Art by Chris Rahnconverted to my nostalgia cubelet in March 2025
Built with the sole purpose of preserving the nostalgia around the era I started playing. My journey began during Return to Ravnica, when Innistrad block was already on the shelves and Gatecrash was on the horizon.
While this is certainly personal to each player, I consider my "golden era" of the game to be 2011-2015. As such, this cube focuses on preserving the gameplay of those standard/modern eras with a splash of commander, only including cards printed in standard-legal sets between Magic 2012 and Magic Origins. It also features up to 10 cards first-printed in Commander sets and Conspiracy as well as up to 30 total reprints from the first two Modern Masters sets.
Littered with cards from Pro Tour Top 8 decklists with a splash of otherwise nostalgic or playable cards that didn't get quite as much love, this cube is what I like to think of as my own personal Magic museum. I even utilize basic lands from each of these four nostalgic blocks in this cube. Sol Ring is banned.
This cube's construction was focused primarily on preserving nostalgia around pet cards and a specific era of history rather than prioritizing crisp archetypes, so it is best to think in more general terms while drafting. Aggro, control, and midrange are all extremely viable, but they may look a little different depending on your color(s). With that said, there are still countless subthemes to play around with, especially when you start constructing 2-4 color decks.
| Color | Viable Archetpyes | Subthemes |
|---|---|---|
  | Aggro, Control, Midrange | Counters, Flyers, Humans, Taxes, Tokens |
 | Control, Tempo | Devotion, Flyers, Spellslinger |
 | Aggro, Control, Midrange | Aristocrats, Devotion, Graveyard, Zombies |
 | Aggro, Midrange, Tempo | Burn, Spellslinger, Tokens |
 | Aggro, Midrange | Counters, Devotion, Graveyard, Ramp |
Admittedly one of the simpler sets included in the cube, but home to some extremely powerful constructed cards like Birds of Paradise, Ponder, and the Titans (the original curve-topping big bads when I started).
The spookiest plane we've ever been to. Here, I fell in love with Snapcaster Mage while being blown away by the flavor of transforming cards. I also built my first tribal deck...zombies, of course.
The lesser-loved but similarly sweet set from the Innistrad block. The first product I ever bought was the Monstrous Surprise intro deck, and I also opened my first mythic rare from a Dark Ascension pack.
Significantly less spooky, but not remotely lacking flavor. The miracles deck from Pro Tour Avacyn Restored is easily one of my favorites of all time, and my love for Griselbrand and his greed can't be overstated.
Here started my lasting appreciation for core sets and their simplicity. Not only did this set help me grasp the rules of the game, but the concepts of deckbuilding, synergy, and card evaluation.
If I HAD to pick a favorite all-time set, here it is. The guilds are all so mechanically and flavorfully unique that I still am torn between favorites to this day. I loved overlapping guilds to build 3+ color decks.
The first time I had the privelage of feeling the hype leading up to a new set. While this set felt very Boros for whatever reason, it was awesome seeing each of the other five guilds get more cards.
A widely-hated set that I truly adore. The lore was cool, and there were 10 guilds in a single set! Esper control sparked my enjoyment of control strategies, and Craig Wescoe's Pro Tour final deck is a forever favorite.
The set that redefined what Magic sets could be. This is where I first took an interest in modern as a format, which drastically changed my perspective on power level and card evaluation.
Admittedly a rather forgettable set aside from a few favorites, but this point in time was where I first became a teacher rather than a pupil. Here, I introduced a friend to the game, and it was immensely rewarding.
What an incredible follow up to a setting like Ravnica. Theros is another one of my very favorite settings, and it introduced unique mechanics like enchantment creatures. It was also my very first prerelease.
A set I vividly remember being very excited for. The lore of Xenagos causing chaos and ascending to godhood was fascinating and the introduction of two color gods was mind-blowing.
Much like Born of the Gods, this was a set I was anxiously awaiting. I remember seeing the final five gods spoiled, and enjoying the devotion-ridden Pro Tour. This set inspired me to make a hybrid devotion cube.
A hugely downplayed set in my humble option, and one that was far ahead of its time. While I'll admit some of the coolest cards didn't end up in my cube, Conspiracy inspired so many concepts to follow!
Even in the "golden era" of my Magic journey, there still has to be a least favorite set. This is it. However, I will say I genuinely enjoyed the additions this set brought to standard at the time.
A phenomenally intricate setting with sweet mechanics, powerful cards, and lots of fixing. Khans shook up standard more than almost any set I can think of, and for that I will always love it. Treasure Cruise is busted.
A lesser-loved year for commander precons, but one that featured some welcome reprints and cool cards. Skullclamp is in contention for my favorite card of all time, and this was where I first got my hands on it.
Another underrated set in my opinion. I fondly recall trading for pieces of my first modern deck, Grixis Delver, and swooning over Gurmag Angler and its massive impact on Pauper constructed.
Dragons are super cool, and that feels like one of the more universal truths of Magic. This was one of the few sets that I was totally invested in the lore, and I will never forget Collected Company's initial splash in modern.
A contender for the set I hold the least nostalgia for, but certainly the set that has brought me the most pack-opening luck. Out of the one pack I ever opened, I pulled a foil Emrakul, worth over $150 at the time!
A spicy change to the typical core set formula that resulted in a ridiculously fun prerelease. I won't say that my Magic experience went downhill from here, but this seemed to mark the end of an era for me.
Not the highest of notes to go out on as this is the tied for the least represented set in the cube, but I do definitely look back fondly on these precons and the many cards they featured, both new and old.