Summer 2026 Cube Zeitgeist

View all cards mentioned in this episode (luckypaper.co/podcast/320-summer-2026-cube-zei…)
Andy and Anthony talk about recent trends in Cube design. After looking through the revealed Cube lists for the recent Cube for a Cause: Obscura (upkeepnewyork.com/c4ac-obscura-ticket-form) our hosts noticed a few design features popping up again and again. They talk about them in the broader, evolving context of the Cube design community discussing if they reflect bigger trends. In particular, reflect on “art cards” — cards included for purely aesthetic reasons, desert cubes, cubes with no or minimal deckbuilding, and a casual approach to singleton breaks.
Discussed in this episode:
• The Score (penguinrandomhouse.com/books/735252/the-score-…)
• Take Five (cubecobra.com/cube/about/take-five?view=primer)
• Turbo Cube (cubecobra.com/cube/about/turbo?view=primer)
• 100 Ornithopters (cubecobra.com/cube/about/100-ornithopters?view…)
• The Amonkar Desert (cubecobra.com/cube/about/amonkardesert?view=pr…)
• Loxodon Mierarchs Desert Cube (web.archive.org/web/20140627115212/http://cube…)
• The Giver Cube (cubecobra.com/cube/about/giver?view=primer)
• The Ball Pit (cubecobra.com/cube/about/ballpit?view=primer)
• Goblin Game (cubecobra.com/cube/about/goblingame?view=primer)
• Resplendent (cubecobra.com/cube/about/resplendent?view=prim…)
Obscura Cube Lists:
• cubecobra.com/cube/list/C4ACLegacy by Gabor
• Monument (cubecobra.com/cube/list/monument) by Jane
• Feudal (cubecobra.com/cube/about/feudal-hidden-secret?…) by Andy
• Synesthesia (cubecobra.com/cube/list/synesthesia) by Lincoln
• cubecobra.com/cube/list/Omelas?view=Mainboard by Zach Barash
• Cavalier (cubecobra.com/cube/list/0e1acec1-662a-4607-b1e…) by Dan Schneider
• Genesis (cubecobra.com/cube/about/7bfffb69-9667-462b-84…) by Maggie
• Ritual (cubecobra.com/cube/list/6b68ac30-dc0d-4936-8e0…) by Parker
• cubecobra.com/cube/list/Collapse by Gabe
• cubecobra.com/cube/about/Dangerous?view=primer by Ollie
• Telemetry (cubecobra.com/cube/about/telemetry?view=primer) by Gwen
• Redemption (cubecobra.com/cube/about/ce5a78ae-84c7-4db9-92…) by John Clara
• Sublimate (cubecobra.com/cube/about/cc0cbef5-a4a7-4c21-bc…) by Max
• cubecobra.com/cube/list/Worship by Scott
• cubecobra.com/cube/list/Periodic by Jake
• Antiwar (cubecobra.com/cube/about/anti-war?view=primer) by Anthony Mattox
• Deja Vu (cubecobra.com/cube/about/DejaVu?view=primer) by Brett
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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
• 1:12 - Recent Cube Design Trends
• 8:18 - Art Cards
• 16:36 - Asystematic Singleton Breaks
• 30:05 - Desert Cubes
• 39:44 - Minimal Deckbuilding Cubes
• 47:48 - No Deckbuild Logistics
• 54:17 - Other Trends