Multiplayer Cube Primer Part 2: Getting Started

Part 1 of the Cube Primer

Selecting a Size
For the sake of argument let's say that you're on board with the idea of building a Cube. That's all fine and good but where do you actually start? The first thing that you'll want to assess is the size of your current player pool. The minimum number of cards that a typical Cube should run is usually thought to be 360 cards. This enables it to support exactly one draft pod. For anyone unfamiliar with what a draft pod is, it's simply an 8-man draft group. When you draft at a professional level it will almost always be done in pods of 8 and so that number has been generally accepted to be the norm. I don't recommend running fewer than 360 for that reason alone but you'll certainly need more if your meta is larger than 8 players. Just remember that each player needs 45 cards (3 packs of 15) and so if nothing else you can always fall back on a (N x 45) card Cube where N is the maximum number of expected drafters.

Moving more towards the total cost aspect of building a Cube, I think that it's fairly obvious to everyone that a 720 card Cube is going to cost significantly more than a 360 carder will on average. Your wisest course of action is likely to start small and to slowly build your Cube up over time if desired. You can always purchase or trade for new cards as needed but it's not always easy to downsize without netting a hefty loss overall. Cards are typically only purchased for ~40% of their total value, especially if you're looking for cash, so you don't want to find yourself in a position where you'll be forced to sell some cards immediately after you've acquired them. You'll stand to lose out a lot of money in the process if you do. That is why I highly recommend starting small and slowly building your Cube up as you deem necessary.

Building a List
Now that you've selected your Cube size it's time to plan it out and list its contents. Since this is a fairly complicated process I'll tackle it in a future section of this Primer. For the time being let's merely pretend as though we've settled on the contents of our Cube.

Chip-In
Once your design is complete there's one final consideration to make before you run out and purchase everything yourself. Designing, building and maintaining a Cube requires times, effort and cash. As of right now those burdens are all going to fall squarely on your shoulders. It's equally important to remember that Cubes are designed to be played and enjoyed by groups of people and that a single person has nothing to gain from building the entire thing for him or herself. This is why I recommend that people undertake the project as a group whenever possible, at least to some extent, in an attempt to share the burdens associated with it (namely the cost). How you go about doing that will depend on your comfort level with the people that you play with and your overall relationship with them. You're probably not going to get a casual acquaintance to write you a cheque but your lifelong friends and family are probably willing to chip in a 20-spotter or something if you bring them in on the proposal. This is especially true if some of them are experienced Magic players who're already familiar with the format. While I respect the fact that some people won't feel comfortable trying to split the cost I do what to stress that it's a legitimate option and it's one that I've relied upon many, many times. I find that it's extremely easy to locate enough motivated individuals willing to undertake a group-venture.

Furthermore, I want to stress that money isn't the only resource that you'll be looking to scrounge up at this stage of the process. Physical cards themselves are equally valuable. You don't want random crap for reasons that I explained in Part 1 of this Primer but if people are willing to donate cards that you'd gladly field normally then this is a perfect way to cut costs and save time down the road. A decent rule of thumb is to check if the card is listed in one of my guides. This can be easily accomplished by quoting and/or multi-quoting the first 2 posts in my colored multiplayer guides, typing ctrl + f and then typing the card name to see if it comes up. It's not a perfect solution but if all else fails it's not a bad place to start. Every little bit helps because every free card that you receive at this stage of the process is another buck in your pocket or whatever.

Proxies
This is another subject that I want to tackle early on because it's one that carries a lot of negative connotations in the MTG community. I'm often under the impression that people would rather die than play with proxies. I also get the vibe that some people consider proxy-users to be the lowest scum of the Earth. For the life of me I'll never understand why this is but at the same time I'm not going to waste my breath trying to convince everyone to embrace them. Still, I want to briefly discuss this topic for the people who aren't completely jaded on the topic. I personally believe that you can and should consider proxying a portion of your Cube. You could obvious proxy the entire thing if you were so inclined but I don't think that that's completely necessary. Anyways, I personally see proxying as a way to acquire fair cards that aren't reasonable to acquire otherwise. The best example that I can provide is Rolling Earthquake. The card costs 80 million dollars (trust me, I googled it) because it's old and rare; not because it's overpowered. Still, it's bar-none the best Red card in the vast majority of multiplayer Cubes in my opinion. By proxying this type of card you can gain access to a rare and powerful effect without having to shell out completely unreasonable sums of cash. How heavily you proxy will ultimately boil down to your budget and willingness to use them but I personally use them for cards that cost more than $15.00. Again, I'm not trying to push you into using proxies if you're one of those people who just plain refuses to use them. I just don't see what the big deal is myself. If I can make my Cube more fun and more powerful without breaking my checking account then I'm all for it. You can call frugal, cheap, scum, whatever, I don't really care. No one that I've ever played with has cared if my Cubes have had proxies and I'm not above proxying fun, fair cards that I just plain can't afford. Make of that whatever you will.

Coming Soon
I feel comfortable that I've covered the Whys and Hows of Cubing to the point where I want to start discussion completed Cubes and how you can go about building them and adjusting them yourself. Also, I haven't really decided on how I'll format this thing in the end which is why I'm just putting words on paper for the time being. I'm doing my best to start from the top and work my way down in chronological order using a step by step process whenever possible. For now it's just blocks of text that have my thoughts however. Still, I want to start discussion finished Cubes before I say too much which is why I kept this entry short. Hopefully we can more on to more relevant topics in the near future.

Also, keep the comments coming! They're great at reminding me of things that I may forget to cover otherwise.
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