing early, they get rewarded with stable games.
  • Flexibility: Enough universal fixing to support 3–4 color control, but keep it honest by limiting the scariest rainbow enablers.
  • Notes: If your environment has lots of double and triple pips, “Best” is often where it finally stops feeling swingy.

Power band 4: Powered

If you want powered gameplay, mana has to keep up. Otherwise, the most broken cards punish the most broken mana draws.

Good (powered, but still lane-driven)

  • Density: ~11%
  • Speed: Untapped fixing is the default.
  • Flexibility: Keep rainbow fixing lower than you think. Let drafting lands be a real skill test.
  • Notes: This keeps “two-color decks with a splash” feeling legitimate.

Better (powered with fewer non-games)

  • Density: ~15%
  • Speed: Strong untapped dual options across the board.
  • Flexibility: Add more universal fixing so control does not fold to variance.
  • Notes: This is where powered starts feeling “fun” more often than “swingy.”

Best (powered, smooth, and consistent)

  • Density: ~18%
  • Speed: Fixing is fast and plentiful enough that broken cards create games, not mulligan-fests.
  • Flexibility: Plenty of universal fixing, but keep an eye on “5-color best cards” becoming the default.
  • Notes: If you hate 5-color piles, increase guild fixing and reduce rainbow, not overall density.

Simple fixing checklist

Copy this and run it whenever drafts feel unfair.

  • Count your fixers: Are you actually near 11% / 15% / 18%, or are you guessing?
  • Check fixing speed: How many of your fixing lands regularly enter tapped? If it is “most of them” in a fast cube, that’s your problem.
  • Audit gold density: How many multicolor cards are you running per guild, and how early do they pull drafters into commitments?
  • Look for pip greed: How many cards ask for double or triple pips, especially at 2–4 mana? High pip density demands better fixing.
  • Balance guild coverage: Do some guilds have way better fixing than others? Uneven fixing creates “some decks always work” drafts.
  • Limit rainbow blowouts: If every control deck is 4–5 colors, you likely have too much universal fixing (or too many rainbow lands/rocks).
  • Check green’s advantage: If green has all the fixing, non-green decks will feel like they are drafting hard mode.
  • Make fixing draftable: If lands wheel forever, players are not being trained to take them. Consider land packs or a house rule (below).
  • Test with real decks: Build 3 example decks (aggro, midrange, control) and see if the mana bases feel reasonable without contortions.
  • Track mulligans: If multiple players are mulling to five every draft, fix the mana before you “balance” the threats.

Deckbuilding sanity rules (so fixing actually works)

Even with a well-built cube, drafters can sabotage themselves. These rules prevent the most common mana faceplants.

  • Lands in 40 cards: Start at 17 lands, go to 16 only if your curve is low and you have real smoothing.
  • Two-color mana base: Aim for 8–9 sources of your main color, 7–8 of your second.
  • Light splash: You generally want 3–4 sources for a single splash color (including fixers that count).
  • Aggro rule: If your deck has multiple 1-drops, prioritize untapped colored sources over “perfect” color coverage.
  • Gold reality check: If you can’t build a stable mana base, cut a splash card. A “slightly weaker deck that casts spells” wins more.

If your group won’t draft lands: three safety valves

Some groups love drafting lands. Some groups treat lands like broccoli. If your table refuses to take fixing, you can still prevent non-games.

Option 1: Separate land packs

Give each player a small “land pack” alongside normal packs.

  • Pros: Fixing becomes consistent without warping the main draft.
  • Cons: Less tension and fewer meaningful fixing decisions.

Option 2: Draft lands, but add incentives

Keep lands in packs, but:

  • Add a slightly higher density, or
  • Include more desirable duals (players take what feels powerful).
  • Pros: Still feels like real drafting.
  • Cons: Can creep toward 4-color piles if you overshoot.

Option 3: Post-draft fixing allowance

After the draft, each player may add X nonbasic fixers from a shared pool.

  • Pros: Nearly eliminates color screw.
  • Cons: Reduces the skill of “reading and prioritizing fixing,” and can flatten archetype identity.

If your goal is “drafts feel fair,” any of these can work. Just pick the one that matches your group’s vibe.

FAQs

How do I stop 5-color goodstuff without bringing back non-games?

Reduce rainbow fixers first, not overall fixing. Replace universal lands/rocks with guild-specific fixing so decks still function, but lanes matter.

My cube has plenty of fixing, but games still feel swingy. Why?

Check speed and pip greed. A pile of ETB tapped lands in a fast cube, or a cube full of double-pip spells, will still create awkward hands even if density is high.

Is “more fixing” always better?

No. More fixing reduces non-games, but it increases:

  • 3–5 color decks,
  • “best cards” piles,
  • and draft homogeneity if everyone can play everything.
    That’s why density, speed, and flexibility are separate knobs.

What’s the fastest way to improve fairness without rebuilding my land section?

Add a small set of universal fixers (a few rainbow lands or a handful of flexible rocks) and slightly reduce the most color-punishing gold cards. You will feel the difference immediately.

Do Commander cubes need different targets?

Usually yes. Commander draft environments often want more fixing and more flexibility, because decks trend more color-hungry and games run longer.

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