Food, Swords, and Magic: An Interview with TheHermitDruid
We’ve been pretty busy at PlayEDH recently, with much of our focus going towards working with people from the Magic community to try to offer new and exciting things for our supporters. This includes sponsoring Nathan Jones—also known as TheHermitDruid—so that he can represent us at MagicCon Las Vegas while also working on his own unique brand of content. Today’s article was my opportunity to sit down with Nathan and chat about attending Magic conventions and get to know him a little better.
Chief: Hello! How are you doing?
Nathan: Today was a good day. A bird got in the house but I was able to catch him and get him to fly back outside. It was a happy ending. People imagine that my house is just filled with plants and animals and they’re not wrong. Now I’m doing prep work for dinner before I do some sword work outside.
Chief: They call that mise en place, right? Getting things ready before you actually start cooking.
Nathan: Yeah, that’s a good term to know. I actually like to help people mise en place their Commander decks too. Making sure your deck is ready to go before you actually play is important.
Chief: As someone who spends way too much time putting decks together, I’d have to agree. Can you tell me a little about yourself for people who might not know you?
Nathan: I’m a chef. I worked in kitchens for 23 years. I call myself the not content creator, because I didn’t try to become one. I just talk about things on the Internet and people gravitate to it. My interests are pretty varied, but people seem to find them interesting. I’m talking to you while I prepare my dinner with home-grown herbs and vegetables outside in my garden before I go swing my sword around. A literal Renaissance man in every sense of the phrase.
Chief: You have been very outspoken about your different hobbies. I find that very refreshing because you’re so sincere. Where can people find you?
Nathan: You can find me on Twitter where I’m terminally online, but I try to be approachable. You can also find me on TikTok and YouTube, where I work on The Druid’s Repository. I’m also going to be traveling around and making content at different events such as MagicCon and Commander Sealed, thanks to people like PlayEDH and Moxfield and my other friends who’ve helped me get to events.
Chief: I’ll go ahead and include all of your links at the end of the article so people can find you. Naturally, we’re excited to be helping get you to MagicCon Las Vegas. Can you tell me how you got started playing Magic?
Nathan: My Dungeons & Dragons group used to get together and play Magic before our campaigns. I stayed out of it for years. I think that they tried to get me involved for over three years before I gave it a try. It finally worked when they showed me Elenda, the Dusk Rose and the other vampires from Ixalan. One of my dreams is to go to Mexico and highlight people who live there that play Magic rather than the same people we see on every channel these days.
Chief: Yeah, sometimes it’s hard to actually tell what channel you’re watching these days because a lot of videos feature the same content creators. I see a lot of videos of you swinging a sword around on Twitter. Can you tell me more about that?
Fiore de'i Liberi, The Flower of Battle
Nathan: I’ve been studying swordsmanship for 8 years. I grew up on knight stories and now I actually know how to use a sword. I specialize in European longsword and I’ve studied HEMA (historic European martial arts). I’ve mostly studied Joachim Meyer, Fiore de'i Liberi, Johannes Liechtenauer, and the I33 Manuscript—also known as the Walpurgis Fechtbuch.
Chief: I can tell that you’re passionate about it. Can you tell me about how being a chef has informed how you approach other things that you do?
Nathan: Yeah, being a chef has made me want to hone everything that I do to perfection. This is why I got into cEDH so quickly once I started playing Magic. This is why I play Keruga, the Macrosage as a companion. It creates a hard limit on the deck, but I still have an opportunity to go hard and do some really crazy stuff. I like to be efficient and organized in every hobby that I do, including Magic.
Chief: What about HEMA and swordsmanship? Does this influence your approach as well?
Nathan: Absolutely. You can learn a lot of things that help you in Magic and other games by studying these things. Core concepts such as tempo are fundamental in both. I could write entire articles about these things.
Chief: I’m sure you could. Can you tell me about the type of content that you’re trying to create with The Druid’s Repository?
Nathan: When I first started playing, I would watch all these videos and think about how I wanted to get my decks on YouTube. My goal is to go to events or the LGS and meet cool people that nobody else is talking to and help them do what I’ve always wanted to do by showing off their decks. My content belongs to the people who are in it. I’m doing this stuff so that I can see my friends and make new friends. For me, Magic is all about the Gathering and I’m here for the people.
Chief: I find that relatable. I definitely wanted to have a chance to talk about my decks, which eventually led me to start working on content too. I actually interview the people who win the PlayEDH Weekend League about their decks, which is a lot like what you’re doing except that I’m writing articles instead of putting them on YouTube. I’ve seen you referred to as the Green Knight of EDH. Can you tell me what that’s about?
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Nathan: Sure. The Green Knight is a figure in Arthurian legend that tests people. He’s mostly known for the story of Gawain and the Green Knight, where he allows Gawain to strike any blow on him as long as Gawain will meet him in exactly one year’s time so that he might return the same blow in kind. Lacking humbleness, Gawain rushes up and beheads the Green Knight, but he simply picks up his head and says that he looks forward to meeting Gawain again in one year.
Chief: I haven’t read the story in a while, but I’m pretty sure that he doesn’t actually behead Gawain when they meet again.
Nathan: That’s right. The Green Knight sees that Gawain has humbly accepted his fate and doesn’t kill him. The story is about learning to do unto others as you’d have them do unto you. I started calling myself the Green Knight of EDH because people have said that I helped them learn to be humble and approach the game with less ego.
Chief: That makes sense. Does your passion for knights and swords make you want to build around Equipment and cards from Boros and Lorehold?
Nathan: I really like the Lorehold stuff because of their fascination with history, but I need blue. My dream Equipment commander is a Jeskai Stonehewer Giant in the command zone with ward . Being able to tutor and cheat equipment costs is essential. I also really like the affinity for Equipment ability on Nahiri, Forged in Fury. I have an affinity for equipment in real life.
Chief: I believe it. Are there any new commanders that you’re excited about?
Nathan: I’m going to build Rowan, Scion of War from Wilds of Eldraine. My friend Megan Smith from Wizards of the Coast is going to build Will, Scion of Peace so we can have some epic battles in Las Vegas. I’m sure that she’ll build her deck to stop me right when I’m going off because she’s like that.
Chief: I hope that you have a lot of memorable games in Las Vegas. Do you have any advice for people who have never been to a large event like a MagicCon? Aside from the usual things like staying hydrated and practicing good hygiene.
Nathan: MagicCon is so much fun. Get out of your shell and talk to people. I hear that the events are great, but I usually spend my time playing games. Do what you think will be the most fun for you. I recommend coming the day before and leaving the day after, so that you have as much time as you can at the convention itself instead of waiting in lines. Of course, I also want you to talk to me if you see me. I want to meet you, play with you, and go have dinner with cool people after the day is done.
Chief: That’s pretty solid advice. What can people expect if they run into you in Las Vegas?
Nathan: If you see me in the convention center, come say hi. Just make sure that you’re respectful of creators who are playing games and you don’t monopolize their time while they’re trying to play. I’m trying to record episodes of The Druid’s Repository on Sunday, so come find me then if you want to tell me about your deck.
Chief: Is there anything for people to do outside of playing games and attending the scheduled events at the convention?
Nathan: There are official after-events at MagicCon which are a fun and safe way to wind down. You can also try to figure out where LobbyCons are happening, which is when a bunch of people from the convention meet up in a hotel lobby, and check those out. It’s a good way to meet content creators, but you should make sure that you’re respectful and let them enjoy their downtime too.
Chief: I appreciate your insight. I’m sure that it will be helpful to people who are trying to get the most out of MagicCon. Do you have any parting words for our readers?
Nathan: Come find me on Twitter and definitely come find me in Las Vegas to catch these hands at an EDH table or record an episode of The Druid’s Repository. I was also on Casual Magic with Shivam Bhatt recently where I spent a ton of time getting bleeped out while talking about my garden. Check that episode out. Thanks again to PlayEDH for sending me to Las Vegas! Peace!
You can find more information about MagicCon Las Vegas here. If you’re planning to attend, we hope that you enjoy your time at the convention. Make sure to catch up with Nathan for chats and games if you’re going to be there. You won’t want to miss it.
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