Lucky Paper Radio

Andy Mangold and Anthony Mattox
  • 4.6 (114)
  • GAMES
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

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.

  1. 10H AGO

    Sacred Geometry Draft Along

    View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy and Anthony each draft the same seat in a virtual pod of Andy’s Sacred Geometry Cube. They talk through each of their picks and their overall draft strategy and the final decks they end up with. If you want to draft this same seat as well, either before or after listening to the episode, follow these steps: Download the predetermined booster packsOn Draftmancer:If you enjoy this episode, check out our previous draft 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: Andy’s “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou 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 PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211 Musical production by DJ James Nasty. Timestamps 0:00 - Intro7:28 - Pack 141:48 - Pack 253:03 - Pack 301:03:59 - Draft Results

    1h 12m

  2. JAN 12

    The Open Lane “Problem”

    View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy and Anthony discuss feedback received by a fellow cube designer: that particular decks are sometimes too dominant when they go uncontested, or as they put it “The Open Lane Problem”. They talk about whether or not this is a real problem in different contexts and ways you might be able to mitigate it. Discussed in this episode: 100 OrnithoptersBun Magic CubeRegular CubeNeoclassical CubeTurbo CubeSupport The Podcast on PatreonIf 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” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou 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 PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211 Musical production by DJ James Nasty. Timestamps 0:00 - Intro2:43 - Mailbag!7:35 - The Open Lane Problem14:19 - The Effect of Narrow Cards26:44 - Powering Up Archetypes35:36 - Player Preferences42:09 - Solving the Open Lane Problem45:34 - Changing Cube Size

    55 min

  3. JAN 5

    Modal Mechanics 003 — Bloodrushing into the Next Batch

    View all cards mentioned in this episode By popular demand, Andy and Anthony rush back into their series exploring modal mechanics through Magic’s history. Continuing where they left off, they talk about mechanics from Return to Ravnica to Fate Reforged. They argue over some mechanics fit a useful definition of “modal” and what the mechanics, and individual modal cards, offer to Cube designers. Discussed in this episode: Song-Poem DocumentaryModal Mechanics 001 — Some Nonzero Number of Mechanics Are KickerModal Mechanics 002 — Some Modal Mechanics Evoke a Strong ResponseReading Rainbow Cube100 OrnithoptersThe Design of Everyday ThingsLucky Paper PatreonIf 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” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou 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 PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211 Musical production by DJ James Nasty. Timestamps 0:00 - Intro3:03 - Modal Mechanics: Part 0034:44 - Scavenge9:03 - Bloodrush17:17 - Fuse27:30 - Bestow36:03 - Monstrosity37:59 - Will of the Council42:27 - Sieges48:41 - Planeswalker Addendum

    54 min

  4. 12/29/2025

    Finding It Easier To Not Care — 2025 in Review

    View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy and Anthony look back at their last year playing Magic. They talk about their highs and lows, playing cube while engaging little with Magic’s release cycle, the continued grown of community, and Lucky Paper’s projects. Discussed in this episode: Lucky Paper Events Page100 Ornithopters in a Cube-Shaped Box by Rhystic Studies on YouTubeLucky Paper PatreonCube Fellowship and Supporter PinsHow to Quickly Shuffle Your MTG Cube Anthony’s Article on the Broadcast ShuffleList FormatterList DifferXKCD Is It Worth the Time? and AutomationThe Ball PitIf 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” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou 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 PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211 Musical production by DJ James Nasty. Timestamps 0:00 - Intro1:52 - Year In Review7:22 - High: Regional Scene Development11:47 - High: Weekly Cube Nights12:56 - High: Ignoring Magic Product16:32 - High: Rhystic Studies Video18:23 - High: Patreon21:13 - High: Cube Fellowship22:41 - High: Playmat V224:18 - High: Deepening Relationships26:58 - High: Broadcast Shuffle29:46 - High: List Formatter31:07 - Low: Klug Alter33:43 - Low: Less Friends at Cubecon38:19 - Low: Playgroup Growth Woes44:10 - Low: Pins46:46 - Low: Website Maintenance50:32 - Magic: The Gathering58:08 - Cube Person of the Year1:32:59 - State of the Pod

    1h 7m

  5. 12/22/2025

    In Defense of Bad Cards

    View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy and Anthony talk about bad cards. Why do “bad cards” even exist? Can’t all the cards just be good? Our hosts talk about why they like playing with bad Magic cards and how Cube gives them the flexibility to play with whatever cards they like regardless of how they stack up to the other 30,000 cards in the game. They talk about ways they conceptualize a bad card in different formats and the inevitability of their existence. They also reflect on the differences between thinking about Magic as a player vs a designer and how player mentality and hamper design thinking. And also, for some reason, wolves. Discussed in this episode: Mark Rosewater’s When Cards go BadParkers Article on Bad CardsThe Alpha Myth Episode of Unexplainable about Alpha WolvesAndy’s Take Five Brainstorming Videos on YouTubeThe Oldest SchoolThe Ball PitTurbo CubeIf 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” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou 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 PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211 Musical production by DJ James Nasty. Timestamps 0:00 - Intro3:55 - Bad Cards6:42 - What is a Bad Card22:05 - The Fundamental Constants of Magic29:44 - In Defense of Bad Cards35:18 - Bad Cards in Cube Design43:58 - Combat is Beautiful49:30 - Recontextualizing Bad Cards

    56 min

  6. 12/15/2025

    Modal Mechanics 002 — Some Modal Mechanics Evoke a Strong Response

    View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy and Anthony continue their roughly chronological journey through Magic’s modal mechanics. From transmute, to evoke, to reinforce and everything in between they talk about every mechanic they’d categorize as “modal” from the prospective of gameplay and Cube design. But first, they have to revisit their age old question of whether or not Lightning Bolt counts as a modal spell. Discussed in this episode: Modal Mechanics 001Colin Furze on YouTubeDrive to Work PodcastTake Five Video with JaneTake Five Video with with Ryan OverturfIf 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” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou 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 PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211 Musical production by DJ James Nasty. Timestamps 0:00 - Intro1:04 - Main Topic, Modal Part 27:40 - Transmute15:06 - Forecast20:24 - Evoke27:59 - Planeswalkers33:54 - The Moment of Modality38:37 - Sagas vs Planeswalkers41:48 - Lorwyn Commands47:25 - Reinforce

    54 min

  7. 12/08/2025

    Recent Weekly Cube Drafts Recap, Turbo and Mystery

    View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy and Anthony talk through some of their recent drafts from their weekly Cube night. They talk about what they drafted and their impressions of the cubes, including Anthony’s Turbo Cube and a mystery cube brought by a new participant in Cube night. Discussed in this episode: Turbo CubeIf 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” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou 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 PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211 Musical production by DJ James Nasty. Timestamps 0:00 - Intro1:49 - Main Topic Start5:24 - Turbo Cube32:56 - Mystery Cube50:51 - Takeaways from Mystery Cube57:06 - Wrap Up

    59 min

  8. 12/01/2025

    “Take Five” — Designing a Minimal Deckbuilding Desert Cube

    View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy and Anthony talk about Andy’s latest Cube design concept. Inspired by The Ball Pit among other projects, Andy’s goal is to design a desert cube where players play all but 5 cards from their pool. In other words, after the draft, player simply “Take Five” cards out of their pool and get shuffling. Andy’s goal is to push players even harder to make something out of the cards they draft even if they don’t obviously stand well on their own. Our hosts talk about the design process, challenges they anticipate, and potential solutions to this draft structure. Discussed in this episode: Take Five Song Recorded by the Dave Brubeck QuartetTake Five Andy’s Emerging Cube IdeaThe Ball Pit100 OrnithoptersAndy’s Take Five Brainstorming Videos on YouTubeGoblin Game, mono-Red No-Deckbuilding Cube by ArloPack One Slick Ones - Episode #20 including Arlo’s Explanation of Goblin GameDegenerate Micro CubeSacred GeometryBun Magic CubeIf 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” CubeAnthony’s “Regular” CubeYou 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 PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211 Musical production by DJ James Nasty. Timestamps 0:00 - Intro7:23 - Andy's New Cube Concept: "Take Five"26:33 - Complexity Level30:02 - Mana Fixing with Minimal Deckbuilding35:25 - Cube Design Timeline39:59 - Categories of Cards in the Cube47:04 - Future Abandoned Ideas58:26 - Wrap Up

    1h 4m
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Trailer

4.6
out of 5
114 Ratings

About

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.

Information

  • Creator
    Andy Mangold and Anthony Mattox
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    298
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Andy Mangold and Anthony Mattox
  • Show Website
    Lucky Paper Radio

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