Art by Todd LockwoodCloned from CLASSIC CUBE
🥉 Welcome to CLASSIC! 🥉560 Cards · Old Frame · Est. 2019 · Last Updated: 1 Jan 2024
My Other Cubes: 🥇Prime · 🥈Best-of-the-Rest
Nostalgic Aesthetics + Contemporary Design.
Behold! A Cardboard Time Machine to MTG's Golden Age ☀!
My constraint is the '97 Frame (🌴 Mirage – 🐲 Scourge) with a few cards that are even older. No present-day retroframe muddying the waters, only the pre-8th card pool that's no longer expanding.
After years of tuning this environment, I'm quite proud of the outcome. It lets players experience the way Magic used to be. Yet despite the simpler pieces, games feel streamlined by today's standards (thanks to singleton breaks for 1-drops and ample fixing).
I hope you like it 👴 !!
KEY INFO
- ⚖ NO FAST MANA – Broken rocks are excluded, since answers are too weak.
- ✔ NO COMBO – Old-fashioned slugfests are the norm. Synergy is rewarded.
- 👯♀️ SINGLETON BREAKS – Multiple copies of key 1-drops for extra consistency.
- ⛰ MODERN LANDS – To help playability, I use old-framed proxies of modern nonbasics.
- 🤷♂️ LOOSE ARCHETYPES – 90's Magic had no signposts, so decks are more freeform.
- 📷 IRL PICTURES – Check out the physical cards and drafting kit!
ARCHETYPES
1. 
TRADITIONAL CONTROL 🔗 Example Deck
Neuter them with sweepers, counters, defensive removal and control magic while potentially leveraging enchantment recursion.
2. 
REANIMATOR CONTROL 🔗 Example 1 · 2 · 3
Cycle or loot away a finisher, then resurrect it ahead of schedule. Draft the reanimates first!
3. 
BLITZ AGGRO 🔗 Example Deck · 2
The cube's most aggressive creatures and excellent removal, along with recursion tools .
4. 
PONZA MIDRANGE 🔗 Example Deck · 2 · 3
Accelerate into land destruction using your mana elves, while deploying cheap threats. Ensure a critical mass of mana denial cards (8+ ideally), not forgetting those that are lands / artifacts.
5. GO-WIDE MIDRANGE 🔗 Example 1 · 2
Frequently Naya, sometimes Bant. Muster a wide board with tokens, then pump and swing. Early plays are mana elves or tappers usually.
6. REMOVAL-HEAVY CONTROL 🔗 Example Deck · 2
Generate card advantage by destroying their creatures with 2-for-1's and utilize ETBs + recursion engines to dominate the late game!
7. BURN TEMPO 🔗 Example Deck · 2
Beaters and burn to knock down life totals and cheap interaction to control the game.
8. THE ROCK 🔗 Example Deck
Pulverize the opposition with value-heavy plays, resilient threats and stellar removal.
9. WEENIE AGGRO 🔗 Example Deck
A flood of angry one- and two-drops, complemented by anthems and burn.
10. TEMPO MIDRANGE 🔗 Example Deck · 2
Plenty of interaction coupled with robust / evasive beaters and countermagic.
11. 
SPELL-BASED RAMP 🔗 Example 1 · 2
Purge the board with sweepers, while ramping into late-game monsters.
12. MONO WHITE WEENIE 🔗 Example Deck
All about that 1, 2 , 3 aggro curve-out, powered by anthems. Pick mana disruption highly!
13. MONO BLUE CONTROL 🔗 Example Deck
Draw-Go, with copious counter spells, control magics and smugness! Big flyers to mop up.
14. MONO BLACK MIDRANGE 🔗 Example Deck
Plenty removal, fast-paced clocks and recursion. Just don't bleed to death.
15. MONO RED AGGRO 🔗 Example Deck
Maximum speed, maximum consistency, maximum goblins. 20 to 0, you know the drill.
16. MONO GREEN STOMPY 🔗 Example Deck
Bulky threats, ahead of schedule. Very limited interaction, so end things quickly.
TRIVIA
🦁 BASED IN JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
We have a great community of players, many of whom remember playing these cards in Type 2 long ago! The Classic Cube owes its existence to their continued support and enjoyment of the format.
✨ (ALMOST) FULLY FOILED
A absolute thrill to draft in real life. Old-bordered foils are extremely beautiful and playing with exclusively classic framed decks is a joy. Sleeved and sealed in Dragonshield Copper Mattes, to tonally match the brown card back.
📚 DESIGN INFLUENCES
The original design was informed by the following lists: TRK27's Mirage to Apocalypse, darkquarterer's Nostalgic Dreams and blakfishy's Old Border Cube. Thanks to the creators! More recently, I've taken inspiration from Glyptonychus's Middle School Cube. And as always, shout out to Nick from mtgcube.blogspot.com, whose writing helped me understand the importance of tempo in Cube.
🤹♂️ DRAFT WITH US!
If you're in town, definitely get in touch and we'll assemble a pod! Very welcoming to newcomers and crusty veterans alike!
Please consider giving a quick Playtest, I check and comment on every deck! Thanks for looking :) !
Roland 😄