Aaron Forsythe will be calling into Desert Bus at 10:30pm PST on Thursday, November 21st.
Aaron Forsythe is the Director of Magic R&D for a small time card game called Magic: The Gathering. Maybe you’ve heard of it? Aaron began playing MTG in 1994 using a Revised deck given to him as a gift from his mother. By 1997 he had made appearances on the Magic Pro Tour as a member of Team CMU. At the 2000 US Nationals he took third place, ensuring him a place on team USA for the 2000 World Championships, at which they won the Team portion. Since then, Aaron has added two Pro Tour Top 8’s to his record and holds sixty-nine Pro Points.
In 2001, head MTG designer Mark Rosewater encouraged Aaron to apply for the position of editor of Wizards of the Coast new website: magicthegathering.com, The site launched with Aaron as editor in 2002. He then earned a spot on the Fifth Dawn design team, which earned him huge accolades from inside of Wizards’ ranks. His success led to his full-time inclusion on the Magic R&D team, with Aaron intertied the position of Head Developer and then Director of Magic R&D.
As a member of R&D over the past 10 years, Aaron has been involved in a ton of sets as both a designer and developer. His design credits include Magic 2010 through Magic 2013 and Planechase. As a developer, his work can be seen on many Magic releases including the original Ravnica block, Zendikar, and the upcoming Modern Masters set.
Have a question you are itching to ask Aaron? Post it in the comments below.
Are you happy or excited with the direction Planeswalker cards are moving as more and more are printed? I’ve personally noticed that newer ‘walkers seem more playable than many older ones, without being oppresive.
What is your favorite card? Your least favorite?
Which color do you most closely identify with? If you can’t pick a single color, which guild?
Can you give us any hope for another Un-set in our future?
I’ve been casually designing and creating card games for several years. I have always looked up to Magic: The Gathering in for its creativity and design.
How did you start working as a member of Magic R&D and how would someone start down a path to work at Magic R&D?
Thanks again for helping make such a great game!
When Is the next Un-Set?
Just give us a number.
You know you want one.
Do everything in your power to have Ken Steacy illustrate a Magic card. Not so much a question, just a heartfelt request that is echoed by many here at Desert Bus.
As director of MTG, what direction do you want to see magic going in the next few years?
How many days has it been since you’ve heard Mark Rosewater all the way over here?
Why did WotC get rid of mana burn after the Alara block? IMHO it kind of feels like an unnecessary change meant to make the game easier by removing an element of strategic depth.
Are we ever going to get prize support for Modern or Legacy for FNM or will it always be Standard.
I have to use the Dinner Party Download questions: “What are you tired of being asked?” and “What is something interesting that we don’t know (can be a bit of trivia about the world or a personal anecdote)?”
What is your personal favourite aspect of Theros set?
If I’m not wrong, Theros is the second block in recent years that has both been a topdown design, the first being the wildly popular Innistrad (my favourite block!). Do you feel that the process of designing Innistrad taught you lessons that you were able to apply in Theros?
(I know that, since the whole block isn’t out yet, there are restrictions to how much you can say, and also that the way design schedules are set up, it’s possible that the design of Theros started before you got back the data for the reception of the Innistrad block, but I’m still curious whether you feel there are any improvements to the design of Theros block after your experiences in Innistrad?)
(LONG QUESTION IS LONG, JESUS.)
Are you a Timmy, Johnny, or a Spike?
I’m a huge fan of the Myr creature type, and all of Mirrodin. Will we be seeing them again any time soon?
Is there any way we will ever see a 1 drop planeswalker. The Deathrite Shaman has been a very good test run, with his hybrid mana cost and 3 different abilities.
Will we ever get “lizard wizards” as a creature type? I want lizard wizards! ; )
O ya all I do is play Magic all day erry day!
With the Devotion mechanic introduced in Theros being essentially a functional reprint of Chroma can we expect any possible old mechanics to be reintroduced in Born of the Gods, Journey into Nyx or even the fabled Huey Dewey and Louie
How did the development for True-Name Nemesis go, did you think it would have had as much impact as it has on Legacy and do you think we will ever see a creature like it again?
Have any WotC office battles (of any sort) that you feel are worth sharing?
KriegerSan, just so you and anyone else who may be confused about this, Devotion isn’t a functional reprint of Chroma.
Chroma could count mana symbols off of cards in any zone, while Devotion can only count mana symbols of permanents in play. A subtle difference yes, but different it is.
Dear Aaron–do you have all the magic?
For those looking to play Magic for the first time ever (like me), where should they start?
Hello Aaron!
I have heard a rumor that you dislike the Avacyn Restored mechanic “Miracle”; is this true and why?
Dear Dr. Aaron:
What is your favorite Magic flavor text of all time and why?
When did you first realize you had the coolest last name.
What’s your favourite part of Magic – playing, designing, developing, etc. ?
What is your personal favorite color/colors to play?
Dear Aaron which is your favorite colour of mana in magic and why?
I have never played Magic before, how would you recommend a noob to get started?
What is your favorite set of MTG?
I know it’s a question that’s been asked too many times before, but as you seem to be doing special sets again every year (Modern Masters, Commander, etc.), will Un-set 3 come true any time soon?
What do you hope to see for the protour / worlds / gp circuit going forward from here?
I have fond memories of playing Nevinryl’s Disk against my dad a VERY LONG TIME AGO, do you have a personal favourite magic card associated to a personal fond memory you have?
THANKS FOR BEING AWESOME!
What is your favorite MtG Colour?
What is your favorite MtG Colour combination?
Populate: Great Mechanic or BEST Mechanic?
What do you feel is the most important thing for both Wizards and the Magic community to do / embrace / embody to grow Magic even more?
dear dr forsythe, tibalt, why? also more importantly, whats your opinion of friday nights?
1) can you tell us what “Warlords of Khanar” is?
2) can we get a new card spoiler?
3) When are we getting “Kiora Atua” as a UG planeswalker?
One of my favourite aspects of Magic is flavour text. As an aspiring writer, I’m curious if WotC hires freelancers to help with aspects like creative and flavour text or if it’s all done in house. If yes to freelancers, what is the best way to submit samples to WotC?
If you could create a new position in R&D or Creative, what would it be, and do you have someone in mind that you’d like to take that job?
When’s the next un-set due out?
The Theros keyword abilities are great! and fit their flavor very well. How do you balance creating new interesting mechanics and bringing back old favorites (ie. scry) in a new set? hint hint: bring back madness
What is your favorite MTG card that most would see as unplayable or just strange. Mine is Cromat.
uncommon planeswalkers? or a planeswalker set similar to what kawagama block did for legendaries?
I’ve play a lot of commander and we’ve seen quite a few commander sets released recently. Will we get any more commander-specific cards like Command tower?
A.) I would totally get behind a Legendary Lizard Wizard.
B.) Why don’t we have the third Un-set yet?
Are you Pro-squirrel or Anti-Squirrel?
Have you guys ever considered basing a block around the mythos and stylings of various native civilizations from around the world? Like each civilization is based around a color pair? Maybe it could work as a way to reintroduce the color-pair dynamics again when Ravnica is out of standard again.
Should we be looking for a reprint of True-Name Nemesis?
Is there is a best “deck” for a first time player? A color or guild that is better to learn with?
Slivers. Thoughts?
Would you ever consider re-adapting old sets with interesting themes, such as Portal Three Kingdoms?
Any way MtG will be back on ESPN?
Do you think Magic will ever (even as a joke) print the Sixth Colour and/or “Barry’s Land”?
Aaron MORE LRR IN MTG!
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