Magic: The Gathering Drive to Work Podcast

By Mark Rosewater

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Description

Join Magic: The Gathering Head Designer Mark Rosewater as he shares stories, insights, and more while driving to work. Listen and learn more about how Magic is made!

Episode Date
#1020: Structural Support
2376

I recently wrote a new "Nuts & Bolts" column where I talked about the elements a set needs to work well in Limited play. This podcast goes over all the details from that article. If you're interested in building your own set or cube, this is worth a listen. If not, it's still a good insight into the process.

 Mar 24, 2023
#1019: Magic Story with Harless and Natalie
1843

In this podcast, I sit down with Harless Snyder and Natalie Kreider to talk about the role of Magic story in the game and the revival of The Magic Story Podcast.

 Mar 24, 2023
#1018: Unreleased Mechanics
2311

In this podcast, I talk through numerous mechanics that we've designed but never published.

 Mar 17, 2023
#1017: Art of Phyrexia with Ovidio Cartagena
1930

In this podcast, I sit down with Art Director Ovidio Cartagena to talk about the art direction of Phyrexia: All Will Be One.

 Mar 17, 2023
#1016: Product Architect
1897

Today, I talk about the role of the product architect and the importance of the position.

 Mar 10, 2023
#1015: Artifacts and Enchantments
1804

In this podcast, I talk about the history of artifacts and enchantments and how they evolved to become closer mechanically.

 Mar 10, 2023
#1014: MagicCon Philadelphia
1839

I went to Philly to attend MagicCon. This podcast tells of my journey.

 Mar 03, 2023
#1013: Colorless with Ben Weitz
1835

So far, I've talked with all five color representatives. That means it's time to talk with a sixth, the colorless representative Ben Weitz.

 Mar 03, 2023
#1012: Working with Worldbuilding
1863

One of the teams I work closest with is the Creative team. In this podcast, I talk about how the Vision Design and Worldbuilding teams work hand in hand.

 Feb 24, 2023
#1011: Mental Processing
2136

In this podcast, I talk about all the different ways cards can impact the players mentally and how we have to account for it in design.

 Feb 24, 2023
#1010: Mana Value
1898

In this podcast, I talk about how this concept came about and how we design for it.

 Feb 17, 2023
#1009: White with Chris Mooney
2071

This is another in my series where I sit down with color representatives from the Council of Colors. In this podcast, I talk with Chris Mooney about white.

 Feb 17, 2023
#1008: Die Rolling
1922

In this podcast, I look at the history of die-rolling cards.

 Feb 10, 2023
#1007: Black with Corey Bowen
1999

This is another in my series where I sit down with color representatives from the Council of Colors. In this podcast, I talk with Corey Bowen about black.

 Feb 10, 2023
#1006: Lessons Learned – Strixhaven
1970

This is another podcast in my "Lessons Learned" series where I look back at sets I led (or co-led) to talk about the design lessons I learned. Today's podcast is on Strixhaven: School of Mages.

 Feb 03, 2023
#1005: Blue with Ethan Fleischer
1861

This is another in my series where I sit down with representatives of the colors from the Council of Colors. In this podcast, I talk with Ethan Fleischer about blue.

 Feb 03, 2023
#1004: Logistics
2108

In this podcast, I talk about an important aspect of design, something we call logistics (all the physicalness of using a card).

 Jan 27, 2023
#1003: Phyrexia with Adam Prosak
1913

I sit down with Set Lead Designer Adam Prosak to talk about the design of Phyrexia: All Will Be One.

 Jan 27, 2023
#1002: Phyrexia Design
2274
In this podcast, I talk all about Phyrexia and the design of Phyrexia: All Will Be One.
Jan 20, 2023
#1001: Red with Jules Robins
1832
This is the second in my series of interviews with color representatives from the Council of Colors. In this podcast, I interview Jules Robins about red.
Jan 20, 2023
#1000: Drive to Work
2104
To celebrate my 1,000th episode, I talk all about the making of Drive to Work.
Jan 13, 2023
#999: Green with Megan Smith
1834
In this podcast, I sit down with Megan Smith, the representative for green in the Council of Colors to talk all about green.
Jan 13, 2023
#998: Budget
1977
I've covered almost every aspect of designing a new set but haven't talked about how our budget impacts design. Today's podcast is all about designing under a budget.
Jan 06, 2023
#997: Noncreature Artifact Tokens
1951
In today's podcast, I talk about the seventeen noncreature artifact tokens from across Magic's history.
Jan 06, 2023
#996: Artifact Destruction
1938
In this podcast, I look back at the history of artifact destruction.
Dec 23, 2022
#995: Off-Color Activations
1989
In this podcast, I talk about how we design activations that require a color not found in the mana cost of the card.
Dec 23, 2022
#994: Bonus Sheets
1998
In this episode, I talk about the history of bonus sheets from Time Spiral to The Brother's War.
Dec 16, 2022
#993: The Brothers' War with Yoni Skolnik
1873
I sit down with Yoni Skolnik, the lead set designer of The Brothers' War, to talk through its design.
Dec 16, 2022
#992: Interviewing Guests
1855
I do a lot of interviews on my podcast, so this podcast is all about what it takes to interview people and offers some tips on how to do it well.
Dec 09, 2022
#991: Unfinity with Ari Zirulnik, Part 2
1978
In this podcast, I'm joined by Ari Zirulnik again (he oversaw names and flavor text for Unfinity) so that he and I can give more off-the-cuff canon material about the characters from Unfinity.
Dec 09, 2022
#990: Top-Down Design
2067
In this podcast, I walk through all the various things that have to be done when doing a top-down design.
Dec 02, 2022
#989: Public Speaking
1978
Part of my job involves talking in front of large crowds. In this podcast, I talk about what that's like and offer tips on how to do it well.
Dec 02, 2022
#988: Designing for an Eternal World
2834
Magic constantly changes and evolves, which means that we as designers must keep changing how we approach design. This podcast talks about the challenges of making Magic in a world where the most popular tabletop formats are larger.
Nov 25, 2022
#987: Unfinity Rules with Jess Dunks
1960
In this podcast, I sit down with Rules Manager Jesse Dunks to talk about choosing acorn and Eternal Unfinity cards.
Nov 25, 2022
#986: Costing Cards
2148
In this podcast, I talk about how we go about costing cards.
Nov 18, 2022
#985: The Brothers' War Art with Taylor
1830
In this podcast, I sit down with The Brothers' War Lead Art Director Taylor Ingvarsson to talk about the world building and art for the set.
Nov 18, 2022
#984: The Brothers' War Design
2035
In this podcast, I talk all about the design of The Brothers' War.
Nov 11, 2022
#983: Magic 30 Las Vegas
2223
In this podcast, I talk all about my time at Magic 30 in Las Vegas.
Nov 11, 2022
#982: Magic 30 Talk
1895
At Magic 30, I did an hour-long panel sharing personal stories about 30 different pictures I'd chosen from 30 years in Magic. In this podcast, I go over why I chose those 30 pictures and stories to share.
Nov 04, 2022
#981: BRO with Ari Nieh
2120
In this podcast, I sit down with Ari Nieh, the lead vision designer of The Brothers' War, to talk about the set's vision design.
Nov 04, 2022
#980: Set Design
2090
Unfinity is the first time I ran a Set Design team. This podcast talks about what I learned about set design from the experience.
Oct 28, 2022
#979: UNF Loading Ready Run Pre-Prerelease
2003
I travelled to Victoria, Canada to participate in the Unfinity Pre-Prerelease with Loading Ready Run. In this podcast, I tell the story of my trip.
Oct 28, 2022
#978: Unfinity Design, Part 4
1885
This is part four of a four-part series on the design of Unfinity.
Oct 21, 2022
#977: UNF Flavor Text with Graham & Kathleen
2424
I sit down with Graham Stark and Kathleen De Vere to talk about writing names and flavor text for Unfinity.
Oct 21, 2022
#976: Unfinity Design, Part 3
2071
This is part three of a four-part series on the design of Unfinity.
Oct 14, 2022
#975: UNF Names & Flavor Text with Ari Zirulnik
2601
I sit down with Ari Zirulnik to talk about overseeing the names and flavor text creation in Unfinity.
Oct 14, 2022
#974: Unfinity Design, Part 2
1841
This podcast is part two of a four-part series on the design of Unfinity.
Oct 07, 2022
#973: UNF Card Concepting with Annie Sardelis
1891
I sit down with Annie Sardelis to talk about what card concepting is and how she did the card concepting for various cards in Unfinity.
Oct 07, 2022
#972: Unfinity Design, Part 1
2020
This podcast is part one of a multi-part series on the design of Unfinity.
Sep 30, 2022
#971: UNF with Chris Mooney
2153
Chris Mooney was my strong second on Unfinity from the first day of exploratory design to the last day of set design. We sit down to talk about the stories of several card designs.
Sep 30, 2022
#970: Joel Mick
1919
Only one person has been an Alpha playtester, Head Designer and Brand Manager for Magic Joel Mick. I sit down with Joel in this podcast to talk about his time with the game.
Sep 23, 2022
#969: Feature Matches
1864
This podcast is about the history of the feature matches and my involvement with them.
Sep 23, 2022
#968: DMU Set Design with Erik Lauer & Ian Duke
2005
In this podcast, I sit down with Erik Lauer and Ian Duke, the co-lead set designers of Dominaria United, to talk about the expansion's set design.
Sep 16, 2022
#967: Rise & Fall of Blocks, Part 2
2026
This is part two of a two-part series talking about the history of blocks.
Sep 16, 2022
#966: Rise & Fall of Blocks, Part 1
2209
This is part one of a two-part series talking about the history of blocks.
Sep 09, 2022
#965: DMU Vision Design with Ethan Fleischer
1859
In this podcast, I sit down with Ethan Fleischer, the lead vision designer of Dominaria United, to talk about the set's vision design.
Sep 09, 2022
#964: Concurrency
1800
You all learn about new Magic sets one at a time, but that's not how they're made. This podcast will illustrate what it's like to make many products all at once.
Sep 02, 2022
#963: Build-Arounds
2333
In this podcast, I talk about designing cards that are meant to inspire players to build decks around them.
Sep 02, 2022
#962: My Wizards Origin Story
2011
I've briefly told listeners how I came to work for Wizards, but this podcast goes a bit more in depth into how it happened.
Aug 26, 2022
#961: Barry Reich
1919
In this podcast, I interview Barry Reich, Magic's very first playtester.
Aug 26, 2022
#960: Enchantment Types
1883
In this podcast, I go through all the enchantment subtypes of Magic.
Aug 19, 2022
#959: Playtest Cards
2119
In this podcast, I go through the history of playtest cards from Richard's first playtest through modern day.
Aug 19, 2022
#958: Snow
1980
In this podcast, I talk about the history of the snow supertype.
Aug 12, 2022
#957: Scarecrows
1914
In this podcast, I talk about the history and design of all the Scarecrows in Magic.
Aug 12, 2022
#956: Use Case
2067
In this podcast, I talk about a tool R&D uses called a use case.
Aug 05, 2022
#955: San Diego Comic-Con 2022
1862
In this podcast, I talk about my latest trip to San Diego Comic-Con, including discussing the many things I talked about in my Magic panel.
Aug 05, 2022
#954: Broadwaycon 2022
1910
My eldest daughter Rachel and I again went to New York City to attend a convention about Broadway, so I again made a podcast about it.
Jul 29, 2022
#953: Mechanical Depth
1823
When we make a new mechanic, how do we figure out how many cards can be made with the new mechanic? This concept is called mechanical depth, and in this podcast, I explain how we figure it out and the ramifications it has on design.
Jul 29, 2022
#952: Lessons Learned – Zendikar Rising
2067
This is another podcast in my "Lessons Learned" series where I look back at sets I led (or co-led) to talk about the design lessons I learned. Today's podcast is on Zendikar Rising.
Jul 22, 2022
#951: Booster Fun with Tom & Sarah
1907
I sit down with Tom Jenkot and Sarah Wassell to talk about the making of Booster Fun variants (all the cool alternate-art cards and special card frames that we do in a set).
Jul 22, 2022
#950: Vehicles
1880
In this podcast, I talk about the history of the Vehicle subtype.
Jul 15, 2022
#949: Double Masters 2022 with Bryan
1913
I sit down with Designer Bryan Hawley to talk about the design of Double Masters 2022.
Jul 15, 2022
#948: Spice8Rack's Un- Video
2111
In this podcast, I give my feedback on Spice8Rack's video about the history and influence of the Un- sets. You can watch that here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYYjjrG-hCo
Jul 08, 2022
#947: Dragon's Maze
1905
This podcast is part three of a three-part series on the design of Return to Ravnica block. In this episode, I talk about the design of Dragon's Maze.
Jul 08, 2022
#946: Gatecrash
2291
This podcast is part two of a three-part series on the design of Return to Ravnica block. In this episode, I talk about the design of Gatecrash.
Jul 01, 2022
#945: Return to Ravnica
1809
This podcast is part one of a three-part series on the design of Return to Ravnica block. I start by talking about the design of Return to Ravnica.
Jul 01, 2022
#944: Deciduous
2076
This podcast talks about what being deciduous means for mechanics and then goes through the list of all the deciduous mechanics.
Jun 24, 2022
#943: Basic Lands
1934
In this podcast, I talk about the history of basic lands and how their evolution over time influenced the rest of Magic.
Jun 24, 2022
#941: CLB Commander Decks with Gavin Verhey
1873
I sit down with Designer Gavin Verhey to talk about the design of Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate's Commander decks.
Jun 17, 2022
#942: Making New Magic Mechanics
2044
For this podcast, I walk through all the different issues that have to be addressed when designing a new mechanic from early exploratory design all the way through the end of the design.
Jun 17, 2022
#940: Creative Components
1847
For this podcast, I look at how the creative components (name, art, flavor text, card concept) are made from start to finish in the making of a Magic set.
Jun 10, 2022
#939: CLB Set Design with Corey Bowen
1918
I sit down with Designer Corey Bowen to talk about the set design of Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate.
Jun 10, 2022
#937: CLB Vision Design with Glenn Jones
1797
I sit down with designer Glenn Jones top talk about the vision design of Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate.
Jun 03, 2022
#938: Double-Faced Cards
1920
For this podcast, I look at the history and design evolution of double-faced cards.
Jun 03, 2022
#935: Darksteel
2371
This is the second of a three-part series looking at the design of original Mirrodin block.
May 27, 2022
#936: Fifth Dawn
2159
This is the third of a three-part series looking at the design of original Mirrodin block.
May 27, 2022
#934: Mirrodin
1930
This is the first of a three-part series looking at the design of original Mirrodin block.
May 20, 2022
#933: Editing with Gregg Luben
2015
I talk with Editor Gregg Luben about the challenges of editing a Magic set. In particular, we talk about his editing of Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty.
May 20, 2022
#932: Magic Design Tools
1945
A carpenter has his hammer and drill. What are the most important tools for a Magic designer and how are they used to solve the essential challenges of making a trading card game?
May 13, 2022
#931: Streets of New Capenna Commander with Chris Mooney
1821
I sit down with Chris Mooney, lead set designer of the Streets of New Capenna Commander decks, to talk about their design.
May 13, 2022
#930: Restrictions
2003
In this podcast, I talk about the many types of restrictions R&D uses on spells and abilities, and why they're important for the game.
May 07, 2022
#929: Streets of New Capenna with Jules Robins
1917
I sit down with Jules Robins, lead set designer of Streets of New Capenna, to talk about the design of the set.
May 07, 2022
#928: Streets of New Capenna Design
1989
In this podcast, I talk about designing Streets of New Capenna.
Apr 30, 2022
#927: Worldbuilding with Emily Teng
1840
I sit down with Creative Team Member Emily Teng to talk about worldbuilding and the making of Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty.
Apr 30, 2022
#926: Myr
1862
In this podcast, I talk about the lovable Myr creature type. I discuss how they came to be and run through the design of every Myr card.
Apr 23, 2022
#925: Managing Teams with Brady Bell
1930
I sit down with Senior Director of Game Design Brady Bell to talk about what it takes to put together a Magic design team.
Apr 23, 2022
#924: Making Magic Trivia
1817
In this podcast, I talk about my history with Magic trivia and how to make your own Magic trivia.
Apr 16, 2022
#923: Zendikar Rising with Andrew Brown
1907
In this podcast, I sit down with Andrew Brown to discuss the design of Zendikar Rising.
Apr 16, 2022
#922: Lesson Learned – Ikoria
1917
This podcast is another in my "Lessons Learned" series where I explore what I learned during the making of sets for which I led or co-led design.
Apr 09, 2022
#921: Non-tournament Design
1929
When Unglued was first concepted, the idea behind it was that we could design cards for non-tournament play. What exactly does that mean, and what does it entail? In this podcast, I explore the parameters of non-tournament design.
Apr 09, 2022
#920: Managing the Rules with Jess Dunks
1973
I sit down with Designer and Rules Manager Jess Dunks to talk about the challenges of managing the rules and dealing with me as head designer.
Apr 01, 2022
#919: Oath of the Gatewatch with Ethan Fleischer
1863
I sit down with Designer Ethan Fleischer to talk about the design of Oath of the Gatewatch.
Apr 01, 2022
#918: Stories from Japan
1856
One of the cool perks of my job is that I've had a lot of opportunity to travel to other countries. The country I've visited the most is Japan. In this podcast, I share three stories from three different visits to the Land of the Rising Sun.
Mar 26, 2022
#917: Lorwyn with Aaron Forsythe
2242
I sit down with Designer Aaron Forsythe to talk about the design of Lorwyn.
Mar 26, 2022
#916: Card Frames
1792
In this podcast, I talk about using different card frames as a design tool and get into the history of card frames that changed for mechanical reasons.
Mar 19, 2022
#915: New World Order with Matt Place
2102
I sit down with Designer Matt Place to talk about the creation of New World Order, something he and I created many years ago to tackle a big problem the game was having.
Mar 19, 2022
#914: Initial Ideation
1831
This podcast is about my latest Nuts & Bolts article on initial ideation. In it, I explain how one starts designing a Magic set around an idea.
Mar 12, 2022
#913: Copywriting with Ari Zirulnik
2249
I sit down with Senior Copywriter Ari Zirulnik to talk about what exactly Magic copywriting is. He and I also lightly touch on writing the names and flavor text for Unfinity.
Mar 12, 2022
#912: Watermarks
1897
In this podcast, I explain the history of watermarks, talk about the various ways we use them, and explain why we can't mechanically care about them outside of Un- sets.
Mar 05, 2022
#911: Good Morning Magic with Gavin
1996
I sit down with Designer Gavin Verhey to discuss the making of his Good Morning Magic videos.
Mar 05, 2022
#910: The Big Picture
2179
This is a podcast version of my article where I talk about the challenges of designing Magic when it's a different game to different players.
Feb 26, 2022
#909: Council of Colors with Chris Mooney
2535
I sit down with designer Chris Mooney to talk about how the Council of Colors works, and he and I talk a bit about white, as he's the white representative on the council.
Feb 26, 2022
#908: Gods
1831
I walk through the history of the God creature type and share stories about how we designed the different incarnations of them.
Feb 19, 2022
#907: Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty with Daniel Holt
1888
There's no one in R&D that's a bigger fan of Kamigawa than Daniel Holt. He worked on more Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty teams than any other person at Wizards, so I sat down with him to talk about how we made sure Kamigawa was well represented in the set.
Feb 19, 2022
#906: R&D Vocabulary, Part 5
1883
This is another in my "R&D Vocabulary" series where I explain various lingo R&D uses.
Feb 12, 2022
#905: Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Commander
1903
I sit down with Designer Corey Bowen to talk about the design of Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Commander decks and Set Booster cards.
Feb 12, 2022
#904: Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty with Dave Humpherys
1860
I sit down with Designer Dave Humpherys to discuss the set design of Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty.
Feb 05, 2022
#903: Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Early Design
1952
I tell the story of Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty's exploratory design and vision design.
Feb 05, 2022
#902: Champions of Kamigawa Block Mechanics
1900
In this podcast, I take a look at all the named mechanics from the Champions of Kamigawa block.
Jan 29, 2022
#901: Casual Play with Melissa DeTora
2037
I sit down with Designer Melissa DeTora to talk about the new casual play design group she's leading.
Jan 29, 2022
#900: R&D Vocabulary, Part 4
1885
This podcast is another in my series on R&D lingo.
Jan 22, 2022
#899: Templating with Matt Tabak
2235
I sit down with Editor Matt Tabak to talk about the importance of templating.
Jan 22, 2022
#898: 2017
1810
In this podcast, I talk about the year of Magic in 2017.
Jan 15, 2022
#897: Rise of Eldrazi with Brian Tinsman
2018
In this podcast, I sit down with Designer Brian Tinsman to talk about the design of Rise of the Eldrazi.
Jan 15, 2022
#896: Urza's Cards
1833
In this podcast, I talk about the design of every card with "Urza" in its name.
Jan 08, 2022
#895: Mirage with Bill Rose
2001
I sit down with Vice President Bill Rose to talk about the design of Mirage.
Jan 08, 2022
#894: Maro Teasers
1810
I talk about the history of my set teasers and talk about how I make them.
Dec 11, 2021
#893: Shadowmoor with Devin Low
2176
I sit down with Designer Devin Low to talk about the design of Shadowmoor.
Dec 11, 2021
#892: Lessons Learned – Throne of Eldraine
2176
I had an in-person playtest at Wizards to attend, so I'm actually driving to work after twenty-plus months (I'm not in the office full time yet, so there'll be a bunch more at-home podcasts). During my drive, I share the lessons I learned from designing Throne of Eldraine.
Dec 04, 2021
#891: Tempest with Richard Garfield
1957
I sit down with Richard Garfield to talk about the design of Tempest.
Dec 04, 2021
#890: Ravnica & RTR Storm Scale
1997
I go through all the guild mechanics from original Ravnica block and Return to Ravnica block to discuss what chance each has in returning to a premier set.
Nov 24, 2021
#889: Secret Lair with Mark Heggen
2020
I sit down with Producer Mark Heggen to talk about the creation of the Secret Lair product line.
Nov 24, 2021
#888: Crimson Vow Design
1842
I walk through the larger design story of Innistrad: Crimson Vow.
Nov 19, 2021
#887: Crimson Vow with Chris Mooney
1816
I sit down with Designer Chris Mooney, and we talk about the design of Innistrad: Crimson Vow, especially some of the top-down card designs for Vampires and weddings.
Nov 19, 2021
#886: Set Sizes
1886
In this podcast, I go over all the set sizes of the main sets over the years, explaining why they were the size they were.
Nov 12, 2021
#885: Amonkhet with Ethan Fleischer
1978
In this podcast, I sit down with R&D member Ethan Fleischer to talk about the design of Amonkhet.
Nov 12, 2021
#884: Color Pie Changes 2021, Part 2
1814
This is part two of a two-part series where I go over the various changes to the color pie as outlined in the 2021 Mechanical Color Pie article.
Nov 05, 2021
#883: Khans of Tarkir with Erik Lauer
1821
I sit down with Designer Erik Lauer, and we talk about the design of Khans of Tarkir.
Nov 05, 2021
#882: Color Pie Changes 2021, Part 1
1809
I recently posted an update to my Mechanical Color Pie article. This is part one of a two-part series where I talk about the changes.
Oct 29, 2021
#881: Strixhaven with Yoni Skolnik
2073
I sit down with Designer Yoni Skolnik, and we talk about the design of Strixhaven: School of Mages.
Oct 29, 2021
#880: Card Starting with X
1864
There are eighteen cards in Magic that start (in English) with the letter X. I talk about them all in this podcast.
Oct 22, 2021
#879: Magic 2010 with Aaron Forsythe
2009
I sit down with Designer Aaron Forsythe, and we talk about the design of Magic 2010.
Oct 22, 2021
#878: Planar Chaos Color Pie
1936
In this podcast, I explore the alternate-reality color pie of Planar Chaos.
Oct 15, 2021
#877: Most Influential Magic Sets with Matt Place
2121
I sit down with Designer Matt Place, and we compare our Top 10 lists of the most influential Magic sets.
Oct 15, 2021
#876: World Enchantments
1866
In this podcast, I talk all about World Enchantments (originally called "Enchant Worlds").
Oct 08, 2021
#875: Modern Horizons with Adam Prosak
1996
I sit down with Designer Adam Prosak to talk about the design of Modern Horizons.
Oct 08, 2021
#874: Zombies, Part 2
1931
This is another podcast in my Zombie series where I talk about the history of Zombie card design. It includes many card-by-card design stories of individual Zombie cards.
Oct 01, 2021
#873: Portal Three Kingdoms with Henry Stern
1807
I sit down with Designer Henry Stern to talk about the design of Portal Three Kingdoms.
Oct 01, 2021
#872: Zombies, Part 1
1909
In this podcast, I look back at the history of Zombies and share some card-by-card design stories of some of the earliest Zombies.
Sep 24, 2021
#871: Midnight Hunt with Ian Duke
1937
I sit down with Designer Ian Duke to talk about the design of Innistrad: Midnight Hunt.
Sep 24, 2021
#870: Innistrad: Midnight Hunt Design
1877
I talk about the design of Innistrad: Midnight Hunt.
Sep 17, 2021
#869: Midnight Hunt Commander with Corey Bowen
1960
I sit down with Designer Corey Bowen to talk about how the Commander decks for Innistrad: Midnight Hunt were created.
Sep 17, 2021
#868: Magic Showcase 2021 Video
1817
I went to Los Angeles to shoot the video announcing the products of 2022. This podcast tells the story of my trip.
Sep 10, 2021
#867: Unstable with Glenn Jones
1873
I sit down with former Editor (and now Game Designer) Glenn Jones to talk about the editing of Unstable.
Sep 10, 2021
#866: Equipment, Part 2
1947
In this podcast, I continue talking about the history of the Equipment subtype and share some card-by-card design stories.
Sep 03, 2021
#865: Strixhaven with Taylor Ingvarsson
1899
I sit down with Art Director Taylor Ingvarsson to talk about the art design of Strixhaven.
Sep 03, 2021
#864: Equipment, Part 1
1935
In this podcast, I start talking about the history of the Equipment subtype and share some card-by-card design stories.
Aug 27, 2021
#863: Shards of Alara with Devin Low
2365
I sit down with former R&D member Devin Low to talk about the design of Shards of Alara.
Aug 27, 2021
#862: Obsoleted Things
1813
In this podcast, I explore the history of the many things Magic has stopped using.
Aug 20, 2021
#861: Antiquities with Skaff Elias
1920
I sit down with former R&D member Skaff Elias to talk about the design of Antiquities.
Aug 20, 2021
#860: Sagas
1855
In this podcast, I explore the history of the popular enchantment subtype Sagas.
Aug 13, 2021
#859: Replies with Rachel #6
2223
From time to time, I sit down and answer reader questions with my eldest daughter Rachel.
Aug 13, 2021
#858: Vanity Cards
1794
In this podcast, I talk about what a vanity card is and walk through all the ones, that I could remember, in Magic.
Aug 06, 2021
#857: AFR with Jules Robins
1934
I sit down with Designer Jules Robins to talk about the design of Adventures in the Forgotten Realms.
Aug 06, 2021
#856: Parasitism
1838
In this podcast, I talk about what the term "parasitism" means in Magic design and then look at the mechanics in Standard and talk about how parasitic they are.
Jul 30, 2021
#855: Ice Age with Chris Page
1818
I sit down with designer Chris page to talk about the design of Ice Age.
Jul 30, 2021
#854: Creature Tokens, Part 2
1992
In this podcast, I continue to talk about the history of creature tokens in Magic.
Jul 23, 2021
#853: Odyssey with Randy Buehler
1952
I sit down with former R&D member Randy Buehler to talk about the making of Odyssey.
Jul 23, 2021
#852: Creature Tokens, Part 1
1861
In this podcast, I talk about the history of creature tokens in Magic.
Jul 16, 2021
#851: Dominaria with Kelly Digges
1865
I sit down with former R&D member Kelly Digges to talk about the making of Dominaria.
Jul 16, 2021
#850: Faeries
1816
In this podcast, I talk about the history of the Faerie creature type in Magic.
Jul 09, 2021
#849: Future Sight with Mike Turian
2175
I sit down with R&D member Mike Turian to talk about the making of Future Sight.
Jul 09, 2021
#848: Mini-Master
1890
This podcast talks about one of my favorite formats, including its origin, which digs into the early days of the Los Angeles Magic scene.
Jul 02, 2021
#847: Unstable with Ben Hayes
1864
I sit down with R&D member Ben Hayes to talk about the making of Unstable.
Jul 02, 2021
#846: Planeswalkers, Part 3
1847
This podcast is part three of a three-part series where I discuss every Planeswalker ever made into a planeswalker card.
Jun 25, 2021
#845: Modern Horizons with Mark Globus
1801
I sit down with former R&D member Mark Globus to talk about the making of the original Modern Horizons.
Jun 25, 2021
#844: Tempest Story, Part 2
2023
This podcast is part two of a two-part series where I sit down with Michael Ryan to talk about creating the story for Tempest and integrating it with the set.
Jun 18, 2021
#843: Tempest Story, Part 1
1813
This podcast is part one of a two-part series where I sit down with Michael Ryan to talk about creating the story for Tempest and integrating it with the set.
Jun 18, 2021
#842: Planeswalkers, Part 2
1792
This podcast is part two of a three-part podcast walking through every Planeswalker that's ever gotten a card.
Jun 11, 2021
#841: Shadowmoor with Sean Fletcher
1949
I sit down with Sean Fletcher to talk about the design of Shadowmoor.
Jun 11, 2021
#840: Planeswalkers, Part 1
2245
This podcast is part one of a three-part podcast walking through every Planeswalker that's ever gotten a card.
Jun 04, 2021
#839: WAR with Doug Beyer
1850
I sit down with Creative team member Doug Beyer to talk about the creation of War of the Spark.
Jun 04, 2021
#838: Unglued, Part 3
1906
This podcast is the final of a three-part series where I discuss the design of every card in Unglued.
May 28, 2021
#837: Ikoria with Dave Humpherys
1887
I sit down with Dave Humpherys, set design lead for Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths, and talk about the design of the set.
May 28, 2021
#836: Unglued, Part 2
1958
This podcast is part two of a three-part series where I discuss the design of every card in Unglued.
May 21, 2021
#835: Unsanctioned with Matt Tabak
2335
I sit down with Magic editor Matt Tabak to talk about the creation of Unsanctioned, the Un- box set.
May 21, 2021
#834: Unglued, Part 1
1926
This podcast is part one of a three-part series where I discuss the design of every card in Unglued.
May 14, 2021
#833: Worldwake with Ken Nagle
1866
I sit down with Magic designer Ken Nagel to talk about the design of Worldwake.
May 14, 2021
#832: More Codenames
1963
One of the very first podcasts I did was on Magic codenames. Well, enough time has gone by that I had 30 more minutes of codenames to talk about. I explain how we named them and share some stories.
May 07, 2021
#831: Mirrodin with Tyler Bielman
1806
I sit down with former Magic designer Tyler Bielman to talk about the design of original Mirrodin.
May 07, 2021
#830: 2016
1803
This podcast is another in my "Twenty Years, Twenty Podcasts" series (which has become more and more misnamed as I've done more of them) that walks through each year of Magic in detail. In this podcast, I talk about the year 2016 in Magic.
Apr 30, 2021
#829: Dark Ascension with Tom LaPille
1809
I sit down with former Magic designer Tom LaPille to talk about the design of Dark Ascension.
Apr 30, 2021
#828: What's More Likely
2063
I asked my Twitter followers to ask me questions about which of two things were more likely in Magic's future. In this podcast, I answer a whole bunch of these questions.
Apr 23, 2021
#827: Zendikar with Matt Place
2021
I sit down with former Magic designer Matt Place to talk about the design of original Zendikar.
Apr 23, 2021
#826: Legendary Artifacts, Part 2
1911
In this podcast, I share some more card-by-card design stories about legendary artifacts.
Apr 16, 2021
#825: Strixhaven with Ari Nieh
1863
I sit down with Magic designer Ari Nieh to talk about the design of Strixhaven.
Apr 16, 2021
#824: Kaldheim with Ethan Fleischer
1952
I sit down with Magic designer Ethan Fleischer to talk about the design of Kaldheim.
Apr 09, 2021
#823: Strixhaven Design, Part 2
1848
This is part two of a two-part series on the design of Strixhaven.
Apr 09, 2021
#822: Strixhaven Design, Part 1
1822
This is part one of a two-part series on the design of Strixhaven.
Apr 02, 2021
#821: Kaladesh with Shawn Main
1870
I sit down with former Magic designer Shawn Main to talk about the design of Kaladesh.
Apr 02, 2021
#820: Legendary Artifacts, Part 1
1891
In this podcast, I share card-by-card stories about various legendary artifacts.
Mar 26, 2021
#819: Champions of Kamigawa with Brian Tinsman
1840
I sit down with former Magic designer Brian Tinsman to talk about the design of Champions of Kamigawa.
Mar 26, 2021
#818: From the Vault
1923
In this podcast, I talk about the From the Vault product line.
Mar 19, 2021
#817: Invasion with Bill Rose
1964
I sit down with the senior vice president of tabletop Magic, Bill Rose, to talk about the design of Invasion.
Mar 19, 2021
#816: Innistrad with Erik Lauer
1956
I was the lead designer for original Innistrad, and Erik was the lead developer. I have Erik on my podcast to talk about the making of the set.
Mar 12, 2021
#815: Trivia – Longest Names
1890
This is another of my trivia podcasts where you try to guess the card I'm talking about before I reveal it. The topic? The longest names in Magic. (This is a companion to my shortest names trivia podcast last week.)
Mar 12, 2021
#814: Trivia – Shortest Names
1810
This is another of my trivia podcasts where I give clues and you try to guess the card before I reveal it. This podcast's topic—the shortest names in Magic.
Mar 05, 2021
#813: TSP with Aaron Forsythe
1938
Aaron Forsythe and I share memories about working on the design of Time Spiral.
Mar 05, 2021
#812: Timeshifted Sheets
1871
I talk about the creation and design of the timeshifted sheets from Time Spiral, Planar Chaos, and Future Sight.
Feb 26, 2021
#811: Mark Tedin
2131
In this podcast, I interview longtime Magic artist Mark Tedin.
Feb 26, 2021
#810: Arabian Nights with Richard Garfield, Part 2
2132
This is part two of a two-part podcast where I interview Richard Garfield about the design of Arabian Nights, Magic's very first expansion.
Feb 19, 2021
#809: Arabian Nights with Richard Garfield, Part 1
1819
This is part one of a two-part podcast where I interview Richard Garfield about the design of Arabian Nights, Magic's very first expansion.
Feb 19, 2021
#808: Evan Erwin
1828
I interview Evan Erwin, a longtime creator of Magic content.
Feb 12, 2021
#807: Angels, Part 2
2043
In this podcast, I continue to share design stories about various Angel cards.
Feb 12, 2021
#806: Angels, Part 1
1896
In this podcast, I begin from Alpha and start talking about Angel cards and their design.
Feb 05, 2021
#805: Olivia Gobert-Hicks
1953
In this podcast, I interview Olivia Gobert-Hicks to talk about Commander, cosplaying, and the Magic community.
Feb 05, 2021
#804: Luis Scott-Vargas
1790
In this podcast, I interview Pro Tour Hall of Famer Luis Scott-Vargas who has worn many hats over the years.
Jan 29, 2021
#803: Kaldheim, Part 2
1822
This is part two of a two-part series on the design of Kaldheim.
Jan 29, 2021
#802: Kaldheim, Part 1
1891
This is part one of a two-part series on the design of Kaldheim.
Jan 22, 2021
#801: Graham Stark
2123
In this podcast, I interview Graham Stark of Loading Ready Run. We talk about his and LRR's interactions with Magic.
Jan 22, 2021
#800: Charlie Catino
1886
In this podcast, I interview Charlie Catino, one of the original Alpha playtesters and longtime Wizards of the Coast employee.
Jan 15, 2021
#799: Planar Chaos Colorshifted Cards, Part 2
1935
This is the second of a two-part series talking about the 45 colorshifted cards in Planar Chaos. I talk about which cards they were colorshifted from and why they were in the set. I also talk about which ones were us testing changes for the future.
Jan 15, 2021
#798: Planar Chaos Colorshifted Cards, Part 1
1681
This is the first of a two-part series talking about the 45 colorshifted cards in Planar Chaos. I talk about which cards they were colorshifted from and why they were in the set. I also talk about which ones were us testing changes for the future.
Jan 08, 2021
#797: Randy Buehler
1901
In this podcast, I interview Randy Buehler, member of the Pro Tur Hall of Fame and former R&D member.
Jan 08, 2021
#796: Green-Blue Philosophy
1834
This is number ten in my ten-part series on the philosophies of two-color pairs. In this podcast, I talk green-blue.
Dec 04, 2020
#795: Matt Cavotta
1968
In this podcast, I interview Matt Cavotta, a man who has worn many Magic hats over the years.
Dec 04, 2020
#794: Trivia – Big Creatures
2019
This is a trivia column where I give clues about the biggest creatures in the game's history and you guess who they are.
Nov 20, 2020
#793: Mike Elliott
2225
In this podcast, I interview Mike Elliott, a prolific Magic designer from back in the day.
Nov 20, 2020
#792: George Fan
2096
In this podcast, I interview George Fan, creator of Plants vs. Zombies. I talk with him about his love of Magic and his year spent on the Magic design team.
Nov 13, 2020
#791: Antiquities, Part 2
1843
This is part two of a two-part series on the design of Antiquities, Magic's second-ever expansion, where I talk about how the set got made and then go through the design of every card.
Nov 13, 2020
#790: Antiquities, Part 1
2024
This is part one of a two-part series on the design of Antiquities, Magic's second-ever expansion, where I talk about how the set got made and then go through the design of every card.
Nov 06, 2020
#789: Brian David-Marshall
1925
In this podcast, I interview Brian David-Marshall on the many roles he's played in Magic, from tournament organizer and store owner to commentator and Magic historian.
Nov 06, 2020
#788: 25 Years
1925
October 30, 2020 was my 25th anniversary of working at Wizards. In this podcast, I talk about the many things I've done in those 25 years.
Oct 30, 2020
#787: Henry Stern
1845
In this podcast, I interview Henry Stern, a longtime member of R&D and former pro player.
Oct 30, 2020
#786: Oozes
2005
Magic has 32 Oozes. (I'm not talking about you, Changelings.) I talk about all of them.
Oct 23, 2020
#785: Scott Larabee
1806
In this podcast, I interview Scott Larabee, the esports senior league operations manager. We talk about his many years of running tournaments.
Oct 23, 2020
#784: It's All Magic
1857
I talk about an issue that's near and dear to my heart: how to make the Magic community even better.
Oct 16, 2020
#783: Jules Robins
2003
In this podcast, I interview Jules Robins, an R&D designer who's worked on numerous products and is the lead set designer of both Commander Legends and Dungeons & Dragons: Adventures in the Forgotten Realms (we only talk a little about his two set leads, as neither is out yet).
Oct 16, 2020
#782: Red-White
1786
This is the ninth podcast in my two-color philosophy series. I talk all about red and white.
Oct 09, 2020
#781: Ken Nagle
1906
In this podcast, I interview Ken Nagle, runner-up of the first Great Designer Search and longtime R&D member.
Oct 09, 2020
#780: Four-Color Factions
1919
This topic started from a question on my blog talking about the difficulty in designing four-color faction worlds and sets.
Oct 02, 2020
#779: Worth Wollpert
1854
In this podcast, I interview Worth Wollpert and talk about his time in Magic R&D and running Magic Online.
Oct 02, 2020
#778: Evergreen Origins
1842
This is another of my trivia podcasts. This time I look at all the current evergreen keywords (all 35 of them) and have you guess whether they were used and named in Alpha, started but not named in Alpha, or started and named after Alpha.
Sep 24, 2020
#777: Elaine Chase
1927
In this podcast, I interview Elaine Chase who has held many jobs with Magic over the years, including working in R&D, brand, and esports.
Sep 24, 2020
#776: Zendikar Rising
2097
I tell the story of Zendikar Rising's design.
Sep 18, 2020
#775: Rachel Agnes
1876
In this podcast, I interview Rachel Agnes, Magic brand manager. What does she do and how did she come to do it? Listen in and find out.
Sep 18, 2020
#774: Replies with Rachel #5
2173
Before Rachel heads back to college, I thought it would be fun to do another mailbag podcast with her.
Sep 11, 2020
#773: Adam Prosak
1947
In this podcast, I interview Adam Prosak, a Magic designer who most recently led the set design for Core Set 2021.
Sep 11, 2020
#772: Making Magic in the Pandemic
1951
Curious how COVID has affected the making of Magic? That's my topic for this podcast.
Sep 04, 2020
#771: Corey Bowen
1825
In this podcast, I interview Corey Bowen, a current member of R&D, one who focuses on Commander design.
Sep 04, 2020
#770: Ikoria, Part 2
1942
In this podcast, I finish telling the in-depth story of Ikoria's design.
Aug 28, 2020
#769: Jim Lin
1884
In this podcast, I talk with designer Jim Lin, one of the original Alpha playtesters and longtime R&D member.
Aug 28, 2020
#768: Ikoria, Part 1
1854
In this podcast, I begin telling the in-depth story of Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths's design.
Aug 21, 2020
#767: Ethan Fleischer
1989
In this podcast, I talk with designer Ethan Fleischer about all the premier sets he's led or co-led the design for.
Aug 21, 2020
#766: Black-Green
1807
The pandemic is lasting a little longer than expected, so I've decided to have one podcast interview a week and have the other be similar to the old solo podcasts where I talk about Magic design. Today is another in my two-color philosophy series. In this podcast, I talk about black-green.
Aug 14, 2020
#765: Graeme Hopkins
1877
In this podcast, I talk with Graeme Hopkins, one of the finalists from the first Great Designer Search and someone who currently works on Magic: The Gathering Arena.
Aug 14, 2020
#764: Brian Schneider
1718
In this podcast, I talk with Brian Schneider, former Magic head developer. We talk about the many sets he worked on during his time at Wizards.
Aug 07, 2020
#763: Witney Williams
1786
In this podcast, I talk with Witney Williams, the director of global events. She and I talk about all the things that go into running large Magic events.
Aug 07, 2020
#762: Mike Turian
2118
In this podcast, I talk with Mike Turian, Pro Tour Hall of Famer and coworker. I talk with him about his time working as a Magic developer and his current job as principal product designer. What is that? Listen and learn.
Jul 31, 2020
#761: Devin Low
1869
In this podcast, I talk with Devin Low, former Magic head developer, about his time working on Magic.
Jul 31, 2020
#760: Shivam Bhatt
1812
In this podcast, I talk with Shivam Bhatt about his role with Commander and his podcast.
Jul 24, 2020
#759: Sheldon Menery
2245
In this podcast, I talk with Sheldon Menery about his days of judging and his role in helping to create the Commander format.
Jul 24, 2020
#758: Doug Beyer
1879
Doug just celebrated his 20th year at Wizards, so I had him on the podcast to talk all about his work on the Creative team.
Jul 17, 2020
#757: Brian Hacker
2125
In this podcast, I talk with Brian Hacker about his time on the Pro Tour and how he and other Magic pros ended up on MTV.
Jul 17, 2020
#756: Chris Pikula
1936
In this podcast, I talk with Chris Pikula about the Pro Tour and what it's like to win a Magic Invitational.
Jul 10, 2020
#755: Dave Humpherys
1922
In this podcast, I talk with Dave Humpherys about the Pro Tour and all the sets he's led.
Jul 10, 2020
#754: Cedric Phillips
1863
In this podcast, I talk with Cedric Phillips about streaming and doing commentary.
Jul 03, 2020
#753: Gaby Spartz
1867
In this podcast, I talk with Gaby Spartz about streaming and doing commentary.
Jul 03, 2020
#752: April King
1997
In this podcast, I talk with April King about the challenges of keeping a Magic database and about the community of Magic Twitter.
Jun 26, 2020
#751: Christine Sprankle
1931
In this podcast, I talk with Christine Sprankle, one of the best-known Magic cosplayers.
Jun 26, 2020
#750: Skaff Elias
1856
This week's podcast is an interview with Skaff Elias, one of the original playtesters and a longtime Wizards employee.
Jun 19, 2020
#749: Jimmy Wong and Josh Lee Kwai
1970
In this podcast, I talk with Jimmy and Josh, hosts of The Command Zone and Game Knights.
Jun 19, 2020
#748: Blake Rasmussen
1811
In this podcast, I talk with Blake Rasmussen, one of the people in charge of communications for Magic.
Jun 12, 2020
#747: Dawn Murin
1924
In this podcast, I talk with Dawn Murin, one of the art directors for Magic.
Jun 12, 2020
#746: Brian Tinsman
2062
Brian Tinsman spent many years designing Magic cards and led sets like Rise of the Eldrazi and Time Spiral. He and I chat.
Jun 05, 2020
#745: Matt Tabak
2022
I talk with editor Matt Tabak.
Jun 05, 2020
#744: Erik Lauer
1831
Erik is my equivalent in set design. He and I talk about our many years of making Magic together.
May 29, 2020
#743: Mark Heggen
1959
I talk to product architect Mark Heggen to explain how he got into the game and just what exactly he does for Magic.
May 29, 2020
#742: Brian Weissman
2316
In this podcast, I talk to Brian Weissman, an old-school pro player. He and I talk about the early days of the game as well as how he created the first Magic deck to ever get a name.
May 21, 2020
#741: Bill Rose
1923
In this podcast, I talk to Bill Rose, the vice president of Tabletop Magic. Bill and I have worked together for 25 years.
May 21, 2020
#740: Meghan and Maria
1904
In this podcast, I talk to Meghan Wolf and Maria Bartholdi of Good Luck, High Five.
May 15, 2020
#739: The Professor
1894
In this podcast, I talk to Brian Lewis (aka The Professor) of Tolarian Community College.
May 15, 2020
#738: Donald Smith Jr.
1807
Donald Smith Jr. is a member of the Play Design team, and I talk with him about what Play Design does.
May 08, 2020
#737: Richard Garfield
1998
For years, this has been the number-one request for a carpool guest for the podcast, but as Richard doesn't live near me, nor work at Wizards anymore, it's been an unobtainable goal. Thus, he seemed like a great guest for my at-home edition where I could call him on the phone. Richard and I talk about the design of Alpha.
May 08, 2020
#736: Matt Place, Part 2
1747
Matt Place had so much to say, we had to do a second podcast.
Apr 30, 2020
#735: Matt Place, Part 1
1827
In this podcast, I interview Matt Place, a former pro player and Magic R&D member.
Apr 30, 2020
#734: Chris Mooney
1974
I also interview Chris who is another GDS3 alum and another person I work closely with on the Vision Design team. As with Ari, we talk about what it's like being a Magic player from the outside who became an insider.
Apr 24, 2020
#733: Ari Nieh
1924
In another of my interview series, I interview Ari Nieh, winner of the Great Designer Search 3 and someone I work closely with on the Vision Design team. We talk about his early days of Magic, GDS3, and what it's like to work in R&D.
Apr 24, 2020
#732: Annie Sardelis
1819
In this podcast, I'm interviewing Annie Sardelis, one of the members of the Creative team.
Apr 17, 2020
#731: Aaron Forsythe
1822
In this podcast, I'm interviewing my boss and longtime Magic collaborator, Aaron Forsythe.
Apr 17, 2020
#730: Michael Ryan, Part 2
2142
This podcast is part 2 of my interview with Michael Ryan. We continue talking about the making of the Weatherlight Saga.
Apr 10, 2020
#729: Michael Ryan, Part 1
1947
I've started recording "Drive to Work" from home due to the pandemic, so I decided to use the opportunity to do something that's hard to do in the car, interview people over the phone. This podcast is part one of a talk I have with Michael Ryan, my fellow co-creator of the Weatherlight Saga. We talk about how we made the story, including many of the characters.
Apr 10, 2020
#728: Theros Beyond Death Cards, Part 5
1874
This is the fifth part of a series (of five) of card-by-card design stories from Theros Beyond Death.
Apr 03, 2020
#727: Theros Beyond Death Cards, Part 4
1764
This is the fourth part of a series (of five) of card-by-card design stories from Theros Beyond Death.
Apr 03, 2020
#726: Blue-Red
2210
This is another podcast in my two-color philosophy series. This time, I talk blue-red.
Mar 27, 2020
#725: Theros Beyond Death Cards, Part 3
1919
This is the third part of a series (of five) of card-by-card design stories from Theros Beyond Death.
Mar 27, 2020
#724: Theros Beyond Death Cards, Part 2
2449
This is the second part of a series (of five) of card-by-card design stories from Theros Beyond Death.
Mar 20, 2020
#723: Theros Beyond Death Cards, Part 1
2867
This is the first part of a series (of five) of card-by-card design stories from Theros Beyond Death.
Mar 20, 2020
#722: Top 10 Blocks
2001
In this podcast, I talk about what I consider to be my top 10 Magic blocks.
Mar 13, 2020
#721: White-Black
2390
This podcast is another in my two-color philosophy series. This time, I start talking about my first enemy color pair, white-black.
Mar 13, 2020
#720: What Was in Alpha
2082
This is another trivia podcast. I ask about elements of Magic and see if you can identify whether it was part of Magic at the start of the game back in Alpha.
Mar 06, 2020
#719: Broadwaycon 2020
2459
My eldest daughter and I traveled to New York City to attend Broadwaycon. This podcast talks all about it and how it made me rethink how I do Magic design.
Mar 06, 2020
#718: Green-White
2973
This is part five in my ten-part series on two-color philosophies. In this podcast, I talk about green-white.
Feb 28, 2020
#717: Making Un- Cards
3250
In this podcast, I talk about the challenges of making silver-bordered cards.
Feb 28, 2020
#716: Unsanctioned, Part 2
2645
This is part two of a two-part series on the design of Unsanctioned. In it, I walk through the designs of all sixteen of the new cards.
Feb 21, 2020
#715: Unsanctioned, Part 1
2940
This is part one of a two-part series on the design of Unsanctioned. In it, I walk through the designs of all sixteen of the new cards.
Feb 21, 2020
#714: Red-Green
3004
This podcast is another in my two-color philosophy series.
Feb 14, 2020
#713: Head-to-Head – Commander, Part 2
2011
This podcast is part two of a two-part series on a Head-to-Head I did on Twitter about possible changes to the Commander format.
Feb 14, 2020
#712: Theros Beyond Death
2243
In this podcast, I talk about the design of Theros Beyond Death.
Feb 07, 2020
#711: Head-to-Head – Commander, Part 1
2599
This podcast is part one of a two-part series on a Head-to-Head I did on Twitter about possible changes to the Commander format.
Feb 07, 2020
#710: Success Paralysis
3217
In this podcast, I talk about a phenomenon known as success paralysis where being successful can discourage you from embracing change.
Jan 31, 2020
#709: Black-Red
2128
This is another in my two-color philosophy series. This time I talk black-red.
Jan 31, 2020
#708: Tempest Cards, Part 4
2629
This is part four of a four-part series of card-by-card design stories from Tempest.
Jan 24, 2020
#707: Tempest Cards, Part 3
2572
This is part three of a four-part series of card-by-card design stories from Tempest.
Jan 24, 2020
#706: Blue-Black
2290
This is the second, of ten, in my two-color philosophy series.
Jan 17, 2020
#705: Tempest Cards, Part 2
2220
This is part two of a four-part series of card-by-card design stories from Tempest.
Jan 17, 2020
#704: Tempest Cards, Part 1
2045
This is part one of a four-part series of card-by-card design stories from Tempest.
Jan 10, 2020
#703: Trivia – Top 50 Creature Types
2341
What are the top 50 creature types in order of how often they show up on Magic cards? In this podcast, I give listeners clues for guessing as I go through the list.
Jan 10, 2020
#702: White-Blue
2543
This is the first in a series on the two-color pairs. I begin by examining white-blue.
Jan 03, 2020
#701: Collecting
2240
In this podcast, I talk about an aspect of Magic that's core to trading card games and can influence how we design sets—collecting.
Jan 03, 2020
#700: Plane Diversity
2838
In this podcast, I talk about a popular topic from my blog about why Magic worlds aren't all as diverse as Dominaria.
Dec 20, 2019
#699: Maria & Meghan
2354
This is my first podcast of a new series where I talk about various members of the Magic community that produce content. I'm going to start by talking about Maria and Meghan of the "Good Luck, High Five" podcast.
Dec 20, 2019
#698: Reusing Things
2824
Part of Magic design is reusing things you've used before. This podcast talks all about when and how we reuse things in design.
Dec 13, 2019
#697: Planeswalker Evolutions
2404
In this podcast, I talk about the many different ways we've evolved the planeswalker card type since its introduction.
Dec 13, 2019
#696: When to Change
3127
This podcast talks about when you have to change what you're doing in a design. I give numerous examples of designs where we ended up making big changes.
Dec 06, 2019
#695: Core of Planes
2168
In this podcast, I examine all of our major planes and talk about the most important part of the plane from a design and flavor perspective.
Dec 06, 2019
#694: Trivia – Top 50 Words
2785
What are the 50 words that show up in the most Magic card titles? In this podcast, I go through that list and talk a bit about how we name cards.
Nov 27, 2019
#693: Food Cluster
2533
I'm trying something new, what I'm calling a cluster podcast, where I pick a topic and talk about a whole bunch of little topics in that category. For my first cluster podcast, I have chosen to talk about food.
Nov 27, 2019
#692: Throne of Eldraine Cards, Part 4
2870
This is part four of a four-part series on card-by-card design stories from Throne of Eldraine.
Nov 22, 2019
#691: Throne of Eldraine Cards, Part 3
3320
This is part three of a four-part series on card-by-card design stories from Throne of Eldraine.
Nov 22, 2019
#690: The Priority Problem
3137
This podcast talks about why we can't easily meet every request.
Nov 18, 2019
#689: Artifacts & Enchantements
3449
This podcast is about the similarities and differences between artifacts and enchantments, and how they've changed over time.
Nov 18, 2019
#688: Subtypes
2598
In this podcast, I talk about all the noncreature subtypes in Magic.
Nov 08, 2019
#687: Throne of Eldraine Cards, Part 2
2452
This is part two of a four-part series on card-by-card design stories from Throne of Eldraine.
Nov 08, 2019
#686: Throne of Eldraine Cards, Part 1
2661
This is part one of a four-part series on card-by-card design stories from Throne of Eldraine.
Nov 01, 2019
#685: Things Not Going According to Plan
2928
In game design, as in any creation—and life really—things don't always go according to plan. In this podcast, I talk about numerous times Magic design ended up having to go in a different direction.
Nov 01, 2019
#684: Throne of Eldraine
2432
In this podcast, I talk about the design of Throne of Eldraine.
Oct 25, 2019
#683: Throne of Eldraine Stream
2306
In this podcast, I take listeners behind the scenes into the making of the Throne of Eldraine announcement stream.
Oct 25, 2019
#682: Connecting Set & Story
2434
In this podcast, I talk about what we have to do in design to make sure that the set and story align.
Oct 18, 2019
#681: Math in Magic
2174
In this podcast, I talk about how Magic design involves a lot of math.
Oct 18, 2019
#680: Diversity in Game Design
1977
In August, I wrote an article about why diversity matters in game design. This is my podcast version of that topic.
Oct 11, 2019
#679: Changing the Color Pie
2476
In this podcast, I discuss when, how, and why we make changes to the color pie.
Oct 11, 2019
#678: Small Talk with Sarah
1780
This is another of my mailbag podcasts where I answer all your questions. I do these with a carpool guest. Instead of "Mailbag with Matt" or "Replies with Rachel," we get the first-ever "Small Talk with Sarah" where my guest is my youngest daughter, Sarah.
Oct 04, 2019
#677: Other People's Lessons – Lessons Learned
1868
This podcast is another in my "Other People's Lessons" series where I talk top ten lists of lessons for something else and apply them to Magic design. Today is life lessons.
Oct 04, 2019
#676: Lessons Learned – War of the Spark
2756
This is another podcast in my "Lessons Learned" series where I talk about lessons from sets that I led or co-led the design for. This time, I talk about what I learned leading the design for War of the Spark.
Sep 27, 2019
#675: Bolas Arc
2798
In this podcast, I talk about us putting together the themes of three years' worth of sets that cover what we call the "Bolas Arc" (Kaladesh through War of the Spark).
Sep 27, 2019
#674: SDCC 2019
2019
As is normal, I went to San Diego Comic-Con, but this year, I got to reveal Throne of Eldraine to the world. It was quite fun. In this podcast, I fill you in on my entire trip.
Sep 20, 2019
#673: Banned & Restricted, Part 4
2579
This is part four of a four-part series on all the banned or restricted cards I had a hand in designing.
Sep 20, 2019
#672: Banned & Restricted, Part 3
1966
This is part three of a four-part series on all the banned or restricted cards I had a hand in designing.
Sep 13, 2019
#671: Banned & Restricted, Part 2
2374
This is part two of a four-part series on all the banned or restricted cards I had a hand in designing.
Sep 13, 2019
#670: Banned & Restricted, Part 1
1922
Not that I'm proud of this, but I have the honor of having had a hand in creating more cards that have been banned or restricted than any other designer. In this podcast, I walk through the many cards I've helped design from this list and talk about their designs.
Sep 06, 2019
#669: Meet Sarah
1715
In past podcasts, you've met my dad, my mom, and my eldest daughter, Rachel. Today, you get to meet my youngest daughter, Sarah.
Sep 06, 2019
#668: Zones
1731
Magic has six major zones plus a few others used in various formats. I talk all about them including examining the design space of zone changing.
Aug 30, 2019
#667: Full-Art Lands
2367
In this podcast, I talk about the history of full-art lands and talk about all the times we've used them.
Aug 30, 2019
#666: Demons
1785
This podcast is about the history of the Demon creature type.
Aug 23, 2019
#665: Lessons Learned – Unstable
2248
This is another in my series "Lessons Learned" where I examine the lessons I've learned from sets I led or co-led. Today, I talk about the third Un- set, Unstable.
Aug 23, 2019
#664: Milling
2630
In this podcast, I talk about the history of Magic's oldest alternate-win condition.
Aug 16, 2019
#663: Modern Horizons Cards, Part 4
3309
This is part four of a four-part series on card-by-card design stories from Modern Horizons.
Aug 16, 2019
#662: Modern Horizons Cards, Part 3
2440
This is part three of a four-part series on card-by-card design stories from Modern Horizons.
Aug 09, 2019
#661: Power Level
2799
In this podcast, I talk all about power level. I describe what it is and how it impacts how we make Magic cards.
Aug 09, 2019
#660: Modern Horizons Cards, Part 2
2446
This is part two of a four-part series on card-by-card design stories from Modern Horizons.
Aug 02, 2019
#659: Modern Horizons Cards, Part 1
2849
This is part one of a four-part series on card-by-card design stories from Modern Horizons.
Aug 02, 2019
#658: Split Cards
2198
In this podcast, I talk about the history of split cards—how they came to be and the many different times we've used them.
Jul 26, 2019
#657: Innovation Products
2845
We have a line we call the innovation products (things like Conspiracy, Unstable, and Battlebond). I'll explain what they are and talk through all the ones we've made thus far.
Jul 26, 2019
#656: Modern Horizons
2305
This podcast is all about the design of Modern Horizons.
Jul 19, 2019
#655: War of the Spark Cards, Part 5
3076
This is part five of a five-part series on card-by-card design stories from War of the Spark.
Jul 19, 2019
#654: War of the Spark Cards, Part 4
2918
This is part four of a five-part series on card-by-card design stories from War of the Spark.
Jul 12, 2019
#653: Other Lessons – Ideas & Execution
2893
As a new series following up my "20 Lessons, 20 Podcasts" series, I'm starting "Other Lessons" to talk about other things I've learned during my time at Wizards. This podcast's lesson is "People overrate ideas and underrate execution."
Jul 12, 2019
#652: War of the Spark Cards, Part 3
2680
This is part three of a five-part series on card-by-card design stories from War of the Spark.
Jul 03, 2019
#651: War of the Spark Cards, Part 2
2585
This is part two of a five-part series on card-by-card design stories from War of the Spark.
Jul 03, 2019
#650: War of the Spark Cards, Part 1
2208
This is part one of a five-part series on card-by-card design stories from War of the Spark.
Jun 28, 2019
#649: MagicFest London
2650
So, I went to England for MagicFest London and Mythic Championship II. This podcast talks all about my trip.
Jun 28, 2019
#648: Working on the Road
2334
Part of my job is traveling. This podcast talks about what it's like working when traveling as well as the many things that have to be done before or after you've traveled.
Jun 21, 2019
#647: Designing Library Effect
2399
This episode is another in my "Designing _____" series where I talk about how we design certain basic effects. In this episode, I talk about effects interacting with the library.
Jun 21, 2019
#646: Seeing the World
3138
Working on Magic has taken me to many countries around the world. In this podcast, I reminisce about all the places I've visited on Magic's dime.
Jun 14, 2019
#645: Languages
1877
Magic is printed in eleven languages. In this podcast, I talk about how that came to be and how making a game printed in so many languages impacts game design.
Jun 14, 2019
#644: Ajani's Pridemate
1777
This podcast is all about us adding two words to the rules text of one card and all the hullabaloo that followed. I explain why we did it and walk through the timeline of what happened (it's a little convoluted).
Jun 07, 2019
#643: Breaking Rules
1774
In this podcast, I discuss when rules should and shouldn't be broken in Magic design. It involves a bunch of talking about planeswalking and puppies.
Jun 07, 2019
#642: Retired Mechanics
2895
In this podcast, I talk about Magic mechanics that just didn't make the cut and had to be retired.
May 31, 2019
#641: Booster Packs
1962
In this podcast, I talk all about the history of the booster pack, how it's evolved, and what impact it has on the design of Magic.
May 31, 2019
#640: Planeswalker Who's Who
2330
In this podcast, I walk through all the Planeswalkers to explain who they are and how they're mechanically represented on cards.
May 24, 2019
#639: Top 10 Worst Mechanics
2290
I realized I hadn't done a Top 10 list in a while, so I decided to talk about bad mechanics.
May 24, 2019
#638: War of the Spark
2639
This podcast talks about the vision design of War of the Spark.
May 17, 2019
#637: Social Media in Game Design
2609
In this podcast, I examine the role social media plays in modern game design.
May 17, 2019
#636: Rise & Fall of the Blocks
2481
This podcast is about the history of the block, how they came about and why they went away.
May 10, 2019
#635: Rabiah Scale, Part 2
2336
This is part two of a two-part series exploring the Rabiah Scale, a scale talking about how likely we are to visit or revisit certain planes in a Standard-legal set.
May 10, 2019
#634: Rabiah Scale, Part 1
2374
This is part one of a two-part series exploring the Rabiah Scale, a scale talking about how likely we are to visit or revisit certain planes in a Standard-legal set.
May 03, 2019
#633: Morningtide, Part 3
2514
This is part three of my three-part series on card-by-card design stories from Morningtide.
May 03, 2019
#632: Morningtide, Part 2
2359
This is part two of my three-part series on card-by-card design stories from Morningtide.
Apr 26, 2019
#631: Morningtide, Part 1
2040
This is part one of my three-part series on card-by-card design stories from Morningtide.
Apr 26, 2019
#630: Five Requests I Ignore
2239
Based on my previous article, I explain why we just can't do some of the things fans request for Magic.
Apr 19, 2019
#629: Designing Destruction
1923
This is another in my "Designing _____" series where I walk through making basic effects. In this podcast, I talk about making all the various destruction cards.
Apr 19, 2019
#628: Greg Weisman
2367
I had the pleasure to have a carpool guest, Greg Weisman, the author of the upcoming War of the Spark novel, Ravnica. He and I talked all about what went into writing a story with over 100 named characters.
Apr 12, 2019
#627: Empathy
2099
This podcast is based on a recent article I did talking about the importance of empathy in game design (and life).
Apr 12, 2019
#626: Magic Golden Rules
1821
Magic has a number of golden rules, and today, I talk about what they are and why they're so important to design.
Apr 05, 2019
#625: Lessons Learned – GRN & RNA
1863
This is another in my "Lessons Learned" series where I talk about the lessons I've picked up from sets I've led or co-led. In this podcast, I talk about Guilds of Ravnica and Ravnica Allegiance (as the vision design for them was done together).
Apr 05, 2019
#624: Play Days
3302
About once a month, R&D takes the day off to play with an upcoming set. In this podcast, I talk all about R&D play days and how they work.
Mar 29, 2019
#623: Mailbag Columns
2378
One of the things I enjoy doing is answering questions from the fans. In this podcast, I explore the many ways I do that.
Mar 29, 2019
#622: Brian David-Marshall
1746
Brian retired from doing coverage, so I decided to dedicate a podcast to his long Magic career.
Mar 22, 2019
#621: Simic
2733
This podcast is the tenth and final in my Ravnica guild series. In this podcast, I talk about the green-blue guild, the Simic Combine.
Mar 22, 2019
#620: Orzhov
2044
This podcast is the ninth in my Ravnica guild series. In this podcast, I talk about the white-black guild, the Orzhov Syndicate.
Mar 15, 2019
#619: Broadwaycon, Part 2
1950
My eldest daughter, Rachel, and I traveled to New York to go to a convention about New York theater. This is part two of a two-part series about that trip.
Mar 15, 2019
#618: Broadwaycon, Part 1
2265
My eldest daughter, Rachel, and I traveled to New York to go to a convention about New York theater. This is part one of a two-part series about that trip.
Mar 08, 2019
#617: Gruul
1995
This podcast is the eighth in my Ravnica guild series. In this podcast, I talk about the red-green guild, the Gruul Clans.
Mar 08, 2019
#616: Rakdos
2707
This podcast is the seventh in my Ravnica guild series. In this podcast, I talk about the Cult of Rakdos, the black-red guild.
Mar 01, 2019
#615: Azorius
2659
This podcast is the sixth in my Ravnica guild series. In this podcast, I talk about the Azorius Senate, the white-blue guild.
Mar 01, 2019
#614: Lorwyn Cards, Part 4
1878
This podcast is the fourth in a four-part series about the card-by-card design stories of Lorwyn.
Feb 22, 2019
#613: Lorwyn Cards, Part 3
2035
This podcast is the third in a four-part series about the card-by-card design stories of Lorwyn.
Feb 22, 2019
#612: Lorwyn Cards, Part 2
2198
This podcast is the second in a four-part series about the card-by-card design stories of Lorwyn.
Feb 15, 2019
#611: Lorwyn Cards, Part 1
2374
This podcast is the first in a four-part series about the card-by-card design stories of Lorwyn.
Feb 15, 2019
#610: Bends and Breaks
3860
Often on my blog and social media accounts, I talk about things being "bends" and "breaks." In today's podcast, I go in depth defining what those terms mean and talk about why bends (in moderation) are good for the game and why breaks are bad.
Feb 08, 2019
#609: Designing Direct Damage
2933
This is another podcast in my "Designing _________ " series where I discuss how we design basic Magic effects. In this podcast, I talk about designing direct damage.
Feb 08, 2019
#608: Other People's Lessons – Poetry
2443
This is a new series called "Other People's Lessons" where I look at lessons from other areas of art and examine how those lessons apply to Magic design. Today's lesson was by a poet named Kara Ziehl and talks about how to better write poetry.
Feb 01, 2019
#607: Unique Creature Types
2593
In this podcast, I examine the many creature types that are unique to the game of Magic.
Feb 01, 2019
#606: Lessons Learned – Dominaria
2499
This is another in my "Lessons Learned" series where I talk about sets I led (or co-led) and explore the many lessons I learned while doing the design.
Jan 25, 2019
#605: Market Research
3329
In this podcast, I talk about the many ways we learn about what the players like and don't like.
Jan 25, 2019
#604: Designing Counterspells
2872
This is the first in my "Designing [Blank]" series where I talk about how to design basic Magic effects.
Jan 18, 2019
#603: Lorwyn
2793
In this podcast, I talk about the design of the Lorwyn set.
Jan 18, 2019
#602: Magic Evolution, Part 7
2715
This is another in my "Magic Evolution" series that goes through sets and explains the innovations of each expansion. This podcast is about the original Ravnica block.
Jan 11, 2019
#601: Factions
2553
This podcast is about how we design factions and build sets around them.
Jan 11, 2019
#599: Boros
2716
This podcast is part of my guild series where I walk through the history of each guild through all three visits to Ravnica. In this podcast, I talk all about the red-white guild, the Boros Legion.
Jan 04, 2019
#600: Conventions
2330
Gaming conventions have played a big role in Magic's history. In this podcast, I talk about many of the key ones that have intersected with Magic.
Jan 04, 2019
#597: Collecting
2280
In this podcast, I talk about an aspect of the game I don't discuss often—collecting. I discuss the many ways we make the game collectible and what impact that has on how we design.
Dec 21, 2018
#598: Golgari
2116
This podcast is part of my guild series where I walk through the history of each guild through all three visits to Ravnica. In this podcast, I talk all about the black-green guild, the Golgari Swarm.
Dec 21, 2018
#595: Selesnya
3197
This podcast is part of my guild series where I walk through the history of the guild through all three visits to Ravnica. In this podcast, I talk all about the green-white guild.
Dec 07, 2018
#596: Izzet
2086
This podcast is part of my guild series where I walk through the history of the guild through all three visits to Ravnica. In this podcast, I talk all about the blue-red guild.
Dec 07, 2018
#593: Mechanic Inspirations
2480
In this podcast, I talk about the various ways we create Magic mechanics to answer the question "Where do mechanics come from?"
Nov 30, 2018
#594: Dimir
2089
This is the first of ten guild podcasts. I'll be doing five now and five when Ravnica Allegiance comes out. In this one, I talk about how we first created Dimir and the three guild mechanics.
Nov 30, 2018
#591: Guilds of Ravnica
2870
In this podcast, I talk about the vision design of Guilds of Ravnica.
Nov 23, 2018
#592: CAPS
2351
In this podcast, I talk about a group of people who do a lot of work on Magic, but not the part I normally talk about. This is the people to whom R&D hand off their work.
Nov 23, 2018
#589: Chicago
2071
My family went to Chicago to drop off my oldest daughter Rachel at college, so I talk all about how the city of Chicago has intersected with Magic.
Nov 16, 2018
#590: Letting Go
2595
As I had just dropped my daughter Rachel off at college, I talk about how a designer has to learn to let go of their work and pass it along to other people.
Nov 16, 2018
#587: Sets by Plane
1824
In this podcast, I walk through each set and talk about what plane it takes place on.
Nov 09, 2018
#588: College
2031
I was about to take my daughter off to college, so I dedicated a podcast to talking about what lessons college taught me that impact my life and how I design Magic.
Nov 09, 2018
#585: Magic Evolution, Part 6
1793