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A show about design in Magic: the Gathering. Each week we cover both official cards and custom cards made by the community. The weekly design challenge gives you the opportunity to make it on the show! Hosted by Tim, Juliet, Kayiu and Markus, with guests!

Jun 3, 2026

This month we pay homage to our nation's wetlands by reviewing a variety of black mana producing cards. You might be disappointed by only ten cards, but secretly you get the full 20 thanks to adventures, omens, and prepared spells! Lots of discussion on the amount of juice you put into a land, and not a small amount...


May 27, 2026

Juliet and game designer Andrew Gillis tackle the noblest of beasts and regalest of steeds, the humble donkey. From its memorable place in Eventide as a goblin-replacement, to its historical role in documented in human society, to the artistic fancy of human-donkey transformation, there's fertile ground to design more...


May 20, 2026

Baneslayer Angel vs Mulldrifter is a spectrum of on-board presence versus pre-loaded value. This week's episode is a cube design episode about that tension. Community member Redbay hops back on the pod to outline the philosophy behind their "Baneslayer Cube" which puts more focus on battling creatures. 

Join Beacon of...


May 13, 2026

This week we talk about and design for the "Popcorn" game in our Discord community. Fast paced, exciting, and pretty eccentric are apt descriptions for the cooperative hopper of cards. Design a card based off of the last card, and the next person designs one off of yours. We go over some highlights from the game, then...


May 6, 2026

Cain may be the "first author" of cities, but Juliet and game designer Nic Tringali dive deep into what makes the city, and the city builder, so frequent a fantasy in games and in real life. Along the way they discuss Amberspire, the hit new city-builder that goes live the day this episode releases, and design...