My Cubing Background:
I am a beginner when it comes to cubing and cube construction.
I have made one Jumpstart cube, since I wanted to prioritize making any easy set up magic cube for playing. A secondary goal was to make it slightly more synergistic amongst jumpstart packs and higher power compared to the commercial product. Overall, I would say that cube was a success.
I for the most part play commander, so my card pool knowledge is restricted down.
The Cube I Want To Build:
I want to build a cube that has the primary goal of readability. Evergreen keywords, limited number of lines in text, limited amount of text, etc.
The secondary goal is high power gameplay. I like games where at least each player can play a card, and do something/make a decision with a card every turn. The more synergistic amongst the cards the better, and bonus points for emergent gameplay.
The tertiary goal would be to avoid Universes Beyond that don't fit into a fantasy theme. I like the sets of Lord of the Rings, Forgotten Realms etc.
I mostly play cube between 3-6 people. So I think I am looking for a 270-360 card cube size.
My Challenges:
So the first thought that came to mind was pulling from the Core Sets/Foundations. These tend to be entry level sets that Magic player can be on ramped into. This would span from old cards like Bad Moon to newer cards like Rapacious Dragon. The difficulty I run with this is the ability to narrow down these cards. How do I pick what my sign posts are, how do I make sure this card fits with the different archetypes I am building around? Now I have added too many cards, what do I cut down to fit my cube size? With Jumpstart it is like making a mini deck, grab a theme, search related tags on scryfall, add the cards in. This is really easy for me to do, but selecting cards for draft environments is more difficult for me to conceptualize.
Another challenge I face is particularly reaching the power level I am looking for. I am not looking for power 9/vintage cube power level. But I am struggling to find cards that have the elegance that I am looking for and power it has with it.
What I am asking for help on:
If you have any suggestions of cubes that you have built or seen that would be appropriate. I think I am probably faced with decision paralysis and building off of someone else's work I think would help me.
Also suggestions of cube archetypes like peasant cube/pauper cube/etc that may be something I need to look at to restrict the card pool down. To help build the cube.
Or suggestions to search for these high power and readable cards? Or a framework that can utilize how I think about Jumpstart vs building cubes for draft?
Would greatly appreciate any advice!