Magic: The Gathering Drive to Work Podcast

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

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.

Discover the intricate process of bringing back beloved mechanics in Magic: The Gathering. Delve into the history of iconic sets like Alpha and Ice Age, and learn how player feedback shapes game design. Explore the creative challenges of reintroducing mechanics such as cycling and proliferate in innovative ways. Find out how designers balance nostalgia with fresh themes in new expansions. Ultimately, uncover the strategic value that returning mechanics add to gameplay, enriching player experiences over the decades.

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.

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

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

Lessons Learned from leading the design for Unfinity, a top-down set driven by flavor. Balancing the environment and cards, combining themes like retro sci-fi and steampunk. Challenges of using stickers in card design and considerations for functionality. Power level and rarity of cards, differences between contraptions and attractions, balance between randomness and planning in gameplay.

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

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

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