What is a Cube?

A cube is a pre-assembled collection of cards made for drafting into decks to then battle against the other players you have drafted with. Unlike a traditional draft, where players are opening booster packs (and also keeping the cards they draft), a cube is meant for one thing: battling. All cubes are preconstructed to ensure the drafting pool contains a balanced mix of cards. In Pokémon, this means a card pool with complete Evolution lines (something you can’t guarantee will be present in booster packs). Cubing is particularly fun in Pokémon because it offers cards that were previously overshadowed in competitive play the opportunity to shine.

Cube Design

Cubes can be any size and feature cards that span every era of the game. Some are small (between 300–500 cards), while others can be larger (1000+ cards). The larger the cube, the more cards players can draft. However, the more cards to draft, the longer the drafting process will take. All cubes I design are exactly 360 cards. There are two reasons I use this amount of cards in my cubes. The first is that 360 cards can be drafted in a short period of time, which allows players to begin battling more quickly. The second is that since 360 is evenly divisible by 4, 6 and 8, you can draft all of the cards regardless of whether you have 4, 6, or 8 players.

How to Play

Setting Up

Before play begins, the cards from the cube are shuffled and each player is assigned a seat at the table. (Note: For most fair gameplay, seats should be randomized.) Each player is then dealt an equal amount of cards from the cube face-down. Players then divide the cards they have been dealt into a set amount of “packs.” For example, in a 360-card cube drafted by 8 players, each player would receive 45 cards. Players could then divide these 45 face-down cards into three separate “packs” to then be drafted one at a time.

Drafting

Once players have their cards divided into packs, it’s time to draft! There is one round of drafting per each pack players have assembled. (For example, if players have three 15-card packs, there would be three rounds of drafting.)

  1. Each player picks up or “opens” one of their packs by looking at the cards (without showing anyone else the cards).
  2. Each player chooses one card from their pack, then places it face-down into what will become their collection.
  3. Each player passes the remaining cards to the player to their left.
  4. Each player chooses a second card from the remaining cards passed to them, adding it to their collection.
  5. Each player passes the remaining cards to the left, repeating this process until each player is passed the single remaining card in a pack.
  6. After the first packs have been drafted, players should be given a moment to review the cards they drafted before opening the second pack. (Note: Each player’s collection at this point should have an amount of cards equal to the amount of cards in the pack they opened.)
  7. Each player opens their second pack, again choosing one card to add to their collection.
  8. The second pack is drafted the same way except it is passed to the right each turn.
  9. When the second round of drafting is complete, let players again review the cards they have selected.
  10. The third pack is drafted identically to the first, being passed to the left each turn.
  11. Repeat this process, alternating between right and left until all packs are drafted.

Deck Construction

After the final round of drafting is complete, each player will have an equal amount of cards (and also the same amount of cards they were dealt during setup). Players can then use as many of these cards as they choose combined with unlimited access to Basic Energy cards to build a deck. My 360-card cubes are designed to build 40-card decks and battle in 4-Prize matches, but some cubes will allow for full size decks and matches.

Tournament Structure

Any tournament structure (Swiss, Single Elimination, Double Elimination, etc.) can be used in a cube, though I recommend against Single Elimination, as it can be disappointing to spend the time drafting and constructing a deck only to play a single game with it. My personal favorite playing structure for cubes is Double Elimination since it ensures everyone will get to play at least two games. (This structure works particularly well with 8 players.) I also recommend Best-of-1 over match play. Players enjoy opportunities to draft the perfect deck and will generally enjoy a second round of cubing over one lengthy tournament that is drawn-out by match play.

Finishing Playing

When you are finished playing, remove the Basic Energy cards from your deck, keeping them separate from the draftable cards. Restore the rest of the cards to the cube. Once all cards have been regathered, you’re ready to play again!