Games

Lucky Paper Radio

Lucky Paper Radio is a podcast about Magic: the Gathering hosted by lifelong friends Andy Mangold and Anthony Mattox. Focused primarily on sandbox formats like Cube, which are free of banlists, rotation, and net decking, the show is about the best parts of Magic and how to get the most out of the game.

Latest Episodes:

The Changing Landscape of Magic — 2023 in Review Dec 18, 2023

Show notes

Andy and Anthony take a look back on 2023, and what a year it’s been! Our hosts discuss some of their favorite things happening this year, including the second annual CubeCon, and a growing number of Cube events. They talk about how valuable Magic has been as a vector for creative outlets. In a candid, critical discussion they share how Magic as a game, and a product, has fundamentally changed in the recent years and how in many ways it no longer supports the way they most deeply engaged with it.

Discussed in this episode:

Timestamps

0:00 - Introduction

3:35 - Episode breakdown

5:31 - The good stuff — the second Cube Con and a battery of smaller, grassroots Cube events

12:22 - The joy of using Magic as a creative outlet

18:08 - Hasbro layoffs and the incentive structures of the business of Magic

36:08 - The costs of Magic’s growth and expansion

52:14 - Universes Beyond and the fractured identity of Magic

1:13:59 - Andy and Anthony’s Cube cards of the year!!

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. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. 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.

Holiday Mailbag Dec 11, 2023

Show notes

Andy and Anthony open up the mailbag and answer questions from listeners. Our hosts answer all your burning questions about Cube, soup, and probably egg nog?

⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠

Discussed in this episode:

Cubes Mentioned

Timestamps

0:00 - Introduction

4:47 - Why have we not done a mailbag episode before?

7:47 - How do you design for an interesting draft? What is your ideal booster pack?

18:59 - What are the unique aspects of designing old border Cubes?

26:12 - What factors make you excited or unexcited to draft a new cube?

30:54 - What card should be in every cube?

33:27 - What about all the lands you don’t talk about all the time?

41:43 - What is the best meal you have ever had in your life?

49:12 - What recipe has been your favorite to cook this year?

51:47 - To nog or not to nog?

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. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. 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 Nature of Combo in Cube Dec 04, 2023

Show notes

Andy and Anthony talk about combos. What is a combo? Is it a spectrum? Almost certainly. How are they related to the aggro-midrange-control metagame? How do they affect the draft and gameplay of a given Cube? Does Anthony hate combos? Does Andy hate combos? Only one way to find out.

⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠

Discussed in this episode:

Lucky Paper Radio — The ABCs of Aggro
Lucky Paper Radio — The ABCs of Control
Bosh n Roll on YouTube
Lucky Paper Radio — Guest Episode with Ryan Saxe
Anthony’s Personal Journey through Cube Design Article
Andy’s broken Fastbond Roto deck on YouTube:
Boonta Vista
Well There’s Your Problem
Til’ Death do us Blart
The Worst Idea of All Time
The Neighborhood Listen

Cubes Mentioned:

Timestamps

0:00 - Introduction

0:58 - How good is Whitemane Lion plus Oketra’s Monument?

3:08 - Why is combo not Anthony’s favorite style of gameplay?

8:53 - What is a ‘combo’? What is a ‘combo deck’?

20:08 - The tension between heuristics and individual cards

24:09 - Does Andy hate combo?

31:10 - The impacts of combo on gameplay and sequencing

39:35 - How does the presence of combo affect the draft?

45:34 - Satisfying different desires with different cubes

49:01 - Balancing combo alongside fair decks

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. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. 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 Lost Caverns of Ixalan Cube Community Set Review Nov 27, 2023

Show notes

Andy, Anthony, and Parker discuss the results of The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Cube community survey. As always, we asked cube designers to share what cards they’re interested in from Magic’s newest premier set. Our hosts discuss the results: the top, and top rated, cards, as well as other patterns and surprises they found in the results.

⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠

Discussed in this episode:

Timestamps:

0:00 - Introduction

2:48 - Survey Structure Overview

4:22 - Big Picture Impressions of Lost Caverns of Ixalan

10:05 - 10. Confounding

13:47 - 9. Spyglass Siren

17:37 - 8. Restless Vents

20:20 - 7. Deep Cavern Bat

22:02 - 6. Sentinel of the Nameless City

24:53 - 5. Get Lost

28:20 - 4. Stalactite Stalker

33:41 - 3. Malcolm, Alluring Scoundrel

37:52 - 2. Inti, Seneschal of the Sun

42:55 - 1. Bitter Triumph

47:41 - Honorable Mention: Goblin Tomb Raider

48:07 - Honorable Mention: Trumpeting Carnosaur

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. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. 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.

What Can and Cannot Be Learned From Studying Draft Pools Nov 20, 2023

Show notes

Following CubeCon 2023, all pool lists were released to let Cube owners learn about what was successful, or not, in their environments at the event. Andy and Anthony review and discuss the decks drafted from their cubes, how they feel about each environment, and how the outcomes may inform future changes.

If you drafted the Bun Magic Cube, Regular Cube, or Turbo Cube we’d love your feedback including how you built your deck and highs and lows of your games. Get in touch! and be sure to share your deck photos.

Andy’s been hard at work designing our first Lucky Paper playmat. Sign up to our newsletter if you don’t want to miss out on this limited release!

Tune in this Wednesday, November 22 to Lucky Paper on Twitch for Andy’s commentary on a roto draft of his Cube with a group of top French players.

⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠

Discussed in this episode:

Timestamps

0:00 - Introduction

4:49 - First impressions and why red is so strong

10:54 - The flaws of card-focused conclusions

15:18 - We were happy with the results for our own cubes from CubeCon?

20:06 - Unpacking Dom Harvey’s maybe dominant strategy in the Bun Magic Cube

24:36 - What kinds of patterns emerged in the CubeCon dekclists?

29:19 - The relationship between fixing and win rate in the Bun Magic Cube

32:26 - The challenge of winning with blue in the Bun Magic Cube

47:32 - The Turbo Cube decks of CubeCon

48:02 - A request for deck lists from the Bun Magic Cube at CubeCon

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. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. 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 Lost Caverns of Ixalan First Impressions, Mechanics, and Personal Cube Additions Nov 13, 2023

Show notes

Andy and Anthony take a first look at The Lost Caverns of Ixalan. They talk about the set in broad strokes, what they think about the mechanics and how they can potentially slot into different Cube environments. Then the look into individual cards they’re interested in for their own, curated environments.

⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠

Discussed in this episode:

Timestamps

0:00 - Introduction

7:55 - Reviewing Anthony’s LCI Prerelease

10:52 - The Mechanics of Lost Caverns of Ixalan

11:44 - Craft and Other Transforming Double-Faced Cards

19:23 - Descended and Descent

27:39 - Discover

37:21 - Explore and Map Tokens

42:12 - Caves

45:11 - Other Minor Themes

49:02 - Personal Cube Additions: The Regular Cube

49:50 - Subterranean Schooner

51:29 - Bitter Triumph

52:01 - Glorifer of Suffering

52:38 - Bonus: Sovereign Okinec Ahau

57:15 - Personal Cube Additions: Bun Magic Cube

57:54 - Tarrian’s Soulcleaver

58:54 - Restless Prairie

59:58 - Tishana's Tidebinder

1:02:29 - Helping Hand

1:05:22 - Get Lost

1:08:07 - Jadelight Spelunker

1:10:18 - Anim Pakal, Thousandth Moon

1:12:45 - Sentinel of the Nameless City

1:14:57 - Inti, Seneschal of the Sun

1:17:49 - Kellan, Daring Traveler // Journey On

1:19:28 - Bitter Triumph

1:20:53 - Personal Cube Additions: The Turbo Cube

1:21:08 - Confounding Riddle

1:21:43 - Kutzil’s Flanker

1:22:52 - Tishana’s Tidebinder

1:23:13 - Inti, Seneschal of the Sun

1:23:55 - Buried Treasure

1:25:09 - Personal Cube Additions: The Degenerate Micro Cube

1:25:46 - Ghalta, Stampede Tyrant

1:27:58 - Hoverstone Pilgrim

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. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. 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.

Riding Siege Rhinos to Victory with Tim Meyers Nov 06, 2023

Show notes

Andy and Anthony are joined by Tim Meyers, a.k.a. donald_k_magic, CubeCon 2023 Champion who shares his wisdom and experience of his path to ultimate Victory! In a field of 400 Cube enthusiasts, Tim’s love of the game carried him to a spot in the top 64, to 3-0 is draft to earn a spot in the top 8 draft, and finally, working with a deck he felt had some rough edges, to win the entire main event.

View all cards mentioned in the episode →

Discussed in this episode:

Cubes Mentioned

Timestamps

0:00 Introduction

3:15 Tim’s Overall Impressions of Cube Con

5:56 3-0 with BG Gold deck from Reading Rainbow

13:33 2-1 with Four Color deck from the Khan’s Extended Cube

22:14 2-1 with Five Color Jeskai deck from the Bun Magic Cube

29:11 2-1 with RB Artifact Recursion from the 15oz Micro Brew

40:32 3-0, 6-0 with Sultai Faeries in May’s Fae Cube

49:48 BYE 0-2 with BUG Zombies in Dragons of Winter’s Night

55:27 Top 64 — 3-0 with Reanimator in the Data Generated Vintage Cube

1:04:13 Top 8 — 3-0 with Mostly White Aggro in the MTGO Vintage Cube

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. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. 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.

Refreshingly Dangerous Confusion with Dom Harvey Oct 30, 2023

Show notes

Dom Harvey joins Andy and Anthony for a recap of the second annual CubeCon. They discuss their experience at the con, the variety of cube they played, and get Dom’s take on how to be successful when approaching new, and sometimes strange, environments.

⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠

Discussed in this episode:

Cubes Mentioned

Timestamps:

0:00 - Introduction

3:33 - CubeCon Results Recap

7:19 - What are the skills of a successful Cube player? What allowed Dom specifically to find success at CubeCon?

23:07 - On strong players and their draft preferences

27:50 - Dom’s Thoughts on his Two Drafts of the Bun Magic Cube

38:08 - How did Dom evaluate cubes before playing them?

48:26 - How did Dom ‘break’ the Changeling Cube?

1:01:15 - Dom’s Favorite Cubes from the Weekend

1:17:34 - Closing thoughts

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. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. 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.

Cube Accessibility: Making Magic Approachable and Welcoming Oct 23, 2023

Show notes

Andy and Anthony talk about accessibility in Cube design: why it’s important, especially to the many of us who are trying to expand our local Cube playgroups, and key things to consider. They talk about the practical, surface level issues of cards that can be difficult to understand, as well as ways to design a Cube to make drafting it for the first time feel easier.

⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠

Our listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 this week comes from Finn’s F360, a classic style Legacy Cube of iconic cards, full of artist signatures.

Discussed in this episode:

Project Booster Fun
Curb Cut
Neoclassical Cube
MTG cares more about collectability than accessibility - and it’s making the TCG worse on Dicebreaker
Framing A Magic Accessibility Issue on Card Kingdom
Episode 143 with Sam Black

Timestamps

0:00 - Intro

2:24 - Introduction to topic

4:21 - The reasons to make your cube accessible

10:17 - What makes a Cube accessible?

25:14 - How accessibility has affected card choices in Anthony and Andy’s Cubes

30:39 - Accessibility from a more nuanced, cube design perspective

38:28 - Listener Submitted pack 1, pick 1

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. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. 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 Road to CubeCon 2023 Oct 19, 2023

Show notes

We’re on our way to the second annual CubeCon!

If you’re not able to attend, make sure to tune into the live stream, which Andy, Justin, and the rest of the coverage team have been working really hard on.

If you’re attending CubeCon, we can’t wait to meet you or see you again. Please introduce yourselves and remind us of your online handle, if relevant, as we are old and have awful memory. We are sorry.

Shout out to the Uber Cube Podcast for all of their thorough primer episodes for Cubes leading up to the con.

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