Episodes
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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 EffectTimestamps
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” CubeIf 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 [email protected] 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.
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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 CalendarTimestamps
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” CubeIf 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 [email protected] 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.
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Missing episodes?
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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-OffTimestamps
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” CubeIf 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 [email protected] 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.
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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 SpireTimestamps
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” CubeIf 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 [email protected] 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.
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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 bansTimestamps
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” CubeIf 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 [email protected] 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
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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” CubeIf 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 [email protected] 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.
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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 TwilleyTimestamps
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” CubeIf 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 [email protected] 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.
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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 reviewsTimestamps:
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” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at [email protected] 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.
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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.
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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 ExperienceTimestamps
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” CubeIf 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 [email protected] 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.
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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 PartyTimestamps
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” CubeIf 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 [email protected] 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.
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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 PageCheck 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” CubeIf 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 [email protected] 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.
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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 SongTimestamps
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” CubeIf 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 [email protected] or our p.o. box:
Lucky Paper
PO Box 4855
Baltimore, 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.
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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 TrenchcoatTimestamps
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” CubeIf 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 [email protected] 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.
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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 AlexanderTimestamps
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” CubeIf 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 [email protected] 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.
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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 2Check 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” CubeIf 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 [email protected] 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.
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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 CubeCheck 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” CubeIf 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 [email protected] 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.
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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 PostsTimestamps
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” CubeIf 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 [email protected] 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.
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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 PageTimestamps
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” CubeIf 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 [email protected] 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 Paper
PO Box 4855
Baltimore, 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 SchmittbergerCheck 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” CubeIf 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 [email protected] 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 Paper
PO Box 4855
Baltimore, MD 21211 - Show more
