The Scorpion and The Cube with Ollie Beeks

View all cards mentioned in this episode (luckypaper.co/podcast/305-the-scorpion-and-the…)
Andy and Anthony are joined by Cube Person of the Year 2024, Ollie, to talk about whether it’s irresponsible to present a cube for drafting without any playtesting. What is the difference between ‘playing’ and ‘playtesting’? Can you design a cube iteratively without playtesting? Just how bad can a cube really be?
Discussed in this episode:
• Upkeep NY/C4AC (upkeepnewyork.com/c4ac)
• Bodlean Cube (cubecobra.com/cube/about/hgs?view=primer)
• Creatureless Cube (cubecobra.com/cube/about/no-creatures?view=pri…)
• Episode 302 — Theory Drafting the Best Decks in Regular Cube (luckypaper.co/podcast/302-theory-drafting-the-…)
• The Ball Pit (cubecobra.com/cube/about/ballpit?view=primer)
• Episode 206 — The Joy of Gaming with Richard Garfield (luckypaper.co/podcast/206-the-joy-of-gaming-wi…)
• 100 Ornithopters (cubecobra.com/cube/about/100-ornithopters?view…)
• Marina Abramovic - The Artist is Present (2010) (moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/964)
• Boston Cube Party (bostoncubeparty.com)
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
• 3:41 - Secret Project: Obscura
• 9:13 - Playtesting
• 16:46 - The Case Against Playtesting
• 21:03 - Non-Playtest Data
• 23:09 - The Process
• 29:45 - Playing Vs Playtesting
• 35:17 - Cube First Impressions
• 43:33 - Expectations
• 47:28 - Designing for an Experience
• 52:10 - Marina Abramovic and Artistic Intent
• 58:26 - Logistics