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:

Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Mechanics & First Impressions Feb 07, 2022

Show notes

Our Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty survey is open! Please take a few minutes to let us know what you’re testing in your cube from the new set.

The first of our three part set review for Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty is here! Andy and Anthony are putting their designer hats on and talking about their first impressions of the triumphant return to Kamigawa. Neon Dynasty brings a handful of flexible mechanics along with a slew of new artifact and enchantment focused themes. Which mechanics are open-ended enough to see broad play? Which kinds of cubes will benefit most from the new themes and archetypes? What would Andy and Anthony change if they could go back in time and remake Magic from the beginning? Find out within!

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 you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at mail@luckypaper.co. Please include how you’d like to be credited, your pronouns, a link to your cube if relevant. 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.

Bottling an Iconic Mirror Match: the Jeskai Control Battle Box Jan 31, 2022

Show notes

Andy and Anthony linger on the topic of Battle Box for a second week in a row, discussing a novel design: Andy’s Jeskai Control Battle Box, modeled after what some have called Magic’s most interesting mirror match. They start things off by drawing and comparing opening hands from the list and then go deep on the benefits of designing an environment for a more narrow range of play and what can be learned from playing it.

Follow along with the visual spoiler of all cards mentioned in the episode.

Discussed in this episode:

Timestamps:

1:59 — Brags and Bad Beats: Parker’s Roto Draft Edition
8:26 — A brief review of Battle Box
11:36 — Opening hand evaluations
12:47 — Introduction to the Jeskai Control Battle Box
16:24 — Structure and design considerations
21:40 — Temples in the land package
27:15 — Expectations - Do players really just love blue that much?
31:08 — Lessons on removal from Jumpstart
35:38 — Gameplay lessons from the Jeskai Control Battle Box
43:46 — Single card discussion: Jeskai Battle Box Edition

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

You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:

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.

Just Slap It Down and Start Playing Jan 24, 2022

Show notes

Andy and Anthony discuss Anthony’s updated Battle Box which started as an update and turned into a complete refresh. They talk about how Anthony’s goals have changed and clarified and how that translates to logistical and card choices. They breakdown the gameplay experience, comparing it to their goals and the experience of the previous iteration.

To start things off, they each draw a hand from the box and evaluate its strengths and weaknesses. Follow along with the cards mentioned page, a visual spoiler of all the cards mentioned throughout the podcast, in chronological order.

Timestamps:

3:22 — Intro to Battle Box
4:39 — Pack 1, Pick 1 stand-in: rating battle box opening hands
13:07 — Battle Box format refresher
15:50 — Anthony's goals for a new Battle Box
22:45 — Playtesting notes
29:38 — Planned changes
38:44 — Andy and Anthony go to the mat over conditional, instant speed interaction (again)
47:34 — Specific stand-out cards

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 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 We Talk About When We Talk About Magic Jan 17, 2022

Show notes

Andy and Anthony talk about the language we use to talk about Magic. Language is fundamental to social experiences, our favorite game included. Creating new language helps us communicate more effectively and helps us think about and compartmentalize concepts, shaping how we thing about things. But jargon has its drawbacks.

View cards mentioned in the episode

Our listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 this week comes from Mozart’s Cube.

Timestamps:

4:02 — Introduction to language and Magic
4:59 — Pack 1, Pick 1 from Mozart's Cube
9:04 — Why do we use specific shorthand and jargon in the first place?
12:52 — Linguistic relativity: naming things shapes communication and how we think about concepts
15:43 — How specific language can hinder communication
22:16 — Why the most rigorous, theoretical terminology can sometimes be the least useful
24:25 — Why context is critical to all language
25:56 — The dangers of oversimplification
26:55 — Grizzly Bears, Goblin Pikers, and Hill Giants
33:38 — Thinking in terms of card classifications
36:56 — Jargon makes Magic less accessible
38:35 — Magic lingo speed round

Discussed in this episode:

Venn diagrams and Euler Diagrams
Venn diagrams for high number of sets
Radiolab on linguistic relativity
Language Thought and Reality
List of sandwiches
Gravity wells
Patrick Chapin’s Next Level Deckbuilding
Grizzle Bears alignment chart
Andy’s “two mana renaissance” Cube update
Neal Stephenson’s Cryptonomicon
Enigma Machine

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

You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:

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.

Open Drafting the Bun Magic Cube Jan 10, 2022

Show notes

Andy and Anthony each draft the same seat in Andy’s Bun Magic Cube and compare how they navigate the draft seat by seat. Draft the same seat yourself here on Cube Cobra and compare your own choices! Andy and Anthony’s draft logs are available on the cards mentioned page. Decklists are available on our website.

Tune in Tuesday, the day after this episode airs, to The Guardian Project’s stream to see Andy battle his goblin commander deck against The Guardian Project’s hosts and Jason Alt!

Timestamps:

4:08 — Introduction: How we drafted
7:07 — Pack 1 from Andy’s perspective
12:05 — Pack 1 from Anthony’s perspective
33:20 — Pack 2 from Anthony’s perspective
35:57 — Pack 2 from Andy’s perspective
45:47 — Pack 3 from Andy’s perspective
48:46 — Pack 3 from Anthony’s perspective
52:22 — Deck Review

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 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.

Power Cuts Both Ways Jan 03, 2022

Show notes

See the full timestamps on our website or follow along with a visual spoiler of all the cards mentioned in this episode.

In an attempt to record a canonical episode about the concept of power level and how it applies to cube, our heroes are chatting about the advantages and disadvantages playing with the most powerful cards and effects. How is power level actually defined? How is it related to the speed and removal density of a format? What deck from Anthony’s Irregular Cube could possibly beat a deck from Andy’s Degenerate Micro Cube? Answers to all these questions and more within.

Discussed in this episode:

The Degenerate Micro Cube
Frank Karsten’s No limit Modern
The Irregular Cube
Source for average length of modern games, I cannot find source for Legacy
The HP/Damaged Gonti Deck
Card Kingdom Starter Cube (not an endorsement)
The Turbo Cube
“How would you rather lose?” Poll on the Lucky Paper Twitter Account
Linguistic Relativity
Epistemology

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

You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:

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.

Looking Backwards; Moving Forwards Dec 27, 2021

Show notes

In this 2021 retrospective episode, Andy and Anthony look back on the year and discuss the highs and lows for Cube and how their relationship with Magic continues to evolve. They follow the format of Lucky Paper’s 2021 Cube in Review article, giving their own answers to the questions posed to prominent community members therein, and end up going deep on how changes to competitive Magic and the content and community surrounding it has sharpened their commitment to Cube and other sandbox formats.

Timestamps:

7:33 — Anthony’s Cube Hit of the Year: Diversity and Community Cubes on MTGO
8:58 — Andy’s Cube Hit of the Year: the Creature Lands from Adventures in the Forgotten Realms
12:13 — Andy’s Cube Miss of the Year: Double-faced Cards
15:44 — Anthony’s Cube Miss of the Year: Linear and Synergistic Flagship Mechanics
21:39 — Andy’s Cube Cards of the Year: Murktide Regent and Captured by Lagacs
27:27 — Anthony’s Cube Cards of the Year: the MH2 Artifact Dual Lands
33:14 — Andy and Anthony’s Cube Set of the Year: Modern Horizons 2
36:46 — Andy’s Honorable Mention Cube Set of the Year: Strixhaven
41:44 — Anthony’s Little Shout Out to Adventures in the Forgotten Realms
42:25 — Andy’s Cube Level Up: Disentangling Desirable Play Patterns from Raw Power Level when Considering Cards for Cube Inclusion
46:11 — Anthony’s Cube Level Up: Reassessing His Relationship With And What He Values About the Game

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 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.

Inaugural Draft of the Irregular Cube Dec 20, 2021

Show notes

Andy and Anthony talk about recent drafts of the Irregular Cube, Anthony’s newest Cube which features ‘rare’ cards, and Andy’s Bun Magic Cube. They review their own drafts, what was working, what was problematic, and how the rare cards influenced the experience. They hypothesize reasons why the draft was not universally enjoyed and how the environment might be changed to improve the experience and better set expectations.

They start things off with a pack 1, pick 1 from the Irregular Cube.

Follow along with all the mentioned cards.

Discussed in this episode:

Timestamps:

3:35 — Introduction to the Irregular Cube
5:39 — Pack 1, Pick 1
10:39 — Draft recap: Andy’s deck and setting expectations with the group
21:02 — Is Sprout Swarm fun? Is it too good?
27:19 — Draft recap: Anthony’s deck and the relativity of powerful cards
34:50 — The benefits of variance
39:08 — The pleasantly surprising underperformance of 5 color goodstuff
41:58 — The role of combos and draft diversity in the Irregular Cube
46:55 — How Magic history limits new card design
49:55 — Bun Magic Cube: Brags and Bad Beats
1:01:41 — Recipe corner

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

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.

Un-Cards for Cube Dec 13, 2021

Show notes

Andy and Anthony talk about all things un-. They discuss the history of silver-bordered and other non-tournament Magic cards, how they’re designed, and the categories they fall into so you can choose if and how to play them in your Cube.

Our listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 this week comes from Myagic’s Storytime Cube featuring fairytale themes and a sprinking of un-cards.

Discussed in this episode:

Timestamps:

1:59 — Listener submitted pack , pick 1
7:13 — Why un-cards are interesting
9:47 — The history of un-cards
12:50 — Un-adjacent cards
14:06 — Should you put un-cards in your cube?
17:38 — The different categories of un-cards
18:17 — Cards that care about some aspect of a card that black border can’t
26:39 — Physical challenge cards
28:31 — Cards that care about something outside the game
32:30 — Outside assistance cards
36:03 — Unclassified cards that just don’t work in black border
53:56 — Cards with weird flavor
58:05 — Cards with extreme variance
1:00:27 — Draft matters cards
1:07:18 — Conspiracies
1:09:26 — The most Uncube Unmaginable

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

You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:

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.

All About Brainstorm Dec 06, 2021

Show notes

Andy and Anthony spend a whole episode talking just about the iconic cantrip Brainstorm. They talk about how and why it works, how it behaves in different contexts and different cubes, how unique it is, and the many relevant interactions with other cards.

Brainstorm can be a controversial topic among Cube players and designers. Some claim it’s over-rated as a carryover from formats it single handedly shapes. Andy argues a high power level rating is justified, and our hosts go deep on the many interesting play patterns that make it appealing for cube designers.

Follow along with mentioned cards.

For interactive, clickable timestamps listen to this episode on our website.

Discussed in this episode: