While players experience the Foundations of Magic this weekend, we're returning to the foundations of the House and chatting with Annie Sardelis and Emily Teng from Wizards of the Coast about how their teams built the plane of Duskmourn in the story and cards. We talk about everything from the very inception of an entirely interior plane to the reason why Rooms couldn't be Lands. If you'd like to support the podcast and get access to our Discord server where we're talking all things Duskmourn and looking forward to the announcement of future sets, you can do so at Patreon.com/TheVorthosCast! Every member at the $1 a month tier gets access to the Discord and early episode releases, and for $3 a month members can listen to us record the show live!

This week's episode is a bit different from our usual deep-dives and story summaries. We're tackling one of the biggest questions new fans of Magic might have: What is Magic's story? We want someone who might be encountering Magic through Foundations for the very first time to know what Magic story is, where you can read it, and what to expect from future sets. This is a very high-level overview, so our more experienced listeners may know everything and more that we talk about, but share it with your friends who are opening their first pack of Magic cards and saying "Hey, how do I learn more about this really cool character?" If you'd like to support the podcast and get access to our Discord server where we're talking all things Duskmourn and looking forward to the announcement of future sets, you can do so at Patreon.com/TheVorthosCast! Every member at the $1 a month tier gets access to the Discord and early episode releases, and for $3 a month members can listen to us record the show live!

For Halloween, we've decided to delve into a spooky one-shot adventure set in the halls of Duskmourn! Jay and Brian are joined by a special (returning?) guest as they open some doors and find themselves in a malicious escape room designed by a maniacal clown. Will they make it out alive? Probably! Will they make it out unharmed? Definitely not. If you'd like to support the podcast and get access to our Discord server where we're talking all things Duskmourn and looking forward to the announcement of future sets, you can do so at Patreon.com/TheVorthosCast! Every member at the $1 a month tier gets access to the Discord and early episode releases, and for $3 a month members can listen to us record the show live!

Did you know this year was a special anniversary for Magic? It's the 30th anniversary of the Magic novel line, which began with Magic, the Gathering: Arena (not the digital game client) in 1994. For this episode, we're exploring the history of Magic novels, their rise and fall, and some of the surrounding circumstances that led to the world of web fiction as we know it today. If you'd like to support the podcast and get access to our Discord server where we're talking all things Duskmourn and looking forward to the announcement of future sets, you can do so at Patreon.com/TheVorthosCast! Every member at the $1 a month tier gets access to the Discord and early episode releases, and for $3 a month members can listen to us record the show live!

This week we're joined by the #1 Fan of Jace Beleren, Radley! He's here to talk to us about the enigmatic wielder of mysteries, including delving into some of his current motivations in the story and some larger themes that surround one of Magic's longest running characters. If you don't follow Radley online, you can find him at @SpaceBeleren on Twitter, or follow his Vorthos blog at wielderofmysteries.tumblr.com. Radley's extensive knowledge of Jace means you'll see more of him on the podcast in the future as the narrative moves towards a showdown with the iconic blue planeswalker. If you'd like to support the podcast and get access to our Discord server where we're talking all things Duskmourn and looking forward to the announcement of future sets, you can do so at Patreon.com/TheVorthosCast! Every member at the $1 a month tier gets access to the Discord and early episode releases, and for $3 a month members can listen to us record the show live!

Duskmourn is one giant, flavorful homage to horror movies of the modern age. This week we're diving into our favorite flavor gems of the set, including the very clever designs of the story's main characters and the best references to the horror movies we all love (except for Chris, who is on record for not really loving horror movies). If you'd like to support the podcast and get access to our Discord server where we're talking all things Duskmourn and looking forward to the announcement of future sets, you can do so at Patreon.com/TheVorthosCast! Every member at the $1 a month tier gets access to the Discord and early episode releases, and for $3 a month members can listen to us record the show live!

It's time to welcome Seanan McGuire home to the podcast for another interview to discuss all things Duskmourn. We cover character choices, world building, and influences for this terrifying House. Come step into the parlor, take a seat, and enjoy listening to our conversation. Pay no attention to the way the chair won't let you go... Please go read the Magic story! You can find all episodes of Duskmourn for free at mtgstory.com! Reading the story explains the story. If you'd like to support the podcast and get access to our Discord server where we're talking all things Duskmourn and looking forward to the announcement of future sets, you can do so at Patreon.com/TheVorthosCast! Every member at the $1 a month tier gets access to the Discord and early episode releases, and for $3 a month members can listen to us record the show live! Sometimes you get to see Seanan's cats!

The twisting halls of Duskmourn contain many cautionary tales and grim nightmares, and today we're talking about these side stories that help flesh out the walls of the House. Children born into a world with no dawn or dusk, lost travelers who find no comfort in a moment of respite, elves who can only watch as their world is enclosed in eternal night, and even the miracle of kindness among the monsters that stalk the halls. Please go read Duskmourn's story and side story at https://magic.wizards.com/en/story! The side stories provide a lot of texture to the world and build on the history and themes present in the main story. If you want to support the podcast, you can do so at Patreon.com/TheVorthosCast, where every patron level gets access to our Discord server and early episode releases! For $3 a month, you can listen to us record live! That's even earlier episodes, if you think about it!

We conclude the main story of Duskmourn this week with our heroes coming face to facade with the elder demon of the house, Valgavoth. Do they all escape the House? And if they do escape, at what cost? Also, we discuss what it means for the narrative of Magic to have planeswalkers when there are paths between planes for non-planeswalkers to walk. As always, please click through and read the stories on the Magic Story page, https://magic.wizards.com/en/story ! You can do your part to help support the continuation of free Magic web fiction by simply reading the free Magic web fiction! If you want to support the podcast, you can do so at Patreon.com/TheVorthosCast, where every patron level gets access to our Discord server and early episode releases! For $3 a month, you can listen to us record live! That's even earlier episodes, if you think about it!

We slip once more through the halls of the House this week as our survivors face their greatest fears and terrible monsters. Not all of them do a very good job of surviving these episodes... Duskmourn story can be read for free on the Magic website at magic.wizards.com/en/story and you can find Mira Grant's DVD Extras on Seanan McGuire's blog at seananmcguire.com/blog/. If you like our show, consider subscribing to our Patreon at Patreon.com/TheVorthosCast, where $1 a month gets you access to our Discord server, and $3 a month means you can listen to our show live as we record it! We also post early episode releases on the Patreon when we can, so it's never a bad time to join!

On August 27th, 2014, the first official Magic Story web fiction was published: The Madness of Sarkhan by Jennifer Clarke Wilkes. This story was the first chapter in the Khans of Tarkir story, which would be the first time the main story for a Magic set was published entirely online and for anyone to read it. This year, to mark it's 10th anniversary, The Vorthos Cast has created a mini episode looking back on the history of Magic story, from its early years in the Armada comics to today's story of Duskmourn.