Humans of Magic

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