It’s a new year and Lucky Paper Radio is back! They also never went anywhere, but they’re back nonetheless. On this episode, Andy and Anthony intend to talk about Anthony’s multiplayer cube that he couldn’t help but make after our little string of multiplayer-focused episodes a couple months back, but instead, our hosts get riled up and end up talking about what it means to be a “cube spike”, and whether or not such a thing even exists. Things really kick off about 1/3rd of the way through, so buckle up!

Talking points include:

You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:

If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at [email protected]. Please include how you’d like to be credited on air, your pronouns, and if you’re submitting a cube for the pack 1, pick 1, a link to said cube.

Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

In a year-end extravaganza, Andy and Anthony dedicate an entire episode to doing pack 1, pick 1s from listener submitted cubes. Is this a good idea or a bad idea? We don’t know, but you should tell us what you think!

Listener cubes discussed in this episode:

You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:

If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at [email protected]. Please include how you’d like to be credited on air, your pronouns, and if you’re submitting a cube for the pack 1, pick 1, a link to said cube.

Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

In a decidedly not-so-special holiday episode, Andy and Anthony are talking about tribal synergies in Cube and announce their first formalized rivalry. They do a pack 1, pick 1 from listener Bastian’s GöCube 1.2 and get real sad about how rude people on the internet have tried to convince him that tribal synergies are “bad for Cube”. Anthony sets the table with an open-faced compliment sandwich about tribal effects, and our two hosts go deep discussing what constitutes a synergy deck, what parasitism is, how some decks are primarily internally focused and others are more fundamentally interactive, their respective tolerance for blowouts, different kinds of variance, and their favorite tribes in Magic. It’s not Kobolds.

Discussed on this episode:

You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:

If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at [email protected]. Please include how you’d like to be credited on air, your pronouns, and if you’re submitting a cube for the pack 1, pick 1, a link to said cube.

Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Our hosts are finally ready to share the Degenerate Micro Cube with the world. This episode is a deep dive on what this cube is all about, why Andy loves it so much, and why it’s just not Anthony’s cup of tea. They do a pack 1, pick 1 from the Degenerate Micro Cube, and discuss how it came to be, why storm is always a trap, the value that secret information plays in game design, how speed is inextricably linked with variance, whether a less enfranchised player could figure out Stage Depths combo if left to their own devices, and Anthony shamefully concedes that it is actually fun to Tinker out a Blightsteel Colossus on turn 1.

Discussed on this episode:

If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at [email protected]. Please include how you’d like to be credited on air, your pronouns, and if you’re submitting a cube for the pack 1, pick 1, a link to said cube.

Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

This episode is all about tempo — what is it, when does it matter, and how do you apply it to your Cube design and gameplay decisions. Andy and Anthony talk about what “aggro” really means, why some games feel like they’re completely out of your control from the first land you play, the tempo vs value axis, taplands, low CMC spells, scaleable threats, cheap interaction, and what Llanowar Elves, Azorius Signet, and Sleight of Hand have in common.

Our pack 1, pick 1 this week is from listener Lemem’s 450 Card Unpowered Cube. Thanks, Lemem!

Discussed on this episode:

If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at [email protected]. Please include how you’d like to be credited on air, your pronouns, and if you’re submitting a cube for the pack 1, pick 1, a link to said cube.

Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

This is a comparatively aimless episode where our hosts meander through a couple of vaguely related cube topics. They start off by recapping their recent draft of a friend’s greenless, “Breya” cube, which they also do a pack 1, pick 1 from, then move on to cover how draft decisions change in a cube with only four colors, their evaluation of Karn with pants, the dangers of shortcutting cards in your head, whether it’s more painful to walk into a trap or make an obvious punt, the collection of cards Anthony compiled that is definitely not a multiplayer cube, how to structure a booster draft for fewer than eight players, using what is not present to guide the design of an environment, how to avoid the natural predators of the strategies you want to cultivate in your cube, setting a bar for power level in a hypothetical one life cube, and how to balance Healing Salve, Ancestral Recall, Dark Ritual, Lightning Bolt, and Giant Growth.

Discussed on this episode:

If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at [email protected]. Please include how you’d like to be credited on air, your pronouns, and if you’re submitting a cube for the pack 1, pick 1, a link to said cube.

Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

This is your last chance to participate in our Commander Legends Cube Survey! Please take a few minutes to let us know what you’re testing in your cube from the new set.

On this episode, Andy and Anthony are discussing how they would approach building a Commander cube. After giving a little bit of their personal history with EDH and talking about what it has in common with Cube, our dynamic duo goes deep on Commander’s mechanical underpinnings and how they translate to a drafted environment. Commander Legends brought a plethora of practical challenges that R&D chose to solve with as little deviation from Commander as a format as possible — but what would a cube that ignored superficial familiarity and tried to embody the spirit of EDH look like? What actually makes Commander appealing and how do you capture that in a drafted environment? How come Yawgmoth, Thran Physician is the only legendary creature Anthony can think of?

Our pack 1, pick 1 this week comes from listener Alex’s Cube for the Peasantry. Thanks, Alex!

Discussed on this episode:

If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at [email protected]. Please include how you’d like to be credited on air, your pronouns, and if you’re submitting a cube for the pack 1, pick 1, a link to said cube.

Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Our Commander Legends Cube Survey is open! Please take a few minutes to let us know what you’re testing in your cube from the new set.

On this episode, Andy and Anthony are joined by their friend and Commander connoisseur Daniel to discuss his all-gold cube and review the cards from Commander Legends. Find out how you can draft a filthy aggro deck from a cube with zero one drops, how the Monarch mechanic plays in 1v1 Magic, and whether Jeweled Lotus means that Commander has officially jumped the shark.

Our pack 1, pick 1 this week comes from Daniel’s all gold cube. I highly recommend doing a draft or two.

If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at [email protected]. Please include how you’d like to be credited on air, your pronouns, and if you’re submitting a cube for the pack 1, pick 1, a link to said cube.

Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

The boys turn their attention to what at least Andy thinks is an under-appreciated context in which to evaluate cards — the draft. Instead of discussing how cards are played in game or what an ideal deck looks like, they’re talking about how the presence or absence of cards in packs will affect how your players draft. Is it possible to have a deck or color-pair that is perfectly viable in your cube, but no one ever drafts? Can swapping cards in or out fix this issue, or is it entirely attributable to player preferences? What kinds of cards expand the scope of draft decisions and what kinds of cards narrow it? Does drafting the hard way apply to most cubes? How does a flattened power level affect signals?

Our pack 1, pick 1 this week comes from a different kind of cube: listener Josh maintains a core cube that is drafted with a random selection of cards from his expansion, creating additional variance from draft to draft. Thanks, Josh!

If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at [email protected]. Please include how you’d like to be credited on air, your pronouns, and if you’re submitting a cube for the pack 1, pick 1, a link to said cube.

Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

On this episode of Lucky Paper Radio Andy and Anthony are looking at the suggestions from Cube Cobra’s recommender for adds and cuts to their respective primary cubes. This is a jumping off point for discussion about which cards they think are under- or overrated, the philosophies at the foundations of their cubes, how single cards can open up entirely new decks in a draft, the merits of various two-mana green ramp spells, how to balance support for an archetype without it becoming too dominant, various things about Magic that Andy doesn’t like, homogeneity within the Cube community, how much to trust algorithmically generated cube suggestions, and how Anthony wants to kiss Changeling Hero right on his freaky lips.

Our pack 1, pick 1 this week is from listener Morphling’s Artificer Cube. Thanks, Morphling!

Discussed in this episode:

If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at [email protected]. Please include how you’d like to be credited on air, your pronouns, and if you’re submitting a cube for the pack 1, pick 1, a link to said cube.

Musical production by DJ James Nasty.