Some thoughts on "Holy Cow":I don't think it's specifically an issue with Holy Cow in a vacuum.Instead, it's more about the massive increase in proliferation of "meme cards" and "joke cards", cards that make references to real life idioms, seek to break the 4th wall in some way, make puns or jokes that pander to everyone, naming cards after a ubiquitous a turn of phrase in pop culture, etc.Sometimes it's cute and whimsical but when it misses, it can feel pretty cringe. I don't want my favorite game to have a bunch of cringe references which becomes a possibility when Magic makes dozens of "joke cards". It also makes the Magic world and universe feel less bespoke and more like a series of existing references.

For what it's worth, I think the Holy Cow reference would have been funnier if it weren't so obvious (i.e. design the card as is with the same art but name it something different).

Years ago, I made this card:

I love puns, so much so that I wove this one into the story (this was the Weatherlight Saga that Michael and I created). Very, very few players got it. (The pun is “squeeze toy”, the squeezable rubber toy that makes noise when you squeeze it, like you would give a dog.) Every time I explain this, I get more people say, “I never got that.”I have nothing against the subtle joke now and then (and there are some pretty subtle jokes in the Un-sets), but I would rather do jokes that the majority of players get. If the trade of is some people roll their eyes and say “that’s not my style of humor”, but many others laugh and enjoy it, I’ll gladly take that. A joke more people get is “funnier” in the aggregate.

I really really enjoy the way that these March of the Machine stories have been going on for twice as long as most other sets. Sets like WAR and MOM are very unique in the way that they integrate the stories and the cards together (extra length stories, preview cards being shown in story order or integrated into the story article itself, etc). I'd argue that they're essential to the reception of the set itself!
You've mentioned before on the blog that it's hard to request more from the creative team because any additional resources focused there need to come from somewhere else. My question is: does the success and reputation of sets where the story is deeply integrated like this fall under "success breeds repetition"? Is there a way the audience can communicate a desire for more intertwined relationships between story and set, even outside of big epic crossover sets?

We do market research on this kind of thing, so players loving it helps.

Btw, when I heard about the time travel element in brothers war I was upset with the implications. When the story came out, I was extremely glad it was as minimal as it was. And I absolutely loved the story that picked up directly after the Brothers War novel, it seemed very respectful to the tone of the source material.

The plan was always to tell The Brothers War as it happened. The time travel was just a narrative device to “watch it” and tie it into the story.

I have a question about Squee's inability to die. Did it first emerge from gameplay and then into the story, or from the story into his first card (Squee, Goblin Nabob)? Was it something that was planned for his character from the start?

I guess it’s my fault. When I designed the original card for Squee, his ability to return from the graveyard wasn’t meant to represent he was being reincarnated, just that he was lucky and hard to kill. That card later inspired an author to build his immortality into the character.

This Kamigawa situation is sad because it sends a false message. "You can't make an event on the first trip to a plane because players will think that event IS the plane."The Kami War is over. The world had to move on. And there has to be conflict in the story. Which means one side has to be less represented.Kami vs Mortals again reinforced the falsehood that the war IS the plane.Kami vs New Enemy, Samurai/Ninja get less support.Empire vs New Enemy, Kami get less support.I think the fact that Kami were still integrated into the story/cards at all was excellent. Thank you for fighting so hard for this Mark.

This particular return was filled with all sorts of issues, that being a big one. I’m very happy with how it all ended up. I’m glad you appreciate it.

Can I request more cards in the "reverse-domain" mill payoff space?Stuff like Into the Story and the rogues cards in Zendikar Rising.

You mean reverse-threshold?

In the Tempo Week article you talked about how multiple cards drawn at once was pushed into sorcery speed effects. How did that idea change over time for cards like Into the Story and Return of the Wildspeaker? (Have a lovely day!)

R&D changed their opinion on it over time.

Can I get a birthday trivia factoid about any of the 5 legendary Slivers?

The Sliver Queen was made purely as a mechanical execution. We made her legendary because she felt legendary, so Michael Ryan and I worked her into the story. Happy Birthday!

I'm loving the story order release of the cars. I was just telling my boyfriend how excited I was that we've only seen two mythic rares and we're a week in! It's great to see how to commons play into the story (also dang are these some great commons). I don't want to hurt your hand, so gentle fist bumps to everyone. You folks have knocked it out of the park.

Thank you for thinking of my sore palms. Fist bumps it shall be.

Rath obviously was, but were the two first "visits" from Dominaria, Arabian Nights and Homelands, meant to be different planes back then when published or is it a retcon? I always thought that Arabian Nights was supposed to be, well, Arabian Nights and that Homelands was somewhere in Dominaria.

Homelands was clearly a different plane. It was built into the story. Arabian Nights was much fuzzier.