Magic: The Gathering Drive to Work Podcast

Dive into the intricate design process behind the Khans of Tarkir set, where innovative mechanics like morph reshaped gameplay. Discover the evolving structure of the game and how designers balance the needs of new and veteran players. Explore the revitalization of Magic's story, including the impact of the Gatewatch and new narrative techniques. Finally, learn how the shift away from traditional block models has transformed design philosophy, adapting to player preferences for a richer gaming experience.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

Dive into the transformative journey of Magic design, exploring how it evolved from individual sets to thematic blocks. Discover the innovations sparked by key sets like Tempest and Urza's Saga. Hear about vital lessons in power balance and naming mechanics that shaped card design, and learn about the growing collaboration between creative teams that hinted at future developments in gameplay.

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.