Draft Cubes

A Draft Cube is a curated collection of Pokemon cards, usually between 360 and 720, that players draft from to build decks and play a mini-tournament. Nobody keeps the cards they draft. After the games are done, everything goes back into the cube for next time. Think of it like a board game that happens to use Pokemon cards.

The cube owner is the person who builds and maintains the card pool. They decide which cards are in, which cards are out, and how balanced everything feels. Every draft plays out differently because the card pool is so large that you only see a fraction of it each time. Two drafts from the same cube can feel completely different.

If you're looking for something simpler that uses fresh booster packs instead of a pre-built card pool, check out our Ditto Draft guide.

• Infinitely replayable. No new packs needed. You already own every card in the cube, so you can draft it as many times as you want for zero additional cost.
• Balanced by design. The cube owner controls exactly which cards are in the pool. If something is too strong or too weak, swap it out. You're the game designer.
• Social event. Drafts are best with 6 to 8 friends around a table. It's a whole evening of gaming, not just a quick match.
• Skill-testing. Evaluating cards on the fly, reading signals from what gets passed to you, building a coherent deck from a limited pool. There's a lot of depth here.
• Cost-effective long-term. Buy the cards once, play forever. Compare that to cracking fresh packs every time you want to draft.
• Customizable to your group's preferences. Your playgroup hates energy denial? Cut those cards. Everyone loves big Stage 2 evolutions? Add more. It's your cube.

How big does your cube need to be? Here's the breakdown.

The formula: Players x 3 packs x 15 cards per pack = minimum cards needed. A 360 cube for 8 players means exactly 360 / 8 = 45 cards per player.

This works the same way as MTG cube drafting. Here's the step-by-step.

1. The cube owner shuffles the entire cube thoroughly.
2. Deal cards into "packs" of 15 cards each. Every player gets 3 packs.
3. Everyone opens their first pack at the same time.
4. Each player picks ONE card from their pack and places it face-down in their personal draft pile.
5. Pass the remaining 14 cards to the player on your LEFT.
6. Pick one card from the pack you just received, then pass the rest left.
7. Continue until all cards from pack 1 are drafted.
8. Open pack 2. This time, pass to the RIGHT. Alternating direction prevents one player from always feeding the same neighbor.
9. Open pack 3. Pass LEFT again.
10. After all 3 packs, each player has 45 cards. Build a 40-card deck using your drafted cards plus unlimited basic energy provided by the cube owner.

The Ditto Evolution rule applies here, same as in Ditto Draft and Pack Battles. Check out our Pack Battles guide for a full explanation of how it works.

Pokemon (about 45-50% of the cube)

Include a healthy mix of Basic, Stage 1, and Stage 2 Pokemon. You can include complete evolution lines, or lean on the Ditto rule so players don't need exact evolutionary matches. Make sure you have a variety of types represented, and don't make any single type overpowered compared to the others.

Trainers (about 30-35%)

Draw supporters like Professor's Research, Iono, and Boss's Orders. Items like Rare Candy, Ultra Ball, and Switch. Stadiums for variety. Include staples that every deck wants, plus some niche cards that reward players who commit to specific strategies.

Energy (about 15-20%)

Special energy cards only. Basic energy is provided separately by the cube owner and doesn't go in the cube itself. Include cards like Double Turbo Energy, Jet Energy, and type-specific special energy to give drafters more options.

Power Level

Keep cards at a similar power level. One overpowered card ruins the draft because whoever opens it has a massive, unearned advantage. If a card is way above or below the average, cut it.

A balanced cube is a fun cube. Here's how to get there.

• Equal type representation. Roughly the same number of Fire, Water, Grass, Lightning, Psychic, and other types. Nobody should feel locked out of a type because there aren't enough cards for it.
• Build-around anchors. Each type should have at least 2 to 3 strong Pokemon that make you want to draft that type. These are the cards players get excited about.
• Avoid narrow cards. Don't include too many cards that only work in one hyper-specific archetype. Flexible cards make for better drafts.
• Enough draw supporters. Make sure there are enough draw and search cards so every drafter can build a deck that actually functions. Nothing feels worse than a deck that never draws what it needs.
• Solo test drafts. Draft all 8 seats yourself. Build the best deck from each seat. If the decks are roughly equal in power, your cube is in good shape.
• Keep a cut/add list. After every draft night, note which cards never got picked and which cards felt too strong. Swap them out before next time.

Before the Draft

Shuffle the cube thoroughly (riffle shuffle at least 7 times). Prepare basic energy piles with at least 20 of each type. Have extra sleeves on hand in case anyone needs them. Clear a big table.

During the Draft

Use a 20-minute timer for deck building after the draft. Play Swiss rounds, which is the standard tournament format. Three rounds works perfectly for 8 players. Each round is best of 1 to keep the event moving at a good pace.

After the Draft

All drafted cards go back into the cube. That's the whole point. Update your cut/add list based on how the games played out. What felt too strong? What sat in sideboards all night?

Prizes

The winner gets bragging rights, obviously. Some cube owners provide prize packs to sweeten the deal. A popular option is the "rare redraft," where the rarest cards from the draft go into a pool and the winner picks first, second place picks second, and so on. Totally optional, but it adds stakes.

Can't get everyone in the same room? No problem. Here are tools that make remote cube drafting possible.

When drafting, you'll naturally gravitate toward one of these strategies. A well-built cube supports all of them.

Want to explore all the alternative formats? Check out our unofficial formats overview.