I was fortunate enough to stumble across the > UberCube Podcast < right before a trip to the Zoo a few years ago. Anthony, Stu and May bring a wonderful friendly vibe and make you want to draft or even build a cube. I joked with my wife after binging a few episodes, "I would love to play with these guys! They just have such a fun vibe, I have to listen to this"
When I learned that Anthony lived in my state, I reached out and he has been super gracious. I have gotten a chance to meet and play with him and the other great folks from Raleigh, NC several times and am proud to have them as friends.
When thinking about who I could highlight on the blog and bring a different kind of discussion to, Anthony was top of my list. If you haven't met him, you hopefully can get a chance to learn more about one of the nicest and best creators in the cube space in this conversation.
LastAbzan,
Hey Anthony, how was Cube Con?
Uber Bear,
It was a wonderful experience, reminiscent of the first Cube Con.
The vibes were rich, and the setting felt very casual and the energy was positive throughout the space .
We stayed at an Airbnb and that really helped us get well rested each night where we played Magic over a kitchen table and talked about our experiences throughout the day.
It was also really amazing to be recognized by individuals in the crowd for our podcast. It was personally rewarding to help grow the Cube community.
The event was five stars all around!
LastAbzan,
Cube Con seems to be one of those events that can really help connect you to the greater magic community. For anyone that's not familiar with your podcast, tell us a little bit about it.
Uber Bear,
Years ago, I had the idea that I wanted to be the change that I wanted to see in the Cube community. Likewise I would challenge everyone to do the same and to share your voices.
That was the inception of the podcast. From there, Stu and I decided to put the proverbial pen to paper.
Our podcast is a way that we can channel our back porch conversations on a hobby that we are passionate about as a group.
As the show has evolved, we found it as a medium to share ideas, design, philosophies, and to challenge our thoughts as well as listeners by presenting meta free flow conversations on cube curation.
LastAbzan,
How did you and Stu come across Cube? I may recall hearing in one of your episodes that you guys played EDH prior. Is that how you guys met?
Uber Bear,
Stu was playing modern and vintage online.
I was commander and Chris Moore aka Sammich introduced us to his Pauper cube and perhaps vintage. Timelines are fuzzy when you’re having fun.
May, she was and is a commander player who wanted to design something interesting from the Eldraine story book adventures.
Stu and I converted our commander game conversations/discourse to MTG as a whole and down the rabbit hole from there on.
LastAbzan,
How do 4 players that are playing different formats come together in the first place? I am very curious now.
Uber Bear,
I think ultimately, it was a treasure hunt for finding what brought us all to the game to begin with that kitchen table vibe. Also all four of us favor the idea of creation and game design.
LastAbzan,
I am sure that sentiment is shared with a lot of Magic players.
How has being a "creator" affected your relationship to the game and the cube community as a whole?
Uber Bear,
This one is complicated. Since we release every week, I find myself scouring from games in the name of content more than one should. Honest answer is I find a single solid interaction in a game or card response, take notes, and then form an episode. This opposed to just playing the game sometimes can be difficult.
While it doesn't impact the joy of playing, it does cause me to think more than I sometimes should about a future episode instead of living in the moment of the game if that makes sense. Also being a content creator does shine a spotlight on the imperfections in the performance of a cube. This is certainly self imposed however it can feel like if I am going to talk about one of my designs it better be mostly right.
On the other coin I sometimes force the idea of just playing the game and turning off that content side of the brain. Cube Con was like this I just played. Now that I am home of course I am going to write about the experience for future recordings.
I think I could give one piece of advice to myself and your readers is to make time for yourself to enjoy the game for what it is and not what the world expects it to be.
LastAbzan,
That's a great reminder. Well said.
You drove up to CC with the local Raleigh playgroup. What is the food situation like on the road up, and how would you characterize the Madison food scene in general?
Uber Bear,
The trip it was not an amazing food experience lol, fast food and protein bars and I am pretty sure a BK Whopper was the death of me.
Madison however the food was excellent. We have this place we visit every year called the American Tavern that has the best Old Fashions paired with smoke brisket in all forms. We also visited a Public House and had some delightful meals paired with a little bar cube style play.
Madison has a lot to explore in terms of food and beverage, I would rate it highly.
LastAbzan,
I feel like bad fast food is part of the road trip experience. You kind of roll the dice and hope you picked the right place.
I am personally a snack fiend on the road. Do you have any Go-To travel foods, drinks?
Uber Bear,
Sure do, Waterloo of all flavors and coffee. Food, I lean towards a Quest Bar and trail mix. Keep it simple and have focus foods for driving. Eating healthy while on a long road trip is important as BK has proven lol.
LastAbzan,
You're much better than me. I have to have beef jerky. Usually a sour candy as well. And a diet coke. Lol
You have several, pretty famous cubes. Which one is your personal favorite to draft from a gameplay perspective?
Uber Bear,
Uber Bear's Artifact Cube. The technical aspects and deck diversity is appealing to me. Plus it was the most difficult to design and curate. The color shifted context or lack there of (55% colorless) created the challenge of balancing.
LastAbzan,
That's also my favorite of what I've played of yours. I love trinkets.
You tend to build cubes that have restrictions or clear themes. Outside of your powered cube of course. Is that intentional? Does having a challenge upfront help you hone in and avoid building a homogeneous cube?
Uber Bear,
Yes. I like thematic design it allows me to express myself artistically. For those that don’t know I love to write and I love to draw.
I kinda combined both of these ideas when I’m creating a narrative within a cube .
Take for example The Monopoly.
Every card choice specifically the name points towards economics .
Even if I’m being abstract at points towards the idea of the American dream for all of its faults and imperfections as well as its positive outcomes.
It’s a way that I can tell a story about corruption and about those that are trying to scratch their way to the surface all the while mimicking a love and hated board game
LastAbzan,
I love it, quite flavorful. I do recall drafting that cube a while back and getting stomped.
Do you have any art examples you wanna share?
Uber Bear,
Bear and Bull Markets
Very flavorful.
Wanna share any of your personal art as well?
Uber Bear,
LastAbzan
These are great! I had no idea you did the logo for the show.
I like to draw as well, but have a hard time with freeform and maintaining proper proportions.
Have you taken any classes?
Uber Bear
My father taught me while reading stories he sketched them
We drew together
LastAbzan
That is a great thing to continue and pass on.
I appreciate you taking the time to chat with me. I just have a few more questions to finish up.
What is your favorite episode of the podcast thus far?
Uber Bear
PK’s having Stu personify Sloppidy Bilepiper 😂
Seriously I actually enjoyed making The unconventional archetypes episode. It was neat to delve into atypical cube/deck, construction.
LastAbzan
I'll have to relisten to those.
Do you have a favorite Magic card?
Uber Bear
Yes, this card represents my retirement lol. I ❤️ Folio's art! 2nd Favorite is Bobo. It was my first real commander deck that I still have together and tune. I love the art and the questions this card ask of the opponents.
LastAbzan
Hahaha, that art is fantastic.
We're chatting just as fall hits in North Carolina. Do you have a favorite fall drink? Beer and non-alcoholic beverage
Uber Bear
Yes. Atomic Pumpkin (spicy) by New Belgium
Non - coffee with cinnamon
LastAbzan
I haven't done coffee with cinnamon before. Sounds nice.
What's next for the podcast? You had Uber Cube-a-thon previously, are there other events or other content you're working on?
Uber Bear
We are working on a secret event still in talks TBD on that one. We are working on adding more YouTube engagement with the online cubes we have in our arsenal on the Uber Cube Discord. In progress on this one too.
LastAbzan
Very cool. I'll keep an eye out for those.
Appreciate your time! Any parting words?
Uber Bear
Cube may not outlive Magic but the Cubemunity will.
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