Where do any of us come from? The stars? I can’t answer that, but I can tell you where The Misplay came from: a love of shiny new tech toys, a shared interest in creating something, and a bit of friendship mixed in.
I had, for a long time, wanted to start a podcast, inspired by content creators I admired. Mark, meanwhile, wanted to hang out and was into a digital card game called Eternal Card Game.
While I had a history with Magic: The Gathering, Eternal wasn’t quite my thing.* But my drive to jump into the content creation space outweighed that, so together, Mark and I launched an Eternal podcast in 2019.
*Editing Mark here: I don’t believe that’s true. Jason continued playing Eternal well after I’d stopped–he literally just told me he drafted last night. In Jason’s pursuit of being the entertainer on the Eternal show, he would often play a hypobole-prone character that led to my signature catchphrase on the show: “I don’t believe that’s true.”
The goal? To be both entertaining and informative. I was mostly in charge of bringing the fun, while Mark was focused on helping us get a little better at the game itself. Mark would probably revolt if I didn’t mention how obsessed I was with sound quality—not just how we sounded as speakers but the technical polish of every recording. We famously re-recorded the first episode multiple times before releasing it, and in the early days, we even re-recorded some of our board game episodes when we relaunched.
The very first recording was done on a Blue Snowball mic surrounded by a foam barrier in an attempt to improve the sound. It sounded… like a Blue Snowball. Before going live, we upgraded to Audio-Technica 2100s, which I’d still recommend to anyone starting a podcast on a budget.
After a year, my obsession with sound quality (and perceived sound quality) took over. We upgraded to a RØDECaster Pro and industry-standard Shure SM7B mics, which we still use today. That’s how The Misplay was born—a mix of tech, friendship, and a relentless pursuit of better sound.
As we became more established in the Eternal community through Reddit and Discord, we took the next logical step: forming a team. Sure, you can play a card game solo and improve over time. But when you play as part of a team, your growth accelerates. You get better faster because you’re constantly learning from each other.
We were incredibly fortunate in those early days. The first few people we reached out to didn’t dismiss us or brush us off. In fact, their interest in forming a team with us was genuine. Like us, they were looking for connection and collaboration. And truthfully, they were all better players than we were—which is exactly the kind of people you want to surround yourself with. They pushed us, challenged us, and made us better in ways we couldn’t have achieved alone.
As the team grew, so did our ambitions. The podcast continued to gain traction, we started streaming regularly on Twitch, and we branched out into written content on our website. Some of our team members even played in Eternal Worlds.
But if there’s one piece of work that feels like the highlight of that time, it has to be The Misplay Meta. For nearly a year, we meticulously tracked the most-seen ranked decks on the ladder. Initially, this was something we did privately—mostly for our edge. But thanks to some insightful and motivated members of our team, this data tracking evolved into something much larger: a resource for the entire Eternal community.
We always embraced one of Mark’s guiding principles: “I’m willing to be wrong.” It wasn’t just a phrase; it was a mindset. It gave us the freedom to experiment, to fail, and to keep improving. And none of it would have been possible without the people we surrounded ourselves with. I’m incredibly grateful that we had the chance to meet many of them two years ago in Las Vegas, and some are now actively helping us create our board game.
For three years, Mark and I created a podcast—first weekly, then bi-weekly—without missing a single episode, even while navigating the chaos of the pandemic. We talked about having a growth mindset, the things we loved or hated in the game, all our misplays, the artwork, and we interviewed community members. We also conducted a yearly survey. For those three years, we were unofficial ambassadors for the game. But wait, how have I not mentioned Hunter Pence yet? Remember how I was in charge of the fun? Well, I came up with this running gag: at the end of every show, I’d say, “And on the next episode, Hunter Pence.”
It was half a joke, half a manifestation. Hunter Pence didn’t play Eternal, but he did play Magic: The Gathering. He also co-owned a board game store in Texas called Coral Sword. Plus, he lived in San Francisco—we lived in San Francisco. He played professional baseball, and I played and coached baseball. It felt like fate!
So, for over 20 episodes, I ended the show the same way, willing it into existence. Then one day, I decided to take a shot and reached out to him on Twitter. To my shock, he replied—on my eighth attempt.
Recording that episode was nerve-wracking. We had just upgraded to the RØDECaster, which allowed us to record directly from our phone. But, of course, there was a technical issue. We literally had to have him call us back. Thankfully, he was incredibly gracious, and everything worked out in the end.
That episode is a special one for us, and you’ll be able to find it on YouTube soon. Take a listen and hear us nervously pitch Eternal to Hunter Pence—it’s a moment we’ll never forget. Oh yah!
“Okay, but how did you decide to create a board game?”
That’s a whole other story—and one I’ll save for another post.
— Jason