Welcome to the second bonus episode of Cuberviews, the podcast where I sit down with friends to explore the world of Magic: The Gathering cube design! In today's special episode, I am coming to you live from my local game store, Games IRL, during a draft of Garrett Borden's Modern Antiquities Cube, and I'm chatting with the players about the draft, their decks, their favorite cards and interactions, and more. Tune in to hear their insights and stay tuned for more discussions on cube design in future episodes of Cuberviews!
ConnectiCube!ConnectiCube, a 64-person cube event, is happening February 14–15, 2026 at Pack Rat Gaming, just outside Hartford, CT! We'll be featuring lots of amazing local cubes—plus a special guest cube designed by Judge Bones! Join the ConnectiCube Discord for more info: https://discord.gg/2bBRkUb3
Music By Michael Vekstein: https://www.youtube.com/@MichaelJesseMakesMusicModern Antiquities: https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/11rhf
Art By Tyler Reed: Funnylittleguys.com
Previous episode talking about the cube: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4ScezVX0gxyAATEFE5XRb1?si=135d4b53fad44c73
Welcome to the 39th episode of Cuberviews, a podcast where I sit down with friends to explore the world of Magic: The Gathering cube design! Today I am very happy to be joined by Lincoln Davidson to discuss The Penrose Cube, a budget friendly synergistic draft environment with a strong focus on graveyard decks. On today's episode we review topics such as the history and inspirations for the cube, how budget restriction effects card choices, and plenty more. Enjoy the conversation and stay tuned for more insights into the world of cube design in future episodes of Cuberviews!
Exciting announcement!
ConnectiCube, a 64-person cube event, is happening February 14–15, 2026 at Rat Pack Gaming, just outside Hartford, CT!
We'll be featuring lots of amazing local cubes—plus a special guest cube designed by Judge Bones!
Join the ConnectiCube Discord for more info: https://discord.gg/2bBRkUb3Music By Michael Vekstein: https://www.youtube.com/@MichaelJesseMakesMusic
The Penrose Cube: https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/penrose
Welcome to the 38th episode of Cuberviews, a podcast where I sit down with friends to explore the world of Magic: The Gathering cube design! Today I am very excited to be joined by Ryan Saxe to discuss The Buildaround Cube, a highly synergistic cube that encourages creativity, skillful drafting, and putting together pieces of the puzzle. On today's episode we review topics such as how to pick glue cards to flesh out synergistic decks, the cube's modular mystical archive package, and much more. Enjoy the conversation and stay tuned for more insights into the world of cube design in future episodes of Cuberviews!
Also, going forward Cuberviews will follow a bi-weekly schedule.
Music By Michael Vekstein: https://www.youtube.com/@MichaelJesseMakesMusicThe Buildaround Cube: https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/buildaround
Welcome to the 37th episode of Cuberviews, a podcast where I sit down with friends to explore the world of Magic: The Gathering cube design! Today I am happy to be joined by Tim Meyers to discuss the Changeling Cube, a rules modification cube where everyone starts with an emblem that gives their creatures changeling. On today's episode we review topics such as the archetypes and strategies that flourish under this cube's unique design, comparing Tim's cube to my own version of a changeling cube, the inspiration behind the cube, and much more. Enjoy the conversation and stay tuned for more insights into the world of cube design in future episodes of Cuberviews!
Music By Michael Vekstein: https://www.youtube.com/@MichaelJesseMakesMusic
Changeling Cube: https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/change
Every Creature Type Everywhere All at Once: https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/1d5595b9-c0c3-4d06-8cc6-edf3400c8fb1
Welcome to the 36th episode of Cuberviews, a podcast where I sit down with friends to explore the world of Magic: The Gathering cube design! Today I’m thrilled to be joined by Justin Parnell to explore the key design differences between building a cube for your local playgroup and designing one for a large event. On this episode, we cover topics like what makes an archetype shallow or deep, how to design a cube that’s engaging for audiences new to cube, and much more. Enjoy the conversation and stay tuned for more insights into the world of cube design in future episodes of Cuberviews!
Music By Michael Vekstein: https://www.youtube.com/@MichaelJesseMakesMusic
Parnell's Cube: https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/parnellcube
SCGCON $10K Cube: https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/scgconcube
Welcome to the 35th episode of Cuberviews, a podcast where I sit down with friends to explore the world of Magic: The Gathering cube design! Today I am excited to be joined by Max Richards to discuss the Virtually French Cube, a cube based around the core basics of Magic and French vanilla creatures. On today's episode we review topics such as the fun that combat tricks can bring to an environment, the pros and cons of board wipes in lower powered cubes, and much more. Enjoy the conversation and stay tuned for more insights into the world of cube design in future episodes of Cuberviews!
Music By Michael Vekstein: https://www.youtube.com/@MichaelJesseMakesMusicVirtually French Cube: https://www.cubecobra.com/cube/overview/honhonhon
Welcome to the 34th episode of Cuberviews, a podcast where I sit down with friends to explore the world of Magic: The Gathering cube design! Today I am happy to be joined by Anna Schwalenberg to discuss the Ixalan-M20 Standard Cube, a time capsule cube built to emulate the standard format from original Ixalan to M20. On today's episode we review topics such as the top standard decks at the time and how Anna has chosen to recreate them, supporting niche archetypes in cube, including kindred themed micro-packages, and much more. Enjoy the conversation and stay tuned for more insights into the world of cube design in future episodes of Cuberviews!
Music By Michael Vekstein: https://www.youtube.com/@MichaelJesseMakesMusic
Ixalan-M20 Standard Cube List: https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/61a116c5db49f110309fc0d3
Welcome to the 33rd episode of Cuberviews, a podcast where I sit down with friends to explore the world of Magic: The Gathering cube design! Today I am thrilled to be joined by Mia and Beezy of the Nitpicking Nerds to talk about their Nitpicking Nerds Commander Cube, a multiplayer cube focused on fun, balanced gameplay. In this episode, we discuss how commander color identity shapes draft decisions, the impact of drafting three- or four-color commanders, and how that influences deck construction, plus plenty more. Enjoy the conversation and stay tuned for more insights into the world of cube design in future episodes of Cuberviews!Music By Michael Vekstein: https://www.youtube.com/@MichaelJesseMakesMusic
Nitpicking Nerds Commander Cube:https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/167l
Nitpicking Nerds:
https://www.youtube.com/@NitpickingNerds
Welcome to the 32nd episode of Cuberviews, a podcast where I sit down with friends to explore the world of Magic: The Gathering cube design! Today, I am excited to be joined by Joe van den Berg to discuss A Brooding Saga, a unique cube completely centered around the Saga card type. In this episode, we discuss walking the line between a Saga-focused cube and an Enchantress-style build, exploring the wide web of synergies Sagas enable, from sacrifice to blink, how a single card type can anchor an entire environment, and much more. Enjoy the conversation and stay tuned for more insights into the world of cube design in future episodes of Cuberviews!Music By Michael Vekstein: https://www.youtube.com/@MichaelJesseMakesMusic
A Brooding Saga: https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/SagasCube
Welcome to the 31st episode of Cuberviews, a podcast where I sit down with friends to explore the world of Magic: The Gathering cube design! Today I am happy to welcome back Kyle Ferguson to discuss The Control Cube, a cube perfect for players who love counterspells, controlling the board, and holding up interaction. In this episode we discuss topics such as how a cube's macro-archetypes shift when it leans so heavily into a single focus like control, explore the role of removal in an environment without aggro, and much more. Enjoy the conversation and stay tuned for more insights into the world of cube design in future episodes of Cuberviews!
Music By Michael Vekstein: https://www.youtube.com/@MichaelJesseMakesMusic
The Control Cube: The Control Cube - List - Cube Cobra
Welcome to the 30th episode of Cuberviews, a podcast where I sit down with friends to explore the world of Magic: The Gathering cube design! Today I am excited to be joined by Parker LaMascus of Lucky Paper Radio to discuss Pulp Nouveau, a desert-inspired cube with a fascinating twist, players only have access to basic Swamps at the end of the draft. In this episode, we discuss topics such as how color balance in your cube effects draft decisions, how to thoughtfully tie together flavor and archetypes, and much more. Enjoy the conversation and stay tuned for more insights into the world of cube design in future episodes of Cuberviews!
Music By Michael Vekstein: https://www.youtube.com/@MichaelJesseMakesMusic
Lucky Paper Radio: Lucky Paper
Pulp Nouveau Article: Pulp Nouveau — A Tribute to Drafting Basic Lands — Lucky Paper
Pulp Nouveau: Pulp Nouveau - Overview - Cube Cobra
Welcome to the 29th episode of Cuberviews, a podcast where I sit down with friends to explore the world of Magic: The Gathering cube design! Today, I’m joined by Usman Jamil to dive into the art of evaluating new cards for cube, as well as how content creators approach spoiler season and card previews. In this episode we review how different formats such as Commander tackle new card evaluations, the value of revisiting your own past evaluations, and how to sharpen your card assessment skills over time. Enjoy the conversation and stay tuned for more insights into the world of cube design in future episodes of Cuberviews!Music By Michael Vekstein: https://www.youtube.com/@MichaelJesseMakesMusic
Pack One Slick Ones: https://open.spotify.com/show/7oowFWkI4esSo5MEy7yiy4?si=6b658d97b2944440
Usman's Links: https://linktr.ee/usmantherad
Welcome to the 28th episode of Cuberviews, a podcast where I sit down with friends to explore the world of Magic: The Gathering cube design! Today I am joined by Joe Anderson to discuss the different ways you can spice up your cube with unique cards such as conspiracies and draft matters cards. In this episode we review the different ways you can play with Lore Seeker, and explore a wide variety of different draft matters cards such as Canal Dredger, Arcane Savant, and Agent of Acquisitions. Enjoy the conversation and stay tuned for more insights into the world of cube design in future episodes of Cuberviews!
Music By Michael Vekstein: https://www.youtube.com/@MichaelJesseMakesMusic
Joe's Week in Magic: https://open.spotify.com/show/4ve4hqnBdKEWWs4EnpFG37?si=2a4118c538dd4068
Anarchy Cube: https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/joescube
Welcome to the 27th episode of Cuberviews, a podcast where I sit down with friends to explore the world of Magic: The Gathering cube design! Today I am thrilled to be joined once again by May to discuss the Big Spender Micro Cube, a unique rules changed cube where all spells are free to cast, but players must spend treasures to both buy cards out of packs, and activate abilities of permanents. In this episode, we discuss topics such as the fascinating gameplay patterns that emerge from this design, the challenges and benefits of constructing a cube to be played both single player and multiplayer, and much more. Enjoy the conversation and stay tuned for more insights into the world of cube design in future episodes of Cuberviews!Music By Michael Vekstein: https://www.youtube.com/@MichaelJesseMakesMusicBig Spender Micro Cube: https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/bigspender
Uber Cube: https://ubercube.buzzsprout.com/
Welcome to the 26th episode of Cuberviews, a podcast where I sit down with friends to explore the world of Magic: The Gathering cube design! Today I am joined by Max Mayer, also known as FiniteMTG, to discuss the similarities and differences between cube and chaos draft. In this episode we discuss topics such as what aspects of chaos drafting are transferable skills to cube draft, how to construct a cube that feels like chaos draft, and much more. Enjoy the conversation and stay tuned for more insights into the world of cube design in future episodes of Cuberviews!Music By Michael Vekstein: https://www.youtube.com/@MichaelJesseMakesMusicThe Chaos Cube: https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/the-chaos-cubeFiniteMTG: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIWeVqDLQD9C8af_rYJ9IVA
Welcome to the 25th episode of Cuberviews, a podcast where I sit down with friends to explore the world of Magic: The Gathering cube design! Today I am joined by Austin Hale, also known as Judge Bones, to discuss the Museum of Modern, a cube aiming to recreate the feeling of Modern as it was between 2012 to 2018. In this episode we discuss topics such as creating a cube to emulate a specific magic format, why and how to include duplicates in your cube, and much more. Enjoy the conversation and stay tuned for more insights into the world of cube design in future episodes of Cuberviews!
Music By Michael Vekstein: https://www.youtube.com/@MichaelJesseMakesMusic
Museum of Modern: https://www.cubecobra.com/cube/overview/ModernMuseum
Welcome to the 24th episode of Cuberviews, a podcast where I sit down with friends to explore the world of Magic: The Gathering cube design! Today I am joined again by Micah Rahardjo to discuss the Roguelike Cube, a cube inspired by Roguelikes like Slay the Spire. In this episode we discuss topics such as the interesting rules changes utilized to make this cube feel like a Roguelike, the overall gameplay experience of the cube, and much more. Enjoy the conversation and stay tuned for more insights into the world of cube design in future episodes of Cuberviews!Music By Michael Vekstein: https://www.youtube.com/@MichaelJesseMakesMusicRoguelike Cube:
https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/e73d97fa-c999-492d-82d8-df1186e15238
Welcome to the 23rd episode of Cuberviews, a podcast where I sit down with friends to explore the world of Magic: The Gathering cube design! Today I am joined by Andy Mangold of Lucky Paper Radio to discuss the Neoclassical Cube, a (mostly) old border cube that celebrates the spirit of the early days of magic. In this episode we discuss topics such as what makes an old border cube feel unique, Andy's approach to adding newer cards to the cube, and much more. Enjoy the conversation and stay tuned for more insights into the world of cube design in future episodes of Cuberviews!Music By Michael Vekstein: https://www.youtube.com/@MichaelJesseMakesMusicNeoclassical Cube: https://www.cubecobra.com/cube/overview/neoclassicalLucky Paper Radio: https://luckypaper.co/podcast/
Welcome to the 22nd episode of Cuberviews, a podcast where I sit down with friends to explore the world of Magic: The Gathering cube design! Today I am joined by Anthony Mattox of Lucky Paper Radio to discuss Irregular Cube, a masters set level powered cube with a core set of cards, and a rare cards module. In this episode we discuss topics such as the inspiration behind the cube, constructing archetypes around a unifying presence like discard synergy, and much more. Enjoy the conversation and stay tuned for more insights into the world of cube design in future episodes of Cuberviews!Music By Michael Vekstein: https://www.youtube.com/@MichaelJesseMakesMusic
Irregular Cube: https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/irregular-cube
Lucky Paper Radio: https://luckypaper.co/podcast/
Welcome to the 21st episode of Cuberviews, a podcast where I sit down with friends to explore the world of Magic: The Gathering cube design! Today I am joined by May to discuss May's Fae Cube, a beautifully thematic cube that tells the story of parties and adventure throughout the planes of Lorwyn, Eldraine, and Innistrad. In this episode we discuss topics such as identifying power levels in lower powered cube, designing a thematic cube, and much more. Enjoy the conversation and stay tuned for more insights into the world of cube design in future episodes of Cuberviews!
Music By Michael Vekstein: https://www.youtube.com/@MichaelJesseMakesMusic
Fae Cube: https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/fairytale
Uber Cube: https://ubercube.buzzsprout.com/
