Episodes

Dec 12

This is my fourth and final episode talking about 30 big design evolutions since I started working at Wizards of the Coast in October 1995. This is based on a three-part series I did in my Making Magic column .

Dec 12

There are a lot of costs you can pay other than mana. In this episode, I talk about different types of resources in Magic .

Dec 5

This is part three of a four-part series talking about 30 big design evolutions since I started working at Wizards of the Coast in October 1995. This is based on a three-part series I did in my Making Magic column .

Dec 5

In this episode, I talk about how the color pie has evolved over the last three decades.

Nov 28

This podcast is part two of a four-part series talking about 30 big design evolutions since I started working at Wizards of the Coast in October 1995. This is based on a three-part series I did in my Making Magic column .

Nov 28

In this podcast, I sit down with Melissa DeTora, the leader of the Casual Play Design team, to talk about Commander design.

Nov 21

This podcast is part one of a four-part series talking about 30 big design evolutions since I started working at Wizards of the Coast in October 1995. This is based on a three-part series I did in my Making Magic column .

Nov 21

In this podcast, I talk all about the design of the fourth set in the Lorwyn - Shadowmoor block, Eventide .

Nov 14

In this podcast, I talk about the design of every card with Mox or Lotus in the name designed as a spiritual successor to Limited Edition (Alpha) 's Moxen and Black Lotus.

Nov 14

In this podcast, I sit down with Lead Set Designer Chris Mooney to talk about the design of Magic: The Gathering ® | Avatar: The Last Airbender ™ .

Nov 7

This episode talks about why it's good for R&D to design around a format you play.

Nov 7

This podcast is all about how to start a podcast of your own.

Oct 31

Sometimes, the greatest design skill is to never give up. In this podcast, I talk about times it took a while for an idea to make it to print.

Oct 31

This podcast is another in my "Lessons Learned" series where I talk about sets I led or co-led and walk through all the design lessons I learned. This time, I discuss Murders at Karlov Manor .

Oct 24

When the Commander Format Panel visited Wizards, I gave a presentation pitching why I felt it was important to change how hybrid worked in Commander. This podcast goes over the contents of that presentation and explains my reasoning for the change.

Oct 24

I just returned from New York Comic Con. This podcast talks all about it.

Oct 17

This podcast talks about the history of the proliferate mechanic.

Oct 17

This is part three of three going over my talk from MagicCon: Atlanta looking at the top 20 most influential Magic expansions of all time.

Oct 10

This is part two of three going over my talk from MagicCon: Atlanta looking at the top 20 most influential Magic expansions of all time.

Oct 10

This podcast is part one of three going over my talk from MagicCon: Atlanta looking at the top 20 most influential Magic expansions of all time.

Oct 3

I just got back from MagicCon: Atlanta, and in this podcast, I talk all about it.

Oct 3

This podcast is a look back at the early creatures that only cost one mana.

Sep 26

In this podcast, I talk about the things I have to do to prepare for an upcoming MagicCon (in this case, MagicCon: Atlanta).

Sep 26

This podcast is another in my quest to talk about every Magic expansion. This time I talk about the third set in the Champions of Kamigawa block, Saviors of Kamigawa .

Sep 19

In this podcast, I talk about the times we returned to settings that we'd already visited.

Sep 19

This podcast is another in my quest to cover every Magic expansion.

Sep 12

This podcast is about the most hated mechanic in the history of Magic , ante.

Sep 12

In this podcast, I talk about a specific aspect of the color pie and how modern design requires that we care about it.

Sep 5

This podcast is a companion to my three-part Making Magic series on the history of tokens. You can read the third and final column on Monday, September 8.

Sep 5

In this podcast, I sit down with Corey Bowen, the lead set designer of Magic: The Gathering ® | Marvel's Spider-Man , to talk about the set's design.

Aug 29

In my podcast on Igniting the Spark (the new Magic documentary), I talked about doing a podcast that covered something the documentary didn't. How did Magic grow from a one hundred million-dollar game to a billion-dollar game?

Aug 29

In this podcast, I talk about a key component of design: set structure.

Aug 22

This is another podcast in my ongoing quest to record a podcast about every expansion. This episode is all about Prophecy , the third set in the Mercadian Masques block.

Aug 22

A documentary about how Magic debuted at Gen Con. I had the pleasure of participating in it, and this podcast talks all about that.

Aug 15

This is another podcast in my ongoing quest to record a podcast about every expansion. This podcast is all about Nemesis , the second set in the Mercadian Masques block.

Aug 15

Every year, I write a " State of Design " column where I talk about how I feel the last year of Magic design went. This year's column starts with Bloomburrow and goes through Magic: The Gathering ®—FINAL FANTASY™. With six sets to talk about, I ended up having a pretty lengthy article, so I made a supplementary podcast where I walk through every new mechanic to give my thoughts on how they went.

Aug 9

This is another podcast in my ongoing quest to record a podcast about every expansion. This podcast is all about Mercadian Masques .

Aug 9

Magic is made not by a single designer but by a large group of people. In this podcast, I talk about how that affects game design.

Aug 1

In this podcast, I talk all about my trip to this year's San Diego Comic-Con.

Aug 1

The very nature of a trading card game is that it's always evolving. In today's podcast, I talk about what that means for Magic design.

Jul 25

In this podcast, I see if I can talk for 30 minutes about the Magic card back. (Hint: I did it.)

Jul 25

In this podcast, I sit down with Andrew Brown, the set lead designer of Edge of Eternities , to talk about the making of the set.

Jul 18

In this podcast, I talk about an R&D expression, "The juice isn't worth the squeeze."

Jul 18

In this podcast, I sit down with Ethan Fleischer, the vision design lead for Edge of Eternities , to talk about the making of the set.

Jul 11

In this podcast, I walk through the history of how we've used colorless in design.

Jul 11

This podcast explores how each of the colors interacts with enchantments.

Jul 4

In this podcast, I talk about how it's not enough for a mechanic to be good in a vacuum.

Jul 4

This podcast explores how each of the colors interacts with creatures.

Jun 27

In this podcast, I talk about the use of repeat mechanics on singular card designs.

Jun 27

This podcast explores how each of the colors interacts with artifacts.

Jun 20

In this podcast, I answer a question from my blog about how we decide when to name and not name mechanics.

Jun 20

I recently wrote a three-part article about the history of typal themes in Magic . This is my podcast on the topic.

Jun 13

In this podcast, I talk all about Exodus (the third expansion of the Tempest block).

Jun 13

In this podcast, I talk all about Stronghold (the second expansion of the Tempest block).

Jun 6

In this podcast, I talk about a concept called futureproofing where we design mechanics to better enable us to use them in the future.

Jun 6

In this podcast, I sit down with the lead designer of Magic: The Gathering ®—FINAL FANTASY™ to talk about the set's design.

May 30

We design a lot of mechanics. Most don't make it to print. Why? That's my topic for this podcast.

May 30

This podcast talks about a tool we use to playtest new mechanics.

May 23

Someone on my blog asked me if I ever designed any Magic formats. It turns out that I have, so I spent a podcast episode talking about them.

May 23

In this episode, I walk through many of the design issues that occur during vision design.

May 16

In this podcast, I talk about times we decided to reuse mechanics and times we chose to tweak mechanics into something new.

May 16

Inspired by this year's "Nuts & Bolts" column, I walk through how mechanics are created.

May 9

In this episode, I walk through the history of Magic and talk about how communicating with players has changed over the years.

May 9

This podcast is part three of three on my series about the 20 worst mechanics of all time, based on my talk at last year's MagicCon: Las Vegas .

May 2

This podcast is part two of three on my series about the 20 worst mechanics of all time, based on my talk at last year's MagicCon: Las Vegas .

May 2

This podcast is part one of three on my series about the 20 worst mechanics of all time, based on my talk at last year's MagicCon: Las Vegas .

Apr 25

This is part two of a two-part series on the aesthetic profiles. This time, I talk about Mel, the player who aesthetically appreciates mechanics.

Apr 25

When Richard Garfield first made Magic , he liked to say it was "a game bigger than the box." In this episode, I walk through what exactly that phrase means and the challenges of making a game that accomplishes this.

Apr 18

This podcast is part one of a two-part series on the aesthetic profiles. Up first, I talk all about Vorthos, the player who aesthetically appreciates flavor.

Apr 18

In this podcast, I talk about the team that figures out what in-Multiverse Magic sets we'll be doing in the future.

Apr 11

This podcast is part three of a three-part series walking through the three psychographics. Today, I explore the psychological analysis of Spike.

Apr 11

In this podcast, I sit down with the creative lead for Tarkir: Dragonstorm , Lauren Bond, to talk about the worldbuilding and creative execution of the set.

Apr 4

This podcast is part two of a three-part series walking through the three psychographics. Today, I explore the psychological analysis of Johnny and Jenny.

Apr 4

In this podcast, I sit down with Tarkir: Dragonstorm Set Design Lead Adam Prosak to talk about the set's design.

Mar 28

This episode is part one of a three-part series walking through the three psychographics. I start today with exploring the psychological analysis of Timmy and Tammy.

Mar 28

In this episode, I walk through the vision design for Tarkir: Dragonstorm and talk about the evolution of the Dragon subtype and clan mechanics.

Mar 21

Many years ago, I would drive my eldest daughter to school, and occasionally, we did a segment called "Replies with Rachel" where the two of us would answer questions. I then did another segment with my youngest daughter Sarah called "Small Talk with Sarah" when I drove her to camp. Today, for the first time, I have both my daughters and all three of us answer your questions. I will note the audio quality for this podcast isn't my best, but I hope the content makes up for it.

Mar 21

Magic 's very first set had a card type that no longer exists called interrupts. In this episode, I walk through all the cards of this card type in Limited Edition (Alpha) .

Mar 14

In this episode, I explain the value of themes by going through the various teams that work on a Magic set.

Mar 14

In this episode, I explain the numerous ways designers give feedback to each other by going through the entire exploratory design and vision design process.

Mar 7

This is part three of a three-part series going over a talk I gave at MagicCon: Chicago 2025 .

Mar 7

This is part two of a three-part series going over a talk I gave at MagicCon: Chicago 2025 .

Feb 28

This is part one of a three-part series going over a talk I gave at MagicCon: Chicago 2025 .

Feb 28

In this episode, I talk about my recent trip to MagicCon: Chicago.

Feb 21

This episode looks back at the design of Weatherlight , the third set in the Mirage block.

Feb 21

This episode looks back at the design of Visions , the second set in the Mirage block.

Feb 14

One of the truisms of game design: make sure your players enjoy losing your game. How do we do that? This podcast walks listeners through six key lessons.

Feb 14

Every year, my eldest daughter, Rachel, and I go to a convention dedicated to Broadway called BroadwayCon. It's interesting going to a convention from the perspective of a fan. In this episode, I talk about this year's trip, the things I learned, and apply my learnings to Magic design.

Feb 7

I do a lot of interviews. A question I often get is, "Why is Magic so good?" I have a lot of answers to that question, enough for a 30-minute podcast.

Feb 7

In this podcast, I sit down with Yoni Skolnik, the lead set designer for Aetherdrift , to talk about the design after it was handed off for set design.

Jan 31

I talk about the history of drawback mechanics, what they are, how we design them, and how they've changed over the years.

Jan 31

I recorded this podcast two years ago when I handed off the Aetherdrift vision design to the Set Design team. Hear my thoughts on Magic 's latest set as it came fresh out of design.

Jan 24

In this podcast, I walk through the various reasons why we reprint cards at a different rarity.

Jan 24

In this podcast, I talk about the history of the protection mechanic, starting from Limited Edition (Alpha) to present day.

Jan 17

In this podcast, I walk through Magic 's history to talk about how the use of creature types has changed over time.

Jan 17

This is another in my "Lessons Learned" podcasts where I talk about sets I led or co-led the design for. I walk through the various lessons I learned in leading the design of the set. This episode is about The Lost Caverns of Ixalan .

Jan 10

Almost every randomized booster product is designed to be drafted. To do that we have to build around what we call draft archetypes. In this podcast, I talk all about them.

Jan 10

In this podcast, I sit down with JC Tao, the lead designer of Innistrad Remastered , to talk about the making of the set.

Jan 3

In this podcast, I talk all about the design of Apocalypse , another set from the Invasion block.

Jan 3

In this podcast, I talk all about the design of Planeshift , a set from the Invasion block.

Dec 27, 2024

I gained a love of games from my father and a love of psychology from my mother. This podcast talks about how my interest in psychology has impacted me as a Magic designer.

Dec 27, 2024

Part of writing a weekly Magic column involves writing card preview articles for new sets. In this podcast, I talk all about what goes into writing them.

Dec 20, 2024

This is part two of my two-part series where I talk about the history of two-in-one cards.

Dec 20, 2024

This last fall, I wrote a two-part article about what I call "two-in-one cards," or "two-in-ones" for short. These are designs where more than one spell is represented on a single card. My dividing line is that each spell has its own name. There are a bunch of different ways we've made two-in-ones. This podcast talks all about their history. This is part one of two.

Dec 13, 2024

Variance is an important aspect of Magic design (and game design in general). In this podcast, I explain what it is and how we use it.

Dec 13, 2024

There are two ways to begin a design: from the top down, where you start with flavor, and from the bottom up, where you start with mechanics. In this podcast, I talk about how these two design processes have evolved over time.

Dec 6, 2024

My favorite metaphor for Magic design is that it's like running a buffet. I talk about where this metaphor came from and why I feel it's so accurate.

Dec 6, 2024

This is another history podcast where I explore how an element of Magic came to be and evolved over time. This time, I look into the history of drafting.

Nov 29, 2024

In this podcast, I talk about how to use brainstorming to come up with ideas.

Nov 29, 2024

On this podcast, I talk about how we design cards for the mythic rare rarity.

Nov 22, 2024

In this podcast, I talk about an important quality of Magic mechanics: stickiness. What is it and how do we use it? This podcast dives into the topic.

Nov 22, 2024

I went to MagicCon: Las Vegas and have many stories to tell. This podcast tells those stories.

Nov 15, 2024

This episode is the eighth and final part of my eight-part series where I go through the entire history of Magic design to talk about design evolution over the years.

Nov 15, 2024

At MagicCon: Las Vegas, I was honored to participate in Game Knights Live . I have my three fellow players, Josh Lee Kwai, Jimmy Wong, and Becca Scott, on the podcast to talk through all that went into putting it on and share a bunch of the behind-the-scenes stories.

Nov 8, 2024

This episode is part seven of an eight-part series where I go through the entire history of Magic design to talk about design evolution over the years.

Nov 8, 2024

In this podcast, I sit down with Carmen Klomparens, lead designer of the Magic: The Gathering Foundations Starter Collection , to talk about the design of the product.

Nov 1, 2024

This episode is part six of an eight-part series where I go through the entire history of Magic design to talk about design evolution over the years.

Nov 1, 2024

In this podcast, I sit down with Foundations 's Lead Set Designer Bryan Hawley to talk about the design of the set's product suite.

Oct 25, 2024

This episode is part five of an eight-part series where I go through the entire history of Magic design to talk about design evolution over the years.

Oct 24, 2024

In this podcast, I go through all the mechanics that interact with the graveyard in some way.

Oct 18, 2024

This episode is part four of an eight-part series where I go through the entire history of Magic design to talk about design evolution over the years.

Oct 18, 2024

When we design new Magic cards and mechanics, we have to be conscious of how those cards will play with the cards and mechanics that already exist. In this podcast, I talk about what we do to make sure they play well together.

Oct 11, 2024

This episode is part three of an eight-part series where I go through the entire history of Magic design to talk about design evolution over the years.

Oct 11, 2024

Once a week, the Magic designers get together to talk through technical design issues. That meeting is called "Cardcrafting," and I talk about it in this podcast.

Oct 4, 2024

This episode is part two of an eight-part series where I go through the entire history of Magic design to talk about design evolution over the years.

Oct 4, 2024

In this episode, I take all the sets I talked about in my "State of Design 2024" article ( The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth™ through Modern Horizons 3 ) and walk through every new mechanic with my personal thoughts on them and what we've learned about them.

Sep 27, 2024

This episode is part one of an eight-part series where I go through the entire history of Magic design to talk about design evolution over the years.

Sep 27, 2024

In this episode, I sit down with Emily Teng, the Duskmourn: House of Horror worldbuilding lead, to talk about the creation of this brand-new plane.

Sep 20, 2024

In this podcast, I talk about what divides normal Eternal-legal Magic mechanics from silver-bordered and acorn mechanics.

Sep 20, 2024

In this podcast, I sit down with Jules Robins, lead set designer of Duskmourn: House of Horror , to talk about the design of the set.

Sep 13, 2024

This is another episode in my "Lessons Learned" series where I look back at sets I led or co-led and walk through the many lessons I learned from doing the design. In this podcast, I talk about what I learned designing March of the Machine .

Sep 13, 2024

In this podcast, I sit down with Ovidio Cartagena, the art director for Duskmourn: House of Horror , to talk about the visual look of the set.

Sep 6, 2024

In this podcast, I sit down with Annie Sardelis, the lead vision designer of Duskmourn: House of Horror , to talk about the early design of the set. Annie also led the design of the set's Commander decks, so we talk about those as well.

Sep 6, 2024

In this podcasts, I talk about the history of various Magic card borders and frames.

Aug 30, 2024

We banned a card this week that stirred up a lot of talk. I then wrote a blog entry on it that stirred up additional talk. This podcast is me explaining the issue with the extra context that having 30 minutes to talk provides.

Aug 30, 2024

In this podcast, I explore why the colors are allies with those next to them in the color pie and enemies with those across.

Aug 23, 2024

Each August, I write an article where I review the last year's worth of Magic design. This podcast looks into the history and philosophy behind these articles.

Aug 23, 2024

In this podcast, I sit down with Zack Stella, Bloomburrow 's art director, to talk about the visual look of the set.

Aug 16, 2024

Thus far, there have been seven stages of Magic design. In this podcast, I walk through each stage and explain the changes each brought to the game.

Aug 16, 2024

In this podcast, I sit down with Neale LaPlante Johnson, the lead worldbuilding designer for Bloomburrow, to talk about the making of the plane.

Aug 9, 2024

This podcast is all about my trip to this year's San Diego Comic-Con where I ran the Magic panel.

Aug 9, 2024

I sit down with Play Designer Jadine Klomparens to talk about the play design of Bloomburrow.

Aug 2, 2024

In this podcast, I talk about the various ways we can make the hand matter mechanically.

Aug 2, 2024

In this podcast, I talk about the design technique of making a new theme by combining numerous mechanical themes.

Jul 26, 2024

In this podcast, I examine what exactly power level is and how it impacts design.

Jul 26, 2024

In this episode, I sit down with Set Design Lead Ian Duke to talk about the later design of Bloomburrow.

Jul 19, 2024

In this podcast, I examine what makes for fun gameplay.

Jul 19, 2024

In this episode, I sit down with Vision Design Lead Doug Beyer to talk about the early design of Bloomburrow.

Jul 12, 2024

This podcast is part two of a two-part series based on a Making Magic article where I look back at the first 30 years of Magic and pick the top design contributions of each year.

Jul 12, 2024

This podcast is part one of a two-part series based on a Making Magic article where I look back at the first 30 years of Magic and pick the top design contributions of each year.

Jul 5, 2024

In this podcast, I talk about the Fallen Empires expansion.

Jul 5, 2024

In this podcast, I talk about the early portion of design where the sky is the limit.

Jun 28, 2024

In this podcast, I talk about how design needs to evoke an emotional response from the players.

Jun 28, 2024

In this podcast, I talk all about the history and design surrounding the exile zone.

Jun 21, 2024

In this podcast, I sit down with Lead Designer Corey Bowen to talk about the design of Magic: The Gathering® – Assassin's Creed®.

Jun 21, 2024

This podcast talks about the spectrum of giving players what they're asking for and surprising them with things they never thought of.

Jun 14, 2024

I talk all the time about the strengths of each color. This week, I delve into their weaknesses and how those present themselves mechanically.

Jun 14, 2024

In this podcast, I talk for 30 minutes all about every aspect of power and toughness.

Jun 7, 2024

In this podcast, I talk about why we don't have colors show up in different amounts in sets.

Jun 7, 2024

In this podcast, I sit down with Set Design Lead Michael Majors to talk about the set design for Modern Horizons 3.

May 31, 2024

In this podcast, I talk about how we design tokens and the cards that create them.

May 31, 2024

I sit down with Erik Lauer, Modern Horizons 3's lead vision designer, to talk about the making of the set.

May 24, 2024

I've talked a lot about the color pie over the years. In this episode, I talk about its history and how we've treated it as it has evolved over time.

May 24, 2024

In this podcast, I sit down with Scott Larabee, Sheldon's best friend, to talk all about the man and his life. We talk about many aspects of his huge impact on Magic (it's not just Commander) and who he was as a person.

May 17, 2024

This podcast is another in my "Lessons Learned" series where I talk about design lessons from sets I led or co-led. This episode is about the design of Phyrexia: All Will Be One.

May 17, 2024

In this episode, I talk about how we design typal cards (i.e., cards that mechanically care about creature types).

May 10, 2024

What exactly is a lead designer responsible for? In this podcast, I walk through what the lead designers do during exploratory design, vision design, set design, and play design.

May 10, 2024

In this podcast, I talk about how we design monocolor themes for both Constructed and Limited.

May 3, 2024

In this podcast, I talk about how R&D uses the alphabet to design Magic cards. I walk through the alphabet, explaining how we use each letter.

May 3, 2024

In this podcast, I sit down with Ari Zirulnik to talk about how we name Magic sets.

Apr 26, 2024

Back in 1999, the Magic rules had the biggest change in the history of the game in conjunction with the release of Sixth Edition. In this podcast, I walk through the major changes that happened.

Apr 26, 2024

My father, Gene Rosewater, died on April 17. In this podcast, I share stories about him that relate to Magic. Warning: This one's a bit of a tear-jerker.

Apr 19, 2024

A/B mechanics are mechanics that require a separate subset of cards to work (such as madness requiring cards that make you discard). In this episode, I talk about how we design A/B mechanics, the challenges of making them, and the history of some famous A/B mechanics.

Apr 19, 2024

Back in 2018, we ran the Great Designer Search 3 (GDS3). Part of that event was a multiple-choice test many contestants took to qualify for the next part of the qualification. One question from that test, question number 28, proved to be controversial. The topic recently returned to social media, so I decided to record a podcast about it. I talk about the history of the GDSs, the reasons why there's a multiple-choice test, and get into the specifics of question 28.

Apr 12, 2024

In this podcast, I sit down with Outlaws of Thunder Junction Lead Play Designer Jadine Klomparens to talk about the play design of the set.

Apr 12, 2024

In this podcast, I talk about a concept I learned from my days in Hollywood and how I apply it to Magic design.

Apr 5, 2024

In this podcast, I sit down with Dave Humpherys, set design lead for Outlaws of Thunder Junction, to talk about the set design of the latest expansion.

Apr 5, 2024

In honor of Outlaws of Thunder Junction, I did a card-by-card design podcast on cards with creature type Mercenary.

Mar 29, 2024

In this podcast, I talk about the early design of Outlaws of Thunder Junction.

Mar 29, 2024

Before I get into Outlaws of Thunder Junction, I see if I can name every non-core expansion set in order with a bit of trivia about each one.

Mar 22, 2024

During my MagicCon: Chicago talk where I listed my top 20 mechanics of all time , I also showed a slide for my top 20 evergreen mechanics and said that one day, I'd do a podcast on it. Today is that day. This is part two of two.

Mar 22, 2024

During my MagicCon: Chicago talk where I listed my top 20 mechanics of all time , I also showed a slide for my top 20 evergreen mechanics and said that one day, I'd do a podcast on it. Today is that day. This is part one of two.

Mar 15, 2024

In this podcast, I explain what it was like to play Magic in 1993.

Mar 15, 2024

In this podcast, I share what Magic R&D refers to as the "elephant in boots" problems and how we work to solve it.

Mar 8, 2024

This is my third podcast in a three-part series talking about the 20 best non-evergreen mechanics of all time. It's based on a talk I gave at MagicCon: Chicago .

Mar 8, 2024

This is the second of a three-part series talking about the 20 best non-evergreen mechanics of all time. It's based on a talk I gave at MagicCon: Chicago .

Mar 1, 2024

Recently at MagicCon: Chicago, I did a talk called "The 20 Best Mechanics of All Time," which you can watch here . This podcast covers part one of that talk.

Mar 1, 2024

In this podcast, I talk about my time at last weekend's MagicCon: Chicago.

Feb 23, 2024

Ten years ago, I released a podcast on playtesting, but a lot has changed. In this podcast, I look at how we playtest today.

Feb 23, 2024

In this podcast, I talk about the importance of synergy in Magic design.

Feb 16, 2024

We spend a long time designing sets, constantly improving on every aspect possible. But how and when do we decide to step away? In this podcast, I explore the subject of perfectionism.

Feb 16, 2024

In this podcast, I talk about the basics of designing puzzles.

Feb 9, 2024

In this podcast, I look back at the advertising of the first ten years of Magic.

Feb 9, 2024

In this podcast, I sit down with Andrew Brown, co-lead set designer on Murders at Karlov Manor, to talk about the making of the set.

Feb 2, 2024

In this podcast, I pay tribute to longtime Magic designer Erik Lauer who recently retired.

Feb 2, 2024

In this podcast, I sit down with designer and puzzle-builder extraordinaire Mark Gottlieb to talk about the making of the puzzles for Murders at Karlov Manor.

Jan 26, 2024

In this podcast, I tell the design story of Murders at Karlov Manor.

Jan 26, 2024

In this podcast, I talk about many of the products we've introduced to help teach people how to play and walk through how our philosophy about it has changed over time.

Jan 19, 2024

In this podcast, I define the R&D expression "strictly better," discuss its history, and talk about why it's a thing we have to care about.

Jan 19, 2024

In this podcasts, I talk with Rules Manager Jess Dunks about how we go about making mechanics work that do things we've never done before.

Jan 12, 2024

I talk a lot about all the changes cards go through early in design. In this podcast, I interview Play Designer Ben Weitz to talk about the types of changes the Play Design team makes to cards late in the process.

Jan 12, 2024

In this podcast, I go through the process from start to finish of designing a Universes Beyond set.

Jan 5, 2024

Most of the time, we create the card design before we commission the art, but not always. In this podcast, I walk through when art comes before design and when we have to design to the art.

Jan 5, 2024

In this podcast, I talk all about Magic's fourth expansion.

Dec 22, 2023

This podcast is dedicated to mana cost. I talk about its history as well as the design space it offers designers.

Dec 22, 2023

Sometimes it can take a while to get a particular idea to print. This podcast shares some stories of things that took a while to get out to the public.

Dec 15, 2023

This podcast was inspired by a number of blog posts asking why we've been adding more restrictions to cards lately.

Dec 15, 2023

December 3 marked my 20th anniversary as Magic head designer, and this podcast tells the story of how that came to be. It's also filled with a lot of tips about how someone can work toward their own dream job.

Dec 8, 2023

How do we decide when to bring mechanics back? This podcast talks all about it.

Dec 8, 2023

Sometimes we make a mechanic and realize later that we could have done it better. This podcast talks about how we make new mechanics that are fixed versions of older ones.

Dec 1, 2023

In this podcast, I talk about a procedure we do called a Vision Design Summit.

Dec 1, 2023

In this podcast, I talk about how we design colorless cards.

Nov 24, 2023

This podcast is another in my "Lessons Learned" series where I talk about sets I led or co-led and explain the many lessons I learned while making them. This episode is about what I learned leading the design for Unfinity.

Nov 24, 2023

In this podcast, I sit down with Graphic Designer Daniel Holt to talk all about the making of expansion symbols.

Nov 17, 2023

In this podcast, I take an in-depth look at the current vision design process.

Nov 17, 2023

In this podcast, I take an in-depth look at our current exploratory design process.

Nov 10, 2023

This is the tenth and final podcast in my three-color philosophy series. This time I talk black-green-blue.

Nov 10, 2023

In this podcast, I sit down with Ovidio Cartagena, the art director of The Lost Caverns of Ixalan, to talk about worldbuilding and the visual look of the set.

Nov 3, 2023

I interview Co-Set Design Lead Jules Robins to talk about how the underground set moved to Ixalan.

Nov 3, 2023

In this podcast, I talk about the vision design for The Lost Caverns of Ixalan. Things don't always work out, so this podcast looks into a very different take on an underground world.

Oct 27, 2023

This podcast is the ninth (of ten) of my three-color philosophy series. In this one, I talk blue-red-white.

Oct 27, 2023

In this podcast, I talk about one of my favorite effects in Magic: copying.

Oct 20, 2023

In this podcast, I talk about the spectrum of meeting players' desires. At one end is designing cards the players are asking for, and at the other end is designing cards they don't expect.

Oct 20, 2023

In this episode, I sit down with Designer Gavin Verhey to talk about the design of Magic: The Gathering® – Doctor Who™.

Oct 13, 2023

Our new office is open, so I'm back to driving to work. In this podcast, I talk all about the ways we design for Limited. Due to traffic, this podcast is a full hour.

Oct 13, 2023

This is the eighth podcast in my three-color philosophy series. In this one, I talk all about the philosophy of white-black-green.

Oct 6, 2023

What exactly is an iconic or characteristic creature type? In this podcast, I explain what they are and detail our long history of figuring out which ones work best.

Oct 6, 2023

This is another in my "Years in Review" series where I walk through an entire year and talk about many of the Magic events that happened that year. This podcast is about the year 2018.

Sep 29, 2023

There are many ways to win a game of Magic without reducing an opponent's life total to 0. In this podcast, I talk all about alternative-win conditions.

Sep 29, 2023

This is another podcast in my "Lessons Learned" series where I talk about sets I led or co-led and explain the many lessons I learned working on them. This podcast is about the design of Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty.

Sep 22, 2023

This podcast is my seventh (of ten) in my series on three-color philosophies. Today, I talk all about green-blue-red.

Sep 22, 2023

In this podcast, I sit down with Roy Graham, the person in charge of overseeing Magic Story, to talk about Magic storytelling and the making of the Wilds of Eldraine story.

Sep 15, 2023

In this podcast, I sit down with Play designer Benjamin Weitz to talk about the Play Design of Wilds of Eldraine .

Sep 15, 2023

A number of years ago, Wizards started a new employee appreciation program which resulted in us making not quite official Magic cards. In this podcast, I talk about how they got made and walk through the designs.

Sep 8, 2023

This podcast is another in my three-color series. Today, I talk all about red-white-black.

Sep 8, 2023

In this podcast, I have Jeremy Geist on the show to talk about the design of the Wilds of Eldraine Commander decks.

Sep 1, 2023

In this podcast, I talk about the influence of Throne of Eldraine on the design of Wilds of Eldraine.

Sep 1, 2023

In this podcast, I discuss Wilds of Eldraine set design with Ian Duke, the set's lead set designer.

Aug 25, 2023

In this podcast, I talk about the meaning and philosophy of "inclusion over exclusion" from a game design standpoint.

Aug 25, 2023

In this podcast, I talk about Wilds of Eldraine vision design with guest Chris Mooney, lead vision designer for the set.

Aug 18, 2023

This is another podcast in my three-color series. In this episode, I talk about red-green-white.

Aug 18, 2023

In this podcast, I talk about all the cards that are also set names.

Aug 11, 2023

In this podcast, I talk about one of my last trips of the summer to Gen Con 2023.

Aug 11, 2023

In this podcast, I talk all about my trip to MagicCon: Barcelona.

Aug 4, 2023

In this podcast, I talk about my trip to the 2023 San Diego Comic-Con and my history with the San Diego Comic-Con.

Aug 4, 2023

In this podcast, I talk all about mechanical bends and breaks in relation to the color pie.

Jul 28, 2023

Today's podcast marks my last Drive to Work where I drive into our offices at The Landmark. In this episode, I talk all about the history of our Wizards of the Coast offices.

Jul 28, 2023

This is another podcast in my three-color series. Today, I talk about black-red-green.

Jul 21, 2023

In this podcast, I finish talking about all the cards with subtype Ape and Monkey.

Jul 21, 2023

In this podcast, I talk about cards with subtype Ape and Monkey.

Jul 14, 2023

In this podcast, I talk about the design and development of the set Coldsnap.

Jul 14, 2023

This is another podcast in my three-color series. Today, I talk about blue-black-red.

Jul 7, 2023

In this podcast, I talk about being inducted into the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design Hall of Fame (i.e., the Tabletop Gaming Hall of Fame).

Jul 7, 2023

In this podcast, I talk about the concept of "mapping" and how we use it to design Magic sets.

Jun 30, 2023

In this podcast, I talk about the three-color Esper shard, white-blue-black.

Jun 30, 2023

In this podcast, I talk to Glenn Jones, set design lead for The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth™, about the making of the set.

Jun 23, 2023

In this podcast, I talk about the narrative arc of the Phyrexian storyline.

Jun 23, 2023

In this podcast, I talk all about the design of The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth™.

Jun 16, 2023

In this podcast, I talk about the biggest design mistakes made by less experienced designers.

Jun 16, 2023

In this podcast, I start talking about three-color combinations in Magic, with today's episode focused on green-white-blue.

Jun 9, 2023

This is part two of a two-part series where I talk about zero-mana artifacts.

Jun 9, 2023

This is part one of a two-part series where I talk about zero-mana artifacts.

Jun 2, 2023

In this podcast, I talk about the Ice Age Prerelease in Toronto, the first-ever Magic Prerelease.

Jun 2, 2023

In this podcast, Scott Larabee and I reminisce about Magic's distant past.

May 26, 2023

In this podcast, I walk through the making of Eldritch Moon and designing the set's mechanics.

May 26, 2023

In this podcast, I walk through the making of Shadows over Innistrad and designing the set's mechanics.

May 19, 2023

In this podcast, I talk all about the history of mana symbols, how we use them, how they were created, and more.

May 19, 2023

In this podcast, I sit down with the Brian Weissman, long-time Magic pro and expert in card advantage, to talk about the concept of card advantage.

May 12, 2023

You can't say "yes" to every idea when designing for Magic. In this podcast, I explore reasons why we might not move forward with an idea.

May 12, 2023

In this podcast, I sit down with the Jadine Klomparens, lead play designer of March of the Machine, to talk about the play design process for the set.

May 5, 2023

In this podcast, I walk through all the phases and steps of a turn to talk about how design creates cards for each part of the turn.

May 5, 2023

In today's podcast, I sit down with Ellie Rice from the Casual Play Design team to talk about their process for March of the Machine.

Apr 28, 2023

R&D uses a philosophy in design known as F.I.R.E. design. There are a lot of misconceptions as to what it means, so I walk through its philosophy in this podcast.

Apr 28, 2023

I sit down with the lead designer of the March of the Machine Commander decks to talk about their design.

Apr 21, 2023

In this podcast, I talk about one of the most important tools we use for Magic design—databases. I walk through the history of our databases and explain how we use them.

Apr 21, 2023

I sit down with March of the Machine's Lead Art Director Taylor Ingvarsson to talk about the visual identity of the set.

Apr 14, 2023

This podcast is another in my "Lessons Learned" series where I talk about sets I led or co-led and all the lessons I learned from designing them. In this episode, I talk about what I learned from making Innistrad: Crimson Vow.

Apr 14, 2023

In this podcast, I sit down with Dave Humpherys, the lead set designer of March of the Machine, to talk about the making of the set.

Apr 7, 2023

In this podcast, I tell the design story of March of the Machine.

Apr 7, 2023

In this podcast, I sit down with Senior Game Designer and Graphic Designer Daniel Holt to talk about how the frames and icons for March of the Machine were designed.

Mar 31, 2023

Gavin Verhey recently did a video about the Invitational cards on his YouTube channel Good Morning Magic, inspiring me to do a podcast telling the behind-the-scenes stories of how we made each card.

Mar 31, 2023

In this podcast, I talk all about the making of Magic's third expansion, Legends, which, among other things, introduced multicolor and legendary permanents.

Mar 24, 2023

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

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 17, 2023

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

Mar 17, 2023

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

Mar 10, 2023

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

Mar 10, 2023

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

Mar 3, 2023

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

Mar 3, 2023

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.

Feb 24, 2023

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

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 17, 2023

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

Feb 17, 2023

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 10, 2023

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

Feb 10, 2023

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 3, 2023

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 3, 2023

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.

Jan 27, 2023

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

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

Jan 20, 2023

In this podcast, I talk all about Phyrexia and the design of Phyrexia: All Will Be One.

Jan 20, 2023

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 13, 2023

To celebrate my 1,000th episode, I talk all about the making of Drive to Work.

Jan 13, 2023

In this podcast, I sit down with Megan Smith, the representative for green in the Council of Colors to talk all about green.

Jan 6, 2023

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 6, 2023

In today's podcast, I talk about the seventeen noncreature artifact tokens from across Magic's history.

Dec 23, 2022

In this podcast, I look back at the history of artifact destruction.

Dec 23, 2022

In this podcast, I talk about how we design activations that require a color not found in the mana cost of the card.

Dec 16, 2022

In this episode, I talk about the history of bonus sheets from Time Spiral to The Brother's War.

Dec 16, 2022

I sit down with Yoni Skolnik, the lead set designer of The Brothers' War, to talk through its design.

Dec 9, 2022

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 9, 2022

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 2, 2022

In this podcast, I walk through all the various things that have to be done when doing a top-down design.

Dec 2, 2022

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.

Nov 25, 2022

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

In this podcast, I sit down with Rules Manager Jesse Dunks to talk about choosing acorn and Eternal Unfinity cards.

Nov 18, 2022

In this podcast, I talk about how we go about costing cards.

Nov 18, 2022

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 11, 2022

In this podcast, I talk all about the design of The Brothers' War.

Nov 11, 2022

In this podcast, I talk all about my time at Magic 30 in Las Vegas.

Nov 4, 2022

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 4, 2022

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.

Oct 28, 2022

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

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 21, 2022

This is part four of a four-part series on the design of Unfinity.

Oct 21, 2022

I sit down with Graham Stark and Kathleen De Vere to talk about writing names and flavor text for Unfinity.

Oct 14, 2022

This is part three of a four-part series on the design of Unfinity.

Oct 14, 2022

I sit down with Ari Zirulnik to talk about overseeing the names and flavor text creation in Unfinity.

Oct 7, 2022

This podcast is part two of a four-part series on the design of Unfinity.

Oct 7, 2022

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.

Sep 30, 2022

This podcast is part one of a multi-part series on the design of Unfinity.

Sep 30, 2022

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 23, 2022

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

This podcast is about the history of the feature matches and my involvement with them.

Sep 16, 2022

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

This is part two of a two-part series talking about the history of blocks.

Sep 9, 2022

This is part one of a two-part series talking about the history of blocks.

Sep 9, 2022

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 2, 2022

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 2, 2022

In this podcast, I talk about designing cards that are meant to inspire players to build decks around them.

Aug 26, 2022

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

In this podcast, I interview Barry Reich, Magic's very first playtester.

Aug 19, 2022

In this podcast, I go through all the enchantment subtypes of Magic.

Aug 19, 2022

In this podcast, I go through the history of playtest cards from Richard's first playtest through modern day.

Aug 12, 2022

In this podcast, I talk about the history of the snow supertype.

Aug 12, 2022

In this podcast, I talk about the history and design of all the Scarecrows in Magic.

Aug 5, 2022

In this podcast, I talk about a tool R&D uses called a use case.

Aug 5, 2022

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.

Jul 29, 2022

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

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 22, 2022

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

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 15, 2022

In this podcast, I talk about the history of the Vehicle subtype.

Jul 15, 2022

I sit down with Designer Bryan Hawley to talk about the design of Double Masters 2022.

Jul 8, 2022

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 8, 2022

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 1, 2022

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 1, 2022

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.

Jun 24, 2022

This podcast talks about what being deciduous means for mechanics and then goes through the list of all the deciduous mechanics.

Jun 24, 2022

In this podcast, I talk about the history of basic lands and how their evolution over time influenced the rest of Magic.

Jun 17, 2022

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

I sit down with Designer Gavin Verhey to talk about the design of Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate's Commander decks.

Jun 10, 2022

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

I sit down with Designer Corey Bowen to talk about the set design of Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate.

Jun 3, 2022

For this podcast, I look at the history and design evolution of double-faced cards.

Jun 3, 2022

I sit down with designer Glenn Jones top talk about the vision design of Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate.

May 27, 2022

This is the second of a three-part series looking at the design of original Mirrodin block.

May 27, 2022

This is the third of a three-part series looking at the design of original Mirrodin block.

May 20, 2022

This is the first of a three-part series looking at the design of original Mirrodin block.

May 20, 2022

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 13, 2022

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

I sit down with Chris Mooney, lead set designer of the Streets of New Capenna Commander decks, to talk about their design.

May 7, 2022

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 7, 2022

I sit down with Jules Robins, lead set designer of Streets of New Capenna, to talk about the design of the set.

Apr 30, 2022

In this podcast, I talk about designing Streets of New Capenna.

Apr 30, 2022

I sit down with Creative Team Member Emily Teng to talk about worldbuilding and the making of Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty.

Apr 23, 2022

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

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 16, 2022

In this podcast, I talk about my history with Magic trivia and how to make your own Magic trivia.

Apr 16, 2022

In this podcast, I sit down with Andrew Brown to discuss the design of Zendikar Rising.

Apr 9, 2022

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 9, 2022

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 1, 2022

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 1, 2022

I sit down with Designer Ethan Fleischer to talk about the design of Oath of the Gatewatch.

Mar 26, 2022

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

I sit down with Designer Aaron Forsythe to talk about the design of Lorwyn.

Mar 19, 2022

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

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 12, 2022

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

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 5, 2022

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 5, 2022

I sit down with Designer Gavin Verhey to discuss the making of his Good Morning Magic videos.

Feb 26, 2022

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

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 19, 2022

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

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 12, 2022

This is another in my "R&D Vocabulary" series where I explain various lingo R&D uses.

Feb 12, 2022

I sit down with Designer Corey Bowen to talk about the design of Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Commander decks and Set Booster cards.

Feb 5, 2022

I sit down with Designer Dave Humpherys to discuss the set design of Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty.

Feb 5, 2022

I tell the story of Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty's exploratory design and vision design.

Jan 29, 2022

In this podcast, I take a look at all the named mechanics from the Champions of Kamigawa block.

Jan 29, 2022

I sit down with Designer Melissa DeTora to talk about the new casual play design group she's leading.

Jan 22, 2022

This podcast is another in my series on R&D lingo.

Jan 22, 2022

I sit down with Editor Matt Tabak to talk about the importance of templating.

Jan 15, 2022

In this podcast, I talk about the year of Magic in 2017.

Jan 15, 2022

In this podcast, I sit down with Designer Brian Tinsman to talk about the design of Rise of the Eldrazi.

Jan 8, 2022

In this podcast, I talk about the design of every card with "Urza" in its name.

Jan 8, 2022

I sit down with Vice President Bill Rose to talk about the design of Mirage.

Dec 11, 2021

I talk about the history of my set teasers and talk about how I make them.

Dec 11, 2021

I sit down with Designer Devin Low to talk about the design of Shadowmoor.

Dec 4, 2021

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 4, 2021

I sit down with Richard Garfield to talk about the design of Tempest.

Nov 24, 2021

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

I sit down with Producer Mark Heggen to talk about the creation of the Secret Lair product line.

Nov 19, 2021

I walk through the larger design story of Innistrad: Crimson Vow.

Nov 19, 2021

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 12, 2021

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

In this podcast, I sit down with R&D member Ethan Fleischer to talk about the design of Amonkhet.

Nov 5, 2021

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 5, 2021

I sit down with Designer Erik Lauer, and we talk about the design of Khans of Tarkir.

Oct 29, 2021

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

I sit down with Designer Yoni Skolnik, and we talk about the design of Strixhaven: School of Mages.

Oct 22, 2021

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

I sit down with Designer Aaron Forsythe, and we talk about the design of Magic 2010.

Oct 15, 2021

In this podcast, I explore the alternate-reality color pie of Planar Chaos.

Oct 15, 2021

I sit down with Designer Matt Place, and we compare our Top 10 lists of the most influential Magic sets.

Oct 8, 2021

In this podcast, I talk all about World Enchantments (originally called "Enchant Worlds").

Oct 8, 2021

I sit down with Designer Adam Prosak to talk about the design of Modern Horizons.

Oct 1, 2021

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 1, 2021

I sit down with Designer Henry Stern to talk about the design of Portal Three Kingdoms.

Sep 24, 2021

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

I sit down with Designer Ian Duke to talk about the design of Innistrad: Midnight Hunt.

Sep 17, 2021

I talk about the design of Innistrad: Midnight Hunt.

Sep 17, 2021

I sit down with Designer Corey Bowen to talk about how the Commander decks for Innistrad: Midnight Hunt were created.

Sep 10, 2021

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

I sit down with former Editor (and now Game Designer) Glenn Jones to talk about the editing of Unstable.

Sep 3, 2021

In this podcast, I continue talking about the history of the Equipment subtype and share some card-by-card design stories.

Sep 3, 2021

I sit down with Art Director Taylor Ingvarsson to talk about the art design of Strixhaven.

Aug 27, 2021

In this podcast, I start talking about the history of the Equipment subtype and share some card-by-card design stories.

Aug 27, 2021

I sit down with former R&D member Devin Low to talk about the design of Shards of Alara.

Aug 20, 2021

In this podcast, I explore the history of the many things Magic has stopped using.

Aug 20, 2021

I sit down with former R&D member Skaff Elias to talk about the design of Antiquities.

Aug 13, 2021

In this podcast, I explore the history of the popular enchantment subtype Sagas.

Aug 13, 2021

From time to time, I sit down and answer reader questions with my eldest daughter Rachel.

Aug 6, 2021

In this podcast, I talk about what a vanity card is and walk through all the ones, that I could remember, in Magic.

Aug 6, 2021

I sit down with Designer Jules Robins to talk about the design of Adventures in the Forgotten Realms.

Jul 30, 2021

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

I sit down with designer Chris page to talk about the design of Ice Age.

Jul 23, 2021

In this podcast, I continue to talk about the history of creature tokens in Magic.

Jul 23, 2021

I sit down with former R&D member Randy Buehler to talk about the making of Odyssey.

Jul 16, 2021

In this podcast, I talk about the history of creature tokens in Magic.

Jul 16, 2021

I sit down with former R&D member Kelly Digges to talk about the making of Dominaria.

Jul 9, 2021

In this podcast, I talk about the history of the Faerie creature type in Magic.

Jul 9, 2021

I sit down with R&D member Mike Turian to talk about the making of Future Sight.

Jul 2, 2021

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 2, 2021

I sit down with R&D member Ben Hayes to talk about the making of Unstable.

Jun 25, 2021

This podcast is part three of a three-part series where I discuss every Planeswalker ever made into a planeswalker card.

Jun 25, 2021

I sit down with former R&D member Mark Globus to talk about the making of the original Modern Horizons.

Jun 18, 2021

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

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 11, 2021

This podcast is part two of a three-part podcast walking through every Planeswalker that's ever gotten a card.

Jun 11, 2021

I sit down with Sean Fletcher to talk about the design of Shadowmoor.

Jun 4, 2021

This podcast is part one of a three-part podcast walking through every Planeswalker that's ever gotten a card.

Jun 4, 2021

I sit down with Creative team member Doug Beyer to talk about the creation of War of the Spark.

May 28, 2021

This podcast is the final of a three-part series where I discuss the design of every card in Unglued.

May 28, 2021

I sit down with Dave Humpherys, set design lead for Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths, and talk about the design of the set.

May 21, 2021

This podcast is part two of a three-part series where I discuss the design of every card in Unglued.

May 21, 2021

I sit down with Magic editor Matt Tabak to talk about the creation of Unsanctioned, the Un- box set.

May 14, 2021

This podcast is part one of a three-part series where I discuss the design of every card in Unglued.

May 14, 2021

I sit down with Magic designer Ken Nagel to talk about the design of Worldwake.

May 7, 2021

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 7, 2021

I sit down with former Magic designer Tyler Bielman to talk about the design of original Mirrodin.

Apr 30, 2021

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

I sit down with former Magic designer Tom LaPille to talk about the design of Dark Ascension.

Apr 23, 2021

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

I sit down with former Magic designer Matt Place to talk about the design of original Zendikar.

Apr 16, 2021

In this podcast, I share some more card-by-card design stories about legendary artifacts.

Apr 16, 2021

I sit down with Magic designer Ari Nieh to talk about the design of Strixhaven.

Apr 9, 2021

I sit down with Magic designer Ethan Fleischer to talk about the design of Kaldheim.

Apr 9, 2021

This is part two of a two-part series on the design of Strixhaven.

Apr 2, 2021

This is part one of a two-part series on the design of Strixhaven.

Apr 2, 2021

I sit down with former Magic designer Shawn Main to talk about the design of Kaladesh.

Mar 26, 2021

In this podcast, I share card-by-card stories about various legendary artifacts.

Mar 26, 2021

I sit down with former Magic designer Brian Tinsman to talk about the design of Champions of Kamigawa.

Mar 19, 2021

In this podcast, I talk about the From the Vault product line.

Mar 19, 2021

I sit down with the senior vice president of tabletop Magic, Bill Rose, to talk about the design of Invasion.

Mar 12, 2021

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

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 5, 2021

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 5, 2021

Aaron Forsythe and I share memories about working on the design of Time Spiral.

Feb 26, 2021

I talk about the creation and design of the timeshifted sheets from Time Spiral, Planar Chaos, and Future Sight.

Feb 26, 2021

In this podcast, I interview longtime Magic artist Mark Tedin.

Feb 19, 2021

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

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 12, 2021

I interview Evan Erwin, a longtime creator of Magic content.

Feb 12, 2021

In this podcast, I continue to share design stories about various Angel cards.

Feb 5, 2021

In this podcast, I begin from Alpha and start talking about Angel cards and their design.

Feb 5, 2021

In this podcast, I interview Olivia Gobert-Hicks to talk about Commander, cosplaying, and the Magic community.

Jan 29, 2021

In this podcast, I interview Pro Tour Hall of Famer Luis Scott-Vargas who has worn many hats over the years.

Jan 29, 2021

This is part two of a two-part series on the design of Kaldheim.

Jan 22, 2021

This is part one of a two-part series on the design of Kaldheim.

Jan 22, 2021

In this podcast, I interview Graham Stark of Loading Ready Run. We talk about his and LRR's interactions with Magic.

Jan 15, 2021

In this podcast, I interview Charlie Catino, one of the original Alpha playtesters and longtime Wizards of the Coast employee.

Jan 15, 2021

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 8, 2021

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 8, 2021

In this podcast, I interview Randy Buehler, member of the Pro Tur Hall of Fame and former R&D member.

Dec 4, 2020

This is number ten in my ten-part series on the philosophies of two-color pairs. In this podcast, I talk green-blue.

Dec 4, 2020

In this podcast, I interview Matt Cavotta, a man who has worn many Magic hats over the years.

Nov 20, 2020

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

In this podcast, I interview Mike Elliott, a prolific Magic designer from back in the day.

Nov 13, 2020

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

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 6, 2020

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 6, 2020

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.

Oct 30, 2020

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

In this podcast, I interview Henry Stern, a longtime member of R&D and former pro player.

Oct 23, 2020

Magic has 32 Oozes. (I'm not talking about you, Changelings.) I talk about all of them.

Oct 23, 2020

In this podcast, I interview Scott Larabee, the esports senior league operations manager. We talk about his many years of running tournaments.