State of the Game 2025

View all cards mentioned in this episode (luckypaper.co/podcast/272-state-of-the-game-20…)
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 (magic.wizards.com/en/news/making-magic/state-o…) and talk about wether or not they agree on his take on the past year’s sets.
Discussed in this episode:
• Mark Rosewater’s 2025 State of Design Article (magic.wizards.com/en/news/making-magic/state-o…)
• Pack One Slick Ones - Episode #18 - Having a Healthy Relationship with Magic, Especially Outside of Cube (usmantherad.substack.com/p/pack-one-slick-ones…)
• General Apathy (youtube.com/@GeneralApathy) on YouTube
• Ornithological Studies Secret Lair (scryfall.com/search?order=set&q=e%3Asld+cn…)
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Check us out on Twitch (twitch.tv/luckypapermtg) and YouTube (youtube.com/channel/UCx9a677zDh8t5jvOHQuBsjA) for paper Cube gameplay.
You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra:
• Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube (cubecobra.com/cube/overview/andymangold)
• Anthony’s “Regular” Cube (cubecobra.com/cube/overview/regular)
You can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord (discord.gg/WyEeGABT8P). 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 (facebook.com/jamesnasty).
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