Magic: The Gathering Drive to Work Podcast
1,249 episodes - English - Latest episode: 14 days ago - ★★★★★ - 657 ratingsJoin Magic: The Gathering Head Designer Mark Rosewater as he shares stories, insights, and more while driving to work. Listen and learn more about how Magic is made!
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Episodes
#1148: Assassin's Creed with Corey Bowen
June 21, 2024 14:30 - 29 minutes - 26.8 MBIn this podcast, I sit down with Lead Designer Corey Bowen to talk about the design of Magic: The Gathering® – Assassin's Creed®.
#1147: Demand vs. Innovation
June 21, 2024 14:29 - 31 minutes - 28.6 MBThis podcast talks about the spectrum of giving players what they're asking for and surprising them with things they never thought of.
#1146: Color Weaknesses
June 14, 2024 14:30 - 29 minutes - 27.3 MBI talk all the time about the strengths of each color. This week, I delve into their weaknesses and how those present themselves mechanically.
#1145: Power and Toughness
June 14, 2024 14:29 - 31 minutes - 29 MBIn this podcast, I talk for 30 minutes all about every aspect of power and toughness.
#1144: Color Imbalance
June 07, 2024 14:30 - 32 minutes - 29.9 MBIn this podcast, I talk about why we don't have colors show up in different amounts in sets.
#1143: Modern Horizons 3 Set Design with Michael Majors
June 07, 2024 14:29 - 29 minutes - 27.1 MBIn this podcast, I sit down with Set Design Lead Michael Majors to talk about the set design for Modern Horizons 3.
#1142: Designing Tokens
May 31, 2024 14:30 - 31 minutes - 28.7 MBIn this podcast, I talk about how we design tokens and the cards that create them.
#1141: Modern Horizons 3 Vision Design with Erik Lauer
May 31, 2024 14:29 - 30 minutes - 27.7 MBI sit down with Erik Lauer, Modern Horizons 3's lead vision designer, to talk about the making of the set.
#1140: History of the Color Pie
May 24, 2024 14:30 - 35 minutes - 32.2 MBI'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.
#1139: Sheldon Menery with Scott Larabee
May 24, 2024 14:29 - 35 minutes - 32.8 MBIn 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.
#1138: Lessons Learned – Phyrexia: All Will Be One
May 17, 2024 14:30 - 31 minutes - 28.9 MBThis 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.
#1137: Designing Typal Cards
May 17, 2024 14:29 - 30 minutes - 28.3 MBIn this episode, I talk about how we design typal cards (i.e., cards that mechanically care about creature types).
#1136: Being a Team Lead
May 10, 2024 14:30 - 30 minutes - 28.1 MBWhat 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.
#1135: Monocolor Design
May 10, 2024 14:29 - 35 minutes - 32.6 MBIn this podcast, I talk about how we design monocolor themes for both Constructed and Limited.
#1134: Alphabet
May 03, 2024 14:30 - 30 minutes - 28.3 MBIn 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.
#1133: Naming Sets with Ari Zirulnik
May 03, 2024 14:29 - 31 minutes - 28.5 MBIn this podcast, I sit down with Ari Zirulnik to talk about how we name Magic sets.
#1132: Sixth Edition Rules
April 26, 2024 14:30 - 32 minutes - 29.5 MBBack 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.
#1131: Magic Stories about My Dad
April 26, 2024 14:29 - 32 minutes - 29.4 MBMy 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.
#1130: A/B Mechanics
April 19, 2024 14:30 - 33 minutes - 30.9 MBA/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.
#1129: The Question
April 19, 2024 14:29 - 31 minutes - 29.2 MBBack 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.
#1128: Outlaws of Thunder Junction Play Design with Jadine Klomparens
April 12, 2024 14:30 - 29 minutes - 27 MBIn this podcast, I sit down with Outlaws of Thunder Junction Lead Play Designer Jadine Klomparens to talk about the play design of the set.
#1127: Same But Different
April 12, 2024 14:29 - 30 minutes - 27.9 MBIn this podcast, I talk about a concept I learned from my days in Hollywood and how I apply it to Magic design.
#1126: Outlaws of Thunder Junction Set Design with Dave Humpherys
April 05, 2024 14:30 - 41 minutes - 38.3 MBIn 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.
#1125: Mercenaries
April 05, 2024 14:29 - 30 minutes - 27.7 MBIn honor of Outlaws of Thunder Junction, I did a card-by-card design podcast on cards with creature type Mercenary.
#1124: Outlaws of Thunder Junction Vision Design
March 29, 2024 14:30 - 30 minutes - 28.4 MBIn this podcast, I talk about the early design of Outlaws of Thunder Junction.
#1123: Every Set
March 29, 2024 14:29 - 40 minutes - 36.8 MBBefore 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.
#1122: Top 20 Evergreen Mechanics, Part 2
March 22, 2024 14:30 - 30 minutes - 28.2 MBDuring 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.
#1121: Top 20 Evergreen Mechanics, Part 1
March 22, 2024 14:29 - 30 minutes - 27.7 MBDuring 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.
#1120: The Early Days of Magic
March 15, 2024 14:30 - 30 minutes - 27.9 MBIn this podcast, I explain what it was like to play Magic in 1993.
#1119: The Elephant in Boots Problem
March 15, 2024 14:29 - 36 minutes - 25.3 MBIn this podcast, I share what Magic R&D refers to as the "elephant in boots" problems and how we work to solve it.
#1118: Top 20 Mechanics, Part 3
March 08, 2024 15:30 - 30 minutes - 28.3 MBThis 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.
#1117: Top 20 Mechanics, Part 2
March 08, 2024 15:29 - 32 minutes - 29.7 MBThis 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.
#1116: Top 20 Mechanics, Part 1
March 01, 2024 15:30 - 35 minutes - 32.3 MBRecently 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.
#1115: MagicCon: Chicago
March 01, 2024 15:29 - 32 minutes - 29.6 MBIn this podcast, I talk about my time at last weekend's MagicCon: Chicago.
#1114: Playtesting in 2024
February 23, 2024 15:30 - 31 minutes - 29.1 MBTen years ago, I released a podcast on playtesting, but a lot has changed. In this podcast, I look at how we playtest today.
#1113: Synergy
February 23, 2024 15:29 - 31 minutes - 29.1 MBIn this podcast, I talk about the importance of synergy in Magic design.
#1112: Perfectionism
February 16, 2024 15:30 - 31 minutes - 28.9 MBWe 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.
#1111: Puzzle Design
February 16, 2024 15:29 - 34 minutes - 31.4 MBIn this podcast, I talk about the basics of designing puzzles.
#1110: Early Advertising
February 09, 2024 15:30 - 30 minutes - 28.1 MBIn this podcast, I look back at the advertising of the first ten years of Magic.
#1109: Murders at Karlov Manor Set Design with Andrew Brown
February 09, 2024 15:29 - 32 minutes - 29.5 MBIn 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.
#1108: Erik Lauer
February 02, 2024 15:30 - 31 minutes - 29.2 MBIn this podcast, I pay tribute to longtime Magic designer Erik Lauer who recently retired.
#1107: Murders at Karlov Manor Puzzles with Mark Gottlieb
February 02, 2024 15:29 - 32 minutes - 29.4 MBIn 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.
#1106: Murders at Karlov Manor Design
January 26, 2024 15:30 - 31 minutes - 28.4 MBIn this podcast, I tell the design story of Murders at Karlov Manor.
#1105: History of Learn to Play
January 26, 2024 15:29 - 32 minutes - 30 MBIn 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.
#1104: Strictly Better
January 19, 2024 15:30 - 34 minutes - 31.2 MBIn 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.
#1103: Making Things with Jess Dunks
January 19, 2024 15:29 - 31 minutes - 29 MBIn 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.
#1102: Play Design Changes with Ben Weitz
January 12, 2024 15:30 - 32 minutes - 22.2 MBI 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.
#1101: Designing Universes Beyond
January 12, 2024 15:29 - 33 minutes - 23 MBIn this podcast, I go through the process from start to finish of designing a Universes Beyond set.
#1100: Designing to Art
January 05, 2024 15:30 - 33 minutes - 23.1 MBMost 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.
#1099: The Dark
January 05, 2024 15:29 - 31 minutes - 21.6 MBIn this podcast, I talk all about Magic's fourth expansion.