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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 featuring new mechanics or exploring new space.

Discussed in this episode:

• Community Survey Results
• Spice 8 Rack’s video on the history of Tarkir
• The McElroy Brothers will be in Trolls 2
• Not just white men’s privilege, but just one 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” 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
• 5:35 - What is it like to be back on Tarkir?
• 10:01 - Set survey overview
• 11:25 - Harmonize
• 24:20 - Omens
• 39:19 - ‘Twobrid’ mana
• 45:43 - Honorable Mention: Frontline Rush
• 49:27 - Dishonorable Mention: Skirmish Rhino
• 53:20 - Honorable Mention: Kishla Skimmer
• 56:56 - Honorable Mention: the Monocolored Utility Lands
• 1:00:37 - 9. Rotcurse Rakshasa and Renew
• 1:05:38 - 8. Sunpearl Kirin
• 1:09:32 - 7. Surrak, Elusive Hunter
• 1:15:43 - 6. Desperate Measures
• 1:19:52 - 5. Tersa Lightshatter
• 1:23:30 - 4. Sinkhole Surveyor and Endure
• 1:28:36 - 3. Voice of Victory and Mobilize
• 1:31:18 - 2. Cori-Steel Cutter and Flurry
• 1:39:01 - 1. Descendant of Storms

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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 Andy’s new cube, Sacred Geometry, which was only drafted three times prior to the event. The cube is still very much in its infancy, and Andy and Anthony’s discussion serves as a model for how to digest a very small sample size of gameplay results and turn those results into some high-level goals

Special thanks to Judge Bones for conceiving, writing, and recording the voiceover for this week’s intro!

Discussed in this episode:

• Tarkir: Dragonstorm Cube Survey
• Tarkir: Dragonstorm Commander Cube Survey
• Sacred Geometry
• Doubleton Synergy
• 555-Jank
• Esper Cube
• Spicy Ramen Cube
• Hoopin’
• The Cascade Cube
• The Devoid Cube
• Andy on Cubereviews talking about the Neoclassical Cube
• Anthony on Cubereviews talking about the Irregular Cube
• Alex on Recross the Paths

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 - Should we do a tournament report for every tournament we attend?
• 5:30 - Boston Cube Party 2 Overview
• 8:55 - Andy’s Tournament Report
• 10:52 - Andy’s Draft of Doubleton Synergy
• 18:53 - Andy’s Draft of 555-Jank
• 24:20 - Andy’s Draft of The Esper Cube
• 29:35 - Andy’s Draft of the Spicy Ramen Cube
• 35:33 - Anthony’s Draft of Hoopin’
• 41:25 - Anthony’s Draft of the Cascade Cube
• 49:09 - Anthony’s Draft of the Devoid Cube
• 53:08 - Closing thoughts on Boston Cube Party 2
• 55:05 - Sacred Geometry Initial Impressions

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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 & Theorycrafting
• Episode 231: The Barash Files 001 — The Principles of Game Design
• The Cascade Cube
• Neoclassical Cube
• Old Border Foil Cube
• 100 Ornithopters
• Regular Cube
• The Mono Black Cube
• The Null Hypothesis
• Kill Your Darlings
• The Turbo Cube
• UMA+ 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
• 3:44 - What is ‘playtesting’? How do you ‘playtest’ a cube?
• 9:55 - What kinds of feedback can players be trusted to give?
• 16:22 - How does Andy ask for feedback on the Neoclassical Cube and 100 Ornithopters?
• 28:24 - How does Anthony ask for feedback on Regular Cube, the Mono Black Cube, and the Turbo Cube?
• 40:14 - How does Zach ask for feedback on The Cascade Cube, and what is the story with Crashing Footfalls?
• 52:17 - The ballad of Aura Shards in 100 Ornithopters
• 1:06:54 - A note on ego when you receive feedback

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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

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:

• 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

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 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

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 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

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 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.

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 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