In Praise of Lower Mana Curves

Andy and Anthony talk about mana curves in cubes. They talk about how it influences gameplay and the relationship between curve, speed, and the more difficult to pin down “power level”. They also talk about how they as cube designers think about the mana curve.

⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠

Discussed in this episode:

• You Look Nice Today
• Lonely Sandwich
• Magic Data Science CubeCon Analysis Thread
• Anthony’s Stats of Cube Con Article
• Spike University Part 1 and Part 2
• The Tempo Cube
• Gwen Dekker’s Tiny Leaders Cube
• Tupelo Honey
• Vindicate Test
• Caleb Gannon’s Powered Synergy Cube
• How Many Lands Should You Include in Your Cube

Timestamps:

0:00 Introduction

3:19 Why are the Bun Magic and Regular Cube so low curving relative to the other cubes featured at Cube Con?

15:59 The distinction between absolute and relative power level

40:43 Just how different are the mana values in Bun Magic and other Cubes?

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 want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at [email protected]. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord.

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Musical production by DJ James Nasty.