I just saw a collection of 7 screenshots from 2011 thru 2018 from this blog where you repeatedly shoot down the idea of doing mtg crossovers. You said "We think it's important that Magic is one cohesive game, and not a hodge podge of different things." This hurts to hear because it's verbatim sentiment that has been expressed to you about UB which you shot down as unreasonable, and you never addressed the contradiction. I know things change, but how can we trust what you say to us here?

I’ve never said anyone’s feelings are unreasonable. People can and should feel justified believing whatever they want. My goal on this blog is to share with you my best sense of where Magic design is at that moment. Often Magic moves in directions I can’t predict. If you asked me ten years ago, as many people actually did, I wouldn’t have predicted Universes Beyond. But now that I’m knee deep in it, and I’ve seen a lot of data based on the ones we’ve released, I’m a convert. I believe it is something that will bring lots of happiness to Magic players. For example, I was in a playtest for a Marvel set the other day and it was one of the most fun playtests I’ve had in years. I’m a huge fan of Marvel, and, obviously, a giant fan of Magic, so bringing those two loves together is quite joyful. It really hammered home to me the power of Universes Beyond. Trust is a thing to be earned, and I’ve worked hard for twenty-eight years to form a trust with the players. I’ve never lied to you, but I have said things that I didn’t think would happen that did. Saying something not knowing the future isn’t lying. I 100% believed the thing I said when I said it. Also, I always stress that I couch future talk with the mindset that I don’t use my future knowledge. If I know we’re doing thing X next month, I’ll act as if I didn’t know that when asked about it, because it’s important for me to not ruin the surprise of what’s to come. This is much more like not telling someone they’re having a surprise party than straight up lying, but yes, whatever you want to call it, me not ruining future surprises is something I do regularly on this blog, and I’m totally transparent that I do it.

I've been reading for years and I've repeatedly seen you shoot down the idea of a plane more modern than Mirrodin. But I've never actually heard a convincing reason why. Can you provide one? Is this a good podcast topic?

The reason, whether or not you’re convinced by it, is that we don’t want worlds feeling too modern. The type of fantasy we want to center the game in feels more antiquated. We wants swords and bows not guns and missiles. And yes, there are brands that do mix fantasy with a modern day setting. We’re just not one of them.