Kelly Digges
Worldbuilder, editor, and narrative designer for games. Principal Narrative Designer for Riot's Riftbound TCG. Formerly worked on Magic, Lorcana, Concord, Gods Unchained. I killed Lorthos and I'd do it again. He/him
- It's a bad sign that current conservative infighting is centered on whether to be Nazis or just regular bigots, but I do like it when they fight
- Ben Shapiro is attempting to keep the conservative movement from rejecting him and succumbing to antisemitism, yet doesn't realize that he's already too late. This is the inevitable result of getting into bed with fascists and racists. And becoming one yourself. www.politico.com/news/2025/12...
- This article slaps. And it prominently features Ashes of the Sun, the Magic novel that had by far the most influence on me. Politics! Heresy! Minotaur fingers!
- today, I venture to ask: what do minotaur fingers look like? as it turns out, the answer has to do with the visual conventions of mythology and high fantasy, the history of Magic, and how we manage the alienness of fantasy realism. give it a read! dominarianplowshare.substack.com/p/what-do-se...
- This article suggests that animal people that juxtapose human and animal elements are more uncanny than those that blend them. This is (I think) why the animal-headed gods and animal people of Amonkhet have sharper divisions between human and animal—the place is supposed to be unsettling!
- Just a reminder that this was 10 years before “Hamilton” hit Broadway, and the line “You can call us Aaron Burr from the way we’re dropping Hamiltons” was not in any sense a pop-culture reference. It was obscure! I felt a little clever for getting it!
- Recently my wife and I were talking about modern Sherlock Holmes adaptations and how to keep him from being superhuman. We floated “make him as knowledgeable about any given topic as someone who’s autistically hyperfixated on it” This tweet changed my mind, there’s no way Holmes would know this one
- Alt text for image in quotes tweet: A discord screenshot in which Radley is shown a Magic planeswalker card’s loyalty ability activation cost, and instantly knows not only that it is Jace the Mind Sculptor, but that it is the Double Masters printing
- I do still think you could make Holmes as knowledgeable as someone who’s autistically hyperfixated on, say, 20 or 30 areas of expertise that are broadly relevant to solving mysteries—guns, locks, trains, fashion, geography, etc. But he’s not beating our boy Radley on Jace Beleren facts
- Dukat actor Marc Alaimo--and even at times the writers!--genuinely believed he was redeemable. Actually redeeming him would have been (imo) a narrative disaster, but holding open the possibility made him such a rich character. Easier to do by accident than on purpose, in a weird way.
- It illustrates an underappreciated aspect of collaborative work, and a potential pitfall of solo creative efforts. Dukat was better because Alaimo believed he was a good guy, but the story would have been much worse if he actually had been. Tough for a solo creator to muster both sides of that.
- Considering Dukat redeemable is, at least from a craft perspective, a strength on Alaimo's part. From the writers I think it's less forgivable. But as long as there's a steady creative hand at the wheel guiding the overall effort, those minority opinions make the work better, not worse.
- Really enjoyed Rhystic Studies' look at Fallen Empires, a set very dear to me. Sam speculates that Homarid Explorer in Dominaria may have been inspired by a puzzle sent to R&D by @loreleywrites.bsky.social, though notes that Loreley dismisses this theory. I can shed some light! (🧵)
- Fallen Empires was an abject disaster that should’ve killed Magic dead. 31 years have passed. We're all still here. 🎥 : youtu.be/SakRUkDPxn4
- I can confirm that the puzzle isn't the sole or primary reason Homarid Explorer exists. With me and @ethanfleischer.bsky.social on the team, someone would have had to physically stop us from putting a Homarid in. The puzzle was a kind of "well now we HAVE to" moment. The fans demand it! Well, a fan.
- My recollection is that Dominaria AD Mark Winters was onboard from the start (unlike with some other old things he had serious doubts about, like djinn), but he was concerned that--as Sam notes in the video--the core concept of homarids is just kind of goofy, and it would be hard to do it right.
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View full threadP.S. Fun fact: I was so taken with Fallen Empires that it inspired some of my earliest custom Magic cards--an entire set called Legacy that explored the aftermath of the set and how the invaders might struggle to set up new empires of their own. (The cards were, of course, very bad.)
- This made me realize I never saw the end of season 3 of Enterprise. The Xindi Arc's "Global War on Terror in space" was unpleasant while living through the actual GWoT, and I gave up. (Also it was on at a particular time and sometimes I just missed it!) Might have to give it another chance...
- the last 3 enterprise episodes have been so fucking good that @opensketchbook.bsky.social and I have been forced to watch them back to fucking back we can't stop i have no idea why the 4th season was the last considering how stupid good the 3rd season was, justice for enterprise, its better than TNG
