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:

Timestamps

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:

If 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.

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.

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Discussed in this episode:

Timestamps

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:

If 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.

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.

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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:

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

You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:

If 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.

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:

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:

Timestamps

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:

If 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.

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.

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Discussed in this episode:

Timestamps

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:

If 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.

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:

Timestamps

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:

If 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.

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:

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

You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:

If 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.

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:

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

You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:

If 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.

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:

Timestamps

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:

If 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.