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Lucky Paper Radio

Andy Mangold and Anthony Mattox
Lucky Paper Radio
Latest episode

318 episodes

  • Lucky Paper Radio

    Hate Cards in Cube

    08/06/2026 | 1h 6 mins.
    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 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:
    Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube
    Anthony’s “Regular” Cube
    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
    Musical production by DJ James Nasty.
    Timestamps
    0:00 - Intro
    0:45 - Main Topic: Hate Cards
    9:15 - Examples of Hate Cards
    13:05 - Hate Cards We Cube
    16:09 - Talking About Constructed
    17:14 - Aura Shards
    22:09 - Bun Magic Hate Cards
    23:53 - Teferi, Time Raveler
    28:38 - Changing the Math vs Hate
    31:11 - Take Five
    34:11 - Hate Combos
    36:30 - Neoclassical Cube
    38:48 - White in Neoclassical
    42:00 - Groundseal
    44:37 - Humility
    48:47 - Turbo Cube
    55:39 - Context Shift Hate
    59:57 - Mailbag
    1:02:15 - Garfield
  • Lucky Paper Radio

    Steal Our Cube Ideas

    01/06/2026 | 53 mins.
    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 Condition Cube
    Anthony’s Single Stack Battle Box
    Creatureless Cube
    Degenerate Microcube
    Loam Cube
    Companion Cube
    Arcane Lessons
    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:
    Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube
    Anthony’s “Regular” Cube
    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
    Musical production by DJ James Nasty.
    Timestamps
    0:00 - Intro
    1:19 - Main Topic: Steal Our Ideas
    1:57 - Sunbleached Cube
    6:59 - Alternate Win Cons Cube
    13:06 - No Life Total Cube
    24:33 - Where Do Ideas Come From
    27:33 - Omniscience Battlebox
    37:24 - Three Wishes Cube
    49:02 - Custom Ante Cards
  • Lucky Paper Radio

    The Scorpion and The Cube with Ollie Beeks

    25/05/2026 | 1h 3 mins.
    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 Pit
    Episode 206 — The Joy of Gaming with Richard Garfield
    100 Ornithopters
    Marina Abramovic - The Artist is Present (2010)
    Boston Cube Party
    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:
    Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube
    Anthony’s “Regular” Cube
    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
    Musical production by DJ James Nasty.
    Timestamps
    0:00 - Intro
    3:41 - Secret Project: Obscura
    9:13 - Playtesting
    16:46 - The Case Against Playtesting
    21:03 - Non-Playtest Data
    23:09 - The Process
    29:45 - Playing Vs Playtesting
    35:17 - Cube First Impressions
    43:33 - Expectations
    47:28 - Designing for an Experience
    52:10 - Marina Abramovic and Artistic Intent
    58:26 - Logistics
  • Lucky Paper Radio

    Salt Box Recap with Judge Bones

    18/05/2026 | 1h 10 mins.
    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
    Bones on Cube Cobra
    Changeling Cube
    Sacred Geometry
    Regular Cubehttps://cubecobra.com/cube/about/regular?view=primer
    Kulashov Cube
    The Wetlands
    The Red Terror
    Magic History with Bones and Deinonychus
    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:
    Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube
    Anthony’s “Regular” Cube
    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
    Musical production by DJ James Nasty.
    Timestamps
    0:00 - Intro
    0:00 - Special Guest Judge Bones
    5:11 - Arcane Lessons
    11:31 - Debuting Arcane Lessons
    15:38 - Lesson/Learn
    17:19 - Arcane
    19:35 - Iteration
    21:12 - Lessons Learned
    29:09 - Take Five Debut
    42:45 - Designing Cubes for Events
    47:35 - Take Five Feedback
    51:48 - Anthony’s Salt Box Highlights
    60:08 - Fun Judge Calls with Judge Bones
  • Lucky Paper Radio

    The Barash Files 006 — Cube Design Lenses

    11/05/2026 | 1h 13 mins.
    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 and Cube Feedback
    Discussed in this episode:
    Upkeep NY
    Episode 197: Cube Design Iron Chef: Goblin Charbelcher
    Episode 182: Emergent Cube Design by Example
    Cubes referenced:
    Bun Magic Cube
    Cascade Cube
    Turbo Cube
    Reading Rainbow
    Sacred Geometry
    The Ball Pit
    Companion Cube
    Perilous Seas
    Dichotomy Cube
    UMA+ Cube
    Take Five
    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:
    Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube
    Anthony’s “Regular” Cube
    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
    Musical production by DJ James Nasty.
    Timestamps
    0:00 - Intro
    1:27 - Guest: Zach Barash
    4:59 - Lenses for Approaching Cube Design
    14:12 - Making a “Good Cube”
    15:05 - Duplication
    19:28 - Balance
    24:13 - Homage
    25:18 - Powermaxing Diversion
    33:39 - Novelty
    37:14 - Balancing Goals vs Taste
    42:01 - Icebergs
    46:11 - Restrictions
    51:33 - Head vs Heart
    53:43 - Summary
    58:01 - Crack-a-Pack of Take Five
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About 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.
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