Everything You Need To Know To Build And Play A Magic: The Gathering Cube

[@TolarianCommunityCollege]

Real talk: Videos like this do not perform well. If you like this kind of content, then please support it by posting it to your social media if you can, or even just sharing with a friend. Take a moment to hit the like button. Watch another video after this one (KZbin loves that). I love making content like this but it gets rough when it's an uphill battle.

[@connorjensen9699]

For what its worth, this is the kind of content that keeps me coming back

[@TheSpiritombsableye]

Thumbs up

[@BookOfVampires]

The nice thing about contact like this is because they can be revisited over greeter amounts of time so there should be a bit of leverage for since I haven’t seen a good video about two headed giant, in commander outside of battle bond a few years ago.

[@harleysilverwolf]

I’ll make sure to watch three then 👌

[@dylankovach9106]

It’s so cool you still want to publish a video even though you know it won’t do well. As someone who doesn’t know everything about MTG, it is really appreciated and shows you’re truly about the community 👍

[@KmdrKibneg]

Your gameplay series are great, but content like this is what separates your channel from the rest. Please never stop.❤

[@philcolton5933]

Cube curation is a deck builder's paradise, and can be done with decent results on a budget. I love my cube and it surprises me that more people don't want jump in. Big props to Prof for spreading cube love.

[@ROMANTIKILLER2]

And on the other side of the spectrum, for those with an extensive collection at hand, Cube is also a great way to share it and give friends the opportunity to draft and play some powerful and expensive cards at no cost.

[@cellmate89]

Its kinda sad these videos don't get the love they deserve. they've helped me re-understand this game that I've fallen back in love with after a solid decade+ of not playing. I was thinking of making a cube of my old 2013 core and the Innistrad / Avacyn sets after watching this.

[@executor45]

For what it's worth, I built a 360 cube a few years back and it's been my baby ever since. I love the fact that it adds life to cards that you wouldn't normally use in constructed - and its an awesome way to have friends play whenever you hang without having to worry about bringing decks everywhere. Plus, if the cube is designed well, it does give everybody a fair chance to win (so less power level discussions, etc.) For those who are on the fence of building up a cube, I recommend it - it really is fun and helps you appreciate more magic cards.

[@moxcube]

Our playgroup used to have power level discussions all the time, so I built a cube to even the playing field. We stopped playing Commander for a good 5 years or so and only did cube drafts and legacy. In the last couple years we started playing Commander again and guess what discussions happen all then time again... 😅

[@zisker1997]

Thank you for putting this together! I've been looking for something both comprehensive and easy to understand for cubes!

[@ylygylygynda]

Thank you! This video got me thinking about a 180-card cube and having a Winston draft at home. And it’s gonna be a deathmatch.

[@positivelydj]

Hey Professor, Just wanted to say I really appreciate all the quality information you give out on your channel. My wife and I have gotten into MTG, and it is because of many of your shuffle up and play videos that I learned the mechanics way better than by just reading the starter manual. My wife and I picked up the starter decks for 2023 to start off with. I played dragons and she played the other. We had fun with that, then I got the starter commander decks, she wanted the blue and white for the angels and I got the green and red for the dragons. We started with those and have been morphing them slowly by buying cheaper singles, no singles over 10$. I've turned mine into a miirym deck, so I can utilize the dragons from both the starter deck and commander starter deck, and my wife has stuck with the blue and white, adding angels and cards to aid the deck. Amazing that the starter decks for 2023 and the starter commander decks created a good foundation for building out 2 more specialized commander decks. Just wanted to say thanks again for all the work you do, your videos have really helped me understand the game and teach it to my wife.

[@TheSpiritombsableye]

No one learns M:tG by reading a manual.

[@christopherlundgren1700]

@@TheSpiritombsableyeWell in 1993 you kind of had to. I always like to tell the story about how the font size in the Revised rule book was so small, I thought that it said that trample damage deals “triple” damage and I destroyed my friends for one day with my War Mammoths.

[@davidjohnson9186]

Happy to hear you’ve had fun learning Magic!

[@joemoney877]

Great video as always. I hope this one does well, so you can make more like it. I would love to see an updated video talking about the cube cases and other products to plus up your cube.

[@jadegrace1312]

Awesome! Hope you keep having fun playing magic :)

[@Kingnothing7x]

I made a pauper cube to start, had a lot of fun with it, even threw in the jump start conspiracy common draft matters stuff, never thought I'd get to use those again

[@nicplz]

2 Person drafting is underrated IMO. I love drafting with my partner in our larger cubes with Winston style. Super fun. Thanks for posting this, Prof. I'll send to this anyone asking about Cube!

[@andrewdestefano4143]

I built a proxy vintage cube and it's one of the best things I've ever done. Getting to enjoy crazy cards you'll never see anywhere else, and not having to worry about people handling your expensive cards because they're all fake is just wonderful. Have my cake and eat it too.

[@michaelgriffith7033]

I haven't played cube format for ages. My group back then really enjoyed it, since a few of us were deeply invested in our constructed decks while other players were much less invested time and money-wise.

[@marshallchaney8845]

A quick note about replacing "duds": mathematically speaking, swapping a generically weak card for a more powerful one will not reduce the number of "duds" in your cube. Instead, some other card will now be the weakest and never make anyone's deck. Instead, I try to replace my general under-performers with narrow cards that won't work in most decks, but the 10% of the time they do fit in a deck they'll be one of the best cards in it. Mox Opal is a good example--if you can't hit Metalcraft then it does nothing, but if you can then it's incredibly powerful. Thank you for the good video and bringing attention to my favorite format. I hope very much that this comment pleases the algorithm.

[@NutsackParachute]

Good tip thank you

[@LoonyLucyRM]

One day I'll knuckle down and make a cube and when I do I'm sure I'll have this video on loop in the background. Thanks so much for this Prof!!!

[@Skel_cat63]

I just wanted to let you know that these videos (even your older ones) have inspired me to make my own. It was a long process, but I made one that i find is quite unique. 20 card packs that ends up in a multiplayer 2 headed giant game. I'm very proud of it!

[@IslandPonder]

Format is goated, thanks so much for featuring it. Shoutout to the non-vintage cubers out there!

[@johngiannerini6756]

Currently making an old frame only cube that can include any cards that have been printed/reprinted in that border style. I'm stoked to be able to add the retro shocks soon

[@rileymcphee9429]

Buy proxies.

[@KingBobXVI]

​@@rileymcphee9429- proxies are great (in fact I just ordered a bunch a few days ago), but sometimes the limitation is not financial, and in this case imo you're missing the point. The challenge of building a cube using only cards that have been printed in a certain style before is a self-imposed limitation that exists to breed creativity, and functions as a game unto itself when it comes to the design of the cube. Heck, he may already be proxying it, if he wants power in the cube.

[@rileymcphee9429]

@KingBobXVI he can't proxy in the old frame? Honestly, it's pretty easy these days to get glossy cards made at FedEx print copy. My point is, there's no need to buy regulation cards for a non-competitive format. I'd rather buy a $2-4 sheet and cut everything out myself than hundreds of dollars on the originals and take those out of circulation, thus raising the price on the diminished supply. You see my point?

[@robertk1834]

yah, it's just kinda point(less)

[@PureSolace]

The more and more Commander becomes dominant, and the OG formats fall to the side... Building and Designing your own cube will become more and more important. It seems that if WotC continues its current trajectory (business wise), cube formats that communities rally around will probably become more important. (But if and when that happens, as they gain popularity, WotC will probably pivot and head to where 'the money is at'.) Such is life. Thanks for the video Professor!

[@hunterapena]

I can't wait for cube master set 2028!

[@johnnoreau3570]

Totally unrelated comment but still relevant. I bought one of your boxes as a gift this Christmas for my gf. It just came in today almost exactly a week after ordering, on time. The quality of materials not only LOOK but feel very nice. Has plenty of space and I loved the included divider. Pricing was a little steep as this is an honest review. However. I feel she’ll get a few years of worth out of it without quick deterioration. Got the academic XL in purple and black. The colors don’t clash and are easy on the eyes. All in all very satisfied I was able to grab one while they were available.

[@togglebott7748]

For some reason I love watching your overview videos despite being deeply entrenched in mtg knowledge, they’re just relaxing

[@WhiteBread221]

Shoutout the Lucky Paper Radio Podcast for anyone looking for more Cube resources. Anthony and Andy are amazing!

[@nerdstrong]

Hat's off to your editors. These rubik's cube style transitions were sweet

[@andrewlehmann8610]

Man this couldn't have come at a better time, ive been wanting to build a cube for a minute now but i was planning to actually build one next week.

[@jertlemiah]

I adore my cube, it's my favorite Magic item. Only problem is it takes like 6 hours to do the whole draft, deck build, and games so it doesn't come out quite as often as I'd like

[@keylometers6342]

I feel that, I out together a paper version of the Khans extended cube by Elliot Raff and it is so fun to draft hut we barely draft it

[@Rexcilious]

Just finished my first commander cube! 500 total cards, 80 of which are multicolored legends. 420 nonlands, non legends. It’s designed for a pod of 4. Everyone gets 3 packs of 28, then draft from that. Then, there is an additional 100 card cube of non-basic lands. Each player gets two packs of 11, then draft through that. Successfully played it once and it was a blast!

[@teacheralex8032]

Liked, shared. And went and followed the cubes listed in the description. Thanks for the resources, I hope you can keep making this type of videos despite their performance.

[@GutsyTen42]

Professor, thanks for making this. I'm just now starting to look into building a cube, I find it super neat

[@AGreatHornedOwl]

Videos like this will always be what keeps me coming back to TCC, informational and immensely helpful. Keep up the great work!

[@derekblemberg3109]

Thank you for putting this guide together. Cube is my favorite way to play Magic. Having a resource to point folks toward if they are new is incredibly helpful. I hope we see you at CubeCon 2024!

[@rileymcphee9429]

My Jumpstart cube is the only way I play MTG anymore. I really enjoyed the careful construction of combining the 2-4 theme variations into one bis pack. This also helped me sell my Throne of Eldraine cube by making a single pack for each color. The general format for each pack is 2 R/M, 4 U, 6 C, 8 L. You then fix that into 8 creatures, 2 removal, 2 wild, 1 thriving land, 6-7 basic lands.

[@Kazz1187]

That's really neat! Do you have a cubecobra link to it?

[@rileymcphee9429]

@Kazz1187 I don't. I didn't know you could section off cube cobra into specific pre-set packs.

[@CallMeSquilliam]

I decided before hitting play to take a shot every time Prof said “Cube” and now the hat man is trying to split one with me

[@TheOchoa3]

Cube is my FAVORITE format! I have started working on my own cube and was referencing your old videos! I am excited to see you cover cube again on your channel! You have been apart of my MTG journey since the start of your channel. Excited for the many more years of content!

[@mikeb9583532]

Jeff's old border foil cube was at cube con. I couldn't make the event, but that cube is a thing of beauty.

[@RutherRendommeleigh]

From the perspective of someone rediscovering the hobby after a long absence, videos like this are invaluable. I'm now considering building a cube to provide my playgroup with a more even playing field.

[@willm1019]

Stopped playing after khans of tarkir and man the game is just so different but the same at the same time lol

[@KingBobXVI]

Having been tangentially mulling over the idea of building a vintage but also jank cube for a while now, this is some good inspiration to get started! Can't wait to make my players play for ante :P

[@Silas_MN]

I got into cube because of the original set of cube videos on this channel! which makes this one weirdly nostalgic for me. thanks for showcasing the best format in magic, Prof!

[@bs06c2m]

I love playing my friends cubes, the differences between them really highlight not only the many themes of magic but the personality and game philosophy of the builder. If only it werent so hard to get a decent sized pod together.

[@LithmusEarth]

We are back to talking about cube! I'm so glad you've come back, professor, I've built one with the help of your previous videos years ago, a pioneer cube. I'm grateful to see another video. We mostly winston draft it because we mostly get 3 players, but we have done 5 packs of 9 when we had a crew of 4. My limit per card was $3, and well, I gotta take out a few cards as the years go by, Skysovereign is much more expensive now. Plus I used the first 40 sets, 10 years of pioneer, I am looking to update with the plethra of new sets since new capnena, and I keep it up on cube cobra and in a bcw box. Whoo!

[@LithmusEarth]

A long time ago I made a khans of tarkir cube, and then I made a dominaria cube, (set cubes) and then i finally using cubetutor (now on cubecobra) put together a pioneer cube. I have not updated it since the summer of capenna, I'm pretty sure. It is slightly smaller than a 360. I think it's 270. I just never sort of finished that last burst. I had started with a smaller 4-color party creature types matters that was a 90-180 sized cube. Was a tight draft environment for 2 players.

[@squee147]

I built a cube (multiplayer conspiracy) after seeing your original cube videos. It's now the only way I play and I'm working on a second (mono black sealed).

[@TheCrimsonYoshi]

I love your classic cube videos and used them as guides to start my own cube and eventually had my own cube featured at CubeCon 2023! Thank you for this awesome video spotlighting just how much the cube community has grown and improved since then!

[@dood5426]

This video is perfect for me, I’ve been wanting to make a Kaladesh limited cube for a while now and didn’t know how to start

[@blakerose3454]

I would love to see a video like this but for custom jumpstart cubes. I play magic with my father and it's his favorite way to play and i think everyone should try it out

[@peytonvallely-barret2552]

I’m so happy to see continued cube content on this channel in spite of its poor algorithm performance. Keep up the good work!

[@Mognet_t]

I've been curious about designing a cube ever since i saw the original set of videos 8 years ago! The biggest problem i had was my core playgroup is only 3 people large, so I'm really excited to hear about the 2-person cube! I need to figure out the best way to draft with 3 people, as opposed to 2 or 4, however.

[@lincolndavidson2021]

So glad to see the awesome effort of the CubeCon organizers and some of our community's great cube designers getting recognition! CUBE!

[@tsakowich]

Funny you just posted this, I'm currently building a jumpstart cube! Custom jumpstart packs for quick games when you don't have time for a full draft.

[@lollusk]

Thank you Prof! I'm considering putting together a commander cube at some point similar to Brandon Sanderson's, this is great info. Also you have a typo at 4:12 lol

[@EstewYT]

Love these types of videos! I've only recently started playing Magic, and Cube is one of my favorite ways my group and I have played.

[@parzival_35f32]

I've recently gotten back into play Magic for the 1st time in 17 years (since highschool) and your channel is just so helpful. Didn't know what commander was and sure as hell hadn't heard of Cube! I love what you do here for the Game and for the Community.

[@WaltherRJ]

Dear Professor, Cube is one of my favourite formats, despite not being good at drafts! I have been wanting to build a cube for a while now, now I might give it a try! Thank you, and all the staff at Tolarian Community College, for all the effort behind each video! Also, I loved the Cube episode of SUP!!

[@millerpball]

Good timing on the video prof. We just had a commander night and a couple new players were kinda struggling. I was about to start researching a beginner type cube and this was the first video when I opened KZbin!

[@TLG1255]

Great video!! I’ve been thinking of making a cube for a long time and this is super helpful! Also had no idea about Cubecon! I’m always looking for an excuse to go back home to Wisconsin!

[@CandeIero]

I love the idea of having my own cube one day, but the task of making it always intimidated me, so thank you for making a video on it!

[@hoten96]

Thanks for making this prof! I’ve gotten back into magic lately and I’ve had a cube sitting around for years. Going to give it some upgrades and cuts and try to get some friends to draft it.

[@willkarantonis1482]

Thank you for the updated video Professor. I've been in the works of starting to build my first cube and this is great when I watched your older cube videos last night

[@andrewdestefano4143]

(Pelvic thrust) hell yeah, I love cube! It's the best way to play!

[@Triceratopping]

I have a 2-player Warrior tribal cube, it's super fun. Just a bunch of fightydudes, equipment, and combat tricks.

[@twarnold14]

Oh, that sounds sweet!!

[@KingBobXVI]

How do you handle drafting with just two players? The information during draft is somewhat vital, so I'm wondering if any is lost. And now I'm imagining a potential solution where players draft two at a time, but commit one of the two to a central discard of sorts, like a hate-draft pile, so you can draft cards to bait your opponent into thinking you're going for a different strategy or something like that.

[@Triceratopping]

@@KingBobXVI the deck is 120 cards, and to draft we both deal 6, pick 2, swap, pick another 2, discard fhe rest, then repeat until the whole deck is drafted. Very fast and works well for us!

[@twarnold14]

@@KingBobXVI There are quite a few ways to do a 2 person draft, but really that just shows that any system will work. Grid draft (supported on Cube Cobra) and the Minneapolis draft both involve removing cards from the draft. I see it as less hate drafting and more as simulating other drafters taking cards. My partner and I do Winchester draft a lot because it is fast, but there’s no hidden information in that one.

[@RollforLore]

For you Professor I wont even skip the Ads

[@aleksavracar5433]

This is exactly a guide I needed, especially when it's yours, Professor. I appreciate it, even if it's not the most successful content, as you say. ❤

[@jimbosax]

Thanks for this video. One of my LGS does a vintage cube every Saturday so now I can go with some basic knowledge.

[@elliot7742]

I've been meaning to build a cube forever and this updated video might be what finally gets me started on it. Thanks Prof!

[@uvtqs6344]

I have been wanting to build a commander cube for some time now, I'd love to see some commander cube happen on the show.

[@adamwitt9311]

Please don’t ever stop making these kinds of videos these always just provide such good and helpful information on things I’d like to eventually do

[@mattmanmcfee36]

my friends have been getting into cube building lately and its been a ton of fun! glad to see more coverage on this topic prof!

[@nikolaslovric4557]

I think cube is about to blow up professor! This was a really well timed and well done video. Thank you for all you continue to contribute to our community!

[@WumboWings96]

I made my first and only cube of Neon Dynasty after seeing one of your past cube videos! I haven’t been able to get all my friends together to play it, but it’s honestly just cool knowing I’ve got a whole set of one of my more favorite sets.

[@whiskeygamesnerdstuff789]

Pauper Cubes are so much fun!

[@tylerfoster2814]

I love my giant cube and am excited to learn about CubeCon and the idea of players starting with cards in their pool. I might have to institute that with Cogwork Librarian!

[@blackgear98]

Watched this video when it came out and now I'm watching it again since my group is evolving! These informational videos are great! And an essential service needed to keep the gathering happening in mtg, thanks professor and crew at TCC

[@jiffyb333]

It's a shame videos like this don't do well because this is such an incredibly valuable resource!

[@stevepiratethe7708]

Your informational videos on formats and games have been the stuff I have directed people for years. It has been endlessly helpful to have your channels resources, you are a river to your people and I hope you continue for a very long time.

[@FMRaDiO55]

I'm 32 and just got back into MTG haven't played since 2002 -2005. And I want to say thank you for the content it's really helped.

[@JustARandomMexican]

Amazing video. I've heard the word Cube thrown around but never understood and Google wasn't very helpful. Most other descriptions I saw assumed prior information about what limited means and what a draft format entails. This was an amazing explanation!

[@thekruz]

Great Cube overview. As a fellow owner of an Innistrad set cube some of my favourite experiences has been drafting it with friends. I hope to make a few more in the future. Keep up the great work!

[@DavidBeltra]

Awesome video prof! we are never enough players for drafting, knowing there's a two/four player format is great! thanks!

[@Spinoguy03]

The first cube I built was an original Theros block set cube, played it for the first time a few weeks ago and it was so fulfilling!

[@ry7hym]

theros block is one of my favourites. it was from just before I started playing regularly so theros cards were the cards I started learning the game with. I have a Khans block (the block after theros) cube for that exact reason. do you perhaps have a cube cobra link or some online link where I can see your cube?

[@Spinoguy03]

@@ry7hym I was looking to make an original Khans block cube as well, do you have your list?

[@wandering.albatross]

Hey Prof, just wanted to say that when I was building my first-ever cube earlier this year your videos were a great resource. Love that you're updating the series for newer players to try out this amazing format.

[@emblem3272]

As a player of draft formats who has always wanted a way to easily play that format with friends, thanks! I'll definitely be building a cube using these guidelines and resources

[@tristansmith8377]

I’ve really been wanting to make a Mirrodin Cube, thanks for the content it’s really helpful.

[@Husgum]

Since these videos don't perform that well, here is my comment for the algorithm. Thank you and your team for your time and effort into making this easy to follow, but still highly informative content. At the moment I am trying to make a cube from 100% selfmade cards and keeping everything in mind is really hard, so this absolutely helps!

[@pedroms720]

this is a video I will come back to and also share to lots of friends, im sure

[@WilkersonWhittle]

Thanks Prof! I have a ton of cards in a personal collection and I’ve been considering getting into making my own cube!

[@8thy]

I’ve been working on my own custom card cube (250+ of the 260 cards are my own designs) and it’s so fun creating a gameplay experience

[@RocketSlug]

Building my cube was one of the most rewarding things I've ever done. Planning out archetypes, thinking about how they would interact in the card pool, and finding the perfect cards that would be fought over by drafters just made me connect so much more with the final product. It's a brewers dream because you're basically building a tesseract of decks all at once that's constantly shifting. I had to keep so many competing considerations in my head, and navigating the ramifications of each card inclusion was challenging in all the best ways. What came out was such a personal work and I am always super excited to share it with my friends and see them enjoy it. I now look at new set releases with an eye on possible additions to it like how my commander friends look for inclusions in their decks.

[@Godtierlee]

This video really reminds me that Prof. was an actual teacher. The way in which the information was presented made it incredibly easy to digest.

[@travis_approved]

My friends came through big and got me the Las Vegas convention in a box for my birthday - I think I’m gonna sleeve up the mystery box and use it as a cube environment and just build on it over time!

[@Breyfunk]

I have three Cubes and am working on a 4th. It’s so fun to conceptualize and start working on a Cube, there’s so many different options, it’s the best way to play Magic!

[@ReAnimator02]

Love this! Watching waiting for the bus at -16 Celcius, prof keeping me warm.

[@GenerusCrow]

Thanks for posting this! I've heard people saying how much fun they have playing Cube mode, but have previously found myself in a situation where I had no idea what specifically people were talking about, nor how yo actually play it

[@mathewevans9706]

This is a great update, and it's making me want to go back and revisit my first attempt at a cube I got together a couple years, but also to work on a "Whatchagot? Cube" That starts with a chaos draft and evolves from there

[@planetofthesnapes1209]

My partner and I have been slowly creating a Jumpstart cube! We love the original and 2022 editions. They let any number of players of any skill level quickly get to the fun part (actually playing!) and this type of cube is incredibly easy to maintain and update. One day we'll branch out into a proper themed or plane cube, but this has been a fun way of dipping our toes into the format!

[@MACKS1313]

Really the best format. Every playgroup can benefit from having a cube

[@lucyarisato6850]

Awesome! I’ve been wondering about this, and am super happy to see an updated version of this.

[@Lavasioth]

So happy to find a recent video on how to build a cube from the Prof! I want to get into and videos like this are essential to help walk people through the process!

[@c_hoffrun7020]

So, my Magic journey began just over 2 years now, best hobby I have ever had... and I have been buying draft packs exclusively only because the extra 3 cards really appealed to me as a deck builder (I have 16 Commander decks, all function but only one is "good")... after watching this video I really do want to build a Cube! I have so many cards I just keep having to move from place to place as a Commander player, and now I can give them a home!!

[@SphereofEmotion]

When lockdown started I turned to building a cube. It took a while, reading a lot of articles and threads on archtypes, individual cards, and balance. I've had it for about a year now, and although it's mostly just been a friend and I, it's been great fun.

[@Hexdrinkeri]

Keep killing it, Prof!

[@Flaplo]

Thanks for making this video. It's been instrumental in getting me back into the game since not having played for 28 years.

[@MiniCountry-zu9yl]

Best format in Magic, nice video!

[@rezanajdi6165]

These are my favorite type of vids!!!