New Player-Made Limited Format Fuses Jumpstart with Cube Drafting

Last updated on February 13, 2026

Polymerization (Yu-Gi-Oh! card) | Illustration by Bandai

A group of Magic players have shared a fresh MTG Limited format concept they’ve been playtesting: MTG Fusion. Mashing together Jumpstart and Cube Drafting, Fusion's twist is that you draft packs, rather than cards. And no, it doesn't use Polymerization, in case you're wondering.

“Fusion was created as a bridge for new players that have learned how to play Jumpstart, but want to try out legal 60-card decks instead of the 40-card limited decks of Jumpstart,” the Fusion rules read. “Fusion was also created to help showcase drafting, without the more involved draft mode that might be intimidating to new players.”

So if your friends like Jumpstart’s “shuffle up and play” vibe, but are looking for something with a bit more player agency, Fusion is trying to be that middle ground.

What is MTG Fusion?

Lord of Atlantis – Illustration by Billy Christian

Rather than just mix two half decks, as you'd do in Jumpstart, or sit down for a full draft (which could be intimidating for new payers), in Fusion you draft small, pre-built archetype packs, then “fuse” the ones you like into a deck.

“In this variant, eight players are given five pre-constructed 15-card packs,” explains IceAndOcean in the reddit thread where they shared how Fusion works. “Each player picks a pack, passes the rest to the right, and continues until they have drafted five packs.”

Jumpstart is designed to be accessible: “Grab two Jumpstart boosters, shuffle them together, and you’re ready to go.” Fusion keeps Jumpstart‘s accessibility, but adds some drafting decisions.

“Some of our friends that are new players and just play Jumpstart were looking for a way they could try out 60-card play,” shares IceAndOcean. “They were also looking for a way to try out drafting, but in a mode that would be less intimidating than a full-on draft.”

How Fusion Works 

You can play Fusion with as little as two players, and the creators have successfully tested with any number from 2 to 8 players, but they recommend 8 (above all if you want to introduce your friends to Drafts).

Fusion uses pre-constructed singleton 15-card packs. The creators have shared one recommended pack list (built with Premodern cards)…

Source: Fusion Cube on CubeCobra

… but if your group is adventurous enough, or have experience with cube, you can design your own packs!

For 8 players, the process would be:

• Add five packs per player to the draft pool; for a full eight-player pod, you need 40 packs (ideally, 4x of each of the 10 archetypes shown above).
• Each player randomly receives five packs, face-up.
• Each player chooses one pack and passes the rest.
• Repeat until each player has drafted five face-up 15-card packs.
• After the draft, you choose four of your five packs.
• Shuffle the four packs together into a 60-card deck.

The rules highlight that “Packs are drafted face-up to accommodate the truncated speed of the draft.”

How is Fusion Similar to Other Limited Formats?

Booster Tutor | Illustration by Heather Hudson

Jumpstart is basically “two themed half-decks become a deck.” Fusion keeps the modular deck idea, but changes three things:

1. The modules are smaller (15-card packs); they are a quarter of a deck, rather than a halve,
2. You draft the packs ,
3. The packs are player-curated, like in a Cube; you can play Fusion with the packs that IceAndOcean's group suggest, or create your own.

Interestingly, Wizards of the Coast designers have even talked publicly about drafting Jumpstart packs, so Fusion is kind of building a whole format around a similar idea.

If you compare it to a Cube draft, Fusion’s twist is that you draft the packs, but it's otherwise a player-curated like a cube.

Where to Check It Out

Serra Angel – Illustration by Jodie Muir

Currently, Fusion lives in two places:

• The original reveal + Q&A thread on Reddit, 
• The rules on Cube Cobra,
• The Premodern packs, also on Cube Cobra