Bar Brawl
(180 Card Cube)
Bar Brawl
Cube ID
Art by Svetlin VelinovArt by Svetlin Velinov
180 Card Budget Cube3 followersDesigned by CurssisRSSQR CodeView in Cube Map
Owned
$0
Buy
$25
Overview

Bring the Magic anywhere you go!

Draft with up to three friends for quick, fun and exciting games, wherever the night takes you.

Rules
  • 180 cards
    • Within the Magic universe
    • No un-cards
    • Under $30 total
  • No additional game pieces
    • No tokens
    • No counters
    • No dice
  • No searching
  • No sleeves
    • No double faced cards
Design Philosophy

This cube is built for versatility and ease of use, ideal for groups of up to 4 players.

Given its compact size, the cube focuses on each color’s core strengths, and solid gameplay fundamentals over dedicated archetypes. Each color pair has a single multicolor card to hint at potential builds without restricting players to a specific strategy.

Non-evergreen mechanics are kept to a minimum, ensuring that 'reading the card explains the card.' Hybrid and modal cards are prioritized to allow the draft to be adaptable and exciting. Choices were also made with combat in mind, keeping it is as dynamic and engaging as possible.

With no extra pieces needed, a low budget, and a compact size, this cube is exceptionally travel-friendly and ready to play wherever you go.

Challenges

Designing a bar cube comes with unique challenges, especially when balancing both budget, versatility, and player agency.

Some mechanics like convoke, sacrifice, and delirium naturally lose some strength under these restrictions, since they often depend on additional game pieces.

With a smaller card set and only four players, many two-color combinations won’t make it to the table, so card selection focuses on versatility over narrow archetypes. Using this approach, each card holds value for more players, supports varied strategies, expands possible plays, and broadens the overall depth of the pool.

This cube could function as a battlebox, while also offering Jumpstart packs as a way to enrich gameplay. Balancing these three goals adds another layer of complexity to the design. It’s an ongoing effort to maintain synergy and fun across all three formats, with limited card slots available.

Acknowledgements

This cube is inspired by other bar cubes such as Bar Cube, as well as the No Nonsense Bar Cube, MKE Bar Cube, and Data-Driven Bar Cube.

For convenience, when a new SET is released, this Scryfall filter makes looking at potential cards much easier:

s:SET -fo:token -fo:shuffle -fo:search -fo:transform -fo:"1 counter" -o:"counter on" -o:"counters on" -fo:"energy count" -fo:"lore count" -is:dfc -is:ub -t:basic game:paper