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Humans of Magic
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197 Episodes
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Vitalii "V" Ponomariov is a Ukrainian Magic player, LGS owner, and IT professional. He currently lives in Lviv, Ukraine.
V and I first connected in 2022 when he shared his perspective on Ukrainian Magic on the Magic The Gathering Subreddit. He introduced me to his friends in the Ukrainian Magic community, which allowed me to make the Humans of Magic feature "This Ukrainian Life."
I am fortunate to have V on again to tell his story.
0:00 Intro
1:03 Opening an LGS in Ukraine
8:03 Ukrainian Magic scene
18:56 Outlaws of Thunder Junction...in Lviv
26:40 Finding meaning in an existential threat
35:52 "It is a luxury to be able to prioritize myself"
41:22 Russia, geopolitics, destroyed opportunities
51:51 The indecisive West
1:00:41 Magic and tabletop games as mental relief
1:02:59 Music, creativity, guiding principles
1:10:20 "Fear of Missing Out" in Magic
1:18:54 Lord of the Rings and Universes Beyond
Patreon: patreon.com/humansofmagic
Sam, a.k.a. Rhystic Studies, creates videos about the art, history, and culture of Magic: the Gathering.
0:00 Intro
1:50 Podcast monologues, Twitter bios
7:31 Discord fan interactions
10:39 Recent interviews
14:08 On being a solo act
16:02 Collaboration opportunities
18:41 Creative choices and financial viability
21:17 The indie game developer
22:57 Hbomberguy and taking on epic projects
27:59 Confidence (and experience) trumps fear
34:29 Level-ups as a creator
38:21 "The guitar is the ultimate feedback machine"
41:26 Keeping oneself creatively honest
45:07 What Rhystic Studies is really about
47:57 On being misunderstood
49:27 Guitar talk
54:32 Heat in Austin, TX
56:26 Podcasting in one take
59:35 Productivity systems and removing friction
1:05:02 Planning for future events (and a wedding)
1:08:55 Getting security for events
Patreon: patreon.com/humansofmagic
Rob Bliss is an artist and illustrator for Magic The Gathering. Rob is also a concept artist and has worked on productions such as Harry Potter, Guardians of the Galaxy, and The Dark Knight.
0:00 Intro
1:00 Speaking engagements
5:08 How Rob developed his style
12:30 Early life as artist
15:23 Imitation breeds uniqueness
20:21 Strength of initial arrogance
23:34 "Making it" as a young artist
30:38 The 2000 AD comic book experience
38:29 Moving into concept art
39:29 Illustrating Magic cards
47:04 Phallic images - setting the record straight
59:32 "I'll quit something because I hate doing it"
1:04:36 On conforming as a creative
1:15:50 Working on the Harry Potter movies
1:21:43 Working with Guardians of the Galaxy
1:28:11 On humor and opening up to people
1:33:28 Playing records as a DJ
1:40:16 On public speaking
Patreon: patreon.com/humansofmagic
An introduction to the Israel-Palestine conflict with Spice8Rack, Magic YouTuber and political activist.
0:00 Intro
3:00 Ground rules and expectations
6:47 Resources - journalists
9:07 Resources - coordination
10:32 Resources - education
11:15 Resources - books
22:26 How do we know if a resource is legitimate?
32:12 How do we know if an influencer is legitimate?
40:32 Social media has real value (but use it wisely)
49:52 Be well-informed - and take action
53:10 It's okay to be emotional (on the internet)
58:59 Willful ignorance and team mentality
1:03:18 Why the Israel-Palestine conflict is important
1:09:52 Campus protests and institutional response
1:16:15 Student protesters should be commended
1:19:23 anti-Zionism vs. anti-Semitism
1:27:04 Scale of what's happening, business interests
1:35:46 Use of force - the Israeli state's position
1:44:59 Definition of "Nakba"
1:49:44 What needs to happen next?
1:58:25 Israeli government and American dependency
2:08:28 Managing expectations with the West
2:16:38 Final words - call for action
---
Spice8Rack's recommended resources:
[JOURNALISTS]
- WizardBisan1 - on Instagram & TikTok
- Eye on Palestine, Middle East Eye - on Instagram & TikTok
[COORDINATION]
- National Students for Justice in Palestine - on Twitter & Instagram
- BDS (Boycott Divest & Sanction)
- Palestine Action
- Jewish Voice for Peace
- Palestine Solidarity Campaign
[EDUCATION]
- Dr. John Duncan - "JohntheDuncan" on YouTube
[BOOKS]
- S. Englert - "Settler Colonialism: An Introduction"
- R. Khalidi - "The Hundred Year’s War on Palestine"
- S. Awad, & B. Bean - "Palestine: A Socialist Introduction"
- B. Bashir, & A. Goldberg - "The Holocaust & the Nakba"
- A. Lowenstien - "The Palestine Laboratory"
- A. Davis - "Freedom is a Constant Struggle"
- F. Fanon - "The Wretched of the Earth"
- J. Abusalim, J. Bing & M. Merryman Lotze - "Light in Gaza"
In the conversation, we referred to Kyle Hill as "Phil" -- sorry, Kyle!
Alison Luhrs is a creative writer and worldbuilder for Magic The Gathering. She was also the creative lead for Baldur's Gate 3, and is currently the narrative director for Destiny 2.
0:00 Intro
1:00 Doing improv
6:49 Improv's learning curve, embracing failure
12:23 Connecting with the audience
15:37 "Book Club"
19:21 Getting into the games industry
21:46 Career at Wizards of the Coast
24:25 Ixalan
25:38 Magic storytelling evolution
29:27 Writing the Thunder Junction epilogues
32:29 Why Alison left her name off the Ixalan stories
38:12 Subverting expectations
39:50 Research and writing frameworks
43:23 Magic storyline starter kit
46:13 Collaborative writing with friends
49:30 Advice for folks entering the games industry
54:56 Living through the COVID era
56:53 "Badass wilderness woman" (and "Lost" commentary)
1:03:25 Alison's friendship philosophy
1:10:11 Legendary Kaladesh PAX improv event
1:13:15 Being the Baldur's Gate 3 creative lead
1:21:54 Lightning round Q&A
Patreon: patreon.com/humansofmagic
Andrea Mengucci is a Magic The Gathering content creator and player.
0:00 Intro
1:27 Interview start
3:14 Content evolution, new YouTube channel, logistics
8:32 Connecting with audience, making it fun
13:02 Magic content innovation
16:29 Why Mengu isn't making Commander content
17:56 Modern format bans
20:35 Tournament and Pro Tour mindset
23:00 COVID changed EVERYTHING
26:04 The REAL life of a top Magic content creator
35:38 Surrounding oneself with strong players
38:01 Competitive Magic is in a weird place
39:02 CovertGoBlue's big impact on Mengu
43:31 "I have a bad relationship with Magic Arena"
49:21 The Karnies podcast
54:36 Content creator vs. pro player lifestyle
1:01:12 Mengu's legacy
Patreon: patreon.com/humansofmagic
Victor Adame Minguez is an artist and illustrator for Magic The Gathering.
Victor's Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/victoradameart/
0:00 Intro
1:00 Beginning of Victor's creative journey
5:53 Making art a viable career
6:38 Artistic ability vs. practice
9:30 "I don't have any other skills"
15:32 Magic art guidelines
17:06 Advice for aspiring Magic illustrators?
20:18 The Grist that sold for $35K
26:09 Early days of working with Wizards of the Coast
29:05 Moving from digital art to oil paintings
35:42 Experiencing creative burnout
41:45 Developing the grind mindset
44:44 How Victor met his wife, Carley Hart
50:17 Magic artist celebrity
57:50 Magic Con Chicago
1:02:39 Fun fact about Victor (that nobody knows about)
1:06:39 Favorite illustration / favorite artists
1:10:23 Value of original paintings
1:12:19 Illustrating for different card rarities
1:14:41 Victor's new passion project
Patreon: patreon.com/humansofmagic
Evart "Aspiringspike" Moughon is a Magic player and streamer. He is best known for his deckbuilding innovations in the Modern format.
0:00 Intro
0:50 Streaming Dark Souls
6:02 Personal off-stream projects
7:58 Value of effective practice
13:45 Viewership drop when variety streaming
15:53 Deckbuilding process
23:17 Innovating (and breaking) the Modern format
27:50 The Crokeyz tweet
31:30 Right place, right time
36:01 Talking about success
37:42 What Spike learned from Kai Budde and Reid Duke
46:59 Level-up - Pro Tour deck selection process
53:01 Questioning assumptions, intuitive learning, stream feedback
58:28 On expressing negative emotions on-stream
1:01:55 Working on the Lord of the Rings set
1:15:34 Making a tabletop RPG with TCG elements
1:19:12 Boundaries of creative output and personal life
1:22:06 Five questions with Aspiringspike (lightning Q&A)
Patreon: patreon.com/humansofmagic
Javier Dominguez is a Magic pro player from Spain. He won the 2018 Magic World Championship.
0:00 Intro
1:24 The language of Magic
3:43 Repeatable decision-making
5:23 Leveraging poker skills, studying the game
10:20 Frustrations
12:49 Being competitive vs. having fun
16:46 Choosing Magic over poker (and Hearthstone)
24:57 Was the old Magic Pro Tour ACTUALLY good?
34:42 The love of the game
37:42 Nature of competitive games
42:43 How Javier wants to be remembered
43:15 Becoming World Champion - did Javier change?
49:40 Preparing for Worlds (work-life-happiness balance)
59:33 Javier's climb to greatness
1:01:49 Hitting a ceiling and starting over
1:05:54 "You can be wrong" - a healthy approach to doubt
1:08:16 Goals and process for 2024
1:10:31 Lightning round Q&A
Patreon: patreon.com/humansofmagic
Foil Bug is committed to serving the MTG community by sharing shiny content, creating premium merch, and guiding players to amazing stores around the world.
0:00 Intro
1:16 What is FOIL BUG?
3:55 Spicerack.gg integration
5:22 Split player bases across two stores
10:31 How the FOIL BUG Store Locator helps new players
12:47 FOIL BUG content for foreign language cards
17:32 James loves German language cards
18:54 Helping players track down hard-to-find cards
24:03 Features - today vs. future
28:22 Shout-out to folks who helped along the way
32:42 Entrepreneurial challenges - and how to overcome them
44:01 Giving it your all
51:38 How to join the FOIL BUG movement
Patreon: patreon.com/humansofmagic
Kyle and Terren Huck are the owners of Apex Gaming, a Magic The Gathering card shop and tournament organizer in Caldwell, Ohio.
The Apex Gaming documentary is now on the Humans of Magic YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@humansofmagic
00:00 Intro
01:49 Kickoff
02:35 Kyle and Terren self-intros
03:48 Apex origin story
07:39 Apex business principles
11:07 Starting a Magic business - managing risk
13:18 Attracting a player base - local & otherwise
17:03 Working with WOTC for WPN Premium store status
20:56 Working on getting Pro Tour invites from WOTC
23:42 The wonderful world of Magic retail
30:33 Any recent customer trends for Magic product?
33:47 Impact of Lord of the Rings, Dr. Who and Universes Beyond
39:36 The craziest Magic purchase...by an employee
42:21 Make the customer experience great
45:26 Carrying Magic product vs. other games
47:39 Lorcana - why it's worth paying attention to
50:37 How Apex started streaming tournaments
54:39 Key focus areas for a solid streaming production
58:02 Tournament storylines & stakes
1:05:10 Deck techs and supporting content
1:07:18 Vision for what's next
Patreon: patreon.com/humansofmagic
Mason Clark is a Magic pro player and coach.
Show notes: humansofmagic.com/
Patreon: patreon.com/humansofmagic
Vincent "Deathsie" Chu is a Magic The Gathering Twitch streamer specializing in the Limited format.
Sorry gang, the audio quality wasn't great in this one! We recorded it on a whim with ONE microphone on my table :(
Have tried to fix and clean it up, but that's the best I could do. Hope you'll still give it a go, because the conversation was GREAT. Thanks for understanding!
Show notes: humansofmagic.com/
Patreon: patreon.com/humansofmagic
Ryan "Tronisbad" Nicholas is an Asian-American Magic content creator from New Jersey, USA.
Show notes: humansofmagic.com/
Patreon: patreon.com/humansofmagic
Piotr "kanister" Glogowski is a Magic pro and streamer from Poland.
Show notes: humansofmagic.com/
Patreon: patreon.com/humansofmagic
Livestreamed on YouTube on Dec 21, 2023.
03:22 Hits
21:13 Misses
32:37 Favorite episodes
52:56 Learnings
1:03:28 Plans for 2024
For future livestreams, sub to the YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/@humansofmagic
Livestreamed on YouTube on Dec 19, 2023.
I answered community-submitted questions.
For future livestreams, sub to the YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@humansofmagic
Melissa DeTora is a Senior Game Designer at Wizards of the Coast. She is a former professional Magic player and the first woman to Top 8 a Magic Pro Tour.
Show notes: humansofmagic.com/
Patreon: patreon.com/humansofmagic
Zvi Mowshowitz is a Magic player, writer, and Hall of Famer. He currently writes about AI, policy and rationality on his Substack, "Don't Worry About the Vase."
Show notes: humansofmagic.com/
Patreon: patreon.com/humansofmagic
Todd Anderson is a Magic player, streamer, personality, and caster.
Show notes: humansofmagic.com/
Patreon: patreon.com/humansofmagic
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