Magic The Flavouring
Andy and Nathan discuss the flavour highs and lows of the world's greatest card game, Magic: The Gathering. Join them as they talk through world building, lore, mechanics and art, on a meandering quest to explore the relationship between storytelling and gameplay.
Episodes
We are staying a little longer on Lorwyn to discuss the approach to its deep, fantastical and often overly-complex lore. Which aspects of this Plane were carried over from the first time we were here and what was left to fade into legend and fable. Nathan breaks down the effectiveness of the newest mechanics and Andy becomes a hypocrite, reversing some long held opinions...
Music by Michael Rawcliffe Audio.
Bluesky:
We jump head first into the long awaited adventures of Strixhaven...and then eventually Lowryn in this new offering from renowned MTG writer Seanan McGuire. As a new crop of Students are swept up in the politics of a world very few understand, how will this glimpse into the fan favourite Plane prepare us for the next stages of the overarching Magic story?
Story Articles:
https://magic.wizards.com/en/story
Everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked and turned over 50% of all Magic into Universes Beyond...or something. Andy and Nathan take a look at Avatar the last Air Bender as it's depicted in MTG. Is this set's apparent step up in quality against other UB sets be enough to quell the grumbles of Magic purists or will the cycle of cynicism continue?
Music by Michael Rawcliffe Audio
Bluesky:
mtflavouring.bs...
The Eclipse is fast approaching, so before we travel back to the equally quaint and cruel Plane of Lorwyn, we need to refamiliarize ourselves with a fantasy setting that is all at once a deeply complex and wonderfully simple. Andy and Nathan dive into why a Boggart isn't a Hobgoblin and the surprising origins of Kithkin.
Music by Michael Rawcliffe Audio.
Bluesky:
mtflavouring.bsky.social
Twitter:
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We return to the Restaurant at the end of the Multiverse to sample the delicacies from across the Blind Eternities (and also The Edge). The kitchen has had four years to add fresh dishes to the Menu so join Andy and Nathan as they make their orders and discover how magic's writers and designers have tackled culinary differences on each new Plane.
Music by Michael Rawcliffe Audio.
Bluesky:
mtflavouring.bsky.social<...
Look out! Here comes the Spider-Man...swinging directly into standard and there's not a thing you can do about it. Andy and Nathan discuss Magic's latest and boldest Universes Beyond set and whilst there is some interesting flavour to be found, are we now finding the limit to what Magic players will stomach when it comes to IP crossover?
Music by Michael Rawcliffe Audio.
Bluesky:
mtflavouring.bsky.social
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What is a Robot? Why is a Robot? Where are all the Robots in Magic? With the main set advent of the new creature type in Edge Of Eternities, Andy and Nathan look back across MTG's history to determine what implications have arisen and what other Automatons can be found in the lore.
Music by Michael Rawcliffe Audio.
Bluesky:
mtflavouring.bsky.social
Twitter:
MTF- @MTFlavouring,
Andy- @AndyMannface,...
It's big, it's so, incredibly big. And we ain't talking about the vastness of space. 11 whole story episodes for Edge of Eternities and each one is half a novella in it's own right! So much world building for Andy and Nathan to explore, and an epic Sci-Fi-Fantasy to dive into.
(The room this episode was recorded in was not fit for purpose, apologies for the sound quality)
Story Articles:
Edge of Eternities heralds a new era for MTG as the main continuity setting introduces The Edge! No longer confined to the endless vastness of the Multiverse, we can now explore the galaxies that make up the reality beyond the Chaos Wall. Andy and Nathan discuss how this new setting fits into the larger Magic context and what we can find on our trek through the stars...
Music by Michael Rawcliffe Audio.
Bluesky:
mtflavo...
Edge Of Eternities is coming soon to the MTG scene and heralding its arrival is a 3 Mana Value Tezzeret card, that has no coloured pips!?! What does this mean for the character and when have other Planeswalkers shifted their colour identity? And why? Andy and Nathan get into all these questions, and more.
Music by Michael Rawcliffe Audio.
Bluesky:
mtflavouring.bsky.social
Twitter:
MTF- @MTFlavouring,
A...
The first ever Standard Legal Universes Beyond set takes on the many worlds of Final Fantasy. With many in-game and real world card games already associated with this IP, can the guys guess the flavour of the cards correctly, drawing from minimal prior FF knowledge? Also Andy and Nathan talk about their previous experience (if any) with this truly epic game series.
Music by Michael Rawcliffe Audio.
Bluesky:
mtflavourin...
The guys celebrate a milestone of 151 episodes of the pod, and what better way to do so than to talk about Andy and Nathan's 2nd favourite fandom, Pokémon! The guys look at the Gen 1 Gym Leaders and their teams, and decide to beat WOTC at their own game by creating a Universes Beyond style mash up.
Thank you to all our listeners for being here, it means everything!
Music by Michael Rawcliffe Audio.
Bluesky:
mtf...
Has MTG moved away from the concept of truly evil factions in favour of more abstract villains and grey morality spectrums? The guys take a look at the new Siege cycle of cards from Tarkir: Dragonstorm as a case study and discuss how the concept of the "Bad Guy" has changed in magic narrative and gameplay. Also Andy and Nathan go back across recent lore history and inadvertently justify the actions of some pretty evil cha...
Black isn't the only colour that dabbles in the art of Necromancy. Magic proves once again that its Colour Pie is one of the richest veins of Lore in all of fantasy, as each colour has its own brand of life/death spells. Andy and Nathan work through the WUBRG to discuss how these themes are expressed and the metaphysics of what actually counts as resurrection. Also Andy hates on Doctor Who again...
It's the end of the Dragonstorm arc and we are once again back on the fan favourite Plane of Tarkir! But how have things changed since the Dragon Lords were overthrown and will we finally uncover Jace's master plan to save the Multiverse? Andy and Nathan talk through the latest MTG story and how Planes and characters have evolved and potentially regressed.
Music by Michael Rawcliffe Audio.
Bluesky:
mtfla...
After the Amonkheti crossed the finish line to claim this year's Ghirapur Grand Prix title, who will be in the running for next year's prize? And which Planes will have the honour of hosting? Andy and Nathan take a look at Vehicles throughout Magic's history through this thought experiment and create their own racing teams ready for a podium finish.
Also the guys shout at each other about Brackets in EDH, because disc...
START YOUR ENGINES! The denizens of the Multiverse are about to witness the most high octane event in its history, as K. Arsenault Rivera takes the wheel of the latest Magic story. But along with excitement and under the layers of sweat and engine grease is a story of normal people trying to rediscover their place after endless change and turmoil.
Music by Michael Rawcliffe Audio.
Story can be found here:
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Another year of Magic and what a year it was! With a tonal shift to the flavour unlike anything seen before, there is certainly a lot to go over. Andy and Nathan go set by set to relive some the highs and lows of 2024 as well as picking their favourite art and artists of the year.
Music by Michael Rawcliffe Audio.
Bluesky:
mtflavouring.bsky.social
Twitter:
MTF- @MTFlavouring,
Andy- @AndyMannfa...
Magic Foundations looks to uphold the absolute distilled core of what MTG is in the game, in some ways to balance the Universes Beyond influx we are looking at in 2025. So what does WOTC consider the quintessential expressions of colour and what cards and themes do Andy and Nathan wish made the cut?
Music by Michael Rawcliffe Audio.
Bluesky:
mtflavouring.bsky.social
Twitter:
MTF- @MTFlavouring,
Foundations is rounding out it's product line with a brand new Jumpstart run, and that means new Legendary Creatures to study! Also, Andy and Nathan look ahead to 2025, and ponder on some of the biggest shifts in Magic's design and product philosophy, maybe ever...
00:00: Jumpstart Legends
1:12:40: MTG 2025
Music by Michael Rawcliffe Audio.
Bluesky:
mtflavouring.bsky.social
Twit...
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