Lucky Paper Radio

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...

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 epi sode...

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 th...

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...

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 w...

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...

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...

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 cook...

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 Ga...

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...

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? ⁠Vie...

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...

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 →⁠ Discuss...

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...

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 fo...

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...

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...

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...

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 re...

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 creat...

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...

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 bef...

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 b...

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 c...

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...