Magic: The Gathering Drive to Work Podcast

A/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.

Back 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.

In this podcast, I sit down with Outlaws of Thunder Junction Lead Play Designer Jadine Klomparens to talk about the play design of the set.

In this podcast, I talk about a concept I learned from my days in Hollywood and how I apply it to Magic design.

In 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.

In honor of Outlaws of Thunder Junction, I did a card-by-card design podcast on cards with creature type Mercenary.

In this podcast, I talk about the early design of Outlaws of Thunder Junction.

Before 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.

During 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.

During 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.

In this podcast, I explain what it was like to play Magic in 1993.

In this podcast, I share what Magic R&D refers to as the "elephant in boots" problems and how we work to solve it.

This 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.

This 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.

Recently 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.

In this podcast, I talk about my time at last weekend's MagicCon: Chicago.

Ten years ago, I released a podcast on playtesting, but a lot has changed. In this podcast, I look at how we playtest today.

In this podcast, I talk about the importance of synergy in Magic design.

We 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.

In this podcast, I talk about the basics of designing puzzles.