Andy and Anthony are joined by Chris and Tim from the Jank Diver Gaming Community to talk about how to play your own, custom-designed cube on Arena. In an exciting, two-part episode, the boys first walk through the process of playing Cube through Arena, then participate in one of Jank Diver Gaming’s weekly drafts and discuss their experience. Will Andy, who has effectively never played Arena before, punt away all his games by not knowing how to use the interface? Will Anthony hate-draft from our...
Apr 10, 2023•1 hr•Ep. 144
Andy and Anthony are joined by Sam Black, contender for person who has played the most paper Magic ever. They discuss the concept of “big” and “small” games of Magic Sam presented in his article Elvish Visionary VS Elderfang Disciple: The Nature Of Card Advantage . They cover the nuanced nature of card advantage, how all forms are not equal, and how different strategies aim to push games toward being big or small to maximize their cards. View all cards mentioned in the episode → Discussed in t...
Apr 03, 2023•55 min•Ep. 143
Parker joins Andy and Anthony, in studio, to talk about about his latest cube project: Pulp Nouveau . In this dark, gritty, flavor-forward environment the only freely available basic lands are swamps. In order to play other colors, players need to draft from the limited number of basic and dual lands in the draft. They the creative process of cube design and how disparate interests can suddenly coalesce. In this case, Parker’s interest in the dark aesthetic of Streets of New Capenna , among othe...
Mar 27, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 142
Andy and Anthony and special guest May talk about introducing your cube! The overview you write (or present) to your players is the first thing players often lean about your cube, so providing useful concise context is critical. They talk about the different audiences you may want to consider when writing about your cube, including players who want to get ready to draft and other designers looking to give feedback on the list. They end the show with a pack 1, pick 1 from May’s very own Fae Cube ...
Mar 20, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 141
Andy and Anthony are joined by Ryan Saxe for a deep conversation on Cube design. They talk about the design of “low power” Cubes, lessons we can take from limited sets and apply to Cubes, and the important impacts of power level disparities on gameplay. View all cards mentioned in the episode → Discussed in this episode: The Iron Giant Limited Resources R House in Baltimore Who’s on First? The Degenerate Micro Cube Ryan’s Buildaround Cube Internet’s Pauper Cube Using the Other Half of Your Cube ...
Mar 13, 2023•1 hr 32 min•Ep. 140
Andy and Anthony are joined by Justin Parnell to talk about their recent rotisserie draft. 10 players drafted Anthony’s Regular Cube in the weeks leading up to Magic Con Philadelphia. Over the course of the weekend players competed in a nail-biting round robin style tournament. The boys talk about their decks, their strategies going into the draft, and how rotisserie drafting compares to typical booster drafting. Over the weekend our hosts along with Justin , Parker , and Gwen Dekker hed a panel...
Mar 06, 2023•1 hr 53 min
Andy, Anthony, and Parker review the results of the ONE and ONC community set reviews . They talk about the top cards the community is most excited about, discuss why they think the cards rose to the top, and share their own takes on them. They also talk about some of the broader patterns and comments in the review responses. Check out the full results for the Phyrexia: All Will Be One and partner Commander Decks . View all cards mentioned in the episode → If you missed your chance to participat...
Feb 27, 2023•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 138
Andy and Anthony talk about the state of their Cubes — recent changes they’ve made, how they feel they’ve changed, and how they expect them to change in the future. View all cards mentioned in the episode → Our listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 this week comes from Jared’s Cube Byrd Box . Thank’s Jared! Discussed in this episode: Episode 128: Live Cube Update: Making Removal Better in the Bun Magic Cube Lucky Paper on Twitch Lucky Paper on YouTube The Commander Map The “List Formatter” - Swiss A...
Feb 20, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 137
Andy and Anthony talk about the cards they’re interested in giving a try in each of their own Cube environments. They talk about how they looked at the new set for the different contexts of their Cubes. Anthony cheats and also talks through some cards he’s interested in for a new Cube inspired by themes and mechanics in recent sets that haven’t fit well into his existing environments. View all cards mentioned in the episode → Cubes Discussed: Anthony’s “Regular” Cube Anthony’s Turbo Cube Andy’s ...
Feb 13, 2023•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 136
Andy and Anthony talk about their first impressions of Phyrexia: All Will Be One, which is full of new takes on classic mechanics from Mirrodin block. They talk through all the mechanics and themes of the set and their applications in Cubes. The set features a few relatively insular mechanics: Toxic and Corrupted, which make sense in an environment where they’re concentrated to a critical mass. While these are likely to be passed on by many cube designers, a change in Wizard’s design philosophy ...
Feb 06, 2023•51 min•Ep. 135
Andy and Anthony talk about Andy’s latest cube creation, The Neoclassical Cube ! The cube is intended to capture the spirit of old-school Magic, including iconic cards and themes, bolstered by a few new cards that feel in the spirit of old-school design. Andy plans to play it un-sleeved celebrating cards that show their history in their wear. View all cards mentioned in the episode → They finish the episode with a pack 1, pick 1 from the cube. Discussed in this episode: Shuffle Up and Play with ...
Jan 30, 2023•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 134
Andy and Anthony talk about common pitfalls new Cube designers fall into. There’s no right way to build a Cube, but new designers very often fall into similar patterns and a few pieces of feedback consistently come up. Play more mana fixing lands Lower the average mana cost of cards Increase the amount of interactive spells Lower the number of multi-color cards Don’t let power outliers outshine the fun Don’t feel obligated to adhere to 10 themes for each two color pair Be aware of the high cost ...
Jan 23, 2023•1 hr•Ep. 133
Full show notes on our website. Andy and Anthony are joined by Aran , from their local playgroup, to talk about the design of Set Cubes. The talk about the spectra of ways to approach building Set Cubes ranging from faithfully recreating a limited environment, to loosely basing a Cube on a set or theme. They also talk about how they can be one of the easiest entry points to Cube, offering a starting point that already leverages the themes and balance of a limited environment that Cube designers ...
Jan 16, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 132
Andy and Anthony absolutely obliterate the notion that you need eight people to draft a cube. While a full pod might be your ideal, with tons of different draft formats, there’s a great way to play regardless of the size of your playgroup. Our listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 this week comes from Moon’s Fast and Friendly Cube . Thanks, Moon! View all cards mentioned in the episode → Timestamps: 2:53 — Intro to topic 4:12 — The origins of 8 players drafts 10:52 — Drafting with 6 players 23:02 — ...
Jan 09, 2023•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 131
Andy and Anthony talk about growing a local Cube playgroup. They reflect on what’s been working for them to get a consistent, weekly Cube night running as well as challenges that need to be overcome. The talk specifically about the importance of consistency and a good location and managing events to engage new players. View all cards mentioned in the episode → Timestamps: 1:35 — Introduction to the Topic 3:14 — In Short: Be Consistent, Pick a Location, Pick a Time, and Show Up 5:36 — Finding a L...
Jan 02, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 130
Andy and Anthony look back at 2022 on the highs and lows for Cube design and the Cube Community. They talk about the sets and cards they think will have the biggest, lasting impact on Cube design. Cube is a unique format that requires specific tooling to support design, the community, and events. They talk about the challenges these unique needs present as the community grows. Beyond Cube, they talk about the broader state of Magic in 2022 and how they see changes in the game influencing their r...
Dec 26, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 129
On the heels of last week’s episode , wherein Andy realized that his 3 drop slot is perhaps inappropriately high-value in the face of removal, and in response to some grumbling from his local playgroup about reactive strategies not being viable because of there being too many recursive threats, the boys are talking through 18 different three drop creatures Andy is considering adding. All of these creatures are more ”Baneslayer” than ”Mulldrifter” with the goal of making removal a bit better in t...
Dec 19, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 128
Andy and Anthony talk the types and distributions of threats in their Cubes. Like they’ve done with removal and fixing in the past with interaction and fixing, they make a somewhat subjective categorization of how resilient threats are against removal and look at how the distribution changes across the mana curve in each of their main cubes. View the full show notes, including the graphs discussed in this episode → View all cards mentioned in the episode → Timestamps: 5:50 — Belated BRO Hot Take...
Dec 12, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 127
Andy, Anthony, and Parker review the results of The Brothers’ War community set survey. They talk about the top cards being tested by the most people as well as some cards that surprised them, being rated higher or lower than they expected. While the set didn’t have many huge stand out cards, one catching the attention of more than half of respondents, a lot of novel cards lurk lower down the list that might inspire new designs if there isn’t already an obvious home for them. View all cards ment...
Dec 05, 2022•1 hr 30 min•Ep. 126
Many cube designers, Andy and Anthony included, have way more time an energy to put into their Cubes than the rest of their playgroup. Given that designers do spend so much more time thinking about and tinkering with their lists than playing them, how do you set up a feedback loop so you can effectively test your Cube? What are the compromises of testing in different ways? What information should you listen to and what should you ignore? How much trust can you actually put into bot drafts? View ...
Nov 28, 2022•57 min•Ep. 125
Our survey for The Brothers’ War is up now! Share what cards you’re interested in for your Cube! Andy and Anthony talk about the new cards from The Brothers’ War they’re interested in giving a chance in their own cubes.They talk about slam dunks for environments from Anthony’s limited-emulating Regular Cube , to Andy’s novel, vintage Degenerate Micro Cube and some cards they’re more speculatively giving a try. View all cards mentioned in the episode → Discussed in this episode: Uncanny Valley Pa...
Nov 21, 2022•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 124
Our survey for The Brothers’ War is up now! Share what cards you’re interested in for your Cube! Andy and Anthony review the mechanics and themes from The Brothers’ War. They talk through the headline mechanics and smaller themes in the set all in the context of what might be most valuable to Cube designers of all types. The set is jam packed with new takes and synergistic payoffs for artifacts, but also includes tons of open, flexible cards that could be great new options for many Cubes. View a...
Nov 14, 2022•47 min•Ep. 123
After one last draft, Andy and Anthony look back on the now disassembled Mono Black Cube. They talk about highlights and lessons learned from the particular design. Unique constraints pushed Anthony to explore new space that will inform future projects. More broadly, they discuss the life-cycle of cubes: why it makes sense to start from scratch and iterate rather than circling around a local maximum to improve one’s Cube design skills. View all cards mentioned in the episode → Our listener submi...
Nov 07, 2022•56 min•Ep. 122
After a fantastic, if exhausting, inaugural CubeCon, Andy and Anthony are joined by Patrick, Daniel, and Theo to talk about highlights from the weekend. They talk about their favorite Cubes they drafted, top gameplay moments, and what they learned over an amazing few days of Cube. View all cards mentioned in the episode → Timestamps: 5:30 — Our Favorite Cubes 28:56 — Cards that Surprised Us 40:58 — Complexity Chat 52:21 — Scumboi’s Personal Pack 1, Pick 1 59:11 — Our favorite moments from Cube C...
Oct 31, 2022•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 121
View all cards mentioned in the episode → Andy and Anthony respond to an episode of The Eternal Glory Podcast on the recent pauper bans . Drawing comparisons between managing a constructed format with bans and Cube design, the boys examine the difference between welcome power outliers and toxic, ban-worthy cards, talk about the nature of evolving metagames, small and large, and interrogate the concept of a “good Magic purist”. Our listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 this week comes from Lukas’s Th...
Oct 24, 2022•55 min•Ep. 120
We’re on our way to Cube Con ! We can’t wait to meet listeners and friends from all over. If you’re attending CubeCon, introduce yourself! We’ll be posting a photo of ourselves on our Twitter account so you know who to look for. Anthony is going to have his battlebox on hand and Andy is looking to grind some games of his mono-colored starter decks . If you’re not attending CubeCon, you can still join in on the fun remotely. The event is streaming all weekend on twitch.tv/cloudgoatranger , and An...
Oct 19, 2022•7 min
View all cards mentioned in the episode → Andy and Anthony talk about a fundamental component of playing Magic, exploring and finding new cards. They talk about their goals and process for finding new cards and talk about leveraging Scryfall ’s powerful search features to make this critical component a breeze. They even touch on some of the advanced features that can save you from missing potential pieces. Check out Anthony’s articles on using Scryfall’s search syntax and advanced searches with ...
Oct 17, 2022•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 119
View all cards mentioned in the episode → If you don’t yet have tickets to CubeCon, you can now sign up for the wait list Andy and Anthony talk about how they approach drafting Anthony’s novel Turbo Cube where all spells and activated abilities cost less. The Cube will be featured at the inaugural Cube Con . Our hosts talk about the themes and individual cards that define the format. They talk about the ramification of the rules modification and what to look out for when approaching the format. ...
Oct 10, 2022•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 118
View all cards mentioned in the episode → In advance of Anthony’s Regular Cube being featured at CubeCon , Andy and Anthony talk about how they approach the format. The talk about the themes and strategies they think are the most powerful, cards that overperform, and cards that don’t behave like you might expect. Timestamps: 2:14 — Topic Introduction 4:51 — Overview of The Regular Cube 7:00 — Tip: Look for Synergy 11:40 — Theme: Zombies 14:20 — Archetype: Red Black Sacrifice 19:37 — Theme: Oketr...
Oct 03, 2022•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 117
The full timestamps were too long for the RSS feed, so check them out on our website . View all cards mentioned in the episode → Andy, Anthony, and Parker take the 2022 standard set rotation as an opportunity to look back on sets from the not-too-distant past. Sets rotating out of standard include everything from Zendikar Rising to Adventures in the Forgotten Realms . They look back on card they rated (or conspicuously didn’t rate) in Lucky Paper’s prospective surveys , each picking the cards th...
Sep 26, 2022•1 hr 59 min•Ep. 116
