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30 episodes
Exploring Cube Cobra’s New Winrate Analysis Features
Aug 17, 2026 · 1 hr 1 min
View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy and Anthony explore Cube Cobra’s new analytic tools for card and deck winrates. The new features allow you to upload decks and their matchup records, or import matchup data if a Cube has been played at an event using Hedron Network to track matches. After Andy diligently imported hundreds of decks for 100 Ornithopters, they talk through all the different visualizations and how they might use them as Cube designers. Discussed in this episode: Intro So…
Summertime Mailbag
Ep 316 · Aug 10, 2026 · 53 min
View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy and Anthony first talk about their upcoming series of interviews related to Cube For a Cause: Obscura. The event will feature 17 secret Cubes from 17 well known designers created just for the event. Until the first packs are cracked, the contents of each have been kept completely unknown. Each episode in the series will feature a designer talking about their plans going in before the event and a post-mortem discussion of how their cube played. With a…
Cross Pod Cube Throw Down: Regular Cube vs Sacred Geometry
Ep 315 · Aug 3, 2026 · 58 min
View all cards mentioned in this episode In a strange experiment, Andy and Anthony organize drafts of their cubes Sacred Geometry and Regular Cube and then pair players against the opposite cube. The two cubes have some major similarities, and clear differences. They wanted to see how drastically skewed win records would be towards one cube, and see what else they can learn. The experiment highlighted some unexpected differences and individual cards that skewed up or down when played against a d…
Narrow Tutors in Cube
Ep 314 · Jul 27, 2026 · 1 hr 1 min
View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy and Anthony talk about narrow tutors in Cubes. In contrast to the most open ended ways for players to search up a card from their library, narrow tutor effects give cube designers an opportunity to make specific sets of cards more accessible. Our hosts talk about specific “tutor” cards they include in their cubes. They talk about the ways they can create interesting draft challenges, provide targeted redundancy, or let players construct a toolbox of…
CubeCon DMV Tournament Report
Ep 313 · Jul 20, 2026 · 1 hr 7 min
View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy and Anthony report on their experience at CubeCon DMV — from the organizers of the original CubeCon — a cube event right in their back yard. They talk about their drafts in the event, highlights from games, and lunchtime highs and lows. Discussed in this episode: Cube Events Page The Metabolic Machine Take Five Andy’s Take Five Videos Jarvis Yube World Championship Museum (96-04) Sacred Geometry 100 Ornithopters Genesis - The first Omen Machine, a.k.…
Cards that are Cool — Part 2
Ep 312 · Jul 13, 2026 · 1 hr 2 min
View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy and Anthony talk about cards they think are cool. In the long anticipated follow up to episode 108, they just talk about things they think are neat. Anthony shares some cards he’s seen pop up regularly in recent cube drafts that spark some intrigue. Andy shares cards that he thinks over-deliver, in a design and gameplay sense, in his own cubes. Discussed in this episode: Episode 108: Cards That Are Cool Take 5 Sacred Geometry 100 Ornithopters Bun Mag…
Board Stalls and Cube Design
Ep 311 · Jul 6, 2026 · 1 hr 1 min
View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy and Anthony talk about board stalls and Cube. They talk about what they don’t like about this particular genera of board state. They theorize about some aspects of a cube’s design would lead to more stalls, and ways they might, as a designer, try to minimize them. This weeks topic was suggested by listener MZ. Thanks, MZ! Discussed in this episode: Lucky Paper Cube Events Page Sam Black’s article describing “big” and “small” games Bun Magic Cube Sacr…
Token Episode
Ep 310 · Jun 29, 2026 · 1 hr 2 min
View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy and Anthony talk about the logistics of tokens for Cube. They talk about different ways they’ve managed them over the years and for different Cubes. They make recommendations for the best way to approach the problem, and even how their Cube design is influenced by token makers. Discussed in this episode: InfiniTokens MPC Autofill Example Token Page on Cube Cobra Cubes Discussed: Sacred Geometry Regular Cube Neoclassical Cube Penrose Cube Take 5 100 O…
Powering Down Eternal Cubes with Jake and Parker
Ep 309 · Jun 22, 2026 · 1 hr 7 min
View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy and Anthony are joined by Jake and Parker to talk about their shifts in approach to each of their eternal cubes. While Jake, Parker, and Andy have long maintained generally “power motivated” eternal cubes, they’ve each grappled with concerns about aesthetics, complexity, or gameplay in the last few years of Magic releases. They talk about how they’ve changed their design philosophies in light of those changes and how they’ve reframed the way they mak…
Cube Cards That Are Hated
Ep 308 · Jun 15, 2026 · 1 hr 13 min
View all cards mentioned in this episode Riffing on last week’s slightly divisive topic, Andy and Anthony talk about cards in their own cubes that players hate. They comb through their cubes discussing the many reasons players might dislike a card and why they might still be justifiable inclusions. Discussed in this episode: Numberphile Episode 307: Hate Cards in Cube Sacred Geometry Regular Cube Bun Magic Cube Irregular Cube 100 Ornithopters Episode 293: The Last Echo of a Boon If you’d like to…
Hate Cards in Cube
Ep 307 · Jun 8, 2026 · 1 hr 7 min
View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy and Anthony talk about hate cards, and how they fit into Cube design in particular. Of course, they start by trying to define the term. They talk through the pros and cons of them and how different types may play a role in Cubes. They go through a number of their own cubes, analyzing them from this perspective. Discussed in this episode: Take 5 Sacred Geometry 100 Ornithopters Bun Magic Cube Neoclassical Cube Turbo Cube Regular Cube If you’d like to…
Steal Our Cube Ideas
Ep 306 · Jun 1, 2026 · 54 min
View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy and Anthony scour the cutting room floor for unfinished gems. They offer up some of their half-baked, unfinished cube ideas for you to steal. Andy shares his ideas for an aesthetic sun-bleached cube, a cube where your deck is your life total, and an environment built around wishes. Anthony digs up an all alternate win conditions cube and a battle box where the entire game happens in one stack. Discussed in this episode: Anthony’s Alternate Win Condit…
The Scorpion and The Cube with Ollie Beeks
Ep 305 · May 25, 2026 · 1 hr 4 min
View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy and Anthony are joined by Cube Person of the Year 2024, Ollie, to talk about whether it’s irresponsible to present a cube for drafting without any playtesting. What is the difference between ‘playing’ and ‘playtesting’? Can you design a cube iteratively without playtesting? Just how bad can a cube really be? Discussed in this episode: Upkeep NY/C4AC Bodlean Cube Creatureless Cube Episode 302 — Theory Drafting the Best Decks in Regular Cube The Ball P…
Salt Box Recap with Judge Bones
Ep 304 · May 18, 2026 · 1 hr 10 min
View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy and Anthony are joined by the de facto Cube judge — Bones! The three recap The Salt Box, a small Cube event in Baltimore. At this event, Andy debuted Take Five and Judge Bones Arcane Lessons. They share what they learned from players drafting their cubes for the very first time and their own experience as cube designers drafting cubes for the first time in a public event. Discussed in this episode: Salt Box Take 5 Take 5 Youtube Videos Arcane Lessons…
The Barash Files 006 — Cube Design Lenses
May 11, 2026 · 1 hr 13 min
View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy and Anthony are joined by returning guest Zach Barash. They talk about about different lenses Cube designers can use to approach designing a new cube. They finish on a pack 1, pick 1 from Andy’s new cube Take Five. Previous episodes with Zach: 001 The Principles of Game Design 002 On Terminology, Communication, and Community 003 Reflections on Cube Drafts Past 004 Building Skill vs. Building Community and Learning from Your Mistakes 005 Playtesting a…
Theory Drafting the Best Decks in Regular Cube
Ep 302 · May 4, 2026 · 1 hr 14 min
View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy and Anthony and joined by Adam, a local player who suggested a novel way to cube. All players involved built what they thought would be the best deck that could ever be drafted from Anthony’s Regular Cube. They talked about the decks they built, their processes for building, and what it revealed about an environment which is typically intended to be drafted. Discussed in this episode: Regular Cube Super Magic Fun Time Degenerate Microcube If you’d li…
Playing Proactive Green Decks
Ep 301 · Apr 27, 2026 · 55 min
View all cards mentioned in this episode Following their previous episode about playing with Young Pyromancer Andy and Anthony talk about how to win with proactive green decks. They look back at some of Anthony’s successful decks and try to get some insight into what makes them tick, exploring card types and distribution and gameplay heuristics. Discussed in this episode: Deck Photos Episode 299: How to Win with Young Pyromancer Episode 260: The ABC’s of Midrange Red Terror If you’d like to show…
Tricentennial Q & A
Ep 300 · Apr 20, 2026 · 1 hr 29 min
View all cards mentioned in this episode Celebrating 300 episodes, Andy and Anthony answer listener submitted questions. They address their favorite gummy candies, opinions on the free will of jellyfish, the most technologically advanced things they could build from scratch on a desert island, and so much more. Discussed in this episode: Arena Cube Shoebox Shrimp Welfare Project Erich’s Packing Center Sockerbit Go Bidet Books: A Pattern Language,by Christopher Alexander A People’s History of the…
How to Win with Young Pyromancer
Ep 299 · Apr 13, 2026 · 1 hr 3 min
View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy and Anthony talk about one of Andy’s all time favorite cards Young Pyromancer. After a recent draft of a peasant cube at their weekly cube night, Anthony realized that despite it’s iconic status, it’s not a card he feels like he know’s how to optimize. Andy shares his experience with the card, what he thinks it takes to support it, and a handful of his cube draft decks it headlined. View the full decklists of Andy’s referenced drafts on the cards pag…
On Colorless Cards
Ep 298 · Apr 6, 2026 · 1 hr
View all cards mentioned in this episode Most of the time when listeners suggest topics we’ve already recorded a whole episode dedicated to that subject. Sometimes we’ve even recorded three. It turns out almost six years is a long time to have a weekly podcast about a niche interest like Cube design. So when someone recently suggested we record an episode about ‘colorless cards’ I was surprised to discover that we have never actually dedicated an entire episode to the subject, and it turns out w…
Book Club: The Design of Everyday Things by Donald Norman
Ep 297 · Mar 30, 2026 · 54 min
View all cards mentioned in this episode In the third book club Episode, Anthony and Parker talk about Donald Norman’s The Design of Everyday Things. Originally published in 1988, the book was an influential criticism of the built world and interfaces establishing many concepts fundamental to user interface and industrial design today. It also introduces a metric ton of jargon per page. Our book club members talk about how these concepts apply to game and Cube design and their thinking about thi…
Shoebox Recap with Patrick
Ep 296 · Mar 23, 2026 · 1 hr 25 min
View all cards mentioned in this episode In this explicit episode of Lucky Paper Radio, Andy, Anthony, and Patrick recap their experience at Shoebox in St Paul, Minnesota. Shoebox celebrated a range of casual formats including team limited, pauper, and, of course, Cube! They talk about highlights from the weekend and the decks they drafted. Discussed in this episode: The Monster Fuck Dee Dee Mega Doo Doo Arties Cube Shoebox Eiganjo Drift Aquaone Powered Penrose Cube HeatherCube Boudican Destruct…
How Do We Know What We Know About Magic: The Gathering
Mar 16, 2026 · 1 hr 1 min
View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy and Anthony finally just talk about epistemology and sort of address Magic: the Gathering. They talk about the way we all generally learn things and incorporate them into our understanding of the world around us, and how that manifests in the smaller world of the game. Discussed in this episode: ContraPoints on YouTube The Beginning of Infinity by David Deutsch Every Living Thing by Jason Roberts 100 Ornithopters Regular Cube Cascade Cascade Cube Map…
Three Years of the Companion Cube, with Greg Cortazzo
Ep 294 · Mar 9, 2026 · 50 min
View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy and Anthony talk with Greg about his Companion Cube. In this Cube, each player chooses a card from their deck before each game to be their ‘companion’, which their guaranteed access to. They talk about the history of the cube and the difference between the early days of frequent edits and the longer stable phase with less frequent changes. Greg is also one of the organizers of Shoebox an event happening next week in St Paul, Minnesota. Shoebox will p…
The Last Echo of a Boon
Ep 293 · Mar 2, 2026 · 60 min
View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy and Anthony talk about cutting a long-standing, controversial card from 100 Ornithopters: Echoing Boon. They talk about gameplay experiences with the card and why Andy decided to include a conspiracy in the cube in the first place. The ‘always on’ nature of conspiracies put certain constraints on the cube’s design. Andy talks about some of those limitations and changes he’s planning to make after they’re gone. Discussed in this episode: 100 Ornithopt…
Packing and Mapping Synergies in Cubes
Ep 292 · Feb 23, 2026 · 56 min
View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy and Anthony discuss how they think about themes within cubes. As always, our hosts beginning with a thorough defining of terms. They talk about how they think about thematically related sets of cards and how many they think can fit, or would want to, in a Cube. Andy has been exploring fitting a tight network of synergistic cards in his cube Take Five. They also talk about a new app Anthony built specifically for mapping synergies between cards within…
Power Level and Game Impact in Cube Design
Ep 291 · Feb 16, 2026 · 52 min
View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy and Anthony talk about the concept of power level band or range in Cubes. It’s sometimes said a Cube should have a pretty even power level, with the strongest card being not too much stronger than the weakest, is a good idea. Our hosts talk about why that doesn’t always make sense and strategies for making Cubes with a wide band of power that still make sense. Discussed in this episode: Regular Cube Sacred Geometry Recross the Paths Neoclassical Cube…
Lunchbox Tournament Report
Ep 290 · Feb 9, 2026 · 1 hr 1 min
View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy, Anthony, and Patrick recap their experience at Lunch Box, a 1 day Cube event in their home town of Baltimore raising funds for the Maryland Food Bank. They discuss the cubes they drafted, the highs and lows of their matches, and their overall experiences at the event. Discussed in this episode: Lunch Box Twilight Cube Red Terror Library of Babel Science Cube If you’d like to show your support for the show, please consider backing Lucky Paper on Patr…
Star Magic — The Best Way to Cube with Five Players
Ep 289 · Feb 2, 2026 · 54 min
View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy and Anthony talk about Star Magic, a unique multiplayer format that also happens to be a way to accommodate a draft with 5 players — a notoriously awkward number. In a Star Magic game, 5 players engage in a free-for-all game with a specific win condition. The game ends when any one player eliminates the two others seated furthest from them. Players sitting next to each other are neutrally affiliated but are motivated to collaborate by their one share…
The Death of Magic
Ep 288 · Jan 26, 2026 · 1 hr 4 min
View all cards mentioned in this episode It’s been said that Cube Will Outlive Magic, but would it really? Andy and Anthony wildly speculate on the future in a thought experiment: what if Wizards of the Coast stopped existing tomorrow and no new cards were designed or printed. They theorize about how it would impact different elements of the player base and how it would impact their own relationship to the game, despite their relative independence from the flow of new cards. Discussed in this ep…
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