We registered for next year for VRC and IQ. The VRC welcome kit from RECF only came with the star, not the cube. Don’t they normally come with one of each element?
The cubes are quite large, even when compressed. My guess is that VEX would have had to charge more for registration to include a cube to cover the cost of the cube and shipping. Sucks, but making and shipping stuff isn’t cheap either.
Also cubes can easily be replicated with a cushion the same size and shape. The stars really can’t
Wow, that is pretty sad. But, as Natty said, the cubes can be replicated and still have the same weight, size, and etc.
On the bright side, the 1/4 field game elements kits are pretty useful this year! We’re expecting ours to arrive this week, and because the cost is smaller, we were able to buy just this one kit for our team to prototype before our club orders the entire field. I share disappointment in the lack of cubes in the Welcome kit, but I think that since ordering the game elements is practically a must anyways and that the cubes aren’t a terribly difficult object to simulate or prototype with, it shouldn’t really impede on designing.
Besides, I always find that letting ideas “stew” for a while without any physical building is the best way to produce the cool designs that win competitions 
Makes sense, it’s RECF for registration, not VEX, so it’s their call I guess. Just, signing up 2 teams, it seems a bit light to get 1 star and 2 plastic license plate kits for $150.