Last updated on September 1, 2025
Field Research | Illustration by PINDURSKI
I’m not a player who has a favorite Magic format. I love Draft, Sealed, Commander, 60-card formats, even Dandân! I still have Oathbreaker decks sleeved up. I don’t know any Canlander players, else I’d be into that, too.
One of the things I love about Magic is that you can play it in these very different ways, and it’s still excellent in all of them. To me, that’s the biggest reason why it’s the greatest game we have. It’s a robust engine for new ways to play!
I like to draft in a bunch of different ways, so if that’s also you, come along and check out some alternative Draft formats you might not have tried. If you’re more of a classicist when it comes to formats, consider this primarily as a document helping you navigate Draft formats for two nonstandard conditions: booster type and player numbers.
Let’s crack some packs!
What Are Alternative Draft Formats?
Embrace My Diabolical Vision | Illustration by Franz Vehwinkel
Alternative draft formats shift the classic Draft variables: 8 players, three packs, pass right, then left, then right, don’t reveal your cards, and the unwritten rule of all drafts, someone exclaiming: “What’s this still doing in the pack?” sometime around pick six.
The most common reasons to shift are that you want to draft but don’t have enough of the right kinds of boosters or that you don’t have the right number of players.
Each format offers a different and interesting experience. Ask your MTG doctor if one of these formats is right for you.
Cube
Planar Bridge | Illustration by Alexandre Leoni
Most Magic players are familiar with Cube, a format that’s more popular than ever with occasional free Vintage Cube on MTGO, various Cubes just before set releases on Arena, Cube tournaments and events, and LSV’s YouTube channel.
Who Is Cube For?
Cube is for players who want a curated Draft experience. A premier, draftable Magic set is designed around various principles, usually including something specific for each of the 10 color pairs to do. There are often mythics and rares for 60-card formats in normal packs that are unplayable in Limited formats. In Cube, you’re building or playing a different kind of holistic design that doesn’t need to support all the color pairs, that doesn’t need to balance every color, that doesn’t have any cards in it not built for Cube. You can focus on only one color, all artifacts, only commons, or various slightly opaque decks that are supported in the card pool but that you might not get all the pieces to play with.
You might call it a personal, bespoke Magic.
How to Play Cube
There’s a lot more to be said about Cube than I have space for here, but the idea is that you build a brick (a cube!) of cards and use that set of cards to build virtual packs that you then draft with. The typical number is 360, and so when you make 15-card packs for eight players the whole Cube is in play. If you play with 540 or 720 it creates some uncertainty about whether that engine card made it into the packs.
Recommendation
Everyone should play Cube at least once. I like to try out Cubes when I get a chance to. It can be a unique experience that has all the fun of Draft while changing the narrative of the decks. It also lets you focus on decks and not rare-drafting to fill out your collection, as you don’t keep the cards!
In some ways, you can save money doing this, as you aren’t necessarily buying packs. But just like tinkering with a Commander deck with each set release, the temptation to keep adding cards is real. And, given Vintage Cube, there’s no real upper limit to how much you can sink in to a Cube if you want to.
Winchester Draft
Clash of Wills | Illustration by Yan Li
This is my favorite version of 2-player drafting, so the two of us in the house who like Magic can buy a booster box and work through it.
Who Is Winchester Draft For?
Winchester Draft is for smaller pods, and it slaps with two people. Two-person Booster Draft isn’t the best thing ever, as the drafting decisions are pretty basic. So how do you make a 2- or 4-person pod, for example, into something that makes Draft more robust?
How to Play Winchester Draft
In Winchester you can start with a pile of cards you get from a Cube or box to form three packs for each player opened blindly and piled face down. The starting player deals four face-up piles with one card and then takes a pile. Then that player deals another face up card to each pile, one of which is now just one card, as the first card was taken. This keeps going.
The reason this is interesting to draft is that as piles grow, interesting things happen. Is a small pile with a solo mythic as good as that pile with two good uncommons and a removal spell? How about that massive stack of commons, which can give you enough playables if you have to shift colors late?
Note that this format in a higher-powered Cube is very challenging for players, and it may slow to a crawl as they evaluate piles.
For those who are familiar with alternative formats, it’s a mix of Winston and Rochester Draft formats. Winston, which uses face-down piles, can take a long time to play, and so can Rochester, where everything is just face-up and the choices feel more classic.
Recommendation
This is a must-try format if you ever play in pods with fewer than six. Six players can make a decent traditional Draft, IMO. But when you get down to five or fewer, someone is going to have a busted deck. In Winchester, it’s more obvious when someone is going to have something broken because everyone can see the bomb and plan accordingly. I have been at tables where the rest of the table collaborates to cut the leading player out of their color.
Just know there can be Commander-style political shenanigans here, so if you like a silent but deadly draft, maybe this won’t be for you?
Rochester Draft
Pick-a-Beeble | Illustration by Dave Greco
Interested in the ultimate perfect information game of Magic?
Who Is Rochester Draft For?
People with a lot of time. A. Lot. Of. Time.
How to Play Rochester Draft
Source: Magic: The Gathering YouTube Channel
This format, invented by Magic R&D more than 25 years ago, has players cracking a pack at a time, laying them out in a face-up tableau, and then letting players take turns selecting all the cards.
Recommendation
There’s a huge amount of strategic depth in this variation, but it can get a little slow, especially if folks are unfamiliar with the cards and need to read them all. In regular Draft usually only one or two people need time to parse a complex rare, as one of the first two will likely take it. In Rochester, everyone will want a go. Most folks will set a timer, but even then, it’s a feel-bad if you’re trying to get a player that’s new to the set up to speed.
There’s also a lot more stress in this Draft format. It’s a lot harder to watch the other players tentatively paw at the niche common you want to pick up with your second pick so that you can spec on a later buildaround than it is to hope that card wheels. I think the best players in this format have those people-reading poker skills. They can read that on your face and figure out how to hurt your decks, even more than Winchester. They don’t always know which card you want in a Winchester pile. But your body language might be just what they need in Rochester.
It’s worth trying once, and I’d also note that it’s the best format to try to draft undraftable boosters with. Say you get a mystery box of boosters, or say someone shows up to draft with an old Set booster, or say you ask folks to donate Collector boosters for a higher-stakes event. Making everything face-up makes the imbalances in those packs a little easier for the table to manage.
Grid Draft
Gridlock | Illustration by Yeong Hao Han
If you like the idea of Rochester Draft but don’t know anyone else who will say yes to that, plus you only have two friends who play Magic, there’s Grid!
Who Is Grid Draft For?
Three-player pods. And people who wanna give face-up MTG a try.
How to Play Grid Draft
You use a Cube, usually. You deal out nine cards in a Brady Bunch tableau (3×3 grid). First player takes a row or column of three and deals replacement cards. Second player does the same, but no replacements. Third player gets what they can, which is often only two left in a row or column. With only two players, you repeat the middle step. You then discard the remaining cards in the tableau and set up nine cards for the next first player. You keep shifting who goes first until you get to the equivalent of 18 packs.
Recommendation
This format, created by Jason Waddell, is an interesting variant for Cube. It’s kind of fun for two or three players. I’d rather do Winchester with those numbers, as I don’t like cards getting discarded. I just feel like that limits the strategic depth. I’m sure I’m totally wrong and the opposite is the case, but it feels like that!
Chaos Draft
Grip of Chaos | Illustration by Mark Tedin
So you have a random pile of packs or you ask everyone to bring three boosters, whatever they’ve got. Chaos draft!
Who Is Chaos Draft For?
This is what you do when your play group doesn’t want to invest in a box, but folks have some old packs lying around (how? How do people just resist cracking them??), or you get a mystery box shipment or something.
Or, perhaps you just want to do something wacky. Chaos draft!
How to Play Chaos Draft
It’s regular Draft with a usually uncurated mélange of packs. I’ve curated Chaos Drafts before, though, where everyone was supposed to bring boosters from like an artifact-y set or a more fantasy oriented set or all Un-sets or whatnot.
I find Chaos Draft is a bit less interesting than Winchester format, though, regardless of pod size. There are reasons….
Recommendation
The cardinal problem with Chaos Draft, strategically, is that normal Limited synergy pieces aren’t supported well enough to pan out. Everything ends up being just good cards. That’s okay, in a way, as the decks end up lower powered, so the gameplay can be nice and grindy. But Winchester versions of Chaos Draft often result in piles of Limited buildarounds in bigger stacks of commons that you can take if you want to go for it. You can become the person who just eats big stacks and you’ll have a fighting chance to make a mostly commons deck with lots of synergies. It’s a fun risk to try to pull off.
Back Draft
Rewind | Illustration by Dermot Power
Draft, but backwards?! How about we draft normally but then pass the card piles to other players to build decks with?
Who Is Back Draft For?
If Chaos Draft isn’t weird enough for you, Back Draft’s got you.
How to Play Back Draft
Well, it’s like Draft, except you’re trying to draft the worst cards, and maybe trying to draft all five colors and multicolor cards first. Then you’ll get an abomination of a pile to deckbuild with, that likely has a few last-picked rares, and it’s like opening the worst Sealed pool you’ve ever seen every time.
Recommendation
I’d say it’s fun to play once. It definitely gets people out of the rare-drafting space, which sometimes haunts casual drafts when there isn’t enough investment in price structure. It’s also fun to try to draft badly, as you always end up in a spot where you have to choose the worst of now only all good options, like when there’s three cards left and it’s a good removal spell, a bomb rare, and maybe a piece of fixing. What do you do?
If that scenario interests you, then try it!
Houseman Draft
Ready to Rumble | Illustration by Josu Hernaiz
Is there a way to draft with two players that remains strategically interesting while still preserving hidden information? Yes, there is!
Who Is Houseman Draft For?
It’s for folks who like the mystery of regular Draft but don’t have enough people. It’s also an interesting way to play more powerful final decks against each other in a 1v1 environment.
How to Play Houseman Draft
Source: Lucky Paper YouTube Channel
Deal a 5-card hand to each player, and nine cards face-up in between them. Players take turns exchanging one card from their hand with a face-up card, until each player has made three exchanges. Players must make all their exchanges—no skipping—but they may pick cards that were previously laid out by either player. After three turns of exchanges, each player adds their final 5-card hand to their Draft pool, discarding the nine face-up cards.
Repeat this process nine times, so that each player ends with a 45-card Draft pool. Alternate which player makes the first exchange each round.
Recommendation
I hadn’t played this before now, so my review comes after having tried it once. Houseman Draft does give you more powerful decks because you can often manipulate the exchanges to increase depth in a color pair pretty significantly, especially when you begin to see what the other player is after. I also really like the way the best cards will always stay hidden. I tried to bluff, eventually, making it look like I was after a color that I wasn’t. I had the core of the color I really wanted hidden in my hand, and I wanted to score one or two good cards in the last pack when my opponent saw me dishing what he thought was my color.
It didn’t quite work. But the dream is there. This feels like a more poker-y version of MTG, so for some of you, this might be right up your alley.
Pick-Two Draft
Riku of Two Reflections | Illustration by Dave Greco
Who Is Pick-Two Draft For?
Pick-Two Draft is a great fit for anyone that doesn't have a full pod of 8 players. So Commander playgroups, this is your moment to draft!
How to Play Pick-Two Draft
Regular draft rules apply except each player picks two cards at a time. If you have packs with 15 cards, your final pick will be a single card. Otherwise you still open up three total packs per person and build 40-card decks from your picks.
Recommendation
I'll take both thank you. Pick-Two draft is a great option to have, so while I much prefer it to not drafting at all, I won't skip a full 8-person pod or traditional draft on Arena to do Pick-Two. This smooths out the draft process and makes it possible in many situations that would otherwise have an event cancelled. There might be less total rares at the table, but I appreciate the signals to see a clear strategy and go for it.
6-Player Team Draft
Vendilion Clique | Illustration by Willian Murai
Before pro Magic really got back into its groove, for many of us the Superbowl of MTG was the Limited Resources versus Lords of Limited 6-Player Team Draft Showdown. If you only have six people to draft, this is something to consider!
Who Is 6-Player Team Draft For?
Obviously having only six players helps to decide on this format, but the team element of this is so unique and creates a lot of additional moments of fun, collaboration, and tension.
How to Play 6-Player Team Draft
Source: ChannelFireball YouTube Channel
You draft the “normal” way, with each player having three packs, but the teams are spaced in an A-B-A-B-A-B pattern around the table, so you’re always passing to and receiving from an opponent. Although the deckbuilding card pools aren't shared, the team consults on deck construction for each of the three decks. Then you play each of the other team members and the best team wins. If you have less time, you can do brackets and all that complexity, but this isn’t a Draft style to choose if you’re pressed for time. Do the thing!
Recommendation
I love this format. It’s always interesting to try to figure out if you’re cutting a color from an opponent or your teammate two seats down. You might just be sabotaging each other, but it’s difficult to pass a huge off-color bomb, mostly because you know you’re going to face it, for sure, especially if you do the full round robin. It’s fun to work on decks together and to be the person who the hopes of the team are riding on in game three of your second-round match….
2-Headed Giant Draft
Twinflame Tyrant | Illustration by Xabi Gaztelua
Even more team-based cooperation happens in 2-Headed Giant Draft.
Who Is 2-Headed Giant Draft For?
If you like 2-Headed Giant as a format, drafting it is an even better version, in my opinion. I find that decks can be too powerful for optimal fun in Constructed 2HG, especially because turns can take forever, which sucks if you know you’re already behind on turn 1. But in Draft, as is always the case, things get more interesting.
How to Play 2-Headed Giant Draft
Teams of two sit together and collaborate on the draft, pulling two cards at a time. The pool is shared as the team builds its own decks.
Recommendation
This is a really fun format to draft is you like arguing with your buddy about what to take, but doing so quietly or ambiguously (you think!) so that you don’t tip off the other teams too much! It’s kind of a riot, I think. I love the tension when it becomes clear that you’re going to have to draft two very different decks and have to decide which deck to prioritize in any given pick. This means the draft portion will take longer, but it’s really a fun experience. If you have the time for this, I’d try it at least once!
Wrap Up
Talisman of Hierarchy | Illustration by Lindsey Look
If we all get together to draft, I’m thinking traditional draft in my head, but every one of these formats is fun to play and scratches that drafting itch. For me it’s about table vibes. There are really different kinds of social outcomes in these formats, and many lend themselves to a rowdier evening than traditional Draft. If you have folks who like to chat while passing cards and others who want the silence of the grave and would rather have a judge, these formats are a nice option.
There are certain sets where I find these formats better. For example, Streets of New Capenna and Phyrexia: All Will Be One were pretty unbalanced and unfun formats, especially for smaller drafting pools. But New Capenna, especially, was almost good in some of the face-up formats, almost shockingly so! The face-up elements allow the draft to correct itself so much faster than traditional draft! If you have packs of bad-to-draft sets lying around, consider your options!
Finally, I think the face-up formats and 2-Headed Giant Draft are very good for getting new players into Draft. Especially if they’re new to Draft but play Constructed or Commander. Their Draft card evaluation skills are going to be awful, but they’ll think they’re good, and having the ability to talk with a partner or the table really helps. I’ve seen Winchester tables where everyone started to “help” the noob when it was their turn. Some of that help was the opposite, let’s be honest, but it was hilarious and educational and got them excited to try it for real and on their own.
So what did I miss? Do you yearn for Arena to make more Remix drafts? Any other awesome alternative Draft formats we should discuss that are a hit at your LGS or kitchen table? Let us know in the comments or on Discord!
Good luck out there, and keep on draftin’!
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