Beacon of Creation
358 episodes - English - Latest episode: 2 days ago - ★★★★★ - 7 ratingsA show about design in Magic: the Gathering. Each week we cover both official cards and custom cards made by the community. The weekly design challenge gives you the opportunity to make it on the show! Hosted by Tim, Juliet, Kayiu and Markus, with guests!
Music used with permission: https://www.youtube.com/user/daleculp
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Episodes
Survey of Extra Turns Cards
April 17, 2024 12:00 - 59 minutes - 55 MBThis week we are Beacon of Tomorrows, a podcast about time! We look over all the ways Magic has to take extra turns and try to brainstorm some new directions. From Alpha to Dr Who there are many ways to keep it going. Moonshot Patreon Pledge Drive: https://www.patreon.com/moonshotnetwork Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/t88Vpwh Show Notes: https://beaconofcreation.com
Elder Dragon Challenge Review
April 10, 2024 12:00 - 1 hour - 64.2 MBMarch's challenge was all about designing new twists on the elder dragons! Nicol and family, Tarkir dragons, Strixhaven, and a few other twists. Guest Cole AKA EclipseMeteor hops in to gush about all these sweet designs! Cole's new pod: https://twitter.com/HBVC_MTG Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/t88Vpwh Show Notes: https://beaconofcreation.com
Exciting! Mechanics Draft - First Ten Years
April 03, 2024 12:00 - 50 minutes - 49.2 MBSuper fun ep!!! We strategize, agonize, and finally pick mechanics from Magic's past, one at a time, snake drafted between Tim, Gabe, and Peter! What starts as a simple exercise turns into a thrilling competition. Everything from the pre-Modern era of Magic is on the table except for those pesky evergreen keywords. Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/t88Vpwh Show Notes: https://beaconofcreation.com
Unpacking Settling Idyll
March 27, 2024 12:00 - 1 hour - 67.7 MBThis week we are looking at the custom set Settling Idyll by Provocative! As usual with Unpacking, we know next to nothing going in. We only know a single image: a heroic mech guarding a town. Settling Idyll PS: https://www.planesculptors.net/set/settling-idyll Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/t88Vpwh YouTube videos: https://www.youtube.com/@BeaconofCreation
Unpacking the Plundering of Guemhill w/Dodger
March 20, 2024 12:00 - 1 hour - 58.1 MBThe Beacon community finished a second You Make the Pack, where we build a 15 card pack together. This week Kayiu brings on guest Dodger to see how we did! Hear about the new mechanics, get Dodger's insight, and maybe even design a bonus card for the pack at the end. Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/t88Vpwh YouTube videos: https://www.youtube.com/@BeaconofCreation
Set Skeleton Megaton News!
March 13, 2024 12:00 - 53 minutes - 49.2 MBMark Rosewater dropped a huge design article about Play Booster set skeletons this week! Skeletons are the outline of a Magic set, so we had to convene a pod to dissect all this new info. Design League champ platypeople and new guest Gabe Lincoln help Tim break down all the cool details of the article. Maro article: https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/making-magic/nuts-and-bolts-16-play-boosters Gabe's Twitter: https://twitter.com/gabelincoln0 Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/t88Vpw...
Leap Year Challenge Review
March 06, 2024 13:00 - 1 hour - 64.7 MBJump in to these great submissions... or LOSE THE GAME! We've got 13 great designs for our February challenge, which asked people to create cards with the text "lose the game". Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/t88Vpwh Recaps and card images at: https://www.beaconofcreation.com YouTube videos: https://www.youtube.com/@BeaconofCreation
MORE Baldur's Gate 3 Re-Designs!
February 28, 2024 13:00 - 56 minutes - 46.3 MBWe've got Gaby back on the pod for more live designing! You don't need to know anything about the game to listen... we cover what you need! We take a look at the cards for Halsin, Minthara, and Jaheira from the Magic set and give each a facelift to match them to their personalities in the videogame. Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/t88Vpwh Recaps and card images at: https://www.beaconofcreation.com YouTube videos: https://www.youtube.com/@BeaconofCreation
Design Rush - Guildpact
February 21, 2024 13:00 - 50 minutes - 39.8 MBTwo more contestants, three more guilds... it's the return of Ravnica Design Rush! What cards can be created in mere minutes? Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/t88Vpwh Recaps and card images at: https://www.beaconofcreation.com YouTube videos: https://www.youtube.com/@BeaconofCreation
Unpacking Murders at Karlov Manor!
February 15, 2024 17:42 - 1 hour - 77.4 MBUnpacking is a segment where we go totally blind into a pack and just break down the cards we see, as we see them. Usually we do this with older or custom sets, but Kayiu had the great idea of going blind into the new Murders at Karlov Manor set! What do we learn from just 14 cards? This ep was edited by kayiu!!! Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/t88Vpwh Recaps and card images at: https://www.beaconofcreation.com YouTube videos: https://www.youtube.com/@BeaconofCreation
Janu-Faerie Challenge Review
February 07, 2024 13:00 - 1 hour - 61.4 MBThis week we review your Faerie cards that mix in digital and other special mechanics! --- Legion's links: PS: https://www.planesculptors.net/user/legion Legion's Judgment Blog: https://legionsjudgment.wordpress.com/ Discord: legion_of_four Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@The_Legion_Of_Four --- Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/t88Vpwh Recaps and card images at: https://www.beaconofcreation.com YouTube videos: https://www.youtube.com/@BeaconofCreation
Design Rush - Ravnica
January 31, 2024 13:00 - 38 minutes - 31.3 MBThe new season of Design Rush starts here! Juliet ambushes Kayiu and Tim with a quick-on-your-feet card design showcase of the guilds of Ravnica (that's Ravnica, not Guilds of Ravnica). Play along at home! Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/t88Vpwh Recaps and card images at: https://www.beaconofcreation.com YouTube videos: https://www.youtube.com/@BeaconofCreation
Moxtober Cube - A Lore-Blasted a Set in Just a Month!
January 24, 2024 17:03 - 1 hour - 57.7 MBMoxtober is about designing a card a day for a month. But what if you designed a whole set? A team of five from the MSE Discord made that happen! We've got three of them, Cool Beens, crime?, and kayiu, on this week's episode. We also get a LOT about the flavor and setting of this cube! Moxtober 2023 Cube: https://www.planesculptors.net/set/moxtober-cube-2023 MSE Discord: https://discord.gg/4Kf2uWswMj Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/t88Vpwh Recaps and card images at: https://www...
Baldur's Gate 3 Companions Re-Designed!
January 17, 2024 13:00 - 1 hour - 70.9 MBNow that we've played through the amazing Baldur's Gate 3, we've got opinions on the designs from Battle for Baldur's Gate! Gaby and Tim break down each of the vidoegame's six companions, their existing card, their personality, and design something new for them! Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/t88Vpwh Recaps and card images at: https://www.beaconofcreation.com YouTube videos: https://www.youtube.com/@BeaconofCreation Music is "Hey, Happy Birthday to You" by Dee Culp
Why Does Simic Struggle in Limited?
January 10, 2024 13:00 - 1 hour - 58.2 MBSpurred by the recent discussion of Blue-Green's years-long limited slump, Tim and Peter dive into more than a dozen UG signpost uncommons. Can we learn about how to make better UG cards by finding patterns in the last few years? Original Tweet: https://twitter.com/mtg_ds/status/1730414469644189748 Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/t88Vpwh Recaps and card images at: https://www.beaconofcreation.com YouTube videos: https://www.youtube.com/@BeaconofCreation Music is "Hey, Happy Bi...
Deux-cember Challenge Review
January 03, 2024 13:00 - 1 hour - 53.2 MBAnother month, another crazy design challenge! This month was all about finding ways to break the color pie within a single color's effects. We've got multiple white time walks, black Izzet cards, blue land destruction and more! Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/t88Vpwh Recaps and card images at: https://www.beaconofcreation.com YouTube videos: https://www.youtube.com/@BeaconofCreation Music is "Hey, Happy Birthday to You" by Dee Culp
Art of the Year 2023 w/DrChillbrain
December 27, 2023 13:00 - 1 hour - 58.9 MBKayiu and guest DrChillbrain take a break from design talk to dive into their favorite card art of the year and what makes them special! Gallery with all the picks from the ep: https://imgur.com/a/aIaZOXp --- Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/t88Vpwh Recaps and card images at: https://www.beaconofcreation.com Music is "Hey, Happy Birthday to You" by Dee Culp
You Made the Pack! Cooperative Card Design
December 20, 2023 13:00 - 59 minutes - 49.8 MBYou Make the Pack was a cooperative event where we designed a pack of cards for an unknown set, one card at a time. It was super fun, and Redbay is on this episode to talk all about it! Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/t88Vpwh Recaps and card images at: https://www.beaconofcreation.com Music is "Hey, Happy Birthday to You" by Dee Culp
Batman Villains w/Fblthp
December 13, 2023 13:00 - 52 minutes - 42.7 MBWe've got prolific designer Fblthp on the pod again, this time to talk about some fun Gotham villains! From big names like Joker and Harley to funny ones like Eraser, join us for a flavor and mechanic dive into these Moxtober creations. Fblthp's Gotham Villains: https://www.planesculptors.net/set/gotham-halloween Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/t88Vpwh Recaps and card images at: https://www.beaconofcreation.com Music is "Hey, Happy Birthday to You" by Dee Culp
Nouveau-mber Challenge Review
December 06, 2023 13:00 - 1 hour - 56.8 MBWe're winding down on 2023 and asked you for your best cards using this year's mechanics! We got battles, cybermans, Marvel characters (??) and a Wurmhole. Be sure to tune in! Check out the cards of Revolution: https://revolution-manifesto.herokuapp.com Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/t88Vpwh Recaps and card images at: https://www.beaconofcreation.com Music is "Hey, Happy Birthday to You" by Dee Culp
Making it Jurassic w/Lyght The PhiRexian
November 29, 2023 13:00 - 1 hour - 59.4 MBHold on to your butts! We're recapping our favorite new Universes Beyond Jurassic Park cards, then leaping claws-first into designing some new cards of our own! To help us, our guest Lyght learned to use their raptor claws to work door handle and busted in! Lyght's Linktree - https://linktr.ee/LyghtThePhiRexian Battle of Big Rock: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7kbVvpOGdQ Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/t88Vpwh Recaps and card images at: https://www.beaconofcreation.com Mus...
Five Nights at Freddy's Custom Commander w/Corv!
November 22, 2023 13:00 - 41 minutes - 36.7 MBSee if your commander pod can survive five nights with these cards! Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/t88Vpwh Recaps and card images at: https://www.beaconofcreation.com Music is "Hey, Happy Birthday to You" by Dee Culp
Dr Who Commander Cards w/Bass
November 15, 2023 13:00 - 1 hour - 72.3 MBDive into Bass's favorite cards from the new Dr Who set! Don't worry if you don't know the show, you'll get filled in on all sorts of flavor. Plus a nice helping of weird alien guys. Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/t88Vpwh Recaps and card images at: https://www.beaconofcreation.com Music is "Hey, Happy Birthday to You" by Dee Culp
Oct-faux-ber Challenge Review
November 08, 2023 13:00 - 1 hour - 59.8 MBOne of our coolest Design Challenges ever! We asked you to take the rules box of an existing card and spin it into a new one without changing more than a single word. The submissions are amazing! Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/t88Vpwh Recaps and card images at: https://www.beaconofcreation.com
Moxtober - Guess the Prompt w/Bradley Rose
November 01, 2023 12:00 - 1 hour - 54.4 MBMoxtober is the big yearly Magic design event in the custom community! We've got the creator of Moxtober on the pod this week. We talk about where this year's prompts came from, then we play a game where we review some cards and try to guess which prompt goes with which card! Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/t88Vpwh Recaps and card images at: https://www.beaconofcreation.com Brad's Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/bradleyrose Brad's bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/specialbeamcanno...
Live Design - Make it Spooky!
October 25, 2023 12:00 - 1 hour - 55.4 MBWe're live designing this week! Start with an existing card and some directions, and punch that card up! We've got vampires, obsession, booster packs, Grozoth, skeletons, and playtest cards! Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/t88Vpwh Recaps and card images at: https://www.beaconofcreation.com Music is "Hey, Happy Birthday to You" by Dee Culp
Set in Progress - Castmire Jumpstart by Juliet!
October 18, 2023 12:00 - 1 hour - 55.1 MBThis episode has it all! A new set! More spooky Castmire! Moxtober tie-in! New Battle subtype! A dead body! Listen in to hear all about Juliet's new Jumpstart set. Ten packs, but with 13 cards per pack. Tons of great discussion and you can hop right in. Juliet's writing at: https://cohost.org/folly Moxtober recaps at: https://www.youtube.com/@anandsuresh6421 Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/t88Vpwh Recaps and card images at: https://www.beaconofcreation.com Music is "Hey, Happy...
Set in Progress - Redbay's 3-Color Traegar
October 11, 2023 12:00 - 49 minutes - 41 MBJuliet and Redbay talk through a draft of Redbay's three-color factions set, Traegar. Along the way, they discuss different ways of looking at high-power environments, the compromises and top-down vision needed to make a shard/wedge gold set work, and how to adapt when you have too many playables. Traegar is in design right now! You can come draft it, chime in on its progress, and do your own pack 1 pick 1's in the redbay-traegar channel on the Beacon of Creation discord! Join our Discord...
Con-September Challenge Review
October 04, 2023 12:00 - 1 hour - 58.2 MBYour challenge was using concept art from the 2024 Magic sets. Our job is to review them all and pick our favorites! From tiny pirate ships to Italian assassins to twenty-one swords, this month's Design Challenge is packed with fun and clever designs! Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/t88Vpwh Recaps and card images at: https://www.beaconofcreation.com
Squad up! Dropping Dozens of Squad Mechanics
September 27, 2023 12:00 - 1 hour - 59.7 MBAlert! Super fun episode!! Community members Dillon and patrick went on a spree of designing Squad mechanics. Monsquadsity, Ninsquadtsu, Squecho, Musquade, and dozens more! Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/t88Vpwh Recaps and card images at: https://www.beaconofcreation.com
Design League Finals! w/platypeople, LudosGD, redbay
September 20, 2023 12:00 - 1 hour - 56.7 MBOur big wrap up episode for Design League 2!!! We brought everyone on: the winner platypeople, runner-up Ludos, and league commissioner Redbay. We get the behind the scenes on the big finals submissions and also some insight on how RB put it all together. We also get into a bit of challenge design for those looking to run their own events. Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/t88Vpwh Recaps and card images at: https://www.beaconofcreation.com
Set in Progress - Codename: Hitchcock
September 13, 2023 12:00 - 1 hour - 47.6 MBTune into this post-playtest convo between MonoWhiteBorder and Juliet, breaking down MDub's new set. The theme is golden age of Hollywood, so expect spotlights, directors, extras, and more! Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/t88Vpwh Recaps and card images at: https://www.beaconofcreation.com
Weekend Bonus - Eldraine Draft Hangout
September 11, 2023 00:16 - 49 minutes - 37.1 MBA fun weekend draft turned into a conversation! Juliet ambushed Tim mid-draft with the recording bot and we talked through packs 2 and 3 and the first two games of the draft. Lots of individual card discussion and we even learn the story of Billygoats Gruff! Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/t88Vpwh Recaps and card images at: https://www.beaconofcreation.com
"A Gust of Wind" Challenge Review
September 06, 2023 12:00 - 1 hour - 60.8 MBWe issued the A Gust of Wind challenge for August, and now it's time to review your submissions! There are a bunch of ways you found to have blue spells deal damage: gold cards, drawbacks, even damage-that-bounces. Another great ep full of great cards! Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/t88Vpwh Recaps and card images at: https://www.beaconofcreation.com
Design League Finals - Unpacking platypeople
September 01, 2023 12:00 - 44 minutes - 37.7 MBKayiu and Tim crack open platypeople's pack for the "Lives and Lies of Tibalt and Tamiyo" Finals challenge for the Design League! We saw LudosGD's entry earlier in the week, how will the two stack up? We've got bullies! Circles! Safes! and Triangles! Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/t88Vpwh Recaps and card images at: https://www.beaconofcreation.com
Design League Finals - Unpacking LudosGD
August 30, 2023 12:00 - 42 minutes - 36.7 MBTim and Kayiu are excited to crack open LudosGD's entry into the "Lives and Lies of Tibalt and Tamiyo" challenge finals! This is both a card-by-card Unpacking as well as their judging conversation. Moon projections! Drones! Tourists! Colossal stuff! Baby animal people! Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/t88Vpwh Recaps and card images at: https://www.beaconofcreation.com
Design League Round 2+3 Highlights!
August 23, 2023 12:00 - 35 minutes - 31.3 MBThe Design League is roaring towards its conclusion and we've got highlights from the tournament rounds! Round 2's Planeswalker vacations and Round 3's color-coordinated creature packs made for great cards. Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/t88Vpwh Recaps and card images at: https://www.beaconofcreation.com
Unpacking - Primivir
August 16, 2023 12:00 - 1 hour - 54.6 MBIn Unpacking, we go through the cards in a pack without knowing anything beyond that pack. Through this lens, we try to guess themes, mechanics, flavor, and more! This time we're looking at Primivir and starting with a single mysterious image of an angular, abstract city scape. The set is by Myrmiredon. Planesculptors: https://www.planesculptors.net/set/primivir Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/t88Vpwh Recaps and card images at: https://www.beaconofcreation.com
Set in Progress - League of Legends Jumpstart w/Fblthp
August 09, 2023 12:00 - 31 minutes - 32.8 MBWorlds collide with community member Fblthp's League of Legends-themed MEGAset. We get the download on the shape of the Jumpstart packs and then get some flavor and cards for the Noxus faction. Set file: https://www.planesculptors.net/set/runeterra-jumpstart-noxus#cards Noxus Lore: https://universe.leagueoflegends.com/en_US/region/noxus/ Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/t88Vpwh Recaps and card images at: https://www.beaconofcreation.com
Twoken Challenge Review
August 02, 2023 12:00 - 1 hour - 58.5 MBTokens, Two-Headed Giant, and Draft collide with the "Two-ken Play At That Game" challenge! You all scoured Scryfall for the most obscure tokens and cooked up your coolest multiplayer cards! Tim and MDub go through all 18 of your submissions and pick their favorites. Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/t88Vpwh Recaps and card images at: https://www.beaconofcreation.com
Set Spotlight - Songs of Yisai
July 26, 2023 12:00 - 41 minutes - 34.2 MBKayiu and Juliet bring on Queen Emily to talk about her latest completed project, Songs of Yisai! Inspired by Jewish mythology and biblical sources, this set mixes artifacts, enchantments, and a WUBRG theme. Songs of Yisai PlaneSculptors: https://www.planesculptors.net/set/songs-of-yisai Songs of Yisai Stories: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1l4hgZTjI94G-dwVhhY3i5sY8MnvSe6kzCvnDJ38Fcp8/edit Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/t88Vpwh Recaps and card images at: https://www.bea...
The League... in Space!
July 19, 2023 12:00 - 37 minutes - 37.6 MBCommander Redbay has launched the fleet of League designers into the world of planet-scale sci-fi adventure! Tim and Juliet set the stage for this setting and then highlight cards from the recently completed Design League Season 2 Top 8. Experience Christmas in July via comparative fiction with Juliet's other show, I'll be Pod for Castmas: https://moonshotpods.com/ill-be-pod-for-castmas/ Juliet has also been on other pods for the Moonshot Network https://moonshotpods.com/ Follow the le...
June Bug Challenge Review w/Hayley
July 12, 2023 12:00 - 1 hour - 61.6 MBBuggy big bugs! We asked for your 6/3 insects with some sort of design flaw. We got a swarm of submissions, so I brought on Hayley as a guest! The "bugs" in each card are each their own little puzzle and it's fun to dig into the rules. Next month's challenge asks for some unique tokens, so get your scryfall searches going. Find out more on our Discord: https://discord.gg/t88Vpwh Recaps and card images at: https://www.beaconofcreation.com
LOTR Set Review ft. Westley of Shadowfacts!
July 05, 2023 12:00 - 44 minutes - 39.4 MBThis week Juliet brings on Middle Earth Horse Expert Westley to discuss all the horse cards of the new LOTR set! An episode sure to be a colt classic. Check out the full run of Shadowfacts: https://shadowfactspod.podbean.com/ and find Westley on Cohost: https://cohost.org/HorseArchivist Jump on our Discord: https://discord.gg/t88Vpwh Recaps at: https://www.beaconofcreation.com
Custom Lord of the Rings w/BassWakil
June 28, 2023 12:00 - 1 hour - 67 MBJump into another world with a Lord of the Rings custom set made before the Wizards set! Bass walks us through the brainstorm and playtesting of his ideas for Middle Earth. If you like keywords and mechanics, this is the episode for you, as Bass tried a lot of big new mechanics and little tweaks and keywordings!! Check out Bass's mega blog post and learn even more about this set. Follow Bass on Twitter @Bass_Wakil and @bassimstory Bass's story podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/p...
Set Spotlight - Animus Vox
June 21, 2023 12:00 - 46 minutes - 40.2 MBWe've got custom Magic superstar Pipsqueak back on the pod this week to talk about her set Animus Vox. Space exploration, music, and contemplation set the mood for this great set. Check out the MSEverse page, especially the fiction: https://mseverse.miraheze.org/wiki/Animus_Vox_(set) Also mentioned in the ep is Pipsqueak's Lion's Eye Quotient: https://custommagiccodex.wordpress.com/2021/01/14/the-lions-eye-quotient/ Visit the MSE Discord: https://discord.gg/KakTcDcnK Or our discord:...
Maybe She's Born With It Challenge Review
June 14, 2023 12:00 - 1 hour - 71.7 MBMay's challenge asked the community for cards using "modified" that had cosmetic flavor. We've got 16 great cards to talk about and Tim and MWB dive right in! Chat with us on Discord: https://discord.gg/t88Vpwh Full show notes at https://www.beaconofcreation.com
Unpacking - The Grand Gala
June 07, 2023 12:00 - 1 hour - 50.9 MBThe second of our four custom Unpacking episodes, where we go card-by-card in a pack for a set we've never seen before! This time, Tim is joined by community member LudosGD. What will be unveiled when the curtain rises?? Chat with us on Discord: https://discord.gg/t88Vpwh Full Grand Gala card list: https://www.planesculptors.net/set/the-grand-gala
Set Spotlight - Seasons of War
May 31, 2023 12:00 - 1 hour - 46.6 MBThis week is the long-awaited spotlight on Seasons of War, the custom commander limited set! Creator Timespiraled joins the show to tell us everything they learned making it and what they enjoy about the final product! Chat with us on Discord: https://discord.gg/t88Vpwh Check out the cards in the set: https://msem-instigator.herokuapp.com/card?q=e%3Aswr Go deep with the design doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LXCrKJ-QoP2beLdMyKnmNQBeDafC5_ab1UyMNObTCGs/edit
Unpacking - Memories of the Silver City
May 24, 2023 12:00 - 1 hour - 48.3 MBIn Unpacking, we go one-by-one through cards in a pack. We learn what we can from just the cards in front of us; no set summary and no knowledge of the mechanics. It's a fun way to see cards with fresh eyes. This time Redbay joins Tim in going through a pack of Memories of the Silver City by Chartate101. We go in just seeing a picture of a green forest portal in a run-down city. Come along with us as we discover the set through the lens of a pack. Talk with us through our Discord: https:...