The Herald's Horn

Support the show, join the community & get exclusive content: https://www.patreon.com/heraldshorn Vorthos Month continues with Magic: The Gathering Story Lead Roy Graham. It's not just the written story though - there's a lot more that goes on behind the scene to create a cohesive storytelling experience for all players! Follow Jay: https://bsky.app/profile/vorthosjay.bsky.social Herald's Horn Substack: https://heraldshorn.substack.com/ Cal's podcast about retro video games, Level Up: https://linktr.ee/leveluppod_ Follow us: https://bsky.app/profile/heraldshorn.com https://bsky.app/profile/moderatelymtg.bsky.social https://bsky.app/profile/blackgirlmage.bsky.social https://bsky.app/profile/emmapartlow.com https://bsky.app/profile/caljones.com ------------------------------------- 0:00 - Intro 0:55 - Welcome: Roy Graham! 1:22 - What's the Job? 5:07 - MTG Story in Different Mediums 7:36 - How Do You Tell a Story With Cards 15:38 - Hows the Work Split? 20:21 - The Roy Graham Era 26:58 - Favorite Part of the Job 32:25 - Ideas Made Reality 37:45 - What's Up With Loot Anyways 43:55 - Roy's Final Thoughts

Support the show, join the community & get exclusive content: https://www.patreon.com/heraldshorn Vorthos Month continues with Magic Loremaster Jay Annelli! We discuss continuity editing the behemoth that is MTG story, his own freelance work writing Magic books, the highs and lows within, and plenty more. Follow Jay: https://bsky.app/profile/vorthosjay.bsky.social Herald's Horn Substack: https://heraldshorn.substack.com/ Cal's podcast about retro video games, Level Up: https://linktr.ee/leveluppod_ Follow us: https://bsky.app/profile/heraldshorn.com https://bsky.app/profile/moderatelymtg.bsky.social https://bsky.app/profile/blackgirlmage.bsky.social https://bsky.app/profile/emmapartlow.com https://bsky.app/profile/caljones.com ---------------------------- 0:00 - Intro 0:58 - Welcome Jay! 1:28 - What Is the Magic Loremaster? 4:10 - How Does Jay Keep It Straight? 8:10 - How Did Jay Get Into MTG Story? 11:10 - The Vorthos Cast 15:33 - Are All Sets Created Equal? 21:24 - Jay's Favorite MTG Character 23:11 - People's Expectations for Story 31:44 - Writing the Books - Literally! 44:24 - The Three Audiences 51:50 - Loot. 1:03:18 - Jay's Final Thoughts

Support the show, join the community & get exclusive content: https://www.patreon.com/heraldshorn We kick off the first ever Herald's Horn theme month (Vorthos Month) with Cary Thomas! The prolific Magic archivist (amongst many other things) has Opinions on why it's so hard to get into Magic story & what we can do to help. Heck, they even have a few different places that you can start! Follow Cary: https://bsky.app/profile/acry.bsky.social Check Out Cary's Website: https://mtglore.com/ Herald's Horn Substack: https://heraldshorn.substack.com/ Cal's podcast about retro video games, Level Up: https://linktr.ee/leveluppod_ Follow us: https://bsky.app/profile/heraldshorn.com https://bsky.app/profile/moderatelymtg.bsky.social https://bsky.app/profile/blackgirlmage.bsky.social https://bsky.app/profile/emmapartlow.com https://bsky.app/profile/caljones.com ---------------------------- 0:00 - Intro 1:08 - Welcome Cary! 1:28 - How Does One Get Into MTG Story? 3:50 - MTG Story is Very Unconnected 14:22 - Is a Card Game a Good Story Medium? 16:37 - Magic's Story is Defined by Change 27:11 - Let's Talk About MTGLore.com 40:49 - Wizards Could Do More! 51:28 - Cary's Final Thoughts!

Support the show, join the community & get exclusive content: https://www.patreon.com/heraldshorn On the 40th interview for the Herald's Horn, Cal is joined by his good friend (and new Magic player) Gabe Pyle! Gabe is an industrial design professor, in addition to other things, which gives him some interesting insights and reflections on his new player experience and that of others. Cal wanted to hear about this experience, being over a decade removed from his own beginnings, so here we are! Learn More about Gabe: https://gabepyle.com/ Herald's Horn Substack: https://heraldshorn.substack.com/ Cal's podcast about retro video games, Level Up: https://linktr.ee/leveluppod_ Follow us: https://bsky.app/profile/heraldshorn.com https://bsky.app/profile/moderatelymtg.bsky.social https://bsky.app/profile/blackgirlmage.bsky.social https://bsky.app/profile/emmapartlow.com https://bsky.app/profile/caljones.com ---------------------------- 0:00 - Intro 0:58 - Welcome Gabe! 2:09 - Reluctance to Get Into Magic 4:00 - Introduction to Magic & More 9:16 - Magic's Complexity is Interesting 15:12 - Is It Harder to Learn Magic Now? 20:59 - What Is It Like to See New Players Learn? 26:23 - User Personas & Player Archetypes 32:25 - How Do You Intro People to MTG? 42:42 - How's Opening Packs Going? 46:49 - Gabe's Final Thoughts!

Support the show, join the community & get exclusive content: https://www.patreon.com/heraldshorn On the 39th (not 40th, holy L) interview of the Herald's Horn, Cal is joined by Matt Sperling to discuss how the pros prepare for the Pro Tour. Also covered: Judging Discourse, pro team dynamics, how to keep your head up when stuck, common misconceptions about Pro play, and more! Follow Matt: https://bsky.app/profile/mattsperling.bsky.social Herald's Horn Substack: https://heraldshorn.substack.com/ Cal's podcast about retro video games, Level Up: https://linktr.ee/leveluppod_ Follow us: https://bsky.app/profile/heraldshorn.com https://bsky.app/profile/moderatelymtg.bsky.social https://bsky.app/profile/blackgirlmage.bsky.social https://bsky.app/profile/emmapartlow.com https://bsky.app/profile/caljones.com ---------------------------- 0:00 - Intro 1:00 - Welcome Matt Sperling! 3:30 - Pro Tour Prep: How Does It Work? 8:44 - High Level Magic as a Part-Timer 12:45 - Team Prep is Surprising to Some 18:49 - Pros/Cons of Shorter Prep Times 26:01 - Common Pro Play Misconceptions 31:00 - Sperling's Sick of It: Judging Discourse 36:20 - More Misconceptions 43:00 - Matt's Recent PT Performances 44:38 - Spiking vs. Consistency Incentives 53:49 - Back to Matt's Last Year 58:35 - Advice for Those Who Feel Stuck 1:03:46 - Is Matt Almost Done With Magic? 1:09:08 - Matt's Final Thoughts 1:10:08 - Outro

Support the show, join the community & get exclusive content: https://www.patreon.com/heraldshorn On the 38th interview for the Herald's Horn, Cal is by David (also known as MyHandsAreBlank) & Jacob Paris to discuss the D00-DL-Off panels & D00-DL Showdowns they've put together at MagicCons! What goes into it? Where did the idea come from? What's the goal? All that & more. Follow David: https://bsky.app/profile/myhandsareblank.bsky.social Follow Jacob: https://bsky.app/profile/byjacobparis.bsky.social Get the D00-DL-Off mat: https://www.jankmats.com/products/doodle-off-by-jacob-paris-2?_pos=1&_psq=doo&_ss=e&_v=1.0 Herald's Horn Substack: https://heraldshorn.substack.com/ Cal's podcast about retro video games, Level Up: https://linktr.ee/leveluppod_ Follow us: https://bsky.app/profile/heraldshorn.com https://bsky.app/profile/moderatelymtg.bsky.social https://bsky.app/profile/blackgirlmage.bsky.social https://bsky.app/profile/emmapartlow.com https://bsky.app/profile/caljones.com ---------------------------- 0:00 - Intro 1:10 - Welcome David & Jacob! 1:50 - The D00-DL-Offs 5:45 - The Origins of D00-DL-Off 11:52 - It's a Community Project 13:17 - Lessons Learned 17:43 - Why Are You Doing This? 24:51 - Where did D00-DL Come From? 31:55 - Future D00-DL Plans 36:17 - History with Art 50:00 - Vegas & Atlanta D00-DL? 51:28 - David & Jacob's Final Thoughts

Support the show, join the community & get exclusive content: https://www.patreon.com/heraldshorn Sorry about Cal's bad audio on this one. Geesh. On the 37th interview for the Herald's Horn, Cal is joined by Cas, also known as Strix! We start talking about fast mana in Commander before pivoting to a larger discussion on the Bracket and Gamechanger system. Of course, we have to talk about the pros and cons of writing about Magic as well. Follow Cas: https://bsky.app/profile/strixhavendropout.bsky.social Herald's Horn Substack: https://heraldshorn.substack.com/ Cal's podcast about retro video games, Level Up: https://linktr.ee/leveluppod_ Follow us: https://bsky.app/profile/heraldshorn.com https://bsky.app/profile/moderatelymtg.bsky.social https://bsky.app/profile/blackgirlmage.bsky.social https://bsky.app/profile/emmapartlow.com https://bsky.app/profile/caljones.com ---------------------------- 0:00 - Intro 2:00 - Welcome Cas! 3:38 - Fast Mana in a Game Changer World 9:00 - How Do We Feel About the Bracket Beta? 16:29 - Lower Power Levels Have Changed! 29:15 - Making Banned Cards Gamechangers 34:13 - Cas's Final Bracket Thoughts 35:09 - Writing About Magic 46:17 - Cas's Final Thoughts 47:15 - Outro