by Mike Rosenberg

What happens to older cards as they become outdated by the ever-changing Constructed formats? Oftentimes they get relegated to trade binders, never to actually be traded. Collectors, eyes glazed with memories of the past, page through these old cards wistfully. Fond recollections of throwing certain Human Paladin allies onto the table, followed by the bellowing of "LEEEEEEEEEEEROY JENNNNNNNNNNNKINSSSS".

Those times are long gone. But a few hardy players, like Kirk Buckendorf, have found a way of bringing out the Scroll of Resurrection for old fan favorites such as these.

Kirk found some unexpected fun in a fan-created format for another card came known as the "Cube". The basis of the Cube format is simple: construct a 500 card set using the greatest hits from the TCG (only one of each card – no doubles!), and then create randomized 15 card packs for players to use in a Booster Draft. It's like playing a regular Booster Draft, except all of the cards are awesome, something that leads to some of the most exciting plays imaginable!

After his first Cube experiences, he started to experiment with creating a Cube for the World of Warcraft TCG as well. In fact, he documented his intentions (and continues to do so) over at Daily Metagame, one of the CZE Affiliate websites online. Thanks to vigorous testing, Kirk found the ideal ratios for how many cards of each type were needed.

How many Alliance and Horde (and Monster) cards should be included in a Cube? How many class abilities make the cut? What about equipment? A very delicate balance is required to create a Cube, but once you find the correct number of each card type you should run, the possibilities for creating a Cube are nearly limitless! Looking to create a greatest hits of old Classic Constructed rares and epics? Sweet. You can do that. Want to give some of the long forgotten epics that never quite made it a chance to shine? Cube lets you do that. Want to revisit a combination of old and new blocks? Cube lets you do that.

Kirk has spent a large amount of time balancing his Cube so that it doesn't favor one faction or the other. You can see his current Cube over in the Daily Metagame forums. If you'd like a starting point, try getting all of the cards together from this list. Once that's done, randomize the cube with shuffling (lots of shuffling), get some friends together, and create three 15 card "packs" each out of the Cube. Do a regular Booster Draft with these packs, and then players can build and play with what they get!

The best part about the Cube is that, once you build the basics, changing things out and trying new cards is easy. Don't like that Spectral Kitten in your Cube? Trade it out for something else and see what happens. Not a fan of having too many aggressive Horde allies like Rosalyne von Erantor? Exchange it for something like Runzik Shrapnelwhiz. Don't quite have the budget to get big hitters like Broderick Langforth? Replace it with some less expensive commons. You can customize the Cube based on your preferences – and your budget.

Are you curious about exploring the Cube format? Be sure to post about your experience in our forums. We'd love to see what fans of the game come up with, and where this idea goes!