What we’re listening to: 10 Minutes of Magic
Meet Magic: The Gathering player and host Ben Bateman.
In this new series, we’ll be highlighting the voices and personalities behind some of our favorite Anchor stations.
Ben Bateman is a multimedia journalist and host out of Los Angeles. He’s always had a knack for all things nerdy. Comics, fantasy sports, Patrick Swayze, 80’s metal — you name it, Ben loves it. With a passion. It’s these hobbies that pushed him to generate content that he truly cares about all across digital media.
10 Minutes of Magic is unlike any other station on Anchor. Magic the Gathering is one of Ben’s biggest passions and every day is full of something fresh for players and fans alike. To start: every Thursday, you can play Ben in a game of Magic. He takes a brand new caller to play against weekly and the end result is nothing short of fascinating. If you’re an avid Magic player, match yourself up with Ben and put your skills to the test in a whole new style. While you’re on the station playing Magic, you can also test your knowledge of the game. Every week, Ben will put your trivia skills to the test in a weekly trivia league. In addition to live gameplay, you’ll also get daily updates on all things MTG. Whether it be breaking news, tournament happenings, or simply musings from Ben.
Simply put, there’s always something to discover on 10 Minutes of Magic. Listen in to what’s happening right now on Ben’s station:
We sat down with Ben to talk about Magic and his station.
How did you get into Magic: the Gathering? My older brother taught me to play in 1995. He gave me a stack of crappy commons, and bought me a few cards at the local card store. I distinctly remember I had a green red deck with craw wurms, kird apes, giant growth’s and Keldon Warlords. I bought a lot of ice age and homelands packs. It was balls.
What’s your favorite thing about the game? The community and it’s commitment to the game’s history. The number of players with 10+ years of experience, or who used to play and have now returned to the game is a huge number of the players. It’s very difficult to put the game down for good, and that makes the community very welcoming.
What’s your favorite card? Grand Architect. I enjoyed a standard season with this card, and have been trying to make it work in any format I can ever since. I love how jam packed it is with abilities, even though it’s just a rare. Definitely a build around me card, which is totally my jam.
Check out Ben on Twitter and Instagram for more of his life. 10 Minutes of Magic is available only on Anchor.
