The Cube format of the Pokémon Trading Card Game refers to any fan-curated collection of cards, known as a cube, designed to be drafted among itself for play in a Limited format-style environment. Cubes allow for one player to bring a set of cards to a group setting and play with others by constructing decks and playing matches using the cube's contents.
Cubes are built using synergistic cards from one's collection, and often follow a theme such as using Pokémon from the same generation or cards that rely on coin flips. Cubes typically contain cards from all throughout the TCG's history, and they are sometimes supplemented by fan-made cards or cards that are not otherwise playable. A typical cube contains between 240-720 cards, with larger cubes being designed for larger play groups.
The creator of the cube may choose to add additional rules or bend existing ones to create a more fun gameplay experience. For example, some cubes may consider Pokémon Powers and Abilities to be the same mechanic. A common rule is the "mutant" Evolution rule, which allows any Stage 1 Pokémon to evolve from any Basic Pokémon and into any Stage 2 Pokémon that shares its type.
Most cubes have the players construct their decks following a drafting process. In a draft, the cube is divided into randomized "packs" of roughly 15 cards, which are distributed to players and typically drafted in the same manner as a Booster Draft event. Players construct decks using the cards they draft as well as any Basic Energy cards.
Fan sites such as Cube Koga allow users to upload their cube lists for other players to copy or take inspiration from.
Official Hisui Cube
A Pokémon.com article published on April 21, 2025 details an official cube created by The Pokémon Company International.[1] The Hisui Cube is a 540-card cube themed around the Hisui and Sinnoh regions, prominently featuring Pokémon and characters that appear in Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, and Pokémon Legends: Arceus. This cube was built as an example to showcase the flexibility of the format. It features the following unique rules:
- Before drafting, players select an Evolution line themed around a Hisui first partner Pokémon.
- The draft is intended to be performed with 8 players and 40 13-card packs. Once 8 cards are drafted from a pack, the remaining 5 cards are "burned", going unused.
- Players should have 43 cards, plus Basic Energy, to build a 40-card deck. Matches are played with 4 Prize cards.
- Some cards feature minor erratum to make them more flexible. Garchomp's Royal Blades attack's secondary effect activates with any Supporter card with "Cynthia" in its name, and Beginning Door searches for any card with "Arceus" in its name.
Card list
The Hisui Cube contains cards from expansions as old as EX Ruby & Sapphire and as recent as Journey Together.[2]
First partner Pokémon
Multiple copies of each of the below Evolution lines are provided as part of the cube. Before drafting, each player selects one of them and gets a 1-1-1 Evolution line they may include in their deck.
Draftable cards
The Hisui Cube only contains one copy of most cards. If a card is listed multiple times, that many copies of the card are included in the cube.
References
External links
See also
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This article is part of both Project TCG and Project Fandom, Bulbapedia projects that, together, aim to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon TCG and Fandom, respectively.
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