Lucky Paper Radio

View all cards mentioned in this episode After 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 Cube Sacred Geometry Cube 100 Ornithopters Documental The Drownyard Vertex Cube Events The Oldest School...

View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy 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 Patreon Lucky Paper Cube Fellowship Application Nutritious Cube Sacred Geometry Cube The 54...

View all cards mentioned in this episode Continuing 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 thin...

View all cards mentioned in this episode After 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 comm...

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

View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy 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 Tickets Ravnica Idealized Bloodburrow Khans Expanded Cube Episode 229:...

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

View all cards mentioned in this episode This 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...

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

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

View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy 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: Epis...

View all cards mentioned in this episode In 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...

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

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

View all cards mentioned in this episode As 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...

View all cards mentioned in this episode In 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 & Theory...

View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy 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: Dragons...

View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy 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: Eiga...

View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy, 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 th...

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

View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy, 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 Hypothesis Check us out on  Twitch  and  YouTube  for paper...

V iew all cards mentioned in this episode Andy 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 Cube Cube Events on Lucky Paper Check us out on  Twitch  and...

View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy 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 surveys The Salt Box Check us out on  Twi...

View all cards mentioned in this episode Inspired 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 Com...

View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy 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 surveys Really Bad Chess Rusty...