Cube Drafting:
An MTG Cube is essentially a closed set built out of cards a person owns, typically about 360 cards or so, designed specifically for drafting. Instead of buying packs to draft from, you create ‘packs’ out of the cube. If you’ve already got the cards, then it won’t cost you a thing. If you haven’t got the cards, you can build a cube for relatively cheap.
If hoarding cards is what you’re after, then cube drafting is not for you. Because, you see, one key difference between Cube Drafting and drafting from packs is that you don’t get to keep the cards you draft. They go back into the cube. If you are a compulsive hoarder of cards, a Cube is a chance to give back to your magic community, allowing people to play without spending a dime. However, when you build your cube, the cards in your cub now belong to the cube, and you need to be very careful about trading them out- you may upset the balance of the cube.
It also is another way to be creative with your cards. A Cube is much, much bigger than a deck, and yet every card can be carefully chosen. This is akin to constructed play, but bigger, and deeper! A cube can be made up entirely of commons, and cost $20. Or, it can be commons and uncommons and cost a little more. Or you can put all sorts of expensive rares and have a $1000 cube if you like.
In my case, I bought cards for constructed, then I got into Limited and bought packs of cards for that. After several months of this, I have built up such a backlog of cards that I was able to make a 360 card cube without any trouble at all. What’s more, I didn’t duplicate a single card.
I'm someone who is a Magic Enthusiast, but still relatively casual. That is, I don’t plan to enter any tournaments and become a big shot at the game. I think the Cube drafting is the logical evolution of the game for me. It allows me to practice card evaluation, deck building and playing. It doesn’t have to cost any extra money, and is a lot of fun.
Additionally, I am very eager to look into Cube Drafting as a way to introduce new players to the game. Again, it won’t cost much, and I can design a cube so that the cards contained are relatively simple, as opposed to the highly complex cards Magic sometimes churns out. I am very excited at this prospect.
Magic is one the most intensely competitive game I’ve ever played. This can be a huge turnoff for a lot of people. If I didn’t love it so much, I never could have come back to it. The more I learn about the subtleties of the game, the more I want to share it with everyone. My next big project will be to build a beginners draft Cube. I can't wait!
-D
Read my previous posts about Magic The Gathering, why not?
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