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Rhystic Cast #16 - The Hard Questions (Patreon)

Published:
2024-02-14 14:39:18
Edited:
2024-02-14 16:06:01
Imported:
2026-06
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Today, I'm answering ten difficult questions from Patrons in the Rhystic Studies Discord. Why are your videos on Seb and Terese still up? Has Magic's worldbuilding suffered as a result of the pace of production? How can we create a productive forum for art criticism without insulting artists or damaging reputations?

Skeletal Scryings - Oblation “A richer people could give more but they could never give as much.”

Music in this episode:The Mars Volta - Askepios 

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Comments

Christina A. Morris

On the complicated relationship we have with art and artists: I like what you said about wearing the videos about Seb and Terese like scars. I think it's important to maintain that history, for someone to be able to see the paths you took to get where you are On a more personal level, as a trans woman who loves Terese's art (in a vacuum, she's definitely one of my favorites in the game's history), the whole situation with her really stung—and I'm glad that Wizards made the decision not to work with her in the future because of that. But internally, I struggled with it in a different way. At first, I pulled every card of hers that I had in a deck, finding alternate treatments where I could. With time, though I'd find myself going back to cards featuring her art work, still with the same appreciation I always had—feelings completely at odds with what I "should" feel when I look at it... And after some thought, I decided to put the pieces I like back in. For one, the cards are more than just the artist's work: they're also the work of designers and writers and worldbuilders, which is work I appreciate just as much. And beyond that, regardless of what she might think about my community and people like me, I came to the conclusion that she doesn't get to dictate what I enjoy or resonate with in her work. As with all creative expression, there's a degree to which it becomes the audience's once it leaves the artist's hand. It's up to us to decide how and when to engage, and I think we have a responsibility to do so critically and with understanding (which you touched on regarding New Capenna, too).

Logan 'Seraph Six' Isch

I have a lot of family members that I either distanced myself from or cut ties completely in 2020 because they fell for the same hooks. The same bait. Small ideas or beliefs to pull people into the extremist mentalities that they then started to believe as they were exposed to it over time. It's sad that this is such an easy thing to fall for. But it can happen in just about anything, right? Politics, religion, business. Even relationships. Taking the bait, getting hooked, and starting to believe the lies that are fed to you.

Hayden Stevens

It's funny you mentioned skipping the intro song. The Mars Volta is a band that is very heavily associated with a rough time in my life, so I have a hard time hearing them. Regardless of my feelings, I agree their music can be challenging.

Jackson Hughes

Thanks for the insightful podcast and Skeletal Scrying recommendation! I enjoyed all three pieces they've published thus far. I follow a similar creator on Youtube who publishes shorts on randomly selected cards. Sometimes he discusses the art, sometimes mechanics, game history, culture, or lore. He's a wealth of knowledge and his channel is massively undersubscribed. Here's a fun example: https://youtu.be/lum9ZXCq9tg?si=Y1ijh_ItRIDvMZUu On a music note, I enjoyed Askepios! I have my own challenging recommendation. I was recently moving through Scott Walker's discography as part of a deep dive on art pop, and decided to jump ahead to the avant garde stuff he's known for. His 2006 album, The Drift, challenged me like nothing I've ever listened to, but I enjoyed it and have returned to it since. Hope you appreciate it too if you check it out. I'll warn that it's quite bleak, so I'd recommend waiting for a day when you're in a resilient mood.

Victor Chan

Thank you Sam for being the voice of reason on Q1. I wish we collectively practiced more empathy, but it’s a refreshing reminder that the regular rage-bait sphere that is magic twitter does not represent us all.

Spencer Leath Johnston

Loved the pod, I appreciate the carefully measured responces you put forward for your audience. It's so important to model a critical voice without it degenerating into emotional, reactionary one. Re: the violence of New Capenne, I have a sense that, because the game is about conflict, one could "drill down" on any set and parse out a relationship to real world violence and conflict. I've seen people do this with MKM, maligning that it "glorifies police violence." I don't think it does, but if someone made that claim, well, they experienced MKM as glorifying police violence, so I guess it did? I could construct an argument about Ravnica glorifying tribalism, or perhaps pontificate about how Ikoria validates the use of animals in war and the violence we inflict upon them through the lop-sided power dynamics of our interspecies relationships. But I won't, because monsters are cool, and games about conflict require adversarial relationships, fights, conflict. Everyone's line of "what's too close to real world violence" is different. I learned that I can't run horror games for my dnd group, because one of my players, a close friend, has been through things that make fantasy game tension feel far too real to be entertaining. For me, I crave that kind of game, but we have wildly different backgrounds. When it comes to SNC, I personally don't feel that it glorifies the mob. All of Wizard's Market research didn't find any qualms with it that I know of, which would seem to indicate that most people didn't feel that way either. I loved your video a out SNC, and you make very real points. But I can't help but wonder if its your proximity to the subject matter that made it feel so shallow to you. The illusion was broken, Q anon started talking about your area of expertise. Everyone needs conflict to generate energy, choice, drama. Fantasy conflict is used as an escape, a way to frame our own struggles against other potential ones and feel better about the ones we have. Maybe SNC was too close to a real world source, maybe it was in bad taste. Maybe it resonated with a wide audience of Americans who liked the roaring 20's new york look, giving them a fantasy escape. Personally, SNC is so similar to Ravnica, it barely left an impression.