Rock Beats Paper, Paper Beats Scissors, Scissors Beats Rock

After alluding to it in passing multiple times, Andy and Anthony are finally going deep on Andy’s contentious assertion that there are no intrinsically favored matchups between aggro, midrange, and control as the common heuristic suggests. In this episode, they define the macro-archetypes, talk about where they come from, and cover appropriate and innappropriate applications of these kinds of thought technologies. Then, they discuss how each matchup is won and lost for all the permutations of aggro, midrange, and control.

Our listener submitted pack 1, pick 1 this week comes from Arcade’s Commander Cube, the “Brawlbox”.

Timestamps:

• 6:29 — Introduction to Topic and Pack 1, Pick 1 from Arcade's Hand Matters Cube
• 16:51 — What are the macro-archetypes and where do they come from?
• 25:32 — Andy’s argument that there is no inherent advantage between the marco-archetypes in Magic
• 31:07 — A Simple Origin for the Typical Rock, Paper, Scissors Heuristic
• 41:11 — A Comprehensive Rundown of How Each Matchup Is Won and Lost Between Aggro, Midrange, and Control

Discussed in this episode:

• Daniel’s Gold Cube
• Being John Malkovich
• Harold McGee
• Magic sour sweet berries
• Patrick Chapin’s Next Level Magic and Next Level Deckbuilding
• Zac Hill’s “Ah Yes, Very Standard”
• Jennifer Long’s “The Metagamr Clock”
• Brian Davis vs Bob Maher in the 1999 Pro Tour Finals
• Degenerate Micro Cube
• Merlin Mann

Follow us on Twitter @luckypapermtg and 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, your pronouns, a link to your cube if relevant. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord.

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.