Like many players of a certain age, my journey into Magic: The Gathering began with a 4th Edition starter deck. I’ll never forget cracking open that first pack and seeing this hideous floating mouth – Leviathan. Ever since, that’s been the era I knew and loved best. Creatures were clunky, removal was weak, and board stalls were inevitable. And we liked it.
Built entirely from 4th Edition and Chronicles, this cube recreates the unsleeved, kitchen-table brawls of mid-90s Magic. It’s a format where games grind, walls hold off enemy forces, and victory is often a matter of who lands a big dragon. Powerhouses like Shivan Dragon, Force of Nature, and Sengir Vampire can take over the late-game and be unstoppable bombs.. Removal mostly takes care of the little guys, so don’t count on your Savannah Lions going the distance.
The cube is intentionally slow and grindy, encouraging patient play and rewarding well-timed answers. We didn’t see any of the Elder Dragons make an appearance this draft, but they’re waiting in the wings, ready to dominate when summoned.
This is the Magic we grew up on—nostalgic, strategic, and just a little bit janky. Let’s dive in.
Final Standings
| Place | Pilot | Record | Archetype |
| 🏆 1st | Joe | 3-0 | Monoblack |
| 2nd | Brian | 2-1 | U/G flyers with stasis & time elemental |
| 3rd | Matt | 2-1 | R/W attack |
| 4th | Dan | 2-1 | R/G fatties and burn |
| 5th | Jim | 2-0 | U/W anti-fun deck |
| 6th | Chad | 1-2 | RGW powerhouses |
| 7th | Starr | 0-3 | UW fliers |
| 8th | Cory | 0-2 | BR aggro |
| 9th | Cameron | 0-2 | BW reanimator |
Joe took it down going 3-0 with Monoblack. Black was always a favorite of mine as a kid with some amazing cards. And in this case it showed to be really strong. He said that Lord of the Pit was an MVP. Normally this cube is singleton, but since we had nine players I had to add some extras to fill in and get enough cards for everybody to play.
In one of the highlight games of the event, Joe found himself staring down an imposing Shivan Dragon across the battlefield—one of the cube’s best threats. But black had answers… or at least, bigger nightmares.
Joe had assembled a formidable ground force, with his Frozen Shade scaling thanks to a pile of swamps. But the real problem for his opponent was Nightmare—a massive, flying embodiment of Joe’s expansive bogs that had grown even larger than the Shivan.
Despite the Dragon’s fearsome presence, it never got the chance to take over. With the skies dominated by Nightmare and the Shade pumping in for lethal, Joe swung in for the win.
Joe saw the Nightmare pack 1 pick 1, took it, and never looked back. Nightmare may have been the card I chased after the most as a kid. Amazing art and so clearly powerful.
Lord of the Pit doing boss things.
The other players and decks
Brian 2-1
In one of the best trick plays of the day, Brian found a precise answer at just the right moment. Across the table, Cameron had set up a Safe Haven fortress, tucking away key creatures—including a Serra Angel—in anticipation of wiping the board with Nevinyrral’s Disk and then repopulating post-destruction.
Even worse for Brian, Cameron had a Hell’s Caretaker online, ready to recycle Serra Angel every turn—a soft lock that would have been nearly impossible to outpace in the slow, grindy endgames this cube is known for.
But just before the Disk went off, Brian calmly tapped two blue and cast Boomerang, targeting Safe Haven itself.
The table fell silent.
The Safe Haven was bounced. The creatures it sheltered—including the Angel—were exiled forever. The Disk, now mostly irrelevant, blew up the board anyway. But the damage was done. Brian had not only answered a recursive engine—he had obliterated it before it could even start.
And another exchange I love seeing was a conservator being played, and being countered. He was going to stop the assault of Brian’s Scryb Sprites, and he just could not have that. So, flyers are valuable to get over those walls, and he was going to clear the way.
Matt 2-1
Matt showed up with exactly the kind of deck he loves: aggressive red-white, packed with burn, efficient creatures, and just enough reach to finish the job when the board got sticky. In a format where a lot of players were building slow, defense-heavy decks, Matt’s approach was a breath of fresh, fiery air.
His list was loaded with old-school staples: Lightning Bolt, Orcish Artillery, and the classic finisher Disintegrate. He wasn’t here to stall. He was here to roast.
In a highlight match, Matt sealed the deal with a lethal Disintegrate, supercharged by Mana Vault and backed by pings from Orcish Artillery. The math was tight, the line was clean, and the burn got through before the opponent could stabilize. It was a perfect example of red-white doing what it does best: pressure early, control the midgame with removal, and end it all in a blaze of X-spell glory.
Well done indeed.
Matt even stole a win with Power Surge, punishing untapped lands and forcing awkward plays. It was a perfect old-school moment—slowly burning out an opponent who thought they had time.
Dan 2-1
Dan brought the classic red-green beats, leaning into old-school power with Craw Wurm and Force of Nature. While the Force stayed in hand, Craw Wurm got to shine—crashing through blockers and sealing a game with pure 6/4 muscle. Red-green always delivers those nostalgic, big-creature vibes.
Jdubs 2-0
I ended up in blue-white, mostly by accident—white was wide open, and my early Chromium pick never got the black support it needed. The deck lacked card draw but made up for it with walls, stall, and a late-game bomb in Aladdin’s Ring. In fact, the Personal Incarnation was a card that got passed to me as the last card in a pack, and it won me several games.
Against Brian, I had gotten down the Incarnation. He played a Time Elemental to threaten to hold it off. I was able to play my own Spirit Link on it, making it immune to the elemental, and gaining some life in the process. It went the distant. Nobody was able to kill it the whole day and deprive me of half my life total.
Against Dan’s green fatties, I stabilized with walls and my own Personal Incarnation, then dropped the Ring and started mowing down his board. One by one, his big threats fell—and so did Dan.
It was clunky, it was slow, and it was beautiful. Sometimes the best decks aren’t the ones you build on purpose—they’re the ones the table hands you, and you just make it work.
In another game against Dan, things got downright durdley. I didn’t expect a full board lock, but somehow all the middling control pieces came together: Meekstone to freeze his big creatures, Circle of Protection: Red to blank his burn, Island Sanctuary to stop attacks, and The Hive to pull ahead. Add a Land Tax feeding me cards, and suddenly I was deep in control mode.
I built up a full grip—seven cards, everything I needed: Counterspell, Disenchant, and even a Recall to get them back. Dan kept trying to break through, but Blue-White did what it does best: stall, protect, and slowly grind out a win with inevitability.
Sometimes, you don’t need bombs—you just need to deny your opponent everything they’re trying to do. Great fun for everybody.
Chad 1-2
Chad drafted a solid RGW build, adding classic gold cards to tie his green-white-red core together. His centerpiece? A vigilant Johan, leading the charge without needing to tap—perfect for grinding through a stalled board. I didn’t see the Elder Dragon Palladia-Mors hit the board, but I hope he was always just ready to make an appearance.
In one match, he squared off against Starr, who mounted a strong defense with life gain and a steady stream of flyers. It turned into a classic old-school standoff—ground forces locked, skies contested—but Johan kept swinging, turning every combat into a potential breakthrough.
Starr 0-3
I really enjoyed how walls played out here. Starr did great using her wall to hold off the cockatrice, which would destroy anything that wasn’t a wall in the air. But not this guy. Wall of Swords for the win.
Cory 0-3
Cory drafted a punchy red-black aggro list, kicking things off with a tough pick—Hypnotic Specter vs. Balance. He took the Specter, and it paid off. I made use of the Balance later, but Cory’s deck came out swinging.
Turn 1 Primordial Ooze set the tone—unpredictable, aggressive, and pure old-school chaos. And watching him use Alibaba to tap down key walls so his creatures could keep crashing in? Chef’s kiss. A fast, fun deck that delivered.
Cameron 0-2
Cameron put together a clever black-white brew, built around recursion, removal, and a few tricky threats. It didn’t quite come together on the scoreboard, but the vision was awesome.
The dream? Use Gauntlets of Might to pump an opponent’s Cosmic Horror, forcing them to eat 7 damage from its upkeep cost. It didn’t happen this time—but the combo was real, the build was bold, and the deck was packed with potential. One to watch next draft.
Packing up
I had a blast building and playing this 4th/Chronicles cube. Going unsleeved added the perfect old-school touch, and the games played out just the way I hoped: grindy, tactical, with flyers often deciding the outcome. Everyone seemed to have a great time, and while I didn’t get to check the ultimate bucket list item—attacking with an Elder Dragon Legend—there’s always next time.
Rocky Mountain Yetis 
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