Most ways to play Magic: The Gathering ask each player to bring something. A deck, a collection, a budget for packs. A Cube asks for nothing. One person owns a box of cards, everyone sits down around it, and for one night the whole box belongs to the table.
This course is an unofficial guide to Cube drafting, built as a ladder of six levels. It starts with how a draft works, how to read a card, and how to host a night. It climbs through deckbuilding, signals, mana, and archetypes, and ends with building, curating, and running a Cube of your own, then giving it an identity and sharpening your drafting with a practice plan. Every lesson is free and public.
What is a Cube?
A Cube is a collection of Magic cards chosen by its owner to be drafted over and over. Most Cubes hold 360 cards or more, and most use just one copy of each card. The owner picks every card on purpose: strong cards, fun cards, cards that work well together.
On draft night, the owner shuffles the Cube and deals it into packs of 15. The players draft those packs the same way people draft booster packs from a store: open a pack, take one card, pass the rest. Then everyone builds a deck from what they took and plays.
When the night is over, every card goes back into the box. That last step is the whole idea. A Cube is a draft that resets.
Our explainer What Is a Magic Cube? covers the format in more depth, including a side-by-side comparison with booster draft.
How does a Cube night run?
A full night has four parts:
- The draft. Eight players, three packs each, 45 picks. About 40 to 45 minutes.
- Deckbuilding. Each player builds a deck of at least 40 cards from their picks, plus free basic lands. About 20 to 25 minutes.
- The games. Two or three rounds of matches, usually best of three games.
- Cleanup. Every card goes back into the Cube.
Plan on about three hours for two rounds, and closer to four for three. The next lesson walks through the draft pick by pick.
Why is Cube the best way to play Magic with friends?
It costs the players nothing. The owner pays once. After that, a draft is free for everyone at the table, every time. Nobody has to keep up with new sets to keep up with their friends.
Every card is worth picking. Store packs carry filler. A Cube has none, because the owner cut it. Even the last card in a pack can make a deck.
The table starts even. A player with no collection has the same pool as the player with ten binders. Skill and a little luck decide the night, not spending.
Every night is different. The same box gives you a new mix of cards and new decks every time it is shuffled.
The box becomes a shared language. Play the same Cube a few times and the group starts to know it: the card everyone fights over, the deck that keeps winning, the pick someone still talks about. That shared memory is what turns a game night into a regular one. Our piece on why a Cube is the perfect shared library picks up that idea.
If your group already plays Commander, our comparison of Cube and Commander shows how the two fit together.
Do you need to know Magic first?
It helps to know the basic turn: play a land, cast spells, attack. You do not need to own any cards, and you do not need to be good yet.
Wizards of the Coast keeps a free how to play page for the basics. Its product guide lists the Starter Kit first for learning the game: two ready-to-play decks and a play guide, made for teaching a friend.
Some local game stores also run Magic Academy, Wizards’ beginner program. Its events teach the rules and deckbuilding, and the official page says everything you need is provided. Find a store with the Wizards Store and Event Locator.
Some people argue that a Cube is the best classroom of all, because the cards are chosen to play well and a friend can coach you through the draft. Our article on how to teach Magic with a Cube makes that case.
What kinds of Cubes are there?
“Cube” names the method, not one card list. A few common styles:
- Vintage Cube: the most powerful cards in Magic’s history, including some of the most expensive cards ever printed.
- Legacy or unpowered Cube: the same idea, without the Power Nine, nine famous early cards that are among the rarest and most expensive in the game.
- Pauper Cube: commons only. Cheap to build and deep to play.
- Set Cube: one favorite set, so the group can draft it long after it leaves stores.
- Themed Cube: built around a creature type, a card type, or an idea.
Our guide to Cube power levels lays them side by side.
Why The Ludarium cares about Cube
Cube Commonwealth, The Ludarium’s Magic Cube community in Indianapolis, drafted weekly for about three years and is relaunching as part of The Ludarium. Cube fits what The Ludarium is about: one box, one table, and a group of people who keep coming back.
If you are near Indianapolis, join the Indianapolis list for first word on local learn-to-play nights as The Ludarium grows.
Next lesson
How a Cube Draft Works: Eight Seats, Three Packs, 45 Picks
Next, how a draft works: eight seats, three packs, and the left, right, left pattern that decides which cards reach you.
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Learn what a Cube is, draft and build a deck with confidence, host a night your friends ask to repeat, and start a Cube of your own. Free, one short lesson at a time.
One Box, Eight Friends is unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Fan Content Policy. Not approved/endorsed by Wizards. Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast. ©Wizards of the Coast LLC.