Lucky Paper Radio

View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy and Anthony talk about changes to the design of Magic cards over the years: including some overt changes like “snap on equipment” and more subtle differences in how attack triggers are worded they feel would have been done differently in the past. They talk about how each changes the texture and focus of games and how they think about them as Cube designers, whether they add more options or are a reason to pick cards from particular eras of the game. Discussed in this episode: Cooking Issues The Oldest School Cube Richard Garfield’s Post on Reddit Lucky Paper Radio 213: French Vanilla Face-Off Upcoming Cube Events Cube for a Cause AW25 Playing Oppression PDF The Best Method for Shuffling Cubes Detailed Analysis and Comparison of Cube Shuffling Methods 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 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. Timestamps 0:00 - Intro 0:31 - Tofu Corner 3:18 - Introduction to changing patterns in Magic R&D 5:15 - Changing pattern: more enter the battlefield abilities on creatures 21:04 - Changing pattern: the proliferation of trinket artifacts like clues, blood tokens, map tokens, etc. 30:28 - Changing pattern: eliminating edge-case targets 38:58 - Changing pattern: ’snap-on’ equipment that attaches on entering 46:09 - Changing pattern: ‘whenever ~ attacks’ triggers vs. ‘whenever you attack’ triggers 59:08 - Closing thoughts and calls to action

View all cards mentioned in this episode In the second installment of “The Barash Files”, Andy, Anthony, and Zach talk about Cube terminology. They talk about how the language we use effects that kinds of conversations we have which in turn effect the kinds of communities we build. New terminology can enable talking more efficiently about concepts that get condensed into a term, but also make it harder to communicate the nuance and variety in those concepts, potentially making communities harder to enter. Zach shares his thoughts on different parts of cube design, including ideation before anyone touches a card, material choices, what happens during the draft, and in game rules. His hope is to offer new terminology to push the boundaries of what cube designers consider when building a cube. Discussed in this episode: Parker’s History of Cube Article The Dunning Kruger Curve The Cascade Cube Eiganjo Drift Ryan Saxe’s Autobattler Cube The Devoid Cube Curio Cube Degenerate Micro Cube The Bauble Cube Reading Rainbow Companion Cube Tupelo Honey UMA Plus Cube 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 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. Timestamps 0:00 - Intro 2:04 - Zach’s Preamble 6:14 - What is a “Cube”? 20:09 - Where did the normative ideas of power-maxing and constructed ban list naming conventions come from? 29:50 - The need for new terminology for different kinds of cube design 38:36 - On strange, non-descriptive deck names and accessibility vs gatekeeping 45:15 - Zach’s Five Areas of Cube Design 58:11 - The costs of making design choices in unexpected areas of Cube design 1:10:07 - On calling small Cubes “Twoberts” 1:14:52 - On referring to Cubes as “Baltimore Singleton”

View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy and Anthony close out 2024 reflecting on their year in Magic. This year Magic’s new direction as a product driven primarily by marketing goals fueled with cheap gimmicks and cross branding feels solidified. Our hosts talk, kind of briefly, on how their relationships to the game have changed because of that. More importantly, they talk about their personal highs and lows with the game this year. Regardless of the direction Magic as a product is moving, the Cube community has surged in so many ways. Small, grassroots events have become a norm. The local Baltimore Cube community is hitting a stride. The interstate Cube culture is emerging and flourishing. They also talk about some of their struggles in taking on more ambitions projects and how the podcast has effected their relationship to the online community. Discussed in this episode: Glengarry Glen Ross Episode 218: State of the Game 2024 The Adventure Zone Hello from the Magic Tavern My Brother, My Brother, and Me Til Death do us Blart 100 Ornithopters Episode 206: The Joy of Gaming with Richard Garfield Potsdam Gravity Potato 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 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. Timestamps 0:00 - Intro 8:48 - Recap of last year’s recap 10:51 - How our relationship with Magic changed in 2024 13:34 - The perishability of joy, novelty, and discovery: why Andy and Anthony no longer listen to most McElroy brothers podcasts 23:34 - On decreased participation in set surveys 25:07 - Shared High: Small, Grassroots Cube Events 32:18 - Andy’s High: The Design of and Reception to 100 Ornithopters 37:35 - Anthony’s High: The Variety of Depth of What is Accepted as a Cube 42:28 - Anthony’s High: The State of Our Local Cube Playgroup 44:17 - Andy’s High: Having Richard Garfield on Lucky Paper Radio 48:36 - Anthony’s High: He’s Good at Magic Now 53:18 - Anthony’s High: Connecting with Magic Friends about Things Other than Magic 55:45 - Andy’s High: The Reception to Our First Playmat 57:04 - Andy’s Low: The Playmat International Shipping Fiasco 1:09:43 - Andy’s Low: His Sensitivity to Discussion on the Podcast

View all cards mentioned in this episode Zach Barash joins Andy and Anthony for the first episode in a series where he shares his game design expertise. In this first episode, the three talk about the first principles of game design, including the iteration loop most game designers follow (and similar processes in other fields!). Starting with ideation, then forming a hypothesis, finally prototyping and playtesting, designers feed the results they learn back into the beginning of the process. They talk about how cube designers can learn from the process, adopting the role and mindset of a game designer. Zach works at Wizards of the Coast on the Arena team, designing many of the events available — his opinions on the show are his own. We’re excited to have him join us for four more episodes in the near future. Discussed in this episode: The Power Broker Kingdom Death Drawing Live: Zach’s Column for Hipsters of the Coast Spaced Penguin Playthrough on YouTube The Cascade Cube The Turbo Cube Reading Rainbow Cube Andrew Elebogen Tween about Extrapolating from Too Small Sample Sizes The Beginning of Infinity The Modern Darlings Cube The Museum of Modern Cube Linguistic Relativity Playing Oppression Andy, Anthony, Parker, and Zach on BlueSky 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 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. Timestamps 0:00 - Intro 10:02 - Game Design with Training Wheels 12:43 - Anthony’s History with Game Design 19:21 - The Basic Principles of Game Design: The Iteration Loop 33:56 - Balance is Overrated 47:32 - How does one go about uncovering truths about their cube? 59:11 - What does a cube designer mean when they say they want ‘balance’?