November 19, 2015, 4:30 pm
Posted by: Kara

bd346_forsytheAaron Forsythe will be calling into Desert Bus at 6:30pm PST on Thursday, November 19th.

Aaron Forsythe is the Director of R&D for Magic: The Gathering and a former pro-tour player. As a member of R&D over the past 10 years, Forsythe has been both a designer and developer for Magic: The Gathering and 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 Modern Masters set.

Have a question for Aaron? Leave it in the comments below!

39 Comments on “Guest Call In: Aaron Forsythe”

  1. Dear Dr. Aaron,

    As a prefix, I LOVE Ravnica. The idea, and all the sets you did.
    My question is twofold:
    1. What were your main goals (Design-Wise) when you did the Ravnica legendaries?
    2. When are we coming back to Ravnica again? If so, what would you do different?

    Thank you dearly.

    By Drakoz - November 19th, 2015 4:45 pm
  2. Locally we have a group of more than a few people who are interested in Modern. But they look at current decks and jump ship again because the decks they like are too expensive. Are there any plans of trying to reprint more Modern cards in standard sets or sideproducts besides Modern Masters?

    By ShifuDaxiongmao - November 19th, 2015 4:46 pm
  3. Why have the best creature type in green been neglected for so long? Magic needs more squirrels! 😉

    By ShifuDaxiongmao - November 19th, 2015 4:48 pm
  4. Dear Dr Aaron,

    You have a problem with white in that there is no standard small race (like elves for green and goblins for red).

    And you have another problem in that you don’t really have a place to put the second most iconic of all fantasy races, dwarves.

    Have you ever considered these are the same problem from opposite directions?

    By Vanciannotions - November 19th, 2015 5:05 pm
  5. On the off chance, can you confirm the existence of a basic land producing colourless mana in ‘Oath of the Gatewatch’?

    By Genesation - November 19th, 2015 5:06 pm
  6. What is the card you were most surprised to see make an impact on Standard in the time you’ve been in R&D?

    By John - November 19th, 2015 5:13 pm
  7. The revamping of the Core sets with Magic 2010 was a revolutionary and exciting idea at the time, seemingly the perfect solution to a stagnant concept. Why do you think that over time the new core sets became the problem they were trying to solve, and what would you have done differently to prevent the loss of core sets entirely?

    By Preston - November 19th, 2015 5:19 pm
  8. Do you know if there are plans to make more toys based on Magic characters, like the Funko Pop figures? I’m really hoping for a Ral Zarek, personally.

    By Genesation - November 19th, 2015 5:36 pm
  9. so whats your guess, Return Back To Ravnica in 2017? and then Ravnica Again in 2021?

    By FredLumps - November 19th, 2015 5:37 pm
  10. Battle For Zendikar, while being a great Limited format, seems on the complex side when it comes to Magic sets. As complexity is possibly the greatest threat to Magic’s future, how do you see future sets maintaining the high quality of Limited?

    By Zaghrog - November 19th, 2015 5:42 pm
  11. Mr. Forsythe,

    A lot of people have talked about the power creep being a big factor in the creation of the new sets and that Battle for Zendikar is sort of a power ‘reset’. Is this in any way true and will we eventually recieve more ‘powerful’ cards in Oath?

    Thanks!

    By AridMason - November 19th, 2015 5:47 pm
  12. After the release of Khans block, does anyone ever call you Arashin Forsythe (or Aaron Foremost)?

    By DaMullet - November 19th, 2015 5:48 pm
  13. What is your favorite creature type with less than 30 cards?

    By ferretbadger84 - November 19th, 2015 6:34 pm
  14. Can we have a “No Comment” on recent alleged spoilers?

    By Sean Riley - November 19th, 2015 6:34 pm
  15. Dear Dr. Forsythe, can you talk about Barry’s Land?

    By Blees - November 19th, 2015 6:34 pm
  16. Dear Dr. Forsythe,

    I had the pleasure of playing against you at the big Eldrazi game at PAX Prime. You beat the pants off me and smiled and laugh the whole time you were doing it. You were a delight! Thanks for being awesome.

    By dungeonmaster982 - November 19th, 2015 6:34 pm
  17. What would be John Cena’s colors?

    By Sean Riley - November 19th, 2015 6:34 pm
  18. Dear Dr. Forsythe,

    1. Are you aware of Robo-Rosewater?
    2. Will MaRo in danger of losing his job to Robo-Rosewater?

    By MrFunnyHat - November 19th, 2015 6:35 pm
  19. Dear Dr. Forsythe, we have seen a good amount of non-traditional (sleeves, playmats etc) merchandise released in the past few years. Any plans on expanding in that area? Any hints you could drop?

    By cosmosrules - November 19th, 2015 6:35 pm
  20. What is the biggest difficulty that you and the design team face with the new standard rotation?

    By A Guy - November 19th, 2015 6:38 pm
  21. 1) why wasn’t opt reprinted in theros with scry now that scry has become a keyword?

    2) Why naga instead of snakes in Khans of Tarkir?

    3) Why do some cards get their errata removed to restore cards to the initial intent of the original wording, but celestial dawn won’t make mana symbols in casting costs of creatures on the battle field W

    By ferro_man - November 19th, 2015 6:40 pm
  22. As an Australian, what is Wizards opinion on our much more spread out population, non centralized game stores often struggling to get 20 regular players. After living in a town not close to the city, and moving to another town not close to the city, I’m curious if Wizards has any thoughts on the subject.

    By The_Lone_Bard - November 19th, 2015 6:40 pm
  23. Do you think a few years down the line there will be a new modern going forward from some point as a cutoff?

    By UsernameForHope - November 19th, 2015 6:42 pm
  24. Baseball nerdery: Marte or McCutchen?

    By Shaterri - November 19th, 2015 6:43 pm
  25. What was the idea behind adding another basic land type in Oath of the Gatewatch? Seems like it would create a huge headache and peeve off a lot of people.

    By JJP2D - November 19th, 2015 6:43 pm
  26. Saprolings are better than Squirrels right? Can we get more saprolings?

    By UsernameForHope - November 19th, 2015 6:45 pm
  27. Why was the latest duels not made compatible for older Ipads? That seems like losing out on a huge chunk of possible new player engagement.

    By Featherweight - November 19th, 2015 6:47 pm
  28. Are there plans on ever producing more planechase sets? We love them and want them back!! Also have you ever thought about putting out another collectors edition set?

    By JJP2D - November 19th, 2015 6:47 pm
  29. Dr Forsythe,

    Speaking of commons/uncommons and limited development, Green has been in a rough spot. Is there anything about developing Green cards that makes it more difficult to balance or make powerful?

    By Don - November 19th, 2015 6:48 pm
  30. Dear Dr. Forsythe

    Throwback to earlier today: If you and your opponent had nearly identical decks and identical card sleeves and you accidentally shuffled half of your deck and half of your opponent’s deck together, what do.

    By Jazzy Josh - November 19th, 2015 6:49 pm
  31. if you didn’t want annihilator for not being fun why make Bane of Bela Ged which basically has annihilator?

    By UsernameForHope - November 19th, 2015 6:50 pm
  32. Any plans of making a Tiny Leader Commander Set?

    By JJP2D - November 19th, 2015 6:51 pm
  33. Are you aware of Highlander, and do you have any opinions?

    By Booster - November 19th, 2015 6:54 pm
  34. will we see a set based in Kaladesh?

    By shivam bhatt - November 19th, 2015 6:59 pm
  35. Would you be interested in printing a pauper set for paper play?

    By Evan - November 19th, 2015 6:59 pm
  36. what is the best playtest name

    By jon - November 19th, 2015 7:03 pm
  37. Any chance of a Portal: Four Kingdoms?

    By slickslickman - November 19th, 2015 7:07 pm
  38. Will there ever be an attempt to make MTGO more UI friendly?

    By MrWrann - November 19th, 2015 7:09 pm
  39. Dear Dr Forsythe,

    Please tell us a story about when Mark Rosewater beat you at Magic.

    By Don - November 19th, 2015 7:12 pm
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