Thursday October 15th, 2025 – Sunday October 19th, 2025
Madison, Wisconsin


Thursday – Coverage


Regular+
One of the most frustrating things in the current era of judging, aside from the breakneck pace at which sets are released, is the emergence of "Regular+" REL. A strange, made up REL that combines the TO's desired elements of both regular and competitive. An irritating byproduct of this is that each organizer has a different definition of Regular+. Oftentimes cEDH events are run this way and many of the MagicCon cup events are also run this way. Why am I talking about this? Well, as it turns out, Cubecon, is also run this way. The Cubecon definition of Regular+ is that we're using IPG fixes, but not issuing any warnings, game losses or match losses. I think this feels incorrect, because the IPG handles missed trigger and Hidden Card Error very punitively, and doesn't fit the overall vibe of Cubecon. I think in future years, i think it might be better if only top 64 was run at Comp, while the rest of the days should probably just be run at regular.

Draft 1 - The Ball Pit


This Cube is Balls
I think Cubecon is likely one of the few events I can tolerate being on coverage, because the games are just so darn interesting. Many cubes have funky custom rules and unique interactions that can really generate some neat rules questions. For this one in particular, any card could be cast face-down as a Chromatic Sphere. This raised a lot of interesting questions, the first of which was, at the end of the game, is each player required to reveal all face-down permanents they control? As per CR 708.9, technically they have to, however it certainly feels like a strange application of the rule. I managed to find the cube designer spectating outside the coverage area, and asked them what their intent was. They told me that they weren't having players reveal all Spheres at the end of the game, so I decided to rule in this way as well.

No Double-Dipping
AP controls a Chromatic Sphere and is casting Kappa Cannoneer, can they both tap it for improvise, and also sacrifice it to create {U}? No. Improvise allows AP to tap artifacts to pay for {C} for spells. notably this is done during the payment portion of casting the spell. (CR 702.126) If AP wants to use it to produce blue, they must sacrifice it before making payments when they are allowed to activate mana abilities. (CR 601.2g)

Steely Solutions
AP casts Darksteel Colossus as a Chromatic Sphere. Then later on the in game, they use its ability to sacrifice it for mana. Will it be shuffled into AP's library? No, replacement effects must exist before the event they're replacing, and unlike triggered abilities they don't look back in time. (CR 614.4) By the time Darksteel Colossus has its abilities, it's already in AP's graveyard, and it's replacement effect won't do anything. Notably this is different than say, if an Emrakul, the Aeon's Torn was a Chromatic Sphere and went to the graveyard. Because it has a "when this is put into the graveyard from anywhere" trigger, this ability checks after Emrakul is put into the graveyard, and not before, meaning it will trigger. (CR 603.10)

The Source of the Issue
AP controls Sunken Citadel, and has Drownyard Temple in their graveyard. Can they use Sunken Citadel to pay to return Drownyard Temple from their graveyard to the battlefield? Yes. Land sources refers to anything that is a land, either on the battlefield or elsewhere. (CR 109.2c)

Draft 2 - Chicago Cube Cheese Draft


This Event is Cheesy
Once again I was in charge of "The Cheese Cube". However unlike last year I knew what was up and was ready to run a draft where the winner gets a bunch of cheeses, as well as a custom cutting board to arrange them upon. The cube for this event is always the Chicago Cube and oftentimes the draft is seeded with minor celebrities. Unfortunately our coverage setup was down all Thursday, which meant we didn't get to really broadcast our star-studded draft, nor did we get to show the delicious dairy cornucopia on Twitch. The Chicago Cube doesn't really have any funky rules, it just feels like a powerful cube with good cards in it.

Explosive Rebirth
AP casts Niv Mizzet Reborn and reveals Brutal Expulsion, can they get it as an UR spell? No. Devoid means that Brutal Expulsion has no colors, and therefore doesn't fulfill Niv Mizzet's requirements. (CR702.114a)

Gon't in a Flash
AP casts Gonti, Lord of Luxury and exiles a card from NAP's library, however they add it to their hand by accident. Normally this isn't an issue, because oftentimes AP and NAP aren't using the same sleeves, however because it's cube, they were. The players called me over and explained the situation, I was about to check the deck photos on Hedron Network, when AP revealed a Leyline Binding from their hand. AP was playing Grixis, so it was fairly clear this was the Gonti card. NAP agreed, so there was no need to check the decklists after all. If this was at Comp REL and the players were playing the same sleeves, I feel like I'd still like to review the list and get the correct card in exile. If there's too much overlap or the players are playing a mirror I think there's an argument for HCE. There is a temptation to only allow NAP to select cards that are in their deck, but this could inadvertently give AP information about what NAP is not playing, which could be problematic. So I think we'd just HCE the whole hand. It's quite awkward though. (IPG 2.3)

Friday - Coverage


Draft 1 - Pioneer Showcase


Showcasing Recent History
Notably for Friday the prize structure changed. Previously it had been 20 tix for participation and 10tix per win, but because there weren't 5 tix denominations, this meant if a draw happened, it was very difficult to figure out what to do with the tix. It was changed so that it was instead, 10 tix for participation and 20 tix per win. Something to always keep in mind on Coverage is where the cameras are and to avoid stepping in front of them. For the draft portions we had a featured drafter, and it was very important for me to avoid walking in front of the camera. Another thing I had to keep in mind was to avoid leaning in too closely to the coverage matches, a few times throughout the stream you can see my face on the edge of the screen, which is super rude to the player and very embarrassing for me.

Draft 2 - Alternate History Vintage Cube


Historical Significance
Last year I wrote up a report about Cubecon and went over in meticulous detail a reasonable way to instruct the players to shuffle the cube when they received it. This year when I attempted to guide them through the shuffling process the players pushed back saying that the new shuffling hotness was something called a "Broadcast Shuffle" wherein everyone shuffled a chunk and then distributed their chunk into 7 piles which would then be distributed out by a designated dealer once all chunks were in. This was supposed to shuffle the Cube better than the other method of "mash twice, pass to the left". Since there was a lot of buy-in for broadcast shuffles, I allowed the first few cubes to do it, however when I got to my third cube the players seemed unaware of this method. I determined that while Broadcast Shuffling might be better, it was pretty confusing for people new to the process, and thus for the rest of the event I just did the pass left shuffle instead. Another interesting thing about this cube was the fact that the packs were 16 cards, I didn't check the label before starting the players off and felt quite silly when one of the players had to remind me about the pack size. Always check the sticker on the cube box for special rules!

Spew Fire
AP casts Firespout for {R}{R}{G} and NAP casts Twincast, choosing to copy it, when the copy resolves, what will it do? Nothing, since no mana was spent to cast the copy. (CR 707.10)

Saturday - Coverage


Draft 1 - The Ball Pit


It's Just So Baller
We ran this Cube again on Saturday because it was mechanically very interesting, and because the stream wasn't working on Thursday, so we didn't actually get any of it on Coverage. Unfortunately between Thursday and Saturday all the tokens had gone missing from the cube (don't worry, they were later recovered from lost and found)! So I got to work drawing tokens for coverage. I wish I had brought a set of custom tokens or something to use instead. It's something I might consider for next year.

Superior Payment
AP controls Chief Engineer and casts Myr Superion by tapping two Chromatic Spheres, is this legal? Yes, Myr Superion only puts a restriction on the type of mana spent to cast it, however it doesn't care if other methods are used to cast it in lieu of spending mana.

A-round the Zones
AP controls a Chromatic Sphere that is actually a face-down Blightsteel Collosus, if they flicker it, does it come back face up or face down? It will come back face-up, since it will go into exile face up unless otherwise specified, and will enter the battlefield face up unless otherwise specified. (CR 708.9, CR 406.3, CR400.7)

Draft 2 - Control Cube


Covering Your Bases
Something I set out to do this year was to spend more time tracking various parts of games on coverage. A weakness of mine is catching play errors while watching matches, and I wanted to work hard on rectifying that. I decided to keep a notepad that marked life total changes, and whether each player had drawn or played a land for turn. While I didn't end up doing it for every game, it did help a few times and enabled me to catch a few unintentional double-land drops.

Snappy Return
AP casts Snapcaster Mage on Fire//Ice, how much will it cost AP to cast Ice? {1}{U}. First AP puts the spell on the stack, at which point it only has the characteristics of Ice, then they determine costs, as the cost of Ice is {1}{U}, Snapcaster Mage gives it a flashback cost of {1}{U}. (CR 709.3b, CR 601.2)

A Delver by Any Other Name
So, little known fact about me (or well known, depending on how much you interact with me) is that while I don't get to play paper magic very often, when I do, I play Delver of Secrets. Specifically, Delver of Secrets in Modern with Flame of Anor, which is actually quite a sick combo until you realize that Insect Horror isn't Wizard. However, all my time playing jank has finally paid off, since I was able to prevent someone from getting two modes off Flame of Anor while they controlled Insectile Aberration.

Draft 3 - Vistas Unventured


Unventured for a Reason
This cube was kind of interesting because it was a "Desert Cube" a term I learned means "a cube where you have to draft all your lands", except each player started with a packet that contained Prismatic Vista and one of each basic land. The cube itself seemed to be designed so every player could play five color stuff. I'm not sure if it was fun to play but it sure wasn't fun to watch. Every game was just a slog fest of pile-of-goodstuff against other-pile-of-goodstuff. The highlight was when AP asked me whether they could refer to their deck photo during their game. I figured this was outside notes, and said they could not.

Cascading Cacophany
AP controls Laelia, the Blade Reforged and casts Violent Outburst, flipping over three cards. How many +1/+1 counters will be put on Laelia, the Blade Reforged? Three, Cascade qualifies each card flipped as a separate event, since the game handles them as flip, check to see if you keep flipping, if yes, restart the process. (CR 702.85)

Collector's Quandry
AP controls Conspiracy Unraveler and has Radical Idea in their graveyard. Can AP cast it from their graveyard using its Jump-Start ability and choosing to collect evidence instead of paying mana? Yes. Jump-Start is an additional cost, not an alternative one, whereas Conspiracy Unraveler grants an alternative cost. (CR 702.133a, CR 701.59) More interestingly, can AP cast Radical Idea if they have no other cards in their graveyard, and exile the card they discard to Jump-Start for collect evidence? No. While normally AP would be able to do this, since costs are paid in any order, the CR specifically mentions that if AP doesn't have sufficient cards in their graveyard, they can't choose to pay the alternative cost in the first place. (CR 701.59b)

Sunday - Coverage


Draft 1 - Old Border Foil


Old Dogs, New Problems
At the end of the draft AP let me know they had an extra card, and another player let me know they were missing a card. Neither player could really recall when the error had happened, so after consulting with the HJ we just left the pools as-is.

Draft 2 - MTGO Vintage Cube


An Ending to Remember
Cubecon's Top 8 always uses the Modo Vintage Cube to close out the event. It's also quickly becoming tradition that this draft is called. I think the called draft gives this last draft a real feeling of finality and prestige.

...In Conclusion
Cubecon is a bit of a scrappy event run by less experienced, but passionate organizers. This means that oftentimes a lot of stuff isn't as polished as it is at some other events. This also means that oftentimes there is a lot of complaining about this or that around the dinner table. Something I'm noticing more lately is a lack of feedback culture in the program. One of the things I used to really value about the program, was how much people encouraged others to give and receive feedback. Lately I feel like a lot of that has fallen by the wayside and been replaced instead by a much more toxic habit of complaining to a friend circle, and never actually getting the feedback to the person or organization its about. I think for a while I got a little sucked into this culture, after all we all desire to connect with others, and when the method of connecting is complaining about co-workers, then you're inclined to do that to fit in. Recently, though I decided to really push back on that, whenever people complain to me about other judges I make it a point to ask when that feedback will be delivered to the judge it's about. I think you only "earn" the right to complain about others if you've already given them the feedback. I would be very frustrated if I was doing something wrong and everyone in the program knew about it except me! I know there is more nuance to this, some people take feedback very poorly, or only take feedback from certain people, but I think if we all put just a little more effort to getting feedback where it needs to go, the program might end up in a more healthy and honest place.