Join us as we ask the hard questions of the future for Magic the Gathering in our Wizards of the Coast interview!
As many of you know, I love playing and reviewing Magic the Gathering, well while I was at PAX I got to sit down with a member of Wizards of the Coast and ask some hard-hitting questions about the current state and the future of the game many love so much. So please pull up a chair and join me as I discuss what the future of magic might hold.
Interview with Henry Williamson, Marketing and Brand Manager
Henry has been working for Wizards of the Coast for almost 7 years now and works as the marketing and brand manager here in Australia.
Mach: So 30 years of Magic so far, can we expect to see 30 more going forth?
Henry: I would say absolutely, Magic is the biggest it’s ever been really, it doesn’t seem to have any signs of slowing down. One of the studio leads have said we’re designing magic to last until forever really, until players want to stop playing it. So I would say it’s become such a pillar and foundation that I see no reason to stop while there are players out there who want to keep playing and we make the game for the players.
Mach: Awesome! Can we expect to see some more uniquely themed sets in the future? We just had Bloomburrow, we just had Duskmourn and with Duskmourn being set in a haunted house with more modern horror elements and modern aesthetic, which I really loved, will we see more unique planes going forward as we move away a bit more from high fantasy?
Henry: So by unique do you mean place we’ve not been before?
Mach: Places we’ve not been before and more out there places. If you asked me 10 years ago what I would expect to see from planes in Magic I would not say a haunted house.
Henry: I mean that’s a fair point. So yeah I’d say the answer is yes, so we’ve made sets in the past that people have really liked like Ravnica, Zendikar, Amonkhet, Innistrad and so on that people are familiar with and I don’t want to say that they’re done or finished. But the team and the studio are definitely exploring what else we can do. So you’ve correctly identified Bloomburrow, extremely unique, Duskmourn, pretty unique. Outlaws was pretty unique as a cowboy set. Next year, to be announced properly at MagicCon Vegas, the stuff that has been teased so far, one is a death race. I didn’t think Magic would be doing a death race. It’s going to be something pretty special in terms of a genre shift.
You mentioned high fantasy, there’s probably a genre we’ll explore next year that we’ve never done before. So absolutely, Magic should be a game for everyone and if we just do high fantasy or things people are already familiar with, we’re not necessarily enabling us well to bring in new people. So by trying new things and going to different places sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t, you’ve just got to try and see. Bloomburrow was absolutely one of those sets where we thought “we think this is going to do pretty well” but we were very pleasantly surprised it did so well.
Mach: In saying that, do you think we can go back to some planes we haven’t been in a long time? You mentioned Amonkhet before, we’ve only been to Amonkhet once and it was left in a really crappy situation. But I mean there are also fan favourite planes like Lorwyn, is there any possibility that we’ll be going back?
Henry: I think it’s always a possibility, no plane or place we’ve been is a never-say-never. A lot of it has to do with where the story takes us, what makes sense for us to go back to. I think now with the Omenpaths and everything has opened up I think you’ll see more opportunities for that because, the sky’s the limit right? Non-planeswalkers can now visit so now story possibilities are broader. It’s nice to hear you mention Lorwyn because the studio and the team knows what older fans have affinity for, it’s just finding that right moment.
Nothing is off the table, it’s just if it makes sense and we think fans are really going to like it is a key point. And hopefully we don’t do things too similarly because one of the reasons we moved away from blocks is because, the one first one is usually great so a good example is Guilds of Ravnica and then Ravnica Allegiance, while people still like being on Ravnica, they’re kinda done? They’ve already experienced it in the first one so back to back sets in the same place are not something the studio is that keen to do mostly because fans don’t seem to be feeling it at the same time so they like that variety. So everything is on the table because Magic’s a big world.
Mach: And it’s only getting bigger. Do you think we’ll see more international events? Like do you think we’ll be able to see more international tournaments? Like more GPs (Grand Prix) and Pro Tours in Australia for starters?
Henry: So it’s a complicated question. By tournaments, I think you mean large-scale events for magic? So the answer is yes, yes those events still appear in the form of MagicCons, which are distributed by region. We’re going to Las Vegas soon and we had Amsterdam before then and various other places. So it’s all about finding the right places around the world to host them which can be facilitators for not just Pro Tour level play. There are other ways to play magic, like Commander. Commander is our most popular way to play. Enjoying the art, enjoying the lore, you know anything that isn’t to do with just big tournaments you know? And that’s important because Magic the game has expanded to be more.
If your question is targeted in this region in particular will we see MagicCons? The answer is maybe? We still do 3 to 4 regional champs which are of a similar format in terms of you know they have this central competitive piece with qualifications to MagicCon via the Pro Tour invites and so on. And then there are other various events. That’s a relatively different system of the last couple of years post-covid.
We’re trying to work out what’s best for this region and other regions. So the answer isn’t no, it isn’t yes it’s we’ll absolutely wait and see and find the right places. For now, there’s plenty of opportunities to engage at RCs (Regional Championships) and other such platforms. We have Commandfest and so on, we’re doing various test events that are not necessarily in line with RCs and the MagicCon system but they’re a kind of equivalency. So we did one recently in WA in Perth because Perth is on the other side of Australia and sometimes doesn’t get the opportunities. So we put in a Commander-like event and sold out instantly at 200+ players and it’s really awesome to support that community. So we’re trying to find things that work but don’t necessarily fall into that GP label. But our goal is always to create cool and fun events that people want to go to.
Mach: You mentioned about artists before, specifically loving the artwork of cards. Will we see more big name artists creating art for Magic who haven’t done anything with Magic before? We just had Masahiro Ito who designed Volgavoth for Duskmourn and we had Junji Ito create artwork for Elesh Norn in All Will Be One. Will we see more artists like them work on cards?
Henry: So similarly finding the right places and right times to invite people to do artwork and collaboration pieces. I think the answer is yeah? Everything is always on the cards, no one is a hard no I think it’s all about finding the right places where it makes sense. Like the Junji Ito is a perfect example where their style matches the set aesthetic. And it’s the same with Duskmorn and any other set where prominent artists that are outside the typical Magic sphere of known artists. It makes senses, it’s similar to going to new planes or trying unique settings it’s the same thing, what fanbases and potential new Magic players can we bring in by working with those artists. Working with new people is an ever-expanding project with Magic and it’s all about finding the right time.
Mach: This’ll be a bit of a harder question, I think I speak for a lot of the playerbase when I say, there is A LOT of Magic at the moment, like there are a lot of sets and releases coming out currently. I know it’s within Wizard’s and Hasbro’s best interest to put more out because that brings in more money. But there is always that problem of burnout with the community, will we see a slowdown at some point?
Henry: So what I can tell you is that feedback we’ve heard for a couple of years. We have absolutely well understood, well heard and we agree. What I can say is that because the design process of Magic happens somewhere between 2 and 3 years in terms of how far in advance they work. From a product design and product release frequency point of view, even though for example, we’ve understood that feedback, the impacts of understanding that feedback and the changes we can subsequently make takes time. And so the answer is yes, we heard it, we understood it, and probably from next year and moving forward you will start to see us start to deliver on that.
Mach: With the latest news with Commander, with Commander going completely in house with Wizards of the Coast, will we see sanctioned Commander tournaments in the future? Different from Commandfest, completely constructed with prize pools and possibly CEDH brackets.
Henry: I don’t have anything to tell you at this point. Like we spoke about before, Commander is our most popular way to play, that’s no secret. Whether it warrants a CEDH element where there’s prizes to be won, I’m not sure at this point. We’ll keep an eye on it, I think it depends on what the demand from the community wants. Just because we have just transitioned from the RC (Rules Committee) to in house, which frankly makes sense now that everything is under Wizards in terms of legality and format and so forth. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what the community desire is for such features. Nothing has really changed fundamentally about the desire for such events even with the RC. Just because the format was managed by a committee doesn’t mean Wizards didn’t help run them. So we’ll just have to wait and see.
Mach: Is there any big and exciting news you can tell us?
Henry: Exciting news? I can tell you what I’m excited for. 2 things; 1, which is, because I personally worked on it. Which is Summer of Magic which is the Australian/New Zealand only thing we get to do. So WPN (Wizards Play Network) stores through December and January, you get to come in, play and get cool prizes and they’re all aussie themed and it’s a personal project of mine, so I’m very excited! There’s a playmat to be won, so get in early if you’re a playmat enjoyer and we work with local artists to produce a lot of the stuff and it’s very close to my heart, so that’s one thing.
From a bigger picture level, from next year we’ve already announced partnerships with Marvel and Final Fantasy. I’m a big Final Fantasy nerd so I’m very excited for that. My other big excitement was the collab with Lord of the Rings, these are my two big fanbases. I’m also excited for the community reaction to your question before about how we are delivering on understanding the feedback that people have given us. And the way the products release, the way the sets are designed, the places that we go, products that we offer, i think it’s going to be a very cool year for Magic players as it’ll be a bit of a refresh. So 2025, I’m sure people say that every year “next year is going to be the best year ever” but hey, Marvel and Final Fantasy are pretty cool.
Conclusion
So there you have it everyone, as a big Magic fan, player and collector myself I wanted to ask Henry some questions that I really wanted the answers to. I want to thank Henry for taking the time out to have this little interview. For Magic fans, e sure to keep an eye out for The Summer of Magic if you live in ANZ!
An interview opportunity was kindly provided by Wizards of the Coast. For more Magic coverage, be sure to check out our Magic the Gathering articles and join us over on the Qualbert Discord!
