The Paradox of Balance in Cube Design

View all cards mentioned in this episode (luckypaper.co/podcast/325-the-paradox-of-balan…)
What makes a cube “balanced”? When a card or deck performs very differently in the hands of especially skilled players, are they using their greater knowledge of the game to exploit a balance issue that others can’t see? Or are they just having the predictable success you would expect from a more skilled player? Is the experience of strong players a better indicator of a cube’s balance because they use cards optimally? Or are they exploiting the cards in a way that, if balanced for, would negatively impact the play experience of the average player?
We sure as hell don’t know, but you can listen to us try to figure it out for an hour if you want.
Discussed in this episode:
• Episode 322 With Ryan Overturf (luckypaper.co/podcast/322-drafting-and-designi…)
• 100 Ornithopters (cubecobra.com/cube/about/100-ornithopters?view…)
• The Fire Swamp (cubecobra.com/cube/about/TheFireSwamp?view=pri…)
• The Red Terror (cubecobra.com/cube/about/redterror?view=primer)
• Anthony’s Obscura Cube Anti-War (cubecobra.com/cube/about/anti-war?view=primer)
• Regular Cube (cubecobra.com/cube/about/regular?view=primer)
• Monocolored Starter Decks (cubecobra.com/cube/about/mono-color-beginner-d…)
If you’d like to show your support for the show, please consider backing Lucky Paper on Patreon (patreon.com/LuckyPaper) or leaving us a review on iTunes (podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lucky-paper-radi…) or wherever you listen.
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
• 3:30 - Balance
• 14:56 - Fun
• 19:45 - Expectations
• 23:14 - 100 Ornithopters Balance
• 28:10 - Metagame Development
• 37:47 - Smash Ultimate
• 49:33 - Starter Decks