Humans of Magic

Tappy Toe Claws is a cosplayer, content creator and microbiologist. 3:30 intro 6:51 better work situation = happier 12:16 Magic origin story 16:26 starting cosplay at 14 years old 22:06 Tappy as a kid 26:11 favorite Pokemon team 29:11 college & Midwestern cosplay: Daisho Con 34:44 what keeps Tappy engaged with cosplay? 41:17 cosplay integrity - does it exist? 44:34 generalists vs. specialists 50:53 nature of human debate 52:47 what IS cosplay? 58:53 what would you say to cosplay fans? 1:07:55 being "in character" / asking for a photo 1:19:11 lessoned learned: energy levels, costume goals 1:24:34 deeper into the Magic cosplay community 1:29:55 working with The Professor 1:33:33 Jhoira Office Hours: the origin story 1:44:23 going bigger as an MTG content creator 1:49:05 Ral Zarek 1:52:15 Game Knights 1:55:11 authenticity / public positions / identity politics 2:07:54 pressure to make statements? / cultivating a community 2:11:42 "are we all just f**ked?" 2:25:21 maintaining motivation 2:32:42 drawing boundaries Show notes: https://humansofmagic.com/ Patreon: patreon.com/humansofmagic

Crim Nguyen, a.k.a. The Asian Avenger, is a musician and content creator. 3:15 hair talk 8:37 present-day grind 11:05 family 12:47 fear of flying 15:48 dealing with fear 17:42 Crim’s content creation evolution / being on multiple platforms 24:52 “can I be entertaining regardless of the game?” 27:33 changing lanes as a creator: “isn’t it fucking scary?” 32:06 reframing success and failure / switching games 36:32 planning and not planning / Devin Nash 41:21 Humans of Magic: on YouTube! / be bold and learn along the way 43:03 creating is open-ended: but you can be your harshest critic 44:58 expect the unexpected / do it for yourself 49:50 keep shooting your shot / be persistent 52:10 has Crim ever been intentionally inauthentic? 56:25 turning your energy level DOWN, not UP 59:13 content: what’s working and what isn’t? 1:03:21 how to easily burn out? focus on metrics 1:05:19 the Dunning-Kruger effect 1:09:14 is Crim a perfectionist? 1:10:50 dealing with burnout: “this saved my streaming life” 1:23:17 seeking variety / not sitting still 1:29:20 musings: the INTERVIEWER role / inside the Humans of Magic studio 1:36:57 how much accomplishment is enough? 1:39:14 “what anime do you like, James?” 1:41:26 focusing on one hobby / “my fandom goes in cycles” Show notes: humansofmagic.com Patreon: patreon.com/humansofmagic

Alexander Hayne is widely considered to be the greatest Canadian Magic player of all time. He is the Pro Tour Avacyn Restored Champion. 6:36 is Alex old-school? 8:09 from learning Magic to playing the Pro Tour 12:17 present-day relationship with Magic 16:27 figuring out what’s next 18:02 the fire vs. the grind 21:48 depression & the rear-view mirror 26:11 “mistakes shape who I am” 29:03 tools from therapy 36:10 mental health stigma 38:26 PT Barca mindset 47:41 winning PT Barca & unforeseen consequences 52:20 being a relatively unknown player 54:29 negative side of Magic fame 59:43 chasing another PT top eight / hall of fame eligibility 1:04:41 on streaming 1:08:02 “plays nearly perfect all the time” 1:10:14 habits & diminishing returns 1:14:20 the period when Alex worked the hardest 1:18:08 humility vs. bravado 1:20:08 heels in today's game 1:21:13 art of trolling 1:29:50 is pro gatekeeping real? / to be the best? network 1:43:20 objective truth, do we want it? 1:50:05 state of content today / PVDVR is the content GOAT / attention spans 2:01:05 passion as a creator: find your lane 2:08:01 writing fiction / reading over 3,000 books 2:17:04 what should WOTC do in the short term? long term? 2:26:15 rant on the current Modern format / Alex’s favorite formats of all time Show notes: humansofmagic.com Patreon: patreon.com/humansofmagic

Dom Harvey is a high-level Magic: The Gathering player and content creator. He writes for Star City Games and runs the Dominaria's Judgment podcast. 3:23 intro 10:15 UK to Canada: "my life was going nowhere" 17:29 being a Brit who doesn't like soccer 22:15 the most Canadian thing Dom has picked up? 23:27 it's about the gathering 27:38 on prize splits and feel-bads 32:37 the fire 35:38 growing up with competitive Magic 41:05 oral history of Pro Tour Philadelphia: concept to reality 51:08 James's favorite part of the oral history 57:38 state of MTG content & creator incentives 1:11:35 dealing with burnout 1:15:31 what would (younger) Dom do? 1:16:20 path to SCG commentator 1:24:44 streaming: yay or nay? 1:27:15 future goals 1:29:41 deck-building & creativity Show notes: humansofmagic.com Patreon: patreon.com/humansofmagic Music: @kuplasound

Deathsie is a Magic content creator and Limited specialist. He has been ranked number one in several games, including Magic Arena, Marvel Snap, Tetris Effect, and King of Stackers (Tetris). Show notes: humansofmagic.com Patreon: patreon.com/humansofmagic Music: @kuplasound

Milan Bhayana is one of the youngest players to qualify for the Magic Online Champions Showcase (MOCS) and Magic Pro Tour. He is a Top Chef competitor and owner of the 'lilchefmil' Tik Tok account with 921K followers. [3:42] Attending school online [6:39] Offline connections matter [11:32] College aspirations [14:16] Building a Tik Tok account with his sister [18:27] Top Chef experience [22:40] Top Chef takeaways [24:15] Parents [28:28] Magic origin story [31:33] Learning mindset: Magic and cooking [34:19] Magic Online during class [39:21] Magic Online shout-outs: boomer-zoomers [41:15] Why are zoomers playing Magic? [42:17] Future MTG competitive play goals [45:21] Future Tik Tok goals Show notes: humansofmagic.com Patreon: patreon.com/humansofmagic Music: @kuplasound

Joseph Johnson is an actor and content creator. [9:12] First Comicon experience / meeting John Wick [12:45] Becoming a character [17:20] Acting: nature vs. nurture [22:37] Art of improv / having fun with it [26:15] Working in the film industry [29:07] Empathy vs. ego / the importance of your circle [35:12] "The pandemic made me realize I need to step my game up" [37:08] Falling in love with acting [43:57] Lessons from the community [46:34] Ambition / staying in the game [52:10] Positive influence of parents [58:52] Growing up in Flint, Michigan [1:04:43] Diffusing a dangerous situation [1:09:42] BLM [1:17:52] Tabletop Jocks vision [1:20:45] 'The Cookout' / representation matters [1:31:14] Normalizing black nerd culture [1:39:22] Attention to detail: the Tabletop Jocks aesthetic [1:43:09] Learnings / areas to grow [1:49:05] Community mailbag [1:57:47] Why Magneto is Joe's favorite X-Men character [2:00:42] Advice for first-time content creators Show notes: humansofmagic.com Patreon: patreon.com/humansofmagic Music: @kuplasound

Veggie Wagon is a comedian and content creator. [7:14] Moving to Medford, Mass [13:36] Chemistry degree to acting career [18:00] Veggie as actor [20:41] Performing for others as a kid [23:15] Growing up adopted [32:24] Weight of self-expectation [35:46] On family [41:29] Charity work: motivation [45:49] A content creator's responsibility [51:49] Masks we wear as creators [54:19] Gathering Support: lessons learned [1:07:12] Origin of 'Veggie Wagon' name [1:12:31] Influences: Back to the Future [1:23:34] Measuring success [1:29:49] Live versus recorded comedy [1:41:41] influences: Jackie Chan [1:51:01] Make something for yourself -- but don't take too long [1:57:04] Community mailbag Show notes: humansofmagic.com Patreon: patreon.com/humansofmagic Music: @kuplasound

Melissa DeTora is a Senior Game Designer at Wizards of the Coast and currently leads the MTG Casual Play Design team. She is the first woman to Top 8 a Magic Pro Tour. [8:03] Melissa's WOTC journey: Intern -> Senior Game Designer [9:47] What is Play Design? [13:38] Play Design -> Casual Play Design [17:41] Playtesting Commander during COVID-19 [23:26] Designing for "Casual" [25:57] Play Design interactions with Commander RC and CAG [28:21] Too many treasures / Dockside Extortionist is OP [29:36] Arcane Signet [32:06] "I'm still learning things every day" / "I don't want to go to FNM" [37:58] Melissa's mentors [43:21] Design story: Tovolar [46:33] Looking back: Mutate, Companion mechanics [53:46] Looking back: past sets [56:43] Self-criticality as a designer [58:41] Self-criticality as a player [1:00:39] Mindset change: PTQ to PT [1:02:36] "You are probably bad at Magic" [1:05:38] Raphael Levy [1:09:22] Playtesting at the DeTora residence / Joel Larsson, pathfinder [1:13:15] Parents and Magic [1:14:22] Pump It Up [1:24:06] Women in Magic: then vs. now Show notes: humansofmagic.com Patreon: patreon.com/humansofmagic Music: @kuplasound

Jon Corpora is the Content Manager for TCGplayer and producer of the YouTube series Pretty Deece. Show notes: humansofmagic.com Patreon: patreon.com/humansofmagic Music: @kuplasound