View all cards mentioned in this episodeMost of the time when listeners suggest topics we’ve already recorded a whole episode dedicated to that subject. Sometimes we’ve even recorded three. It turns out almost six years is a long time to have a weekly podcast about a niche interest like Cube design. So when someone recently suggested we record an episode about ‘colorless cards’ I was surprised to discover that we have never actually dedicated an entire episode to the subject, and it turns out we have a lot to say!If you have questions for our 300th episodes please send them to mail@luckypaper.co with the subject line ‘Episode 300 Question’.Discussed in this episode:Hedron NetworkRegular CubeTurbo Cube100 OrnithoptersBun MagicSacred GeometryNeoclassical CubeDevoid CubeIf you’d like to show your support for the show, please consider backing Lucky Paper on Patreon or leaving us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro1:22 - Hedron Network Data3:47 - Episode 3006:39 - Colorless Cards11:20 - Thinking About the Color Pie13:05 - Sacred Geometry Diversion16:37 - Balancing Colorless Cards20:30 - Hole Filling22:19 - Supporting Monocolor28:29 - The Colorless Deck35:02 - Colorless Cards and Mana Fixing37:33 - Colorless v Colored Arifacts38:42 - Mana Rocks42:05 - Noosegraf Mob Sidebar43:37 - Pseudo Colorless Cards45:48 - Stax52:00 - Eldrazi54:46 - Colorless Cubes

View all cards mentioned in this episodeIn the third book club Episode, Anthony and Parker talk about Donald Norman’s The Design of Everyday Things. Originally published in 1988, the book was an influential criticism of the built world and interfaces establishing many concepts fundamental to user interface and industrial design today. It also introduces a metric ton of jargon per page.Our book club members talk about how these concepts apply to game and Cube design and their thinking about things more broadly.Discussed in this episode:The Design of Everyday Things by Donald NormanEnshittification concept and book by Cory DoctorowStatus and Culture: How Our Desire for Social Rank Creates Taste, Identity, Art, Fashion, and Constant Change by W. David MarxBlank Space: A Cultural History of the Twenty-First Century by W. David MarxBlood In the Machine: The Origins of the Rebellion Against Big Tech by Brian MerchantOther Book Club EpisodesIf you’d like to show your support for the show, please consider backing Lucky Paper on Patreon or leaving us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro2:42 - The Design of Everyday Things7:43 - Mental Models12:04 - Trouble With Mapping16:58 - Cube REL/Humility19:40 - Don Please Turn off the Podcast21:03 - Types of Errors26:30 - Games are Intentionally Bad Design32:04 - Constraints34:55 - Knowledge in the World42:28 - Learned Helplessness48:20 - Neologisms50:59 - Choosing the Next Book

View all cards mentioned in this episodeIn this explicit episode of Lucky Paper Radio, Andy, Anthony, and Patrick recap their experience at Shoebox in St Paul, Minnesota. Shoebox celebrated a range of casual formats including team limited, pauper, and, of course, Cube! They talk about highlights from the weekend and the decks they drafted.Discussed in this episode:The Monster FuckDee Dee Mega Doo DooArties CubeShoeboxEiganjo DriftAquaone PoweredPenrose CubeHeatherCubeBoudican Destruction Horizon100 LotusesIf you’d like to show your support for the show, please consider backing Lucky Paper on Patreon or leaving us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro7:23 - Fistfights12:04 - Pottery Studio16:28 - Weather and Planes18:58 - Microfame20:32 - Andy’s Draft of Artemis’ Cube24:19 - What is Shoebox29:41 - Anthony’s Draft of Eiganjo Drift32:09 - Patrick’s Draft of aquaone Powered36:51 - Andy’s Draft of Penrose Cube41:33 - Anthony’s Draft of HeatherCube45:31 - Andy’s Stone Soup53:30 - Anthony’s Stone Soup55:19 - Patrick’s New Friends57:22 - Pizza Time63:03 - Andy’s Draft of Boudica68:33 - Patrick’s Draft of Boudica72:10 - James’ Microcube72:56 - 100 Lotuses78:17 - Closing Thoughts79:36 - Anthony’s Draft of Companion Cube

View all cards mentioned in this episodeAndy and Anthony finally just talk about epistemology and sort of address Magic: the Gathering. They talk about the way we all generally learn things and incorporate them into our understanding of the world around us, and how that manifests in the smaller world of the game.Discussed in this episode:ContraPoints on YouTubeThe Beginning of Infinity by David DeutschEvery Living Thing by Jason Roberts100 OrnithoptersRegular CubeCascade CascadeCube MapIf you’d like to show your support for the show, please consider backing Lucky Paper on Patreon or leaving us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro4:55 - Epistemology11:43 - The Enlightenment14:43 - Authority20:29 - Empiricism26:49 - Explanations29:58 - Science as a Creative Process33:18 - Knowledge in Magic37:04 - Emergent Properties41:54 - Aggro-Midrange-Control45:53 - Cube Experiments51:10 - Mailbag!

View all cards mentioned in this episodeAndy and Anthony talk with Greg about his Companion Cube. In this Cube, each player chooses a card from their deck before each game to be their ‘companion’, which their guaranteed access to. They talk about the history of the cube and the difference between the early days of frequent edits and the longer stable phase with less frequent changes.Greg is also one of the organizers of Shoebox an event happening next week in St Paul, Minnesota. Shoebox will prominently feature Cube as well as other formats that don’t usually get center stage and much more.Discussed in this episode:”Still Alive” from PortalCompanion CubeC4AC StreamShoeboxMuseum of ModernTake 5If you’d like to show your support for the show, please consider backing Lucky Paper on Patreon or leaving us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro2:27 - Greg AKA Dinrovahorror4:16 - Shoebox10:35 - Companion Cube15:57 - Cube as Nostalgia18:48 - Power Level27:49 - Responding to Feedback32:22 - New Player Pitfalls35:42 - Comparing Companions40:49 - Control Decks42:37 - Clones46:13 - The Future

View all cards mentioned in this episodeAndy and Anthony talk about cutting a long-standing, controversial card from 100 Ornithopters: Echoing Boon. They talk about gameplay experiences with the card and why Andy decided to include a conspiracy in the cube in the first place. The ‘always on’ nature of conspiracies put certain constraints on the cube’s design. Andy talks about some of those limitations and changes he’s planning to make after they’re gone.Discussed in this episode:100 OrnithoptersCube For a CauseRhystic Studies Video on 100 OrnithoptersShoebox, St Paul, Minnesota, Mar 13-15, 2026If you’d like to show your support for the show, please consider backing Lucky Paper on Patreon or leaving us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro4:46 - Echoing Boon13:20 - Why Cut Echoing Boon22:30 - Regrets25:23 - Leyline of Resonance30:55 - Blazing Shoal33:39 - Reverse Dunning-Kruger35:46 - “Must Cuts”38:20 - More Additions47:29 - City on Fire50:06 - Lunar Frenzy51:25 - Slip Through Space53:12 - Actual Cuts54:35 - Time Sieve57:51 - Mailbag

View all cards mentioned in this episodeAndy and Anthony discuss how they think about themes within cubes. As always, our hosts beginning with a thorough defining of terms. They talk about how they think about thematically related sets of cards and how many they think can fit, or would want to, in a Cube. Andy has been exploring fitting a tight network of synergistic cards in his cube Take Five.They also talk about a new app Anthony built specifically for mapping synergies between cards within a cube. It lets you create a force directed diagram of every card in a cube and draw connections between individual or sets of cards. Give it a try with your own cube!Discussed in this episode:Regular CubeNew App: Cube Synergy MapperTake Five CubeAndy’s Take Five VideosCommander Spellbook - Magic Combo DatabaseSacred GeometryShoeboxMagic Card List SpellcheckerIf you’d like to show your support for the show, please consider backing Lucky Paper on Patreon or leaving us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro3:01 - Cube Packages and Themes9:56 - Theme's in Anthony's Regular Cube14:41 - New App For Mapping Synergies withing a Cube16:46 - More Regular Cube Themes21:13 - Take Five and Combos23:07 - Theme Density25:12 - The Take Five Clown Car28:05 - Game Speed30:26 - Themes vs Good Cards34:35 - Fitting More Themes in Your Cube36:51 - Thematically Disconnected Cards40:29 - Synergies in Context47:03 - Wrap up

View all cards mentioned in this episodeAndy and Anthony talk about the concept of power level band or range in Cubes. It’s sometimes said a Cube should have a pretty even power level, with the strongest card being not too much stronger than the weakest, is a good idea. Our hosts talk about why that doesn’t always make sense and strategies for making Cubes with a wide band of power that still make sense.Discussed in this episode:Regular CubeSacred GeometryRecross the PathsNeoclassical CubeBun Magic Cube100 OrnithoptersIrregular CubeIf you’d like to show your support for the show, please consider backing Lucky Paper on Patreon or leaving us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro4:48 - Power Levels16:34 - Against a Narrow Power Band19:55 - Absolute vs Relative Power24:09 - Bombs26:37 - Enablers vs Finishers32:01 - Absolute Game Impact36:28 - Power Curve46:35 - Summary

View all cards mentioned in this episodeAndy, Anthony, and Patrick recap their experience at Lunch Box, a 1 day Cube event in their home town of Baltimore raising funds for the Maryland Food Bank. They discuss the cubes they drafted, the highs and lows of their matches, and their overall experiences at the event.Discussed in this episode:Lunch BoxTwilight CubeRed TerrorLibrary of BabelScience CubeIf you’d like to show your support for the show, please consider backing Lucky Paper on Patreon or leaving us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro2:34 - Lunchbox7:33 - Andy Draft 1 of Maggie's Twilight Cube13:45 - Patrick Draft 1 of Red Terror16:19 - Anthony Draft 1 of Red Terror20:04 - Andy Draft 2 of Library of Babel27:16 - Can we lose graciously?36:46 - Patrick and Anthony's Draft 2 of the Science Cube42:39 - Event Highlights

View all cards mentioned in this episodeAndy and Anthony talk about Star Magic, a unique multiplayer format that also happens to be a way to accommodate a draft with 5 players — a notoriously awkward number.In a Star Magic game, 5 players engage in a free-for-all game with a specific win condition. The game ends when any one player eliminates the two others seated furthest from them. Players sitting next to each other are neutrally affiliated but are motivated to collaborate by their one shared enemy, or not to if another is about to defeat both of their enemies.Our hosts talk about their recent exploration of the format and how they feel it’s a multiplayer experience that both applies to their own gameplay tastes, and to a typical cube not intentionally designed for multiplayer, than a full free-for-all game.Discussed in this episode:Star Magic Draft Format ExplanationStar Magic on the MTG WikiSacred GeometryRegular CubeIf you’d like to show your support for the show, please consider backing Lucky Paper on Patreon or leaving us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro1:32 - Star Magic6:20 - Rules17:14 - First Impressions21:48 - Scaling from 1v125:46 - Politicking33:22 - Choosing a Cube for Star Magic41:22 - Munchkin46:54 - Final Thoughts

View all cards mentioned in this episodeIt’s been said that Cube Will Outlive Magic, but would it really? Andy and Anthony wildly speculate on the future in a thought experiment: what if Wizards of the Coast stopped existing tomorrow and no new cards were designed or printed. They theorize about how it would impact different elements of the player base and how it would impact their own relationship to the game, despite their relative independence from the flow of new cards.Discussed in this episode:King of Collectibles on NetflixNetrunnerIf you’d like to show your support for the show, please consider backing Lucky Paper on Patreon or leaving us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro3:16 - The Death of Magic10:39 - Optimism12:49 - Pessimism15:02 - Playgroup Decay22:40 - Content Creators26:16 - Kitchen Table Players36:17 - Logistics44:59 - Spending Money on Cards is Kind of Dumb47:33 - A Called Shot53:36 - Netrunner

View all cards mentioned in this episodeAndy and Anthony each draft the same seat in a virtual pod of Andy’s Sacred Geometry Cube. They talk through each of their picks and their overall draft strategy and the final decks they end up with.If you want to draft this same seat as well, either before or after listening to the episode, follow these steps:Download the predetermined booster packsOn Draftmancer:If you enjoy this episode, check out our previous draft episodes.If you’d like to show your support for the show, please consider backing Lucky Paper on Patreon or leaving us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro7:28 - Pack 141:48 - Pack 253:03 - Pack 301:03:59 - Draft Results

View all cards mentioned in this episodeAndy and Anthony discuss feedback received by a fellow cube designer: that particular decks are sometimes too dominant when they go uncontested, or as they put it “The Open Lane Problem”. They talk about whether or not this is a real problem in different contexts and ways you might be able to mitigate it.Discussed in this episode:100 OrnithoptersBun Magic CubeRegular CubeNeoclassical CubeTurbo CubeSupport The Podcast on PatreonIf you’d like to show your support for the show, please consider backing Lucky Paper on Patreon or leaving us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro2:43 - Mailbag!7:35 - The Open Lane Problem14:19 - The Effect of Narrow Cards26:44 - Powering Up Archetypes35:36 - Player Preferences42:09 - Solving the Open Lane Problem45:34 - Changing Cube Size

View all cards mentioned in this episodeBy popular demand, Andy and Anthony rush back into their series exploring modal mechanics through Magic’s history. Continuing where they left off, they talk about mechanics from Return to Ravnica to Fate Reforged. They argue over some mechanics fit a useful definition of “modal” and what the mechanics, and individual modal cards, offer to Cube designers.Discussed in this episode:Song-Poem DocumentaryModal Mechanics 001 — Some Nonzero Number of Mechanics Are KickerModal Mechanics 002 — Some Modal Mechanics Evoke a Strong ResponseReading Rainbow Cube100 OrnithoptersThe Design of Everyday ThingsLucky Paper PatreonIf you’d like to show your support for the show, please consider backing Lucky Paper on Patreon or leaving us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro3:03 - Modal Mechanics: Part 0034:44 - Scavenge9:03 - Bloodrush17:17 - Fuse27:30 - Bestow36:03 - Monstrosity37:59 - Will of the Council42:27 - Sieges48:41 - Planeswalker Addendum

View all cards mentioned in this episodeAndy and Anthony look back at their last year playing Magic. They talk about their highs and lows, playing cube while engaging little with Magic’s release cycle, the continued grown of community, and Lucky Paper’s projects.Discussed in this episode:Lucky Paper Events Page100 Ornithopters in a Cube-Shaped Box by Rhystic Studies on YouTubeLucky Paper PatreonCube Fellowship and Supporter PinsHow to Quickly Shuffle Your MTG Cube Anthony’s Article on the Broadcast ShuffleList FormatterList DifferXKCD Is It Worth the Time? and AutomationThe Ball PitIf you’d like to show your support for the show, please consider backing Lucky Paper on Patreon or leaving us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro1:52 - Year In Review7:22 - High: Regional Scene Development11:47 - High: Weekly Cube Nights12:56 - High: Ignoring Magic Product16:32 - High: Rhystic Studies Video18:23 - High: Patreon21:13 - High: Cube Fellowship22:41 - High: Playmat V224:18 - High: Deepening Relationships26:58 - High: Broadcast Shuffle29:46 - High: List Formatter31:07 - Low: Klug Alter33:43 - Low: Less Friends at Cubecon38:19 - Low: Playgroup Growth Woes44:10 - Low: Pins46:46 - Low: Website Maintenance50:32 - Magic: The Gathering58:08 - Cube Person of the Year1:32:59 - State of the Pod

View all cards mentioned in this episodeAndy and Anthony talk about bad cards. Why do “bad cards” even exist? Can’t all the cards just be good?Our hosts talk about why they like playing with bad Magic cards and how Cube gives them the flexibility to play with whatever cards they like regardless of how they stack up to the other 30,000 cards in the game. They talk about ways they conceptualize a bad card in different formats and the inevitability of their existence. They also reflect on the differences between thinking about Magic as a player vs a designer and how player mentality and hamper design thinking. And also, for some reason, wolves.Discussed in this episode:Mark Rosewater’s When Cards go BadParkers Article on Bad CardsThe Alpha Myth Episode of Unexplainable about Alpha WolvesAndy’s Take Five Brainstorming Videos on YouTubeThe Oldest SchoolThe Ball PitTurbo CubeIf you’d like to show your support for the show, please consider backing Lucky Paper on Patreon or leaving us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro3:55 - Bad Cards6:42 - What is a Bad Card22:05 - The Fundamental Constants of Magic29:44 - In Defense of Bad Cards35:18 - Bad Cards in Cube Design43:58 - Combat is Beautiful49:30 - Recontextualizing Bad Cards

View all cards mentioned in this episodeAndy and Anthony continue their roughly chronological journey through Magic’s modal mechanics. From transmute, to evoke, to reinforce and everything in between they talk about every mechanic they’d categorize as “modal” from the prospective of gameplay and Cube design.But first, they have to revisit their age old question of whether or not Lightning Bolt counts as a modal spell.Discussed in this episode:Modal Mechanics 001Colin Furze on YouTubeDrive to Work PodcastTake Five Video with JaneTake Five Video with with Ryan OverturfIf you’d like to show your support for the show, please consider backing Lucky Paper on Patreon or leaving us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro1:04 - Main Topic, Modal Part 27:40 - Transmute15:06 - Forecast20:24 - Evoke27:59 - Planeswalkers33:54 - The Moment of Modality38:37 - Sagas vs Planeswalkers41:48 - Lorwyn Commands47:25 - Reinforce

View all cards mentioned in this episodeAndy and Anthony talk through some of their recent drafts from their weekly Cube night. They talk about what they drafted and their impressions of the cubes, including Anthony’s Turbo Cube and a mystery cube brought by a new participant in Cube night.Discussed in this episode:Turbo CubeIf you’d like to show your support for the show, please consider backing Lucky Paper on Patreon or leaving us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro1:49 - Main Topic Start5:24 - Turbo Cube32:56 - Mystery Cube50:51 - Takeaways from Mystery Cube57:06 - Wrap Up

View all cards mentioned in this episodeAndy and Anthony talk about Andy’s latest Cube design concept. Inspired by The Ball Pit among other projects, Andy’s goal is to design a desert cube where players play all but 5 cards from their pool. In other words, after the draft, player simply “Take Five” cards out of their pool and get shuffling. Andy’s goal is to push players even harder to make something out of the cards they draft even if they don’t obviously stand well on their own. Our hosts talk about the design process, challenges they anticipate, and potential solutions to this draft structure.Discussed in this episode:Take Five Song Recorded by the Dave Brubeck QuartetTake Five Andy’s Emerging Cube IdeaThe Ball Pit100 OrnithoptersAndy’s Take Five Brainstorming Videos on YouTubeGoblin Game, mono-Red No-Deckbuilding Cube by ArloPack One Slick Ones - Episode #20 including Arlo’s Explanation of Goblin GameDegenerate Micro CubeSacred GeometryBun Magic CubeIf you’d like to show your support for the show, please consider backing Lucky Paper on Patreon or leaving us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro7:23 - Andy's New Cube Concept: "Take Five"26:33 - Complexity Level30:02 - Mana Fixing with Minimal Deckbuilding35:25 - Cube Design Timeline39:59 - Categories of Cards in the Cube47:04 - Future Abandoned Ideas58:26 - Wrap Up

View all cards mentioned in this episodeAndy and Anthony talk about and dispel what they see as the most prevalent myths about Cube drafting and design. While the format has seen a ton of growth in the last few years, it’s still not uncommon for people to think of Cube as primarily defined by the MTGO Cube. Other myths like Cube being only for the most enfranchised players or requiring exactly 8 people are still pervasive.Discussed in this episode:The Chive GuyDouble-slit ExperimentThe Top 5 Casual Formats Of Magic: The Gathering (not commander) from the Tolarian Community College on YouTubeStone Soup Draft Explanation on YouTubeMany Ways to Draft with Less than 8 Players ExplainedEpisode 277: Building the Lords of Limited Cube with Ben and Ethan of the LOL PodcastEpisode 206: The Joy of Gaming with Richard Garfield with Richard Garfield, Magic’s creatorBroadcast Shuffle: The Fast Method for Shuffling a CubeThe Magic Multiverse ProjectCubes Mentioned:MTGO Vintage Cube Cube List on Cube CobraAndy’s 100 OrnithoptersAquaone Powered a Heavily Altered Powered Vintage CubeAnthony’s Turbo CubeAndy’s Neoclassical CubeAndy’s Sacred GeometryAnthony’s Regular CubeCompanion CubeIf you’d like to show your support for the show, please consider backing Lucky Paper on Patreon or leaving us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro4:06 - Myth 1: All Cube is Vintage Cube8:40 - Myth 2: Cubes Must Contain the Most Powerful Cards Available12:10 - Cube vs. Commander15:13 - Myth 3: Cube is Expensive29:28 - Myth 4: Cube is for Enfranchised Players Only33:02 - Myth 5: You Need 8 People to Play Cube40:12 - Myth 6: 360 Card Cubes Get Repetitive43:48 - Myth 7: Your Cube Has to Be Perfectly Balanced48:04 - Myth 8: Shuffling is Difficult and Time Consuming48:43 - Myth 9: If You Like Commander You Should Build a Commander Cube50:28 - Myth 10: Your Cube Needs a Gimmick57:21 - Listener Message from Nick

View all cards mentioned in this episodeAndy and Anthony are joined by Jane to talk about her novel Cube The Ball Pit. In this cube, every card is treated as a modal double faced card with Chromatic Sphere on the back side. On top of that, the Cube is also a desert cube, so players must draft their lands and don’t have access to additional basics, and every card drafted must be played in your deck. They talk about Jane’s process designing the cube and how the rules relate to the particular cards included.Discussed in this episode:The Ball PitData Generated Vintage CubeRecross the Paths Discussing the Ball PitInland Northwest Cube FestCubeConThe Dashcon Ball PitIf you’d like to show your support for the show, please consider backing Lucky Paper on Patreon or leaving us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro0:42 - The Ball Pit10:21 - Unconventional Cube Maintenance13:33 - Psychographics18:34 - Evaluating Deck Photos20:55 - THE STINKERS24:43 - Ball Pit At CubeCon and Addressing Issues31:06 - Cloudpost32:22 - Reducing Mental Load34:40 - Addressing Long Games46:38 - The Future of The Ball Pit53:00 - Selecting Card Printings54:54 - Final Thoughts

View all cards mentioned in this episodeAndy and Anthony are joined by Ethan and Ben of the Lords of Limited podcast to talk about their new found enthusiasm for Cube and their new Lords of Limited Cube. Inspired to make a cube emblematic of their podcast and limited experience, their cube pulls from all the sets they’ve discussed on the podcast, starting with Hour of Devastation. They talk with Andy and Anthony about refining the list to something ready for playtesting. They talk about proportions of different effects, rough skeletons for color and type breakdowns, and what their goals for this new cube are.Discussed in this episode:Cube Will Outlive Magic Playmat, Second Edition PreorderLords of LimitedInitial List for the Lords of Limited CubeEpisode 274: Cube Design Iron Chef: Genesis Wave17 LandsThe Fire SwampRegular CubeIf you’d like to show your support for the show, please consider backing Lucky Paper on Patreon or leaving us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro0:57 - Episode Start5:21 - Lords of Limited Cube6:30 - Cube Design by Committee12:48 - 17 Lands15:34 - Supporting Pet Cards and Addressing Power Band25:16 - Ben and Ethan’s Conflicting Goals39:11 - Setting Expectations48:24 - Cube Breakdown and ASFANs56:15 - The Rule of 71:01:53 - Cube Manabase1:09:53 - Do the decks get soupy when you have 120 lands?1:17:51 - Overall Cube List Feedback1:28:47 - Naming the Lords of Limited Cube

View all cards mentioned in this episodeFor this special bonus episode, Andy talks with Wildflower, one of the members of the Cube Fellowship, about her experience at Cube Con 2025. If you’d like to support the Lucky Paper Cube Fellowship you can purchase a supporter pin. All of the profits from those pin sales are given directly to Cube Fellows.Discussed in this episode:Lucky Paper Cube FellowshipCubeCon15 Card HighlanderThe Ball PitTabletop Cube100 Ways to DraftA Study in HarmonyBreaking the Oath CubeIf you’d like to show your support for the show, please consider backing Lucky Paper on Patreon or leaving us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro0:55 - Interview Start3:45 - 15 Card Highlander7:34 - The Ball Pit12:32 - Tabletop Cube14:50 - 100 Ways to Draft18:44 - A Study in Harmony23:16 - Oathbreaker Cube26:51 - Wrap Up/Wildflower’s Cube

View all cards mentioned in this episodeAndy and Anthony recap Andy’s experience at the fourth annual CubeCon. They talk about how the event went overall, their thoughts on changes to the event structure — in particular separating open play and main event tickets — and Andy’s drafts throughout the weekend.Discussed in this episode:CubeConSacred GeometryRed TerrorBoudican Destruction Horizon cube by DarthPinkHippoWorld Champ CubeLords of Limited × Lucky Paper EpisodeMuseum of Modern cube by Judge BonesPringlesman’s CubeEpisode 275: In the Kitchen Making Stone Soup of Lucky Paper RadioIf you’d like to show your support for the show, please consider backing Lucky Paper on Patreon or leaving us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro1:25 - Presents from Listeners2:57 - CubeCon Recap4:21 - CubeCon Open Play Area vs Main Event11:30 - Draft 1 of Joe’s World Champs Cube23:06 - Draft 2 of Pringlesman's Cube29:58 - Draft 3 - Stone Soup46:36 - Draft 4 of Red Terror46:57 - Too Many Cubes52:34 - Draft 5 of Sacred Geometry56:02 - Wrap Up

View all cards mentioned in this episodeIn preparation for this year’s CubeCon, Andy and Anthony dive through some of Andy’s collection to put together a Stone Soup card pool for Andy to bring to the event. In this format, each player brings 45 cards of their choice. All the cards are combined and shuffled up and drafted like a collaboratively built cube. They talk about considerations for the kinds of cards to include while exploring stacks of cards, and ultimately picking out the 45 to bring.Discussed in this episode:Episode 265: Stone Soup, A Magical Community Stew with D.S.B.Cube Will Outlive Magic, Second Run Playmat Preorders on Stitcher’s SupplyThe Design of Everyday Things by Don NormanIf you’d like to show your support for the show, please consider backing Lucky Paper on Patreon or leaving us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro3:00 - What is a stone soup draft10:55 - Choosing lands for the soup16:09 - Removal for the soup25:54 - 10 cool cards38:14 - Anthony critiques the soup45:58 - Full soup contribution recap50:36 - Addressing color imbalance in the soup54:41 - Second run of "Cube Will Outlive Magic" playmat preorders

View all cards mentioned in this episodeAndy and Anthony brainstorm a brand new cube starting from a single card: Genesis Wave. Like the two previous episodes, featuring Goblin Charbelcher and Trade Routes, they expand from a single card considering what kind of environment it would make sense in. They take a few further steps considering more layers of cards that fit together in different ways. They end up with a rough sketch for a cube idea, including some general themes and a few open questions still to answer to turn their initial brainstorm into a playable list.Discussed in this episode:Second Edition of the Cube Will Outlive Magic Playmats Available for PreorderLucky Paper PatreonEpisode 197: Cube Design Iron Chef: Goblin CharbelcherEpisode 182: Emergent Cube Design by Example starting with Trade RoutesIf you’d like to show your support for the show, please consider backing Lucky Paper on Patreon or leaving us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro3:30 - Building a Cube Starting from Genesis Wave7:55 - Why Andy Doesn't Like Genesis Wave16:34 - Level 1 Cards23:52 - Permanent Based Interaction26:54 - Landfall30:42 - ETB Payoffs34:28 - Level 2 Cards42:01 - Vendilion Clique Corner51:57 - Open Questions Remaining57:46 - Approaching the Manabase1:01:54 - Conclusion

View all cards mentioned in this episodeAndy and Anthony talk about each of their top 5 favorite cards from the history of the game. They talk about where they first encountered them whether it was an exciting level up moment in a draft or as a key card that inspired a deck.Discussed in this episode:CubeConLucky Paper Cube FellowshipThe Eternal Glory PodcastAnthony’s First Ever 3-0 Deck Featuring Archfiend of IfnirEric Klug’s Peasant CubeRecross the PathsLords of LimitedIf you’d like to show your support for the show, please consider backing Lucky Paper on Patreon or leaving us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro2:24 - Episode Start6:02 - Anthony Favorite Cards #1 Whitemane Lion12:43 - #2 Noosegraf Mob17:29 - #3 Genesis Wave21:45 - #4 Archfiend of Ifnir26:32 - #5 Sphinx's Tutelage34:40 - Andy Favorite Cards History36:55 - #1 Masticore42:10 - #2 Managorger Hydra48:49 - #3 Skeleton Ship53:55 - #4 Portent59:26 - #5 Ornithopter

View all cards mentioned in this episodeAndy and Anthony talk about the last year in Magic and, in broad strokes, where they think the game stands from a design and product perspective. They start with Mark Rosewater’s own annual retrospective and talk about wether or not they agree on his take on the past year’s sets.Discussed in this episode:Mark Rosewater’s 2025 State of Design ArticlePack One Slick Ones - Episode #18 - Having a Healthy Relationship with Magic, Especially Outside of CubeGeneral Apathy on YouTubeOrnithological Studies Secret LairIf you’d like to show your support for the show, please consider backing Lucky Paper on Patreon or leaving us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro05:48 - State of Design 202528:05 - The end of "hat" sets?46:48 - Meditations on Fandom Culture50:01 - State of Design Lighting Round

View all cards mentioned in this episodeAndy and Anthony, along with Zach, Gabor, and Scott, recap their drafts from the most recent Capitol Cube Championship. The five of them, at sixty other players, spent a whole Saturday in DC Cube drafting. They talk about the cubes and decks they each drafted and highlights from the event.Discussed in this episode:Capitol Cube ChampionshipBodleian CubeAtomic CubeBun Magic CubeCompost CubeDepleted LandsPenrose CubeTresserhorn GardensAlattaTime Spiral Altered100 OrnithoptersIf you’d like to show your support for the show, please consider backing Lucky Paper on Patreon or leaving us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro00:54 - Capitol Cube Champs03:30 - Compost Cube07:34 - Depleted Lands25:20 - Penrose Cube37:58 - Tresserhorn Gardens55:58 - Alatta01:02:26 - Time Spiral Altered01:10:56 - 100 Ornithopters01:23:31 - Anthony's Top Eight Draft

View all cards mentioned in this episodeAndy and Anthony talk about the the new draft format Wizard’s intends for playing their latest release: Marvel’s Spider-Man. Designing the set approachable for small play groups, they propose a four player draft where each player takes two cards at a time from sealed booster packs. Our hosts talk about the design of the format, and the constraints in packaging and communication that informed it. They talk about the ways they prefer to draft with small groups and the options available to them as Cube organizers that they can take advantage of to have fun with any number of players.Discussed in this episode:Gavin’s Video Explaining Pick 2Good Luck High Five’s Episode on Pick 2 DraftHousman DraftGrid DraftDouble Decker DraftWimbledon DraftAlpha Reimagined CubeIf you’d like to show your support for the show, please consider backing Lucky Paper on Patreon or leaving us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro2:34 - Main Topic: Pick 2 Draft8:04 - Potential Downsides of Pick 2 Draft20:49 - Other Implications of Double Picks27:29 - Fan Made Small Pod Draft Formats30:19 - Drafting with Smaller Pack Sizes33:44 - Housman Draft40:32 - Grid Draft43:46 - Ryan Spain’s 2-Deck Draft45:52 - Wimbledon Draft51:35 - Final Thoughts on Pick 2 Draft57:09 - 2 Card Combos in Drafts for Small Groups

View all cards mentioned in this episodeAndy and Anthony co-draft Anthony’s Turbo Cube, talking through each of their picks as they navigate putting a deck together in this novel environment. In the Turbo Cube, all spells and activated abilities cost 2  mana less. While they draft, they discuss how the rules change effects each pick and their overall strategy.Because of the unique environment, our hosts collaborativly draft with eight real players rather than separately drafting the same simulated seat as they have in previous draft along episodes.Follow along with their draft on the cards mentioned page to see the full set of cards in each pack.Discussed in this episode:Turbo CubeNext “Book Club” Read: The Design of Everyday Things, by Donald NormanRecross the Paths, Episode with Andy Discussing the Cube FellowshipCube FellowshipPrevious open drafting episodes:The Bun Magic CubeRegular CubeNeoclassical CubeIf you’d like to show your support for the show, please consider backing Lucky Paper on Patreon or leaving us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro5:27 - Book Club - The Design of Everyday Things6:59 - Cube Fellowship9:11 - Turbo Cube Draft Along14:29 - Draft Pack 126:38 - Draft Pack 237:06 - Draft Pack 345:11 - Draft Pack 454:10 - Deck Build58:02 - Deck Review and Grade

View all cards mentioned in this episodeAnthony is one again out sick, and trying to fill his sizable shoes are both judge Bones and Kade from Recross the Paths for a discussion with a potpurri of topics. They recap Cube for a Cause, talk about how to divorce player experience from the outcome of their matches, and, of course, The Devil Went Down to Georgia.Discussed in this episode:Cube for a Cause Coverage on YouTubeCube For A Cause (C4AC)If you’d like to show your support for the show, please consider backing Lucky Paper on Patreon or leaving us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro8:55 - Main Topic Start18:58 - The Devil Went Down to Georgia31:20 - Vibe Curation40:33 - H** O***42:40 - Okay Maybe Winning Does Matter53:06 - Bones’ Judge Corner

View all cards mentioned in this episodeAndy and Parker look back at all the cards rotating out of Standard this summer. They look at the specific cards they were interested in for their cubes and talk about what they were right and wrong about.Search your own past survey submissions here.Discussed in this episode:2025 Standard Rotation Article by Parker LaMascusTheseusPulp NouveauSacred GeometryBun MagicNeoclassicalRegularCube for a Cause UMA Cube DraftIf you’d like to show your support for the show, please consider backing Lucky Paper on Patreon or leaving us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro2:24 - Main Topic: Post Rotation Cube Survey Retrospective10:47 - Surprising Trends17:14 - Parker’s Lessons36:32 - Andy’s Picks50:07 - Correct Predictions57:29 - Wrap Up

View all cards mentioned in this episodeAndy and Anthony talk about how and why designers can present their cubes in ways that resonate with players. They talk about the presentational aspects available to communicate through, the values of making a connection, and how valuable it can be to set expectations with players.Discussed in this episode:Double Black Diamonds Cube (formerly “Mono Decent”)100 OrnithoptersTurbo CubeRegular CubeDon’t Call It That by Eli AldmanThe Fire SwampThe Giver CubeThe Red TerrorThe Mono Red CubeThe Jund CubeBun Magic CubePenrose CubePenrose Aperiodic TilingDichotomy CubeSacred GeometryMTGO Vintage CubeThe Pauper CubeThe CampaignMay’s Fae CubeCascade CubeThe BallpitEsper Bouncy CastleIf you’d like to show your support for the show, please consider backing Lucky Paper on Patreon or leaving us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro3:30 - What is Resonance in Cubes12:57 - What’s In A Name?34:14 - A Few Different Resonant Hooks44:12 - Intercube Dialogue51:59 - Shoebox, a Magic convention focused on creative expression and friendly competition.

View all cards mentioned in this episodeAndy and Anthony are joined by Dan, a.k.a. “D.S.B” to talk about one of his favorite cube adjacent formats — Stone Soup. 8 players (or as many as you’ve got!) each bring their own selection of 45 sleeved cards to the draft. All the contributions are shuffled up and drafted as you would any other Cube. They talk about their experience drafting a Stone Soup and how the format plays. Choosing what cards to bring, especially if players don’t discuss their choices in advance, is an interesting question, and our hosts go deep into the nuance of it.Inevitably they also meander off the path and talk a little bit about a lot of topics, and a lot about The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin.Huge thanks to Rush Coil for granting us permission to use his great chiptune version of “Too Many Cooks” as the backing track for our intro week.Tune in to our Twitch channel this weekend, August 23-24, for some live paper Cube coverage from Cube for a Cause in New York!Discussed in this episode:Stone Soup MTG Draft on YouTubeStone Soup Folk Tale100 Monkeys EffectRupert Sheldrake - Morphic FieldsE. coli Long-Term Evolution ExperimentMultiple DiscoveryConvergent EvolutionNarrative IdentityBroadcast ShuffleCube Draft FormatsMilkshake DuckTo make a thief, make an owner; to create crime, create laws.Nothing is yours. It is to use. It is to share. If you will not share it, you cannot use it.― Ursula K. Le Guin, The DispossessedIf you’d like to show your support for the show, please consider backing Lucky Paper on Patreon or leaving us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro5:42 - Main Topic: Stone Soup21:20 - Andy’s Stone Soup Pool26:22 - Stone Soup Etiquette31:56 - Competitive Stone Soup?35:35 - Anthony’s Pool, Balancing Favorites With Power53:35 - Favorite Aspects of Stone Soup1:03:30 - The Dispossessed

View all cards mentioned in this episodeAndy and Anthony talk about control decks in Andy’s 100 Ornithopters Cube. Control decks flush with disenchants often perform better than Andy expects them to, getting a surprising density of what seems like should be premium cards for all players. They talk about why that might be the case, the kinds of decks they think should be able to combat these decks, and Andy’s plans to change the Cube to make the gameplay better fit the expectations he sets for players.Discussed in this episode:100 OrnithoptersBun Magic CubeIf you’d like to show your support for the show, please consider backing Lucky Paper on Patreon or leaving us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro7:48 - Thopterless Control30:35 - Anecdote Time41:20 - Bow of Nylea45:49 - List Changes

View all cards mentioned in this episodeBack from a Cube adventure to the west coast, Andy and Anthony recap their drafts at the first Inland Northwest CubeFest. The event included four drafts with over 50 players and a chance for our hosts to draft some very different cubes from their local scene. They also started the weekend with a “Stone Soup” draft with each player contributing 45 cards of their choosing that they’ll talk about in more detail in a future episode.Discussed in this episode:Inland Northwest CubeFestAlternate Timeline CubeThe CitadelThe Ball PitAquaone VintageCabbages and KingsIf you’d like to show your support for the show, please consider backing Lucky Paper on Patreon or leaving us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro3:34 - Pre-Event Stone Soup Draft8:31 - Anthony’s Alternate Timeline Draft11:18 - Andy’s Alternate Timeline Draft16:07 - Andy’s The Citadel Draft23:01 - Anthony’s The Citadel Draft27:47 - Andy’s The Ball Pit Draft41:16 - Anthony’s Aquaone Powered Draft48:30 - Anthony’s Cabbages and Kings Draft52:27 - Andy’s Cabbages and Kings Draft57:51 - Anthony’s Cabbages and Kings Matches61:43 - Wrap Up

View all cards mentioned in this episodeAfter spending a long weekend in a cabin in the woods with 8 friends playing 8 Cubes, Andy and Anthony recap their drafts. Each player brought a cube to share which they drafted back to back over course of the weekend.Discussed in this episode:Regular CubeSacred Geometry Cube100 OrnithoptersDocumentalThe DrownyardVertex Cube EventsThe Oldest SchoolJoe’s Anarchy CubeBodleian Cube100 OrnithoptersRhystic Studies 100 Ornithopters videoDoubleton SynergyThe Bolt CubeIf you’d like to show your support for the show, please consider backing Lucky Paper on Patreon or leaving us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro4:43 - Andy’s Draft of The Drownyard7:19 - Anthony’s Draft of The Drownyard10:19 - Andy’s Draft of The Oldest School14:33 - Anthony’s Draft of The Oldest School17:01 - Andy’s Draft of Anarchy Cube20:41 - Anthony’s Draft of Anarchy Cube23:21 - Andy’s Draft of The Regular Cube25:20 - Anthony’s Draft of The Regular Cube29:00 - Andy’s Draft of 100 Ornithopters32:57 - Anthony’s Draft of 100 Ornithopters40:41 - Andy’s Draft of Doubleton Synergy44:52 - Anthony’s Draft of Doubleton Synergy46:20 - Andy’s Draft of Bolt Cube50:37 - Anthony’s Draft of Bolt Cube53:12 - Andy’s Draft of Bodleian Cube58:24 - Anthony’s Draft of Bodleian Cube

View all cards mentioned in this episodeAndy and Anthony talk with Joe Anderson, proprietor of Cali Cube Champs, host of Joe’s Week in Magic, and a model local cube scene organizer about their theory of Cube Design and some of their favorite game moments.Discussed in this episode:Support Lucky Paper on PatreonLucky Paper Cube Fellowship ApplicationNutritious CubeSacred Geometry CubeThe 540The Third PowerSolely SingletonBun Magic CubeAtomic CubeCompanion CubeAquaone’s Powered CubeCheck us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro4:51 - Episode and Guest Introduction36:43 - Playing Magic for Big Story Moments

View all cards mentioned in this episodeContinuing on their archetype breakdown series, Andy and Anthony talk about midrange decks. They talk about the theory behind the tempo based meta-game and where midrange decks fit. They talk about ways to think of midrange in different cube environments, or if it even makes sense to. They also discuss strategy and how it can be used as a framework for thinking about the way a particular deck can win games.Discussed in this episode:Monster FactoryThe Jund CubeTheseus CubeAlso in the series:The ↑↑↓↓←→←→ABCs of ComboThe ABCs of ControlThe ABCs of AggroCheck us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro2:43 - What is a midrange deck?11:50 - Does every cube have a midrange deck?26:12 - The Relationship Between Midrange Decks and Synergy Decks36:30 - How the Color Pie Sees Midrange48:29 - How To Think About Midrange as a Cube Designer

View all cards mentioned in this episodeAfter five full years of Lucky Paper Radio, Andy and Anthony reflect on how their local playgroup, the podcast, and the broader cube community have evolved. They talk about their recent experience of keeping a weekly Cube night going without a local game store and how you can make it work. They also talk about the supportive, casual vibe of their local community and how a young player having a great time cubing is something of a litmus test for a strong community.Our hosts also introduce a new Patreon to support the show, the goal of which is to keep the show sustainable, covering the cost of an editor and other expenses. After years of hard work on Andy’s part, the show’s production needs to evolve to stay tenable. If they exceed that goal they have bigger ambitions of ways to support the Cube community.Andy and Anthony are excited to use this as an opportunity to record a bonus podcast for supporters: Magic Doesn’t Exist. All the Cube discussion will stay in the main feed available to everyone. The bonus feed will be an opportunity for our two hosts to talk about whatever else catches their interest. Anything at all, except Magic: hobbies, interests, books their reading, koji, mechanical watches, more koji probably until Anthony falls into a different rabbit hole, how they feel about Pokemon…If you want to support the show and hear more from our hosts, consider joining!Discussed in this episode:Our Patreon PageLucky Paper Expenses PageFadensonnenPeabody Heights BreweryCheck us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro1:31 - Our Fifth Anniversary and Starting Our Patreon8:26 - Our Reservations on Monetizing Our Labor of Love15:37 - Patreon Stretch Goals22:34 - Our Bonus Podcast: Magic Doesn’t Exist25:32 - Our Commitment to Transparency30:17 - The Lucky Paper Discord32:16 - Building a Cube Playgroup without a Local Game Store40:13 - The Logistics of Playing in Non-Magic Sanctioned Spaces48:51 - The Ten-Year-Old Child Test for Your Playgroup

View all cards mentioned in this episodeAndy and Anthony each draft the same seat of Andy’s Neoclassical Cube and then talk about it. They discuss strategy, what they were thinking as they went through each pick, and how they ultimately feel about the decks they drafted. Follow along with each, and see all of the cards from each pack they drafted on the cards mentioned page.If you want to draft this same seat as well, either before or after listening to the episode, follow these steps:Download the predetermined booster packsOn Draftmancer:Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro2:44 - Draft-along overview5:32 - An Overview of the Neoclassical Cube14:05 - Draft Breakdown — Pack 144:20 - Draft Breakdown — Pack 258:12 - Draft Breakdown — Pack 31:09:35 - Final Deck Thoughts and Lessons Learned

View all cards mentioned in this episodeAndy and Anthony are once again joined by Jenn who shares her expertise in designing set cubes. They talk about Jenn’s experience designing many many set and plane themed cubes and more broadly about the different ways to approach designing them.Discussed in this episode:Cube Con 2025 TicketsRavnica IdealizedBloodburrowKhans Expanded CubeEpisode 229: Fixing is Cringe with Jenn the JudgeSacred GeometryCheck us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro4:49 - Cube Con 2025 Overview12:31 - On Pack Collation in Set Cubes13:15 - What is a set Cube?23:56 - Multi-Set/Planar Theme Cubes25:34 - On Breaking Singleton in Theme Cubes29:55 - A Complete Introduction to Ravnica Idealized32:20 - Balancing Mechanical Gameplay and Vibes in Ravnica Idealized38:00 - Dealing With Power Creep in Multi-Set Cubes42:30 - Set Cubes as a Means of Exploring Flawed Limited Sets50:21 - Five Color Soup in Ravnica Idealized54:39 - Andy’s Sacred Geometry Artifact Deck Fail57:53 - Advice for First Time Set Cube Designers

View all cards mentioned in this episodeAndy and Anthony send off Andy’s Degenerate Micro Cube. After many years, Andy has decided to take apart the Cube, reclaiming its cards, sleeves, and mental space. The Cube attempted to capture something about the most high powered vintage games with a twist on the typical draft format and a tiny deck size. They talk about why Andy’s decided to take it apart, it’s highs, and lows, and lessons learned from playing with it over the years.Discussed in this episode:Final Fantasy and Commander Set SurveysThe Degenerate Micro CubeAn Introduction to the Degenerate Micro CubeNeoclassical Cube100 OrnithoptersLPR covering Andy’s experience with Ensnaring Bridge in the Degenerate Micro CubeEggs for FourCheck us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro0:00 - An Announcement Regarding Future Set Reviews7:00 - A Eulogy for the Degenerate Micro Cube10:50 - What was the Degenerate Micro Cube17:29 - How Combo Is or Is Not in Dialogue with Fair Archetypes20:30 - The History of The Degenerate Micro Cube24:22 - On the Deck Size Requirement in the Degenerate Micro Cube28:39 - What Andy Still Likes about the Degenerate Micro Cube38:11 - The Cost of Rules Modifications42:18 - The cards Andy is going to miss playing with most from the Degenerate Micro Cube

View all cards mentioned in this episodeThis episode was recorded a few weeks ago, so forgive the untimely references to the Rhystic Studies video on 100 Ornithopters. At our weekly cube night, Andy and Parker swapped drafts of eachother’s simple cubes: Andy playing Parker’s cube Atavus and Parker playing Andy’s cube Sacred Geometry. On this episode we dive into the goals for each of these cubes, both of which focus on simple cards and strive to be an approachable cube to new drafters, and hear a draft report from both Andy and Parker. Finally, Anthony, as the elder statesman of ‘clean’ cubes, weighs in on who has better realized their goals.Discussed in this episode:TCG Player BoycottAtavusSacred GeometryRegular CubeEldrazi Domain CubeRyan Saxe’s Buildaround CubeEvery Cube Night has 12 Losers by Parker LaMascusCheck us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro5:25 - Introduction to ‘simple’ cubes and an overview of The Regular Cube10:20 - An overview of Atavus, Parker’s simple cube18:40 - An overview of Sacred Geometry, Andy’s simple cube27:55 - Parker’s draft report of Sacred Geometry42:30 - Andy’s draft report of Atavus1:07:32 - On color hate in Atavus

View all cards mentioned in this episodeAndy and Anthony walk through (some of) the history of modal mechanics: cards that offer players choices between multiple effects. Starting with alpha they look at the different manifestations of modality, how they compare and contrast, and how they impact gameplay and fit into their Cube design philosophy.Discussed in this episode:An 11 hour game of commander ends in a draw and irrecoverable footageRhymeZoneNeologismEpisode: 243: In which Parker shares his criticism of CyclingCheck us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro2:44 - Introduction to main topic5:40 - What is a modal card?8:15 - The history of modal effects9:36 - Charms, Commands, and Confluences22:41 - Bloomburrow’s Pawprint Mechanic24:42 - Cycling33:31 - Kicker38:05 - Split Cards43:47 - Morph47:38 - Entwine49:36 - Overload53:35 - Channel

View all cards mentioned in this episodeAndy and Anthony are joined by Jane (a.k.a. maramas) and Arlo (a.k.a. gaytransmulldrifter) to talk about taste and aesthetics in Cube design. Building off recent discussions on the show, they question if there is such a thing as “taste” in cube design and what it means.Find more of Arlo and Jane, along with a motley cast of Cube designers, on their new podcast Pack1, Slick 1s.Discussed in this episode:Trump’s ‘One, big, beautiful bill’ would ban care for transgender people on Medicaid and ObamacareA4TE Condemns House Budget Cuts as Cruel Attack on Trans Lives and Lifesaving HealthcarePack 1, Slick 1sAndy’s Tangle Wire Reddit PostPack One Slick Ones - Episode #8 - Bitter Foods and Drafters’ MoodsInvitation to a Banquet by Fuchsia DunlopTrap StreetReading Rainbow CubeJeff KoonsYves KleinGlenstone MuseumUntitled Blue Sponge Relief by Yves KleinMark RothkoPack One Slick Ones - Episode #4 - Is Cube Punk Rock?Inland Northwest Cube FestUpcoming Cube Events on Lucky Papergaytransmulldrifter on YouTubeRobert Rauschenberg, Erased de Kooning Drawing, 1953Punxsutawney PhilCheck us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro6:27 - Tangle Wire Corner19:53 - What does it mean to develop one’s taste in Magic?35:57 - Is there such a thing as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ taste?56:08 - Is a Cube a painting?

View all cards mentioned in this episodeAndy and Anthony talk about saprolings, sort of. Our hosts talk about aesthetics and their own personal tastes, and how that applies to their preferences in Magic. Anthony somehow tries to make the case that saprolings connect to a pattern of affinity for systems thinking, complex iterative processes with emergent properties.Discussed in this episode:Episode 211 — Book Club: The Beauty of Games by Frank LantzEpisode 251 — Book Club: Playing Oppression by Mary Flanagan and Mikael JakobssonThe Design of Everyday ThingsWhy Fish Don’t ExistA Pattern LanguageReading Rainbow (Cube)Cod by Mark KurlanskyA People’s History of the United States by Howard ZinnLaw of the InstrumentThe Neoclassical Cube100 OrnithoptersSacred GeometryWhat if the 4-Card Limit Was Abolished in Modern? by Frank KarstenSaproling’s and Thallid Cards over TimeMeander Artwork by Robert HodginMandelbrot SetL-system fractalsChaos & Fractals: New Frontiers of ScienceNileRedWARNING Little Guys SpottedCheck us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro3:39 - Introduction to episode4:50 - What are Andy’s broad aesthetic sensibilities?12:59 - How do these aesthetic preferences relate to games?18:33 - What are Anthony’s aesthetic sensibilities?27:52 - Anthony’s love/hate relationship with Slimefoot33:12 - Andy’s application of his aesthetic values to Sacred Geometry38:59 - How the aesthetics of Magic have changed over time43:50 - River corner48:17 - Dynamic equilibrium, Magic meta games, and power creep54:14 - “The Fractal Perspective”

View all cards mentioned in this episodeIn the second episode of the Lucky Paper Radio Book Club, Andy, Anthony, and Parker discuss Playing Oppression by By Mary Flanagan and Mikael Jakobsson. The book explores the history of colonialism in games - the many roles games have played inculcating explicit propaganda or normalizing colonial value systems in their aesthetics and mechanics. Our club members, including call ins from listeners, talk about what they took from the book and whether it’s changed their perspective on games.Discussed in this episode:Playing Oppression by By Mary Flanagan and Mikael JakobssonFree PDF of the BookThe First Book Club EpisodeNose DiveA Pattern LanguageThe DoughboysUntitled Goose Game‘Kriegsspiel! How Napoleon Accidentally Invented Strategy Games’ on YouTubeWingspanPhotosynthesis (board game)Spirit IslandA People’s History of the United StatesCole WehrleRootMolly House (concept)Molly House (board game)Citizen GameRusty Cash Box of GoblinPolytopiaOgre Battle Tactics: March of the Black QueenThe Design of Everyday Things by Don NormanCheck us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro1:26 - Pickle Corner Returns5:15 - First impressions of Playing Oppression11:05 - On the format of the book and whether it’s the best means to convey the message16:28 - Getting on board with the core conceit of Playing Oppression19:41 - Are games descriptive or prescriptive of our culture?25:07 - What is a “Goose Game”30:42 - Are video games to blame for gun violence?'37:02 - The German Colony Game and why rehearsing violence is perhaps more visceral than witnessing it42:23 - How are colonial and violent values baked into games that don’t have explicitly colonial flavor?45:26 - How post-war Germany gave rise to the modern Eurogame52:22 - How do you subvert these colonial themes in game design?57:14 - Our experience playing the ‘anticolonialist’ games mentioned in Playing Oppression1:15:01 - Fascism as colonialism and imperialism turned inward1:16:29 - How does all of this relate to Magic1:20:42 - Polytopia and whether or not a better skin would make a difference

View all cards mentioned in this episodeAndy and Anthony talk about a paradox they occasionally face in Cube design. Sometimes a particular card to strategy over performs and as curators we want to add cards that offer counter play. Often those cards end up being just as potent played alongside the problematic cards as they are against them, only making the problem worse. Our hosts talk about specific times they’ve faced this paradox in their own cubes, and different strategies to break out of the paradox.But first, they go on a long digression on Anthony’s latest fermentation project, growing koji.Discussed in this episode:Flavorama, by Arielle JohnsonThe Noma Guide to FermentationThe Art of FermentationAnthony’s First Koji Test100 OrnithoptersDegenerate Micro CubeRegular CubeEvergreen Ability Tier List Episode of Lucky Paper RadioMono Black CubeThe Turbo CubeTurbo Cube Changes with Julien Episode of Lucky Paper RadioLucky Paper Events PageCheck us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro0:57 - Pickle Corner8:48 - The Nature of the Cube Design Paradox12:52 - Disenchants in 100 Ornithopters17:03 - Ensnaring Bridge in the Degenerate Micro Cube24:52 - Red in the Regular Cube27:23 - The Defunct Mono Black Cube29:59 - Combo Decks in the Turbo Cube37:17 - Constructed Magic Precedent for the Cube Design Paradox43:21 - Andy’s barely baked theory of power distribution’s impact on decks most likely to be drafted53:57 - Tools to Navigate the Cube Design Paradox

View all cards mentioned in this episodeAndy, Anthony, and Parker talk about the results of the cube community survey for Tarkir: Dragonstorm. They discuss the sets new mechanics and how they function to support a the set’s themes and limited environment and how that relates to goals of many Cube designers. They also talk about the top cards catching interest on the survey and honorable mentions featuring new mechanics or exploring new space.Discussed in this episode:Community Survey ResultsSpice 8 Rack’s video on the history of TarkirThe McElroy Brothers will be in Trolls 2Not just white men’s privilege, but just one timeCheck us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro5:35 - What is it like to be back on Tarkir?10:01 - Set survey overview11:25 - Harmonize24:20 - Omens39:19 - ‘Twobrid’ mana45:43 - Honorable Mention: Frontline Rush49:27 - Dishonorable Mention: Skirmish Rhino53:20 - Honorable Mention: Kishla Skimmer56:56 - Honorable Mention: the Monocolored Utility Lands1:00:37 - 9. Rotcurse Rakshasa and Renew1:05:38 - 8. Sunpearl Kirin1:09:32 - 7. Surrak, Elusive Hunter1:15:43 - 6. Desperate Measures1:19:52 - 5. Tersa Lightshatter1:23:30 - 4. Sinkhole Surveyor and Endure1:28:36 - 3. Voice of Victory and Mobilize1:31:18 - 2. Cori-Steel Cutter and Flurry1:39:01 - 1. Descendant of Storms

View all cards mentioned in this episodeAs they continue to attend more and more local, grassroots Cube events, Andy and Anthony find themselves asking: do people like these ‘tournament report’ episodes? They try to talk through their drafts at Boston Cube Party Two more quickly, but it still takes almost an hour to get through them. The episode concludes with a brief look at the decklists from Andy’s new cube, Sacred Geometry, which was only drafted three times prior to the event. The cube is still very much in its infancy, and Andy and Anthony’s discussion serves as a model for how to digest a very small sample size of gameplay results and turn those results into some high-level goalsSpecial thanks to Judge Bones for conceiving, writing, and recording the voiceover for this week’s intro!Discussed in this episode:Tarkir: Dragonstorm Cube SurveyTarkir: Dragonstorm Commander Cube SurveySacred GeometryDoubleton Synergy555-JankEsper CubeSpicy Ramen CubeHoopin’The Cascade CubeThe Devoid CubeAndy on Cubereviews talking about the Neoclassical CubeAnthony on Cubereviews talking about the Irregular CubeAlex on Recross the PathsCheck us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro2:55 - Should we do a tournament report for every tournament we attend?5:30 - Boston Cube Party 2 Overview8:55 - Andy’s Tournament Report10:52 - Andy’s Draft of Doubleton Synergy18:53 - Andy’s Draft of 555-Jank24:20 - Andy’s Draft of The Esper Cube29:35 - Andy’s Draft of the Spicy Ramen Cube35:33 - Anthony’s Draft of Hoopin’41:25 - Anthony’s Draft of the Cascade Cube49:09 - Anthony’s Draft of the Devoid Cube53:08 - Closing thoughts on Boston Cube Party 255:05 - Sacred Geometry Initial Impressions

View all cards mentioned in this episodeIn the final installment of ”The Barash Files” (at least for now!), Zach — game designer at Wizards of the Coast — talks with Andy and Anthony about playtesting. The three talk about how they approach getting feedback on their specific different environments and how they use that information.Discussed in this episode:Episode 15: Playtesting & TheorycraftingEpisode 231: The Barash Files 001 — The Principles of Game DesignThe Cascade CubeNeoclassical CubeOld Border Foil Cube100 OrnithoptersRegular CubeThe Mono Black CubeThe Null HypothesisKill Your DarlingsThe Turbo CubeUMA+ CubeCheck us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro3:44 - What is ‘playtesting’? How do you ‘playtest’ a cube?9:55 - What kinds of feedback can players be trusted to give?16:22 - How does Andy ask for feedback on the Neoclassical Cube and 100 Ornithopters?28:24 - How does Anthony ask for feedback on Regular Cube, the Mono Black Cube, and the Turbo Cube?40:14 - How does Zach ask for feedback on The Cascade Cube, and what is the story with Crashing Footfalls?52:17 - The ballad of Aura Shards in 100 Ornithopters1:06:54 - A note on ego when you receive feedback

View all cards mentioned in this episodeAndy and Anthony talk all things “combo”. After talking about both aggro and control on the show, they finally get around to this sometimes divisive part of the Magic landscape. They try to come up with a working definition of combo strategies, talk about their own history with it as players and cube designers.Discussed in this episode:Tarkir: Dragonstorm Cube SurveyTarkir: Dragonstorm Commander Cube Survey“The Daigo Parry”Episode 6: ABCs of AggroEpisode 165: ABCs of ControlImpostor SyndromeThe Turbo CubeWhen Trivia Beats Strategy by Parker LaMascusBun Magic CubeDegenerate Micro Cube100 OrnithoptersThe Neoclassical CubeCheck us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro1:52 - Introduction to Combo8:59 - How are Andy and Anthony defining a ‘combo’16:47 - A selection of combos from the Turbo Cube25:06 - Why does Anthony include combos in the Turbo Cube?26:59 - Andy’s journey to loving combo48:13 - How playing against combo changes your decision making52:19 - The inescapable danger of playing combos alongside fair decks

View all cards mentioned in this episodeAndy and Anthony are joined by Judge Bones. As mid-sized Cube events have flourished, Bones has spearheaded the task of judging and carried valuable lessons over from event to event. Hot on the heels of The Salt Box in Baltimore, the three talk about Bones’ history with Cube and what it takes to host and judge a Cube event.Discussed in this episode:Eiganjo DriftThe Amonkar Desert CubeBones on Recross the PathsLoxodon Mierarch’s Desert CubeHedron NetworkThe Broadcast ShuffleStripe Payment LinksLucky Paper Events PageCheck us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro4:48 - What is a Magic judge?8:05 - Judge Bones’s history with Magic and Judging13:21 - Judge Bones’s history with Cube21:45 - What is it like judging a small, grassroots Cube event?26:23 - How are grassroots Cube events run?31:43 - How to run your own grassroots Cube event38:43 - Security concerns, or lack thereof, of having strangers draft your cube46:34 - Bones’s tips to other judges for working Cube events51:35 - Rapid fire logistics of Cube event organization1:00:34 - Andy, Anthony, and Bones’s purely subjective suggestions for running your Cube event

View all cards mentioned in this episodeAndy, Anthony, and Patrick report on their experience at Baltimore’s first mid-sized Cube event: The Salt Box. Following the pattern of other regional events, the tournament featured multiple drafts of Cubes from the local area, organized by ranked choice selection. The three of them talk through the decks they drafted, highlights of their matches, and their experience beyond of the event, catching up with and hosting the regional cube-heads, at last in their home town.Discussed in this episode:The DoughboysEkibenThe Salt BoxCube for a CauseNeoclassical CubeThe Oldest SchoolTheseusReading RainbowGabe’s Weenies CubeThe Turbo CubeKong PochaVirtually French Cube100 OrnithoptersKamigawa RemasteredRegular CubeCheck us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro4:07 - The One Where Patrick Abandons 12 Years of Veganism11:47 - The Salt Box Overview18:08 - Andy and Patrick’s Saturday Morning Draft of the Neoclassical Cube29:51 - Anthony’s Saturday Morning Draft of The Oldest School34:39 - Andy and Anthony’s Saturday Afternoon Draft of Theseus45:27 - Patrick’s Sunday Morning Draft of Theseus50:38 - Patrick’s Saturday Afternoon Draft of Reading Rainbow54:36 - Saturday Evening Extracurricular Activities57:34 - Andy’s Sunday Morning Draft of the Virtually French1:06:11 - Anthony’s Sunday Morning Draft of 1001:15:01 - Andy’s Sunday Afternoon Draft of Kamigawa Remastered1:25:31 - Patrick’s Sunday Afternoon Non-Draft of Virtually French1:26:35 - Anthony’s Top 8 Draft of The Regular Cube

View all cards mentioned in this episodeAndy, Anthony, and Parker talk about Aetherdrift and peripheral sets. They review the results of the Cube community survey where Cube designers submit the cards they’re giving a shot in their cubes and how highly they rate them. They also give their own overall impressions of the set in this single-episode review. Finally, they close with Parker’s rundown of his experience at Cube For a Cause in New York.Discussed in this episode:Aetherdrift and Aetherdrift Commander Prospective ArticlesLucky Paper Radio Evergreen Keyword Ability Tier ListEiganjo DriftSides CartoonThe Mad Max Cube in Parker’s PlaygroupCube for a Cause AW2025Loam CubeNick’s Mono Red CubeJenn’s Idealized Ravnica CubeMad Max: Fury RoadGodzilla Minus One Minus ColorCheck us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro4:52 - Episode Overview7:47 - Mechanic: Start Your Engines and Speed12:24 - Mechanic: Exhaust15:07 - How do we approach vehicles in our cubes?20:08 - On the coexistence of vehicles and mounts22:21 - Why cycling is a cowardly ability (according to Parker)33:46 - Overview of Lucky Paper Cube Survey35:46 - 5. Diversion Unit40:16 - 4. Scrounging Skyray42:18 - 3. Greasewrench Goblin44:07 - 2. Marauding Mako46:26 - 1. Grim Bauble57:40 - Honorable Mention: Brightglass Gearhulk1:00:39 - Honorable Mention: Cryptcaller Chariot1:03:04 - Honorable Mention: Sundial, Dawn Tyrant1:06:20 - Honorable Mention: Agonasaur Rex1:11:19 - Honorable Mention: Shefet Archfiend1:14:54 - Honorable Mention: The Aetherspark1:21:18 - Parker’s Cube for a Cause Tournament Report

View all cards mentioned in this episodeAndy, Anthony, and Zach talk about improving as a Magic player, building a community and how they try to balance the two. They talk about the challenges of fostering positive social standards and how that can conflict with trying to improve at a competitive game.Discussed in this episode:The Null HypothesisCheck us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro2:22 - Balancing Developing Skill as a Player with Building a Community9:17 - The Nuanced, Complex Social Dynamics of Playing Magic12:57 - The Factors that Contribute to a Playgroup’s Vibe27:20 - The Tension Between Improvement and Community32:54 - The Value of Shared Expectations in a Community40:45 - On “Take Backs” and Learning from Your Mistakes1:03:07 - Zach asks Andy and Anthony if they’re satisfied with their level of competitiveness1:06:42 - Sequencing speed round

View all cards mentioned in this episodeAndy and Anthony are joined by Julien from their local playgroup, fresh off the pro-tour, to offer his expert advice on an important topic: updating the Turbo Cube. In Anthony’s novelty cube, the rules are modified so all spells and activated abilities cost Discussed in this episode:The Turbo CubeCube Events on Lucky PaperCheck us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro2:55 - Turbo Cube Overview6:01 - Hate Bears and Julien’s Theory on the Turbo Cube12:49 - The Diversity of Local Metas16:26 - Reconsidering the Pack Size in the Turbo Cube22:30 - The State of the Black Discard Deck34:10 - Should Anthony break singleton for more cards in the Turbo Cube?46:00 - Breaking Serve: Julien’s Suggested Adds to the Turbo Cube for Turn 0 Interaction56:17 - Anthony’s Reservations About Two Recently Printed Payoff Cards1:00:17 - Julien’s other Suggested Adds to the Turbo Cube1:15:47 - Do fetch lands makes sense in the Turbo Cube? less. They talk about how the environment has been playing, how successful recent changes have been, and new cards to consider adding.

View all cards mentioned in this episodeAndy and Anthony talk about their favorite cards from the last year. They each go through their top favorite unique cards or cycles discussing their impact on their own cubes, cubes they’ve been playing, or their future potential for the format.Discussed in this episode:Aetherdrift and Aetherdrift Commander Cube surveysThe Salt BoxCheck us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro3:58 - Andy’s Honorable Mentions: Fell, Refute, Joust Through, and No More Lies5:15 - Anthony’s Number 10: Blacksmith’s Talent6:53 - Andy’s Number 10: Shadow of the Second Sun10:20 - Anthony’s Number 9: Glaring Fleshraker12:32 - Andy’s Number 9: Talon Gates of Madara15:52 - Anthony’s Number 8: Elementalist Adept17:59 - Andy’s Number 8: Forsaken Miner21:35 - Anthony’s Number 7: Disruptor Flute23:15 - Andy’s Number 7: Warleader’s Call25:22 - Anthony’s Number 6: Goblin Surprise26:52 - Andy’s Number 6: Brainsurge30:16 - Anthony’s Number 5 and Andy’s Number 3: Searslicer Goblin32:44 - Andy’s Number 5: Slick Sequence35:36 - Anthony’s Number 4: Mandibular Kite37:16 - Andy’s Number 4: Proft’s Eidetic Memory39:27 - Anthony’s Number 3: Glyph Elemental42:12 - Anthony’s Number 2: Mischievous Mystic44:34 - Andy’s Number 2: Psychic Frog49:52 - Anthony’s Number 1: The Landscapes53:01 - Andy’s Number 1: The Surveil Lands

View all cards mentioned in this episodeInspired by two standards of beauty from different cultures — the Japanese Wabi-Sabi and the Italian Sprezzatura — Andy and Anthony are talking about a seemingly mundane card choice in 100 Ornithopters and how that reflects on the aesthetic values that are informally codified in cube design.Discussed in this episode: Aetherdrift and Aetherdrift Commander Cube surveys Boonta Vista 383: “Stanking Ass Or Otherwise” Wabi-Sabi Sprezzatura Wabi-Sabi for Artists and Designers by Leonard Koren Wabi-Sabi: Further Thoughts by Leonard Koren Neoclassical Cube Dear Gonti, Love Sophie The Fire Swamp Pack One, Slick Ones Free “Playing Oppression” PDF Arlo’s Thoughts on Cube as an Art ProjectCheck us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps 0:00 - Intro 1:34 - “Vintage Cube Sucks” Follow Up 7:34 - Cultural ideas of beauty that influence Cube design 13:29 - What is wabi-sabi? 28:30 - What is sprezzatura? 32:01 - Disenchant/Naturalize effects in 100 Ornithopters 44:27 - How do we cultivate style in our cube design choices? 48:05 - Examples of stylish Cube design choices 53:06 - Anthony talks about fractals 54:40 - Arlo’s point about cube inclusions never meant to be put in decks 57:52 - Vanquisher’s Banner vs. The Great Henge in 100 Ornithopters and cube style comes full circle

View all cards mentioned in this episodeAndy and Anthony talk about why they think Vintage Cube sucks. Riddled with unintelligibly complicated cards, self-solving puzzles, and value generating haymakers that take no investment or strategy to maximize, it’s not our hosts’ favorite kind of Cube.Discussed in this episode:Aetherdrift and Aetherdrift Commander Cube surveysReally Bad ChessRusty Box o’ GoblinsQuadrant TheoryMTGO Vintage Cube on Cube CobraNo Holds Barred Cube on MTGOParker’s Article on Trivia ChecksStavvy’s WorldMidnight DinerMay’s Fae CubeCheck us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro3:09 - Vintage Cube Sucks5:19 - Disclaimers and Caveats14:45 - What do we mean when we say ‘Vintage Cube’?18:02 - Issue one: rampant card complexity, especially the Initiative30:25 - Issue two: cards with no downsides encourage unfocused decks36:13 - Issue three: modern power outliers are mostly unknown supplemental set cards, not iconic pillars of the game42:30 - Miscellaneous ‘Vintage Cube’ cards that offend Andy and Anthony45:06 - What to do with the knowledge that Vintage Cube sucks?

View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy and Anthony recap Magic events they participated in this week. First, Anthony talks through his experience at Vertex Philadelphia, a ~100 person Cube tournament. Anthony had another solid run in his drafts, and the event was the first time his new Broadcast Shuffling method was tried at scale to reasonable success. Andy shares his experience helping organize and play in a charity stream for the Tabletop Workers United strike hardship fund. He ended up played in the event as an alternate and shares his complex experience drafting on stream. Discussed in this episode: Anthony’s Shuffling Article Anthony, Roja, and Arlo’s episodes of Recross the Paths Lucky Paper Events Page The Cascade Cube Anthony’s 3-0 Decks from the Weekend on BlueSky The Jund Cube May’s Fae Cube May’s Fae Cube episode of Uber Cube Cubereviews Podcast Eiganjo Drift The Dungeoneer’s Cube Support the Tabletop Workers United Strike Hardship Fund on GoFundMe Watch the 100 Ornithopters Unite Stream on YouTube Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube You can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box: Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211 If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty. Timestamps 0:00 - Intro 5:32 - Vertex: Philadelphia Tournament Report — Event Overview 10:38 - Anthony’s trajectory and improvement as a player 13:11 - Anthony’s draft of the Cascade Cube 18:22 - Anthony’s draft of the Jund Cube 23:35 - Anthony’s draft of May's Fae Cube 29:14 - Anthony’s draft of Eiganjo Drift 34:10 - Anthony’s draft of The Dungeoneer’s Cube 37:37 - Andy’s experience helping with the 100 Ornithopters Unite draft event

View all cards mentioned in this episode On the third installment of The Barash Files, Zach shares stories from his drafts of some of Andy and Anthony’s cubes over the last few years. He shares insights into how he approaches them as a player, and how effectively they deliver on their stated goals. Discussed in this episode: Drafting the Bun Magic Cube with Zach Barash Zach’s Roto Deck Anthony’s Roto Deck Zach’s First Article for Hipsters of the Coast “Level Up Moments” The Turbo Cube Reading Rainbow 100 Ornithopters Episode 229: Fixing is Cringe with Jenn the Judge The Modern Darlings Cube Old Border Foil Cube Dan Schneider’s Old Border Battlebox Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube You can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box: If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty. Timestamps 0:00 - Intro 1:05 - Introduction to Topic 3:50 - Anthony’s Level Up Moment from Zach’s advice on Anthony’s gameplay in a single match 18 months ago 16:06 - Level up moments as a Cube designer 18:13 - Zach’s Reflections on Playing The Regular Cube 24:45 - Reflections on Playing The Bun Magic Cube 32:42 - Zach’s Reflections on Playing The Turbo Cube 44:00 - Zach’s Reflections on Playing 100 Ornithopters 1:09:00 - Zach’s Reflections on The Neoclassical Cube Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211

View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy and Anthony talk with Carmen Klomparens, lead designer of the Foundations Starter Collection, about the set and how it’s a great option for new Cube players looking for a starting point. They talk about what’s in the set, how and how it was designed, and then each offer ideas and specific cards they’d add and cut to use it as a cube. Discussed in this episode: Nile on Twitch The full list of cards in the Foundations Starter Collection Foundations Starter Collection on the mothership The Uncanny Valley The Regular Cube Sacred Geometry Carmen Klomparens on Bluesky Musical production by DJ James Nasty. Timestamps 0:00 - Intro 4:33 - Did Magic R&D consider that the Foundations Starter Collection might make a great skeleton for a Cube? 6:29 - Limited and Cube as a proxy for kitchen table Magic 8:44 - What are the high level goals of Foundations 11:24 - Using mechanics to encourage your players to discover what is cool about Magic 14:49 - What is included in the Foundations Starter Collection 19:37 - What would Carmen, Andy, and Anthony would add to the Foundations Starter Collection if they were to turn it into a Cube 20:21 - Addition: a set of mono-color Planeswalkers 22:28 - Addition: Archangel of Thune 23:23 - Addition: Emeria Angel 24:18 - Addition: another cycle of fixing lands 27:29 - Addition: Remand 28:52 - Addition: Ravnica bounce lands 29:40 - Addition: more support for the ‘gates’ theme 33:24 - Addition: Viscera Seer 36:57 - Addition: Kess, Dissident Mage 39:28 - Addition: Faithless Looting 40:46 - Addition: Irencrag Pyromancer 42:11 - Addition: Future Sight 43:19 - Addition: A good black green threat 46:06 - Addition: Krosan Tusker 47:30 - Addition: Treetop Village 49:56 - What would Carmen, Andy, and Anthony would cut from the Foundations Starter Collection if they were to turn it into a Cube 50:21 - Cut: the color hate cards 51:24 - Cut: Hidetsugu’s Second Rite 52:07 - Cut: Wishclaw Talisman 52:50 - Cut: Feldon’s Cane 55:33 - Cut: Command Tower 58:19 - Cut: Fog Bank 59:33 - Cut: Rogue’s Passage 1:01:22 - Cut: Stroke of Midnight and Harmless Offering 1:03:45 - Cut: Sol Ring 1:05:57 - The lessons Cube designers can take from Carmen’s experience with Magic R&D 1:10:09 - Llanowar Elves vs. Elvish Mystic 1:14:52 - A thank you for Burst Lightning

View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy and Anthony talk about changes to the design of Magic cards over the years: including some overt changes like “snap on equipment” and more subtle differences in how attack triggers are worded they feel would have been done differently in the past. They talk about how each changes the texture and focus of games and how they think about them as Cube designers, whether they add more options or are a reason to pick cards from particular eras of the game. Discussed in this episode: Cooking Issues The Oldest School Cube Richard Garfield’s Post on Reddit Lucky Paper Radio 213: French Vanilla Face-Off Upcoming Cube Events Cube for a Cause AW25 Playing Oppression PDF The Best Method for Shuffling Cubes Detailed Analysis and Comparison of Cube Shuffling Methods Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube You can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box: Lucky Paper PO Box 4855 Baltimore, MD 21211 If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty. Timestamps 0:00 - Intro 0:31 - Tofu Corner 3:18 - Introduction to changing patterns in Magic R&D 5:15 - Changing pattern: more enter the battlefield abilities on creatures 21:04 - Changing pattern: the proliferation of trinket artifacts like clues, blood tokens, map tokens, etc. 30:28 - Changing pattern: eliminating edge-case targets 38:58 - Changing pattern: ’snap-on’ equipment that attaches on entering 46:09 - Changing pattern: ‘whenever ~ attacks’ triggers vs. ‘whenever you attack’ triggers 59:08 - Closing thoughts and calls to action

View all cards mentioned in this episode In the second installment of “The Barash Files”, Andy, Anthony, and Zach talk about Cube terminology. They talk about how the language we use effects that kinds of conversations we have which in turn effect the kinds of communities we build. New terminology can enable talking more efficiently about concepts that get condensed into a term, but also make it harder to communicate the nuance and variety in those concepts, potentially making communities harder to enter. Zach shares his thoughts on different parts of cube design, including ideation before anyone touches a card, material choices, what happens during the draft, and in game rules. His hope is to offer new terminology to push the boundaries of what cube designers consider when building a cube. Discussed in this episode: Parker’s History of Cube Article The Dunning Kruger Curve The Cascade Cube Eiganjo Drift Ryan Saxe’s Autobattler Cube The Devoid Cube Curio Cube Degenerate Micro Cube The Bauble Cube Reading Rainbow Companion Cube Tupelo Honey UMA Plus Cube Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube You can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box: Lucky Paper PO Box 4855 Baltimore, MD 21211 If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty. Timestamps 0:00 - Intro 2:04 - Zach’s Preamble 6:14 - What is a “Cube”? 20:09 - Where did the normative ideas of power-maxing and constructed ban list naming conventions come from? 29:50 - The need for new terminology for different kinds of cube design 38:36 - On strange, non-descriptive deck names and accessibility vs gatekeeping 45:15 - Zach’s Five Areas of Cube Design 58:11 - The costs of making design choices in unexpected areas of Cube design 1:10:07 - On calling small Cubes “Twoberts” 1:14:52 - On referring to Cubes as “Baltimore Singleton”

View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy and Anthony close out 2024 reflecting on their year in Magic. This year Magic’s new direction as a product driven primarily by marketing goals fueled with cheap gimmicks and cross branding feels solidified. Our hosts talk, kind of briefly, on how their relationships to the game have changed because of that. More importantly, they talk about their personal highs and lows with the game this year. Regardless of the direction Magic as a product is moving, the Cube community has surged in so many ways. Small, grassroots events have become a norm. The local Baltimore Cube community is hitting a stride. The interstate Cube culture is emerging and flourishing. They also talk about some of their struggles in taking on more ambitions projects and how the podcast has effected their relationship to the online community. Discussed in this episode: Glengarry Glen Ross Episode 218: State of the Game 2024 The Adventure Zone Hello from the Magic Tavern My Brother, My Brother, and Me Til Death do us Blart 100 Ornithopters Episode 206: The Joy of Gaming with Richard Garfield Potsdam Gravity Potato Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube You can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box: Lucky Paper PO Box 4855 Baltimore, MD 21211 If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty. Timestamps 0:00 - Intro 8:48 - Recap of last year’s recap 10:51 - How our relationship with Magic changed in 2024 13:34 - The perishability of joy, novelty, and discovery: why Andy and Anthony no longer listen to most McElroy brothers podcasts 23:34 - On decreased participation in set surveys 25:07 - Shared High: Small, Grassroots Cube Events 32:18 - Andy’s High: The Design of and Reception to 100 Ornithopters 37:35 - Anthony’s High: The Variety of Depth of What is Accepted as a Cube 42:28 - Anthony’s High: The State of Our Local Cube Playgroup 44:17 - Andy’s High: Having Richard Garfield on Lucky Paper Radio 48:36 - Anthony’s High: He’s Good at Magic Now 53:18 - Anthony’s High: Connecting with Magic Friends about Things Other than Magic 55:45 - Andy’s High: The Reception to Our First Playmat 57:04 - Andy’s Low: The Playmat International Shipping Fiasco 1:09:43 - Andy’s Low: His Sensitivity to Discussion on the Podcast

View all cards mentioned in this episode Zach Barash joins Andy and Anthony for the first episode in a series where he shares his game design expertise. In this first episode, the three talk about the first principles of game design, including the iteration loop most game designers follow (and similar processes in other fields!). Starting with ideation, then forming a hypothesis, finally prototyping and playtesting, designers feed the results they learn back into the beginning of the process. They talk about how cube designers can learn from the process, adopting the role and mindset of a game designer. Zach works at Wizards of the Coast on the Arena team, designing many of the events available — his opinions on the show are his own. We’re excited to have him join us for four more episodes in the near future. Discussed in this episode: The Power Broker Kingdom Death Drawing Live: Zach’s Column for Hipsters of the Coast Spaced Penguin Playthrough on YouTube The Cascade Cube The Turbo Cube Reading Rainbow Cube Andrew Elebogen Tween about Extrapolating from Too Small Sample Sizes The Beginning of Infinity The Modern Darlings Cube The Museum of Modern Cube Linguistic Relativity Playing Oppression Andy, Anthony, Parker, and Zach on BlueSky Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube You can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box: Lucky Paper PO Box 4855 Baltimore, MD 21211 If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty. Timestamps 0:00 - Intro 10:02 - Game Design with Training Wheels 12:43 - Anthony’s History with Game Design 19:21 - The Basic Principles of Game Design: The Iteration Loop 33:56 - Balance is Overrated 47:32 - How does one go about uncovering truths about their cube? 59:11 - What does a cube designer mean when they say they want ‘balance’?

View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy and Anthony talk about the essential digital tools and workflows for Cube designers. Starting with finding and gathering cards on Scryfall, to sculpting and sharing lists on Cube Cobra and tools for analyzing and comparing lists, they talk about how to leverage resources to make designing and playing Cube easier. Our hosts also share about some of the tools they’ve built to address their own needs that come up regularly in Cube design. Discussed in this episode: Scryfall Cube Cobra Lucky Paper Rotisserie Draft Sheet Anthony’s articles about Scryfall’s search syntax and regular expressions Building a Cube from Your Collection Article and Podcast Moxfield Lucky Paper Cube Map Sacred Geometry 100 Ornithopters Anthony’s CubeCobra API toolkit Anthony’s Google Sheets Integration MTGTop8 Degenerate Micro Cube EDHRec Lucky Paper List Formatter Lucky Paper List Differ Commander Spellbook Neoclassical Cube Andy’s Small Combo Cube “Eggs for Four” sealeddeck.tech deckstats.net Surveil Lands Playing Oppression The Dandy Cube Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube You can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box: Lucky Paper PO Box 4855 Baltimore, MD 21211 If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty. Timestamps 0:00 - Intro 7:51 - Introduction to topic 9:09 - Scryfall 14:00 - Cube Cobra 28:14 - Spreadsheets 29:35 - MTGTop8 32:36 - Lucky Paper Cube Design Tools 38:15 - Commander Spellbook 41:34 - Honorable mention: sealeddeck.tech 44:10 - Collection management 46:38 - Listener Submitted Pack 1, Pick 1

View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy and Anthony are Joined by Jenn the Judge to talk about “5 Color Good Stuff” decks in cube. They talk about what aspects of a Cube enable 5 color decks, and the impacts these decks have on the feel and fun of an environment. They talk about some of the strategies they employ in their own cubes, including Jenn’s Ravnica Cube, to control what kinds of multi-color decks are likely to be drafted. Discussed in this episode: The Oldest School Cube Jenn’s Ravnica Cube Jenn’s Linktree Hex and Company Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube You can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box: Lucky Paper PO Box 4855 Baltimore, MD 21211 If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty. Timestamps 0:00 - Intro 4:06 - The fixing in your cube is too good 5:02 - Ravnica limited formats and how they might inform fixing in Cube 8:10 - What is wrong with five color good stuff? 15:56 - On disliking Triomes in Cube 22:51 - The effects on less experienced players in fixing dense cubes 26:12 - How do players that spend high picks on lands still end up with super high card quality in their deck? 28:23 - The various factors that contribute to the viability of five-color good stuff decks? 35:21 - How does Jenn limit soupy decks in their Ravnica Cube 48:09 - Does the five-color good stuff deck self balance in draft? 53:33 - Are there different kinds of five-color good stuff decks? What are their various merits and downsides? 58:17 - Closing thoughts on five-color good stuff and mana fixing in cubes

View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy, Anthony, and Parker review the results of the Foundations Cube Community survey. They talk through the top cards that have Cube designers most excited and theorize about what’s catching people’s interest and some of the patterns in the results. They talk about the associated Jump Start set with one major stand out: Scythecat Cub which is apparently both highly anticipated and polarizing. Finally, they can’t help but talk about the trends, stand outs, and misses in the new set’s artwork. We’ve chosen Playing Oppression for our next Book Club episode. We’ll be reading the book and discussing it in an episode after the holidays. Pick up a copy if you want to read along with us! Discussed in this episode: Foundations Cube Prospective Foundations Jumpstart Cube Prospective Andy, Anthony, and Parker on BlueSky Ollie’s post on BlueSky about Alesha Reprints with new illustrations on Scryfall Lucky Paper List Formatter Lucky Paper List Differ Upcoming Cube Events on Lucky Paper Vertex Philadelphia Discord Server Playing Oppression, our next Book Club book, on MIT Press Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube You can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box: Lucky Paper PO Box 4855 Baltimore, MD 21211 If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty. Timestamps 0:00 - Intro 2:52 - Parker’s Successful Dissertation Defense 7:51 - Foundations Cube Prospective Overview 13:01 - 8. Goblin Surprise 17:11 - 7. Kiora, the Rising Tide 24:28 - 6. Sphinx of Forgotten Lore 32:36 - 5. Sun-Blessed Healer 41:16 - 4. Kellan, Planar Trailblazer 51:39 - 3. Mischievous Mystic 54:54 - 2. Alesha, Who Laughs at Fate 1:02:35 - 1. Searslicer Goblin 1:07:17 - On the recent trend of ‘simple’ cubes 1:11:02 - Foundations Jumpstart — Scythecat Cub 1:15:47 - On the Anime Art Legends in Jumpstart Foundations

Andy and Anthony talk all things board wipes in Cube. They talk about the varieties and boundaries of cards that reset the board state and how they effect gameplay and add strategic depth to games with or against them. They talk about the roles of board wipes in their main Cubes. View cards mentioned in this episode > Discussed in this episode: Foundations and Jump Start Cube Surveys Lucky Paper Upcoming Cube Events Page Andy, Anthony, and Parker on BlueSky Timestamps 1:22 - Topic introduction 2:22 - What is a board wipe? 20:25 - How much should a board wipe cost and how much does it matter? 45:27 - Different densities of board wipes and how they affect their respective cube environments 51:15 - The draft and play patterns that board wipes create 59:19 - Summary Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. You can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box: Lucky Paper PO Box 4855 Baltimore, MD 21211 If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony talk about their Cubes included in CubeCon 2024: Andy’s 100 Ornithopters and Anthony’s Regular and Turbo Cubes. They talk about what they learned about each from players’ feedback and the decklists after the event. They also talk about potential changes they’re considering based on that feedback. View all cards mentioned in this episode Discussed in this episode: Lucky Paper Events Page LSVs Draft of “6 Ornithopters” Timestamps 0:00 - Introduction 3:34 - Regular Cube Feedback 16:14 - Turbo Cube Feedback 30:53 - 100 Ornithopters Feedback Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube You can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box: Lucky Paper PO Box 4855 Baltimore, MD 21211 If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony talk about Foundations, Magic’s latest set, akin to old Core Sets. The set fills multiple roles including being an approachable set for beginners, a nostalgic set to invested players, and a way to support standard with basic effects that stay in the format longer. Our hosts talk about their overall impressions of the set and individual cards they’re interested in for their own Cube projects, including Andy’s new Cube: Sacred Geometry. View all cards mentioned in this episode Discussed in this episode: Jbro’s GoFundMe Large Painted Locust Foundations and Jump Start Cube Surveys Lucky Paper Resources Anthony’s Article on Game Design List formatter Cube Map List of Upcoming Cube Events The Regular Cube Sacred Geometry Magic Data Science Thread on Vanilla Creatures Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. You can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box: Lucky Paper PO Box 4855 Baltimore, MD 21211 If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

In the wake of CubeCon 2024, Andy and Anthony talk about how they approach drafting new Cube environments. They talk about their general draft strategies and heuristics they start with to get a sense of what’s going to be important in the environment just by looking at the packs being passed. View all cards mentioned in this episode Discussed in this episode: Anthony’s Big Bottle Opener Episode 48: Playing to Win: Evaluating New Cubes Episode 215: Using Little Pieces of Paper as a Supermassive Random Number Generator Anthony’s Fire Swamp and C/Ube Decks Game Objects Cube The Fire Swamp Keldan’s Simple Cube Streisand Effect Timestamps 0:00 - Introduction 6:09 - Are we good at Magic? 8:56 - How do we approach drafting a completely unfamiliar list 19:29 - Should you look at the available mana fixing in a cube? 26:08 - The categories of cards to pay attention to in the draft 30:25 - How often should you end up playing your pack 1, pick 1 in Cube draft? 31:59 - The importance of recontexualizaion 40:26 - The Value of Having a Plan 48:04 - How much do you trust the Cube designer? 57:24 - Heuristics for having a good time Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. You can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box: Lucky Paper PO Box 4855 Baltimore, MD 21211 If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony, are joined by perennial favorite, Patrick, to recap their experience at CubeCon 2024. They talk about how they approached the event, the Cubes they drafted, and the highs and lows of every deck they drafted throughout the event. Growing to almost 600 players in it’s third year, CubeCon continued to deliver on being an opportunity to play a huge range of novel environments, and catch up with old or meet up with new friends in the Cube community. View all cards mentioned in this episode Discussed in this episode: CubeCon The Fire Swamp The Way too Hybrid Cube The Good Old Days The Mono Red Cube Shrek Retold Wally the Dog & Patrick’s Shrek Costume Short Stack Eatery The Shadow Cube The Simple Cube C/Ube The Bodleian Cube 100 Ornithopters Klug’s Altered Ornithopter The Salt Box (Baltimore Cube Event) Lucky Paper Cube Events Calendar Timestamps 0:00 - Introduction 5:00 - The Fire Swamp 17:43 - The Way too Hybrid Cube 21:21 - The Good Old Days 29:24 - The Mono Red Cube 34:40 - Spicy Ramen Cube 43:03 - Death’s Shadow Cube 46:06 - Alpha Reimagined 57:12 - The Simple Cube 1:02:12 - C/Ube 1:10:24 - The Bodleian Cube 1:15:30 - 100 Ornithopters Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. You can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box: Lucky Paper PO Box 4855 Baltimore, MD 21211 If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy, Anthony, and Parker, belatedly discuss the results from the last two standard sets’ Cube community surveys, Bloomburrow and Duskmourn: House of Horror. They talk about the top cards that have the attention of the most Cube designers as well as their general observations about what from each set the community is responding to. View all cards mentioned in this episode Discussed in this episode: Documental The Steel Curtain Bloomburron Community Review Results Duskmourn: House of Horror Community Review Results Episode 217: Cards We Were Wrong About: 2024 Standard Rotation Episode 213: French Vanilla Face-Off Timestamps 0:00 - Introduction 6:54 - Episode format overview 7:55 - Bloomburrow Overview 10:12 - On the decreasing number of survey respondents more broadly 14:21 - Bloomburrow top cards — Number 5. Hired Claw 19:51 - 4. Shoreline Looter 23:09 - 3. Kitsa, Otterball Elite 29:28 - 2. Fell 34:49 - 1. Emberheart Challenger  44:13 - Bloomburrow Commander Shout Out: Jacked Rabbit 46:06 - Duskmourn Overview 48:54 - Duskmourn top cards — Number 5. Overlord of the Mistmoors 55:11 - 4. Insidious Fungus 56:54 - 3. Wildfire Wickerfolk 1:01:23 - 2. Chainsaw 1:03:54 - The flavor of Duskmourn overall 1:07:44 - 1. Fear of Missing Out 1:10:47 - Cube Mechanical Miss: Survivor 1:13:25 - Cube Mechanical Miss: Rooms 1:16:16 - On Manifest Dread and Abhorrent Oculus 1:21:28 - Honorable Mention: Split Up 1:24:46 - Honorable Mention: Come Back Wrong 1:28:44 - Duskmourn Wrap-Up Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. You can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box: Lucky Paper PO Box 4855 Baltimore, MD 21211 If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony talk with Ryan Saxe about his latest Magic passion project. Inspired by one of his favorite video game genres, AutoBattlers, Ryan has been working to create a Magic variant that incorporates the feeling of quick mini-games and constant upgrades and expansion of your arsenal. In his format, players face of in a series of mini-games with only a few cards available to each player. After each quick game, players get to modify and expand their available pool of cards to use by trading with a random new selection of cards from the Cube list. Players are eliminated as they accrue a certain number of losses leaving one the champion. The three talk about the design process, challenges and successes Ryan’s had through iterating on the rules system, and their experience drafting the AutoBattler cube. View all cards mentioned in this episode Discussed in this episode: George W. Hart’s Geometric Sculptures Pai Gow AutoBattler Cube Rules and Card List Ryan’s Autobattler Discord Ogre Battle Tactics: Match of the Black Queen Team Fight Tactics Loading, Ready, Run AutoBattler Stream Slay the Spire Timestamps 0:00 - AI Corner 13:01 - Introduction to Ryan’s new format 14:20 - What is an auto battler? 17:59 - How did Ryan go about applying the patterns of an auto battler to Magic? 28:42 - How does Ryan’s auto battler format work? 46:16 - Designing the rules system vs. designing the cube list 53:22 - A deep dive on the design details of the auto battler 1:33:45 - How Anthony would teach the auto battler format 1:35:40 - Is it productive to describe this as an auto battler? Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. You can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box: Lucky Paper PO Box 4855 Baltimore, MD 21211 If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony take a step aside from their typical focus on Cube and reflect on the recent shake ups in Commander. They talk about the major bans that have rattled the format and their feelings about Wizards of the Coast formally taking control of the fan-made format which has become the dominant form of the game. View all cards mentioned in this episode Discussed in this episode: Commander RC banned and restricted announcement WotC’s announcement on taking over the Commander format WeeklyMTG with Gavin Verhey and Aaron Forsythe Dana Roach’s response on Twitter Degenerate Micro Cube Bosh’N’Roll’s video on the bans Timestamps 0:00 - Introduction 1:10 - Basic rundown of the events of the past two weeks in Magic 5:00 - The banning of Dockside Extortionist, Nadu, Winged Wisdom, Mana Crypt, and Jeweled Lotus in Commander 12:02 - “Rule Zero” and why it does not work 15:58 - The respective strengths and flaws of Commander and Cube 23:48 - On the deplorable backlash from a vocal subset of Magic players 39:16 - A clarification of our stance on proxies 44:02 - Magic and consumption as self expression 58:30 - What about Sol Ring? 1:02:21 - Wizard’s of the Coast’s concept about managing the Commander format with a series of tiers 1:09:39 - Summary and conclusions Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. You can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box: Lucky Paper PO Box 4855 Baltimore, MD 21211 If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty

Andy and Anthony talk about a big batch of updates to Anthony’s Turbo Cube. In this Cube, all spells and activated abilities cost {2} less. They talk about their general philosophy of updating Cubes, what types of strategies Anthony is hoping to bolster with these updates, and talk through the changes card by card. View all cards mentioned in this episode Discussed in this episode: The Turbo Cube Frank Karsten’s Mana Math Good Morning Magic: Unfinished Land Cycles in Commander Decks BoshNRoll: Miraculous Revival! Timestamps: 0:00 - Introduction 0:51 - Draft report: Boromir Sucks 3:25 - Episode overview 6:20 - What is the Turbo Cube? 10:48 - Broad goals and philosophies underpinning these changes 13:01 - A bold new direction for lands 24:55 - Black improvements and a focus on discard synergies 37:04 - Why cut Reckoner Bankbuster? 39:10 - Changes to green 44:14 - Minor tweaks to red 48:34 - The smallest changes: blue and white 1:03:01 - Changes to colorless cards 1:10:30 - Andy’s suggestion corner Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. You can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box: Lucky Paper PO Box 4855 Baltimore, MD 21211 If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony reflect on the Mark Rosewater’s reflection on the past year in Magic. Every year, Magic’s lead designer shares lessons learned and strengths from each booster set. This year’s felt lacking a bit of thematic focus, but maybe the lack of focus is emblematic of this last year in Magic. View all cards mentioned in this episode Discussed in this episode: Mark Rosewater’s State of the Game 2024 Episode 163: State of the Game 2023 Episode 109: State of the Game 2022 Episode 206: The Joy of Gaming with Richard Garfield Episode 211: Book Club: The Beauty of Games by Frank Lantz Drive to Work Podcast Drive to Work: Designing for an Eternal World Blogatog Lucky Paper Events Page Polar Bear Encounter Frostbite by Nicola Twilley Timestamps 0:00 - Introduction 3:32 - Is this even for us? How invested are we in Magic these days? 10:30 - Is this year’s ‘State of Design’ article more shallow than previous years? 12:57 - 2024’s Theme: Lack of Focus 17:43 - Lesson: Magic was too on the nose with its tropes 26:53 - Lesson: Some individual mechanics were too complex 32:09 - Lesson: More mechanics were polarizing than previous years  49:41 - Does R&D drive Magic these days? 51:43 - Our favorite thing from Magic this year: grassroots Cube events Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. You can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box: Lucky Paper PO Box 4855 Baltimore, MD 21211 If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Parker look back on all the sets currently cycling out of standard and talk about their overall impressions and how individual cards from each have aged in their various Cubes. Anthony’s there too, kinda just vibing cause he’s been updating his Cubes at an agitated non-newtonian fluid pace. View all cards mentioned in this episode Discussed in this episode: Parker’s Retrospective Article Survey Archive Search Parker’s “The Ship of Theseus” Cube Video of non-newtonian fluid wtwlf’s Tweet about quitting set reviews Timestamps: 0:00 - Introduction 2:46 - Topic Overview 11:41 - Innistrad: Midnight Hunt 21:28 - Why we’re not talking about Commander sets 22:53 - Innistrad: Crimson Vow 27:31 - Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty 43:06 - Streets of New Capenna 48:17 - Triomes revisited 52:37 - Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur’s Gate 59:54 - Big picture lessons learned from standard rotation Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube You can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box: Lucky Paper PO Box 4855 Baltimore, MD 21211 If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony revisit randomness in Magic with more resources and input form listeners. They talk about decision making at large and small scales in games: strategy vs tactics, and how randomness impacts what kind of planning are rewarded. View all cards mentioned in this episode Discussed in this episode: Stardew Valley bdouble0 on YouTube Florian Gadsby on YouTube Board Game Design Day: White, Brown, and Pink: The Flavors of Tabletop Game Randomness Andy’s coaching video with Brian Coval The Cascade Cube Ben Brode on the Search Engine Podcast Edward Snowden on the Joe Rogan Experience Timestamps 0:00 - Introduction 6:29 - Input Randomness vs. Output Randomness 10:05 - Strategy vs. Tactics 21:34 - Is there a fundamental difference in randomness between Bloodbraid Elf and Fact or Fiction? 39:52 - Chess vs. Poker in the Strategy vs. Tactics Dichotomy 46:04 - Why numerous random events converge on predictability and how that describes Xerox Theory 52:05 - Neverwinter Hydra vs. Carnage Tyrant 59:58 - Randomness laundering skill disparities Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. You can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box: Lucky Paper PO Box 4855 Baltimore, MD 21211 If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony talk about randomness in Magic, and specifically just how much randomness there is in a Cube draft. They talk about where randomness comes from and how different mechanics use the library or other sets of cards as a random source to make them work. They also go into their own preferences and how they thing about randomness in their Cube designs. View all cards mentioned in this episode Discussed in this episode: Bloomburrow and Bloomburrow Commander Surveys “Names of Large Numbers” on Wikipedia Episode 210: Raggadragga’s Lucky Paper Debut Crystalline Giant keyword tracking website The Oldest School Cube Jay’s Feature Match Moment Anthony on the Uber Cube podcast Blocked Party Timestamps 0:00 - Introduction and why you should cut your opponent’s deck 5:03 - Why randomness is maybe the most fundamental aspect of Magic: the Gathering 7:08 - Andy says some really big numbers to convince you Magic is really random 19:22 - Using your library as a random number generator 26:57 - Categorizing different types of ‘random’ cards 49:09 - Andy and Anthony’s approach to randomness as Cube designers, in summary 55:41 - Andy and Anthony’s favorite ‘random’ moments from games they’ve played Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. You can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box: Lucky Paper PO Box 4855 Baltimore, MD 21211 If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony talk about some of the past and pending Cube events they are attending. This year has seen a proliferation of new small Cube events. Anthony reviews his experience at the Capitol Cube Champs and they talk about what they’re excited about in the upcoming Cube 4 Charity hosted by Upkeep New York. View all cards mentioned in this episode Timestamps 0:00 - Introduction 2:42 - Capitol Cube Champs Tournament Report 22:04 - Mailbag 25:01 - Anthony’s Irregular Cube Preparation for Cube 4 Charity 39:17 - Andy’s 100 Ornithopters Preparation for Cube 4 Charity Discussed in this episode: Bloomburrow and Bloomburrow Commander Surveys Dozer’s Artifact Cube Rusty Box of Goblins Eiganjo Drift UberBear’s “Selfie of Two Anthonys” The Twube Tupelo Honey The Irregular Cube Riptide Lab Lucky Paper Cube Events Page Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. You can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box: Lucky Paper PO Box 4855 Baltimore, MD 21211 If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

No regular episode of Lucky Paper Radio this week, sadly, but in an effort to not leave y’all empty handed and to help highlight a great new Cube podcast, we’re bringing you and episode of Kade Goforth’s Recross the Paths. Discussed in this episode: Bloomburrow and Bloomburrow Commander Surveys Recross the Paths on Spotify Recross the Paths RSS Feed Squares that Cube: Fitting Cubes to Your Community with Maramas UberCube

Andy and Anthony each rank every evergreen creature ability and then, tier by tier, discuss what they love each adds (or doesn’t) to the game. View all cards discussed in this episode. Discussed in this episode: Bloomburrow and Bloomburrow Commander Surveys Evergreen Keyword Abilities Tier List Maker dinrovahorror’s Draft of the Neoclassical Cube The Oldest School Flash Gordon Theme Song Timestamps 0:00 - Introduction 0:30 - Tier list and evergreen keyword ability overview 3:45 - F Tier 8:56 - D Tier 27:29 - C Tier 33:15 - B Tier 40:11 - A Tier 45:20 - S Tier 52:40 - The biggest differences between Anthony’s and Andy’s Tier Lists 53:57 - Why are aggressive mechanics so good and the defensive mechanics so bad? Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. You can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box: Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211 If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony take a first look at Bloomburrow, breaking down the mechanics, flavor, and the cards their interested in giving a try in their on Cube environments. View all cards mentioned in this episode Discussed in this episode: Bloomburrow Community Survey Commander Set Survey Bloomburrow Mechanics Overview Episode 193: 100 Ornithopters in a Trenchcoat Timestamps 0:00 - Introduction 2:46 - Bloomburrow Flavor and Vibes 6:11 - Mail bag 8:28 - Offspring 11:24 - Gift 15:32 - Forage 16:58 - Valiant 20:24 - Expend 26:03 - Pawprints 29:08 - Creature Type Matters 34:18 - Other Returning and Unnamed Mechanics 38:22 - 100 Ornithopters Cube Inclusions 39:28 - Honorable Mention: Heirloom Epic 40:35 - Honorable Mention: Dawn’s Truce 41:03 - Honorable Mention: Season of Gathering 43:30 - Gossip’s Talent 45:15 - Innkeeper’s Talent 48:05 - Three Tree City 49:22 - Turbo Cube Inclusions 49:49 - Barkform Harvester 50:29 - Agate Assault 51:39 - Coruscation Mage 52:45 - Heaped Harvest 53:40 - Stocking the Pantry 54:38 - Wear Down 55:04 - Briya, Riptide Rogue 57:30 - Bun Magic Cube Inclusions 58:41 - Honorable Mention: The Infamous Cruelclaw 59:37 - Honorable Mention: Hired Claw 1:01:27 - Honorable Mention: Iridescent Vinelasher 1:02:48 - Honorable Mention: Mockingbird 1:04:07 - Darkstar Augur 1:05:57 - Emberheart Challenger 1:06:42 - Kitsa, Otterball Elite 1:08:22 - Stormchaser’s Talent 1:10:48 - Fell 1:12:00 - Regular Cube Additions 1:12:17 - Honorable Mention: Mousetrapper 1:12:51 - Honorable Mention: Heartfire Hero 1:15:09 - Honorable Mention: Sazcap’s Brew 1:15:53 - Honorable Mention: Peerless Recycling 1:17:04 - Honorable Mention: Patchwork Banner 1:17:40 - Bravekin Duo 1:18:38 - Eddymurk Crab 1:19:48 - Tempest Angler 1:20:51 - Bonus: Flowerfoot Swordmaster Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. You can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box: Lucky Paper PO Box 4855 Baltimore, MD 21211 If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

In the first “book club” episode, Andy, Anthony, and Parker talk about The Beauty of Games by Frank Lantz. The book sets out to defend the thesis that games are artistic works (or, more descriptively, “aesthetic works”) worth the same level of appreciation as other art forms and teach sophisticated, systems-thinking. After reading the book, our hosts talk about what they took away from the book and some aspects they were a little more critical of. Thank you to the listeners who joined the book club and send in their own takes! Cards mentioned in this episode. Discussed in this episode: The Beauty of Games by Frank Lantz Serpentes QWOP Junkbot (Flash Game) Law of the Instrument Episode 206: The Joy of Gaming with Richard Garfield Sturgeon’s Law The Selfish Gene Games and the Art of Agency Armored Core The Narcissism of Minor Differences Skip Barber Racing School Andy’s 5 Color Starter Decks Game Theory Your Brain is Hardwired to Love Games with Kelly Clancy Universal Paperclips Nose Dive by Harold McGee A Pattern Language by Christopher Alexander Timestamps 0:00 - Introduction 4:13 - What is a book club, anyway? 5:51 - Summary of The Beauty of Games 9:17 - Do we need to defend the position that games are meaningful? 14:02 - Andy’s Two Main Criticisms of The Beauty of Games 17:07 - Games as an aesthetic experience 21:34 - Gamer Knowledge™️ 23:31 - The Reasons for Doubt and Frank’s rebuttal to them 31:36 - Unpacking the conclusion of The Beauty of Games 41:19 - Ought we blame the beneficiaries of inequitable systems? 45:07 - How games crystalize satisfying action, and what satisfying actions does Magic capture? 58:17 - Why do we as Cube designers put so much knowledge between our players and the satisfying experiences Magic offers? 1:06:50 - Listener Submitted Clips Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. You can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box: Lucky Paper PO Box 4855 Baltimore, MD 21211 If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony talk about complexity in Magic. After their discussion on the previous episode on Andy’s Neoclassical Cube comparing arguable simplicity of old school Magic cards, and continued discussion on the MTG Cube Talk Discord, they talk about the nature and different types of complexity. They compare cards which are simpler to read vs to play with and how different types of complexity effect the feel of the game. View all cards mentioned in this episode on our website. Timestamps 0:00 - Introduction 3:06 - GayTransMulldrifter’s Belated MH3 Hot Take 12:27 - Strategic Complexity and its costs 33:26 - Kitsa, Otterball Elite Korner 39:45 - Lenticular design 50:52 - The tension between accessible and skill testing environments Discussed in this episode: The Neoclassical Cube Steel City Cube Join the MTG Cube Talk Discord Andy’s Mono-Colored Starter Decks MachineSchooling’s 2007 Nostalgia Cube Taskmaster: Series 12, Episode 8 Maro on strategic and comprehension complexity Maro on lenticular design and Drive to Work Part 1 and Part 2 Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. You can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our P.O. box: Lucky Paper PO Box 4855 Baltimore, MD 21211 If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.

Andy and Anthony talk about Andy’s Neoclassical Cube. They talk about some of the changes Andy’s been making leading up to it being played by a wider audience at Steel City Cube. They talk about how the design philosophy has evolved and their recent experience playing the Cube. View all cards mentioned in this episode. Timestamps 0:00 - Introduction and Airplane Corner 6:04 - Overview of the Neoclassical Cube and why old school Magic might appeal to players due to its simplicity 10:44 - The Beauty of Games Book Club Check In 12:15 - Lucky Paper Mail Bag: bird p1p1 and custom cards in cube 20:07 - Deep-dive on the design of the Neoclassical Cube: what defines ‘old school’ Magic? 27:16 - Dialing in the right quantity and quality of powerful enablers 32:41 - Storm in the Neoclassical Cube 38:37 - Resource denial, creatureless decks, and other aesthetic departures from modern Magic 47:46 - The Kiki Jiki Question 52:41 - The state of Reanimator 55:07 - The death of the cycling deck 57:37 - The state of the Burn deck Discussed in this episode: The Neoclassical Cube Steel City Cube The Turbo Cube The Beauty of Games Slate-Colored Dark-Eyed Junko Kakapo and David Attenborough Intertwingled Episode 134: The Neoclassical Cube: The Spirit of Old-School Magic, With a Twist Episode 150: Going Against Your Intuition: A Different Approach to Tuning the Neoclassical Cube 2007 Nostalgia Cube Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. You can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box: Lucky Paper PO Box 4855 Baltimore, MD 21211 If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy, Anthony, and Parker review the results of the Modern Horizons 3 Cube Community Set Review. As usual, we asked the Cube community to share what cards from the set they’re interested in trying in their Cubes, for whatever reasons that are relevant to their own curation goals, and how confident they are the cards will be hits. We compiled the results and our hosts talk through the top cards, as well as some trends and interesting patterns in the communities expectations for the set. View all cards mentioned in this episode → Discussed in this episode: Modern Horizons 3 Community Set Review Commander Set Community Review Usman’s MH3 Cube Commentary Episode 205: Full Vintage Rotisserie Draft The Devoid Cube Andy’s Mono-Colored Starter Decks Ten Thousand Posts Timestamps 0:00 - Introduction 4:03 - Overview of Set Review Structure 5:23 - Broad Modern Horizons 3 survey facts and figures 9:21 - Headline mechanics that didn’t crack the top cards tested 17:29 - Individual Card Discussion 17:53 - 11. Emperor of Bones 24:38 - 10. Brainsurge 27:34 - 9. Reckless Pyrosurfer 30:20 - 8. Wight of the Reliquary 33:21 - 7. Warren Soultrader 37:59 - 6. Phlage, Titan of Nature’s Fury 42:48 - 5. Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd 46:05 - 4. Six 49:23 - 3. Nethergoyf 55:32 - 2. Psychic Frog 1:00:24 - 1. Marionette Apprentice 1:03:48 - Honorable Mention: The Landscape Cycle 1:06:26 - Honorable Mention: Accursed Marauder 1:08:01 - The powerful cards people are mostly not testing Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. You can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box: Lucky Paper PO Box 4855 Baltimore, MD 21211 If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Fresh off of Boston Cube Party, Andy, Anthony, and Patrick recap their weekend of Cubing. They talk through highlights of the event and the Cubes they drafted over a great weekend of Magic. ⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠ Discussed in this episode: Boston Cube Party Episode 206, with Richard Garfield Andy’s Twitter thread recapping the weekend The Devoid Cube Creatureless Cube Da Cube Zone Ixalan - M20 Standard Cube The Sci Fi Cube The Buildaround Cube The Altered Cube Isabella Gardner Collection Lucky Paper Events Page Timestamps 0:00 - Introduction 5:39 - Boston Cube Party Tournament Report 9:33 - Neoclassical Cube Train Draft 14:55 - 100 Ornithopters Cube Draft 18:00 - Saturday Morning Draft 27:44 - Saturday Afternoon Draft 37:55 - Sunday Morning Draft 49:15 - Sunday Afternoon Draft 1:05:49 - Top 8 Draft Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. You can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box: If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty. Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211

Andy and Anthony are joined by Richard Garfield, legendary game designer and the creator of Magic: the Gathering. Richard talks about how he got interested in modifying and tweaking games, his concept that players can be loosely understood as either ‘honers’ or ‘innovators’, and why some games with great mechanics have no soul as a result of overdevelopment. Andy and Anthony also take advantage of this opportunity to ask Richard about his relationship to Cube, getting insight into how he designs his own and what he values about the format. They cover all the most salient Cube topics, including handling feedback from players, how to approach power level outliers, and how to manage complexity. ⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠ Timestamps 0:00 - Introduction 1:49 - Welcoming Richard Garfield to the show 3:31 - How Richard got started modifying games 11:12 - How do you know when a game has gotten too complex? 17:37 -  Honers vs. Innovators 22:48 - Richard’s relationship to Cube 28:46 - On “Overdeveloped” Games 31:22 - The virtues of a wider power level band 43:09 - How to process feedback from players 46:58 - Is getting into nature an important part of Richard’s creative process 49:15 - The role of visual and narrative elements in games 55:00 - Designing a meta vs designing a game 58:10 - Richard’s current favorite games 1:02:56 - Richard’s game design book recommendations Discussed in this episode: MH3 Community Review Survey and the Commander Set Survey Episode 202: Reading Series — The Creator of ‘Magic the Gathering’ Knows Exactly Where it All Went Wrong Stratego Dungeons and Dragons Algomancy The Encyclopedia of Chess Variations Balatro Founders of Reyvik Finkel vs. Garfield Deckmasters Garfield vs. Finkel Product Slay the Spire Spectromancer Munchkin Innovation, by Carl Chudyk Quadradius Gamut of Games, by Sid Sackson New Rules for Classic Games, by R. Wayne Schmittberger Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. You can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box: If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty. Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211

Anthony is taking a break this week and it takes no less than two other people to fill his shoes, so Andy is joined by two other friends from their Baltimore playgroup to discuss two recent roto drafts of the full vintage card pool. They share their strategies surrounding this complicated draft format and talk about whether or not it led to actually fun games, while also touching on how this exercise informs their own Cube designs and why some cards from Magic’s history are just miserable to play with and against. Is full vintage roto the future? Or just an overwhelming way to ineveitably get Strip Mine locked? ⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠ Discussed in this episode: MH3 Community Review Survey and the Rotisserie Draft Template First Full Vintage Roto Card Pool Second Full Vintage Roto Card Pool Splendor Cascadia The Beauty of Games 0:00 - Introduction 3:12 - Overview of Rotisserie Draft 4:54 - Our experience with Full Vintage Rotisserie Drafting 31:35 - Does this draft format actually lead to fun games? 37:35 - Observations on which cards got drafted and which didn’t 43:51 - Andy’s rant against the Initiative 51:10 - The way full vintage rotos impact cube design considerations Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. You can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box: Lucky Paper PO Box 4855 Baltimore, MD 21211 If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony take a first look at Modern Horizons 3. The latest installment of this Time Spiral-esque series continues the tradition of a huge range of cards and an abundance of callbacks and remixes of classics. Our hosts talk about their overall impressions of the set and go into individual cards their interested in generally and for specific Cubes. ⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠ Discussed in this episode: MH3 Community Review Survey and the Commander Set Survey The Beauty of Games, by Frank Lantz Carmen Klomparens’ Tweet about the Wedge/Shard Fetchlands GLHF Modern Horizons 3 Rules Episode with Judge Rob Timestamps 0:00 - Introduction and Admin 8:07 - Card by Card Discussion: Regular Cube 8:23 - Mandibular Kite 9:40 - Expel the Unworthy 12:24 - Indebted Spirit 13:41 - Brainsurge 15:16 - Lethal Throwdown 18:14 - Retrofitted Transmogrant 19:37 - Mogg Mob 20:48 - Molten Gatekeeper 21:14 - Fanatic of Rhonas 22:13 - Kudo, King Among Bears 24:44 - Wight of the Reliquary 27:30 - Pinnacle Monk 29:56 - Deceptive Landscape 31:41 - Card by Card Discussion: Turbo Cube 32:00 - Vexing Bauble 33:38 - Disruptor Flute 35:07 - Fanged Flames 35:51 - Glimpse the Impossible 37:04 - Molten Gatekeeper 37:57 - Warren Soultrader 39:42 - Urza’s Cave 41:21 - Glaring Fleshraker 43:24 - A diversion about lands in the Turbo Cube 47:23 - Monumental Henge, Arena of Glory, and Shifting Woodland 51:25 - Glyph Elemental 52:29 - Guide of Souls 57:57 - Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd 1:00:35 - Consign to Memory 1:01:49 - Shadow of the Second Sun 1:04:01 - Nethergoyf 1:05:50 - Detective’s Phoenix 1:07:47 - Reckless Pyrosurfer 1:08:33 - Skoa, Embermage 1:09:47 - Birthing Ritual 1:11:41 - Six 1:13:49 - Phlage, Titan of Fire’s Fury 1:17:23 - Fell the Profane 1:18:08 - Waterlogged Teachings Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. You can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box: If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty. Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211

Andy and Anthony talk about the history of architecture and the design of the physical spaces we inhabit. They draw parallels to design more broadly, the design of games as mental spaces, and specifically Cube design. Discussed in this episode: The Beauty of Games Buckminster Fuller Tech Won’t Save Us, Episode 221: Tech’s Plan to ‘Ethnically Cleanse’ San Francisco Cod, by Mark Kurlansky GeoGuessr Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Nine Men’s Morris No One Knows How to Make a Computer Mouse TED Talk — Andy’s note: as it turns out, this talk absolutely sucks, lol. It’s almost like a parody of a bad TED talk. Toaster Made from Scratch, by Thomas Thwaites The Brown Center Antoni Goudy Catenaries Typescript Timestamps 0:00 - Introduction 5:22 - Generalists vs. Specialists and Contextual Knowledge 11:55 - Andy and Anthony’s Relationship to Architecture 16:48 - The Abstract Similarities between Architecture and Game Design 23:46 - An abridged history of Architecture and how it connects to game design — Vernacular Architecture 33:05 - Architecture in the European Renaissance and the changing relationship between the designer and the building 39:23 - The Industrial Revolution and Modernism 41:51 - Andy and Anthony’s Relationship with Modern Architecture 55:51 - Summary Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. You can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box: If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty. Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211

Andy and Anthony read and comment on the entirety of a recent article on the early history of Magic and it’s creator’s struggles with the game. The article, including quotes from an interview with Richard Garfield, explores his complex relationship to his creation. It explores his perspective on games, and why he values them. Since it’s first publication, Richard has struggled to re-create the experiences he found most valuable from the pre-publication version. Our hosts unpack the article, give their own perspective, and inevitably tie it back to their own Cube experience. ⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠ Discussed in this episode: The PDH Pod, Episode 100 The Creator Of ‘Magic: The Gathering’ Knows Exactly Where It All Went Wrong, by Nick Zarzycki on Defector Six Man Zonk Yahtzee Radical Markets, by Eric A. Posner and Eric Glen Weyl Law of the Instrument Mindstorms, by Seymour Papert Keyforge Netrunner Orange (colour) Patrice O’Neal Hearthstone Shandalar, 1997 Computer Game Uber Cube Podcast Squares that Cube Timestamps 0:00 - Introduction 1:54 - Overview of episode format 4:57 - Read Through Begins Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. You can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box: Lucky Paper PO Box 4855 Baltimore, MD 21211 If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony talk about novelty Cubes. Many Cubes are built around a novelty concept or design restriction. Novelty designs can be fun and light, but gimmicks can also pigeonhole cubes, making them feel unworthy of serious attention. Our hosts discuss their experience with novelty design, from its benefits to its challenging implications. ⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠ Discussed in this episode: Anthony’s Turbo Cube Andy’s 100 Ornithopters Cube Andy’s Degenerate Micro Cube The Bolt Cube The Descent Into Avernus Anthony’s Defunct Monoblack Cube Gimmicks Novelties Dan Dan — Rhystic Studies Video Anthony’s Battle Box Timestamps 0:00 - Introduction 3:45 - What is novelty in Cube design? 8:38 - How does novelty impact draft vs gameplay? What about self-imposed restrictions? 17:13 - The Monoblack Cube, The Turbo Cube, and first impressions of your themes “at common” 29:08 - A Ward Sliver Detour 35:54 - What can Dan Dan’s virality teach us about novel ways to play Magic? 49:44 - Pack 1, Pick 1 from the 100 Ornithopters Cube Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. You can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box: Lucky Paper PO Box 4855 Baltimore, MD 21211 If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony celebrate their 200th episode!! They look back at where they were and how they approached Magic when they started the podcast vs now. Andy reverse engineer’s his Cube list from the time and talks about how his tastes in Magic have changed. Anthony goes a little off the rails as they talk about how to still get the most enjoyment out of the game at a less involved level. ⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠ Discussed in this episode: Infinite Jest On Food and Cooking Nose Dive, by Harold McGee xkcd: everything is applied math Andy’s Bun Magic cube List circa the beginning of the podcast Linguistic Relativity Benjamin Lee Whorf Timestamps 0:00 - Introduction 7:44 - The Top 200 Most Powerful Cards for Vintage Cube 13:05 - Episode Overview 15:15 - Four Years of the Bun Magic Cube 38:16 - Four Years of Anthony’s Relationship to Magic Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. You can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box: Lucky Paper PO Box 4855 Baltimore, MD 21211 If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony talk about “tutors” in Cube and how cards that give you access to any card in your library impact the game. Historically, both of our hosts have tended to avoid them in most of their Cube designs, but the serve a unique function that could make them worth considering. ⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠ Discussed in this episode: Intro 100 Ornithopters Neoclassical Cube Irregular Cube All Tutors on Scryfall The Cube Map Timestamps 0:00 - Introduction 2:12 - Andy’s Salty Bad Beats 8:20 - What is a tutor? 11:10 - What tutors have Anthony and Andy been playing since the beginning and why? 16:21 - Why have Anthony and Andy mostly avoided unconditional tutors in their Cube designs? 18:48 - Tutors in the Neoclassical Cube 37:24 - Tutors in 100 Ornithopters 43:47 - Our hosts current advice on designing with tutors Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. You can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box: If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty. Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211

Andy, Anthony, and Parker review the results of our Cube community set survey for Outlaws of Thunder Junction. As with every set, we asked Cube designers which cards they’re excited about from Magic’s latest world of hats, and how confident they are in them remaining in their Cubes long-term. ⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠ Discussed in this episode: Outlaws of Thunder Junction Cube Prospective Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander Cube Prospective Usman’s Deep Dive on OTJ Magic: the Colonized — Parker’s Article on the OTJ World Builing Decisions MST3K Timestamps 0:00 - Introduction 6:16 - Episode Overview 21:51 - 10. Phantom Interference 24:45 - 9. Aven Interrupter 28:26 - 8. Nurturing Pixie 32:06 - 7. Requisition Raid 34:43 - 6. Three Steps Ahead 38:44 - 5. Harvester of Misery 46:24 - 4. Legion Extruder 52:35 - 3. Bristly Bill, Spinesower 57:53 - 2. Slickshot Showoff 1:03:57 - 1. Forsaken Miner 1:07:07 - Honorable Mention Tinybones Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony revisit designing a Cube starting with a single card as inspiration. Starting with Goblin Charbelcher, they each explore themes and mechanics that could make the card relevant in a Cube, and build off those to create rough Cube skeletons. ⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠ Discussed in this episode: Episode 182: Emergent Cube Design by Example Our Teaser on YouTube UberCube Event Lucky Paper Cube Events Page Timestamps 0:00 - Introduction 3:11 - Overview of episode 4:37 - Meta show business, including the first edition of the Lucky Paper Mailbag 11:57 - All about our focal card: Goblin Charbelcher 16:11 - Anthony’s Charbelcher Journey 31:14 - Andy’s Charbelcher Journey Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony are joined by Sam from Rhystic Studies to talk about his first Cube design project. Sam, who produces thoughtful, carefully written videos on Magic, has been interested in Cube design for years and has finally made the leap to create his own list. They talk about what motivates Sam’s design goals, how he’s approached the project, and what he’s looking forward to in his first experiences playing it. ⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠ Timestamps 0:00 - Introduction 3:06 - Betrayal Corner and the Magic to Game Design Pipeline 7:53 - Introduction to “Kitchen Table All Stars”, Sam’s new Cube 11:46 - Why now and why Cube is Sam’s “end game” for Magic 22:22 - Cube Design in the Liminal Space Between the First Complete List and the First Actual Draft 30:23 - What Are Sam’s Goals for the First Draft 44:34 - What are the other hallmark cards of Kitchen Table All Stars? 51:38 - Identifying and Handling Power Outliers 56:13 - Pack 1, Pick 1 from Sam’s Cube Discussed in this episode: Intro backing music “Lonesome Journey” by KeysOfMoonMusic Betrayal (Board Game) Pandemic (Board Game) Sam’s Cube, “Kitchen Table All Stars” Episode 191: Vibes-Forward Cube Design with Ryan Overturf Steve Stillman on Twitter Episode 182: Emergent Cube Design by Example 100 Ornithopters in a Trenchcoat Caleb Gannon’s Drafts of His Own Powered Synergy Cube on MTGO Sam’s Interview on Humans of Magic Hillary’s “Baby’s First Cube” DanDan Dear Gonti, Love Sophie by Rhystic Studies Understanding Sagas | How Magic Art Depicts In-World Histories by Rhystic Studies Red Deck Wins by Rhystic Studies Games Within Games | The Story of “Forgetful Fish” by Rhystic Studies Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Our Cube Prospective Surveys for Outlaws of Thunder Junction is now open! Let us know what you are testing in your cube from the latest set. Andy and Anthony talk about their first impressions of Outlaws of Thunder Junction and the cards their interested in for their own Cube lists. Anthony is not too impressed by the aesthetics of the set, but they manage to power through, talk about the mechanics and how they might be relevant to different Cube designers, and even a few individual cards that stand out. ⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠ Discussed in this episode: Kristen Schaal is a Horse! Washington Cube Champs Cali Cube Champs Get tickets Join the Discord Uber Cube Event Boston Cube Party Cube Dungeon Con MagicCon Panel About Representation of Native Peoples, Thanks Brodie! The Holodeck Episode 129 on the State of the Game and Design for an “Eternal World” Good Morning Magic “The Problem with Kicker and How We Fixed It” Andy’s Monocolored Starter Decks An Ode to Scalable Threats, by Andy Emma Partlow’s tweet about the OTJ set symbols Timestamps: 0:00 - Introduction 3:26 - Upcoming Cube Event Rundown 9:17 - Andy and Anthony’s Broad Impressions of Outlaws of Thunder Junction 25:27 - Mechanics from Outlaws of Thunder Junction 26:10 - Outlaws 28:19 - Committing a Crime 36:01 - Spree 44:29 - Mounts and Saddle 48:08 - Plot 51:12 - Unnamed mechanics and themes 52:14 - Bun Magic Cube Additions 52:55 - Slick Shot Showoff 53:48 - Goldvein Hydra 54:50 - Harvester of Misery 56:22 - Andy’s long list of half-considered ‘maybes’ for the Bun Magic Cube 57:04 - Regular Cube Additions 57:41 - Trained Arynx 58:32 - Demonic Ruckus 59:15 - Bristly Bill, Spine Sower 1:00:17 - 100 Ornithopters Additions 1:02:24 - Lost Jitte 1:04:43 - Trash the Town 1:09:10 - Pitiless Carnage 1:10:14 - Pest Control 1:11:03 - Requisition Raid 1:13:07 - Turbo Cube Additions 1:13:28 - Magebane Lizard 1:14:17 - Geralf, the Fleshwright Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Guests Tara, Jenn, and Haiyue join Andy and Anthony for a discussion on making play spaces that are more accountable and inclusive to help grow more diverse playgroups. Tara brings her perspective as a professional diversity, equity, and inclusion consultant; Jenn, their experience organizing and judging events; and Haiyue what she’s learned managing the VML, and, from all of them, much much more. As Cube designers, our hosts and many of our listeners need to grow their communities as much as their Cube lists if they hope to play consistently. Our guests bring their broader perspective on why it’s so important to do that in an inclusive way and how to go about it. Discussed in this episode: Episode 130: Cube Community Building 5 Steps to Break Down Gender Barriers in MTG by guest Haiyue How To Organize Inclusive And Accessible Events by guest Tara with help from other contributors The View From Here by Katie G. Bates Playing with Power — Inclusivity in Magic Safe and Brave Spaces Don’t Work (and What You Can Do Instead) by Elise Ahenkorah The VML CubeCon Redlining in the United States Magic the Gathering Infraction Procedure Guide Set Boundaries Find Peace Book by Nedra Tawwab No Land Beyond Tara’s Website Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony talk about Andy’s newest Cube experiment: a cube who’s only creatures are Ornithopters. Andy couldn’t help but entertain the idea of an all-ornithopter Cube in a humorous tweet, and a recent draft of it in the Cube Con discord inspired him to flesh out the idea even further. Our first playmat is currently available for pre-order! Illustrated by Andy and featuring gold, foiled details it expresses our love of the most punk rock Magic format. Pre-order a playmat here The show now has a dedicated PO box. Want to send us a letter? A drawing? I don’t know, maybe an Ornithopter you doodled on you want Andy to put in his Cube? Send it along to: Lucky Paper PO Box 4855 Baltimore, MD 21211 ⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠ Discussed in this episode: McMurdo Station Antartica Our Previous Episode Discussing Art Star Trek: The Next Generation MtG Cube Talk Discord Server Carly Mazur’s About Page Can it be all Ornithopters? CubeCon Discord Server ChillMTG on YouTube Cubes Mentioned: 100 Ornithopters Timestamps 0:00 - Introduction 1:39 - Opening up the Plug Bag 6:24 - Art Episode Follow Up 20:02 - 100 Ornithopters Cube Introduction 25:50 - Anthony’s First Impressions of 100 Ornithopters 32:25 - The powerful strategies this cube supports 41:33 - Known issues with the 100 Ornithopters Cube Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Our first, limited edition playmat is now available for pre-order. The playmat is designed and illustrated by Andy and custom printed to order. Orders will only be available for a limited time. Pre-order a mat here. Andy and Anthony talk about “ART!” loosely as it relates to Magic: The Gathering. They talk about the role of creative work in the game, the nuances of art and illustration, how the approach to illustration has changed over the history of the game, and even the present and future of large language model generated images. ⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠ Discussed in this episode: ART THOUGHTZ: How to Make an Art. “The Game” Garden Path Sentences Google’s new artificial intelligence can’t understand these sentences. Can you? Rhystic Studies: “my next video is about that painting you hate” Klimt Mannerist Painting Algomancy Midjourney Tweening The Arts and Crafts Movement Carly Mazur’s Portfolio Marina Abramovich Cube Map Print The Room Movie Poster Impressionism Episode 42: Cube, Art School, & Critical Discourse Tromploi Claude Monet Édouard Manet Jackson Pollock Piet Mondrian Adobe Photoshop Generative Fill Minecraft Robert Hodgin: Meander WotC statement saying they won’t use AI Sturgeon’s Law Apophysis Make my hot dog hotter Edward Muybridge: The Horse in Motion The Slo Mo Guys on Youtube Trashfuture: Big Tesco Back Tattoo ft. Tom O’Mahony Well There’s Your Problem: The Death of Hyperloop Timestamps 0:00 - Introduction and Garden Path Sentence Corner 5:24 - Overview of episode 7:57 - Why is there art in Magic? 10:22 - Are the illustrations in Magic even “Art”? 28:56 - What do we think about Carly Mazur’s Faithless Looting? 34:44 - The Invention of the Camera and the Beginning of Modern Art 46:34 - On AI Generated Art Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony are joined by Ryan Overturf, sharing his Cube design wisdom. Starting with Ryan’s articles on power outliers and letting fun drive Cube design, they talk about their approach to Cube design and how they let play experience, vibes, and taste inform their processes. ⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠ Discussed in this episode: Ryan on Star City Games Power Level Outliers And How To Handle Them In Magic Cubes Magic Cube Design: Make The Fun Thing The Good Thing Andrew Elenbogen’s Tweet on Magic Data Pony by Orville Peck Cascade Cube The Turbo Cube The r/spikes spoiler thread for Treasure Cruise @RyanOverdrive on Twitter Timestamps 0:00 - Introduction 3:51 - What is a power level outlier? 18:40 - Exciting cards to draft and the right vs. the wrong power outliers 28:54 - How power level outliers might make the game more egalitarian 33:05 - Making mopey threats appealing with the power of nostalgia 35:46 - Power level outlier’s contributions to a player’s ability to  make a comeback Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy, Anthony, and Parker review the results of the Murders at Karlov Manor Cube Community Survey and discuss the top cards, tested by the most Cube designers. They dig into some trends, patterns, and surprises in the cards people are giving a chance in their environments. ⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠ Discussed in this episode: Usman’s Card-by-card MKM Review MKM Community Survey Results Characters of the Board Game Clue John Mulaney All about Clue on Stuff You Should Know Episode 186: Murders at Karlov Manor First Impressions Episode 187: Personal Cube Additions Look up Past Lucky Paper Survey Submissions Timestamps 0:00 - Introduction and Clue Talk 7:10 - Overview of Set Review Format 9:26 - Carnage Interpreter from Ravnica: Clue Edition 14:15 - Unshakable Tail from Murders at Karlov Manor Commander 17:26 - Murders at Karlov Manor in Broad Stokes 19:18 - 9. Cryptic Coat 25:15 - 8. Aftermath Analyst 27:42 - 7. Deduce 30:21 - 6. Escape Tunnel 33:24 - 5. Snarling Gorehound 35:10 - 4. Surveil Lands 39:08 - 3. Sharp-Eyed Rookie 44:05 - 2. Novice Inspector 46:41 - 1. Demand Answers Cubes mentioned: Pulp Nouveau Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony talk about layers of interaction in Cube design. Some cards interact with particular effects. Other cards are, in turn, resistant to those responses. Inevitably other cards get around those resistances. Our hosts talk about how they approach these orders of interaction. ⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠ Discussed in this episode: GeoGuessr Wingspan Splendor Episode 31 on Density of “Bread and Butter” Effects Episode 101 on Density of Disruption Episode 111 on The Texture of Removal Episode 127 on Density of Threats Who’s the Beatdown The Dollop Timestamps 0:00 - Introduction 1:57 - What does it mean to ‘interact’ in Magic 6:38 - What sorts of mechanics limit ‘interactivity’? 8:37 - Andy’s concept of orders or tiers of interaction 38:27 - What densities and types of second-order interaction to Andy and Anthony include in their primary cubes?  Cubes Mentioned: Degenerate Micro Cube The Neoclassical Cube Bun Magic Cube Regular Cube Uber Bear’s Artifact Cube Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Well, it’s my (Andy’s) final week of writing the show notes as punishment for losing a bet against Anthony. But that’s ok, because writing these particular notes is a privilege, as we are joined by special guest Emma Partlow on this episode! We’be been trying to get Emma on the show for a long time and I’m really glad we were finally able to make it happen. We use her Peasant Cube as a jumping off point to discuss playing Magic with rarity and budget restrictions, what traits describe the platonic ideal of an uncommon, how to navigate the endless sea of card variants spewing out of Wizards of the Coast these days, and the value of accessibility of all kinds. My take on Thraben Inspector from last week, which you all have been ruthlessly dragging me for, did not come up. I presume she didn’t hear it and none of you better tell her!!! If you tell her I’m going to be so mad at you. ⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠ Discussed in this episode: @emmadpartlow on Twitter The Herald’s Horn Playing with Power Episode on Inclusivity Emma’s Peasant Cube Eric Klug’s Peasant Cube Emma’s Budget Version of Her Peasant Cube The 2023 Year in Review Dandan MTG cares more about collectability than accessibility - and it’s making the TCG worse by Emma Partlow The Neoclassical Cube The Black Mage (Final Fanasty) Ogre Battle Tactics Tactics Ogre: Reborn on the Switch A Thousand Miles by Vanessa Carlton Emma’s Linktree Timestamps 0:00 - Introduction 5:17 - How did Emma get introduced to Magic 8:17 - When did Emma discover the joy of Cube? 11:53 - Emma’s roots in rarity and budget restrictions 17:41 - Downshifts and rarity restricted Cube design 26:33 - What is the most uncommony uncommon card? 30:57 - On Emma’s inclusion of controversially powerful cards in her peasant Cube 37:52 - Emma’s local Cube playgroup 45:34 - Does Emma think of herself as a casual or competitive player? 47:05 - How does Emma prioritize accessibility vs. bling in her card variant selection for her cube? 52:33 - Potpurri Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Well folks, it happened. I lost the bet on air last week about whether or not Wizards would include a physical, punch-out reminder for “suspected” creatures in the pre-release kit for Murders at Karlov Manor, so here I am writing the notes. I still think it’s weird that they literally include a counter for a mechanic that they explicitly designed to NOT include a physical counter, but I forgot the precedence set by Exert in Amonket, so that’s on me. This week is part two of our marathon, pre-Andy’s-vacation, recording session. We’re discussing additions from Murders at Karlov Manor and Ravnica: Clue Edition to our four relevant personal Cube projects. Tune in to find out what beloved Cube card Andy believes has jumped the shark, which two cards are clearing the high bar of the Degenerate Micro Cube, what Anthony is going to do with all of the amazing new options for the Turbo Cube, and what happens when you have two cost reduction mechanics with different stipulations in our new segment “Judge Bones”. ⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠ Discussed in this episode: Set Surveys: Andy’s Cube Coaching Session with Brian Coval, a.k.a Bosh n’ Roll Lucky Paper Radio Episode 181: Gold Cards and You Timestamps: 0:00 - Introduction 4:35 - Additions to the Bun Magic Cube 10:50 - Honorable Mention: Tenth District Hero 12:19 - Honorable Mention: Deduce 14:07 - Honorable Mention: Drag the Canal 15:33 - Honorable Mention: Trostani, Three Whispers 17:48 - Honorable Mention: Necropsy 19:21 - Honorable Mention: Warleader’s Call 20:50 - The Surveil Lands 30:01 - Fugitive Codebreaker 33:59 - No More Lies 36:26 - Additions to the Regular Cube 38:10 - Curious Inquiry 40:07 - Push // Pull 42:28 - Cease // Desist 45:04 - The Surveil Lands (Again) 46:38 - No Ravnica: Clue Edition Cards for the Regular Cube? 48:38 - Additions to the Degenerate Micro Cube 49:03 - Pick Your Poison 50:43 - Doorkeeper Thrull 51:51 - Additions to the Turbo Cube 53:03 - Cerebral Confiscation 54:11 - Forensic Gadgeteer 56:29 - Torch the Witness 58:04 - Demand Answers 58:51 - Crime Novelist 1:00:15 - Vengeful Tracker 1:00:37 - Andy’s Potential Turbo Cube Inclusions Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony discuss the mechanics of Murders at Karlov Manor, along with satellite sets, and their first impressions of the set for Cube. ⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠ Discussed in this episode: Set Surveys: Murders at Karlov Manor Mechanics Mothership Article A new Returning Mechanic, but Tweaked, @luckypapermtg on Twitter Boonta Vista Timestamps 0:00 - Introduction 3:37 - Ward, Cloak, and Disguise 17:41 - Suspect 21:29 - Collect Evidence 26:16 - Cases 33:20 - Returning mechanic: Investigate 34:37 - Informal mechanics and emergent themes of MKM 40:41 - Ravnica: Clue Edition first impressions 44:32 - The prevalence of “can’t be countered” effects in this set Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony talk about Anthony’s experimental Battle Box where players start at three life, can cast spells without paying their mana cost, and start the game with two Lightning Bolts on the stack. They talk about rapid prototyping and challenges in game design. The novel design didn’t initially play as hoped, and they brainstorm ideas to make it work. ⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠ Discussed in this episode: Hedron Rockworks on YouTube Topaz D20 We Are Already Dead, Anthony’s Experimental Battle Box 1 Life Cubes, Lucky Paper Radio Episode 23 Pai Gow Slay the Spire Cubes mentioned: We Are Already Dead- Keldan’s Bolt Cube Jeskai Control Battle Box Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony talk about updates to Anthony’s Turbo Cube and how changing a few cards can impact the way a cube feels. In this environment, all spells and activated abilities cost  generic mana less. They cut some of the most potent win conditions including Teferi's Tutelage, and added a handful of cards to bolster black discard focused strategies. ⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠ 0:00 - Introduction 4:09 - Small (but actually big) changes to the win conditions in the Turbo Cube 16:50 - Do the colors have identities in the Turbo Cube? 20:18 - The problem with black in the Turbo Cube 28:03 - Tournament report from the first draft of the new discard package 39:40 - Ideas for improving the archetype after the first playtest 54:12 - How will Anthony evaluate success or failure of this archetype moving forward? 58:34 - Tidebinder Corner Discussed in this episode: MAGfest Lucky Paper Radio on YouTube Cubes Mentioned: Turbo Cube Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony talk about cubing on a budget. Between cards, sleeves, and other needs, putting a cube together is not without costs, but the format has some unique attributes that can still make it approachable on a budget. But first, they talk for a long time about Tetris. ⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠ Discussed in this episode: After 34 Years, Someone Finally Beat Tetris Tetris Just Got Beaten Again Fosbury Flop Four Minute Mile Radiolab: Stochasticity Lucky Paper Radio on How to Build a Cube from Your Collection Scryfall BCW Cardboard Longboxes Potomac Distribution Cubes Mentioned: Amonkar Desert Cube Eiganjo Drift Timestamps: 0:00 - Introduction 1:41 - Tetris Talk  25:53 - Introduction to Playing Cube on a Budget 35:49 - Tip 1: Play with the cards you have 40:11 - Tip 2: Most cards are not that expensive. Really! 42:02 - Tip 3: Be aware of the secondary market and pick up cards at the right time, if you can. 44:42 - Tip 4: Consider rarity restricted cubes, but be aware rarity and price are only mildly correlated! 48:26 - Tip 5: Use proxies 50:49 - Tip 6: Use BCW cardboard longboxes bought in bulk 54:39 - The biggest barrier to budget cubing: sleeves 1:03:46 - Tip 7: Get your playgroup to chip in cards 1:04:39 - Tip 8: Save and sell/buylist cards to subsidize bigger purchases 1:07:58 - Remember the most important thing: drafting a cube is FREE if you’re not the cube owner Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony talk through emergent cube design by example. Starting with a listener submitted card — Trade Routes — they explore ways to create a context where the card is a role player. Moving beyond direct synergies, they demonstrate how they’d use on card as a seed crystal to generate ideas for a mechanically coherent Cube. ⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠ Discussed in this episode: Scryfall search "fo:/whenever.*you.*discard/" Our article about using Scryfall Our article about regular expressions BoshNRoll YouTube Channel Sharkstill Decks Tolarian Community College Cube Video Ship of Theseus Timestamps 0:00 - Introduction 1:18 - Episode Overview 6:29 - Step 0: Look for redundancy 8:35 - Step 1: Identify Cards with First Order Synergy 24:47 - Step 2: Identify Cards with Second Order Synergy and Emergent Themes 36:01 - Step 3: Look for natural answers to your emergent themes 40:33 - Step 4: Look at the bigger picture: What does aggro look like? What does interaction look like? What does fixing look like? 47:15 - Conclusion Cubes Mentioned The Turbo Cube Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony talk about gold cards in Cube. They talk about how they effect decks and drafts and their roles in their own cubes. ⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠ Discussed in this episode: Uber Cube Podcast Episode 21: Commander Legends and a Cube that Glitters How Many Lands Should You Include in Your Cube Lucky Paper Radio Cubesmas Special Power Thesaurus [Cheugy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheugy#:~:text=Cheugy%20(%2Fˈt%CA%83u%CB%90%C9%A1,or%20%22trying%20too%20hard%22.) David Lynch Quinoa Cubes Mentioned Bun Magic Cube Regular Cube Neoclassical Cube Timestamps 0:00 - Show Notes Hangman and Nog Corner 7:07 - Finally getting to the actual topic 8:28 - Pedantry Corner: What is a gold card? 13:48 - How many gold cards should you run in your cube? 24:01 - Gold Card Counts from Our Cubes 35:42 - The Legacy of Gold Cards: Are they cool any more? 44:41 - Andy’s “Three S’s” of Gold Cards: Signposts, Splashables, and Scraps 53:31 - Anthony’s wrap up Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy, Anthony, and Parker climb up on Maro’s Lap and share their Christmas Cube wishes for the coming year: what cards do they want to see printed for their Cubes, what cycles do they want to see completed, and how much of a Grinch can Anthony be. ⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠ Timestamps 0:00 - A very long and involved series of intros 7:37 - Overview of episode structure 9:03 - Parker’s Cubesmas List 35:08 - Andy’s Cubesmas List 48:55 - Anthony’s Cubesmas Grinch Corner Discussed in this episode: The Griz Thraben University on YouTube Andy’s Blue Black Titan Christmas Economics Pommery Mustards Mala Market Hand Stirred Soy Sauce Cubes Mentioned Pulp Nouveau Reading Rainbow Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony take a look back on 2023, and what a year it’s been! Our hosts discuss some of their favorite things happening this year, including the second annual CubeCon, and a growing number of Cube events. They talk about how valuable Magic has been as a vector for creative outlets. In a candid, critical discussion they share how Magic as a game, and a product, has fundamentally changed in the recent years and how in many ways it no longer supports the way they most deeply engaged with it. Discussed in this episode: Episode 130: Cube Community Building CubeCon California Cube Champs Washington Cube Champs The Ice Cube bmktpt Local Playgroup Website Source Code on GitHub Cultic Bestiary Tokens Hasbro’s Christmas Layoffs on Polygon hbomberguy: Plagiarism, on YouTube Princess Bride Secret Lair Color of Magic Eley Hose Reels Sturgeon’s Law The Collapse of the Atlantic Northwest Cod Fishery Fairy Circles Timestamps 0:00 - Introduction 3:35 - Episode breakdown 5:31 - The good stuff — the second Cube Con and a battery of smaller, grassroots Cube events 12:22 - The joy of using Magic as a creative outlet 18:08 - Hasbro layoffs and the incentive structures of the business of Magic 36:08 - The costs of Magic’s growth and expansion 52:14 - Universes Beyond and the fractured identity of Magic 1:13:59 - Andy and Anthony’s Cube cards of the year!! Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony open up the mailbag and answer questions from listeners. Our hosts answer all your burning questions about Cube, soup, and probably egg nog? ⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠ Discussed in this episode: I got a fever of 103 Boonta Vista Murphy’s Law Moore’s Law Sturgeon’s Law Ship of Theseus Heraclitus Midnight Diner bigsofttitty.png Cubes Mentioned Regular Cube Ryan Saxe’s Buildaround Cube Caleb Gannon’s Synergy Cube The Neoclassical Cube Old Border Foil Cube The Naked Cube Timestamps 0:00 - Introduction 4:47 - Why have we not done a mailbag episode before? 7:47 - How do you design for an interesting draft? What is your ideal booster pack? 18:59 - What are the unique aspects of designing old border Cubes? 26:12 - What factors make you excited or unexcited to draft a new cube? 30:54 - What card should be in every cube? 33:27 - What about all the lands you don’t talk about all the time? 41:43 - What is the best meal you have ever had in your life? 49:12 - What recipe has been your favorite to cook this year? 51:47 - To nog or not to nog? Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony talk about combos. What is a combo? Is it a spectrum? Almost certainly. How are they related to the aggro-midrange-control metagame? How do they affect the draft and gameplay of a given Cube? Does Anthony hate combos? Does Andy hate combos? Only one way to find out. ⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠ Discussed in this episode: Lucky Paper Radio — The ABCs of Aggro Lucky Paper Radio — The ABCs of Control Bosh n Roll on YouTube Lucky Paper Radio — Guest Episode with Ryan Saxe Anthony’s Personal Journey through Cube Design Article Andy’s broken Fastbond Roto deck on YouTube: Boonta Vista Well There’s Your Problem Til’ Death do us Blart The Worst Idea of All Time The Neighborhood Listen Cubes Mentioned: Bun Magic Cube Regular Cube Degenerate Micro Cube Neoclassical Cube The Turbo Cube The Irregular Cube Lyserg’s Legacy Cube Ryan Saxe’s Buildaround Cube Ligma Cube “The Pube” a.k.a Rally The Peasants AiBretty’s Cube Timestamps 0:00 - Introduction 0:58 - How good is Whitemane Lion plus Oketra’s Monument? 3:08 - Why is combo not Anthony’s favorite style of gameplay? 8:53 - What is a ‘combo’? What is a ‘combo deck’? 20:08 - The tension between heuristics and individual cards 24:09 - Does Andy hate combo? 31:10 - The impacts of combo on gameplay and sequencing 39:35 - How does the presence of combo affect the draft? 45:34 - Satisfying different desires with different cubes 49:01 - Balancing combo alongside fair decks Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy, Anthony, and Parker discuss the results of The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Cube community survey. As always, we asked cube designers to share what cards they’re interested in from Magic’s newest premier set. Our hosts discuss the results: the top, and top rated, cards, as well as other patterns and surprises they found in the results. ⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠ Discussed in this episode: The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Community Review Lost Caverns Commander Community Review Timestamps: 0:00 - Introduction 2:48 - Survey Structure Overview 4:22 - Big Picture Impressions of Lost Caverns of Ixalan 10:05 - 10. Confounding 13:47 - 9. Spyglass Siren 17:37 - 8. Restless Vents 20:20 - 7. Deep Cavern Bat 22:02 - 6. Sentinel of the Nameless City 24:53 - 5. Get Lost 28:20 - 4. Stalactite Stalker 33:41 - 3. Malcolm, Alluring Scoundrel 37:52 - 2. Inti, Seneschal of the Sun 42:55 - 1. Bitter Triumph 47:41 - Honorable Mention: Goblin Tomb Raider 48:07 - Honorable Mention: Trumpeting Carnosaur Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Following CubeCon 2023, all pool lists were released to let Cube owners learn about what was successful, or not, in their environments at the event. Andy and Anthony review and discuss the decks drafted from their cubes, how they feel about each environment, and how the outcomes may inform future changes. If you drafted the Bun Magic Cube, Regular Cube, or Turbo Cube we’d love your feedback including how you built your deck and highs and lows of your games. Get in touch! and be sure to share your deck photos. Andy’s been hard at work designing our first Lucky Paper playmat. Sign up to our newsletter if you don’t want to miss out on this limited release! Tune in this Wednesday, November 22 to Lucky Paper on Twitch for Andy’s commentary on a roto draft of his Cube with a group of top French players. ⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠ Discussed in this episode: CubeCon decklist dump CubeCon 2023: A Cube Owner’s Retrospective — by Austin “Bones” Hale Dom’s Draft of the Bun Magic Cube on Coverage at CubeCon Timestamps 0:00 - Introduction 4:49 - First impressions and why red is so strong 10:54 - The flaws of card-focused conclusions 15:18 - We were happy with the results for our own cubes from CubeCon? 20:06 - Unpacking Dom Harvey’s maybe dominant strategy in the Bun Magic Cube 24:36 - What kinds of patterns emerged in the CubeCon dekclists? 29:19 - The relationship between fixing and win rate in the Bun Magic Cube 32:26 - The challenge of winning with blue in the Bun Magic Cube 47:32 - The Turbo Cube decks of CubeCon 48:02 - A request for deck lists from the Bun Magic Cube at CubeCon Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony take a first look at The Lost Caverns of Ixalan. They talk about the set in broad strokes, what they think about the mechanics and how they can potentially slot into different Cube environments. Then the look into individual cards they’re interested in for their own, curated environments. ⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠ Discussed in this episode: “It’s Not Too Late” — Trueanon with Dr. Norman Finkelstein “The Gaza Cauldron” — Intercepted “West Palestine” — Bad Faith with Dr. Cornel West Five Broken Cameras @ahmattox on Instagram @anthonymattox on Twitter The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Mechanics LCI and LCC Cube Surveys Timestamps 0:00 - Introduction 7:55 - Reviewing Anthony’s LCI Prerelease 10:52 - The Mechanics of Lost Caverns of Ixalan 11:44 - Craft and Other Transforming Double-Faced Cards 19:23 - Descended and Descent 27:39 - Discover 37:21 - Explore and Map Tokens 42:12 - Caves 45:11 - Other Minor Themes 49:02 - Personal Cube Additions: The Regular Cube 49:50 - Subterranean Schooner 51:29 - Bitter Triumph 52:01 - Glorifer of Suffering 52:38 - Bonus: Sovereign Okinec Ahau 57:15 - Personal Cube Additions: Bun Magic Cube 57:54 - Tarrian’s Soulcleaver 58:54 - Restless Prairie 59:58 - Tishana's Tidebinder 1:02:29 - Helping Hand 1:05:22 - Get Lost 1:08:07 - Jadelight Spelunker 1:10:18 - Anim Pakal, Thousandth Moon 1:12:45 - Sentinel of the Nameless City 1:14:57 - Inti, Seneschal of the Sun 1:17:49 - Kellan, Daring Traveler // Journey On 1:19:28 - Bitter Triumph 1:20:53 - Personal Cube Additions: The Turbo Cube 1:21:08 - Confounding Riddle 1:21:43 - Kutzil’s Flanker 1:22:52 - Tishana’s Tidebinder 1:23:13 - Inti, Seneschal of the Sun 1:23:55 - Buried Treasure 1:25:09 - Personal Cube Additions: The Degenerate Micro Cube 1:25:46 - Ghalta, Stampede Tyrant 1:27:58 - Hoverstone Pilgrim Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony are joined by Tim Meyers, a.k.a. donald_k_magic, CubeCon 2023 Champion who shares his wisdom and experience of his path to ultimate Victory! In a field of 400 Cube enthusiasts, Tim’s love of the game carried him to a spot in the top 64, to 3-0 is draft to earn a spot in the top 8 draft, and finally, working with a deck he felt had some rough edges, to win the entire main event. View all cards mentioned in the episode → Discussed in this episode: MTG Cube Talk Discord ChillMtG CubeCon 2023 Top 8 Coverage Find Donald_K_Magic on Discord to join his St. Louis playgroup LCI Cube Survey Cubes Mentioned Reading Rainbow Khans Extended Cube Bun Magic Cube 15oz Micro Brew Degenerate Micro Cube May’s Fae Cube Dragons of Winters Night Data Generated Vintage Cube MTGO Vintage Cube Timestamps 0:00 Introduction 3:15 Tim’s Overall Impressions of Cube Con 5:56 3-0 with BG Gold deck from Reading Rainbow 13:33 2-1 with Four Color deck from the Khan’s Extended Cube 22:14 2-1 with Five Color Jeskai deck from the Bun Magic Cube 29:11 2-1 with RB Artifact Recursion from the 15oz Micro Brew 40:32 3-0, 6-0 with Sultai Faeries in May’s Fae Cube 49:48 BYE 0-2 with BUG Zombies in Dragons of Winter’s Night 55:27 Top 64 — 3-0 with Reanimator in the Data Generated Vintage Cube 1:04:13 Top 8 — 3-0 with Mostly White Aggro in the MTGO Vintage Cube Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Dom Harvey joins Andy and Anthony for a recap of the second annual CubeCon. They discuss their experience at the con, the variety of cube they played, and get Dom’s take on how to be successful when approaching new, and sometimes strange, environments. ⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠ Discussed in this episode: MTG Cube Con Worlds 2012 Cube Draft CubeCon VODs Sam Black’s Podcast Episode about Cube Dominaria’s Judgment Matisse’s “The Dance” Dr. Who Survey Parker’s Article: Pulp Nouveau — A Tribute to Drafting Basic Lands Anthony’s Article: Intellect and Emotion in Game Design: A Personal Cube Journey Cubes Mentioned Regular Cube Cascade Cube Changeling Cube Bun Magic Cube The Buildaround Cube The Creative Cube Emma’s Peasant Cube Data Generated Vintage Cube Uber Bear’s Artifact Cube The Companion Cube Aquaone Vintage Cube AlphaFrog Vintage Cube Timestamps: 0:00 - Introduction 3:33 - CubeCon Results Recap 7:19 - What are the skills of a successful Cube player? What allowed Dom specifically to find success at CubeCon? 23:07 - On strong players and their draft preferences 27:50 - Dom’s Thoughts on his Two Drafts of the Bun Magic Cube 38:08 - How did Dom evaluate cubes before playing them? 48:26 - How did Dom ‘break’ the Changeling Cube? 1:01:15 - Dom’s Favorite Cubes from the Weekend 1:17:34 - Closing thoughts Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony talk about accessibility in Cube design: why it’s important, especially to the many of us who are trying to expand our local Cube playgroups, and key things to consider. They talk about the practical, surface level issues of cards that can be difficult to understand, as well as ways to design a Cube to make drafting it for the first time feel easier. ⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠ Our listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 this week comes from Finn’s F360, a classic style Legacy Cube of iconic cards, full of artist signatures. Discussed in this episode: Project Booster Fun Curb Cut Neoclassical Cube MTG cares more about collectability than accessibility - and it’s making the TCG worse on Dicebreaker Framing A Magic Accessibility Issue on Card Kingdom Episode 143 with Sam Black Timestamps 0:00 - Intro 2:24 - Introduction to topic 4:21 - The reasons to make your cube accessible 10:17 - What makes a Cube accessible? 25:14 - How accessibility has affected card choices in Anthony and Andy’s Cubes 30:39 - Accessibility from a more nuanced, cube design perspective 38:28 - Listener Submitted pack 1, pick 1 Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

We’re on our way to the second annual CubeCon! If you’re not able to attend, make sure to tune into the live stream, which Andy, Justin, and the rest of the coverage team have been working really hard on. If you’re attending CubeCon, we can’t wait to meet you or see you again. Please introduce yourselves and remind us of your online handle, if relevant, as we are old and have awful memory. We are sorry. Shout out to the Uber Cube Podcast for all of their thorough primer episodes for Cubes leading up to the con.

Andy and Anthony talk about mana curves in cubes. They talk about how it influences gameplay and the relationship between curve, speed, and the more difficult to pin down “power level”. They also talk about how they as cube designers think about the mana curve. ⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠ Discussed in this episode: You Look Nice Today Lonely Sandwich Magic Data Science CubeCon Analysis Thread Anthony’s Stats of Cube Con Article Spike University Part 1 and Part 2 The Tempo Cube Gwen Dekker’s Tiny Leaders Cube Tupelo Honey Vindicate Test Caleb Gannon’s Powered Synergy Cube How Many Lands Should You Include in Your Cube Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction 3:19 Why are the Bun Magic and Regular Cube so low curving relative to the other cubes featured at Cube Con? 15:59 The distinction between absolute and relative power level 40:43 Just how different are the mana values in Bun Magic and other Cubes? Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy, Anthony, and Justin continue last weeks discussion through the Cubes that will be featured in the imminent Cube Con of 2023 reviewing the second half of the cubes that will be featured on live and recorded coverage. They talk about their approaches to drafting each unique environment and what to expect. ⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠ Discussed in this episode: Spike University Part 1 Cube Con Schedule Cube Con Stream (NRG Esports) Creatureless Cube Old Border Foil Cube The Regular Cube Emma’s Peasant Cube Timestamps 0:00 Introduction 1:30 The Creatureless Cube 21:04 The Old Border Foil Cube 42:07 The Regular Cube 1:03:01 Emma’s Peasant Cube Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

This is your last chance to pre-order a Cube Map Print for Cube Con! Pre-order now Andy and Anthony are joined by Justin Parnell to talk about the Cubes that will be featured on coverage in Cube Con 2023. They go through the first half, cube by cube, and talk about what the Cube is, and how they’d approach drafting it, ending with a pack 1 pick one from every Cube. ⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠ Discussed in this episode: Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut NRG @cloudgoatranger on Twitter Cube Con 2023 Cubes featured on Coverage: The Live the Dream Cube The Bun Magic Cube The Modern Darlings Cube Cartographia The Creative Cube Creatureless Cube Old Border Foil Cube Regular Cube Emma Partlow’s Peasant Cube MTGO Vintage Cube Also discussed: MTGDS’s Cube Con stats thread on Twitter Paths not Picks by Ryan Saxe Uber Bear Podcast with John about Cartographia Cube Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro 6:00 - Announcement of Featured Cubes at Cube Con 13:02 - David McDarby’s Live the Dream Cube 37:15 - Andy Mangold’s Bun Magic Cube 54:54 - Andrew Jabs Modern Darlings Cube 1:15:50 - John Terrill and Cultic Cube’s Cartographia Cube 1:32:36 - Mike Kerby’s Creative Cube Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony give a primer on drafting Andy’s Bun Magic Cube. They talk about how the environment compares to similar Cubes that play many of the most iconic, powerful cards in the game. They discuss key cards, strategies, and potential pitfalls players could fall into. ⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠ Discussed in this episode: Cube Con 2023 Cube Map Print Regular Cube Draft Primer Episode Turbo Cube Draft Primer Episode The Bun Magic Cube Cultic Cube on MTGO Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro 4:46 - Overview of the Bun Magic Cube 12:29 - Comparing and Contrasting the Bun Magic Cube and the Magic Online Vintage Cube 17:21 - Comparing and Contrasting the Bun Magic Cube and Retail Limited 21:28 - The Mana Base of the Bun Magic Cube 39:40 - The Highest Picks in the Bun Magic Cube 46:40 - Some Contentious High Picks in the Bun Magic Cube 54:27 - Potential Traps in the Bun Magic Cube 1:00:49 - Cards that are often underrated in the Bun Magic Cube 1:05:07 - Cards that are often overrated in the Bun Magic Cube 1:09:14 - Pack 1, Pick 1 from the Bun Magic Cube Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy, Anthony, and Parker review the results of the Cube community set review of Wilds of Eldraine. They discuss the top cards from the set. No surprise, adventure cards dominate. They also reflect on some of the potentially changing attitudes of the Cube community reflected in the differences between this, and past set reviews. ⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠ Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro 5:27 - Overview of episode 9:06 - Breakdown of the popularity of the set’s mechanics 24:14 - 13. The Goose Mother 28:26 - 12. Faerie Dreamthief 31:46 - 11. Decadent Dragon // Expensive Taste 34:00 - 10. Restless Cottage 39:16 - 9. Embereth Veteran 43:53 - 8. Restless Vinestalk 47:59 - 7. Regal Bunnicorn 54:47 - 6. Virtue of Persistence // Lochthwain’s Scorn 57:23 - 5. Questing Druid // Seek the Beast 1:02:48 - 4. Elusive Otter // Grove’s Bounty 1:07:30 - 3. Syr Ginger, the Meal Ender  1:12:07 - 2. Mosswood Dreadknight // Dread Whispers 1:16:37 - 1. Cheeky House Mouse // Squeak By Discussed in this episode: Adventure Time! I tried using AI. It scared me. ChatGPT Wilds of Eldraine Cube Prospective Lucky Paper Radio Episode 164: Wilds of Eldraine Mechanics and Personal Cube Inclusions Lucky Paper Radio Episode 143: Big and Small Games with Sam Black Original Eldraine Trailer Video Rumble in the Bronx Sir Gawaine and the Green Knight What Number Should You Choose With Talion, the Kindly Lord? Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony talk finally follow up on episode 6 and discuss control decks. They talk about what makes a control deck, what it takes to make them functional, and the different ways they look in different Cube environments. ⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠ Discussed in this episode: Episode 132: Designing Set Cubes with Aran Episode 6: The ABCs of Aggro Control Decks | MAGIC: THE GATHERING Next Level Deckbuilding PV’s Playhouse – Control WOE Survey 4c control in legacy on MTG top8 The Jund Cube The Live the Dream Cube Timestamps 0:00 - Intro 3:39 - Overview of topic 7:02 - What is a control deck? 11:03 - What are the different types of control decks? “Draw, Go” vs. “Tap Out” Control 22:30 - Control decks that don’t fit the “Draw, Go” / “Tap Out” dichotomy, with a diversionary conversation about tempo 26:48 - The advantages and challenges of drafting control 33:15 - Do control decks have to be blue? 40:02 - How to draft a control deck 45:50 - What do control decks look like in our own cubes? 1:11:24 - Are there types of control decks not covered by our spread of different cubes? Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony talk about their first impressions of Wilds of Eldraine. Fresh off the new set’s prerelease they talk about the mechanics, both returning and brand new, and what they offer Cube designers. Then they dive into the specific cards each of them is giving a try in their Cubes. View all cards mentioned in the episode → Discussed in this episode: Wilds of Eldraine Cube Prospective Survey Good Luck High Five WOE Rules with Judge Rob Drive to work #1065 and #1066 Magic the Gathering Data Science on Twitter Uber Cube Podcast wtwlf’s Top 20 Wilds of Eldraine Cards for Cube Timestamps 0:00 - Intro 2:49 - Housekeeping 5:10 - Initial Impression of Wilds of Eldraine 8:51 - Mechanics Overview 14:05 - Roles 24:11 - Bargain 27:49 - Celebration 30:07 - Adventures 35:43 - Unnamed themes and “mechanics” 39:42 - Regular Cube Additions 43:31 - Intrepid Trufflesnout 44:00 - Threadbind Clique 45:01 - Quick Study 46:28 - Bitter Chill 48:41 - Cooped Up 50:35 - The Witch’s Vanity 51:09 - The Restless Lands 52:16 - Graceful Takedown 55:07 - Bun Magic Cube Additions 56:45 - Werefox Bodyguard 59:26 - Sleep-Cursed Faerie 1:00:49 - Raging Battle Mouse 1:02:48 - Loamcrafter Faun 1:03:22 - The Huntsman's Redemption 1:05:20 - The many adventure cards on the cusp of inclusion 1:11:20 - Restless Vinestalk 1:13:32 - Virtue of Persistence // Locthwain Scorn 1:17:08 - Mosswood Dreadknight // Dread Whispers 1:20:10 - Turbo Cube Additions 1:20:48 - Collector’s Vault 1:21:30 - Syr Ginger, Meal Ender 1:23:09 - Back for Seconds 1:23:57 - Three Bowls of Porridge 1:26:06 - Closing Thoughts Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony talk about mechanics and cards that interact with drafting. Coming just from the two conspiracy sets this small, unique set of cards change based on when they’re drafted or let players take additional actions during the draft. They focus in particular on Cogwork Librarian that’s a perfect draft twist that finds its way into many cubes. ⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠ Discussed in this episode: Settlers of Catan Carcassonne Rotisserie Draft Irregular Cube Draft Matters Cards on Scryfall Adam’s Cogwork Librarian Rules WOE Cube Survey Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 2:48 Irregular Cube Rotisserie Update 7:10 What is a “draft matters” card? 10:56 Deep dive on Cogwork Librarian 27:10 Leovold’s Operative 28:37 Agent of Acquisitions 30:39 Archdemon of Paliano 32:47 Canal Dredger 36:05 Lore Seeker 40:38 Deal Broker 45:40 Cards that Activate Cards Outside your Deck 49:51 Pick Number Matters Cards 53:25 Interactive Draft Cards 56:35 Conclusions on Draft Matters Cards Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony talk about Mark Rosewater, Magic’s lead designer’s, yearly article on the game’s state of design for 2023. They reflect on the past year’s sets and how Mark’s internal design perspective lines up with their own experience. View all cards mentioned in the episode → Discussed in this episode: Labyrinth Oppenheimer Mark Rosewater’s State of Design 2023 Lucky Paper Radio State of the Game 2022 Heritage: Legacy with Only Premier Set Cards The Dark Crystal Bojack Horseman Adventure Time Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro 4:16 - Movie Corner 7:30 - Andy and Anthony’s Current Method of Engaging with the Game 14:19 - Recapping the themes from last year’s State of Design 26:01 - The year of Nostalgia 34:53 - The value of story and worldbuilding 42:56 - Unfinity and why people can taste artistic integrity (or lack thereof) 53:25 - Universes Beyond 1:01:25 - The One Ring Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony’s plan for this week’s episode fell through, so instead they’re sharing the audio from a stream in which they discussed Aquaone’s legendary Powered Cube with the designer himself. Discussed in this episode: Aquaone’s Powered Cube Caleb Gannon’s Algomancy on Kickstarter Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony look at the cards recommended by Cube Cobra’s ‘recommender’ which analyzes every Cube on Cube Cobra, and generates a list of cards that are unusual among similar lists. They look at the ‘suggested cuts’ for their main cubes and talk about why, or why not, they think these unique inclusions make sense. They also take a step back and talk about how these tools can be useful, but where they are not, and things we need to consider when interpreting their suggestions. ⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠ Discussed in this episode: Boonta Vista Lucky Paper Radio 19: Man vs. Machine Lucky Paper Radio 55: In Defense of Unpopular Cards Neoclassical Cube Rotisserie Draft Timestamps: 0:00 - Introduction and review of the Cube Cobra Recommender 7:17 - Discussing suggested cuts to the Bun Magic Cube 10:06 - Dress Down 14:28 - Treetop Village 16:33 - Jewel Thief 18:30 - Mutagenic Growth 20:34 - Repeal 25:30 - Scrabbling Claws 30:00 - Exploration 33:26 - Terminus 40:34 - Spellstutter Sprite 44:28 - Barbarian Ring 48:09 - Discussing suggested cuts to the Regular Cube 51:32 - Noosegraf Mob 53:47 - Wooded Bastion 54:04 - Voice of Resurgence 55:18 - Seige Zombie 55:43 - Quick Draw Dagger 56:30 - Legion Loyalist 57:09 - Noyan Dar, Roilshaper 59:55 - Scrapwork Mutt and Bushwhack 1:00:37 - Bring to Light 1:01:46 - Closing thoughts and reflection on “AI” in general Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony talk about Cube restrictions. As they often say, restrictions breed creativity, but they can also provide an identity and structure to Cubes. Our hosts discuss how and why players choose design constraints, the advantages they bring to the table, and when to loosen up on them. View all cards mentioned in the episode → Discussed in this episode: Barbie Movie Oppenheimer The Pauper Cube Local Cube group “logos” on “Twitter” The Breya Cube and Forgiveness Cube TPug’s The Jund Cube Tupelo Honey The Stern Scolding Cube The MtG Multiverse Project The IR-regular Cube The MTGO Nega-Cube @UpkeepNewYork on “Twitter” Upkeep New York’s Registration Form Timestamps 0:00 - Oppenheimer Review 6:23 - What do we mean by restrictions and why don’t we talk about it more? 17:37 - Rarity restrictions 22:45 - The “no Planeswalkers” restriction 26:57 - On Color Restricted Cubes 34:22 - On Mana Value Restricted Cubes 37:56 - On Aesthetically Restricted Cubes 39:30 - When to ease your own restrictions Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony talk about Wishes! Wishes are a special class of cards that let you access cards from outside your game. In competitive play and drafts, this means any card from your sideboard. In casual play anything at all from your collection. Andy talks about why it’s interesting to him and the challenges he’s faced trying to design a Cube focused around the wish cards. Our listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 this week comes from Deinonychus’s The Bodleian Cube. Thanks, Deinonychus! View all cards mentioned in the episode → Discussed in this episode: Cube Con All Wishes on Scryfall Andy’s Three Wishes “Cube” Andy’s Lesson Learn “Cube” Foraminifera Fossils Diatoms The Dolomite Cliffs Timestamps: 0:00 - Introduction 3:15 - Draft Weekend Recap 7:37 - Andy’s Exploration with Outside-the-Game Mechanics 19:53 - Andy’s Goals for and Challenges with his Wish Package Cube 40:53 - Lessons Learned from the Lesson and Learn Cube 47:45 - Listener Submitted Pack 1, Pick 1 Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony dig into two kinds of cheese: “cheesing people out” in games of Magic and how to serve it up when hosting game nights. They talk about moments in games where it feels like one player steals a game that they shouldn’t have won. Are these positive or negative experiences and how can we curate Cubes to enable to discourage them? Next they talk about how they approach hosting and cooking for groups, discussing the things to consider and some of the meals and approaches that work best. View all cards mentioned in the episode → Discussed in this episode: Super Smash Brothers Twitter thread about cards that can win from behind Splendor Sickle Cell Anemia Dithering Episode 143 with Sam Black Timestamps: 0:00 - Introduction 3:33 - Anthony’s Personal D-Day 7:10 - Cards that can “cheese” or “steal” a game 33:16 - Tips for Hosting a Meal for Eight 48:07 - Suggested Cube Draft Meal Plans Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy, Anthony, and Parker review the Cube community response to The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth. Magic’s first full, draftable crossover set comes with plenty of opportunities, and some surprises, for the Cube community. ⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠ Discussed in this episode: Community Set Review Article Commander Review Part one of our LTR Cube Set Review Magic: the Gathering is Easy to Understand ThrabenU Episode on Call of the Ring Ryan Overturf’s LTR Set Review Powerful Nothing LTR Set Review Cube Con Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

This is your last week to fill out the Lord of the Rings and associated commander deck surveys! Share your own perspective on the new set. Andy and Anthony take a first look at Magic’s first, full crossover set: The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth. They talk about the mechanics and their first impressions of the set. Share some of the cards their interested in trying out in their own Cube environments. View all cards mentioned in the episode → Discussed in this episode: LTR Mechanics Article on the Mothership Lucky Paper Radio Episode 49 on Ragavan and Laelia The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth Cube Survey Tales of Middle-earth Commander Cube Survey Updated Rotisserie Draft Sheet CubeCobra Google Sheets Integration Timestamps: 0:00 - Introduction 7:20 - The Mechanics of Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle Earth 8:18 - The Ring and The Ring Tempts You 17:32 - Amass Orcs 19:49 - Food 21:35 - Typed Landcycling 23:53 - Sagas 24:52 - Legends Matter 26:53 - Scry Matters 27:24 - Creature Type Matters 29:34 - Is this a “Commander” set? 31:58 - Personal Cube Inclusions: The Neoclassical Cube 35:29 - Personal Cube Inclusions: The Regular Cube 35:40 - Improvised Club 36:25 - Shower of Arrows 36:51 - Stern Scolding 42:14 - Legolas, Master Archer 46:23 - Personal Cube Inclusions: The Bun Magic Cube 47:06 - Anduril, Flame of the West 51:29 - Flame of Anor 54:17 - Stern Scolding 57:19 - Orcish Bowmasters 1:04:23 - Reprieve 1:10:55 - Personal Cube Inclusions: The Turbo Cube 1:11:09 - Wizard Rockets 1:13:38 - Boromir, Warden of the Tower Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

After tracking his wins and losses across all of his Cube drafts for six months, Andy is reviewing the results with Anthony and discussing why he is abandoning this practice. But, if he’s not tracking the results of his Cube matches, how does he know if he is growing as a player? What actually matters, and how do you measure it? Plus, our hosts ask an important question: is playing Magic fun? ⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠ Discussed in this episode: The Quantified Self Feltron Datum The Doughboys The Guardian Project Episode on their 2022 stats The Cascade Cube The Forgiveness Cube In Defense of Forcing: How to Draft Cube Successfully with Ryan Saxe Andy’s Coaching Session with Brian Coval Cube Con Cultic Cube Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro 3:48 - Introduction to topic 5:18 - Overview of Andy’s stats 19:31 - Why Andy is no longer going to be tracking this information 30:51 - If win rate doesn’t matter, what does? 44:46 - How to actually record what matters? 59:49 - Outro Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

After a long weekend of Cube drafts, Andy doesn’t have time to edit a proper episode of the show, so instead he piles four of his buddies into his cozy little basement studio to talk about a recent rotisserie draft of his Bun Magic Cube. Which deck came out on top? Are newer, more committal and synergistic cards pulling their weight? If Andy finally adds Scrabbling Claws is everyone going to draft it and put it in their decks like they say they will? Unfortunately there are no timestamps for this episode, nor is there a cards mentioned page, as it is unedited. Discussed in this episode: Bun Magic Cube Rotisserie Draft The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth and Commander Set Surveys Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony are joined once again by the legendary Ryan Saxe to talk about his approach to drafting and how he applies that to Cube. Building off the approach Ryan describes in an episode of Limited Level Ups they discuss about how and when it makes sense to ‘force’ a draft and focus on optimal outcomes over investing in reading the table. ⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠ Discussed in this episode: The Art of Forcing on Limited Level Ups From Picks to Paths Drafting the Hard Way The Neoclassical Cube The Cube Map Cube Con The Lords of Limited Ryan’s Buildaround Cube rcsaxe on Twitter The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth and Commander Set Surveys Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony talk about custom rules in Cubes. Cube is a unique Magic space where designers truly have full control over the game and can change it however they like. Beyond just choosing the cards they include, designers change the game fundamental with plane-like effects. Our hosts discuss the very substantial risks of custom rules to accessibility and even fun for enfranchised players. They talk about some of the rules they’ve experienced that didn’t work so well, and the successful ones, which tend to create an experience built around the changes that get players to buy into the novel experience. They end the episode with two pack 1, pick 1’s from two custom-rules Cubes and do their best to asses cards in two subtly, but importantly different environments. First up, Dragonm137’s Channel Cube where players can spend life to generate colorless mana, a la the card Channel. And secondly Crvnch’s Infinity Cube where players have access to free colorless mana without the high cost of life. ⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠ Discussed in this episode: Cooking Issues Anthony’s Turbo Cube Degenerate Micro Cube Reading Rainbow The Cascade Cube Judge Chat IRC The Changeling Cube The Channel Cube The Infinity Cube Timestamps: 0:00 - Dumpling Corner 3:14 - Introduction to Topic 6:24 - The inaccessibility of custom rules 11:35 - The comparative costs of different kinds of rules modifications 21:43 - Why it feels uniquely bad to lose to a custom rule 29:00 - Successful examples of Cubes with custom rules 42:34 - Some Custom Cube p1p1s 44:14 - Channel Cube p1p1 52:34 - Infinity Cube p1p1 Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony talk about “Xerox Theory” a strategic Magic concept involving cantrips, land count, a balance of resources. Andy explains the history and origins of the idea, as documented by Mike Flores’s 2005 article. They talk about how the concept applies differently in early and contemporary Magic and how it’s relevant, or not, to different types of decks. They also talk about Gunk Slug for some reason. ⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠ Discussed in this episode: UB Trippin’ by Mike Flores The Streisand Effect Lucky Paper Radio: All About Brainstorm Drive to Work on Card Advantage Hypergeometric Calculator MTG Cube Con Twitter The Reading Rainbow Cube Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro 2:27 - Introduction to Topic 6:27 - What is Xerox Theory at its core? 10:08 - What is a cantrip? 13:44 - The baseline of Xerox cantrips and the case for Reach Through Mists 17:25 - The sometimes unstated context to make Xerox Theory work 19:45 - The power of a smaller deck 22:08 - Going beyond “UB Trippin’” — the ramifications of cantrips on the tempo of reactive decks 31:57 - Modern Xerox “Payoffs” 38:29 - Review, conclusions, and abstraction 48:47 - Gunk Slug Corner Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony talk about the current state of Andy’s Neoclassical Cube. They look at how drafts have played out, potential areas for change, and some specific directions Andy’s considering taking the cube. ⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠ Discussed in this episode: Andy’s Neoclassical Cube Regular Cube Update Episode with James The Degenerate Micro-Cube MTGCubeCon on Twitter March of the Machine: Aftermath Survey Timestamps: 00:00 Mind Twist Corner  02:39 Early Impressions of the Neoclassical Cube 15:24 How to deal with the burn deck 29:27 Can we make color hate cool? 38:32 Addressing the Pump Knight Problem Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony talk broadly about [ramp](Rampant Growth). They talk about what the mechanic or strategy is all about, it’s important role as part of Green’s identity, how it’s different in limited and constructed, and how it fits into their own Cubes. ⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠ Our listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 this week comes from soskwatch’s Graveyard Cube. Discussed in this episode: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Mark Rosewater’s Drive to Work Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 01:52 Ramp overall and in retail limited 11:41 Ramp in constructed Magic 14:25 Ramp Decks vs. Decks with Ramp Cards 18:57 Anthony’s Approach to Green in his Cubes 31:12 Andy’s Approach to Ramp in the Bun Magic Cube 37:26 Lets not talk about the Turbo Cube 41:11 Listener Submitted Pack 1, Pick 1 Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony are joined by James from their local play group for an in depth review session of Anthony’s Regular Cube. They bring James in to add his experience and perspective to the conversation. The three of them discuss how the environment has played recently and things that could be improved. They sort through the cards and discuss potential cuts and things they could change. ⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠ Discussed in this episode: Forgiveness Cube Breya Cube The Regular Cube Towson Hot Bagel New World Order James Videos on the Lucky Paper Youtube Channel CubeCon Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 02:38 Forgiveness Cube Draft Port Mortem1 07:18 Overview of Episode Structure 15:32 List of provisional additions to The Regular Cube 17:15 Green and Gruul’s Identity in the Regular Cube 26:54 The Blue Green Problem 46:32 Artifacts matter and a Puppet Conjurer diatribe 49:08 Black Red: Overperformance of Oversupport? 1:00:47 Blue Red Recent Results 1:03:23 White and Heroic Themes 1:23:40 Black cards that the black deck pilot thinks he shouldn’t have access to 1:36:00 Wrap Up Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy, Anthony, and Parker review the results of the March of the Machine community Cube set review. As always we surveyed the community on the cards they’re interested in for their cubes and how likely they expect to keep playing them long term. Our hosts review the results, discussing the top cards in terms of the number of people interested in them, patterns and theories about the community response, and some things that surprised them. They also dive deeper into Battles, Magic’s newest card type that’s been met with some skepticism according to the community survey. ⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠ Timestamps: 0:00 - Introduction 4:30 - Scoring System Change 5:40 - Survey Overview 6:32 - Battle deep dive 41:56 - Individual Card Discussion 42:11 - 9. Pile On 43:44 - 8. Invasion of Gobakhan 47:55 - 7. Rampaging Raptor 49:40 - 6. Bloodfeather Phoenix 51:35 - 5. Halo Forager 53:20 - 4. Chrome-Host Seed Shark 57:16 - 3. Deeproot Wayfinder 59:47 - 2. Faerie Mastermind 1:03:21 - 1. Khenra Spellspear 1:09:38 - Overall impressions of MOM 1:15:52 - Death-Greeter’s Champion and March of the Machine Commander 1:19:50 - Seed of Hope: the most popular common from MOM Discussed in this episode: Prospective Article Episode 145: Mechanics and Our own Cube Additions The Resleevables The Presleevables video on battles LuckyPaperMtG on YouTube Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

View the game size breakdowns for the Bun Magic Cube and Regular Cube. You can also copy this template and fill it out to calculate your own cube’s game size! Andy and Anthony follow up on their recent discussion with Sam Black on ‘big’ and ‘small’ games of Magic. Sam coined these term in an article he wrote describing a nuanced understanding of card advantage including how effects create, or benefit from, high and low resource games. Our hosts expand on the topic and respond to feedback from the community on the subject. Andy breaks down his Bun Magic Cube and Anthony’s Regular Cube, categorizing each card based on the number of pieces they add or remove from play, and they compare the numerical analysis to their experience playing these environments. ⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠ Discussed in this episode: Big and Small Games with Sam Black Elvish Visionary vs. Elderfang Disciple: the Nature of Card Advantage Limited Level Ups Andy’s coached match with Brian Coval March of the Machine and Commander Decks Cube Surveys XKCD: Ten Thousand Timestamps: 0:00 - Introduction 1:35 - Review of big and small game theory 4:38 - The application of big and small game theory as a player 16:35 - The connection between mana cost and deck size 20:19 - Game size as a cube designer 23:51 - Spreadsheet deep dive on the Bun Magic and Regular Cube’s Size 49:55 - So did we learn anything!? 54:20 - On Nissa, Who Shakes the World and other notable cards 59:05 - Card advantage as the absolute value of game size Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Our Cube Prospective Surveys for March of the Machine and March of the Machine Commander are now open! Let us know what you are testing in your cube from the latest set. Andy and Anthony take a first look at March of the Machine: the fist set since Lorwyn to introduce an entirely new card type. They discuss the new mechanics from a design perspective and how they generally apply to any kind of Cube environment. They also pick out individual cards that might end up in their own, varied Cube lists. ⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠ Discussed in this episode: Boonta Vista Official March of the Machine Mechanics Article Our episode with Sam Black about Big and Small Games The Overton Window Andy’s Coaching Session with Brian Coval Game Theory Infinitokens Fight Club The Neoclassical Cube Live the Dream Cube The Breya Cube Timstamps: 0:00 - Introduction 2:03 - Discussion of changes to set reviews 4:50 - Battles 18:06 - Transforming Double-Faced Cards 22:03 - Backup 25:20 - Incubate 30:37 - Convoke 32:10 - Unnamed themes and mechanics 36:27 - Additions to the Neoclassical Cube 38:15 - Additions to the Regular Cube 50:31 - Additions to the Bun Magic Cube 1:06:02 - Additions to the Turbo Cube Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony are joined by Chris and Tim from the Jank Diver Gaming Community to talk about how to play your own, custom-designed cube on Arena. In an exciting, two-part episode, the boys first walk through the process of playing Cube through Arena, then participate in one of Jank Diver Gaming’s weekly drafts and discuss their experience. Will Andy, who has effectively never played Arena before, punt away all his games by not knowing how to use the interface? Will Anthony hate-draft from our guests, leaving a path of burned bridges behind him? Is Theo still too powerful to defeat? Does anyone actually know the full rules text of Questing Beast? Tune in to find out. ⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠ Discussed in this episode: Jank Diver Gaming Discord Cube Cobra mtgadraft.tk Matcherino Arena card pool on Scryfall Lucky Paper Rotisserie Draft Template Theo’s Arena Cube The Use and Abuse of Archetype Driven Design Get Some Game LGS in North Charlotte Jank Diver Gaming on Twitter and YouTube Timestamps: 1:28 — How to Draft Your Own Cube on Arena 19:33 — Reflections on Andy and Anthony’s First Arena Cube Draft 22:52 — How does the Jank Diver Unrestricted Cube feel to an outsider? 25:21 — How was the Jank Diver Unrestricted Cube designed? 39:56 — Rotisserie Drafting the Jank Diver Unrestricted Cube 40:59 — The differences in perceived tempo when playing digitally 47:23 — Details of the Jank Diver Gaming community 49:01 — Chris and Tim’s top 5 Most Wanted Arena Reprints Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony are joined by Sam Black, contender for person who has played the most paper Magic ever. They discuss the concept of “big” and “small” games of Magic Sam presented in his article Elvish Visionary VS Elderfang Disciple: The Nature Of Card Advantage. They cover the nuanced nature of card advantage, how all forms are not equal, and how different strategies aim to push games toward being big or small to maximize their cards. ⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠ Discussed in this episode: Glen Garry Glen Ross Patrick Chapin vs. Gabriel Nassif Dragonstorm Mirror Match Elvish Visionary vs Elderfang Disciple: the Nature of Card Advantage Brian Coval’s (Bosh N Roll) Two cEDH Tournament Reports One and Two Sam’s Articles on Hipsters of the Coast https://eminence.events/articles/my-favorite-way-to-play-magic-commander-cube Drafting Archetypes Podcast Sam on: Twitter Twitch YouTube CubeCon Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Parker joins Andy and Anthony, in studio, to talk about about his latest cube project: Pulp Nouveau. In this dark, gritty, flavor-forward environment the only freely available basic lands are swamps. In order to play other colors, players need to draft from the limited number of basic and dual lands in the draft. They the creative process of cube design and how disparate interests can suddenly coalesce. In this case, Parker’s interest in the dark aesthetic of Streets of New Capenna, among other things, came together with the mechanical structure of a desert cube with a twist. ⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠ They end the episode with a pack 1, pick 1 the cube in question. Discussed in this episode: Amonkar Desert Cube John Terrill’s Cool, Literary Cube Names Street Fighter Car Bonus Stage Patrick Chapin Article on Investment Patrick Sullivan Recurring Insight Video About Goblin Guide Cube (Movie) Cube²: Hypercube (Movie) Timestamps 5:09 — Overview of the Pulp Nouveau Cube 10:02 — What Parker Likes About Having to Draft Your Lands 13:15 — Practical Details of the Pulp Nouveau Cube 24:19 — The Inclusion of the Street Fighter Cards 26:23 — Card Complexity Corner 33:14 — Design Level Up: Threats that Require Investment 1:00:00 — Pack 1, Pick 1 from the Pulp Nouveau Cube Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony and special guest May talk about introducing your cube! The overview you write (or present) to your players is the first thing players often lean about your cube, so providing useful concise context is critical. They talk about the different audiences you may want to consider when writing about your cube, including players who want to get ready to draft and other designers looking to give feedback on the list. They end the show with a pack 1, pick 1 from May’s very own Fae Cube, a flavorful, fairytale inspired list. View all cards ⁠mentioned in the episode →⁠ Discussed in this episode: UberCube Podcast Myagic’s Fae Cube Lucky Paper Episode on Archetype Driven Design The Dimir Cube The Cascade Cube Andy’s Mono Colored Beginner Decks Draw the rest of the f***ing owl The First Four Questions a Cube Designer Should Ask A Primer for Cube Primers Myagic on Twitter, YouTube, and Twitch Timestamps 3:19 — Why it's important to write a good Cube description 6:04 — Describing the gameplay in practical terms 6:49 — Myagic's 6-point TLDR; 11:12 — The Pre-Draft Speech 14:52 — The Player Audience 22:43 — The Designer Audience 29:03 — Writing for different levels of investment 40:09 — Using images in your Cube description 46:39 — TLDL; for writing a good overview 53:20 — The case for Andy calling his cube "eternal" 57:39 — Fae Cube Pack 1, Pick 1 Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony are joined by Ryan Saxe for a deep conversation on Cube design. They talk about the design of “low power” Cubes, lessons we can take from limited sets and apply to Cubes, and the important impacts of power level disparities on gameplay. View all cards mentioned in the episode → Discussed in this episode: The Iron Giant Limited Resources R House in Baltimore Who’s on First? The Degenerate Micro Cube Ryan’s Buildaround Cube Internet’s Pauper Cube Using the Other Half of Your Cube Zach Barash on Twitter Anthony’s Irregular Cube Playing the Irregular Cube on Stream Anthony’s Turbo Cube Andy’s Day Zero Prediction About Companions Ryan’s Constructed Cube Ryan on Twitter The Cube Map Graph Theory Topology Regression Learning UMAP Projection Hypercube Timestamps: 2:16 — Rotisserie Corner 4:30 — Is Cube somewhere between Limited and Constructed? 8:51 — What does “limited” mean to Ryan and Anthony? 17:41 — Heuristics vs. Cards — The Rules of Engagement of a Format 27:53 — Why a Flat Power Level Isn’t Necessarily a Good Thing 36:21 — Describing the Value of a Speculative Pick 43:47 — What percentage of a Cube is glue? 46:27 — The Irregular Cube and the Nature of Power Outliers 57:49 — Slot Equity 1:01:01 — What does NOT count as a “Limited” Cube? 1:10:14 — Does a truly flat power level ruin the draft? 1:18:50 — Designing for the Draft Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony are joined by Justin Parnell to talk about their recent rotisserie draft. 10 players drafted Anthony’s Regular Cube in the weeks leading up to Magic Con Philadelphia. Over the course of the weekend players competed in a nail-biting round robin style tournament. The boys talk about their decks, their strategies going into the draft, and how rotisserie drafting compares to typical booster drafting. Over the weekend our hosts along with Justin, Parker, and Gwen Dekker hed a panel on Cube, it’s history and future. Watch a recording of the panel . View all cards mentioned in the episode → Discussed in this episode: Watch the Cube Panel at Magic Con The Crystal Goblet Essay Justin’s Series of Articles on SCG About Rotisserie Drafting Cubes Part one, two, and three View the Whole Rotisserie Draft Rotisserie Draft Explainer and Spreadsheet Templates Episode 117: Regular Cube Draft Primer Shigeki on the Cube Map Justin’s YouTube Channel Follow Justin on Twitter CubeCon Timestamps: 4:16 — Rotisserie Draft Background 7:19 — What is a Rotisserie Draft? 14:31 — Anthony's Draft Rundown 25:16 — Andy's Draft Rundown 44:57 — Justin's Draft Rundown 1:12:11 — Reflections on the Draft from a Design Perspective 1:19:38 — Justin's Takes Since the 540 Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy, Anthony, and Parker review the results of the ONE and ONC community set reviews. They talk about the top cards the community is most excited about, discuss why they think the cards rose to the top, and share their own takes on them. They also talk about some of the broader patterns and comments in the review responses. Check out the full results for the Phyrexia: All Will Be One and partner Commander Decks. View all cards mentioned in the episode → If you missed your chance to participate in this survey, sign up for our infrequent newsletter to make sure you don’t miss the next one! Discussed in this episode: Middle Child Sandwich Restaurant Lucky Paper Past Survey Results Tool Drive to Work on Mental Processing Drive to Work on Logistics Tesla Covered in Mold CubeCon Website Timestamps: 5:05 — Episode Format Explanation 8:28 — Parker's Dishonorable Melira Mention 14:18 — Sword of Forge and Frontier 16:46 — 13. Bloated Contaminator 26:23 — 12. Conduit of Worlds 28:56 — 11. Drown in Ichor 31:23 — 10. Experimental Augury 33:24 — 9. Vraan, Executioner Thane 35:22 — 8. Nissa, Ascended Animist 41:45 — 7. Atraxa, Grand Unifier 48:09 — 6. The Eternal Wanderer 52:49 — 5. Ossification 59:50 — 4. Mercurial Spelldancer 1:05:11 — 3. Planar Disruption 1:07:13 — 2. Sheoldred's Edict 1:09:23 — 1. Cankerbloom 1:13:24 — Phyrexia: All Will be One Commander Results 1:13:43 — 3. Otharri, Sun's Glory 1:14:52 — 2. Staff of the Storyteller 1:19:41 — 1. Glimmer Lens Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony talk about the state of their Cubes — recent changes they’ve made, how they feel they’ve changed, and how they expect them to change in the future. View all cards mentioned in the episode → Our listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 this week comes from Jared’s Cube Byrd Box. Thank’s Jared! Discussed in this episode: Episode 128: Live Cube Update: Making Removal Better in the Bun Magic Cube Lucky Paper on Twitch Lucky Paper on YouTube The Commander Map The “List Formatter” - Swiss Army Knife for Magic Data Lucky Paper Set Cube Builder Timestamps:  1:23 — Episode Outline 3:35 — Bun Magic Cube Baneslayer Check-In 4:03 — Sheoldred, the Apocalypse 9:56 — Irencrag Pyromancer 11:38 — Adeline, Resplendent Cathar 12:17 — Torens, Fist of the Angels 14:07 — Serra Paragon 16:27 — Scourge of the Skyclaves 20:23 — Embercleave 24:57 — Bedlam Reveler 26:58 — Third Path Iconoclast 30:15 — Dress Down 33:56 — Regular Cube Updates 50:28 — Degenerate Micro Cube 52:58 — Listener Submitted Pack 1, Pick 1 Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony talk about the cards they’re interested in giving a try in each of their own Cube environments. They talk about how they looked at the new set for the different contexts of their Cubes. Anthony cheats and also talks through some cards he’s interested in for a new Cube inspired by themes and mechanics in recent sets that haven’t fit well into his existing environments. View all cards mentioned in the episode → Cubes Discussed: Anthony’s “Regular” Cube Anthony’s Turbo Cube Andy’s Degenerate Micro Cube Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube  Timestamps: 1:14 — Episode Outline 3:11 — Anthony's Lone Addition to the Regular Cube — Cankerbloom 6:20 — Andy's Potential Additions to the Regular Cube 21:36 — Turbo Cube Additions 23:13 — Blade of Shared Souls 25:01 — Slobad, Iron Goblin 27:48 — Degenerate Micro Cube 28:58 — Honorable Mention: Minor Misstep 29:59 — Honorable Mention: Soulless Jailer 31:49 — Sheoldred's Edict 36:10 — The Mycosynth Gardens 39:42 — The Filigree Sylex 41:41 — Anthony's Untitled Cube Project Additions 50:55 — Bun Magic Cube 51:23 — Honorable Mention: Capricious Hellraiser 53:38 — Honorable Mention: Anoint with Affliction 55:41 — Honorable Mention: Ossification 58:09 — Nahiri, the Unforgiving 1:02:57 — Mercurial Spelldancer 1:06:44 — Glimmer Lens Discussed in this episode: Set Prospective Survey Lucky Paper Rotisserie Draft Template ONE Mechanics and First Impressions Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony talk about their first impressions of Phyrexia: All Will Be One, which is full of new takes on classic mechanics from Mirrodin block. They talk through all the mechanics and themes of the set and their applications in Cubes. The set features a few relatively insular mechanics: Toxic and Corrupted, which make sense in an environment where they’re concentrated to a critical mass. While these are likely to be passed on by many cube designers, a change in Wizard’s design philosophy angled towards thematic singleton environments makes them more viable than they might seem. View all cards mentioned in the episode → Discussed in this episode: Set Prospective Survey Commander Decks Prospective Survey Phyrexia: All Will Be One Mechanics on Wizards of the Coast Good Luck High Five Mechanics Episode Drive to Work: Designing for an Eternal World California Mini Cube Con Tickets Timestamps: 4:01 — Set Review Explanation 6:23 — Toxic and Corrupted 20:12 — For Mirrodin! 25:26 — Oil Counters 27:26 — Proliferate 32:21 — Artifacts Matter Theme 33:47 — Mite Tokens 35:17 — Noncreature Matters Theme 35:42 — The Dominus Cycle 37:43 — The Twilight Cycle 40:07 — The Spheres 41:27 — Compleated Planeswalkers 43:09 — The Skullbomb Cycle Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony talk about Andy’s latest cube creation, The Neoclassical Cube! The cube is intended to capture the spirit of old-school Magic, including iconic cards and themes, bolstered by a few new cards that feel in the spirit of old-school design. Andy plans to play it un-sleeved celebrating cards that show their history in their wear. View all cards mentioned in the episode → They finish the episode with a pack 1, pick 1 from the cube. Discussed in this episode: Shuffle Up and Play with Patrick and Cedric Boonta Vista The Neoclassical Cube Old Border Foil Cube Patrick Chapin’s “How To Fix Standard: A Detailed And Surprising Format Comparison” Dear Sophie, Love Gonti by Rhystic Studies and the deck that inspired it Degenerate Micro Cube Primer Cube Surveys for Phyrexia: All Will Be One and Phyrexia: All Will Be One Commander Timestamps: 7:59 — Introduction to main topic 9:03 — Background of the Neoclassical Cube 22:34 — Neoclassical Cube Design Principles 26:56 — Neoclassical Cube Themes 49:27 — Immediate Challenges: White and Black Cheap Threats 59:24 — Pack 1, Pick 1 from The Neoclassical Cube Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony talk about common pitfalls new Cube designers fall into. There’s no right way to build a Cube, but new designers very often fall into similar patterns and a few pieces of feedback consistently come up. Play more mana fixing lands Lower the average mana cost of cards Increase the amount of interactive spells Lower the number of multi-color cards Don’t let power outliers outshine the fun Don’t feel obligated to adhere to 10 themes for each two color pair Be aware of the high cost of rules modifications Our listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 this week comes from Garrett Townsend’s Frozen Solid Cube. View all cards mentioned in the episode → Timestamps: 2:59 — Regular Cube Draft Recap 13:12 — Common Pitfalls of New Cube Designers 15:38 — Mistake Number 1: Including Too Few Lands 21:52 — Mistake Number 2: Having Too High a Mana Curve 27:05 — Mistake Number 3: Not Including Enough Interaction 30:10 — Mistake Number 4: Including Too Many Gold Cards 33:17 — Summary of Mistakes: Focusing on Cards Instead of Decks 36:04 — Mistake Number 5: Overshadowing Synergies with Power Outliers 40:11 — Mistake Number 6: Rigidly Adhering to Two-Color Archetypes 42:42 — Mistake Number 7: Underestimating the Cost of Rules Modifications Discussed in this episode: MagicCon Philly Neoclassical Cube Dear Gonti, Love Sophie Neoclassical Cube Want List Guardian Project Podcast Regular Cube Games on YouTube r/mtgcube How Many Lands Should You Include in Your Cube? Lucky Paper Radio Episode on Archetype Driven Design The Trolley Problem Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Full show notes on our website. Andy and Anthony are joined by Aran, from their local playgroup, to talk about the design of Set Cubes. The talk about the spectra of ways to approach building Set Cubes ranging from faithfully recreating a limited environment, to loosely basing a Cube on a set or theme. They also talk about how they can be one of the easiest entry points to Cube, offering a starting point that already leverages the themes and balance of a limited environment that Cube designers can build off of. They finish the episode with a pack 1, pick 1 from Aran’s Kamigawa Remastered Cube, which he started by sleeving up a curated selection from a box of Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty and has iterated on as we’ve been drafting it. Discussed in this episode: Tolarian Community College on Building Set Cubes Cube Design – Set Cubes, by Jason Waddell on Channel Fireball Articles on DraftSim MTG Arena Zone The Magic Multiverse Project Drafting Archetypes with Sam Black Past Lucky Paper Radio Episodes Episode 31: Bread and Butter Breakdown Episode 111: The Texture of Removal Neon Dynasty Episodes Episode 60: Cube Logistics: Sleeves, Storage, Shuffling, and More Episode 105: Scholar of the Game The Cube Map on Lucky Paper 17Lands As-Fan Calculator How Many Lands Should You Include in Your Cube? Drive to Work Podcast Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony absolutely obliterate the notion that you need eight people to draft a cube. While a full pod might be your ideal, with tons of different draft formats, there’s a great way to play regardless of the size of your playgroup. Our listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 this week comes from Moon’s Fast and Friendly Cube. Thanks, Moon! View all cards mentioned in the episode → Timestamps: 2:53 — Intro to topic 4:12 — The origins of 8 players drafts 10:52 — Drafting with 6 players 23:02 — Drafting with 4 players 46:50 — Drafting with 2 players 55:36 — What to do when you have an odd number of players 1:03:19 — A nod to some non-cube alternatives 1:06:08 — Listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 Discussed in this episode: Cube Draft Formats on Lucky Paper Lucky Paper Radio 130 — Cube Community Building Modular Arithmetic Team Draft Ryan Spain’s Double Decker Draft Wimbledon Draft Two Headed Giant Ryan Overturf’s Twoberts Supreme Draft Star Magic Andy’s Mono-Colored Precons Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony talk about growing a local Cube playgroup. They reflect on what’s been working for them to get a consistent, weekly Cube night running as well as challenges that need to be overcome. The talk specifically about the importance of consistency and a good location and managing events to engage new players. View all cards mentioned in the episode → Timestamps: 1:35 — Introduction to the Topic 3:14 — In Short: Be Consistent, Pick a Location, Pick a Time, and Show Up 5:36 — Finding a Location 24:23 — Choosing a Time 27:48 — Finding New Players 35:17 — Extra Events Beyond Scheduled Programming 36:20 — Additional Tips and Advice 47:52 — Cube Design Considerations for Community Building Discussed in this episode: End of Year Episode No Land Beyond Asking LGS Owners about Cube Night, on Twitter A Good Folding Table Customizable Big Playmats Episode 51, How to Win Friends & Influence People (into Playing Your Cube) Introduction to Battlebox Andy’s Starter Decks Degenerate Micro Cube Turbo Cube Eluesis Cartographia Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony look back at 2022 on the highs and lows for Cube design and the Cube Community. They talk about the sets and cards they think will have the biggest, lasting impact on Cube design. Cube is a unique format that requires specific tooling to support design, the community, and events. They talk about the challenges these unique needs present as the community grows. Beyond Cube, they talk about the broader state of Magic in 2022 and how they see changes in the game influencing their relationship to it in the future. View all cards mentioned in the episode → Timestamps:  4:38 — Introduction to the Retrospective 7:20 — Cube Hit of the Year 17:32 — Cube Miss of the Year 37:05 — Cube Card of the Year 39:41 — Best Set for Cube 43:35 — Cube Level Up 50:25 — Meta Corner: Reflections on Another Year of the Podcast Discussed in this episode: The Resleevables CubeCon CubeCon Photos Drive to Work: Designing for an Eternal World Doughboys Episode: State of the Podcast Cube Map Commander Map Anthony’s Open Source MTG Scripting Tools Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

On the heels of last week’s episode, wherein Andy realized that his 3 drop slot is perhaps inappropriately high-value in the face of removal, and in response to some grumbling from his local playgroup about reactive strategies not being viable because of there being too many recursive threats, the boys are talking through 18 different three drop creatures Andy is considering adding. All of these creatures are more ”Baneslayer” than ”Mulldrifter” with the goal of making removal a bit better in the environment. To inform his decisions Andy polled his local playgroup, the MTG Cube Talk Discord, and Twitter about which cards they perceived to be the most powerful, least powerful, most fun, and least fun. Some of the results were surprising and throughout this episode Andy and Anthony go into detail about how to parse them. Our show notes were too long this week for the timestamps to fit, so make sure to check them out on our website. View all cards mentioned in the episode → Our listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 this week comes from Pino’s The CoMa Cube. Discussed in this episode: Anthony’s Visualization of Magic’s New Card Text Each Year Andy’s New Card Poll on Twitter Ryan Saxe’s Card Polling Tweets Caleb Gannon’s Synergy Cube Lucky Paper’s Jumpstart 2022 Cube Survey Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony talk the types and distributions of threats in their Cubes. Like they’ve done with removal and fixing in the past with interaction and fixing, they make a somewhat subjective categorization of how resilient threats are against removal and look at how the distribution changes across the mana curve in each of their main cubes. View the full show notes, including the graphs discussed in this episode → View all cards mentioned in the episode → Timestamps: 5:50 — Belated BRO Hot Take 7:47 — Overview of threat analysis methodology 12:36 — Evaluation of threats in the Regular Cube 28:45 — Summary of threats across mana value and comparisons to the Bun Magic Cube 42:02 — Are there are too many recursive threats in the Bun Magic Cube? Discussed in this episode: ChatGPT Episode 111: The Texture of Removal Episode 31: Bread and Butter Breakdown Episode 117: Regular Cube Draft Primer Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy, Anthony, and Parker review the results of The Brothers’ War community set survey. They talk about the top cards being tested by the most people as well as some cards that surprised them, being rated higher or lower than they expected. While the set didn’t have many huge stand out cards, one catching the attention of more than half of respondents, a lot of novel cards lurk lower down the list that might inspire new designs if there isn’t already an obvious home for them. View all cards mentioned in the episode → View the full show notes with timestamps → Discussed in this episode: Parker’s Arena Pacific Rim Cube Anchoring Bias Drive to Work #988: Designing for an Eternal World Aspiring Spike’s Sarinth Steelseeker Modern Deck Merriam Webster’s Definition of Bushwhack Billy Eichner “Name a Woman” Episode 123: The Brothers’ War Mechanics & First Impressions Episode 124: The Brothers’ War Cube Additions Lucky Paper on Twitch Lucky Paper on YouTube The Brothers’ War Survey Results Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube Parker’s “Ship of Theseus” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Many cube designers, Andy and Anthony included, have way more time an energy to put into their Cubes than the rest of their playgroup. Given that designers do spend so much more time thinking about and tinkering with their lists than playing them, how do you set up a feedback loop so you can effectively test your Cube? What are the compromises of testing in different ways? What information should you listen to and what should you ignore? How much trust can you actually put into bot drafts? View all cards mentioned in the episode → Discussed in this episode: Andrew Elenbogen’s Tweet Jett’s Article on Analyzing Draft Data Two Player Cube Draft Formats Cube Cobra dr4ft.info mtgadraft.tk Cockatrice XMage untap.in Drafting the Hard Way by Ben Stark CubeArtisan Lucky Paper on Twitter: How do designers test their Cubes? Episode 31: Bread and Butter Breakdown Episode 111: The Texture of Removal Hypergeometric calculator Timestamps: 3:22 — Introduction to Topic 4:23 — What do we mean by “testing”? 12:31 — Testing methods when drafting with a full pod 17:53 — Testing by drafting with smaller groups 22:23 — Testing by drafting against yourself 26:27 — Testing by drafting online with others 31:14 — Testing by playing online 32:28 — Testing by simulating solo drafts 36:44 — Testing by constructing decks from your cube list or playing sealed 40:14 — Testing by thinking really hard about your cube 48:43 — Common pitfalls of looking at your cube quantitatively Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Our survey for The Brothers’ War is up now! Share what cards you’re interested in for your Cube! Andy and Anthony talk about the new cards from The Brothers’ War they’re interested in giving a chance in their own cubes.They talk about slam dunks for environments from Anthony’s limited-emulating Regular Cube, to Andy’s novel, vintage Degenerate Micro Cube and some cards they’re more speculatively giving a try. View all cards mentioned in the episode → Discussed in this episode: Uncanny Valley Part One of our Brothers’ War Cube Set Review Anthony’s “Regular” Cube Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s Battle Box Andy’s Degenerate Micro Cube Anthony’s Turbo Cube Timestamps: 7:03 — Episode Structure Overview 8:48 — BRO Additions to the Regular Cube 9:02 — Recruitment Officer 15:30 — Thopter Mechanic 17:29 — Scrapwork Mutt 20:31 — Bushwhack 24:36 — Legions to Ashes 27:42 — BRO Honorable Mentions for the Bun Magic Cube 28:18 — Lay Down Arms 29:58 — Misery’s Shadow 32:19 — Teferi, Temporal Pilgrim 35:34 — Goblin Blastrunner 38:16 — BRO Additions to the Regular Cube 38:35 — Arcane Proxy 40:58 — Titania’s Command 45:18 — Third Path Iconoclast 49:25 — Soul Partition 52:43 — BRO Additions to Anthony’s Battlebox 53:37 — Scrapwork Mutt (again) 54:18 — Combat Courier 55:36 — Reconstructed Thopter 56:18 — BRO Additions to the Degenerate Micro Cube 56:46 — Defabricate 58:35 — Ashnod’s Harvester 59:25 — Portal to Phyrexia 1:01:31 — BRO Additions to the Turbo Cube 1:02:02 — Levitating Statue 1:03:02 — Stasis Coffin 1:04:53 — Loran of the Third Path 1:05:43 — Tocasia’s Welcome 1:07:22 — Combat Courier Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.

Our survey for The Brothers’ War is up now! Share what cards you’re interested in for your Cube! Andy and Anthony review the mechanics and themes from The Brothers’ War. They talk through the headline mechanics and smaller themes in the set all in the context of what might be most valuable to Cube designers of all types. The set is jam packed with new takes and synergistic payoffs for artifacts, but also includes tons of open, flexible cards that could be great new options for many Cubes. View all cards mentioned in the episode → Timestamps: 7:12 — Our First Impressions of The Brothers’ War 9:55 — Prototype 19:25 — Powerstone Tokens 25:31 — Unearth 30:09 — A Belated Introduction to our Review Format 31:26 — Meld 35:28 — Graveyard Matters Theme 37:39 — Soldier Tribal 39:21 — The New Cycle of Commands Discussed in this episode: The Brothers’ War Cube Survey Commander Decks Survey Pulp Fiction Lucky Paper Codex Shredder Lantern Control Cube Map Scratchpad Official Brothers’ War Mechanics Article Amonkar Desert Cube Devoid Cube Past Survey Response Lookup Tool Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

After one last draft, Andy and Anthony look back on the now disassembled Mono Black Cube. They talk about highlights and lessons learned from the particular design. Unique constraints pushed Anthony to explore new space that will inform future projects. More broadly, they discuss the life-cycle of cubes: why it makes sense to start from scratch and iterate rather than circling around a local maximum to improve one’s Cube design skills. View all cards mentioned in the episode → Our listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 this week comes from listener donald_k_magic’s Changeling Cube. Timestamps: 2:59 — A Very Special Listener Submitted Pack 1, Pick 1 14:25 — Kill Your Darlings 16:49 — The Value of Iteration and a Parable About Ceramics 20:36 — Final Reflections on the Mono Black Cube 38:00 — The Phyrexian Obliterator Question 42:51 — Building a Home for Every Card 50:57 — Some Logistics and Updates Discussed in this episode: Anthony’s Mono Black Cube Episode 2: A Cube with No Color Brown M&Ms Rider Andy’s Tribal Tribal Cube Sunk Cost Fallacy Kill Your Darlings The Parable of the Pottery Class An Introduction to the Degenerate Micro Cube Cube Map Commander Map Set Prospective Archive Search Early Look at Anthony’s New MTG List Formatter Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

After a fantastic, if exhausting, inaugural CubeCon, Andy and Anthony are joined by Patrick, Daniel, and Theo to talk about highlights from the weekend. They talk about their favorite Cubes they drafted, top gameplay moments, and what they learned over an amazing few days of Cube. View all cards mentioned in the episode → Timestamps: 5:30 — Our Favorite Cubes 28:56 — Cards that Surprised Us 40:58 — Complexity Chat 52:21 — Scumboi’s Personal Pack 1, Pick 1 59:11 — Our favorite moments from Cube Con Discussed in this episode: Episode 21 on Daniel’s All Gold Cube CubeCon Coverage VODs Cubes discussed: UberBear Artifact Cube Rainbow Synergy Cube Reading Rainbow The Devoid Cube Four Packs of Magic Amonkar Desert Cube Scott Mirts’ Cube Old Border Foil Cube The Dichotomy Cube 2cmc Cube The Turbo Cube The Dekkaru Cube The UMA Inspired Cube Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

View all cards mentioned in the episode → Andy and Anthony respond to an episode of The Eternal Glory Podcast on the recent pauper bans. Drawing comparisons between managing a constructed format with bans and Cube design, the boys examine the difference between welcome power outliers and toxic, ban-worthy cards, talk about the nature of evolving metagames, small and large, and interrogate the concept of a “good Magic purist”. Our listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 this week comes from Lukas’s The Horror Of Innistrad cube. Discussed in this episode: The Eternal Glory: Episode 81 Bosh and Roll on YouTube Good Morning Magic Pauper Bans Video The Cube Map Horror Island The Magic Multiverse Project The Degenerate Micro Cube Jett’s First Tireless Tracker Article Timestamps: 1:36 — Introduction to Topic 4:49 — Listener Submitted Pack 1, Pick 1 13:10 — The Similarities Between Playing Multiple Constructed Formats and Having Multiple Cubes 15:13 — Managing a Format Quantitatively and Metagaming 23:49 — “Good Magic” Purists 29:30 — Coping with the Evolution of a Game, Format, or Metagame 38:36 — Using Counterplay to Evaluate Power Outliers 47:58 — Letting Your Local Meta Shake Out 51:29 — Concluding Thoughts Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

We’re on our way to Cube Con! We can’t wait to meet listeners and friends from all over. If you’re attending CubeCon, introduce yourself! We’ll be posting a photo of ourselves on our Twitter account so you know who to look for. Anthony is going to have his battlebox on hand and Andy is looking to grind some games of his mono-colored starter decks. If you’re not attending CubeCon, you can still join in on the fun remotely. The event is streaming all weekend on twitch.tv/cloudgoatranger, and Andy is going to be doing commentary on a draft starting at 6:30pm Eastern, 5:30pm Central on Friday evening. Tune in and hang out!

View all cards mentioned in the episode → Andy and Anthony talk about a fundamental component of playing Magic, exploring and finding new cards. They talk about their goals and process for finding new cards and talk about leveraging Scryfall’s powerful search features to make this critical component a breeze. They even touch on some of the advanced features that can save you from missing potential pieces. Check out Anthony’s articles on using Scryfall’s search syntax and advanced searches with Regular Expressions for the details on the topics they cover. Our listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 and 2 this week comes from Robbie’s Supreme Commander Cube where every pack comes with two picks! Discussed in this episode: Scryfall Andy’s Mono-Colored Starter Decks Anthony’s Article on Using Scryfall’s Search Syntax Anthony’s Article on Searching for Cards with Regular Expressions Scryfall donate page Number of New Cards Printed Each Year Good Luck High Five Timestamps: 2:59 — Introduction to Topic 5:48 — Listener Submitted Pack 1, Pick 1 13:35 — Why is being able to search for cards important? 16:35 — What exactly is Scryfall? 21:53 — Combining Multiple Terms for Powerful Searching 26:41 — Searching the Textbox 34:34 — Getting the Most Out of the Sort Options 40:03 — Leveling Up with Regular Expressions 1:00:3 — The Boys Steal a Bit from a Better Podcast Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

View all cards mentioned in the episode → If you don’t yet have tickets to CubeCon, you can now sign up for the wait list Andy and Anthony talk about how they approach drafting Anthony’s novel Turbo Cube where all spells and activated abilities cost less. The Cube will be featured at the inaugural Cube Con. Our hosts talk about the themes and individual cards that define the format. They talk about the ramification of the rules modification and what to look out for when approaching the format. Discussed in this episode: The Turbo Cube Cube Con Live Paper Gameplay of The Turbo Cube Lucky Paper’s Channel on YouTube Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. Timestamps: 4:42 — Overview of the Turbo Cube 9:59 — Detailed Rules Interactions 13:17 — Cards Most Impacted by the Rules Change 16:49 — Draft Format 20:03 — Individual Cards: “Turbo Power” 25:46 — Individual Cards: Contentious S-Tier 33:00 — Individual Cards: Barely Sub “Turbo Power” A-Tier 39:01 — Individual Cards: Anything For Free 49:57 — Drafting the Turbo Cube “Archetypes” 1:01:32 — Interaction in the Turbo Cube 1:06:48 — Under and Over Performers 1:13:07 — Void Mirror Corner You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

View all cards mentioned in the episode → In advance of Anthony’s Regular Cube being featured at CubeCon, Andy and Anthony talk about how they approach the format. The talk about the themes and strategies they think are the most powerful, cards that overperform, and cards that don’t behave like you might expect. Timestamps: 2:14 — Topic Introduction 4:51 — Overview of The Regular Cube 7:00 — Tip: Look for Synergy 11:40 — Theme: Zombies 14:20 — Archetype: Red Black Sacrifice 19:37 — Theme: Oketra’s Monument “Combo” 21:58 — Key Card: Feather, the Redeemed 24:11 — Theme: Artifacts 27:41 — Naya Aggro 34:13 — Esper Value 38:21 — Musings on Mana Curve 40:59 — The Mana in the Regular Cube 46:45 — Board Wipes 51:47 — Cards that Overperform in the Regular Cube 1:04:19 — Generic Power Outliers 1:14:02 — Pack 1, Pick 1 from the Regular Cube 1:16:44 — Closing Thoughts Discussed in this episode: Regular Cube Good Luck High Five CubeCon Wabi Sabi Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

The full timestamps were too long for the RSS feed, so check them out on our website. View all cards mentioned in the episode → Andy, Anthony, and Parker take the 2022 standard set rotation as an opportunity to look back on sets from the not-too-distant past. Sets rotating out of standard include everything from Zendikar Rising to Adventures in the Forgotten Realms. They look back on card they rated (or conspicuously didn’t rate) in Lucky Paper’s prospective surveys, each picking the cards they feel they most under and over rated for their particular environments and cards they think they got just right. Discussed in this episode: Warhammer 40k Survey Uncanny Valley What If 2 2022 Cube Retrospective Article Hypergeometric Calculator Dominaria’s Judgment Cultic Cube’s City of Brass Preview Video Episode 110: Tarmogoyfs and Elvish Visionaries Episode 111: The Texture of Removal The Resleevables Andy’s Called Shot on Twitter re: Unholy Heat Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube Parker’s “The Ship of Theseus” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

View all cards mentioned in the episode → Andy, Anthony, and Parker talk about the results from the Dominaria United community set review. Almost 350 Cube designers submitted the cards they were interested in from DMU and rated them on how likely they expected to stay in their environment long term. Our hosts talk about the most tested and top-rated cards, examine trends, look at how the set compares to past sets, and offer their own qualitative observations. Check out the full survey results. Our survey for the next set, Warhammer 40,000 is already up. (Truly preview season never ends!) To make sure you don’t miss the next set’s survey, sign up for our infrequent newsletter. Discussed in this episode: Dominaria United Set Review Article Katamari Damacy AspiringSpike Jason Waddell’s Cube Design – Remodeling, Part Two Dom Harvey’s Cube Thread on Riptide Lab Timestamps: 5:18 — Episode Format 8:57 — Founding the Third Path 15:08 — Archangel of Wrath (Hot Take) 15:40 — Leyline Binding 21:02 — Meria, Scholar of Antiquity 23:05 — Karn, Living Legacy (Hot Take) 23:35 — Tail Swipe 24:56 — Llanowar Loamspeaker (Hot Take) 26:00 — Tear Asunder 31:49 — King Darien XLVIII and Ajani, Sleeper Agent (Hot Takes) 32:34 — The Elder Dragon War 35:06 — Baird, Argivian Recruiter 39:29 — Urborf Lhurgoyf (Hot Take) 40:00 — Sheoldred, the Apocalypse 44:08 — The Raven Man (Hot Take) 45:24 — 6. Squee, Dubious Monarch 56:50 — 5. Guardian of New Benalia 1:03:38 — 4. Evolved Sleeper 1:08:47 — 3. Cult Conscript 1:11:56 — Tolarian Terror and Urborg Repossession Interlude 1:14:25 — 2. Aether Channeler 1:21:39 — 1. Cut Down Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube Parker’s “The Ship of Theseus” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Our Cube Prospective Surveys for Dominaria United and accompanying commander sets are closing soon! Andy and Anthony discuss the new cards from Dominaria United they’re interested in for their own Cube environments. They talk about some powerful new options for Andy’s eternal cube, off-color kicker cards and clean variations on classic cards for Anthony’s unrestricted cube, and a few cards that fit more novel environments. View all cards mentioned in the episode → Discussed in this episode: Dominaria United, Mechanics and Themes Episode Dominaria United Cube Survey Episode 111: Texture of Removal Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube Andy’s Combat Trick Mini Cube Anthony’s Turbo Cube Aspiring Spike Playing Shore Up in Modern Timestamps: 6:41 — Bun Magic Cube Overview 7:48 — Honorable Mention: Serra Paragon 12:42 — Honorable Mention: Quirion Beastcaller 17:12 — Honorable Mention: Electrostatic Infantry 20:05 — 5. Radha’s Firebrand 26:00 — 4. Shivan Devastator 29:03 — 3. Evolved Sleeper 32:49 — 2. Guardian of New Benalia 37:34 — 1. Cut Down 39:47 — Regular Cube Overview 42:46 — Off-Color Kicker Cards 43:18 — Phyrexian Missionary 45:49 — Juniper Order Rootweaver 46:53 — Protect the Negotiators 48:07 — Phyrexian Espionage 50:32 — Aggressive Sabotage 51:07 — Balduvian Atrocity 52:15 — Ghitu Amplifier 54:55 — Sprouting Goblin 55:28 — Elvish Hydromancer 56:58 — Yavimaya Iconoclast 58:10 — Resolute Reinforcements 58:47 — Prayer of Binding 59:51 — Tolarian Terror 1:01:29 — Electrostatic Infantry 1:03:44 — Tail Swipe 1:04:48 — Balmor, Battlemage Captain 1:06:26 — Combat Trick Mini Cube Overview 1:06:52 — Shore Up 1:07:40 — Electrostatic Infantry 1:07:45 — Cut Down 1:09:36 — The Turbo Cube and Salvaged Manaworker Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Our Cube Prospective Surveys for Dominaria United and accompanying commander sets are now open! Andy and Anthony talk about the new mechanics, themes, and their first impressions of Dominaria United and what they’re most excited about for Cube. View all cards mentioned in the episode → Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. Timestamps: 1:40 — Episode Structure and Introduction 3:50 — Enlist 9:37 — Read Ahead 13:18 — Domain 19:55 — Kicker 27:19 — Stun Counters 32:22 — Defender Tribal 36:48 — Look at Your Deck 40:55 — The Defiler Cycle You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony are joined by competitive grinder, latent Cube content creator, and actually good Magic player Dom Harvey to talk about his relationship with the game. Together, they discuss Dom’s storied competitive career, the early days of Cube, how a Cube can serve as a document of your personal history with Magic, whether or not experience with constructed Magic can inform playing and designing Cubes, and how to think about combo as a strategy. View all cards mentioned in the episode → This week’s pack 1, pick 1 is from Dom’s Cube — a Legacy style Cube with a few novel twists. Timestamps: 3:51 — Pack 1, Pick 1 from Dom’s Cube 17:54 — Dom’s Background in Constructed Magic 20:51 — Dom’s Introduction to Cube 27:50 — Cube as a Personal History 39:10 — Dom’s Approach to Designing Cubes 41:00 — Can Competitive Constructed Magic Inform Cube 1:05:28 — Combo in Cube 1:16:18 — Three Time SCG Open Champion Dom Harvey DESTROYS a Casual Cube Designer Discussed in this episode: CubeCon Dom’s Cube DSB’s Ancient Times Cube Riptide Lab Forums Caleb Gannon’s Powered Synergy Cube Degenerate Micro Cube BoshNRoll Premodern Format Dominaria’s Judgment Tiny Leaders Ryan Saxe on Twitter Dominaria’s Judgment on Patreon Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. 7 weeks to Cube Con! You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Having discussed the impact of different densities of removal ad nauseam, Andy and Anthony turn their attention to the different types of removal spells and how they play differently. They examine the costs of playing too much unconditional removal, wax poetic on their love of "small" removal spells like Portable Hole and Disfigure, and discuss how given two removal spells with equal costs, sometimes the one that hits fewer targets is actually better. They recorded this episode before Cut Down was spoiled from Dominaria United otherwise you bet they'd be talking about it. View all cards mentioned in the episode → Our listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 this week comes from Iain’s Vintage Cube. Timestamps: 2:25 — Listener Submitted Pack 1, Pick 1 7:17 — Main topic 10:24 — Unconditional Removal 15:45 — Removal with Downside 21:46 — Removal with Additional Costs 26:27 — Removal that Can Be Undone 30:34 — Soft Removal 33:13 — Conditional Removal: Scale of Threat 39:25 — Conditional Removal: Other Card Attributes 47:22 — Conditional Removal: Board State Dependent 52:16 — Our Overall Approaches to Removal in Our Cubes 55:47 — Timing and Efficiency of Removal 1:02:02 — Quantity vs. Quality: Which Matters More, Number of Targets or Quality of Targets 1:05:53 — Potpurri Discussed in this episode: Jordan, Jesse, Go Episode 31: Bread and Butter Breakdown Episode 101: A Deep Dive on Disruption Density in Cube Episode 95: The Powered Synergy Cube with Caleb Gannon Caleb’s YouTube stream Andy’s Mono-Colored Starter Decks Munchkin Andy’s Jeskai Control Battle Box Anthony’s Mono Black Cube Andy’s Degenerate Micro Cube Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. 8 weeks to Cube Con! You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co or submit your cube. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony are back at it again, returning to the font of endless Magic discussion: Baneslayers and Mulldrifters. After years of not consciously thinking about this dichotomy, Andy has discovered that his primary cube has skewed heavily towards “Baneslayers”. The boys get into why this descriptor is so often used derogatorily, some reasons why “Mulldrifter” maybe should be used derogatorily, and how people’s perceptions of the difference between these two iconic cards changes when you choose different examples lower on the curve. Our listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 this week is a grid draft pick from 123jhd’s Crimson Hunt. View all cards mentioned in the episode → Timestamps: 4:04 — Listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 12:09 — What are Baneslayers and Mulldrifters 14:25 — Why is “Baneslayer” often used in a derogatory way? 16:06 — How Andy’s thinking about this dichotomy has changed over time 36:55 — Near-Baneslayers 41:56 — How good are these namesake cards in Anthony’s ‘Regular Cube’? 44:35 — Andy’s top 5 Baneslayers he’s added to his Cube in the past 12 months Discussed in this episode: Mala Market Soy Sauce Next Level Deckbuilding Jeskai Control Battle Box Mono Black Aggro vs. UR Murktide @luckypaperMtG Twitter Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. 9 weeks to Cube Con! You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co or submit your cube. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

6:35 — Listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 14:45 — Overview of the State of Design article 19:06 — Complexity in Magic in 2022 26:40 — Adjustments to the color pie, how that reflects high-level changes in Wizards’ approach to design, and how good game design does or does not have an inherent tension with success under capitalism 46:57 — Feedback Andy was surprised by from CLB 48:36 — Our favorite things from the last year in Magic 56:18 — Closing thoughts View all cards mentioned in the episode → Andy and Anthony talk about the state of Magic in general. Starting with Mark Rosewater’s annual State of Design article, where he shares his perspective on successes, lessons learned, and his general observations on the state of the game. Our hosts respond to his points and go on to discuss their own feelings on where the game stands. Our listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 this week comes from metaldracolich’s Cube of Stuff I Already Had. Discussed in this episode: Mark Rosewater’s: State of Design 2022 Episode 99: How To Build a Cube From Your Collection Marvel Cinematic Universe Star Wars Cinematic Universe Morbius Top Chef Ratatouille Notes on Commander as “Camp” from Hipsters of the Coast Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co or submit your cube. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony compare their main cubes, Andy’s unpowered Vintage Cube that emulates the gameplay of Legacy and Anthony’s comparatively low powered Regular Cube which is more akin to a masters set draft. They compare the cards shared between the two and how they function in these very different environments. View all cards mentioned in the episode → Our listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 this week comes from michaeldkarp’s Box of Cards. Timestamps: 3:59 — Listener Submitted Pack 1, Pick 1 8:40 — Main topic 9:25 — Green 13:47 — Black 18:30 — Blue 25:34 — White 35:32 — Red 41:55 — Lands, Colorless, and Gold Cards 50:00 — Overall impressions of the overlap between the Bun Magic and Regular Cubes Discussed in this episode: Comparison of Regular and “Bun Magic” Cubes Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube Episode 75: All About Brainstorm Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. 10 weeks to Cube Con! If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited, your pronouns, a link to your cube if relevant. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

View all cards mentioned in the episode → Read Andy's article informing this episode! Andy and Anthony talk about how many lands to run in a Cube. While Cube design is subjective and largely a matter of taste, our hosts discuss things we can objectively measure about the proportion of lands included in a Cube, and precedent from other Magic formats. Andy breaks down data from Cube Cobra from his new article on the same subject about how Cubes are generally constructed. Our listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 this week comes from The Strictly Worse Cube Timestamps: 7:03 — Pack 1, Pick 1 14:45 — Where does the current average number of lands in Cubes come from? 18:30 — Precedent set by retail limited 24:00 — Precedent set by constructed 34:10 — Precedent set by Frank Karsten 37:48 — How many lands is too many lands? 43:19 — Design considerations on land density. 47:25 — What about five color good stuff? 55:21 — Concluding thoughts Discussed in this episode: The Nega Cube Change Aversion ASFAN CubeCon Ticket Sales Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube 11 weeks to Cube Con! If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited, your pronouns, a link to your cube if relevant. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

View all cards mentioned in the episode → Andy and Anthony discuss Commander and their personal approaches to deck building. They talk about some of their favorite decks, what they look for in the format, and what motivates them to brew. Discussed in this episode: MythBusters Lucky Paper Commander Map Guardian Project Podcast Command Zone’s New Commander Deck Template Catcher in the Rye EDHREC Deck: Zedruu Voltron: Little Auras, Great Beats Deck: Nazahn, Revered Bladesmith Spy Kit Deck: Andy’s Goblins Andy’s Gameplay Video with The Guardian Project Cultic Cube CubeCon Ticket Sales Timestamps: 3:17 — On Commander “Deckbuilding Templates” 7:23 — Using a Commander as your nucleation point 9:29 — High level approaches and thinking of your deck as a vote for what game you’d like to play 17:57 — Setting restrictions for yourself then optimizing within them to avoid making overpowered decks 24:41 — The merits of including at least one infinite win-the-game combo 28:11 — The advantages of a low mana curve 34:21 — Our current Commander decks 43:13 — Our old commander decks we miss the most 45:55 — Outro 48:49 — CubeCon Info with John from Cultic Cube Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited, your pronouns, a link to your cube if relevant. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

The show notes for this episode are too long to fit in the RSS feed, so check out our website for linked timestamps, cards mentioned, and the full list of links. One of the great aspects of Cube is that it is somewhat all-encompassing — anything you like about Magic, whether it’s part a Commander deck, the Legacy metagame, or a specific sideboarding strategy in Pioneer, can inform how a cube is designed. On this episode, Andy and Anthony share all of the Magic podcasts, videos, and articles that they follow and why, talking about what they value in Magic content and how it shapes their experience of the game. They also go just a tad off topic in Telescope Corner: talking about the newly operational, monumental James Webb Space Telescope releasing it’s first scientific photos the day after this release! Our listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 this week comes from Redbay’s Uncurated Cube, an experiment in starting a Cube from a random list, inspired by a conversation on our previous episode. 14 weeks to Cube Con! If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited, your pronouns, a link to your cube if relevant. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

View the Commander Map! Andy and Anthony are joined by Jett to talk about Lucky Paper’s brand new project: the Commander Map! The map visualizes the wide world of EDH showing every deck on EDHREC organized in 2d space based on the cards they contain. Like the Cube Map, the Commander Map algorithmically organizes every deck, (all 1.2 million of them!) into an interactive visualization showing patterns in the way people build decks. They discuss how the map was made, what else the dimension reduction is used for by data scientists, their own relationships to the commander format, and just a little bit about why triangles are important in computer graphics. Timestamps: 3:09 — Introduction to the Commander Map and the math underpinning it 10:18 — The hosts backgrounds with Commander 15:10 — How the Commander Map is Made 20:21 — Commander Map frequently asked questions 22:43 — Submaps 29:04 — Some of the cool things we’ve found on the map 40:53 — Triangle corner View all cards mentioned in the episode → Discussed in this episode: The Commander Map The Cube Map EDHREC Tralfamadorians An Introduction to the Commander Map Article The Math Powering the Map Oloro Commander Map with Chair Tribal Cluster Scryfall on Patreon If you have a question for the show you can email us at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find Andy, Anthony, and Jett in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

View all cards mentioned in the episode → Most Cubes are ever-changing, with a constant stream of cards being added as new sets are released and the designer’s sensibilities evolve over time. There is a dark side to the joyous, Christmas-morning feeling of putting new cards in one’s cube, though: making cuts. On this episode, Andy and Anthony talk about how to find cuts from a cube, tackle some common pitfalls newer designers often fall into when removing cards from a Cube list, explore high-level theory around Cube curation, and take a walk down memory lane, defending some of their more contentious cuts from their own environments. Our listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 this week comes from wowitsarlo’s Fair ‘Nuff Cube. Thanks, Arlo! Timestamps 2:59 — Pack 1, Pick 1 10:19 — Don’t take cuts too seriously 13:31 — Avoid like-for-like cut mentality 17:16 — Ask yourself — do you actually NEED to make a cut? 20:37 — Don’t only cut the “bad” cards 25:56 — Make cuts based on your overarching goals 34:17 — Cut known quantity cards to maximize information gleaned from play testing 37:17 — Cut power outliers to activate lower powered cards in your cube 39:20 — Walking down cut memory lane Discussed in this episode: Donate to your local abortion fund Card Kingdom Starter Cube Anthony’s Turbo Cube If you’d like to support the show, we’re looking for people to help annotate old episodes. Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube 15 weeks to Cube Con! If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited, your pronouns, a link to your cube if relevant. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

View all cards mentioned in the episode → View the full survey results → Andy, Anthony, and Parker talk about Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur’s Gate, reviewing the results of the Cube Survey and what the new and returning mechanics offer for cube designers. Special thanks to Kennedy McAlister for this week’s intro music. Timestamps: 5:53 — New Mechanics 6:09 — Backgrounds 9:57 — The Initiative 15:43 — Myriad 17:00 — Gates 22:59 — Survey Overview 29:00 — Archivist of Oghma 34:15 — Displacer Kitten 38:43 — Young Blue Dragon 41:34 — Delayed Blast Fireball 45:28 — Greatsword of Tyr 53:05 — Noble’s Purse 55:28 — Gut, True Soul Zealot 59:25 — Minsc and Boo, Timeless Heroes 1:09:01 — Closing Thoughts Discussed in this episode: Dimir Only Cube Episode 22 on Commander Cube Parker’s Eldraine Set Cube Custom Magic Reddit Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube 16 weeks to Cube Con! If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited, your pronouns, a link to your cube if relevant. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony collaboratively draft a deck from Anthony’s Regular Cube, discussing how they approach the environment and the roles individual cards play. From the individual cards, they jump into bigger conversations about the environment and what they think successful draft strategies look like. Follow along with each pick of the draft to see the full set of cards in each pack. Draft the same seat on Cube Cobra to compare how your own approach. Discussed in this episode: Anthony’s Regular Cube Episode 80: Open Drafting the Bun Magic Cube Episode 97: Lands that Do Things: All About Fetch Lands Timestamps: 4:01 — Introduction to the episode format and the Regular Cube 9:57 — Pack 1 34:10 — Pack 2 47:27 — Pack 3 54:53 — Deck Construction 1:03:21 — Evaluation of final deck 1:08:34 — Conclusion 17 weeks to Cube Con! Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited, your pronouns, a link to your cube if relevant. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

After teasing it on their Centennial Retrospective, Andy and Anthony are revisiting the topic of one of their notable past episodes, number 31: Bread and Butter Breakdown. With some small revisions to his categorization system, Andy tallies up the density of disruptive cards in the current iteration of his Bun Magic Cube and compares them to the numbers from January of last year, with some surprising results. What starts as a nuts-and-bolts discussion of how the density and quality of disruption affects an environment turns into a reflection on how much Andy’s cube has changed in just 17 months and how much our biases about cards influences our assessment of their power level. View cards mentioned in the episode, organized by how they are categorized in the Bun Magic Cube. Check out the tables of the numbers discussed on this episode on our website. Timestamps: 6:28 — Pack 1, pick 1 from the Bun Magic Cube 15:07 — Definitions of categories of disruptive cards: hard removal, conditional removal, soft removal, stack interaction, hand interaction, and grave hate 24:16 — How has the Bun Magic Cube’s disruptive suite changed since January of last year? 32:12 — What disruption has been cut from the Bun Magic Cube? 37:48 — What is the makeup of the targets for removal spells in the cube? What does the toughness and mana value distribution look like? 50:43 — Concluding thoughts Discussed in this episode: The Members of the Band Of Montreal Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited, your pronouns, a link to your cube if relevant. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

On their milestone, 100th show, Andy and Anthony reflect on important past episodes and things they’ve learned in the last two years of Lucky Paper Radio. Timestamps: 4:15 - Overview of a Self-Indulgent Episode 6:49 - "Pack 1, Pick 1" (The Whitemane Lion Tier List) 18:58 - Episode 5: The Problem with 5 Color Good Stuff 24:03 - Episode 17: How and Why to Build a Cube 29:10 - Episode 24: Setting the Tempo 31:41 - Episode 31: Bread and Butter Breakdown 36:17 - Episode 39: A Flat Power Level 38:25 - Episode 41: Cube is Not a Monolith 44:18 - Episode 48: Playing to Win: Evaluating New Cubes and 58: A Cube Player’s Guide to Manabases 46:48 - Episode 71: The Use and Abuse of Archetype Driven Design 49:00 - Episode 90 and 91, aka the Ballad of Rock, Paper, Scissors 51:22 - Stuff Andy has been wrong about 1:04:08 - Why haven’t we started a Patreon? Discussed in this episode: EnchantWorldle Episode 5: The Problem with 5 Color Good Stuff Episode 17: How and Why to Build a Cube Episode 24: Setting the Tempo Episode 31: Bread and Butter Breakdown Episode 39: A Flat Power Level Episode 41: Cube is Not a Monolith Episode 48: Playing to Win: Evaluating New Cubes and 58: A Cube Player’s Guide to Manabases Episode 71: The Use and Abuse of Archetype Driven Design Episode 90 and 91, aka the Ballad of Rock, Paper, Scissors Episode 95: The Powered Synergy Cube with Caleb Gannon Carmen Handy’s Proliferate Cube David McDarby’s Live the Dream Cube The Cube Map Dominaria’s Judgment Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited, your pronouns, a link to your cube if relevant. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Have you always wanted a Cube of your own? Do you have a box full of jank and draft chaff taking up space that you can’t bring yourself to get rid of? You’re in luck! On this week’s show, Andy and Anthony discuss how to build a Cube from your existing Magic collection. They talk about the pros of working within novel constraints. Building from a collection likely means working with cards you already have some connection and familiarity with. The unique constraint fuels coming up with unique and creative designs. It also comes with unique challenges, making it hard to find existing experience and resources to build off off. Talking about the Cube and getting feedback becomes more difficult. They propose a process for designing a Cube this way, separating exploring the collection, and then editing down to a final list and offer some suggestions for goals to aim for while editing. Follow along with all the cards mentioned in this episode with our visual spoiler. Timestamps: 5:36 — Introduction to Main Topic 8:38 — The Advantages of Building a Cube from Your Collection 15:12 — What makes building a cube from your collection uniquely difficult? 23:22 — How to Begin: Writing vs. Editing 29:04 — How to Make Cuts: Mana Curve 36:46 — How to Make Cuts: Densities and Distributions of Effects 41:58 — How to Make Cuts: Power Distribution 45:50 — Do you need to establish themes or archetypes for your cube? 49:41 — How many fixing lands to include? Discussed in this episode: Enchant Worldle Cube Cobra Dominaria’s Judgment Episode 51: How to Win Friends and Influence People (Into Playing Your Cube) Episode 31: Bread and Butter Breakdown Episode 71: The Use and Abuse of Archetype Driven Design Rhystic Studies’ Dear Gonti, Love Sophie Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited, your pronouns, a link to your cube if relevant. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

After watching Caleb draft his Powered Synergy Cube on Magic Online for hours, Andy is dying to support some more sweet, synergistic decks in his Bun Magic Cube. After some reflection, he’s not sure if that would even work, so he’s bringing his hopes and dreams to Anthony to discuss whether it’s even possible to support Bazaar of Baghdad, Teshar, Ancestor's Apostle, or Molten Vortex in a cube that is over one-third interaction. Our listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 this week comes from Donald K. Magic’s “Balanced Budget” Cube. Special thanks to Donald for being the first person to help us annotate old episodes. If you’d like to be as handsome and well liked as Donald, you too can help us add robust metadata to old episodes of the show. View cards mentioned in the episode Timestamps: 4:06 — Listener Submitted Pack 1, Pick 1 8:57 — Donald’s Follow Up Question: What is an overlooked card under 50 cents? 13:33 — Are synergy and interactivity at odds? 17:44 — Proposed Definitions for “Synergy Decks” and “Interactive Decks” 23:53 — Reviewing the Deck’s Caleb Posted to YouTube, Beginning With His Favorite Deck He’s Ever Drafted 32:00 — Comparing Densities of Interactions in Decks Between Caleb and Andy’s Cubes 34:06 — One Change to Andy’s Bun Magic Cube in the Name of Synergy 39:36 — Finding More Room For Synergy In Your Cube 42:06 — Synergy and Interactivity in Anthony’s Regular Cube 47:50 — Summary Thoughts Discussed in this episode: Lucky Paper Radio 55 — In Defense of Unpopular Cards Caleb Gannon’s Drafts of his Own Cube on Magic Online Cards in Anthony’s Regular Cube Under 50 Cents Cards in Andy’s Bun Magic Cube Under 50 Cents Bikeshedding 21 weeks to CubeCon! Blackjack! Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited, your pronouns, a link to your cube if relevant. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

If you’d like to support the show, we’d love help annotating old episodes! Andy and Anthony are going deep on fetch lands. They discuss the long tail of exciting interactions, the powerful mana fixing, and the real costs to gameplay experience associated with them. What are their benefits as a player? What are their benefits as a Cube designer? What are their biggest downsides? Our listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 this week comes from LuckyLooter’s Amonkar Desert Cube where players have to start making hard choices about lands from the first pack they open. View cards mentioned in the episode Timestamps: 2:41 — Pack 1, Pick 1 from LuckyLooter's Amonkar Desert Cube 9:56 — What is a fetch land? 14:25 — The benefits of fetch lands from a player perspective 23:12 — The most controversial benefit of fetch lands: deck thinning 32:01 — The benefits of fetch lands from a cube design perspective 34:35 — Do fetch lands enable 4-5 color good stuff decks? 45:13 — The downsides and costs of fetch lands Discussed in this episode: Episode #75: All About Brainstorm Agiledrunk’s Case for Breaking Singleton for Lands Riptide Lab: The Case for More Fetchlands Frank Karsten on the Value of Deck Thinning The Case Against Fetch Lands Keep an eye on Cube Con for featured Cube candidates coming soon! Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited, your pronouns, a link to your cube if relevant. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy, Anthony, and Parker discuss the results of Lucky Paper’s Streets of New Capenna Cube Community Set review. They talk through the top cards most appealing to the largest portion of the Cube community, theorize on why cards may appear where they do, analyze interesting outliers, compare the results to past sets, and offer their own opinions of cards in the new set. View cards mentioned in the episode Timestamps: 2:42 — Explanation of Show Format 3:52 — Overview of New Capenna Commander 5:21 — 5. Grand Crescendo 7:57 — 4. In Too Deep 10:42 — 3. Caldaia Guardian 13:48 — 2. Currency Converter 19:44 — 1. Lethal Scheme 26:48 — Overview of Streets of New Capenna 40:32 — Honorable Mention: Ledger Shredder 45:32 — Honorable Mention: the Common Dual Lands 47:44 — 11. Jewel Thief 52:31 — 10. Titan of Industry 55:23 — 9. Goldhound 58:54 — 8. Ob Nixils, the Adversary 1:04:16 — 7. Inspiring Overseer 1:08:23 — 6-2. The Triomes 1:15:32 — 1. Tenacious Underdog 1:21:53 — Closing Thoughts Discussed in this episode: No Country for Old Men Full Results of the Streets of New Capenna Survey Commander Set Survey Results Anchoring Bias Bandwagon Effect Innistrad: Midnight Hunt Prospective Ikoria Prospective Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube Parker’s “Ship of Theseus” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited, your pronouns, a link to your cube if relevant. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Our Streets of New Capenna survey is open! Please take a few minutes to let us know what you’re testing in your cube from the new set. Caleb Gannon joins Andy and Anthony to talk about his Powered Synergy Cube which is about to be featured on Magic Online! Caleb goes into detail about the environment, which takes what’s loved about the MTGO Vintage Cube and dials up the synergistic aspects while tuning down other themes and cards that win the game on their own. The Cube is full of complex, overlapping themes and multi-card combos, and you can play it yourself starting this Wednesday, May 4th. View all the cards mentioned in the episode. Check out the full show notes, including linked timestamps, on our website. Discussed in this episode: Processing Caleb’s YouTube Channel Caleb’s Website Caleb’s introduction to the format Caleb’s Powered Synergy Cube MTGO Vintage Cube Live the Dream Cube Mengu Cube Gaby and LSV’s Cube Roguelikes Andy’s Degenerate Micro Cube Anthony’s Turbo Cube Andy’s Trick Mini Cube Caleb’s Discord Server Wabi Sabi Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited, your pronouns, a link to your cube if relevant. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Our Streets of New Capenna survey is open! Please take a few minutes to let us know what you’re testing in your cube from the new set. Andy and Anthony take a step back and talk about Cube and Cooking, the many things two of their favorite hobbies have in common, and what they love about them. Both are creative endeavors that are interesting things to master in their own right as well as tools to bring people together and serve as an entry point for broader personal growth. Our listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 this week comes from Tortured Existence’s The Box. View cards mentioned in the episode Timestamps: 5:07 — Pack 1, pick 1 from "The Box" 14:01 — Games and Food are both High Art Forms 25:07 — Opportunities for creative expression 28:52 — Building on accumulated history and knowledge 40:18 — On Food and Cooking and using what you love as an entry point for learning and continued personal growth 43:46 — A caveat about the distinction between loving a game and loving a product 48:45 — What is on your Mount Sausagemore? 52:28 — Closing thoughts Discussed in this episode: Harold McGee Explains the Wonders of Salt SCGCHAR - Modern - Semifinals - Bob Huang vs Bradley Carpenter J. Kenji Lopez Alt’s Chili Recipe Animal Crossing The Doughboys Linguistic Relativity Home Cook vs Pro Chef Fried Rice MTGCubeTalk Discord Threes The Maillard Reaction 17Lands Ryan Saxe’s Drafting AIs Rhystic Studies Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited, your pronouns, a link to your cube if relevant. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Our Streets of New Capenna survey is open! Please take a few minutes to let us know what you’re testing in your cube from the new set. Andy and Anthony discuss each card their interested in giving a try in their own Cube environments, including Andy’s Bun Magic Cube, a high powered legacy environment, Anthony’s peasant-ish Regular Cube, and a few other more novel environments. Visit our website for detailed, linked show notes and a visual spoiler of every card mentioned in this episode in chronological order. Discussed in this episode: SNC Survey Lucky Paper Radio SNC Mechanics Episode Bun Magic Cube Regular Cube Degenerate Micro Cube Turbo Cube Combat Trick Mini Cube Anthony’s Multiplayer Cube Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited, your pronouns, a link to your cube if relevant. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony talk about the headline mechanics of Magic’s latest premier set, Streets of New Capenna, a set featuring five, three-color factions, the families, each with their own named mechanic. They discuss each abstractly, breaking down the possible design space, how they fit into existing contexts, and what kinds of individual card designs they’re hoping to see. 27 weeks to CubeCon! Timestamps: 5:33 — The mechanics of Streets of New Capenna 7:52 — The Brokers (Bant): Shield Counters 13:23 — The Obscura (Esper): Connive 19:34 — The Maestros (Grixis): Casualty 28:43 — The Riveteers (Jund): Blitz 34:31 — The Cabaretti (Naya): Alliance 43:28 — Overall mechanical impressions, Hideaway, and no double faced cards Discussed in this episode: Carmen Handy’s Cancellable MTG Takes Tweet Alphonse Mucha Eric Spiekerman Massimo Vignelli Streets of New Capenna Mechanics First look at Streets of New Capenna Drive to Work Andy’s Core Set Battlebox Andy’s Beginner Decks Anthony’s Battlebox Bioshock Andrea Mengucci tweet about his Antiquities Tron Lands The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited, your pronouns, a link to your cube if relevant. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony revisit the topic of the rock, paper, scissors metagame on the axis of tempo and respond to listener feedback from last week’s episode. In addition, they share some highlights and bad-beats from a long weekend playing a range of Cubes. Our listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 this week comes from Gasedup’s Micro Grixis Cube. Timestamps: 1:56 — Brags and Bad Beats: A Cube Weekend Recap 8:43 — Cube Con: The long anticipated, premier Cube event 14:28 — Pack 1, Pick one from Gasedup's Micro Grixis Cube 17:32 — Follow up from last week’s listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 21:16 — Follow up from last week’s main topic: the RPS meta game 32:12 — Reacting to LSV’s “The Meaning of Midrange” article from 2009 39:05 — Reacting to the “PV’s Playhouse — Midrange” article from 2013 Discussed in this episode: Daniel’s Gold Cube The 555-Jank Cube Last week’s episode on the Aggro-Midrange-Control RPS Meta CubeCon Degenerate Micro Cube Jeskai Control Battlebox The Turbo Cube Referenced Legacy Decklists RPS polls thread on Twitter LSV’s Initial Technology – The Meaning of Midrange (and Why It’s Terrible) Paulo Vitor Damo Da Rosa on Midrange Sam Black’s poll on the Wandering Emperor Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited, your pronouns, a link to your cube if relevant. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

After alluding to it in passing multiple times, Andy and Anthony are finally going deep on Andy’s contentious assertion that there are no intrinsically favored matchups between aggro, midrange, and control as the common heuristic suggests. In this episode, they define the macro-archetypes, talk about where they come from, and cover appropriate and innappropriate applications of these kinds of thought technologies. Then, they discuss how each matchup is won and lost for all the permutations of aggro, midrange, and control. Our listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 this week comes from Arcade’s Commander Cube, the “Brawlbox”. Timestamps: 6:29 — Introduction to Topic and Pack 1, Pick 1 from Arcade's Hand Matters Cube 16:51 — What are the macro-archetypes and where do they come from? 25:32 — Andy’s argument that there is no inherent advantage between the marco-archetypes in Magic 31:07 — A Simple Origin for the Typical Rock, Paper, Scissors Heuristic 41:11 — A Comprehensive Rundown of How Each Matchup Is Won and Lost Between Aggro, Midrange, and Control Discussed in this episode: Daniel’s Gold Cube Being John Malkovich Harold McGee Magic sour sweet berries Patrick Chapin’s Next Level Magic and Next Level Deckbuilding Zac Hill’s “Ah Yes, Very Standard” Jennifer Long’s “The Metagamr Clock” Brian Davis vs Bob Maher in the 1999 Pro Tour Finals Degenerate Micro Cube Merlin Mann Follow us on Twitter @luckypapermtg and check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited, your pronouns, a link to your cube if relevant. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony are off this week, but fear not! Friends of the show Parker LaMascus and Jason Waddell are filling in and discussing one of their favorite, non-Magic card games: Slay the Spire. You do not need to have played Slay the Spire to appreciate this episode as Parker and Jason tie their experience with the game back to Cube design and Magic more broadly. Check out Jason’s Twitch stream where he has been playing Slay the Spire recently. If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited, your pronouns, a link to your cube if relevant. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony discuss the new, popular two player draft format, Hausman draft, where players draft a series of rounds exchanging cards from hidden hands with a shared, face-up, set of cards. They talk about their experience with the format, the kinds of decks it creates and pros and cons for this style of drafting. In closing, they touch briefly on the strengths and weaknesses of some other popular draft formats for two players. Our listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 this week comes from Monstrumonium’s Hand Matters Cube. Follow along with the pack 1, pick 1, and the other cards mentioned in this episode with our card-by-card visual spoiler. Timestamps: 4:59 — Pack 1, Pick 1 from Monstrumonium's Hand Matters Cube 13:33 — Hausman Draft pros and cons 25:17 — The grain of Hausman Draft: does it discourage a particular kind of deck? 38:55 — The benefits of partial hidden information 47:29 — Winston and Winchester Drafts 51:32 — Burn drafting for two players Discussed in this episode: Fermi Estimation The Misery Cube Grid Draft Winston Winchester Burn Draft (Glimpse, Minneapolis, etc.) Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited, your pronouns, a link to your cube if relevant. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony explore at length a question from the MTG Cube Reddit. As Cube designers, how do we think about cards with strong build-around, signaling potential when they seem like they may not be a good fit for the environment. View linked timestamps and our kitchen tier list on our website. Discussed in this episode: Birthday brunch Irregular Cube u/jselzo’s Reddit post on unintended signals Modern Greasefang Combo No one ever got fired for buying Microsoft Thermapen Cooking Issues David Rees and John Hodgman on Doughboys Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited, your pronouns, a link to your cube if relevant. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony are joined by guests Andy Floury and Mike Coyle of The Guardian Project Podcast to discuss their approach to Commander, which has a lot in common with Lucky Paper Radio’s approach to Cube. By figuring out how to use data to optimize for fun, recognizing that the most powerful cards do not always lead to interesting play patterns, and understanding that setting expectations is one of the most important factors in any game, Andy and Mike have established themselves as kindred spirits in trying to get the most out of Magic. View timestamps and a visual spoiler of cards mentioned during this episode on our website. Discussed in this episode: Pubstomping Settlers of Catan Dominion The Next Generation Gowron Game Knights 1 drop cube Degenerate Micro Cube Turbo Cube 17lands Andy’s Commander gameplay videos with The Guardian Project Game 1 Game 2 Rope a Dope Guardian Project Podcast Twitch stream Twitter Instagram Episode 134 — 2021 The Big Stats Episode 120 — The Most Affordable Commander Deck Themes Anthony’s Wizards Commander Deck Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited, your pronouns, a link to your cube if relevant. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony are joined by Parker LaMascus to review the results from the Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Cube community set review. They talk about the set as a whole and the themes the community is most excited about. They go card by card through the top 16 cards the most respondents are trying in their cubes. Check out the complete results and our written analysis in our set review article. You can follow along with a visual spoiler of all the cards mentioned in the episode. Discussed in this episode: You’re already dead meme Silicon Wafer manufacturing Anthony’s framed silicon wafer Gömböc Mansplaining NEO Mechanics and First Impressions Our NEO Cube Additions Full Community Set Review Results MID Community Set Review ZNR Community Set Review Parker’s Cube Degenerate Micro Cube Timestamps (includes spoilers!): 4:56 — Overview of Community Set Review Survey 11:04 — 16. Kaito Shizuki 18:32 — 15. Spirited Companion 21:47 — 14. Containment Construct 25:33 — 13. Takenuma, Abandoned Mire 28:35 — 12. Otawara, Soaring City 36:21 — 11. Touch the Spirit Realm 38:39 — 10. Lizard Blades 40:02 — 9. Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire 45:53 — 8. Twinshot Sniper 49:45 — 7. Reinforced Ronin 55:34 — 6. The Wandering Emperor 1:02:58 — 5. Rabbit Battery 1:09:32 — 4. Blade of the Oni 1:11:37 — 3. Boseiju, Who Endures 1:14:47 — 2. Eater of Virtue 1:23:01 — 1. Lion Sash Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited, your pronouns, a link to your cube if relevant. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Our Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty and Neon Dynasty Commander cube surveys are open! Please take a few minutes to let us know what you’re testing in your cube from the new set. Andy and Anthony review Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty from the perspective of their own, growing stable of Cubes, talking about the cards they’re interested in for specific environments ranging from high-powered eternal cubes, low powered cubes, and even a few contexts with special rules. Our website has comprehensive, linked timestamps so you can navigate directly to the parts of the episode relevant to you and you can follow along with every card mentioned in the episode with our visual spoiler. Discussed in this episode: Jackass Forever Steve-O’s Back Tattoo Pokemon Legends: Arceus Breath of the Wild Skyrim Metroid Prime Lucky Paper’s Neon Dynasty Mechanics and First Impressions Episode Our episode on language in Magic 2021 In Retrospect Brian DeMars’ Danger Room Discussed contexts: Bun Magic Cube Regular Cube Degenerate Micro Cube Turbo Cube Combat Trick Mini Cube Anthony’s Battle Box Jeskai Control Battle Box Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited, your pronouns, a link to your cube if relevant. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Our Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty survey is open! Please take a few minutes to let us know what you’re testing in your cube from the new set. The first of our three part set review for Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty is here! Andy and Anthony are putting their designer hats on and talking about their first impressions of the triumphant return to Kamigawa. Neon Dynasty brings a handful of flexible mechanics along with a slew of new artifact and enchantment focused themes. Which mechanics are open-ended enough to see broad play? Which kinds of cubes will benefit most from the new themes and archetypes? What would Andy and Anthony change if they could go back in time and remake Magic from the beginning? Find out within! Discussed in this episode: Neuromancer Snowcrash The Diamond Age Mandelbrot Set Good Luck High Five on NEO, including Story Recap Official Neon Dynasty Mechanics 2022 Year in Review Episode The Degenerate Micro Cube A bad Combo Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited, your pronouns, a link to your cube if relevant. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony linger on the topic of Battle Box for a second week in a row, discussing a novel design: Andy’s Jeskai Control Battle Box, modeled after what some have called Magic’s most interesting mirror match. They start things off by drawing and comparing opening hands from the list and then go deep on the benefits of designing an environment for a more narrow range of play and what can be learned from playing it. Follow along with the visual spoiler of all cards mentioned in the episode. Discussed in this episode: The Ship of Theseus - Cube from Rotisserie Draft Rotisserie Draft Jeskai Control Battle Box The most fun mirrors on Twitter Ben Stark vs Shahar Shenhar Jumpstart Hobo Names Timestamps: 1:59 — Brags and Bad Beats: Parker’s Roto Draft Edition 8:26 — A brief review of Battle Box 11:36 — Opening hand evaluations 12:47 — Introduction to the Jeskai Control Battle Box 16:24 — Structure and design considerations 21:40 — Temples in the land package 27:15 — Expectations - Do players really just love blue that much? 31:08 — Lessons on removal from Jumpstart 35:38 — Gameplay lessons from the Jeskai Control Battle Box 43:46 — Single card discussion: Jeskai Battle Box Edition Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited, your pronouns, a link to your cube if relevant. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony discuss Anthony’s updated Battle Box which started as an update and turned into a complete refresh. They talk about how Anthony’s goals have changed and clarified and how that translates to logistical and card choices. They breakdown the gameplay experience, comparing it to their goals and the experience of the previous iteration. To start things off, they each draw a hand from the box and evaluate its strengths and weaknesses. Follow along with the cards mentioned page, a visual spoiler of all the cards mentioned throughout the podcast, in chronological order. Timestamps: 3:22 — Intro to Battle Box 4:39 — Pack 1, Pick 1 stand-in: rating battle box opening hands 13:07 — Battle Box format refresher 15:50 — Anthony's goals for a new Battle Box 22:45 — Playtesting notes 29:38 — Planned changes 38:44 — Andy and Anthony go to the mat over conditional, instant speed interaction (again) 47:34 — Specific stand-out cards Discussed in this episode: Zero to Five Forks Anthony’s new Battle Box Anthony’s first list Our first episode about Battle Box Andy’s first “core set” Battle Box Michel Gondry Munchkin If you Give a Moose a Muffin Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited, your pronouns, a link to your cube if relevant. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony talk about the language we use to talk about Magic. Language is fundamental to social experiences, our favorite game included. Creating new language helps us communicate more effectively and helps us think about and compartmentalize concepts, shaping how we thing about things. But jargon has its drawbacks. View cards mentioned in the episode Our listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 this week comes from Mozart’s Cube. Timestamps: 4:02 — Introduction to language and Magic 4:59 — Pack 1, Pick 1 from Mozart's Cube 9:04 — Why do we use specific shorthand and jargon in the first place? 12:52 — Linguistic relativity: naming things shapes communication and how we think about concepts 15:43 — How specific language can hinder communication 22:16 — Why the most rigorous, theoretical terminology can sometimes be the least useful 24:25 — Why context is critical to all language 25:56 — The dangers of oversimplification 26:55 — Grizzly Bears, Goblin Pikers, and Hill Giants 33:38 — Thinking in terms of card classifications 36:56 — Jargon makes Magic less accessible 38:35 — Magic lingo speed round Discussed in this episode: Venn diagrams and Euler Diagrams Venn diagrams for high number of sets Radiolab on linguistic relativity Language Thought and Reality List of sandwiches Gravity wells Patrick Chapin’s Next Level Deckbuilding Grizzle Bears alignment chart Andy’s “two mana renaissance” Cube update Neal Stephenson’s Cryptonomicon Enigma Machine Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited, your pronouns, a link to your cube if relevant. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony each draft the same seat in Andy’s Bun Magic Cube and compare how they navigate the draft seat by seat. Draft the same seat yourself here on Cube Cobra and compare your own choices! Andy and Anthony’s draft logs are available on the cards mentioned page. Decklists are available on our website. Tune in Tuesday, the day after this episode airs, to The Guardian Project’s stream to see Andy battle his goblin commander deck against The Guardian Project’s hosts and Jason Alt! Timestamps: 4:08 — Introduction: How we drafted 7:07 — Pack 1 from Andy’s perspective 12:05 — Pack 1 from Anthony’s perspective 33:20 — Pack 2 from Anthony’s perspective 35:57 — Pack 2 from Andy’s perspective 45:47 — Pack 3 from Andy’s perspective 48:46 — Pack 3 from Anthony’s perspective 52:22 — Deck Review Discussed in this episode: TV Tropes: Red Shirts The Dark Crystal Narcissism of Small Differences The Open Draft Project on Star City Games Ben Stark’s Drafting the Hard Way The Guardian Project Podcast Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited, your pronouns, a link to your cube if relevant. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

See the full timestamps on our website or follow along with a visual spoiler of all the cards mentioned in this episode. In an attempt to record a canonical episode about the concept of power level and how it applies to cube, our heroes are chatting about the advantages and disadvantages playing with the most powerful cards and effects. How is power level actually defined? How is it related to the speed and removal density of a format? What deck from Anthony’s Irregular Cube could possibly beat a deck from Andy’s Degenerate Micro Cube? Answers to all these questions and more within. Discussed in this episode: The Degenerate Micro Cube Frank Karsten’s No limit Modern The Irregular Cube Source for average length of modern games, I cannot find source for Legacy The HP/Damaged Gonti Deck Card Kingdom Starter Cube (not an endorsement) The Turbo Cube “How would you rather lose?” Poll on the Lucky Paper Twitter Account Linguistic Relativity Epistemology Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited, your pronouns, a link to your cube if relevant. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

In this 2021 retrospective episode, Andy and Anthony look back on the year and discuss the highs and lows for Cube and how their relationship with Magic continues to evolve. They follow the format of Lucky Paper’s 2021 Cube in Review article, giving their own answers to the questions posed to prominent community members therein, and end up going deep on how changes to competitive Magic and the content and community surrounding it has sharpened their commitment to Cube and other sandbox formats. Timestamps: 7:33 — Anthony’s Cube Hit of the Year: Diversity and Community Cubes on MTGO 8:58 — Andy’s Cube Hit of the Year: the Creature Lands from Adventures in the Forgotten Realms 12:13 — Andy’s Cube Miss of the Year: Double-faced Cards 15:44 — Anthony’s Cube Miss of the Year: Linear and Synergistic Flagship Mechanics 21:39 — Andy’s Cube Cards of the Year: Murktide Regent and Captured by Lagacs 27:27 — Anthony’s Cube Cards of the Year: the MH2 Artifact Dual Lands 33:14 — Andy and Anthony’s Cube Set of the Year: Modern Horizons 2 36:46 — Andy’s Honorable Mention Cube Set of the Year: Strixhaven 41:44 — Anthony’s Little Shout Out to Adventures in the Forgotten Realms 42:25 — Andy’s Cube Level Up: Disentangling Desirable Play Patterns from Raw Power Level when Considering Cards for Cube Inclusion 46:11 — Anthony’s Cube Level Up: Reassessing His Relationship With And What He Values About the Game Discussed in this episode: Phillips Hue Smart Lights Roomba Vacuum Cleaners 2021 Cube in Review Article The Mandelbrot Set Intertwinglarity Island of D&D Cubes on the Cube Map Limited Resources Drive to Work 17Lands EDHrec James Webb Space Telescope Hubble Space Telescope Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited, your pronouns, a link to your cube if relevant. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony talk about recent drafts of the Irregular Cube, Anthony’s newest Cube which features ‘rare’ cards, and Andy’s Bun Magic Cube. They review their own drafts, what was working, what was problematic, and how the rare cards influenced the experience. They hypothesize reasons why the draft was not universally enjoyed and how the environment might be changed to improve the experience and better set expectations. They start things off with a pack 1, pick 1 from the Irregular Cube. Follow along with all the mentioned cards. Discussed in this episode: The Irregular Cube The Best Ramen in Baltimore The Regular Cube The Bun Magic Cube The Turbo Cube The Mono Black Cube Andy’s Deck from the Bun Magic Cube PVDDR on Mulligans No Land Beyond Duel Decks: Speed vs. Cunning Drafting the Hard Way Anthony’s Chicken Stack for Ramen and More The Essential Pepin Timestamps: 3:35 — Introduction to the Irregular Cube 5:39 — Pack 1, Pick 1 10:39 — Draft recap: Andy’s deck and setting expectations with the group 21:02 — Is Sprout Swarm fun? Is it too good? 27:19 — Draft recap: Anthony’s deck and the relativity of powerful cards 34:50 — The benefits of variance 39:08 — The pleasantly surprising underperformance of 5 color goodstuff 41:58 — The role of combos and draft diversity in the Irregular Cube 46:55 — How Magic history limits new card design 49:55 — Bun Magic Cube: Brags and Bad Beats 1:01:41 — Recipe corner Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited, your pronouns, a link to your cube if relevant. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony talk about all things un-. They discuss the history of silver-bordered and other non-tournament Magic cards, how they’re designed, and the categories they fall into so you can choose if and how to play them in your Cube. Our listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 this week comes from Myagic’s Storytime Cube featuring fairytale themes and a sprinking of un-cards. Discussed in this episode: Drive to Work: Unglued Drive to Work: Making Un-Cards Munchkin The Misery Cube Unstable Foil Tabletop Card Prices LRR plays the Roborosewater Cube Timestamps: 1:59 — Listener submitted pack , pick 1 7:13 — Why un-cards are interesting 9:47 — The history of un-cards 12:50 — Un-adjacent cards 14:06 — Should you put un-cards in your cube? 17:38 — The different categories of un-cards 18:17 — Cards that care about some aspect of a card that black border can’t 26:39 — Physical challenge cards 28:31 — Cards that care about something outside the game 32:30 — Outside assistance cards 36:03 — Unclassified cards that just don’t work in black border 53:56 — Cards with weird flavor 58:05 — Cards with extreme variance 1:00:27 — Draft matters cards 1:07:18 — Conspiracies 1:09:26 — The most Uncube Unmaginable Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited, your pronouns, a link to your cube if relevant. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony spend a whole episode talking just about the iconic cantrip Brainstorm. They talk about how and why it works, how it behaves in different contexts and different cubes, how unique it is, and the many relevant interactions with other cards. Brainstorm can be a controversial topic among Cube players and designers. Some claim it’s over-rated as a carryover from formats it single handedly shapes. Andy argues a high power level rating is justified, and our hosts go deep on the many interesting play patterns that make it appealing for cube designers. Follow along with mentioned cards. For interactive, clickable timestamps listen to this episode on our website. Discussed in this episode: Cube Cobra Patreon The 540: Vintage Cube’s 8 Most Overrated Cards Bun Magic Cube Regular Cube MTGO Vintage Cube Discussed Cubes on the Cube Map Brainstorm on the Cube Map Penny Dreadful Penny Dreadful Metagame Hypergeometric Calculations 1999 Pro Tour Understanding Gush: Strategies and Tactics Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited, your pronouns, a link to your cube if relevant. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony are joined by Parker LaMascus to share the results of the Innistrad: Crimson View cube community survey. They look at the top cards that the most people are interested in for their cubes, what makes them appealing, and what contexts they fit best in. Follow along with every card mentioned in the card image gallery. Timestamps (includes spoilers!): 4:42 — A new theory for why cube designers are so interested in powerful cards 9:42 — Survey structure and introduction to community review 13:26 — Honorable Mention Voldaren Epicure 19:36 — 24. By Invitation Only 21:24 — 23. Cemetery Protector 24:11 — 22. Cemetery Illuminator 27:17 — 21. Fleeting Spirit 31:58 — 20. Voldaren Bloodcaster 36:03 — 19. Kessig Wolfrider 37:05 — 18. Wandering Mind 40:19 — 17. Occult Epiphany 45:25 — 16. Reclusive Taxidermist 46:28 — 15. Torens, Fist of the Angels 51:34 — 14. Ascendant Packleader 53:52 — 13. Overcharged Amalgam 56:29 — 12. Reckless Impulse 58:14 — 11. Scattered Thoughts 1:00:46 — 10. Sorin the Mirthless 1:03:05 — 9. Ulvenwald Oddity 1:04:24 — 8. Fell Stinger 1:07:49 — 7. Hopeful Initiate 1:10:28 — 6. Dread Fugue 1:12:07 — 5. Cemetery Gatekeeper 1:15:17 — 4. Cemetery Prowler 1:17:49 — 3. Graf Reaver 1:19:36 — 2. Welcoming Vampire 1:24:42 — 1. Thirst for Discovery 1:30:46 — Closing Thoughts Discussed in this episode: Cube survey results Dragon Ball Z Recut Episode 72: Mechanics and First Impressions Episode 73: Review for Andy and Anthony’s Cubes The Resleevables on Modern Horizons Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited, your pronouns, a link to your cube if relevant. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Our Innistrad: Crimson Vow survey is open! Please take a few minutes to let us know what you’re testing in your cube from the new set. Andy and Anthony talk about Innistrad: Crimson Vow through the lens of their many specific cubes, including the themes, mechanics, and individual cards that fit into particular contexts. They dig into many of the most powerful cards of the set relevant for Andy’s main cube, a few interesting twists on lower power cards for Anthony’s, and look at the set from a range of other angles. Discussed in this episode: Daniel’s Gold Cube “Reading Rainbow” VOW Mechanics and First Impressions Episode Good Luck High Five Bun Magic Cube Regular Cube Irregular Cube Turbo Cube Battle of Wits Cube Timestamps: 4:23 — Introduction to episode format 5:36 — Context: Bun Magic Cube 7:34 — By Invitation Only 12:17 — Kessig Wolfrider 15:48 — Reckless Impulse 21:17 — Ulvenwald Oddity 23:38 — Graf Reaver 26:31 — Hopeful Initiate 32:06 — Cemetery Prowler 33:11 — Occult Epiphany 36:40 — Cemetery Gatekeeper 38:06 — Dread Fugue 42:53 — Context: Regular Cube 43:49 — By Invitation Only (again) 48:29 — Gryff Rider 50:17 — Twinblade Geist 52:29 — Whispering Wizard (except not) 57:23 — Parish Blade Trainee 58:43 — Context: Irregular Cube 1:00:24 — Irregular Cube “Commons”: Belligerent Guest, Blood Petal Celebrant, and Bloodcrazed Socialite 1:03:05 — Curse of Hospitality 1:06:13 — Eruth Tormented Prophet 1:09:12 — Ancient Lumberknot 1:12:34 — Patchwork Crawler 1:14:29 — Context: Turbo Cube 1:16:07 — Investigator’s Journal 1:16:51 — Pointed Discussion 1:17:36 — Demonic Bargain 1:19:11 — Cemetery Gatekeeper (Again) 1:22:05 — Faithbound Judge in the Alt Win Condition Cube Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited, your pronouns, a link to your cube if relevant. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Our Innistrad: Crimson Vow set survey is open! Please take a few minutes to let us know what you’re testing in your cube from the new set. Andy and Anthony take a first look at Innistrad: Crimson Vow, breaking down themes, mechanics, and cycles for Cube. They talk about opportunities the headline mechanics including Blood, cleave, and yet another influx of double faced cards could offer for all manner of cubes. They also explore the less obvious, unnamed mechanics of the set that reinforce existing themes. Timestamps: 3:16 — Review structure overview 6:56 — Training 14:31 — Cleave 23:11 — Blood Tokens 28:26 — Daybound/Nightbound 28:58 — Disturb 33:34 — Double Faced Cards 34:50 — Exploit 40:30 — Mythic “Cemetery” Cycle 49:09 — Graveyard themes in general 50:15 — Tribal themes 52:39 — Lifegain theme 55:00 — Enchantments matter 56:07 — Overall impressions Discussed in this episode: BCW cardboard boxes Quadrant Theory [V]indicate The Stroop Effect Episode 64: Innistrad Midnight Hunt Mechanics “No Johns” Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited, your pronouns, a link to your cube if relevant. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony talk about archetypes in Cube design. They discuss what archetypes are, why they’ve become a fundamental part of limited set design, and the uses and limitations of applying the same process to Cube design. Our listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 this week comes from Cassie’s cube, The Facedown Slide, heavily featuring morph, cycling and related mechanics. Timestamps: 5:24: Listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 13:59: What is an archetype? 15:35: 10, 2-color archetypes in limited design 19:19: Some differences between limited design and Cube design 26:33: What works about archetype driven Cube design 32:36: The texture and style of different deck archetypes 35:47: How to avoid low-agency, on-rails drafting 38:40: The approach to archetypes in the Regular Cube 42:32: Making archetypes meaningful with small numbers of cards 45:01: Emergent archetypes in the Combat Trick Cube 50:13: The relationship between build-arounds and archetypes 52:46: How many cards do you need to define an archetype 1:01:32: Summary and closing thoughts Discussed in this episode: Tungsten Cubes TC Tugger I Think You Should Leave Andy’s Combat Trick Mini Cube Maramas’ Entomb Pumpkin Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited, your pronouns, a link to your cube if relevant. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

For a transcript of this week's scripted opening, see our website. Music for this episode was adapted from Matt McInerney’s EP Mined. Thanks, Matt. We’ll be back next week with a regular episode. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.

Andy and Anthony talk about a few loosely related Cube topics. They kick things off with a pick from a spooky cube, reflect on some recent drafts and how different playgroups can evaluate environments drastically differently, some individual cards, and the power of novelty. Our listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 this week comes from listener Anthony’s very spooky Horror Cube. Timestamps: 3:17 — Spooky listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 9:42 — Getting your fill of individual cards 15:32 — Dissonant feedback from different playgroups 27:49 — The continuing saga of Cling to Dust 31:49 — Follow up on Field of the Dead 41:40 — The power of novelty 50:20 — An impromptu pumpkin carving competition Discussed in this episode: Too many bones? Not enough Cash? Anthony’s Irregular Cube Heraclitus Ship of Theseus Episode 68 with Jason Waddell Episode 61: Live from Cube Weekend Episode 63: Single Card Discussion The Resleevables MH1 Episode Kaldheim Prospective Anthony’s Turbo Cube Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited, your pronouns, a link to your cube if relevant. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

We’re compiling an audio memorial to CubeTutor, so please share your reflections on the site and the role its played in our community, or just your thanks to Ben, with us by sending a voice memo to andymangold@gmail.com. If I don’t confirm receipt of your message within 48 hours send me a message on Twitter or Discord (andymangold#5271). Andy and Anthony talk about a handful of individual cards from each of their Cubes: why they like them, how they’ve shaped the format or changed as the format evolved, and gameplay highlights. Follow along with the cards in the image gallery. Timestamps: 1:42 — Balance 5:29 — Portable Hole 8:17 — Dryad Greenseeker 10:16 — Serum Visions 11:52 — Mogg War Marshal 13:46 — Censor 15:29 — Rix Maadi Reveler 18:23 — Murktide Regent 20:44 — Go for the Throat 22:02 — Barbed Spike 23:54 — Recurring Nightmare 27:53 — Discovery // Disperal 31:20 — Seal of Fire 31:12 — Untethered Express 37:51 — Shocklands Discussed in this episode: The Resleevables Anthony’s Irregular Cube Daniel’s Gold Cube Anthony’s Turbo Cube Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited, your pronouns, a link to your cube if relevant. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony talk with Jason Waddell about Cube, game design, and the complications of Magic as a hobby. Jason share’s his experience with the ups and downs of his relationship with the game. Follow along with the card image gallery. View complete show notes and timestamps on our website. Discussed in this episode: Riptide Lab Who’s the beatdown UB Trippin (not actually by PVDDR, please excuse Andy’s mistake) Jason’s CFB Article Archive Bike Burnout on A Path Less Pedaled Three different recent interviews with Richard Garfield on Drive to Work The Cube Map The Bant Cube Nickelodeon All star brawl Project M Apex Legends Skinner box Slay the Spire Roguelike Dominion 17lands Degenerate Micro Cube Turbo Cube Grid draftWinchester draft, and Winston draft Roguebook Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited, your pronouns, a link to your cube if relevant. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony talk about the imminent shutdown of CubeTutor. Don’t forget to export your data! We’re compiling an audio memorial to CubeTutor, so please share your reflections on the site and the role its played in our community, or just your thanks to Ben, with us by sending a voice memo to andymangold@gmail.com. If I don’t confirm receipt of your message within 48 hours send me a message on Twitter or Discord (andymangold#5271). Discussed in this episode: Anthony’s Rotisserie Draft Spreadsheet CubeTutor’s Shutdown Announcement on their Dev Blog Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited, your pronouns, a link to your cube if relevant. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony are Joined by Parker to dive into Innistrad: Midnight Hunt and all the cards and mechanics they’re interested in for cubes of all kinds. For detailed, linked timestamps view the episode on our website. You can also follow along with the brand new card image gallery, which includes images of every card mentioned in the episode, in chronological order. Discussed in this episode: Lucky Paper’s Innistrad: Midnight Hunt Cube Prospective Episode 64: Innistrad: Midnight Hunt Mechanics and First Impressions Andy’s MID Updates Anthony’s MID Updates Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube Parker’s Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited, your pronouns, a link to your cube if relevant. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Our Innistrad: Midnight Hunt Cube survey is open! Please take a few minutes to let us know what you’re testing in your cube from the new set. Andy and Anthony talk about the ‘feelbad’ moments in Magic and the cards that are more likely to create them. This seemingly narrow topic turns out to be one of the most critical and easy to take for granted aspects of Cube design: how do we make it fun? They pick out some of the most likely cards they play that can lead to negative experiences, why those experiences create the emotional responses they do, and where that risk is worthwhile. Our listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 this week comes from Nick’s Noob Cube, a Cube designed to be approachable for new players including uncommons and doubled up commons. Nick created the amazing MTG Multiverse project, cataloging cards from the planes of Magic. Invaluable to designers building set themed cubes. Timestamps: 0:00 — Official Cube banlist update 4:18 — Listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 10:20 — What is a "feelbad" 12:51 — Cards people think have feelbad potential in Andy's Bun Magic Cube 15:06 — Is Magic a Zero Fun game? 19:09 — Cards Andy himself thinks are feelbads in his Bun Magic Cube 27:43 — Combat tricks, Force Spikes, and feelbads in Anthony’s Regular Cube 40:17 — The agony and the ecstasy of Whitemane Lion and cards it feels bad to win with 46:30 — Effect density 48:43 — Repetitive play patterns 50:02 — Inheriting impressions from other formats and exceptions to the rules 53:17 — Esper Sentinel vs Thalia and perceived choices 55:05 — The inherent feelbad of variance 55:58 — Is there a way to make natural power outliers not feelbads? 59:51 — Summary — TLDL; Discussed in this episode: The restaurant has a rule about not eating all the fully loaded nachos No rubbing linseed oil into the school cormorant The Multiverse Project, cataloging cards set on Magic’s Planes Fuschia Dunlop’s The Food of Sichuan The Mala Market (originally Land of Plenty) Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited, your pronouns, a link to your cube if relevant. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony take a first look at Innistrad: Midnight Hunt breaking down the mechanics from a design perspective for Cube and other casual formats. They discuss the many different variations of transform mechanics, the challenges and opportunities they create for Cube designers, and how the new mechanics relate to the old. Timestamps:  6:20 — Day and Night 16:09 — Disturb 20:55 — Flashback 21:22 — Other transform cards and a note on the variety of DFCs in MID 25:06 — Coven 30:23 — Decayed 37:55 — The Adversary Cycle and I-Can’t-Believe-It’s-Not-Multikicker 46:37 — Minor mechanics and themes Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited, your pronouns, a link to your cube if relevant. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony indulge themselves in talking about a few individual cards they find interesting in the context of Cube, using them as a jumping off point into an array of cube topics. Andy brings Field of the Dead to the table, leading to a discussion about card evaluation, single card archetypes, and fixing. Anthony shares why he thinks Feather, the Redeemed is a power outlier that creates positive gameplay experiences in his cube, contrasting it with Kess, Dissident Mage which for different reasons turned out to be problematic. Lastly they weigh the pros and cons of Cling to Dust and when does interaction feel incidental. Our listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 this week comes from Tim’s Proliferate Cube. Discussed in this episode: Check out plancpills.org for up to date information about getting a medical abortion through the mail The Lucky Paper Cube Map David Rees Records Parker’s Midrange Cube Anthony’s Irregular Cube Timestamps: 5:33 — Listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 15:40 — Cube Map update — now with card search features! 21:23 — Single card discussion: Field of the Dead 33:49 — Feather, the Redeemed vs Kess, Dissident Mage 44:50 — Is Cling to Dust too tilting? 56:46 — Outro Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited, your pronouns, a link to your cube if relevant. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony talk about the role of one mana spells in Cube. The first play of the game can be fundamental to starting off the game with a plan. The atomic unit of the game’s resource shapes the decisions players have and the way plays can be sequenced. Our listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 this week comes from nettlesomeReflexion’s Public Library Cube, emulating their first experience with Magic at their local public library: old school cards with a vanguard twist. Discussed in this episode: Constructed Resources Timestamps: 2:11: Listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 12:57: The nature of one mana spalls 17:19: What is the first thing each of the decks in your cube want to do? 23:34: Context switching — when you go from the defensive to the offensive 30:56: The best start for an aggressive deck 36:52: The implications of one mana spells on tempo 43:15: The unadulterated joy of taking game actions 47:49: The flexibility and nuances of one mana hand disruption 50:16: The Ragavan Effect 52:24: One mana activated abilities Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited, your pronouns, a link to your cube if relevant. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

This is a special, ‘live’ episode of Lucky Paper Radio. The audio quality is not to our normal standards — if you’ve never heard the show before we do not recommend starting with this one! Andy and Anthony decompress with the draft crew in the middle of a long weekend of many, many cube drafts, sharing the greatest and saltiest moments in a rare, unfiltered episode of Lucky Paper Radio. Our cube weekend featured: Parker’s Midrange Cube Alex’s Peasant Cube Jay’s Vintage Cube Andy’s Bun Magic Cube James’ Breya Cube Anthony’s Black Cube Andy’s Degenerate Micro Cube Anthony’s Turbo Cube Allison’s Peasant+ Cube Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited, your pronouns, a link to your cube if relevant. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony talk about the logistics of Cube including everything from storage and sleeves, to basic basic lands and tokens. They cover everything you need to know when setting out to build a new cube that isn’t what cards to include. As with most things Cube, there’s no right answer to any of these questions for all players, but our hosts explore all the options, and how to find what works for you. Detailed timestamps available on our website! Discussed in this episode: Boonta Vista Moby Dick Hello from the Magic Tavern Call me if You Get Lost The Crown Baltimore SLEEVES KMC Hypermat Sleeves KMC Perfect Fits KMC Perfect Hards Ultra Pro Eclipse and size comparison Dragonshield Sleeves STORAGE BCW Plain White Boxes Ultimate Guard Arkhive 400 and neatly fitting Boulder Boxes KMC Barrier Box DEX Protection Supreme Game Chest Aaron Cain’s Custom Deckboxes Cubeamajigs Dragon Shield Cube Shells MORE RESOURCES “Novel Method for Shuffling a Cube” from Reddit user moak0 Cube Cobra Dr4ft Analyzing Cube Drafts Lucky Paper Radio: How and Why to Build a Cube Lucky Paper Radio: Organizing Cube Drafts Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony discuss all things Battlebox, one of their favorite casual ways to play Magic. A Battlebox is a great thing to have for quick games between and around matches. Without the variance of land draws it's both very approachable and gives spikes an opportunity to test their skills in detailed aspects of gameplay. Our listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 this week comes from Milkshake1988’s spell’s only cube, which really commits to the bit. Discussed in this episode: Brian Demars’ Danger Room Ben Stark’s Battle Box Anthony’s Original List and much tidier current rework Andy’s Graveyard Themed Battle Box Degenerate Turbo Cube Draft Oko Bridge in the DMC Timestamps: 3:11: Listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 11:40: What is Battlebox? 14:42: Battlebox gameplay 18:45: Battlebox design conventions 27:22: Introductions to our respective Battleboxes 30:56: The design of Battleboxes 38:20: Indulgent conversation about our favorite battlebox cards 52:03: Actually, mana screw and mana flood is good 54:36: Outro Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited, your pronouns, a link to your cube if relevant. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Cube presents unique drafting a deckbuilding challenges when it comes to manabases. Retail limited is our only benchmark for drafting, but non-basic lands are so few and far-between that they don’t have a meaningful impact on most drafts. In cube, however, we don’t have to settle for 9-8 manabases of basics only, but how do you navigate mana successfully in a cube draft? In this episode, Andy and Anthony put their cube designer hat aside and go deep on lands from the perspective of players. How highly should you take non-basic lands when drafting? How many lands should you put in your deck? What counts as a mana source? How many sources do you need to cast your spells reliably? What kinds of cards should you splash and how do you manage a splash successfully? What about four and five color decks? Our listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 this week comes from listener Tristan. Thanks, Tristan! Discussed in this episode: Anthony’s Turbo Cube 17lands Frank Karsten’s seminal “How many colored sources do you need to consistently cast your spells?” “The Case for more Fetchlands” from Riptide Lab Timestamps 0:00 — Turbo Cube full draft review 7:58 — Main topic preview 11:17 — Listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 14:59 — The pros and cons of lairs 16:48 — Beginning of main topic: How highly should you draft lands? 23:40 — How many lands should you put in your deck? 33:56 — What counts as a mana source? 37:28 — How many mana sources do you need to cast your spells reliably? 47:20 — Tying it all together: building your manabase at the draft table 54:55 — An addendum on four and five color manabases Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited on air, your pronouns, and if you’re submitting a cube for the pack 1, pick 1, a link to said cube. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

This week’s episode is the Adventures in the Forgotten Realms Cube set review. A much less involved affair than our Modern Horizons 2 episode, we’re nonetheless touching on a number of noteworthy cards and how they may impact cubes of all kinds. Discussed in this episode: Grid Drafting the Turbo Cube on YouTube I Think You Should Leave Adventures in the Forgotten Realms Mechanics Episode Adventures in the Forgotten Realms testing: grid draft on YouTube Timestamps: 4:59: Creature Lands — Cave of the Frost Dragon, Hall of Storm Giants, Hive of the Eye Tyrant, Den of the Bugbear, and Lair of the Hydra 13:35: Power Word Kill 16:11:Portable Hole 22:36: Dancing Sword and equipment theme, including Plate Armor and Bruenor Battlehammer) 27:52: Loyal Warhound 28:58: Monk of the Open Hand 30:53: Flumph 32:05: Nadaar, Selfless Paladin and Venture cards in general 37:45: Priest of Ancient Lore 39:34: Demilich 43:50: Phantom Steed 45:41: Minn, Wily Illusionist 48:12: Ebondeath, Dracolich 50:34: Gelatinous Cube 53:23: Manticore 54:45: Shambling Ghast 57:08: Wight 59:36: Plundering Barbarian 1:03:14: You See a Pair of Goblins 1:04:49: Prosperous Innkeeper 1:06:53: Ranger Class 1:09:54: Misnc, Beloved Ranger Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited on air, your pronouns, and if you’re submitting a cube for the pack 1, pick 1, a link to said cube. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony discuss their first impressions of Magic’s newest set, D&D: Adventures in the Forgotten Realms. Setting aside individual card evaluation, they dive into the mechanics and flavor from a design and gameplay perspective. With dice rolling, dungeon adventuring, and D&D flavor the set brings a whole new twist to the game for D&D lovers and Magic players who enjoy seeing the game pushed in new directions. Discussed in this episode: Matt Tabak on Spindowns “Everything happens so much” Text Expander The Overton Window Munchkin “They’re good dogs Brent” Chop Suey Parody Video on Riptide Lab Limited Resources’ Common and Uncommon AFR Set Review Timestamps: 7:17: Dungeons and Venture into the Dungeon 23:59: Flavor Words 33:48: Rolling D20s 49:15: Classes 51:54: Overall Observations about Recent “New Zone” Mechanics 55:13: Potion of Healing Hot Take Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited on air, your pronouns, and if you’re submitting a cube for the pack 1, pick 1, a link to said cube. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Our Adventures in the Forgotten Realms Cube survey is open! Please take a few minutes to let us know what you’re testing in your cube from the new set. Make sure to check out a special video made by Jason Waddell to accompany this week’s intro. Using Cube Cobra’s new feature to sort a cube by popularity of cards, Andy and Anthony explore Andy’s Bun Magic Cube. They discuss some of the factors that may influence card’s popularity among cube owners and talk through some notable unpopular cards. Our listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 this week comes from Geena’s Unpowered 270 Cube Discussed in this episode: Andy’s Cube Sorted by Popularity Dave Arnold, Cooking Issues, Liquid Intelligence Going Deep with David Rees Timestamps: 3:24 Listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 9:33 Introduction to card popularity 11:14 Portent 15:38 Primordial Mist 19:52 Bloodsky Berserker 26:07 Ulcerate 29:06 Tarfire and Seal of Fire 38:15 Edge of Autumn 42:23 Oath of Nissa 45:40 Fire Covenant 49:56 City of Traitors Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited on air, your pronouns, and if you’re submitting a cube for the pack 1, pick 1, a link to said cube. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

David McDarby of Wizards of the Coast joins Andy and Anthony to talk about The Chromatic Cube, designed by David and currently on Arena. They talk about the cube’s goals and how they contrast with those of other cubes on Magic Online and Arena. David shares his design process behind cubes and the inspiration for The Chromatic Cube. They start things off with a pack 1, pick 1 from the cube and talk about their experiences with the cube so far. Discussed in this episode: The Chromatic Cube, Decklist on Cube Cobra The Live the Dream Cube The Cultic Cube and MTGO Data Analysis Limited Resources Brief Discussion on Chromatic Cube Follow David on Twitter Timestamps: 3:20: Pack 1, Pick 1 from The Chromatic Cube 10:57: The Chromatic Cube 31:45: David’s Cube design process Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited on air, your pronouns, and if you’re submitting a cube for the pack 1, pick 1, a link to said cube. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

In an effort to expand on past discussion about what makes a particular cube “hard” or “easy” to play, Andy and Anthony are dedicating an entire episode to unpacking what exactly makes Magic a difficult game. After being pressed by Andy to define seemingly simple terms, Anthony expounds upon his concepts of a “competency floor”, “mastery ceiling”, and overall “exertion”, and how each of these factors makes the game difficult in a different way. Our listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 this week comes from listener Cameron’s 1 Drop Cube. Thanks, Cameron! Discussed in this episode: Calca Git Scryfall Vine Best hangman words Terraforming Mars Carcassonne An Introduction to the Degenerate Micro Cube Drive to Work on Tic Tac Toe The 1863 World Checkers Championships, which ended in 40 consecutive draws, 21 of which were the exact same game Limited Resources Episode 560: Paper Magic at Home with Brian David Marshall Anthony’s appearance on the Riptide Lab Podcast Baltimore Salt Boxes Timestamps: 6:29 — Listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 15:04 — Main topic: the different kinds of difficulty associated with playing Magic 1:03:18 — The Salt Box™ Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited on air, your pronouns, and if you’re submitting a cube for the pack 1, pick 1, a link to said cube. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Do some light stretches and grab some popcorn, because this is Lucky Paper Radio’s most in depth set review ever. Andy, Anthony, and Jett dive into Modern Horizons 2, a set with an unprecedented number of cards for cubes of all kinds. They explore support for classic mechanics, designs that can enable new themes, and the many powerful cards pushing the limits. Conversation is guided by the results of our MH2 community survey revealing what in the new set is capturing the cube community’s interest, the most controversial cards, and appealing new options for the many facets of the community. View the episode on our site for extensive, interactive timestamps! Discussed in this episode: Our YouTube Channel and Twitch Stream The 540’s set review episode 1 and 2 Anthony’s Turbo Cube The Degenerate Micro Cube The Combat Trick Cube Andy’s Mono Colored Starter Decks Sam Black’s Playtesting Article Cultic Cube’s Preview Card Video for Foundation Breaker Richard Kane Ferguson’s Illustration for Dakkon, Shadow Slayer Naming Captured by Lagacs You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube Jett’s “Unlimited” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited on air, your pronouns, and if you’re submitting a cube for the pack 1, pick 1, a link to said cube. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony talk about the practical side of cube. For many of us, Cube is about bringing people together through our favorite game, but finding or creating a consistent playgroup can be a challenge. Our hosts share what they they’ve learned seeing their own group develop, treating a draft like a party, with food and clear communication, and playing with what can turn into a very pricy board game. Our listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 this week comes from The Oinkinator’s Cube. Timestamps: 5:24 Listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 14:09 Draft recap of Regular Cube 28:43 How to host a cube draft successfully 42:52 What if my cube is expensive? 46:15 Cube draft recap Discussed in this episode: Superstar (1999) with Molly Shannon Playing to Win Evaluating New Cubes Episode of Lucky Paper Ship of Theseus Collectinsure No Land Beyond You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited on air, your pronouns, and if you’re submitting a cube for the pack 1, pick 1, a link to said cube. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Timestamps 5:25 Introduction to Parker’s Cube 19:44 High fixing density, it’s effects and player expectations 23:08 What does it mean for a cube to be ‘hard to draft’? 28:50 Playtesting observations and notes 40:57 Synthesizing our draft experiences 52:26 Highs and lows drafting Mordor’s Cube 1:04:02 Pack 1, pick 1 from Parker’s Cube Our Modern Horizons 2 Cube survey is open! Please take a few minutes to let us know what you’re testing in your cube from the new set. Cube enthusiast and Lucky Paper contributor Parker LaMascus joins Andy and Anthony to talk about his own cube and their experience with his midrange focused environment. They discuss a draft of the cube, reflecting on how Parker’s design goals translate to individual card choices, breaks in the tradition cube structure, and how these choices manifest in gameplay. Parker elaborates on his goals to remove the rock-paper-scissors nature of the traditional aggro, midrange, and control archetypes to create a skill-testing environment emphasizing player abilities and careful decision making. They finish the episode with a pack 1, pick 1 from Parker’s Cube where they apply what they learned from the draft and our conversation to drafting. Discussed in this episode: Lucky Paper Radio Episide 43 Hosted by Parker and Kennedy Lucky Paper on Twitch Modern Horizons Survey Parker’s Cube Lucky Paper Episode Analysis Paralysis Cultic Cube: Analyzing Data from MTGO Grid Drafting the Regular Cube (Video) Old Boy You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited on air, your pronouns, and if you’re submitting a cube for the pack 1, pick 1, a link to said cube. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

On this episode, Andy and Anthony are discussing a recent draft of Anthony’s “Regular” Cube, in which Anthony made a stupid amount of mana with Hope Tender, making Andy question all of the decisions he made in his life that led to that moment. This dovetails into a conversation about the nuanced differences in what Anthony and Andy value about Magic and how they capture that in their respective cubes. What is the difference between having conditional cards as enablers vs having conditional cards as payoffs? What is the difference between having a power outlier 1 mana value card vs a power outlier 3 mana value card? Is there any kind of proactive deck that can beat two 3/2s for 3 generic mana? On Sword of Hearth and Home, which color is “Hearth” and which color is “Home”? Our listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 this week comes from listener Simon’s Cubus Color Correctus. Thanks, Simon! Discussed in this episode: Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 1:46 The pros and cons of an 8 person team draft 7:29 Hope Tender and Devoted Druid — build around enablers vs build around payoffs 25:52 listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 41:00 Ragavan and the differences between really pushed one drops and really pushed cards at higher mana values 52:37 Pedantry department: Sword of Hearth and Home 56:56 Outro You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited on air, your pronouns, and if you’re submitting a cube for the pack 1, pick 1, a link to said cube. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony talk about how they approach drafting a cube they’ve never played before. What do they look for in the list to optimize their chances of success, and have a good time doing it. After discussing power outliers and big picture structure of an environment, they agree one of the most important aspects to focus on is the speed of the format, which shapes the tempo-value balance and the effectiveness of different strategies. It’s challenging to evaluate an environment just by looking at the list, and they share some heuristics they use to get a head start. Our listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 this week comes from Ryan’s Peasantish Cube. Timestamps: 0:00 Show Intro 1:57 Introduction of Main Topic 6:43 Anthony’s First Point: Read the Cube Overview 10:04 Andy’s First Point: Look for Supported Broken Strategies 14:55 Anthony’s Second Point: Look for Patterns and Familiar Cards 17:11 Andy’s Second Point and Anthony’s Third Point: Determine the Speed of the Environment 24:59 Andy’s Third Point: Quantity and Quality of Removal and Board Wipes 26:50 Should the Density of Mana Fixing Affect How You Draft an Environment? 39:22 Andy’s Fourth Point: Look at What the Cube Wants You To Do 40:46 Familiarity Bias 42:04 Know Your Opponent and Meta 46:44 Anthony’s Bonus Point: Look at the Low Mana Value Cards 49:15 Listener Submitted Pack 1, Pick 1 1:03:53 Outro You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited on air, your pronouns, and if you’re submitting a cube for the pack 1, pick 1, a link to said cube. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony discuss Anthony’s newest cube project, Irregular Cube. Like his primary cube it’s a lower power environment with a variety of overlapping archetypes, but it also has a novel structure: a main set and a second list of ‘rare’ cards, largely composed of higher powered cards with a healthy helping of build-arounds. They talk about the many opportunities rarity offers, challenges it imposes, and what they’ve learned from initial playtesting. To kick off the conversation, our pack 1, pick 1 comes from the cube in question. Discussed in this episode: Irregular Cube + Rare List Regular Cube The Legend Cube by Listener Josh Limited Resources: Time Spiral Remastered LPR on Designing for the Draft Experience Andy’s Combat Trick Mini Cube LPR on Sealed in Cube Environments (A different) Josh’s Powered Un-Cube and the Robo Rosewater Cube Conspiracies Timestamps: 4:03 Pack 1, Pick 1 8:49 Capturing the Thrill and Novelty of Rarity 16:57 Playtesting First Impressions 47:30 The Impact of Conspiracies 1:06:08 Outro You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited on air, your pronouns, and if you’re submitting a cube for the pack 1, pick 1, a link to said cube. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Our Strixhaven: School of Mages and Commander 2021 prospectives are out! Thank you to everyone who participated. Andy and Anthony are joined by Lucky Paper contributor Jett for a deep dive on what they believe to be the noteworthy cards from Strixhaven and Commander 2021. In their discussion, they reference their Strixhaven mechanics episode and their episode on Card Evaluation and the Playtesting Paradox. Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 8:28 Elite Spellbinder 14:43 Leonin Lightscribe (and white Magecraft in general) 22:35 Clever Lumimancer 28:19 Professor of Symbology 33:20 Thunderous Orator 37:58 Mavinda, Students’ Advocate 40:32 Pillardrop Rescuer 42:15 Detention Vortex 44:33 Secret Rendezvous 45:32 Multiple Choice 51:58 Frost Trickster 55:23 Curate 59:25 Resculpt 59:30 Tempted by the Oriq 1:02:53 Sedgemoor Witch 1:09:12 Baleful Mastery 1:14:42 Unwilling Ingredient 1:17:14 Brackish Trudge 1:18:44 Oriq Loremage 1:19:53 Lash of Malice 1:23:58 Plumb the Forbidden 1:26:28 Eyetwitch 1:27:05 Laelia, the Blade Reforged 1:32:51 Conspiracy Theorist 1:37:08 Grinning Ignus 1:38:05 Efreet Flamepainter 1:40:07 Abundant Harvest (and the roles of cantrips in different kinds of decks) 1:49:26 Pest Infestation 1:52:47 Bayou Groff 1:54:12 Emergent Sequence 1:57:17 Bookwurm 1:58:50 Paradox Zone (and Fractal Token art criticism) 2:07:14 The Command Cycle, with special focus on Prismari, Witherbloom, and Quandrix Command 2:22:04 Rip Apart 2:26:23 Vanishing Verse 2:29:09 Expressive Iteration 2:35:56 Zephyr Boots 2:37:54 The Campuses 2:38:47 Modal Double Face Cards 2:41:59 Andy, Anthony, and Jett’s favorite cards from Strixhaven and Commander 2021 2:43:00 Outro 2:44:31 Outtakes You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited on air, your pronouns, and if you’re submitting a cube for the pack 1, pick 1, a link to said cube. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Our Strixhaven set review episode is coming to you next week. We weren’t able to do the episode in a timely fashion due to life circumstances, but we’re going to make sure we bring the quality. Thanks for your patience! On this week’s episode, Andy and Anthony talk about Cube and synergy. Synergy means many things to many different cube players and designers and is used to talk about both environments and decks. We tease out a few ways to define synergy, and how we use it to frame our goals as cube designers and how it’s part of our strategies as players. We discuss how ‘synergy’ overlaps with structured, low power, cubes with color pair driven archetypes and high power combo strategies. Anthony shares his enthusiasm for a new cube with its own set of ’rares’, and his excitement about small doses of radically draft warping cards. Our listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 this week comes from Ryan’s Peasantish Cube. Thank’s Ryan! Discussed in this episode: Nosedive, by Harold McGee (again) On Food and Cooking Hot Dogs Anthony’s Beta Cube with Rare Sauce I Think You Should Leave Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 3:08 Pack 1, Pick 1 12:08 What is synergy? 49:01 Anthony’s Beta Cube with Rare Sauce 1:02:32 Outro You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited on air, your pronouns, and if you’re submitting a cube for the pack 1, pick 1, a link to said cube. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Our Strixhaven and Commander 2021 Cube surveys are open! Please take a few minutes to let us know what you’re testing in your cube from the new sets. Andy and Anthony talk about the new mechanics in Strixhaven and what they have us most excited for in cube. They cover the unique draft mechanic of Learn and Lesson and the ways it can be applied to cube, and the exciting expansion of spells matter and protection mechanics. Our listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 this week comes from captainawesome’s The Awesome Cube chock full of awesome borderless cards. Read all about the history of this awesome cube in the detailed blog. Discussed in this episode: The 540’s delightful observation on Lessons Strixhaven Mechanics Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 2:26 Pack 1, Pick 1 12:02 Variance and different kinds of complexity and decisions 26:27 Learn and Lessons 38:25 Magecraft 43:04 Ward 48:09 MDFCs 53:53 Outro You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited on air, your pronouns, and if you’re submitting a cube for the pack 1, pick 1, a link to said cube. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Our Strixhaven and Commander 2021 Cube surveys are open! Please take a few minutes to let us know what you’re testing in your cube from the new sets. Due to the loss of a close, personal friend, Andy and Anthony are off this week. If you or someone you know is in crisis, please consult the resources available from The American Association of Suicidology. If you’re able, please consider donating blood through The Red Cross. This week, guest hosts Parker and Kennedy discuss their most recent Cube draft adventure. When is Boros better than Mono-Red? What does it take to make Vendetta first-pickable? What’s the big deal about Kird Ape? And, most importantly, what is the secret to amazing homemade salsa? Discussed in this episode: Philly Game Shop Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat LPR Episode 42 — Art School and Critical Discourse Timestamps: 2:03 Intro 4:21 Listener Submitted p1p1 14:24 Nepotism p1p1 from Parker’s “Mordor’s Cube” and contextual card evaluation. 25:12 Outro and Kennedy’s Salsa Recipe You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube Parker’s “Mordor’s Cube” If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited on air, your pronouns, and if you’re submitting a cube for the pack 1, pick 1, a link to said cube. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Our Strixhaven and Commander 2021 Cube surveys are open! Please take a few minutes to let us know what you’re testing in your cube from the new sets. This week, Andy and Anthony share a little of their personal history and how important their tools for critical discourse they learned in art school have been to their lives, Magic very much included. They talk about how they first met and the ubiquitous art school critique. From their pack 1, pick 1 of Jean’s Fast Multiplayer Cube they delve into they change their card evaluations in a multi-player format. I’m not saying it’s a spoiler, but The Akroan War gets a little special attention for it’s flavorful top down design, complex play patterns, and stunning artwork. Discussed in this episode: The Bloop Playing Red with the World Champion — PVDDR’s Gameplay Video Hidden Gibbons Cube Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 5:11 Listener Submitted p1p1 18:09 Dwell on [[The Akroan War]] 25:28 Cube and Art School 44:20 A Crash Course in Critical Discourse 1:07:25 Summary of Main Topic 1:13:33 Outro You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited on air, your pronouns, and if you’re submitting a cube for the pack 1, pick 1, a link to said cube. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

This week, Andy and Anthony take aim at the dominating rhetoric about Cube which takes for granted it is a format showcasing the most powerful cards in Magic. They tackle the big effects that small patterns in language can have, excluding huge areas of creative cube design. Our hosts reflect on just how effective the Cube Map is at visualizing the existing diversity in the format, and hinting at the vast empty spaces yet to be explored. Our pack 1, pick 1 comes from the Nega Cube, currently taking the spotlight on MTGO, which features only cards not included in any other MTGO cube. Timestamps: 2:32 Tech Support: the Problem of Mismatched Mental Models 8:58 P1P1 from the Nega Cube 20:13 Dismantling the Monolith of Cube 51:38 Andy’s Soapbox: Don’t Call Cards “Boring” or “Interesting” 54:58 Andy’s Soapbox Stacked on a Soapbox: “Please Wizards, we’re good over here” 1:01:30 Outro You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited on air, your pronouns, and if you’re submitting a cube for the pack 1, pick 1, a link to said cube. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

This week, Andy and Anthony discuss changes to Andy’s Bun Magic Cube, updated to include a dramatic increase in the number of mana fixing lands and filling out a suite of fast mana. Our hosts discuss how this level of mana fixing changes a draft, and what questions they’re asking themselves to try to recalibrate expectations when drafting the shifted environment. Andy argues increasing the amount of ‘broken’ fast mana decreases variance, creating a more fun draft environment. And Anthony, uncharacteristically, defends a six drop that isn’t Colossal Dreadmaw. We take a pack 1, pick 1 from listener John’s 360 Card Cube for 2. In the spirit of the cube, we open a grid draft pack and try to maximize the best three cards from a pack of 9. Timestamps: 4:12 Listener Submitted Pack One, Pick One 15:28 Adding More Lands to a Cube 32:05 Fast Mana in a Fair Environment 55:18 Outro You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited on air, your pronouns, and if you’re submitting a cube for the pack 1, pick 1, a link to said cube. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

The Cube Map: Exploring over 20,000 Magic: the Gathering Cube lists On this very special bonus episode, Andy and Anthony are joined by Jett to tell everyone about a project they have been working on for a long time: the Cube Map! Read more about how the map was made in Jett’s in depth article. A huge thanks to Cube Cobra for providing us with the data to make the map possible. If you have the means, please consider donating to their Patreon to show your support for community driven, open-source and open-data Cube tools. No listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 on this bonus episode, but keep those cube lists coming! Discussed in this episode: Philosophize This You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited on air, your pronouns, and if you’re submitting a cube for the pack 1, pick 1, a link to said cube. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Anyone who has spent any time in Cube design circles has heard the supposed virtues of an environment with a “flat” power level, where the worst card is no less appealing or less playable than the best. On this week’s Lucky Paper Radio, Andy and Anthony are unpacking this truism and discussing the impacts of individual card power delta on a given cube more broadly. They two also touch on Magic as a spectator sport, PVDDR’s Youtube channel and subsequent article on Star City Games, Andy’s biggest weakness as a player (or at least one of them), whether or not power level delta and 4-5 color “goodstuff” decks are causally linked, and Anthony’s radical idea for his next cube project. Our listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 this week comes from Nate’s “Peasant Combo” cube. Thanks, Nate! Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction 5:45 Listener Submitted p1p1 16:23 Power Level Disparity within a Cube 48:09 Build-Arounds and out-of-strategy cards 58:58 Summary of Power Level Discussion 1:11:35 Outro and Anthony’s Pita Bread Recipe You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited on air, your pronouns, and if you’re submitting a cube for the pack 1, pick 1, a link to said cube. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony welcome Justin Parnell on this week’s episode of Lucky Paper Radio. Justin was one of the first Magic writers to write about Cube and graciously shares stories from the format’s earlier days. From curating his own cube to designing environments for open, competitive play, we get a glimpse into how Justin thinks about Magic. Our listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 this week comes from Dan’s “Ancient Times” cube. Thanks, Dan! Discussed in this episode: SCGcon Players’ Cube SCGcon Powered Cube MinorBug’s Misery Cube Andy’s Degenerate Micro Cube Timestamps: 0:53 Introduction 9:18 Listener Submitted p1p1 26:10 How Justin First became Interested in Cube 42:23 Cube in the Time of Covid 53:11 Thinking as a Player vs. Thinking as a Designer 1:05:26 Designing Cubes for Different Contexts 1:20:08 The Player’s Cube 1:26:09 Outro You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited on air, your pronouns, and if you’re submitting a cube for the pack 1, pick 1, a link to said cube. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Do you like your podcast episodes to be carefully planned and tightly edited, with the hosts staying laser focused on the topic at hand? If so, then this episode of Lucky Paper Radio is probably not for you! This week, Andy and Anthony are jumping around between a couple of topics, some only dubiously related to Magic, so let the timestamps be your guide if you think musings on world geography are a waste of your time. Our listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 this week comes from Pablo’s cube “Fundies”. Thanks, Pablo! Discussed in this episode: GeoGuessr Island Gigantism Andy’s First Recommended GeoGuessr Video Andy’s Second Recommended GeoGuessr Video View the Rotisserie Draft Discussed in this Episode Lucky Paper Radio Episode 35 — Spreadsheet: the Gathering Lucky Paper Radio Kaldheim Set Review Timestamps: 1:24 Introduction and GeoGuessr Gab 15:42 Listener Submitted Pack 1 Pick 1 25:13 A Bold and Brave Apology from Andy 51:01 A Correction on [[Esika’s Chariot]] 55:42 Updated Rules Text Rundown 57:57 Outro and Pickled Mushroom Recipe Anthony’s Recipe for Soy-Pickled Mushrooms: 2 cups (40g) Dried Shitake Mushroom Caps 1/2 cup Soy Sauce 1/4 cup Sherry Vinegar 1/4 cup White Sugar 1 or 2 oz Crushed Ginger 1/2 tsp White Pepper (optional) — Soak mushrooms in hot water to soften (15 - 30 minutes) Drain (reserving liquid) Thinly slice mushrooms (or whatever) Combine mushrooms, 1 cup soaking liquid, and other ingredients in a pot, simmer for 30 minutes Discard ginger, pack mushrooms in a jar, and add enough brine to cover — Fills a 2 cup mason jar Original recipe from Momofuku by David Chang You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited on air, your pronouns, and if you’re submitting a cube for the pack 1, pick 1, a link to said cube. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

On this week’s Lucky Paper Radio, Andy and Anthony are answering a question from listener Nate about how to decide which cards to “ban” from his Peasant Cube. To date, Nate has used the Legacy banned list for his cube, but the recent addition of Arcum's Astrolabe has him wondering if he should drop this restriction. Then, they discuss the video “Should Cubes be Singleton?”, recounting their own experiences designing for both singleton and non-singleton environments. The confluence of these topics leads to a lengthy and detailed discussion about the role that restrictions play in cube design. Our listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 this week comes from Forrest716’s Three-Color Cube. Thanks, Forrest! Discussed in this episode: The Birthday Problem How to Draw an Owl No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man. Anthony’s Turbo Cube Andy’s Tribal Tribal Cube Mark Rosewater’s “When Cards Go Bad” Timestamps: Intro 0:00 Listener Submitted Pack 1, Pick 1 3:30 Mail bag — Answering Nate’s Question 11:18 “Should Cubes be Singleton?” 34:26 Outro 1:05:43 You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited on air, your pronouns, and if you’re submitting a cube for the pack 1, pick 1, a link to said cube. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

View the Rotisserie Draft Discussed in this Episode Use the Template in Your Own Rotisserie Drafts On this week’s Lucky Paper Radio, Andy and Anthony are returning to one of their favorite ways to play Cube in the time of covid: online, asynchronous rotisserie drafting. Our heroes are in the midst of the matches following a recent rotisserie draft of Anthony’s “Regular” Cube and they’re discussing everything Anthony has learned from the experience. In their chat they touch on what rotisserie draft is, Puppet Conjurer, what you can learn from doing one with your own cube, how to talk trash effectively with your playgroup, the game of chicken that decides when the eight copies of Prismatic Vista get taken, and how drafter biases affect normal and face-up drafts differently. Plus, Anthony introduces a new, new vanilla test! Timestamps: Intro 0:00 Pack 1, Pick 1 5:43 Reviewing Anthony’s Rotisserie Draft 10:53 Draft Signals 43:53 Rotisserie Variance 47:57 Match Discussion 59:24 Outro 1:11:12 Andy’s Pickled Onion Recipe 1:12:30 You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited on air, your pronouns, and if you’re submitting a cube for the pack 1, pick 1, a link to said cube. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

As a follow up to last week’s Kaldheim Set Review episode, Andy and Anthony are going back to first principles and asking, what is card evaluation? How do we look at a piece of paper with a bunch of text on it and make predictions about what that piece of paper will do to other pieces of paper, and ultimately our win percentage, in the future? Is card evaluation important for Cube design? Why or why not? Why did they reference Limited Resources so much in this episode? How many Relentless Rats is too many Relentless Rats? Our listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 this week is from Mikko’s Mirrodin Extended Cube. That has a nice ring to it. Thanks, Mikko! Timestamps: Intro/Pasta Parley 0:00 Listener Submitted p1p1 7:12 Relentless Rats Talk 14:53 What is Card Evaluation? 17:43 The Playtesting Paradox 36:45 Local Maximums (again!?) 55:20 Outro Part 1 1:12:30 Outro For Real 1:15:48 You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube Jett’s Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited on air, your pronouns, and if you’re submitting a cube for the pack 1, pick 1, a link to said cube. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Our Kaldheim Prospective is out! Thank you to everyone who participated. Buckle your seatbelts and charge up your podcatchers, because this is our most in-depth set review ever and our longest episode to date. Andy and Anthony are joined by Jett, the author of Lucky Paper’s set prospective series, for a detailed discussion of the results of our Kaldheim Cube survey. Timestamps: White 20:18 Blue 50:12 Black 1:15:38 Red 1:40:56 Green 1:51:08 Lands 2:12:20 Colorless 2:22:07 Gold 2:23:01 Discussed in this episode: Lucky Paper Kaldheim Cube Prospective An Ode to Scalable Threats You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube Jett’s Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited on air, your pronouns, and if you’re submitting a cube for the pack 1, pick 1, a link to said cube. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

This is our last chance to complete our Kaldheim Cube Survey! Please take a few minutes to let us know what you’re testing in your cube from the new set. Every once in a while, something in your head clicks and the way you think about your cube changes forever. On this episode, Andy and Anthony take some time to reflect on each of their personal biggest Cube design level-up moments. Anthony’s level ups are: Including many more fixing lands The value of hybrid cards as a counterbalance to a deep gold section Tuning the distribution of overlapping and non-overlapping synergies Focusing on play patterns instead of power level Andy’s level ups are: Supporting your aggro deck Focusing on good decks, not good cards Loosening up aesthetic “balance” How to process pet cards and the opposite of pet cards Because this topic is a little deeper than our normal subject matter, our hosts decide to skip the listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 segment and get right to the main discussion. Don’t stop sending in those cube lists, though! Discussed in this episode: An Ode to Scalable Threats No timestamps in this episode — just the main topic straight through. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited on air, your pronouns, and if you’re submitting a cube for the pack 1, pick 1, a link to said cube. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Our Kaldheim Cube Survey is open! Please take a few minutes to let us know what you’re testing in your cube from the new set. As Andy tinkers with two lower powered and novel cubes, he finds himself presented with a question he hasn’t actually confronted in depth before: what percentage of a cube should be removal? Or countermagic? Or cantrips and card draw? With higher-powered cubes you’re often constrained by the available card pool, and end up playing as much of these effects as you can without sacrificing individual card quality, but at lower power levels, the density is entirely up to you. In preparation for the discussion, Andy tallies up all of these different “bread and butter” effects in his and Anthony’s main cubes, as well as the Degenerate Micro Cube, and our hosts discuss the results and what it says about their respective environments — or whether it really says anything at all. View the table with all the values discussed in this episode on our website. Our listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 this week is Max’s Junk Cube, submitted by listener Quinn. Thanks, Quinn! Discussed in this episode: Anthony’s Turbo Cube Degenerate Micro Cube Lucky Paper Radio Episode 8 — Matchup Matrix Andy and Anthony on Cube Outside the Box — Part 1 and Part 2 Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 4:15 Listener submitted p1p1 12:30 Main Topic 58:30 Outro You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited on air, your pronouns, and if you’re submitting a cube for the pack 1, pick 1, a link to said cube. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Given that we’re in the throes of spoiler season, Andy and Anthony are giving their first impressions on the mechanics of Kaldheim and how they relate to other mechanics in Magic or might be integrated into a cube environment. They also do a pack one, pick one from listener Arjan’s Legacy Cube. Thanks, Arjan! Discussed in this episode: Speks Magnet Balls Kinder Eggs Licking Nintendo Switch Cartridges Streisand Effect Kaldheim Mechanics Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 6:29 Listener submitted p1p1 15:04 KHM Mechanics 15:37 Foretell 26:50 Boast 31:48 MDFCs 38:57 Snow 45:50 Sagas 50:39 Changeling 53:56 Unofficial Mechanics 1:00:54 Outro You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited on air, your pronouns, and if you’re submitting a cube for the pack 1, pick 1, a link to said cube. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Try as they might, our beloved hosts just can’t stay on track. On this episode, Andy’s attempt to tie up a few loose ends from last week’s episode ends up leading our heroes down another rabbit hole about the Cube design process and how it relates to the player psychographics. It was not a fruitless journey, though! On this episode, Andy and Anthony propose the application of the “Vision Design” and “Play Design” distinction that exists within Magic R&D to Cube design. Tune in to learn all about Midnight Cube, The Ballmer Peak, and second-hand Drive to Work episodes. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited on air, your pronouns, and if you’re submitting a cube for the pack 1, pick 1, a link to said cube. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

It’s a new year and Lucky Paper Radio is back! They also never went anywhere, but they’re back nonetheless. On this episode, Andy and Anthony intend to talk about Anthony’s multiplayer cube that he couldn’t help but make after our little string of multiplayer-focused episodes a couple months back, but instead, our hosts get riled up and end up talking about what it means to be a “cube spike”, and whether or not such a thing even exists. Things really kick off about 1/3rd of the way through, so buckle up! Talking points include: The game theory of multiplayer Magic Magic: the Gathering’s Psychographics What it means to be a spike as a player What it means to design a cube with a spike mentality How the concept of simply cutting bad cards and adding good ones doesn’t really hold up to any scrutiny Local maximums How the power level of a card is always relative Baneslayers and Mulldrifters (yes, AGAIN) You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited on air, your pronouns, and if you’re submitting a cube for the pack 1, pick 1, a link to said cube. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

In a year-end extravaganza, Andy and Anthony dedicate an entire episode to doing pack 1, pick 1s from listener submitted cubes. Is this a good idea or a bad idea? We don’t know, but you should tell us what you think! Listener cubes discussed in this episode: Jason’s 600 Card Unpowered Vintage Cube Sir_Magic_Toast’s Pauper Cube Brimlock’s “Fair” 360 Card Vintage Cube Dave, A.K.A. “Guaplord“‘s High-Powered Cube for His Inexperienced Playgroup Joe, A.K.A. “Phene”s Peasant Cube You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited on air, your pronouns, and if you’re submitting a cube for the pack 1, pick 1, a link to said cube. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

In a decidedly not-so-special holiday episode, Andy and Anthony are talking about tribal synergies in Cube and announce their first formalized rivalry. They do a pack 1, pick 1 from listener Bastian’s GöCube 1.2 and get real sad about how rude people on the internet have tried to convince him that tribal synergies are “bad for Cube”. Anthony sets the table with an open-faced compliment sandwich about tribal effects, and our two hosts go deep discussing what constitutes a synergy deck, what parasitism is, how some decks are primarily internally focused and others are more fundamentally interactive, their respective tolerance for blowouts, different kinds of variance, and their favorite tribes in Magic. It’s not Kobolds. Discussed on this episode: Among Us Limited Resources 575 – Arena Cube! Werewolf The Resistance Two Rooms and a Boom Secret Hitler You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited on air, your pronouns, and if you’re submitting a cube for the pack 1, pick 1, a link to said cube. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Our hosts are finally ready to share the Degenerate Micro Cube with the world. This episode is a deep dive on what this cube is all about, why Andy loves it so much, and why it’s just not Anthony’s cup of tea. They do a pack 1, pick 1 from the Degenerate Micro Cube, and discuss how it came to be, why storm is always a trap, the value that secret information plays in game design, how speed is inextricably linked with variance, whether a less enfranchised player could figure out Stage Depths combo if left to their own devices, and Anthony shamefully concedes that it is actually fun to Tinker out a Blightsteel Colossus on turn 1. Discussed on this episode: An Introduction to the Degenerate Micro Cube 15 Card Singularity Cube on Card Knock Life Architect of MTG Cube featuring Andy Mangold on Chateau Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited on air, your pronouns, and if you’re submitting a cube for the pack 1, pick 1, a link to said cube. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

This episode is all about tempo — what is it, when does it matter, and how do you apply it to your Cube design and gameplay decisions. Andy and Anthony talk about what “aggro” really means, why some games feel like they’re completely out of your control from the first land you play, the tempo vs value axis, taplands, low CMC spells, scaleable threats, cheap interaction, and what Llanowar Elves, Azorius Signet, and Sleight of Hand have in common. Our pack 1, pick 1 this week is from listener Lemem’s 450 Card Unpowered Cube. Thanks, Lemem! Discussed on this episode: Limited Resources episode 572 — Holiday Potpourri An Ode to Scalable Threats TEMPO by Reid Duke Next Level Deckbuilding by Patrick Chapin If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited on air, your pronouns, and if you’re submitting a cube for the pack 1, pick 1, a link to said cube. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

This is a comparatively aimless episode where our hosts meander through a couple of vaguely related cube topics. They start off by recapping their recent draft of a friend’s greenless, “Breya” cube, which they also do a pack 1, pick 1 from, then move on to cover how draft decisions change in a cube with only four colors, their evaluation of Karn with pants, the dangers of shortcutting cards in your head, whether it’s more painful to walk into a trap or make an obvious punt, the collection of cards Anthony compiled that is definitely not a multiplayer cube, how to structure a booster draft for fewer than eight players, using what is not present to guide the design of an environment, how to avoid the natural predators of the strategies you want to cultivate in your cube, setting a bar for power level in a hypothetical one life cube, and how to balance Healing Salve, Ancestral Recall, Dark Ritual, Lightning Bolt, and Giant Growth. Discussed on this episode: Solely Singleton S11E5 — Commander Legends and Cube (ft. Gavin Verhey) MinorBug’s “Misery” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited on air, your pronouns, and if you’re submitting a cube for the pack 1, pick 1, a link to said cube. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

This is your last chance to participate in our Commander Legends Cube Survey! Please take a few minutes to let us know what you’re testing in your cube from the new set. On this episode, Andy and Anthony are discussing how they would approach building a Commander cube. After giving a little bit of their personal history with EDH and talking about what it has in common with Cube, our dynamic duo goes deep on Commander’s mechanical underpinnings and how they translate to a drafted environment. Commander Legends brought a plethora of practical challenges that R&D chose to solve with as little deviation from Commander as a format as possible — but what would a cube that ignored superficial familiarity and tried to embody the spirit of EDH look like? What actually makes Commander appealing and how do you capture that in a drafted environment? How come Yawgmoth, Thran Physician is the only legendary creature Anthony can think of? Our pack 1, pick 1 this week comes from listener Alex’s Cube for the Peasantry. Thanks, Alex! Discussed on this episode: Solely Singleton S11E5 — Commander Legends and Cube (ft. Gavin Verhey) Lucky Paper Radio Episode 13 — Turbo Eggs Lucky Paper Radio Episode 2 — A Cube with No Color If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited on air, your pronouns, and if you’re submitting a cube for the pack 1, pick 1, a link to said cube. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Our Commander Legends Cube Survey is open! Please take a few minutes to let us know what you’re testing in your cube from the new set. On this episode, Andy and Anthony are joined by their friend and Commander connoisseur Daniel to discuss his all-gold cube and review the cards from Commander Legends. Find out how you can draft a filthy aggro deck from a cube with zero one drops, how the Monarch mechanic plays in 1v1 Magic, and whether Jeweled Lotus means that Commander has officially jumped the shark. Our pack 1, pick 1 this week comes from Daniel’s all gold cube. I highly recommend doing a draft or two. If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited on air, your pronouns, and if you’re submitting a cube for the pack 1, pick 1, a link to said cube. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

The boys turn their attention to what at least Andy thinks is an under-appreciated context in which to evaluate cards — the draft. Instead of discussing how cards are played in game or what an ideal deck looks like, they’re talking about how the presence or absence of cards in packs will affect how your players draft. Is it possible to have a deck or color-pair that is perfectly viable in your cube, but no one ever drafts? Can swapping cards in or out fix this issue, or is it entirely attributable to player preferences? What kinds of cards expand the scope of draft decisions and what kinds of cards narrow it? Does drafting the hard way apply to most cubes? How does a flattened power level affect signals? Our pack 1, pick 1 this week comes from a different kind of cube: listener Josh maintains a core cube that is drafted with a random selection of cards from his expansion, creating additional variance from draft to draft. Thanks, Josh! If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited on air, your pronouns, and if you’re submitting a cube for the pack 1, pick 1, a link to said cube. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

On this episode of Lucky Paper Radio Andy and Anthony are looking at the suggestions from Cube Cobra’s recommender for adds and cuts to their respective primary cubes. This is a jumping off point for discussion about which cards they think are under- or overrated, the philosophies at the foundations of their cubes, how single cards can open up entirely new decks in a draft, the merits of various two-mana green ramp spells, how to balance support for an archetype without it becoming too dominant, various things about Magic that Andy doesn’t like, homogeneity within the Cube community, how much to trust algorithmically generated cube suggestions, and how Anthony wants to kiss Changeling Hero right on his freaky lips. Our pack 1, pick 1 this week is from listener Morphling’s Artificer Cube. Thanks, Morphling! Discussed in this episode: Celery Man Andy’s Bun Magic Cube Recommendations Anthony’s Regular Cube Recommendations Nose Dive by Harold McGee If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited on air, your pronouns, and if you’re submitting a cube for the pack 1, pick 1, a link to said cube. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

This episode of Lucky Paper Radio covers a range of topics all surrounding the importance of context in cube design and card evaluation. To start, Andy and Anthony do a very spooky pack 1, pick 1 from listener Stephen’s seasonally appropriate Innistrad Cube. They go on to discuss a theoretical Christmasland plane and answer a question from listener Adam about including cards of varying power levels in a cube list. Throughout this conversation, they go in depth about the kinds of cards that scale with the power level of an environment and the kinds that do not, the interplay between synergistic decks and individual, non-synergistic cards with a lot of raw power, Andy’s recent guest appearance on Jbro’s stream, the Zendikar Rising and affiliated updates to Andy’s cube, and how our hosts have some overlapping cards that are included in both of their cubes even though they differ dramatically in power level. How is that possible? Witchcraft! Discussed in this episode: The Magic Multiverse Project Chateau Cube Jbro on Twitch Andy’s ZNR Cube Update You can find the hosts’ primary Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited on air, your pronouns, and if you’re submitting a cube for the pack 1, pick 1, a link to said cube. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

In a deviation from our regularly scheduled programming, this episode is specifically catered to new cube designers or players that are interested in building a cube but don’t know how to get started. Even if you’re a seasoned cube designer, we hope this conversation helps you be more conscious of how you frame the format to others. An outline of our suggestions: Most importantly, just do it! Don’t overthink your first cube. Magic is fun and draft is self-correcting. Cube is a great format for a wide variety of players, whether you just like drafting and want to be able to do it more often and without cracking packs, or you just love game design and worldbuilding and are happy designing a cube even if you almost never get to draft it in a full pod. We propose a very rough framework for a 360 card cube, for those who thrive on structure, but encourage you to throw it aside as soon as it doesn’t serve your goals. Don’t concern yourself with aesthetic details of your cube, like having the same number of cards in each color or guild, or including full cycles of cards, or having an even number of fixing lands. Even substantial inequalities here have very little impact on a draft. Think about the process of cube design as a mutual exploration with your players rather than a polished, perfected design challenge that you, as the designer, are responsible for understanding in its entirety. Be aware that your experience playing retail limited is influenced by all the complicated and sometimes conflicting priorities that Wizards of the Coast has to juggle when designing a set. Often times, what you’re used to from retail limited is not a good precedent for your own cube. For example, most cubes are better off including more fixing and a lower curve than a retail set, regardless of your desired gameplay. Discussed in this episode: Cube Cobra, the best site to organize your Cube list Card Kingdom Starter Cube Solely Singleton’s Starter Cube (~\$120 budget) Solely Singleton’s Miser’s Cube (~\$500 budget) You can find the hosts’ primary Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube No pack 1, pick 1 this week on account of the special format, but if you want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube on air send a link to your cube, your name, and pronouns to mail@luckypaper.co. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

On this week’s episode, Andy and Anthony discuss the new, extensive description and draft guide Anthony wrote about his “Regular” Cube and then consider Mark Rosewater’s definitions for the three types of complexity in Magic and how they might be applied to cube design. They talk about what Cube designers might learn from constructed formats, Anthony’s goal of making his cube resemble retail limited, exactly how many copies of Seven Dwarves you can run in a deck, whether all retail limited is actually just flavors of midrange, all about combat tricks, ASFAN (Anthony’s favorite R&D lingo), the possibilities of complex seeding in packs drafted digitally, why Tic Tac Toe absolutely sucks ass, why Andy loves fetchlands, how sometimes it’s super fun to resolve a very complicated stack or board and how sometimes it’s super not fun, whether etb-tapped lands are cool or not, a gender-neutral term for “manlands”, a new hypothetical, NSFW secret lair that Andy and Anthony would totally buy, how each color identity would design a bar, and how to make people come back for more even when they lose badly while playing your cube. The listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 is from Varylen’s unpowered Cube. Thanks, Varylen! Discussed in this episode: The Grand Experiment You can find the hosts’ primary Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube on air send a link to your cube, your name, and pronouns to mail@luckypaper.co. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Andy and Anthony are tackling a big subject in this episode: how do you turn experience playing your cube into informed design decisions that improve your environment? What do you do when your players insist that cards you included are either too good or not good enough and need to be cut? How do you handle people that are unwilling to draft or maindeck certain cards that you think are good? The listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 this week is actually a pack 1, pick 2, because the boys are discussing Only on Tuesday’s Two-Headed Giant Cube. You can read more about the cube, and creator Jacob’s other writing about Magic, on his blog. Topics addressed in this episode include: Two-Headed Giant Jett’s article on Analyzing Your Own Cube Drafts Why you should care about the experience from a playtesting session rather than the results Putting yourself in your drafters’ shoes Using hypotheses to build explanatory knowledge about your cube The ideal kinds of feedback to get from your players, and give to other cube designers How to strike a balance between playtesting and theorycrafting, and the respective value of each You can find the hosts’ primary Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube on air send a link to your cube, your name, and pronouns to mail@luckypaper.co. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

On this special episode of Lucky Paper Radio, Andy and Anthony are joined by Lucky Paper founding contributor Jett Crowdis to preview the results of our Zendikar Rising cube survey and talk about our evolving impressions of the set. After doing a pack 1, pick 1 from listener Jonathan Gibson’s beautifully altered Sol Cube they go on to discuss the most popular and highest ranked cards by our listeners, how the modal double-face cards, both mythic and otherwise, stack up, how ZNR compares to other sets from the past 12 months, Banisher Priest style cards and their impact on an evironment, and whether Jett should join the cool kids club and also cut Oko. You can find the hosts’ primary Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube Jett’s Cube If you want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube on air send a link to your cube, your name, and pronouns to mail@luckypaper.co. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

This is your last chance to submit a response for the Zenikar Rising Cube Survey. Please take a few minutes to let us know what you’re testing in your cube from the new set so your voice can be part of our upcoming prospective article. Andy and Anthony are dedicating an entire episode to discussing a brand new cube Anthony designed around a little tweak to Magic’s core rules. They kick things off with a pack 1, pick 1 from this very special cube and then review the results of their playtesting together. Topics of discussion include why Guild Globe is incredibly broken, how you can draw 17 cards on the first turn of the game, one cool trick to playing Black Lotus on a budget, Anthony delighting in Andy’s more miserable games, Andy and Anthony showering together with a very wet Archfiend of Ifnir, how difficult it is to design a cube that dramatically deviates from more well-worn cube design territory, the limits of tempo advantage, and the value of experimental environments. You can find the hosts’ primary Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube on air send a link to your cube, your name, and pronouns to mail@luckypaper.co. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Our Zenikar Rising Cube Survey is open! Please take a few minutes to let us know what you’re testing in your cube from the new set, or if you’re not keeping your paper cube up-to-date through isolation, what you would be testing, under better circumstances. On this episode, Andy and Anthony are talking about power creep as it applies to cube design. They do a pack 1, pick 1 from Swervestar’s The First 10 Years of Magic Cube, of which the owner graciously blessed us with a photograph of a real, physical pack. They discuss how the normal pattern of adding new cards to your cube and cutting the worst ones may lead to an unintentional power increase in an environment over time, how difficult it is to be critical of all the cards in your cube it slowly shifts and changes, how Cube captures all of the best aspects of the early years of limited Magic, how the dedicated Commander products changed Commander as a format, what Magic has in common Mario Kart, whether “fun creep” exists, and Arena “Turbo Draft”. Discussed in this episode: Lucky Paper Radio Episode 5 — The Problem with Five-Color Goodstuff Ship of Theseus Limited Resources Episode 560 — Paper Magic at Home with Brian David-Marshall You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube on air send a link to your cube, your name, and pronouns to mail@luckypaper.co. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

This episode is a deep dive on evaluating the new modal double-face card mechanic from Zendikar Rising by comparing it to a variety of existing mechanics from Magic’s past. Andy and Anthony kick things off by weighing in on what Feed the Swarm means for the color pie, then do a pack 1, pick 1 from listener Nomad’s Budget Cube. Then, they discuss signets, breaking cycles in your cube, the joy of running big, splashy spells at minimal cost, why Andy is going to test Lonely Sandbar, building decks that literally can’t get flooded or mana screwed, what a card has to do to “earn” its slot in a cube, why Tangled Florahedron is a case study in how much worse 2 cmc mana dorks are than 1 cmc mana dorks, Anthony’s kitchen drawer full of dildos, and bringing a little novelty into your life. Discussed in this episode: No Land Beyond You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube on air send a link to your cube, your name, and pronouns to mail@luckypaper.co. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

On this very special episode of Lucky Paper Radio, Andy and Anthony give you their first impressions of Zendikar Rising based on the September 1st announcement stream. They discuss: Double-faced lands The new “Party” mechanic The return of Landfall and Kicker Set boosters, and “The List” Upcoming future sets The Yargle Secret Lair Jace Shoes (???) Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

This is an episode about how difficult it is to design a cube. First, Andy and Anthony do a pack 1, pick 1 from Anthony’s “Regular” Cube, which leads into a conversation about their most recent draft of the environment and the kind of feedback Anthony has received about it. They talk about how designing cubes at lower power levels is more difficult for a variety of reasons, not least of which is that players have a bias towards more powerful spells. Then, they’re joined by John Terrill of the Cultic Cube YouTube channel and Chateau Cube podcast for a special guest segment. John, along with Cube Cobra founder Gwen Dekker, had the privilege of putting his own cube on MTGO for tens of thousands of players to draft. Wizards of the Coast have provided John and Gwen with some data pertaining to how their cubes were drafted and played, and we go deep on what can, and can’t, be gleaned from these statistics. Discussed in this episode: Julia Child Cultic Cube — MTGO Cube Analysis pt. 1 Cultic Cube — MTGO Cube Analysis pt. 2 Analyzing Your Own Cube Drafts Cube Draft Masterclass pt1: Perfecting Pick 1 with F.O.C.U.S. Cube Spotlight Series – John Terrill’s Cultic Cube on the Mothership You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube on air send a link to your cube, your name, and pronouns to mail@luckypaper.co. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

On this episode, Andy and Anthony bring you the long awaited conclusion of their rotisserie draft of Andy’s cube. They also do a pack 1, pick 1 from, and discuss Anthony’s draft of, Riku’s Jund Cube, which leads into a conversation about black aggro, how profoundly player perceptions shape a draft and our resulting understanding of our environments, just how broken Oko is, a theoretical cube whose only stipulation is that it cannot contain any cards in your main cube, Anthony’s new beginner-focused cube, the difference between trying to draft a good deck and trying to draft a 3-0 deck, potentially problematic planeswalkers that have such high starting loyalty that they basically can’t be attacked profitably, and modifying the rules text of cards for your environment. Anthony airs some justifiable grievances about how his matches went which slowly leads Andy to the realization that a certain card just has to go. Discussed in this episode: Save the Post Office Day of Action on August 25th You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube on air send a link to your cube, your name, and pronouns to mail@luckypaper.co. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

On this episode, Andy and Anthony discuss how Andy evaluates cards for his cube based on how they perform against opposing decks rather than on their interactions with other cards in the same deck. They do a pack 1, pick 1 from Allison’s Peasant cube, which they have had the pleasure of playing in paper in the before-times. While doing a deep dive on the matchup matrix Andy made for the mono-white aggro deck he rotisserie drafted, they get into details of specific matchups, why equipment and vehicles are kind of like Baneslayers, the joys of making spreadsheets about your cube, creating your own taxonomies to understand your environment, and the power of thought technology. View Andy's Matchup Matrix Spreadsheet You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube on air send a link to your cube, your name, and pronouns to mail@luckypaper.co. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

On this episode, Andy and Anthony talk about the nature of singleton. They do a pack 1, pick 1 from MinorBug’s “Tringleton II” cube, an environment with a 3x card limit as opposed to the more common singleton restriction. They also touch on their favorite satirical how-to YouTube channel, some small tweaks Andy has recently made to his cube, retirement homes in the greater Baltimore area, LBBLBFs, powerful cards that uniquely suffer in singleton environments, red Rabblemasters and their competition, mill as a win condition in cube, differences in card evaluation between a cube’s designer and their playgroup, a theoretical cube with only one unique card in each color, and how Magic is more fun when you’re winning. Discussed in this episode: Alan Tutorial on YouTube Savory Buckwheat Crepes Recipe You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube on air send a link to your cube, your name, and pronouns to mail@luckypaper.co. This week, we’re also accepting suggestions for the name of our new segment where we discuss changes made to our cubes. Email us your ideas and if we end up using your submitted name we’ll mail you some surprise Magic cards! Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

On this episode, Andy and Anthony are talking all things aggro. They do a pack 1, pick 1 from catofcraft’s “Fast Cube”, a low-to-the-ground, efficient environment with no shuffle effects. Anthony dozes off for awhile as Andy talks for ten straight minutes about his personal history with aggro, which leads to a discussion about the definition of aggro and an exploration of how it often manifests itself in typical cube lists and how it might be approached differently. How many aggro decks does your Cube need? Why is consistency so important? Why do people like Avalanche Riders so much? What is a dumpling? Discussed in this episode: Twenty Years, Twenty Lessons — Part 2 (Lesson #13: “Make the fun part also the correct strategy to win”) You can find the hosts’ Cubes on CubeCobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube on air send a link to your cube, your name, and pronouns to mail@luckypaper.co.

On this episode, Andy and Anthony discuss a pack 1, pick 1 from listener Elle’s ”Graveyard Cube”, then have a conversation about a recent draft of and big batch of changes to Anthony’s Regular Cube. After one of the best players in our playgroup 3-0’s with a five-color goodstuff deck, Anthony talks about why he sees the success of this deck as a problem and goes into detail about how he plans to solve it. Discussed in this episode: SCGLA - Legacy - Round 3 - Gregory Hatch (Mono-Blue Martyr) vs Chris Kapica (MUD) Pro Tour Chicago 1999 Final - Brian Davis vs Bob Maher Analyzing Your Own Cube Drafts If you want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube on air send a link to your cube, your name, and pronouns to mail@luckypaper.co.

On this episode, Andy and Anthony discuss a pack 1, pick 1 from listener Chris's "Dichotomy Cube", which consists of 180 white cards, 180 black cards, and exactly one copy of Jace, the Mindsculptor. Then, Anthony takes Andy to task for putting up a crap record in a modified team draft of his own cube, causing Andy to expound on the profound shame of regularly drafting his own cube poorly. Andy explains his favorite 4-person draft format, a modified version of Ryan Spain's Double-Decker Draft. Finally, Andy gets Anthony's perspective on a handful of controversial cube cards. If you want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube on air send a link to your cube, your name, and pronouns to mail@luckypaper.co.

On this episode, Andy and Anthony discuss a pack 1, pick 1 from Andy's cube, their experiences with IKO and M21 sealed, a theoretical cube designed specifically for playing sealed, and how kitchen table Magic is the purest and best form of the game. If you want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube on air send a link to your cube, your name, and pronouns to mail@luckypaper.co.

On this episode, Andy and Anthony discuss Anthony's array of cubes, and do a deep-dive on his monoblack Cube, talking about its origins, how the environment feels, and some potential changes thanks to new cards from Core 2021 and Jumpstart. You can find Anthony's cube lists on Cube Cobra: Monoblack Cube Normal Cube Cycling Cube

On this episode, Andy and Anthony discuss the cards that interest them most from Core Set 2021. If you have a Cube of your own please consider participating in our Cube Set surveys: Core Set 2021 Survey Jumpstart Survey Follow Anthony on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/anthonybmktpt

Lucky Paper Radio is a podcast about Magic: the Gathering hosted by lifelong friends Andy Mangold and Anthony Mattox. Focused primarily on sandbox formats like Cube, which are free of banlists, rotation, and net decking, the show is about the best parts of Magic and how to get the most out of the game.