Your First Cube Draft Night: Etiquette, Timing, and Giving the Cards Back

A Cube night is part game, part dinner party. Someone opened their home or reserved a table, and someone else built the box of cards that everyone is about to shuffle. Most of the etiquette comes down to one idea: you are borrowing something that took a lot of care to make.

None of this is complicated. It is just easier to know before you walk in.

How do you find a Cube draft?

Cubes live wherever Magic players gather. Ask at your local game store; regulars often know who owns a Cube. The Wizards Store and Event Locator lists stores near you.

Know the difference between a Cube night and a store’s booster draft. At Friday Night Magic, Wizards’ Friday night event at local stores, Booster Draft is one of the formats, and there you open new packs and keep what you draft. A Cube draft uses the owner’s cards, and they all go back in the box.

In Indianapolis, our guide to where to play Magic covers stores and how to find a local Cube.

What should you bring?

For most Cube nights, almost nothing:

• Yourself, on time. A draft cannot start until every seat is filled. Being late holds up seven people.
• A pen, if the group tracks results on paper.
• Dice for counters and life totals, if you have them.
• A deck box or a rubber band, to keep your 40 cards together between rounds.

You do not need cards, sleeves, or lands. The owner usually provides them. Ask before you bring snacks to the table itself; many hosts keep food and drinks off the play area to protect the cards.

How long will it take?

Plan on about three hours for a night with two rounds:

A third round adds about 50 minutes. If you have to leave early, tell the host before the draft starts so they can plan pairings. Our host’s guide to running a Cube draft shows the full schedule from the other side of the table.

Etiquette during the draft

• Keep picks private. Do not show your picks or your pack, and do not talk about what is in the packs.
• Keep the pace. Take your time on the first picks, then speed up as the packs shrink. Nobody minds a slow pick in your first draft; just do not let a pack sit while you chat.
• Pass gently. Pass face down, in the direction for the pack you are on: left, right, then left. If a pack comes to you with the wrong number of cards, say so right away.
• Ask questions. “What does this keyword do?” is always welcome. Ask the host or a neighbor between packs, so you do not slow the table mid-pack.

Etiquette during the games

• Handle cards with care. Shuffle the way the owner’s sleeves allow, gently, without bending.
• Say what you are doing. Announce your spells and attacks out loud, so nothing is missed.
• Keep the board clear. Drinks and food stay away from the play area.
• Be a good opponent. Shake hands, win quietly, lose kindly. Our piece on how to be a good loser applies to winning too.
• Use the owner’s rules. Some Cubes have house rules about sideboarding, mulligans, or special cards. When in doubt, the owner decides. Our guide to Cube house rules shows the common ones.

Giving the cards back

This is the part that decides whether you are invited again.

1. Count your cards. Leaving out basic lands, your deck plus your sideboard should equal every card you drafted, 45 in a classic draft.
2. Separate the basics. Lands go back on the land pile, not into the Cube.
3. Check for strays. Look under the table, in your deck box, and between your sleeves. A single missing card can mean a hole in the Cube for months.
4. Return tokens and dice that belong to the host.
5. Sort the way the owner asks. Some owners want cards by color, some want one pile. Ask.

Never take a Cube card home, even by accident. If you find one in your bag later, message the owner that night.

Say thank you

Cube owners spend money, hours, and care on a box they share for free. A thank you, a hand with cleanup, and a word about your favorite card in their Cube mean more than you would guess. The best way to say thanks is to come back next time.

If you are near Indianapolis, join the Indianapolis list for first word on local learn-to-play nights as The Ludarium grows.