Peasant Cube, Accessibility, and Playing within Restrictions with Emma Partlow

Well, it’s my (Andy’s) final week of writing the show notes as punishment for losing a bet against Anthony. But that’s ok, because writing these particular notes is a privilege, as we are joined by special guest Emma Partlow on this episode! We’be been trying to get Emma on the show for a long time and I’m really glad we were finally able to make it happen. We use her Peasant Cube as a jumping off point to discuss playing Magic with rarity and budget restrictions, what traits describe the platonic ideal of an uncommon, how to navigate the endless sea of card variants spewing out of Wizards of the Coast these days, and the value of accessibility of all kinds.

My take on Thraben Inspector from last week, which you all have been ruthlessly dragging me for, did not come up. I presume she didn’t hear it and none of you better tell her!!! If you tell her I’m going to be so mad at you.

⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠

Discussed in this episode:

• @emmadpartlow on Twitter
• The Herald’s Horn
• Playing with Power Episode on Inclusivity
• Emma’s Peasant Cube
• Eric Klug’s Peasant Cube
• Emma’s Budget Version of Her Peasant Cube
• The 2023 Year in Review
• Dandan
• MTG cares more about collectability than accessibility - and it’s making the TCG worse by Emma Partlow
• The Neoclassical Cube
• The Black Mage (Final Fanasty)
• Ogre Battle Tactics
• Tactics Ogre: Reborn on the Switch
• A Thousand Miles by Vanessa Carlton
• Emma’s Linktree

Timestamps

0:00 - Introduction

5:17 - How did Emma get introduced to Magic

8:17 - When did Emma discover the joy of Cube?

11:53 - Emma’s roots in rarity and budget restrictions

17:41 - Downshifts and rarity restricted Cube design

26:33 - What is the most uncommony uncommon card?

30:57 - On Emma’s inclusion of controversially powerful cards in her peasant Cube

37:52 - Emma’s local Cube playgroup

45:34 - Does Emma think of herself as a casual or competitive player?

47:05 - How does Emma prioritize accessibility vs. bling in her card variant selection for her cube?

52:33 - Potpurri

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.