It's 2026. Artificial intelligence is now an integral part of our lives. Attention spans are ever shorter. Everything goes through social media, through reels. Magic is played online, on Arena, where Spiderman fights Sephiroth.
But there are some dinosaurs who seem not to have noticed any of this. Dinosaurs who wrote and still debate on forums created 15 years ago, and who wrote so much that they became friends without even knowing what the person on the other side of the screen looked like. And on the second weekend of January 2026, eight* of these dinosaurs booked an Airbnb in Crema to meet and play Magic.
But also to chat some nonsense, eating Lupo Alberto candies. Or to talk about anime and religion over sushi, or philosophy and mathematics over a piadina. In short, essentially to eat, but playing Magic between meals.
This is the report of the Cube Draft held at the fourth Metagame gathering, in which I (Rancore), Alvoi, Junius Halsey, il meglio emilio, Deugemo, Lombi, Fillo94, and Riot participated. The latter, unfortunately, only joined us the next day, so only the first seven participated in the draft. I brought the Cube, barely containing a wide grin from the excitement of finally being able to draft it.
*It was supposed to be nine, because ArabicLawrence was also with us. But the flu got him, and he was never heard from again. (No, poor guy, he told us well in advance)
The Cube
My Cube is what is normally defined as a Legacy+ Cube, which is a Cube containing cards legal in Legacy, with a few exceptions (e.g., banned cards like Deathrite Shaman, Lurrus of the Dream-Den, etc.). You can find the list here.
Although the list is quite similar to classic Legacy Cubes, such as the Dekkaru Cube, an important difference in my list is the greater focus on synergies rather than individually powerful cards (#Caleb Gannon life master, with his Powered Synergy).
In particular, in this Cube you won't find classic staples like Gaea's Cradle, Tinker, Oko, Thief of Crowns, Forth Eorlingas!, or Barrogoyf, and it lacks typical Legacy-level mana accelerators such as Grim Monolith, Mana Vault, or Mox Diamond. Instead, I went deep with synergies. For example, in this Cube you can return Elvish Visionary to your hand with Wirewood Symbiote to untap Priest of Titania, tutor Cauldron Familiar and Witch's Oven with a single Brightglass Gearhulk, or repeatedly cast spells from the graveyard with Dreadhorde Arcanist to trigger all your Prowess creatures or the Monastery Mentor/Cosmogrand Zenith pair.
Of course, there are still individually high-power level cards, such as Nadu, Winged Wisdom (this is a Chekhov's gun, watch out!) or Upheaval (another Chekhov's gun!). But the main philosophy is that these should be considered interesting build-arounds and not constitute the majority of the list.
Below is a non-exhaustive list of possible archetypes:
Mono W Aggro: This is a classic. In general, I tend to support aggro heavily in the Cube, because it naturally lends itself to keeping "over the top" archetypes like Upheaval in check.
Azorius Spellslinger: supported by cards like the already mentioned Monastery Mentor/Cosmogrand Zenith, but also Clarion Spirit, Stormchaser's Talent, and the pair Abhorrent Oculus and Helping Hand.
Mono U Artifacts: Personally, I love Simulacrum Synthesizer and Urza, Lord High Artificer. The archetype therefore aims to play big artifacts and create enormous tokens. At the same time, it aligns perfectly with Upheaval, with redundancy in Cyberdrive Awakener (a very strong and undervalued card!)
Mono B Zombie/Aristocrats: Classic Reanimator does not exist in this Cube and has been replaced with a soft Reanimator with a Zombie subtheme, which aims to combo off with Gravecrawler/Forsaken Miner + Warren Soultrader or Phyrexian Arena, or with a Persist creature (like Putrid Goblin) plus something like Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit or Metallic Mimic.
Mono R Spellslinger: Classic archetype. Cori Steel Cutter, Monastery Swiftspear, Dreadhorde Arcanist, Emberheart Challenger, MiniChandra (Chandra, Acolyte of Flame) and many other cards reward the player who manages to build a low-curve deck with many instants/sorceries. If you've never closed with Monstrous Rage on Arcanist reanimating Monstrous Rage, you don't know what you're missing!
Rakdos Artifact Reanimator: As a subsection of red, Goblin Welder, Goblin Engineer, and the two Darettis encourage discarding large artifacts and reanimating them quickly, potentially as early as turn 2.
Elves: Obviously mono-green as their skin, elves populate the green section of the Cube (with 26 creatures out of 43 green ones). The archetype consists of playing many small creatures until an Allosaurus Shepherd, Craterhoof Behemoth, or even a simple Finale of Devastation for X=10 arrives to close out the game.
Lands: The second green archetype is centered around lands. Between closers like Titania, classic lines like Strip Mine + Icetill Explorer/Badgermole Cub, and famous combos like Dark Depths + Thespian Stage/Mirage Mirror/Shifting Woodland, this is one of the potentially strongest archetypes, but also one of the most difficult to pilot correctly.
Nadu combo: Although Shuko or Lightning Greaves are missing, Nadu, Winged Wisdom is always lurking. The Cube has several 1-cost equipments that equip for just one mana, but often a Quirion Ranger and a Wirewood Symbiote are enough to create insurmountable card advantage.
Splinter Twin: Do I really need to explain this one?
Thopter Foundry + Sword of the Meek: This classic combo is present in the Cube and aligns perfectly with the artifact subtheme in blue.
Samwise Combo: for all those who love bringing Cauldron Familiar back from the graveyard
Birthing Pod/Birthing Ritual: Not a true archetype per se, but these two build-arounds are among the most fun cards to build a deck with and provide consistency to the numerous creature-centric combos (e.g., Persist).
(Attention! If you also want to experience the thrill of drafting this Cube, you can do so here, editor's note)
The Draft
On the morning of the draft, the Airbnb kitchen table is covered with playmats. While we wait for everyone to wake up, we shuffle the 450 cards of the Cube and build 21 "packs" of 15 cards each. Starting with me and going clockwise, the table order is: Rancore, Junius, Deugemo, Lombi, Alvoi, Fillo94, and il meglio emilio. We decide that, being seven, we will not play best-of-three matches as usual, but single "best of one" games: although the former would be more fun (as well as classic), single games allow us to rotate more quickly, reducing the burden of the bye.
Shortly after 9 AM (or maybe 10 AM?) we started opening packs.
Of course, I cannot know how others' drafts went; therefore, I will recount what I remember from my draft (unfortunately, I remember less than I could, since I am writing this report just over a month after the gathering).
In the first pack, I found myself facing a difficult choice. The strongest card in the pack was Psychic Frog, but Nadu, Winged Wisdom was also in the pack. Now, those unfamiliar with Cube Draft might think that Psychic Frog, however strong, doesn't even come close to the level of the multi-banned Nadu. However, you must remember that in draft, you don't know what will be passed to you or if someone else at the table will snatch away the essential pieces of your deck. Worse yet, playing a 450-card Cube with 7 players, only 315 cards will be drawn (15x3x7): this means that the best cards for Nadu might not even be in the pool! In short, as strong as it is in a deck specifically built around its ability, it's certainly not first-pick material. Frog, on the other hand, is notoriously first-pickable, even in Vintage Cube.
And indeed, I pick Nadu. Junius thanks profusely, seeing Frog arrive as his second pick.
No offense to limited professionals, but Nadu is an archetype I had never tried, and I was curious to see how it performed.
Too bad the draft didn't go as I hoped. After picking Naud, green started to dwindle, and I quickly moved towards Azorius Artifacts, also due to a Fractured Identity arriving as a second or third pick.
Shortly after, one of my favorite cards, as well as one of the Cube's individually strongest cards, also arrived: Strip Mine.
I proceeded with a rather unclear first pack: Nettlecyst and Relic of Sauron seemed to indicate that artifacts were not being heavily drafted, but apart from a Mox Opal that returned after the first eight picks, I saw almost nothing table. On the other hand, it seemed that green had opened up a bit, and I managed to pick up a couple of mana dorks.
I remember the second and third packs less. I only know that the draft continued oscillating between the two archetypes: sometimes artifacts seemed open, other times I was passed green cards functional to the Nadu deck (like Quirion Ranger). I am quite sure that the first pick of pack 2 was a Tamiyo, Inquisitive Scholar, which fit perfectly with both themes.
I concluded the draft with a deck that is a strange mix of two archetypes. Nadu with only one true enabler in Lavaspur Boots, Artifacts with only one finisher in Cyberdrive Awakener (which loves all the Clues created by Tamiyo and Lonis). I feel like in the days of Twinning End, the mix between Splinter Twin and Living End.
The positive thing about the deck is that many cards are individually strong. In fact, I have several of the best cards in the Cube: Tamiyo, Fractured Identity, Strip Mine, Hexdrinker, Swords to Plowshares, Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd, Relic of Sauron, Remand. These are all cards that, even on their own, can put the opponent in serious difficulty or create a huge advantage in terms of tempo and mana.
The Decks
Rancore (Final result 5-1-0)
Bant Nadu
- 1 × Birds of Paradise
- 1 × Cyberdrive Awakener
- 1 × Fyndhorn Elves
- 1 × Glen Elendra Archmage
- 1 × Hexdrinker
- 1 × Lion Sash
- 1 × Lonis, Cryptozoologist
- 1 × Nadu, Winged Wisdom
- 1 × Noble Hierarch
- 1 × Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd
- 1 × Porcelain Legionnaire
- 1 × Quirion Ranger
- 1 × Scrapwork Mutt
- 1 × Sicarian Infiltrator
- 1 × Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student
- 1 × Daze
- 1 × Miscalculation
- 1 × Remand
- 1 × Swords to Plowshares
- 1 × Fractured Identity
- 1 × Lavaspur Boots
- 1 × Nettlecyst
- 1 × Relic of Sauron
- 1 × Talisman of Curiosity
- 4 × Forest
- 3 × Island
- 1 × Breeding Pool
- 1 × Ketria Triome
- 1 × Misty Rainforest
- 1 × Perilous Landscape
- 1 × Plains
- 1 × Raffine's Tower
- 1 × Strip Mine
- 1 × Temple Garden
- 1 × Zagoth Triome
I've talked enough about my deck, so I'll just tell a couple of anecdotes from the games. Although it may seem like boasting, I really didn't believe I could come first, and I'm very convinced that my knowledge of the Cube contributed to this result.
For example, against Junius, I played a beautiful and very close game, won only because I knew exactly what counters were in the Cube (and therefore knew he had run out at some point) and because... well, he forgot that Upheaval is not an instant.
Against Alvoi (I think, I might be wrong) I played one of the oldest Cube strategies: Hexdrinker level 8, with protection from everything.
Before playing against il meglio emilio, we talked about how strong his Icetill Explorer was. So, when in doubt, I exiled it with Fractured Identity, making a copy of it. And remember that Strip Mine I picked? There you go.
I lost to Deugemo. I only remember that I couldn't understand anything anymore from all the triggers he had.
Nadu comboed off a couple of times, but I don't remember against whom. Repeatedly equipping Lavaspur Boots to draw a billion cards is a sensation that must come close to what drug users feel for the first time...
Deugemo (Final result 4-2-0)
Four Color Midrange
- 1 × Ajani, Nacatl Pariah
- 1 × Badgermole Cub
- 1 × Bristly Bill, Spine Sower
- 1 × Deep Forest Hermit
- 1 × Esper Sentinel
- 1 × Jacked Rabbit
- 1 × Kitchen Finks
- 1 × Laelia, the Blade Reforged
- 1 × Loran of the Third Path
- 1 × Nissa, Resurgent Animist
- 1 × Omnath, Locus of Creation
- 1 × Phyrexian Metamorph
- 1 × Restoration Angel
- 1 × Scythecat Cub
- 1 × Shardless Agent
- 1 × Soulherder
- 1 × Elspeth, Sun's Champion
- 1 × Teferi, Hero of Dominaria
- 1 × Wrenn and Six
- 1 × Ephemerate
- 1 × Council's Judgment
- 1 × Opposition
- 1 × Parallax Wave
- 1 × Assimilation Aegis
- 3 × Forest
- 2 × Island
- 1 × Breeding Pool
- 1 × Contaminated Landscape
- 1 × Indatha Triome
- 1 × Jetmir's Garden
- 1 × Mountain
- 1 × Plains
- 1 × Sacred Foundry
- 1 × Shattered Landscape
- 1 × Shifting Woodland
- 1 × Tranquil Landscape
- 1 × Wooded Foothills
Deugemo decided that all his cards should provide absurd advantage as soon as they are played. Ajani, Nacatl Pariah, the twin Badgermole Cub and Bristly Bill, Spine Sower, Omnath, Locus of Creation, Laelia, the Blade Reforged, Parallax Wave, Teferi, Hero of Dominaria…
The deck's strategy is relatively simple: play piece after piece until the avalanche of card advantage is unsustainable. On the other hand, the combinations between bombs make every game different: if you've never played against the curve Ajani, Nacatl Pariah > Soulherder > Omnath, Locus of Creation, I recommend it.
Wins the "F.I.R.E." award (the design philosophy that brought us Oko and Omnath)
Lombi (Final result 3-3-0)
Jeskai Prowess
- 1 × Bomat Courier
- 1 × Clarion Spirit
- 1 × Dragon's Rage Channeler
- 1 × Malcolm, Alluring Scoundrel
- 1 × Phlage, Titan of Fire's Fury
- 1 × Seasoned Pyromancer
- 1 × Snapcaster Mage
- 1 × Thing in the Ice
- 1 × Young Pyromancer
- 1 × Brainstorm
- 1 × Dismember
- 1 × Fire
- 1 × Incinerate
- 1 × Lava Dart
- 1 × Manamorphose
- 1 × Mystic Confluence
- 1 × Occult Epiphany
- 1 × Chain Lightning
- 1 × Ponder
- 1 × Prismatic Ending
- 1 × Treasure Cruise
- 1 × Stormchaser's Talent
- 1 × Chrome Mox
- 1 × Cori-Steel Cutter
- 1 × Mishra's Bauble
- 3 × Island
- 3 × Mountain
- 2 × Hallowed Fountain
- 1 × Arid Mesa
- 1 × Contaminated Landscape
- 1 × Plains
- 1 × Raugrin Triome
- 1 × Scalding Tarn
- 1 × Stomping Ground
- 1 × Thundering Falls
Lombi drafted a beautiful Spellslinger deck. The twins of this deck are the two Pyromancers (Young Pyromancer and Seasoned Pyromancer). Although not visible in the photo, in some games the deck also played the Thopter Foundry + Sword of the Meek combo, because we leave nothing out.
I award Lombi the "FIRE Award" (in this case, the actual fire of Seasoned Pyromancer discarding Lava Dart to cast it from the graveyard)
Alvoi (Final result 3-3-0)
Wb Aggro
- 1 × Adeline, Resplendent Cathar
- 1 × Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit
- 1 × Basri, Tomorrow's Champion
- 1 × Blade Splicer
- 1 × Guide of Souls
- 1 × Kytheon, Hero of Akros
- 1 × Luminarch Aspirant
- 1 × Metallic Mimic
- 1 × Ocelot Pride
- 1 × Overlord of the Balemurk
- 1 × Steel Seraph
- 1 × Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
- 1 × Tidehollow Sculler
- 1 × Walking Ballista
- 1 × Warden of the Inner Sky
- 1 × The Wandering Emperor
- 1 × Bitter Triumph
- 1 × Mana Tithe
- 1 × Reprieve
- 1 × Unexpectedly Absent
- 1 × Gitaxian Probe
- 1 × Lingering Souls
- 1 × Eater of Virtue
- 1 × Portable Hole
- 10 × Plains
- 1 × Bloodstained Mire
- 1 × Godless Shrine
- 1 × Marsh Flats
- 1 × Mishra's Factory
- 1 × Rishadan Port
- 1 × Swamp
A worthy follower of Thalia, Guardian of Thraben (his avatar on the Metagame forum), Alvoi drafted a nearly White Weenies deck, with a small black splash. The deck is extremely strong, but if you believe it, it could have been even stronger, having been somewhat penalized by the randomization of the Cube, which resulted in significantly fewer white cards than other colors.
That said, the deck essentially has everything: from Guide of Souls + Ocelot Pride, to Mana Tithe and Reprieve, as well as, of course, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben. Too bad about that Jitte stolen by Fillo...
Wins the "Craig Wescoe Award" for the best (and only) White Weenie at the table.
Fillo94 (Final result 2-4-0)
Izzet Artifacts
- 1 × Cityscape Leveler
- 1 × Fear of Missing Out
- 1 × Flametongue Kavu
- 1 × Goblin Engineer
- 1 × Goblin Welder
- 1 × Pia and Kiran Nalaar
- 1 × Pinnacle Emissary
- 1 × Solemn Simulacrum
- 1 × Chandra, Torch of Defiance
- 1 × Daretti, Scrap Savant
- 1 × Abrade
- 1 × Preordain
- 1 × Shatterskull Smashing
- 1 × Fable of the Mirror-Breaker
- 1 × Coveted Jewel
- 1 × Cryptic Coat
- 1 × Portal to Phyrexia
- 1 × Retrofitter Foundry
- 1 × Simulacrum Synthesizer
- 1 × Talisman of Creativity
- 1 × Talisman of Indulgence
- 1 × The Mightstone and Weakstone
- 1 × The One Ring
- 1 × Thran Dynamo
- 6 × Island
- 5 × Mountain
- 2 × Steam Vents
- 1 × Academy Ruins
- 1 × Hedge Maze
- 1 × Polluted Delta
Fillo is not a good Magic player, because he stole all my artifacts.
In fact, he put together an extremely synergistic Izzet deck, with the twins Goblin Welder and Goblin Engineer ready to retrieve huge artifacts from the graveyard. He played Simulacrum Synthesizer and a beautiful 9 other artifacts costing 3+, including The One Ring. Out of spite, he even stole Umezawa's Jitte from Alvoi at the beginning of the draft.
There's just one problem: the deck you see in the photo is not the deck Fillo played. Or rather, not the one he handed me before having to leave before the end of the draft (to our great sadness), for me to complete his games. In fact, from him I received a 52-card deck (?), with something like 25 basic lands (????).
Perhaps this explains the low win record. What is certain is that Junius was not happy to take losses from the updated 40-card version.
We award Fillo94 the "Something's Not Quite Right" Award.
Junius (Final result 2-4-0)
Dimir Tempo
- 1 × Baleful Strix
- 1 × Bitterbloom Bearer
- 1 × Deep-Cavern Bat
- 1 × Forsaken Miner
- 1 × Mulldrifter
- 1 × Psychic Frog
- 1 × Sedgemoor Witch
- 1 × Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER
- 1 × Vendilion Clique
- 1 × Kaito, Bane of Nightmares
- 1 × Censor
- 1 × Counterspell
- 1 × Fatal Push
- 1 × Mana Leak
- 1 × Memory Lapse
- 1 × Opt
- 1 × Snuff Out
- 1 × Spell Pierce
- 1 × Collective Brutality
- 1 × Inquisition of Kozilek
- 1 × Toxic Deluge
- 1 × Upheaval
- 1 × Aether Spellbomb
- 1 × Talisman of Dominance
- 5 × Island
- 5 × Swamp
- 2 × Watery Grave
- 1 × Fabled Passage
- 1 × Seething Landscape
- 1 × Shelldock Isle
- 1 × Undercity Sewers
Junius is my personal great regret of this draft. He drafted a Dimir deck that I thought was very strong, but unfortunately this was not reflected in his final score. In part, Bo1 tends to create these situations.
With a whopping 5 counters and 2 discard spells, the deck is capable of playing draw-go thanks to Vendilion Clique and Bitterbloom Bearer. At the same time, Psychic Frog and Kaito, Bane of Nightmares create a huge advantage if they manage to attack. A shout-out goes to Bitterbloom Bearer and Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER, which proved to be really strong, but also fun to see played against.
As if that weren't enough, if problems were to arise in the late game, Upheaval resolves any stalemate. Of course, if Junius had remembered, against me, that Upheaval is a Sorcery and not an instant, maybe he would have even won.
Wins the "Too Good to Be True and Indeed It Wasn't True" Award.
Il meglio emilio (Final result 2-4-0)
Golgari Lands
- 1 × Aftermath Analyst
- 1 × Blood Artist
- 1 × Dauthi Voidwalker
- 1 × Fauna Shaman
- 1 × Icetill Explorer
- 1 × Joraga Treespeaker
- 1 × Ouroboroid
- 1 × Primeval Titan
- 1 × Reclamation Sage
- 1 × Shriekmaw
- 1 × Six
- 1 × Springheart Nantuko
- 1 × The Gitrog Monster
- 1 × Titania, Protector of Argoth
- 1 × Wight of the Reliquary
- 1 × Grist, the Hunger Tide
- 1 × Crop Rotation
- 1 × Infernal Grasp
- 1 × Finale of Devastation
- 1 × Hymn to Tourach
- 1 × Malevolent Rumble
- 1 × Unearth
- 1 × Exploration
- 1 × Crucible of Worlds
- 5 × Forest
- 3 × Swamp
- 1 × Dark Depths
- 1 × Deceptive Landscape
- 1 × Field of the Dead
- 1 × Glacial Chasm
- 1 × Maze of Ith
- 1 × Thespian's Stage
- 1 × Underground Mortuary
- 1 × Verdant Catacombs
Il meglio emilio only knows how to draft Golgari. It's well-known by now. He has drafted my Cube two other times, both times going Golgari, with excellent results. And since there's no two without three, he went Golgari this time too.
The deck is centered around lands: it plays the Thespian Stage + Dark Depths combo, Field of the Dead, Maze of Ith, Glacial Chasm, and a cute insect called Icetill Explorer, which, along with the latter land, is capable of winning against Alvoi by itself. Crucible of Worlds, The Gitrog Monster, Titania, Protector of Argoth, and Primeval Titan complete the deck, providing enormous redundancy.
The choice to play 15 lands, 3 of which are unable to produce mana, is a bit dubious, but to my knowledge, this has never proven to be a problem during games. Besides, I'm pretty sure emilio has cast Kodama's Reach in Commander so many times that he's still living off the profits.
Wins the "Miss Golgari 2026 Award" (for the third time in a row)
Conclusions
Although not everyone could stay for all three days (sorry Riot!), it was a very fun gathering. The truth is that a week would be needed to play all the formats we wanted to try and to test all the decks we brought, but I'm already extremely grateful that we managed to organize this reunion.
By the way, I speak in the first person plural, but a special thank you goes to Alvoi, who, amidst the chaos of our WhatsApp group, managed to take the reins of organizing and booking the Airbnb.
It's easy nowadays to cry out about the loss of Magic's identity. But the name of the game is Magic: The Gathering, and if the first part of the name is somewhat getting lost, I'm glad there are still dinosaurs who organize to keep the second part alive.
And now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to update the Cube.
