MTG Cube Draft Formats: Booster Draft, Winston, Grid, and the 4 People Specials

This post helps cube owners pick the right small-group draft format (2–4 players) by explaining the most reliable MTG cube draft formats and their tradeoffs, so you can still get a great draft night when the pod is tiny.

TLDR

• 4 players: Start with normal Booster Draft (3×15). If you want it to feel more like an 8-person pod, use a Pick 1 / Burn 1 variant.
• 2 players: If you want hidden info and tension, play Winston. If you want open info and clean decisions, play Grid.
• 2–4 players (fast + face-up): Winchester is the “set it up in 10 seconds” option.
• The “right” pick is mostly about time, how much information you want visible, and whether you want more choices or more mystery.

Draft format picker (2–4 players)

Use this little decision tree when someone texts “I’m running late” and you need a plan.

How many drafters?
├─ 2 players
│ ├─ Want hidden info + “do I take the pile yet?” tension → WINSTON
│ ├─ Want face-up, clean, strategic picks → GRID
│ └─ Want fastest face-up piles (and it scales later) → WINCHESTER
├─ 3 players
│ ├─ Want something that feels closest to “real draft” → BOOSTER (try 5×9)
│ └─ Want face-up decisions and less “color accident” → GRID (3-player variant)
└─ 4 players
├─ Want simple, classic, and quick → BOOSTER (3×15)
├─ Want “8-person vibes” and more card quality → PICK 1 / BURN 1 BOOSTER
└─ Want all info public and lots of table talk → ROCHESTER

Why small pods feel weird (and what you’re trying to fix)

When people say “4-player cube draft feels off,” they usually mean one of these:

• Signals get louder. With fewer players, a color being open (or cut) becomes obvious fast.
• Wheels come back too quickly. In a 4-player pod, you see the same pack a lot, which can make drafting feel scripted.
• Archetypes either hit hard or whiff hard. With fewer drafters, one person accidentally hoarding key pieces can collapse an archetype.
• You see a smaller slice of the cube. That can be good (more consistency) or bad (less variety), depending on what you want tonight.

So the job of small-group formats is simple: keep the decisions interesting even when the table is small.

Booster Draft (the default, and it’s still good)

The classic setup

• Players: 4 (also works for 3)
• Packs: 3 packs of 15 per player
• Cards used: players × 45
  • 4 players → 180 cards drafted
  • 3 players → 135 cards drafted
• Decks: 40 cards (plus basics)

When it’s the right call: You want the familiar flow, you want to finish on time, and nobody wants to learn a new mini-game.

3-player tweak that feels better than “3×15”

If you want 3-player drafting to feel less repetitive, try:

• 5 packs of 9 per player (still 45 picks each, still 135 total cards)

Why it helps: smaller packs mean less “I guess I’m this color now” inertia, and the wheel dynamics feel a little less extreme.

The “We Only Have 4 People” specials

Here are the three most useful upgrades for 4-player cube nights.

Special #1: 4-player Booster Draft, no changes

Yes, it works. It’s also the one everyone already knows. If your group is casual and you’d rather start playing than optimize the draft, this is the move.

Special #2: Pick 1 / Burn 1 (the “make it feel like 8” mode)

This is my favorite “we want a real draft texture” option for four.

Setup

• Each player gets 6 packs of 15 (so you’re looking at a bigger chunk of the cube).
• In packs 1–3: Pick 1, Burn 1, then pass.
• In packs 4–6: Burn 1 first, pass, then Pick 1, Burn 1 for the rest.

Why it rules

• You end up with 45 cards per player, but the path to those 45 feels closer to an 8-person draft.
• Burning trims the “free” leftovers that make 4-player decks drift toward good-stuff piles.

Tradeoffs

• More setup and more time drafting.
• It’s slightly less beginner-friendly because “burning” is one more moving part.

Special #3: Rochester Draft (all picks face-up)

Rochester is the “every decision is public” format. It’s slower, but it creates the most table talk and the most visible signaling.

Quick way to run it for 4

• Make 12 packs of 15 (12×15 = 180 cards).
• Open one pack at a time face-up.
• Draft the pack in order, using a snake style pick order (the “end” seat gets back-to-back picks), then open the next pack.

When it shines

• Your group likes the social part of drafting.
• You want to draft tight archetype lanes and punish over-committing.

When to skip it

• You have a hard stop time.
• Someone at the table gets analysis-paralysis when everything is visible.

Winston Draft (2 players, hidden info, high tension)

Winston is the classic 2-player cube draft that still feels like “draft,” not “sealed with extra steps.”

Setup

• Shuffle up 90 cards from your cube (or scale the pool if you prefer, but 90 is the traditional sweet spot).
• Make three face-down piles of 1 card each, plus the main deck.

How it plays

• On your turn you look at pile 1. Take it or pass and add a card to it.
• Repeat for pile 2, then pile 3.
• If you pass pile 3, you add a card to it and take a random card from the top of the main deck.

Why Winston is great

• It keeps some information hidden, so it doesn’t devolve into pure hate-drafting.
• The “bigger pile vs better card” decision is chef’s kiss for cube.

Tradeoffs

• It can be swingy if your cube has very high-impact singletons. If that’s your environment, Winston is still fun, but it will be loud.

Grid Draft (2 players, face-up and super learnable)

Grid is the cleanest “I want open information, but I don’t want a long draft” format.

Setup

• Lay out 9 cards in a 3×3 face-up grid.
• Player A takes a row or column (3 cards).
• Player B takes a remaining row or column (often 2 or 3 cards).
• Discard the rest, then lay out a new grid.
• Do 18 grids.

Why people love it

• Every pick is meaningful, and you can see the whole decision.
• It rewards planning without becoming a memorization contest.

Grid for 3 players (works shockingly well)

If you’re always stuck at 3 players, Grid has a nice variant:

• Player 1 takes a row/column, refill the grid with 3 new cards.
• Player 2 takes a row/column (no refill).
• Player 3 takes a row/column (might only be 2 cards).
• Discard leftovers, rotate first player.

Winchester Draft (2–4 players, fastest face-up piles)

Winchester is the “we want to draft, not set up a draft” option.

Setup

• Start with 80 shuffled cards.
• Deal 4 face-up piles with 1 card each.

Draft

• On your turn, take one pile into your pool.
• Then deal one new card onto each pile.
• Next player repeats.
• Continue until the pool is gone.

Why it’s awesome

• It’s fast, face-up, and it scales to 3–4 players by adding more cards and rotating picks.
• The piles naturally create “quality vs quantity” decisions without extra rules overhead.

Tradeoffs

• Because piles can grow unevenly, two players might end with slightly different pool sizes. Usually it’s fine, but it can matter in very tight environments.

Quick comparison table

Format	Best player count	Cards pulled	Information	Time	Pick it when…
Booster (3×15)	4	180	Hidden	Fast	You want classic draft with zero fuss
Booster (5×9)	3	135	Hidden	Fast	You want 3-player to feel less repetitive
Pick 1 / Burn 1	4	Large (often 360 seen)	Hidden	Medium	You want “8-pod texture” in a 4-pod
Rochester	4	180	Face-up	Slow	Your group loves table talk and visible signals
Winston	2	90	Mixed	Medium	You want hidden info + pile tension
Grid	2 (also 3)	162 shown (with discards)	Face-up	Medium	You want clean, open, strategic picks
Winchester	2–4	80 + (scale)	Face-up	Fast	You want the quickest “real draft” setup

Small-group quality of life tips (cube-first, not format-first)

These help no matter what you draft:

• Trim the narrowest traps if you mostly draft 2–4 players. Tiny pods punish “needs 7 specific cards” archetypes.
• Increase overlap packages. Cards that play well in multiple decks keep lanes from collapsing.
• Make fixing slightly denser than you would for an 8-person pod, especially if your group hates non-games.
• For face-up formats (Grid, Rochester, Winchester): consistent readability matters. If your cube has mixed versions, it’s not a rules issue, it’s just harder on the eyes across the table.
• Timebox deckbuilding. Small pods can produce wider pools (especially Winston and Winchester). A simple “20 minutes, then shuffle up” keeps the night moving.

FAQs

What’s the best 2-player cube draft format?

If you want hidden information and drama, Winston. If you want face-up strategy and fast learning, Grid. If you want the quickest setup, Winchester.

How many cards do I need for a 2-player draft?

As a baseline: 90 cards is the traditional Winston pool, 80 cards is a common Winchester pool, and Grid commonly runs 18 grids of 9 (with discards along the way). If your cube is larger (540+), that’s fine. You’re just sampling it.

Does 4-player cube Booster Draft actually work?

Yes. It’s just a different texture. If you want it to feel less “obvious,” that’s when you reach for Pick 1 / Burn 1 or Rochester.

We have 4 players and want it to feel like an 8-player pod. What should we do?

Run Pick 1 / Burn 1. It increases effective competition for cards and trims the “extra” playables that make 4-player drafts feel too generous.

Which format is fastest to teach?

Winchester is the easiest “teach once, run forever.” Grid is a close second.

If I only ever draft 2–4 players, do I need a smaller cube?

Not strictly. But smaller cubes (or tighter archetype design) will feel more consistent in small pods. If your goal is variety and novelty, keep the bigger cube and pick formats that show more cards.