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:

Building the Lords of Limited Cube Nov 10, 2025

Show notes

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Andy and Anthony are joined by Ethan and Ben of the Lords of Limited podcast to talk about their new found enthusiasm for Cube and their new Lords of Limited Cube. Inspired to make a cube emblematic of their podcast and limited experience, their cube pulls from all the sets they’ve discussed on the podcast, starting with Hour of Devastation. They talk with Andy and Anthony about refining the list to something ready for playtesting. They talk about proportions of different effects, rough skeletons for color and type breakdowns, and what their goals for this new cube are.

Discussed in this episode:

If you’d like to show your support for the show, please consider backing Lucky Paper on Patreon or leaving us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.

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

You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:

You can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:

Lucky Paper
PO Box 4855
Baltimore, MD 21211

Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Timestamps

0:00 - Intro
0:57 - Episode Start
5:21 - Lords of Limited Cube
6:30 - Cube Design by Committee
12:48 - 17 Lands
15:34 - Supporting Pet Cards and Addressing Power Band
25:16 - Ben and Ethan’s Conflicting Goals
39:11 - Setting Expectations
48:24 - Cube Breakdown and ASFANs
56:15 - The Rule of 7
1:01:53 - Cube Manabase
1:09:53 - Do the decks get soupy when you have 120 lands?
1:17:51 - Overall Cube List Feedback
1:28:47 - Naming the Lords of Limited Cube

Cube Con 2025 Tournament Report with Wildflower Nov 06, 2025

Show notes

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For this special bonus episode, Andy talks with Wildflower, one of the members of the Cube Fellowship, about her experience at Cube Con 2025. If you’d like to support the Lucky Paper Cube Fellowship you can purchase a supporter pin. All of the profits from those pin sales are given directly to Cube Fellows.

Discussed in this episode:

If you’d like to show your support for the show, please consider backing Lucky Paper on Patreon or leaving us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.

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

You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:

You can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:

Lucky Paper
PO Box 4855
Baltimore, MD 21211

Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Timestamps

0:00 - Intro
0:55 - Interview Start
3:45 - 15 Card Highlander
7:34 - The Ball Pit
12:32 - Tabletop Cube
14:50 - 100 Ways to Draft
18:44 - A Study in Harmony
23:16 - Oathbreaker Cube
26:51 - Wrap Up/Wildflower’s Cube

CubeCon 2025 Recap Nov 03, 2025

Show notes

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Andy and Anthony recap Andy’s experience at the fourth annual CubeCon. They talk about how the event went overall, their thoughts on changes to the event structure — in particular separating open play and main event tickets — and Andy’s drafts throughout the weekend.

Discussed in this episode:

CubeCon
Sacred Geometry
Red Terror
Boudican Destruction Horizon cube by DarthPinkHippo
World Champ Cube
Lords of Limited × Lucky Paper Episode
Museum of Modern cube by Judge Bones
Pringlesman’s Cube
Episode 275: In the Kitchen Making Stone Soup of Lucky Paper Radio

If you’d like to show your support for the show, please consider backing Lucky Paper on Patreon or leaving us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.

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

You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:

You can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:

Lucky Paper
PO Box 4855
Baltimore, MD 21211

Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Timestamps

0:00 - Intro
1:25 - Presents from Listeners
2:57 - CubeCon Recap
4:21 - CubeCon Open Play Area vs Main Event
11:30 - Draft 1 of Joe’s World Champs Cube
23:06 - Draft 2 of Pringlesman's Cube
29:58 - Draft 3 - Stone Soup
46:36 - Draft 4 of Red Terror
46:57 - Too Many Cubes
52:34 - Draft 5 of Sacred Geometry
56:02 - Wrap Up

In the Kitchen Making Stone Soup Oct 27, 2025

Show notes

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In preparation for this year’s CubeCon, Andy and Anthony dive through some of Andy’s collection to put together a Stone Soup card pool for Andy to bring to the event. In this format, each player brings 45 cards of their choice. All the cards are combined and shuffled up and drafted like a collaboratively built cube. They talk about considerations for the kinds of cards to include while exploring stacks of cards, and ultimately picking out the 45 to bring.

Discussed in this episode:

Episode 265: Stone Soup, A Magical Community Stew with D.S.B.
Cube Will Outlive Magic, Second Run Playmat Preorders on Stitcher’s Supply
The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman

If you’d like to show your support for the show, please consider backing Lucky Paper on Patreon or leaving us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.

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

You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:

You can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:

Lucky Paper
PO Box 4855
Baltimore, MD 21211

Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Timestamps

0:00 - Intro
3:00 - What is a stone soup draft
10:55 - Choosing lands for the soup
16:09 - Removal for the soup
25:54 - 10 cool cards
38:14 - Anthony critiques the soup
45:58 - Full soup contribution recap
50:36 - Addressing color imbalance in the soup
54:41 - Second run of "Cube Will Outlive Magic" playmat preorders

Cube Design Iron Chef: Genesis Wave Oct 20, 2025

Show notes

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Andy and Anthony brainstorm a brand new cube starting from a single card: Genesis Wave. Like the two previous episodes, featuring Goblin Charbelcher and Trade Routes, they expand from a single card considering what kind of environment it would make sense in. They take a few further steps considering more layers of cards that fit together in different ways. They end up with a rough sketch for a cube idea, including some general themes and a few open questions still to answer to turn their initial brainstorm into a playable list.

Discussed in this episode:

If you’d like to show your support for the show, please consider backing Lucky Paper on Patreon or leaving us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.

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

You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:

You can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:

Lucky Paper
PO Box 4855
Baltimore, MD 21211

Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Timestamps

0:00 - Intro
3:30 - Building a Cube Starting from Genesis Wave
7:55 - Why Andy Doesn't Like Genesis Wave
16:34 - Level 1 Cards
23:52 - Permanent Based Interaction
26:54 - Landfall
30:42 - ETB Payoffs
34:28 - Level 2 Cards
42:01 - Vendilion Clique Corner
51:57 - Open Questions Remaining
57:46 - Approaching the Manabase
1:01:54 - Conclusion

Our Favorite Cards Ever Oct 13, 2025

Show notes

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Andy and Anthony talk about each of their top 5 favorite cards from the history of the game. They talk about where they first encountered them whether it was an exciting level up moment in a draft or as a key card that inspired a deck.

Discussed in this episode:

If you’d like to show your support for the show, please consider backing Lucky Paper on Patreon or leaving us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.

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

You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:

You can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:

Lucky Paper
PO Box 4855
Baltimore, MD 21211

Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Timestamps

0:00 - Intro
2:24 - Episode Start
6:02 - Anthony Favorite Cards #1 Whitemane Lion
12:43 - #2 Noosegraf Mob
17:29 - #3 Genesis Wave
21:45 - #4 Archfiend of Ifnir
26:32 - #5 Sphinx's Tutelage
34:40 - Andy Favorite Cards History
36:55 - #1 Masticore
42:10 - #2 Managorger Hydra
48:49 - #3 Skeleton Ship
53:55 - #4 Portent
59:26 - #5 Ornithopter

State of the Game 2025 Oct 06, 2025

Show notes

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Andy and Anthony talk about the last year in Magic and, in broad strokes, where they think the game stands from a design and product perspective. They start with Mark Rosewater’s own annual retrospective and talk about wether or not they agree on his take on the past year’s sets.

Discussed in this episode:

If you’d like to show your support for the show, please consider backing Lucky Paper on Patreon or leaving us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.

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

You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:

You can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:

Lucky Paper
PO Box 4855
Baltimore, MD 21211

Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Timestamps

0:00 - Intro
05:48 - State of Design 2025
28:05 - The end of "hat" sets?
46:48 - Meditations on Fandom Culture
50:01 - State of Design Lighting Round

Capitol Cube Championship 2025 Tournament Report Sep 29, 2025

Show notes

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Andy and Anthony, along with Zach, Gabor, and Scott, recap their drafts from the most recent Capitol Cube Championship. The five of them, at sixty other players, spent a whole Saturday in DC Cube drafting. They talk about the cubes and decks they each drafted and highlights from the event.

Discussed in this episode:

If you’d like to show your support for the show, please consider backing Lucky Paper on Patreon or leaving us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.

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

You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:

You can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:

Lucky Paper
PO Box 4855
Baltimore, MD 21211

Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Timestamps

0:00 - Intro
00:54 - Capitol Cube Champs
03:30 - Compost Cube
07:34 - Depleted Lands
25:20 - Penrose Cube
37:58 - Tresserhorn Gardens
55:58 - Alatta
01:02:26 - Time Spiral Altered
01:10:56 - 100 Ornithopters
01:23:31 - Anthony's Top Eight Draft

Pick 2 Draft and Formats for Small Groups Sep 22, 2025

Show notes

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Andy and Anthony talk about the the new draft format Wizard’s intends for playing their latest release: Marvel’s Spider-Man. Designing the set approachable for small play groups, they propose a four player draft where each player takes two cards at a time from sealed booster packs. Our hosts talk about the design of the format, and the constraints in packaging and communication that informed it. They talk about the ways they prefer to draft with small groups and the options available to them as Cube organizers that they can take advantage of to have fun with any number of players.

Discussed in this episode:

If you’d like to show your support for the show, please consider backing Lucky Paper on Patreon or leaving us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.

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

You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:

You can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:

Lucky Paper
PO Box 4855
Baltimore, MD 21211

Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Timestamps

0:00 - Intro
2:34 - Main Topic: Pick 2 Draft
8:04 - Potential Downsides of Pick 2 Draft
20:49 - Other Implications of Double Picks
27:29 - Fan Made Small Pod Draft Formats
30:19 - Drafting with Smaller Pack Sizes
33:44 - Housman Draft
40:32 - Grid Draft
43:46 - Ryan Spain’s 2-Deck Draft
45:52 - Wimbledon Draft
51:35 - Final Thoughts on Pick 2 Draft
57:09 - 2 Card Combos in Drafts for Small Groups

Open Drafting the Turbo Cube: Co-op Edition Sep 15, 2025

Show notes

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Andy and Anthony co-draft Anthony’s Turbo Cube, talking through each of their picks as they navigate putting a deck together in this novel environment. In the Turbo Cube, all spells and activated abilities cost 2 mana less. While they draft, they discuss how the rules change effects each pick and their overall strategy.

Because of the unique environment, our hosts collaborativly draft with eight real players rather than separately drafting the same simulated seat as they have in previous draft along episodes.

Follow along with their draft on the cards mentioned page to see the full set of cards in each pack.

Discussed in this episode:

Turbo Cube
Next “Book Club” Read: The Design of Everyday Things, by Donald Norman
Recross the Paths, Episode with Andy Discussing the Cube Fellowship
Cube Fellowship

Previous open drafting episodes:

If you’d like to show your support for the show, please consider backing Lucky Paper on Patreon or leaving us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.

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

You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:

You can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:

Lucky Paper
PO Box 4855
Baltimore, MD 21211

Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Timestamps