Magic: the Gathering is a Difficult Game

In an effort to expand on past discussion about what makes a particular cube “hard” or “easy” to play, Andy and Anthony are dedicating an entire episode to unpacking what exactly makes Magic a difficult game. After being pressed by Andy to define seemingly simple terms, Anthony expounds upon his concepts of a “competency floor”, “mastery ceiling”, and overall “exertion”, and how each of these factors makes the game difficult in a different way. Our listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 this week comes from listener Cameron’s 1 Drop Cube. Thanks, Cameron! Discussed in this episode: Calca Git Scryfall Vine Best hangman words Terraforming Mars Carcassonne An Introduction to the Degenerate Micro Cube Drive to Work on Tic Tac Toe The 1863 World Checkers Championships, which ended in 40 consecutive draws, 21 of which were the exact same game Limited Resources Episode 560: Paper Magic at Home with Brian David Marshall Anthony’s appearance on the Riptide Lab Podcast Baltimore Salt Boxes Timestamps: 6:29 — Listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 15:04 — Main topic: the different kinds of difficulty associated with playing Magic 1:03:18 — The Salt Box™ Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts’ Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy’s “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony’s “Regular” Cube If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at [email protected]. Please include how you’d like to be credited on air, your pronouns, and if you’re submitting a cube for the pack 1, pick 1, a link to said cube. If you’d like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.