Lucky Paper Radio – Details, episodes & analysis

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:

• Bloomburrow and Bloomburrow Commander Surveys
• “Names of Large Numbers” on Wikipedia
• Episode 210: Raggadragga’s Lucky Paper Debut
• Crystalline Giant keyword tracking website
• The Oldest School Cube
• Jay’s Feature Match Moment
• Anthony on the Uber Cube podcast
• Blocked Party

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:

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

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:

• Bloomburrow and Bloomburrow Commander Surveys
• Dozer’s Artifact Cube
• Rusty Box of Goblins
• Eiganjo Drift
• UberBear’s “Selfie of Two Anthonys”
• The Twube
• Tupelo Honey
• The Irregular Cube
• Riptide Lab
• Lucky Paper Cube 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

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 are joined by Richard Garfield, legendary game designer and the creator of Magic: the Gathering. Richard talks about how he got interested in modifying and tweaking games, his concept that players can be loosely understood as either ‘honers’ or ‘innovators’, and why some games with great mechanics have no soul as a result of overdevelopment. Andy and Anthony also take advantage of this opportunity to ask Richard about his relationship to Cube, getting insight into how he designs his own and what he values about the format. They cover all the most salient Cube topics, including handling feedback from players, how to approach power level outliers, and how to manage complexity.

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Timestamps

0:00 - Introduction

1:49 - Welcoming Richard Garfield to the show

3:31 - How Richard got started modifying games

11:12 - How do you know when a game has gotten too complex?

17:37 -  Honers vs. Innovators

22:48 - Richard’s relationship to Cube

28:46 - On “Overdeveloped” Games

31:22 - The virtues of a wider power level band

43:09 - How to process feedback from players

46:58 - Is getting into nature an important part of Richard’s creative process

49:15 - The role of visual and narrative elements in games

55:00 - Designing a meta vs designing a game

58:10 - Richard’s current favorite games

1:02:56 - Richard’s game design book recommendations

Discussed in this episode:

• MH3 Community Review Survey and the Commander Set Survey
• Episode 202: Reading Series — The Creator of ‘Magic the Gathering’ Knows Exactly Where it All Went Wrong
• Stratego
• Dungeons and Dragons
• Algomancy
• The Encyclopedia of Chess Variations
• Balatro
• Founders of Reyvik
• Finkel vs. Garfield
• Deckmasters Garfield vs. Finkel Product
• Slay the Spire
• Spectromancer
• Munchkin
• Innovation, by Carl Chudyk
• Quadradius
• Gamut of Games, by Sid Sackson
• New Rules for Classic Games, by R. Wayne Schmittberger

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

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:

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.

Lucky Paper
PO Box 4855
Baltimore, MD 21211

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Andy and Anthony talk about a fundamental component of playing Magic, exploring and finding new cards. They talk about their goals and process for finding new cards and talk about leveraging Scryfall’s powerful search features to make this critical component a breeze. They even touch on some of the advanced features that can save you from missing potential pieces. Check out Anthony’s articles on using Scryfall’s search syntax and advanced searches with Regular Expressions for the details on the topics they cover.

Our listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 and 2 this week comes from Robbie’s Supreme Commander Cube where every pack comes with two picks!

Discussed in this episode:

• Scryfall
• Andy’s Mono-Colored Starter Decks
• Anthony’s Article on Using Scryfall’s Search Syntax
• Anthony’s Article on Searching for Cards with Regular Expressions
• Scryfall donate page
• Number of New Cards Printed Each Year
• Good Luck High Five

Timestamps:

• 2:59 — Introduction to Topic
• 5:48 — Listener Submitted Pack 1, Pick 1
• 13:35 — Why is being able to search for cards important?
• 16:35 — What exactly is Scryfall?
• 21:53 — Combining Multiple Terms for Powerful Searching
• 26:41 — Searching the Textbox
• 34:34 — Getting the Most Out of the Sort Options
• 40:03 — Leveling Up with Regular Expressions
• 1:00:3 — The Boys Steal a Bit from a Better Podcast

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

If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at [email protected]. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord.

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.

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If you don’t yet have tickets to CubeCon, you can now sign up for the wait list

Andy and Anthony talk about how they approach drafting Anthony’s novel Turbo Cube where all spells and activated abilities cost less. The Cube will be featured at the inaugural Cube Con. Our hosts talk about the themes and individual cards that define the format. They talk about the ramification of the rules modification and what to look out for when approaching the format.

Discussed in this episode:

• The Turbo Cube
• Cube Con
• Live Paper Gameplay of The Turbo Cube
• Lucky Paper’s Channel on YouTube

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

Timestamps:

• 4:42 — Overview of the Turbo Cube
• 9:59 — Detailed Rules Interactions
• 13:17 — Cards Most Impacted by the Rules Change
• 16:49 — Draft Format
• 20:03 — Individual Cards: “Turbo Power”
• 25:46 — Individual Cards: Contentious S-Tier
• 33:00 — Individual Cards: Barely Sub “Turbo Power” A-Tier
• 39:01 — Individual Cards: Anything For Free
• 49:57 — Drafting the Turbo Cube “Archetypes”
• 1:01:32 — Interaction in the Turbo Cube
• 1:06:48 — Under and Over Performers
• 1:13:07 — Void Mirror Corner

You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:

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

If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at [email protected]. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord.

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.

View all cards mentioned in the episode →

In advance of Anthony’s Regular Cube being featured at CubeCon, Andy and Anthony talk about how they approach the format. The talk about the themes and strategies they think are the most powerful, cards that overperform, and cards that don’t behave like you might expect.

Timestamps:

• 2:14 — Topic Introduction
• 4:51 — Overview of The Regular Cube
• 7:00 — Tip: Look for Synergy
• 11:40 — Theme: Zombies
• 14:20 — Archetype: Red Black Sacrifice
• 19:37 — Theme: Oketra’s Monument “Combo”
• 21:58 — Key Card: Feather, the Redeemed
• 24:11 — Theme: Artifacts
• 27:41 — Naya Aggro
• 34:13 — Esper Value
• 38:21 — Musings on Mana Curve
• 40:59 — The Mana in the Regular Cube
• 46:45 — Board Wipes
• 51:47 — Cards that Overperform in the Regular Cube
• 1:04:19 — Generic Power Outliers
• 1:14:02 — Pack 1, Pick 1 from the Regular Cube
• 1:16:44 — Closing Thoughts

Discussed in this episode:

• Regular Cube
• Good Luck High Five
• CubeCon
• Wabi Sabi

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

If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at [email protected]. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord.

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.

The full timestamps were too long for the RSS feed, so check them out on our website.

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Andy, Anthony, and Parker take the 2022 standard set rotation as an opportunity to look back on sets from the not-too-distant past. Sets rotating out of standard include everything from Zendikar Rising to Adventures in the Forgotten Realms. They look back on card they rated (or conspicuously didn’t rate) in Lucky Paper’s prospective surveys, each picking the cards they feel they most under and over rated for their particular environments and cards they think they got just right.

Discussed in this episode:

• Warhammer 40k Survey
• Uncanny Valley
• What If 2
• 2022 Cube Retrospective Article
• Hypergeometric Calculator
• Dominaria’s Judgment
• Cultic Cube’s City of Brass Preview Video
• Episode 110: Tarmogoyfs and Elvish Visionaries
• Episode 111: The Texture of Removal
• The Resleevables
• Andy’s Called Shot on Twitter re: Unholy Heat

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
• Parker’s “The Ship of Theseus” Cube

If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at [email protected]. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord.

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.

View all cards mentioned in the episode →

Andy, Anthony, and Parker talk about the results from the Dominaria United community set review. Almost 350 Cube designers submitted the cards they were interested in from DMU and rated them on how likely they expected to stay in their environment long term. Our hosts talk about the most tested and top-rated cards, examine trends, look at how the set compares to past sets, and offer their own qualitative observations.

Check out the full survey results. Our survey for the next set, Warhammer 40,000 is already up. (Truly preview season never ends!) To make sure you don’t miss the next set’s survey, sign up for our infrequent newsletter.

Discussed in this episode:

• Dominaria United Set Review Article
• Katamari Damacy
• AspiringSpike
• Jason Waddell’s Cube Design – Remodeling, Part Two
• Dom Harvey’s Cube Thread on Riptide Lab

Timestamps:

• 5:18 — Episode Format
• 8:57 — Founding the Third Path
• 15:08 — Archangel of Wrath (Hot Take)
• 15:40 — Leyline Binding
• 21:02 — Meria, Scholar of Antiquity
• 23:05 — Karn, Living Legacy (Hot Take)
• 23:35 — Tail Swipe
• 24:56 — Llanowar Loamspeaker (Hot Take)
• 26:00 — Tear Asunder
• 31:49 — King Darien XLVIII and Ajani, Sleeper Agent (Hot Takes)
• 32:34 — The Elder Dragon War
• 35:06 — Baird, Argivian Recruiter
• 39:29 — Urborf Lhurgoyf (Hot Take)
• 40:00 — Sheoldred, the Apocalypse
• 44:08 — The Raven Man (Hot Take)
• 45:24 — 6. Squee, Dubious Monarch
• 56:50 — 5. Guardian of New Benalia
• 1:03:38 — 4. Evolved Sleeper
• 1:08:47 — 3. Cult Conscript
• 1:11:56 — Tolarian Terror and Urborg Repossession Interlude
• 1:14:25 — 2. Aether Channeler
• 1:21:39 — 1. Cut Down

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
• Parker’s “The Ship of Theseus” Cube

If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at [email protected]. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord.

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.

Our Cube Prospective Surveys for Dominaria United and accompanying commander sets are closing soon!

Andy and Anthony discuss the new cards from Dominaria United they’re interested in for their own Cube environments. They talk about some powerful new options for Andy’s eternal cube, off-color kicker cards and clean variations on classic cards for Anthony’s unrestricted cube, and a few cards that fit more novel environments.

View all cards mentioned in the episode →

Discussed in this episode:

• Dominaria United, Mechanics and Themes Episode
• Dominaria United Cube Survey
• Episode 111: Texture of Removal
• Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube
• Anthony’s “Regular” Cube
• Andy’s Combat Trick Mini Cube
• Anthony’s Turbo Cube
• Aspiring Spike Playing Shore Up in Modern

Timestamps:

• 6:41 — Bun Magic Cube Overview
• 7:48 — Honorable Mention: Serra Paragon
• 12:42 — Honorable Mention: Quirion Beastcaller
• 17:12 — Honorable Mention: Electrostatic Infantry
• 20:05 — 5. Radha’s Firebrand
• 26:00 — 4. Shivan Devastator
• 29:03 — 3. Evolved Sleeper
• 32:49 — 2. Guardian of New Benalia
• 37:34 — 1. Cut Down
• 39:47 — Regular Cube Overview
• 42:46 — Off-Color Kicker Cards
• 43:18 — Phyrexian Missionary
• 45:49 — Juniper Order Rootweaver
• 46:53 — Protect the Negotiators
• 48:07 — Phyrexian Espionage
• 50:32 — Aggressive Sabotage
• 51:07 — Balduvian Atrocity
• 52:15 — Ghitu Amplifier
• 54:55 — Sprouting Goblin
• 55:28 — Elvish Hydromancer
• 56:58 — Yavimaya Iconoclast
• 58:10 — Resolute Reinforcements
• 58:47 — Prayer of Binding
• 59:51 — Tolarian Terror
• 1:01:29 — Electrostatic Infantry
• 1:03:44 — Tail Swipe
• 1:04:48 — Balmor, Battlemage Captain
• 1:06:26 — Combat Trick Mini Cube Overview
• 1:06:52 — Shore Up
• 1:07:40 — Electrostatic Infantry
• 1:07:45 — Cut Down
• 1:09:36 — The Turbo Cube and Salvaged Manaworker

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

If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at [email protected]. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord.

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.

Our Cube Prospective Surveys for Dominaria United and accompanying commander sets are now open!

Andy and Anthony talk about the new mechanics, themes, and their first impressions of Dominaria United and what they’re most excited about for Cube.

View all cards mentioned in the episode →

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

Timestamps:

• 1:40 — Episode Structure and Introduction
• 3:50 — Enlist
• 9:37 — Read Ahead
• 13:18 — Domain
• 19:55 — Kicker
• 27:19 — Stun Counters
• 32:22 — Defender Tribal
• 36:48 — Look at Your Deck
• 40:55 — The Defiler Cycle

You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:

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

If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at [email protected]. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord.

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.