Lucky Paper Radio

View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy 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 Ornithopters Bun Magi...

View all cards mentioned in this episode By 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....

View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy 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 Page 100 Ornithopters in a Cube-Shaped Box  by Rhystic Studies on YouTube Lucky Paper Pat...

View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy 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...

View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy 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 Lightnin...

View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy 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 Cube If you’d like to show your support for the show, please consider  b...

View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy 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 s...

View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy 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...

View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy 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...

View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy 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 w...

View all cards mentioned in this episode For 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 Fe...

View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy 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: CubeCon Sacred Geometry Red Terror Boudican Destruction Horizo...

View all cards mentioned in this episode In 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 th...

View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy 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 wa...

View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy 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: CubeCon Lucky Paper Cube Fellowship The Eternal Glory Podcast Anthony’s First Ever 3-0 Deck Feat...

View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy 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 Article Pac...

View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy 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 Championship Bodleian Cube...

View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy 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 pack...

View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy 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 environmen...

View all cards mentioned in this episode Anthony 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...

View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy 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 LaMascus Theseus Pulp Nouveau Sacred...

View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy 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 Decen...

View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy 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...

View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy 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 dec...

View all cards mentioned in this episode Back 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...