Following Signposts - Avatar the Last Airbender
Beacon of Creation
We're back again on the trail, following where the signposts lead us in draft. This new Avatar set has some new twists on the uncommon gold "archetype" cards and overall has some new ideas on structure. How do you structure a set with four types of elements in a game with five colors and ten color pairs? We dive in and give our breakdown. Join Beacon of Creation's Discord: Show Notes and Images: Intro music by Dee Culp
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Live Design - The Year of Mechanics w/rexxer2
Beacon of Creation
We've got a combo episode this week. Part project showoff, part live design, and all weird old mechanics. Rexxer2 aka Spencer hops on the pod with Tim to talk through this mechanic-a-day project and then dive in to design three of the cards! Fans (if they exist??) of Frenzy, Grandeur, and Gravestorm gotta listen to this one. The Year of Mechanics gallery: Join Beacon of Creation's Discord: Show Notes and Images: Intro music by Dee Culp
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Rhoxtober Challenge Review
Beacon of Creation
Spooky season meets rhinoceroses in our monthly challenge! We got your best card ideas submitted throughout the month and we cover the entries in this episode. Lots of great designs, plus Juliet's twist on anagram card names! Charity stream for Moonshot this weekend: Join Beacon of Creation's Discord: Show Notes and Images: Intro music by Dee Culp
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Back to Battlebond! Bradley Brainstorming Bonanza
Beacon of Creation
This week we're headed joining heads to brainstorm a ton of new ideas for 2HG draft! The episode starts with a recap of Battlebond along with cracking a sample pack. Once the table it set, we settle in to the big brainstorming session, sharing over a dozen ideas for a Battlebond followup. Brad's stream: Join Beacon of Creation's Discord: Show Notes and Images: Intro music by Dee Culp
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Studying the State of Design 2025
Beacon of Creation
This week Gabe's bringing the Mark Rosewater's State of Design 2025 article to the pod. We've picked our favorite points from the article and talk through the implications and lessons. Some of these sets aren't that old but feel ancient now! It was fun to re-live these sets and find some takeaways now that we have some distance. The article: Join Beacon of Creation's Discord: Show Notes and Images: Intro music by Dee Culp
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High Octane Cube Selesnya w/zurishmi
Beacon of Creation
This week we're putting aside our usual design goals and focusing on a new one: creating cards good enough to hang in a high powered cube! Selesnya hasn't gotten as much love as the other color pairs in high power formats, but our community is here to the rescue. Local cube organizer Eric is back on the pod to evaluate all of your great submissions to this tough assignment! Join Beacon of Creation's Discord: Show Notes and Images: Intro music by Dee Culp
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Hit the Books Challenge Review
Beacon of Creation
This challenge review dives into "spellbook" technology from Arena. What cool cards can you design when that card has access to three other cards? We got a ton of submissions again, so you'll learn all about the possible tech! Join Beacon of Creation's Discord: Show Notes and Images:
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Design Crossover - Once Upon a Galaxy w/Alexis Janson!
Beacon of Creation
Big episode! Alexis Janson breaks down their game and helps brainstorm how to steal some of that technology for our own Magic designs. Alexis was a Beacon host way back in the day, so you know they're ready to go deep on the design and ideas behind Galaxy. Check out the game: The dev twitch channel: Yukmouth streams the game daily: Alexis's bsky: Join Beacon of Creation's Discord: Show Notes and Images:
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Moxtober 2025 Primer
Beacon of Creation
Kayiu and Juliet walk through the basics of Moxtober 2025, the yearly community custom Magic event! Join Beacon of Creation's Discord: Show Notes and Images:
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Favorite Flavor - Spiders w/Gabe Lincoln
Beacon of Creation
Juliet is joined by Gabe Lincoln to ask to borrow a cup of one of Magic's oldest flavors, Giant non-Lizard-Wizard non-Hero-Villain Spiders. How do the arachnids that predate the keywording of reach differ from the ones that come after? What is the anatomy of a two-color gold Spider? Why does Ravnica get the most Giant Spiders of them all? Join Beacon of Creation's Discord: Show Notes and Images:
info_outlineThis week Gabe's bringing the Mark Rosewater's State of Design 2025 article to the pod. We've picked our favorite points from the article and talk through the implications and lessons. Some of these sets aren't that old but feel ancient now! It was fun to re-live these sets and find some takeaways now that we have some distance.
The article: https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/making-magic/state-of-design-2025
Join Beacon of Creation's Discord: https://discord.gg/t88Vpwh
Show Notes and Images: https://beaconofcreation.com
Intro music by Dee Culp