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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: Dragonstorm Cube Survey
• Tarkir: Dragonstorm Commander Cube Survey
• “The Daigo Parry”
• Episode 6: ABCs of Aggro
• Episode 165: ABCs of Control
• Impostor Syndrome
• The Turbo Cube
• When Trivia Beats Strategy by Parker LaMascus
• Bun Magic Cube
• Degenerate Micro Cube
• 100 Ornithopters
• The Neoclassical Cube

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” Cube

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.

Timestamps

• 0:00 - Intro
• 1:52 - Introduction to Combo
• 8:59 - How are Andy and Anthony defining a ‘combo’
• 16:47 - A selection of combos from the Turbo Cube
• 25:06 - Why does Anthony include combos in the Turbo Cube?
• 26:59 - Andy’s journey to loving combo
• 48:13 - How playing against combo changes your decision making
• 52:19 - The inescapable danger of playing combos alongside fair decks

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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:

• Eiganjo Drift
• The Amonkar Desert Cube
• Bones on Recross the Paths
• Loxodon Mierarch’s Desert Cube
• Hedron Network
• The Broadcast Shuffle
• Stripe Payment Links
• Lucky Paper Events Page

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” Cube

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.

Timestamps

• 0:00 - Intro
• 4:48 - What is a Magic judge?
• 8:05 - Judge Bones’s history with Magic and Judging
• 13:21 - Judge Bones’s history with Cube
• 21:45 - What is it like judging a small, grassroots Cube event?
• 26:23 - How are grassroots Cube events run?
• 31:43 - How to run your own grassroots Cube event
• 38:43 - Security concerns, or lack thereof, of having strangers draft your cube
• 46:34 - Bones’s tips to other judges for working Cube events
• 51:35 - Rapid fire logistics of Cube event organization
• 1:00:34 - Andy, Anthony, and Bones’s purely subjective suggestions for running your Cube event

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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 their experience beyond of the event, catching up with and hosting the regional cube-heads, at last in their home town.

Discussed in this episode:

• The Doughboys
• Ekiben
• The Salt Box
• Cube for a Cause
• Neoclassical Cube
• The Oldest School
• Theseus
• Reading Rainbow
• Gabe’s Weenies Cube
• The Turbo Cube
• Kong Pocha
• Virtually French Cube
• 100 Ornithopters
• Kamigawa Remastered
• Regular Cube

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” Cube

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.

Timestamps

• 0:00 - Intro
• 4:07 - The One Where Patrick Abandons 12 Years of Veganism
• 11:47 - The Salt Box Overview
• 18:08 - Andy and Patrick’s Saturday Morning Draft of the Neoclassical Cube
• 29:51 - Anthony’s Saturday Morning Draft of The Oldest School
• 34:39 - Andy and Anthony’s Saturday Afternoon Draft of Theseus
• 45:27 - Patrick’s Sunday Morning Draft of Theseus
• 50:38 - Patrick’s Saturday Afternoon Draft of Reading Rainbow
• 54:36 - Saturday Evening Extracurricular Activities
• 57:34 - Andy’s Sunday Morning Draft of the Virtually French
• 1:06:11 - Anthony’s Sunday Morning Draft of 100
• 1:15:01 - Andy’s Sunday Afternoon Draft of Kamigawa Remastered
• 1:25:31 - Patrick’s Sunday Afternoon Non-Draft of Virtually French
• 1:26:35 - Anthony’s Top 8 Draft of The Regular Cube

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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 of his experience at Cube For a Cause in New York.

Discussed in this episode:

• Aetherdrift and Aetherdrift Commander Prospective Articles
• Lucky Paper Radio Evergreen Keyword Ability Tier List
• Eiganjo Drift
• Sides Cartoon
• The Mad Max Cube in Parker’s Playgroup
• Cube for a Cause AW2025
• Loam Cube
• Nick’s Mono Red Cube
• Jenn’s Idealized Ravnica Cube
• Mad Max: Fury Road
• Godzilla Minus One Minus Color

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” Cube

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.

Timestamps

• 0:00 - Intro
• 4:52 - Episode Overview
• 7:47 - Mechanic: Start Your Engines and Speed
• 12:24 - Mechanic: Exhaust
• 15:07 - How do we approach vehicles in our cubes?
• 20:08 - On the coexistence of vehicles and mounts
• 22:21 - Why cycling is a cowardly ability (according to Parker)
• 33:46 - Overview of Lucky Paper Cube Survey
• 35:46 - 5. Diversion Unit
• 40:16 - 4. Scrounging Skyray
• 42:18 - 3. Greasewrench Goblin
• 44:07 - 2. Marauding Mako
• 46:26 - 1. Grim Bauble
• 57:40 - Honorable Mention: Brightglass Gearhulk
• 1:00:39 - Honorable Mention: Cryptcaller Chariot
• 1:03:04 - Honorable Mention: Sundial, Dawn Tyrant
• 1:06:20 - Honorable Mention: Agonasaur Rex
• 1:11:19 - Honorable Mention: Shefet Archfiend
• 1:14:54 - Honorable Mention: The Aetherspark
• 1:21:18 - Parker’s Cube for a Cause Tournament Report

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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 Cube gameplay.

You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:

• Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube
• Anthony’s “Regular” Cube

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.

Timestamps

• 0:00 - Intro
• 2:22 - Balancing Developing Skill as a Player with Building a Community
• 9:17 - The Nuanced, Complex Social Dynamics of Playing Magic
• 12:57 - The Factors that Contribute to a Playgroup’s Vibe
• 27:20 - The Tension Between Improvement and Community
• 32:54 - The Value of Shared Expectations in a Community
• 40:45 - On “Take Backs” and Learning from Your Mistakes
• 1:03:07 - Zach asks Andy and Anthony if they’re satisfied with their level of competitiveness
• 1:06:42 - Sequencing speed round

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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 YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.

You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:

• Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube
• Anthony’s “Regular” Cube

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.

Timestamps

• 0:00 - Intro
• 2:55 - Turbo Cube Overview
• 6:01 - Hate Bears and Julien’s Theory on the Turbo Cube
• 12:49 - The Diversity of Local Metas
• 16:26 - Reconsidering the Pack Size in the Turbo Cube
• 22:30 - The State of the Black Discard Deck
• 34:10 - Should Anthony break singleton for more cards in the Turbo Cube?
• 46:00 - Breaking Serve: Julien’s Suggested Adds to the Turbo Cube for Turn 0 Interaction
• 56:17 - Anthony’s Reservations About Two Recently Printed Payoff Cards
• 1:00:17 - Julien’s other Suggested Adds to the Turbo Cube
• 1:15:47 - Do fetch lands makes sense in the Turbo Cube?

 less. They talk about how the environment has been playing, how successful recent changes have been, and new cards to consider adding.

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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 Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.

You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:

• Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube
• Anthony’s “Regular” Cube

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.

Timestamps

• 0:00 - Intro
• 3:58 - Andy’s Honorable Mentions: Fell, Refute, Joust Through, and No More Lies
• 5:15 - Anthony’s Number 10: Blacksmith’s Talent
• 6:53 - Andy’s Number 10: Shadow of the Second Sun
• 10:20 - Anthony’s Number 9: Glaring Fleshraker
• 12:32 - Andy’s Number 9: Talon Gates of Madara
• 15:52 - Anthony’s Number 8: Elementalist Adept
• 17:59 - Andy’s Number 8: Forsaken Miner
• 21:35 - Anthony’s Number 7: Disruptor Flute
• 23:15 - Andy’s Number 7: Warleader’s Call
• 25:22 - Anthony’s Number 6: Goblin Surprise
• 26:52 - Andy’s Number 6: Brainsurge
• 30:16 - Anthony’s Number 5 and Andy’s Number 3: Searslicer Goblin
• 32:44 - Andy’s Number 5: Slick Sequence
• 35:36 - Anthony’s Number 4: Mandibular Kite
• 37:16 - Andy’s Number 4: Proft’s Eidetic Memory
• 39:27 - Anthony’s Number 3: Glyph Elemental
• 42:12 - Anthony’s Number 2: Mischievous Mystic
• 44:34 - Andy’s Number 2: Psychic Frog
• 49:52 - Anthony’s Number 1: The Landscapes
• 53:01 - Andy’s Number 1: The Surveil Lands

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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 Commander Cube surveys
• Boonta Vista 383: “Stanking Ass Or Otherwise”
• Wabi-Sabi
• Sprezzatura
• Wabi-Sabi for Artists and Designers by Leonard Koren
• Wabi-Sabi: Further Thoughts by Leonard Koren
• Neoclassical Cube
• Dear Gonti, Love Sophie
• The Fire Swamp
• Pack One, Slick Ones
• Free “Playing Oppression” PDF
• Arlo’s Thoughts on Cube as an Art Project

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” Cube

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.

Timestamps

• 0:00 - Intro
• 1:34 - “Vintage Cube Sucks” Follow Up
• 7:34 - Cultural ideas of beauty that influence Cube design
• 13:29 - What is wabi-sabi?
• 28:30 - What is sprezzatura?
• 32:01 - Disenchant/Naturalize effects in 100 Ornithopters
• 44:27 - How do we cultivate style in our cube design choices?
• 48:05 - Examples of stylish Cube design choices
• 53:06 - Anthony talks about fractals
• 54:40 - Arlo’s point about cube inclusions never meant to be put in decks
• 57:52 - Vanquisher’s Banner vs. The Great Henge in 100 Ornithopters and cube style comes full circle

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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 Box o’ Goblins
• Quadrant Theory
• MTGO Vintage Cube on Cube Cobra
• No Holds Barred Cube on MTGO
• Parker’s Article on Trivia Checks
• Stavvy’s World
• Midnight Diner
• May’s Fae Cube

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” Cube

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.

Timestamps

• 0:00 - Intro
• 3:09 - Vintage Cube Sucks
• 5:19 - Disclaimers and Caveats
• 14:45 - What do we mean when we say ‘Vintage Cube’?
• 18:02 - Issue one: rampant card complexity, especially the Initiative
• 30:25 - Issue two: cards with no downsides encourage unfocused decks
• 36:13 - Issue three: modern power outliers are mostly unknown supplemental set cards, not iconic pillars of the game
• 42:30 - Miscellaneous ‘Vintage Cube’ cards that offend Andy and Anthony
• 45:06 - What to do with the knowledge that Vintage Cube sucks?

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Andy and Anthony recap Magic events they participated in this week. First, Anthony talks through his experience at Vertex Philadelphia, a ~100 person Cube tournament. Anthony had another solid run in his drafts, and the event was the first time his new Broadcast Shuffling method was tried at scale to reasonable success. Andy shares his experience helping organize and play in a charity stream for the Tabletop Workers United strike hardship fund. He ended up played in the event as an alternate and shares his complex experience drafting on stream.

Discussed in this episode:

Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.

You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:

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.

Timestamps