Playing Cube Games Well: Card Advantage, Tempo, and Patience

A good draft hands you a good deck. It does not play the games. Cube matches are different from store drafts in one important way: every card on both sides was chosen for being strong. There are fewer blank draws, more removal, and more cards that take over a game if left alone.

This lesson covers the playing skills that matter most in that environment. It assumes you know the turn; if not, the How to Play Magic lesson in our Magic course covers it.

Two resources: cards and time

Nearly every decision in a Magic game spends one of two things.

Cards. Each card in your hand is an option. Trading one of your cards for one of theirs keeps things even. Trading one card for two of theirs is called card advantage, and over a long game it tends to win.

Time, often called tempo. Mana spent well, creatures that attack before the opponent is ready, and turns where the opponent has to answer you instead of developing. A fast start can win before card advantage matters.

Good players watch both. A removal spell that kills a cheap creature keeps the cards even but may cost tempo if it takes your whole turn. A card that draws two cards is card advantage but costs a turn of building your board. Neither is wrong. The question is which resource matters more in this game.

Know which game you are in

The three speeds lesson set this up. In each match, ask early:

• If my deck is faster, time matters more. Spend cards to keep attacking. Do not hold back for value.
• If my deck is slower, cards matter more. Trade early, survive, and let your stronger late game win.

Re-ask the question when the board changes. A midrange deck can start the game defending and end it attacking.

Choosing removal targets

Cube decks often run several strong removal spells, and you will usually have fewer answers than your opponent has threats. Spend them carefully.

• Kill the engine, not the body. A small creature that draws a card every turn or makes mana is often a better target than a big creature that just attacks.
• Save cheap, instant-speed removal when you can afford to. It answers whatever comes next, at the moment you choose.
• Use removal early when you are the slower deck and a cheap attacker would otherwise deal a lot of damage before you stabilize.

Our piece on interaction in Cube shows how much removal a typical Cube holds, which tells you how likely your opponent is to have an answer too.

Keep or mulligan

The mulligan rule is in the teach sheet: shuffle, draw seven, then put one card on the bottom for each mulligan. Deciding when to use it is a skill.

A good starting point for a 17-land deck:

• Two to five lands with some early plays: usually keep.
• One land: usually mulligan, especially on the play.
• Six or seven lands: usually mulligan.

Then adjust for your deck. An aggro deck can keep two lands with several one- and two-drops. A control deck wants three lands or more. On the draw, you see an extra card, so borderline two-land hands improve.

Holding a spell back

New players cast everything they can each turn. Strong Cube players often do not.

Hold an instant when:

• It answers something your opponent is likely to play.
• Casting it at the end of the opponent’s turn gives them less information.

Hold a creature when:

• Your opponent likely has a spell that punishes a crowded board.
• It does nothing this turn and you would rather keep mana up for an answer.

Cast it now when tempo matters more, which in a race it usually does.

Combat math, every turn

Before each attack, count:

1. What each of their creatures can block, and what dies in each block.
2. What they can do with their open mana.
3. What your board looks like on their turn after the attack.

It takes ten seconds. It prevents most of the blowouts that decide Cube games.

Review one game per night

After each night, pick one game you lost and ask: was there a turn where I spent the wrong resource? Our piece on card advantage in Cube shows which engines tend to decide long games, which helps you spot them next time.