Lucky Paper Radio

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 cub...

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 t...

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 leve...

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’...

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 limit...

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 l...

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 listen...

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...

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 F...

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 r...

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...

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 who...

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-whit...

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, LBBL...

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...

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 t...

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...

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.