Designing and Drafting a Cube on a Budget

Andy and Anthony talk about cubing on a budget. Between cards, sleeves, and other needs, putting a cube together is not without costs, but the format has some unique attributes that can still make it approachable on a budget.

But first, they talk for a long time about Tetris.

⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠

Discussed in this episode:

• After 34 Years, Someone Finally Beat Tetris
• Tetris Just Got Beaten Again
• Fosbury Flop
• Four Minute Mile
• Radiolab: Stochasticity
• Lucky Paper Radio on How to Build a Cube from Your Collection
• Scryfall
• BCW Cardboard Longboxes
• Potomac Distribution

Cubes Mentioned:

• Amonkar Desert Cube
• Eiganjo Drift

Timestamps:

0:00 - Introduction

1:41 - Tetris Talk 

25:53 - Introduction to Playing Cube on a Budget

35:49 - Tip 1: Play with the cards you have

40:11 - Tip 2: Most cards are not that expensive. Really!

42:02 - Tip 3: Be aware of the secondary market and pick up cards at the right time, if you can.

44:42 - Tip 4: Consider rarity restricted cubes, but be aware rarity and price are only mildly correlated!

48:26 - Tip 5: Use proxies

50:49 - Tip 6: Use BCW cardboard longboxes bought in bulk

54:39 - The biggest barrier to budget cubing: sleeves

1:03:46 - Tip 7: Get your playgroup to chip in cards

1:04:39 - Tip 8: Save and sell/buylist cards to subsidize bigger purchases

1:07:58 - Remember the most important thing: drafting a cube is FREE if you’re not the cube owner

Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.

You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:

• Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube
• Anthony’s “Regular” Cube

If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at [email protected]. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord.

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Musical production by DJ James Nasty.