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Michael G. Ryan was the senior editor and story manager for Magic: The Gathering at Wizards of the Coast from March 1995 till March 2000. As a writer, he had a major influence on the storyline. From 1994 to 1995, he had been an associate editor for The Duelist. Nowadays, he is the Managing Editor for Pokemon USA.[1]

Contributions[ | ]

Weatherlight Saga[ | ]

With Mark Rosewater, Michael Ryan plotted the original Weatherlight Saga, with additional help from Bob Kruger, Kij Johnson, and Pete Venters.[2][3][4][5] The plot lines were based on universal themes as recognized by the famed scholar Joseph Campbell.[6] Ryan and Rosewater also created all members of the original Weatherlight crew (except for Captain Sisay who was an already existing character).[7]

Ryan and Rosewater were removed as the people in charge of the story during the end of Tempest block (during Exodus) and that event created a schism between R&D and the creative team for a number of years.[8][9]

Stories[ | ]

  • The Slowing of His Heart — The Duelist #7.
  • Maelstrom — The Duelist #17.[10]
  • Torrent — The Duelist #18.[11]
  • Tempest Storyboard — The Duelist #20 (with Mark Rosewater and Pete Venters).[12]
  • Stronghold Storyboard — The Duelist #24 (with Mark Rosewater and Pete Venters)
  • Exodus Storyboard — The Duelist #28
  • The Old Way to Vacar SlabDistant Planes anthology.
  • Gerrard's TaleRath and Storm anthology.
  • In the Blink of an EyeThe Myths of Magic anthology.
  • "Destiny"— Magicthegathering.com.

Non-fiction[ | ]

  • The Making of Mirage — The Duelist #7.
  • Visions of Glory — (The Duelist #15.
  • Fortune Favors the Bold — The Duelist #17.[13]
  • Weatherlight Takes Center Stage — The Duelist #18.[14]
  • Tempest on the Horizon — The Duelist #20.[15]
  • Unlocking the Stronghold — The Duelist #20.
  • Exodus File Exposed — The Duelist #28
  • Taming the Beast — The Duelist #21.[16]
  • A Magic History of Time — The Duelist #33.[17]
  • Classic: Magic's Bumper Crop — The Duelist #38.[18]
  • Magic: The Naming - Arabian NightsMagicthegathering.com.[19]
  • The Leader of the Banned (2003) — Magicthegathering.com.[20]

Editor[ | ]

Trivia[ | ]

  • Eladamri was named as a tribute to Ryan's mother Irma and his stepfather Dale (Irma/Dale backwards).[21]
  • Orim was originally designed as a very minor character. Stumped for a name Ryan took Mark Rosewater's nickname (Maro), and reversed it. The ‘a’ was later changed to an ‘i’ to make the name easier to pronounce.[21]

References[ | ]

  1. Michael Ryan Profile. LinkedIn.com.
  2. Insider Trading, by Mark Rosewater. The Duelist # 16, April 1997, p.17
  3. Mark Rosewater (December 3, 2007). "Weather(light) Report". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  4. Mark Rosewater (November 19, 2018). "Face Cards, Part 1". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  5. Mark Rosewater (December 3, 2018). "Face Cards, Part 2". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  6. Making Wine of the Grapes of Rath, by Rob Dalton, The Duelist # 23, March 1998, p.44-47
  7. Mark Rosewater (December 6, 2014). "Could I get some cool trivia on Captain Sisay or the Weatherlight?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
  8. Mark Rosewater (February 17, 2014). "Being Inspired, Part 2". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  9. Mark Rosewater (December 16, 2013). "Can you give us some idea of what the Weatherlight story was supposed to go?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
  10. Michael G. Ryan (December 03, 2007). "Maelstrom". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  11. Michael G. Ryan (December 03, 2007). "Torrent". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  12. Michael G. Ryan, Mark Rosewater and Pete Venters (December 20, 2002). "Tempest Storyboard". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  13. Michael G. Ryan (December 03, 2007). "Fortune Favors the Bold". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  14. Michael G. Ryan (December 03, 2007). "Weatherlight Takes Center Stage". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  15. Michael G. Ryan (November 24, 2008). "Tempest on the Horizon". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  16. Michael G. Ryan (December 05, 2011). "Taming the Beast". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  17. Michael G. Ryan (June 01, 2009). "A Magic History of Time". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  18. Michael G. Ryan (July 18, 2011). "Classic: Magic's Bumper Crop". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  19. Michael G. Ryan (August 09, 2002). "Magic: The Naming - Arabian Nights". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  20. Michael G. Ryan (February 17, 2003). "Leader of the Banned". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  21. a b Mark Rosewater, Top Ten secrets behind Tempest card names, The Duelist #21 (January 1998), p. 19

External links[ | ]

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