One of Magic’s best features as a game is its near-limitless flexibility. Once you know the core rules, you can experience them in a huge number of ways. Whether it’s a straightforward duel in Standard or Modern, a cooperative match in Two-Headed Giant, or a more relaxed social experience in Commander, Magic has you covered. For some, though, even all of these options aren’t enough. That’s where unofficial MTG formats, like the up-and-coming Sharpie Cube, come into play.
What Is The MTG Sharpie Cube Trend?
Sharpie Cube is a concept that has existed in MTG communities for a while, but it’s only just starting to get widespread attention now. The basic idea is to take a selection of cards, ideally cheap bulk commons and uncommons, and alter them by using a Sharpie to remove sections of their text. A blasphemous thought to many of you reading, I’m sure. Using this method, however, unplayable draft chaff can become immensely powerful.
Take the examples above, shared by NarukamiKnight on Twitter. Gimli, Counter of Kills goes from a clunky attrition creature to a card that can deal lethal damage as soon as one opposing creature dies. All thanks to a few sneaky cuts and the addition of the “Twenty-one!” from the flavor text. That’s right: in the Sharpie Cube world, flavor text carries the same weight as rules text. Naturally, this has major implications. Any card with ‘storm’ in the flavor text suddenly gains access to one of Magic’s most broken mechanics, to give just one example.
The aim of Sharpie Cube, then, is to create the most powerful cards possible using this one simple tool. Well, that and to create the funniest cards possible as well. Not every card can gain a direct power update through the magic of Sharpie, but many can become nonsensical designs that put even Un-sets to shame. Take NarukamiKnight’s Quickbeam, which can give your creatures “a nickname, of course.” Or their Goblin Fireleaper (right of the top left above), which I’ll let you read for yourself.
The combined result of all this is a fascinating mini-format. Depending on the ingenuity of the Sharpie-holder, different cards can rise and fall in terms of power level, and new inside jokes can be forged. In that sense, it’s not all that different from Commander: an ideal format for Magic’s primal home, the kitchen table.
The Kitchen Table Spirit
Casual Magic isn’t discussed very often, but it is an undeniably important facet of the game. On one hand, Sharpie Cube is a fun way to make use of all the bulk that every Magic player gradually accumulates over time. On the other, it’s a celebration of creativity and the DIY spirit that has kept countless players, those unconcerned with tournaments or competitive glory, invested for years.
Sharpie Cube is an unsanctioned format. More than that, it’s a format that every player creates for themselves when they set out to build one. This is true of all Cubes, of course, but Sharpie Cubes are unique in a different way. It’s not just the cards themselves that vary, but the modifications on those cards too. It’s fascinating, and seeing the different examples of tweaked cards in the comments below NarukamiKnight’s post really got my Game Designer juices flowing.
Vandalizing your cards may seem ridiculous, especially to those in the habit of sleeving every last common they own. It’s actually not a terribly far-fetched concept though. Wizards has experimented with similar ideas in the recent past with Unfinity’s Sticker mechanic. Granted, that didn’t end particularly well, but it was an admirable attempt to introduce a degree of personalization into the game.
Does this mean we should expect to see an officially sanctioned version of Sharpie Cube at some point in the future? I highly doubt it. It’s interesting to think about, though. Formats like Commander and Pauper started out as fan variants that eventually built up enough steam to get official recognition. Who’s to say the same can’t happen again? As unlikely as it seems, Sharpie Cube embodies a lot of what makes Magic great at its heart, and the community spirit that has kept said heart beating for over 30 years.
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