On this episode, the dorks…may or may not have lied to you.  It’s possible that we promised a bunch of awesome guest stars in an effort to deceive you.  Surely we wouldn’t go through all this elaborate nonsense just to set up a bad April Fool’s joke, right?

Right?

For more information, check out this episode’s post on TheManaPool.com:

http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-273

The Mana Pool is brought to you as always by Cardshark.com, a better way to buy and sell collectible card games!

If you want to hear our episodes on time, you should probably subscribe to our own RSS Feed.  It usually takes me a week or more to remember to post them to MTGCast:

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Your Hosts: Chewie, Brian, Mike, and Dirk

Show’s Email: dorks@themanapool.com

Show’s Twitter: @TheManaPool

Show’s Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheManaPool

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The post The Mana Pool #273 – Great Big Guest Star Episode! appeared first on MTGCast.

On this episode, the dorks are taking the planeswalkers they made for each other on air a couple episodes ago (yeah, it was a long time ago, sorry about that) and doing Story Circles for each of them! You know, among other things.  Hope you enjoy!

For more information, check out this episode’s post on TheManaPool.com:
http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-272

The Mana Pool is brought to you as always by Cardshark.com, a better way to buy and sell collectible card games!

If you want to hear our episodes on time, you should probably subscribe to our own RSS Feed.  It usually takes me a week or more to remember to post them to MTGCast:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/themanapool

Your Hosts: Chewie, Brian, Mike, and Dirk

Show’s Email: dorks@themanapool.com

Show’s Twitter: @TheManaPool

Show’s Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheManaPool

Show’s Forums: http://cardshark.freeforums.org

The post The Mana Pool #272 – Story Circles for Everyone! (On the Show) appeared first on MTGCast.

Due to server space problems on their own server, the dorks decide to do a short one this week!  Featuring the news (it was news at the time!) and assorted but abbreviated nonsense, this one actually turned out pretty well.  Hope you enjoy!

For more information, check out this episode’s post on TheManaPool.com:
http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-271

The Mana Pool is brought to you as always by Cardshark.com, a better way to buy and sell collectible card games!

If you want to hear our episodes on time, you should probably subscribe to our own RSS Feed.  It usually takes me a week or more to remember to post them to MTGCast:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/themanapool

Your Hosts: Chewie, Brian, Mike, and Dirk
Show’s Email: dorks@themanapool.com
Show’s Twitter: @TheManaPool
Show’s Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheManaPool
Show’s Forums: http://cardshark.freeforums.org

The post The Mana Pool #271 – The Half Episode appeared first on MTGCast.

The dorks talk about GP Charlotte for the first time since it happened, then mention the whole Cockatrice thing.  Then each of us has a planeswalker created for him by the other three hosts.  It’s a lot of fun and our ‘walkers end up being pretty freakin’ cool.

To see the final versions of the planeswalkers we made, check out this episode’s post on TheManaPool.com:
http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-270

The Mana Pool is brought to you as always by Cardshark.com, a better way to buy and sell collectible card games!

If you want to hear our episodes on time, you should probably subscribe to our own RSS Feed.  It usually takes me a week or more to remember to post them to MTGCast:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/themanapool

Your Hosts: Chewie, Brian, Mike, and Dirk
Show’s Email: dorks@themanapool.com
Show’s Twitter: @TheManaPool
Show’s Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheManaPool
Show’s Forums: http://cardshark.freeforums.org

The post The Mana Pool #270 – Do You (or Have You) Kid? appeared first on MTGCast.

You’ve waited all this time, and now it is finally here.  Chewie went to Grand Prix Charlotte armed with his trusty digital recorder, his wits, and spare batteries.  After he stopped and bought them on the way.  He and his fellow dorks concocted this edition of the Three Questions once they arrived in Charlotte, sitting in Buffalo Wild Wings actually.  Once the Questions were decided, all that was left was to go out and hit the people over the head with them.

And hit them he did!  This show represents those that answered the Questions on the Friday of GP Charlotte.  You probably knew that from the title though.  Judges, players, a Pro Tour champion, and a certain basketball-infatuated writer all heard the Questions and answered them.

Stay tuned for GP Charlotte’s Saturday and Sunday coming soon, and after that the GP Pittsburgh edition!

Music:  The Journey Continues (Intermission) by Kazunaka Yamane (from Double Dragon)

Your host: Chewie
Twitter: @TheManaPool
Email: chewie@mtgcast.com

The post Three Questions: GP Charlotte – Friday appeared first on MTGCast.

The dorks are live at Grand Prix Charlotte!  Featuring everything from results of each round as they happen to a couple of quick previews of Three Questions: GP Charlotte, this episode has it all!  Mike Flores being bad at this game in the lobby at late o’clock, one of the dorks making Day 2, mass opening of our Gold Rush packs, and plenty of other assorted nonsense awaits!

For more information, check out this episode’s post on TheManaPool.com:

http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-269

The Mana Pool is brought to you as always by Cardshark.com, a better way to buy and sell collectible card games!

If you want to hear our episodes on time, you should probably subscribe to our own RSS Feed.  It usually takes me a week or more to remember to post them to MTGCast:

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Your Hosts: Chewie, Brian, Mike, and Dirk

Show’s Email: dorks@themanapool.com

Show’s Twitter: @TheManaPool

Show’s Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheManaPool

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The post The Mana Pool #269 – On the Ground at GP Charlotte appeared first on MTGCast.

The dorks are discussing six casual decks sent in by listener Andrew Hunt.  They all look like a lot of fun, so we decided to share them with you guys!  If you want to follow along at home, the links are on the show’s post on TheManaPool.com!  Also, we hit FTV: Twenty and have a surprise run-in by Jeremey Schofield!

For more information, check out this episode’s post on TheManaPool.com:
http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-268

The Mana Pool is brought to you as always by Cardshark.com, a better way to buy and sell collectible card games!

If you want to hear our episodes on time, you should probably subscribe to our own RSS Feed.  It usually takes me a week or more to remember to post them to MTGCast:
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Your Hosts: Chewie, Brian, Mike, and Dirk
Show’s Email: dorks@themanapool.com
Show’s Twitter: @TheManaPool
Show’s Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheManaPool
Show’s Forums: http://cardshark.freeforums.org

The post The Mana Pool #268 – The Magnor Criol of Deckbuilding appeared first on MTGCast.

The dorks are back, and this time they’re all about the cycles of Gatecrash.  Not the ones that are actually there, but the ones that aren’t.  We’re taking a look at some of the cards that aren’t in a cycle and imagining what the rest of the cycle might look like.  This one was fun, so we hope you enjoy it!

Also, what does YOUR favorite guild-flavored floss taste like?

For more information, check out this episode’s post on TheManaPool.com:
http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-267

The Mana Pool is brought to you as always by Cardshark.com, a better way to buy and sell collectible card games!

If you want to hear our episodes on time, you should probably subscribe to our own RSS Feed.  It usually takes me a week or more to remember to post them to MTGCast:
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Your Hosts: Chewie, Brian, Mike, and Dirk
Show’s Email: dorks@themanapool.com
Show’s Twitter: @TheManaPool
Show’s Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheManaPool
Show’s Forums: http://cardshark.freeforums.org

The post The Mana Pool #267 – Erryday I’m Cycling appeared first on MTGCast.

The dorks are joined this week by Bryan Prillaman, who is a Level 2 judge and a Level 87 goober.  He grinds daily for that.  But he’s here to talk missed triggers, Gatecrash Event Decks and Intro Packs, Judge Tag, and seriously disturbing imagery.  Enjoy!  Actually that last bit was mostly Chewie.  Man this episode was fun.

For more information, check out this episode’s post on TheManaPool.com:
http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-266

The Mana Pool is brought to you as always by Cardshark.com, a better way to buy and sell collectible card games!

If you want to hear our episodes on time, you should probably subscribe to our own RSS Feed.  It usually takes me a week or more to remember to post them to MTGCast:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/themanapool

Your Hosts: Chewie, Brian, Mike, and Dirk
Show’s Email: dorks@themanapool.com
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Show’s Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheManaPool
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The post The Mana Pool #266 – Let’s Play Tag Like Adults appeared first on MTGCast.

The dorks decide to take the digital recorder to the Gatecrash Prerelease and record there instead of waiting to remember everything the next week when we usually do the show.  This way we get random other people in on the fun!  Let us know what you think!

For more information, check out this episode’s post on TheManaPool.com:
http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-265

The Mana Pool is brought to you as always by Cardshark.com, a better way to buy and sell collectible card games!

If you want to hear our episodes on time, you should probably subscribe to our own RSS Feed.  It usually takes me a week or more to remember to post them to MTGCast:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/themanapool

Your Hosts: Chewie, Brian, Mike, and Dirk
Show’s Email: dorks@themanapool.com
Show’s Twitter: @TheManaPool
Show’s Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheManaPool
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The post The Mana Pool #265 – Gatecrash Prerelease Live appeared first on MTGCast.

Do you guys remember WAY back in November when Jack & Chewie were given the opportunity to go to Grand Prix Charleston to spellsling for Phoenix Games?  If not, you’re forgiven, because that was a pretty long time ago.  But as the old saying goes, better late than never, right?  This show covers the audio we picked up on Day 2 of the GP.  If you want to hear Day 1, you should click here.

Armed only with their wits and a brand new Tascam DR-08 Digital Recorder (courtesy of our own Chris Otwell), Jack and Chewie set out to brave the wilds of the Grand Prix scene.  The Three Questions were invoked, the cranberry sauce ran ankle deep, and spells were indeed…uh, slinged?  Slang?  Let’s go with slung.  We stuck a recorder in the face of anyone who would listen (and a few that wouldn’t) and made a bit of content.  Judges, pros, durdles, people who looked guilty, people who looked innocent, basically everyone who crossed our path.

We had entirely too much fun at the GP, and we really hope to do it again sometime.  And we are, so bear in mind that all this was completely new to us and let us know what you liked and didn’t like.  We’re totally doing it again for GP Charlotte.

The post MTGCast Special – GP Charleston: Day Two appeared first on MTGCast.

Do you guys remember WAY back in November when Jack & Chewie were given the opportunity to go to Grand Prix Charleston to spellsling for Phoenix Games?  If not, you’re forgiven, because that was a pretty long time ago.  But as the old saying goes, better late than never, right?  This show covers the audio we picked up on Day 1 of the GP.  Don’t worry, Day 2 is right here.

Armed only with their wits and a brand new Tascam DR-08 Digital Recorder (courtesy of our own Chris Otwell), Jack and Chewie set out to brave the wilds of the Grand Prix scene.  The Three Questions were invoked, the cranberry sauce ran ankle deep, and spells were indeed…uh, slinged?  Slang?  Let’s go with slung.  We stuck a recorder in the face of anyone who would listen (and a few that wouldn’t) and made a bit of content.  Judges, pros, durdles, people who looked guilty, people who looked innocent, basically everyone who crossed our path.

We had entirely too much fun at the GP, and we really hope to do it again sometime.  And we are, so bear in mind that all this was completely new to us and let us know what you liked and didn’t like.  We’re totally doing it again for GP Charlotte.

The post MTGCast Special – GP Charleston: Day One appeared first on MTGCast.

The dorks are joined by Graham Stark (@Graham_LRR) of Loading Ready Run to talk about lots of random Magic stuff and generally be funny.  Then we spend the rest of the episode talking about the then-newly-revealed entire set of Gatecrash.

For more information, check out this episode’s post on TheManaPool.com:
http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-264

The Mana Pool is brought to you as always by Cardshark.com, a better way to buy and sell collectible card games!

If you want to hear our episodes on time, you should probably subscribe to our own RSS Feed.  It usually takes me a week or more to remember to post them to MTGCast:
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Your Hosts: Chewie, Brian, Mike, and Dirk
Show’s Email: dorks@themanapool.com
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Show’s Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheManaPool
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The post The Mana Pool #264 – Stark Raving Mad appeared first on MTGCast.

The dorks are joined this week by Bill Bloodworth, @SqueeGoblnNabob.   We’re talking about, what else, Gatecrash spoilers.  Because that’s what was current when this was recorded.  Duh.

For more information, check out this episode’s post on TheManaPool.com:
http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-263

The Mana Pool is brought to you as always by Cardshark.com, a better way to buy and sell collectible card games!

If you want to hear our episodes on time, you should probably subscribe to our own RSS Feed.  It usually takes me a week or more to remember to post them to MTGCast:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/themanapool

Your Hosts: Chewie, Brian, Mike, and Dirk
Show’s Email: dorks@themanapool.com
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Show’s Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheManaPool
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The post The Mana Pool #263 – Slimy Hat Salesman appeared first on MTGCast.

The dorks are joined by Cluze (@lacluyze), who helps them out with a Magic Mad Lib.  Then it’s assorted news and Gatecrash previews for all!

For more information, check out this episode’s post on TheManaPool.com:
http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-262

The Mana Pool is brought to you as always by Cardshark.com, a better way to buy and sell collectible card games!

If you want to hear our episodes on time, you should probably subscribe to our own RSS Feed.  It usually takes me a week or more to remember to post them to MTGCast:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/themanapool

Your Hosts: Chewie, Brian, Mike, and Dirk
Show’s Email: dorks@themanapool.com
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Show’s Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheManaPool
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The post The Mana Pool #262 – Uncommon Fish Mutant appeared first on MTGCast.

The dorks discuss some Return to Ravnica Booster Battle Packs, then kick off the Gatecrash previews!  Everything that was officially shown at the time we recorded was at least mentioned, as per usual.  We hope you enjoy!

For more information, check out this episode’s post on TheManaPool.com:
http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-261

The Mana Pool is brought to you as always by Cardshark.com, a better way to buy and sell collectible card games!

If you want to hear our episodes on time, you should probably subscribe to our own RSS Feed.  It usually takes me a week or more to remember to post them to MTGCast:
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Your Hosts: Chewie, Brian, Mike, and Dirk
Show’s Email: dorks@themanapool.com
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The post The Mana Pool #261 – Crashing All the Gates appeared first on MTGCast.

Chewie got a 2013 Holiday Card!  That’s the good news.  The bad news is that Brian was having technical difficulties, causing some serious feedback problems.  The majority of them were edited out, so just trust us that they were absolutely worse than you can hear.  There is also another of Brian’s on-theme Magic Mad Libs.  Yay Mad Libs!

But this episode is more than problems and a Mad Lib.  This one is another of those free-form rambling discussions with no real point or purpose other than to entertain our thousands of listeners across the globe!  Or…at least the American ones, in this case.  Roughly a year ago, we did Episode 205 – Would Solid Snake Have Shroud?  It was jolly good fun, so Brian thought we should do it again.  But instead of looking at video games through the lens of Magic cards, this time we’re doing television shows!  Shows we enjoy, shows we’ve seen, or just shows we think might work well with Magic.  If you have any ideas or suggestions for shows, then hit the forums or leave a comment on the site.  Hope you enjoy!

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.myspace.com/swiftband
Break Music  – Cheers Theme by Gary Portnoy

This episode’s post: http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-260
Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-260-giant-chicken-token-t882.html
Check out our archive at http://themanapool.com/category/podcast
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The post The Mana Pool #260 – Giant Chicken Token appeared first on MTGCast.

Man, this episode is all over the place.  We have a Cardshark promotion to tell you about, first and foremost.  If you want a shot at winning the five best planeswalkers in Standard, you should definitely pay attention.  Here’s the link, in case you can’t pay attention:
http://www.cardshark.com/Promotions/Default.aspx

Then, we hear from a Russian listener.  We’ve been at this a long time (over 5 years now in fact) and that might be a first.  How cool is that?

Then we have another Magic Mad Lib.  If you thought last week’s was funny, then you’ve got to hear this one.  Featuring 100% less singing (thank goodness), this Mad Lib might be Chewie’s favorite ever.  No kidding.  The follow-up discussion was also some top-notch stuff.

“What are the monkey people called?” – Dirk

The rest of the episode (yeah, all that was only like a quarter of it at most) is taken up by our responses to two listener emails.  Tony Mendolia (who never fails to tell the world about our new episodes on Google Plus, even though we’ve pretty much given up on it) asks us a question about saving sets of commons and uncommons for his kids.  This was a really good discussion, plus it gave Dirk a chance to weigh in with some serious mic time!

The second half of the show is all about Ravnican flavor.  More specifically, the storyline of Return to Ravnica.  Andrew from CO in LA (confusing, innit?) wanted to know about it, since he wasn’t exactly sure what was going on.  We ended up going over everything we know, or think we know, and connecting as much of it as possible to the original Ravnica storyline.  Another good discussion, and another satisfied listener (in theory anyway, since we didn’t exactly run it past him ahead of time).

Hope you all enjoy, and try not to get stabbed in the uterus.  Just sayin’.

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.myspace.com/swiftband
Break Music  – Youth of America by Birdbrain – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birdbrain_%28band%29

This episode’s post: http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-259
Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-259-tundra-wolves-man-13-t878.html
Check out our archive at http://themanapool.com/category/podcast
Our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/TheManaPool
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The post The Mana Pool #259 – Tundra Wolves Man 13 appeared first on MTGCast.

We are joined this week by Calvin Russell, also known as Captain Red Zone, from the Off Color Cast.  If you’ve ever listened to that show, you’ll know that he has a tendency to sort of run off at the mouth and end up talking to himself, which is perfect for our show!  We initially brought him on to talk about battle strategies or something, and he did…at first.  It was thoroughly entertaining though, so we hope you guys enjoy it as much as we did.

That’s not all though!  Before we cut Calvin loose, we had a lot to do.  Chewie spoke for a bit about Grand Prix Charleston, because believe it or not this is the first time we’ve recorded since then!  Incidentally, have you heard about playing Magic with The Stack?  It’s pretty freakin’ great.  There’s a bit of news, with Duels 2013 getting a new deck pack featuring Orzhov and Gruul decks.  Also, there’s a recent rash of card shop robberies in central California.  If you’re out that way, beware.
Off Color Cast: http://www.offcolorcast.com
Calvin during the GP stories: http://i.imgur.com/tCp90.gif
Duels 2013 Deck Pack #2: http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/arcana/1118
Central California card shop breakins: http://www.kmph.com/story/20269093/thieves-target-game-shops-steal-magic-cards

Oh we’re not done yet!  Brian had a very special (and ESPECIALLY HILARIOUS) Christmas-themed Magic Mad Lib.  Seriously, this one was great.  Not just because of the Mad Lib itself, but because of the circumstances surrounding it.  I mean damn.

And if you manage to make it all the way to the end, you can hear Chewie being not gracious at all as he thanks a few listeners for their generosity as well as Dirk complaining about his students.  That last part is pretty funny.  I’m just sayin’.

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.myspace.com/swiftband
Break Music  – Warp Zone Music from Super Mario Sunshine
Calvin’s New Jam created by Andy of CommanderCast fame, used with Chris’s permission. Sorta. Whatevs.

This episode’s post: http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-258
Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-258-into-the-red-zone-t876.html
Check out our archive at http://themanapool.com/category/podcast
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The post The Mana Pool #258 – Into the Red Zone appeared first on MTGCast.

Hey look, another live episode already!  Yeah, it turns out that the week after the week we took off due to Thanksgiving, Brian decided to go to Disney World and forget to remind us.  We determined that he was missing…about an hour or so before starting.  Since having Brian around was pretty essential for the topic we had in mind, we panicked.  Thus, I bring you the live episode we recorded just last month!

We start off with a nice and sorta quick Commander game.  Then we have a particularly brutal (and therefore short) Archenemy game played with 60-card casual decks.

Of course, we can’t have two short games without having one stupidly long one.  Taking up fully half of the unedited time, we played a game of Planechase.  If I remember correctly…nope, I don’t.  I’ve blocked it.  But don’t worry, this game isn’t actually all that bad.  This definitely wasn’t the worst game we played that day.  Hope you enjoy!

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.myspace.com/swiftband
Break Music 1 – Flash Man from Mega Man 2 on the Nintendo Entertainment System
Break Music 2 – Dust Man from Mega Man 4 on the NES

This episode’s post: http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-257
Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-257-go-vacuum-live-t871.html
Check out our archive at http://themanapool.com/category/podcast
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The post The Mana Pool #257 – Go Vacuum (Live) appeared first on MTGCast.

[Posting note: Yeah I know it's really late, but we ran out of room on the hosting site etc etc, so I decided to prioritize other shows before posting my own. That's why you should subscribe to my feed directly! The link is down there in the notes :p ]

We begin this episode by giving a quick rundown of the last EDH game that we played at Brian’s house a few weekends ago.  It was glorious, and terrible, and bizarre, and epic, and ridiculous.  Yes, all those things.  Consecutively or concurrently, it doesn’t matter.  Then we have to tell you all about the crazy first game we played that weekend.  It was not an ordinary game of Magic, and it involved yet another of Brian’s crazy inventions.  I’m sure you guys will enjoy it though, I know we did. 

Mad Lib!  Your filth has freed us!

Then we come to the good part.  There were some SERIOUS internet connection issues going on here.  We invited our old friend Professor J onto the show!  TheJaceKid.  Jace.  Javier.  He’s almost on par with Eric here, holy crap!  The problems were pretty bad, but we soldiered through to give you a big discussion about the color Red in multiplayer.  We touched on lots of the big things Red can do, and why that does or does not work in multiplayer.  Of course, the discussion is a bit fragmented due to the constant dropoffs, but I think it’s still good.  Be sure to follow Professor J on Twitter @JacevBeleren

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.myspace.com/swiftband
Break Music – Red Tide by School for Heroes – http://www.myspace.com/schoolforheroes

This episode’s post: http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-256
Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-256-don-t-stop-living-in-the-red-t866.html
Check out our archive at http://themanapool.com/category/podcast
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The post The Mana Pool #256 – Don’t Stop Living in the Red appeared first on MTGCast.

The post The Mana Pool #255 – The Unintentional Star Wars Episode appeared first on MTGCast.

So here it is, the long-lost live episode of The Mana Pool!  Well, not so much long-lost as recorded-and-not-needed.  We recorded this way back in late June when Chewie, Mike, and Brian all got together to play some Magic.  Dirk was all up in Denver and stuff at the time.  So we played some Planechase, some EDH, maybe some other stuff?  I don’t know, we’re all learning this together.  There’s never much to say with a live episode, so I hope you guys enjoy!

Also, don’t forget that Chewie, along with his Monday Night Magic cohost Jack, will be at Grand Prix Charleston gunslinging!  That’s November 16, 17, and 18!  Here’s the link:
http://phoenixgamesinc.com/calendar/icalrepeat.detail/2012/11/16/1455/-/mtg-grand-prix-charleston

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.myspace.com/swiftband
Break Music 1 – Korobeiniki by Ozma – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozma_%28band%29
Break Music 2 – Double Dragon Stronghold by The Minibosses – http://minibosses.com/
Break Music 3 – Who Do You Voodoo, Bitch? by Sam B – http://deadisland.deepsilver.com/dead-island/deadisland.php

This episode’s post: http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-254
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The post The Mana Pool #254 – Planechasing and Stuff Live appeared first on MTGCast.

This episode is brought to you by: Bling!

We recorded this episode the night before the full reveal of Commander’s Arsenal, so forgive us the lack of all the details.  I do, however, believe that most of what we discussed still applies, so just listen to the episode.  We have a nice big discussion about price points, and Commander, and greed, ballin’ & flossin’ and…I dunno, white people?  It’s been a few days, give me a break.  Here’s the entire Commander’s Arsenal though, we’ll get to it next episode.
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/feature/218c

Also, here’s the article on CommanderCast that Chewie mentioned:
http://www.commandercast.com/generally-speaking-32-commanders-arsenal-not-actually-for-commander-players

From there, we went on to the Modern Masters announcement.  More price points, greed, ballin’ & flossin’, and white people, this time with a Modern bent.  Ballin’ I say!
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/feature/218

This led us quite naturally into a multiplayer version of Modern Masters.  So we dug through Gatherer and found a whole lotta buncha Modern-legal cards from the Modern Masters reprint pool that we just LOVE for group games of Magic!  Let us know what we missed!

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.swift-band.com
Break Music – Mo Money Mo Problems by The Notorious B.I.G. featuring Mase & Puff Daddy

This episode’s post: http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-253
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As we tend to do with every Standard rotation, we’re going to take a look at all the things that we won’t be hearing about any more.  Scars of Mirrodin, Mirrodin Besieged, New Phyrexia, and Magic 2012 are all gone, and that means no more Titans, Infect, Elesh Norn, Bloodthirst, Heroes, Slagstorm, Ponder, Swords, and ALL KINDS of other stuff!

To help us out with this discussion, we brought on everyone’s favorite podcaster, Chris Lansdell (@lansdellicious).  And I’m glad we did, because this show was entirely too much fun.

You may notice a very small difference in the intro.  That’s all for you, Myke Okuhara!

Oh yeah, be sure you hang around until the end.  Trust me on this one.

Chris Lansdell on Mana Deprived: http://manadeprived.com/author/chris-lansdell/
Grand Prix Charleston Information: http://phoenixgamesinc.com/calendar/icalrepeat.detail/2012/11/16/1455/-/mtg-grand-prix-charleston

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.swift-band.com
Break Music – The Touch by Stan Bush – http://stanbush.com/

This episode’s post: http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-252
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The post The Mana Pool #252 – Rotated (and Touched) appeared first on MTGCast.

Hey look, we’re finally gonna talk about the Prerelease!  Oh shut up, it was worth the wait to have Squanto on episode 250 and you know it.  As you may know, ALL FOUR of the host dorks were at the Return to Ravnica prerelease!  Dirk (of all people) even did TWO!  We had Azorius, Rakdos, and Golgari represented at the one we all did together at Lucky’s Card Shop in Greensboro, NC.  How’d we all do?  Well you’re gonna have to listen for that one, aren’t you?  And that’s the majority of the episode, of course.

That’s not all though!  We also took a look at the new Standard now that RTR is available.  Of course this isn’t anything in-depth or even useful, we just wanted to poke at it and see what’s changed.  My old favorite Kamikaze deck is still alive and kicking, in three different major variations!

We also have major problems with time dilation, time slipping slipping slipping, into the future, and Time Reversal being more than just a card.

Also, I got a ridiculously awesome gift from Wizards of the Coast and 360 Public Relations, and I have to take my final thought to explain it and thank everyone that might have had anything to do with it!  It’s a Tablet of the Guilds print signed by a bunch of RTR’s Design and Development team members!  Holy crap!  You can click on the link down there that says “This episode’s post” to see the picture!

Also, I reveal the source of all my power!

Full size image from above: http://themanapool.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Tablet-of-the-Guilds.jpg

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.swift-band.com
Break Music – Release! by Timbaland – http://www.timbalandmusic.com

This episode’s post: http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-251
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The post The Mana Pool #251 – Prerelease! (I’m Out of Control!) appeared first on MTGCast.

Well I tracked him down (gave him a call) and convinced him (asked once) to come back for the big two-five-oh.  Since he’s still a Magic player (thanks to Duels of the Planeswalkers on the iPad), he agreed!  He’s taking an outsider’s viewpoint on the game, picking our brains on the current state of the game and where it’s heading.  We touch on tournaments, Magic Online, Duels of the Planeswalkers, the secondary market, media coverage, and really anything else we could think to include!  It was a really great discussion and we’re all really happy to present it to you as our 250th episode!

But that’s not all!  We also took a look at the Banned & Restricted List update that we missed a couple weeks ago (weird, I know).  We give you the rundown on the Return to Ravnica Event Decks, which were just released last week.  We go back to Magic nonsense to trash on the various Magic novels and thank goodness that they decided to just not release one rather than releasing straight crap.

B&R List Update: http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/other/09202012a
RTR Event Decks: http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/arcana/1071

Of course, we go off topic a few times, Chewie is tormented by a couple flies in his room, Brian’s sister is hot, Mike’s beard is epic, and Dirk is replaced with Robot Dirk.  Basically everything’s about where it should be.  Thanks for listening, and here’s to another 250!

Full-size image from this post: http://themanapool.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/SOTG.jpg

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.swift-band.com
Break Music – Swell Guy by Swift

This episode’s post: http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-250
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The post The Mana Pool #250 – The State of the Game appeared first on MTGCast.

But we’re not going to start out with the awesome new stuff, no no.  We have to go back to the Commander banned list update, because we missed something the first time around.  Here’s a link so you can follow along:
http://www.mtgcommander.net/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=12253

The Intro Packs for Return to Ravnica have been revealed, so you should probably check those out too.  They seem pretty good with just a cursory glance:
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/arcana/1067

Also, our resident Rules Guy gets blue-balled by a less-than-interesting Rules Update:
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/feature/214b

And of course, the full set for RTR is here:
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/TCG/article.aspx?x=mtg/tcg/returntoravnica/cig

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.swift-band.com
Break Music – A Kind of Magic by Queen – http://www.queenonline.com

This episode’s post: http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-249
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The post The Mana Pool #249 – Return of the Ravnica or The Guildpact Strikes Back appeared first on MTGCast.

Yup, it’s more Return to Ravnica previews!  You know it, you love it.  Or maybe you just tolerate it.  I know we do!  Here’s the link:
http://www.wizards.com/magic/tcg/article.aspx?x=mtg/tcg/returntoravnica/cig#

We also talked about these expensive guild shirts:
http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazine/article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/feature/213

And this No Shyfts comic:
http://www.5colorcontrol.com/noshyfts/?p=467

And we talked at length about the Escapist Expo tournament, which is pretty cool.  Chewie and Bill finished in the top 16, and Mike had a serious, SERIOUS problem.  No, I mean it.  I’m not even playing, this was really bad.  But you’ll have to wait until the end of the episode to hear all about that!  HA!  That’s called a teaser.
http://www.escapistexpo.com

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.swift-band.com
Break Music – Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic by The Police – http://www.thepolice.com/

This episode’s post: http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-248
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The post The Mana Pool #248 – The Rules Guy Gets Busted! appeared first on MTGCast.

Look, it’s really late.  You’re getting this episode really early because I’m going to be at the Escapist Expo all weekend.  Mike and I were up way too late getting our respective decks for the big Saturday tournament up and running, then I had to go ask the hot nurse upstairs if she had a needle to help me get this MASSIVE splinter out of my hand.  Seriously, you guys should have seen it, it was crazy.  So now it’s 3am and I still haven’t finished posting this.  But you don’t care about any of that, you just wanna know what we talked about don’t you?

First off, Mike and Brian told us all about their experiences at the Magic Celebration, which was pretty awesome.  Then we had to…let’s say discuss.  We had to discuss the fact that the Prerelease cards are the same as the Intro Pack rares.  See?
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/arcana/1057

From there, it was pretty much just all previews all the time.  We covered everything that we could find that had been officially spoiled.  I wonder what they’ll come out with next?  Probably a stack of pancakes!
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/TCG/article.aspx?x=mtg/tcg/returntoravnica/cig

Oh yeah, and Bill joined us for this episode!  You know, the guy behind the Squee Draft videos!  You can find him on Twitter @SqueeGoblnNabob

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.swift-band.com
Break Music – Be Water My Friend (Bruce Lee) by Melodysheep – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ud-AUboZl3A

This episode’s post: http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-247
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The post The Mana Pool #247 – Stack of Pancakes! appeared first on MTGCast.

We also talked about the upcoming Duel Decks: Sorin vs. Tibalt.  Of course, that’s basically all we know, so congratulations to us for covering that one so well.  Here’s a link:
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/arcana/1049

Also, the first Magic Player’s Championship happened, and it sounded completely awesome.  The new World Champion was…huh?  Not the World Champion?  Player of the Year?  But that’s decided by pro point accumulation throughout the year isn’t it?  Not anymore?  Weird.  Anyway, it was Yuuya Watanabe, and here’s the full coverage:
http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazine/article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/eventcoverage/tpc12/welcome

Also, Chewie is still going to the Escapist Expo in Durham next weekend (Sept 14-16).  If you’re at all interested, here’s a link to the Magic events that are happening all weekend:
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/119032-The-Escapist-Expos-Official-Magic-The-Gathering-Schedule

And finally, Dirk has an important announcement, so don’t leave until you get to the end!

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.swift-band.com
Break Music – Carnival of the Animals by Saint-Saens (from Fantasia 2000)

This episode’s post: http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-246
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The post The Mana Pool #246 – Return to Ravnica, Address Unknown appeared first on MTGCast.

We’ve got a lot of stuff going on here.  Chewie announces that he’s going to the Escapist Expo in Durham.  For the full list of stuff going on at the Expo, you can just click here:
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/119032-The-Escapist-Expos-Official-Magic-The-Gathering-Schedule

Brian’s got a Magic Mad Lib for us!  It’s totally not Boomerang.  Trust me on this.

Then we get into the first main topic, which is the fancy new Duel Decks: Izzet vs. Golgari decklists.  We spend entirely too long discussing these, but it’s all in good fun.  You can follow along here:
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/feature/210

From there we’ve got a look at the Izzet and Golgari colored decks that we’ve built.  It’s amazing how only one of these actually has anything to do with the guild itself, and it’s twice the size of a normal deck.  Pretty cool huh?

Also, here’s the Storage Wars episode we talked about at the very end:
http://www.aetv.com/storage-wars/video/sheets-and-geeks-33993138#33993138

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.swift-band.com
Break Music – Overload by Zappacosta

This episode’s post: http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-245
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The post The Mana Pool #245 – Dredging in the Woods appeared first on MTGCast.

We have lots of stuff going on this week.  The World Magic Cup happened, for one.  That’s about all the discussion we’re gonna have about that.  WotC has revealed some information about some products (again) that we feel the urge to talk about.  There’s the 2012 Holiday Gift Box, which you can find here:
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/arcana/1039

There’s the complete listing for From the Vault: Realms, which is right here:
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/arcana/1040

They also revealed a Return to Ravnica card that will apparently be the Launch promo, which we’re gonna talk about.  Yes I know it hasn’t shown up on the Magic site anywhere just yet (for some reason) but it’s official.  Trust us on this.

The main topic of discussion is all about Blue and how it fits into casual, multiplayer, and Magic in general. There’s a lot of meat here that I’m just not gonna bother trying to write down, just listen. Also, a couple quick hits:

FNM: Friendly Neighborhood Monkey
“I don’t know what number one is, but second place is a five-way tie.” – Dirk

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.swift-band.com
Intro by Tosus – http://mathofmagic.wordpress.com/
Break Music – Cat Blues by Yoko Kanno

This episode’s post: http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-244
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We begin with a discussion of competitive EDH that came from a listener email, then move over to the Commander’s Arse(nal).  Everyone has their opinion on the product thus far.  Except for Mike, since we were apparently not listening to what he said.  He said stuff though, he assures us!

Commander’s Arsenal:
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/arcana/1035

Then we decided to bring back the old Story Circle.  Aw yeah, you know you love it!  Our random general this time around was…Cromat.  Yeah, but we made the best out of it.  If you want to follow along or at least see what these cards are as we rattle them off, you can check out the post here:
http://themanapool.com/the-deck-box/storycircle243edh

Tom is @MTGRadio on Twitter by the way – you know what to do.

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.swift-band.com
Break Music – Big Pimpin’/Papercut by Jay-Z/Linkin Park

This episode’s post: http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-243
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The post The Mana Pool #243 – Up Your Arsenal (w/ Story Circle) appeared first on MTGCast.

We’re back with another episode to entertain you all!  This one is again inspired by emails we’ve gotten from listeners like you.  These seem to be more personal in nature, beginning with our favorite tribes.  From there we move into how we started playing and what keeps us interested, and how one can go about getting cards without destroying your wallet.  Then we’re asked about our favorite expansion/block, our favorite cards, the cards we’ve had the most fun with, and which planeswalker we identify with.  The final question, according to my notes, is about our personal idiosyncrasies when we’re playing.  That on was fun, because we started pointing stuff out about each other.

Oh yeah, we also talked about Jarad and the Planeswalker Points achievements and badges, but we actually had astonishingly little to say about each one.
Jarad: http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/arcana/1033
Achievements: http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/feature/206

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.swift-band.com
Break Music – A Horse with No Name by America

This episode’s post: http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-242
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Then we hit an email that asks about our card preference.  When building a deck, which version of any given card do we like to use?  A certain art, foil, promotional, non-English language, white or black border…what do we prefer?  We spent a good amount of time discussing the various ins and outs of how we pick cards to put in a deck.

From there we get to an email about power creep.  Sorta.  Basically it’s the “creatures today are so good and spells are not compared to back in the day – discuss”.  And we did.  For a long time.  We threw out lots and lots of points.  We’re pretty sure it’s worth listening to, so there’s that.

Of course, expect the usual tangents, sidetracks, and random nonsense that you’ve come to know and love from our show.  Hopefully I didn’t forget anything…

Chewie’s stand-up video (NSFW): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycdcevIHG6A&feature=g-up

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.swift-band.com
Break Music – Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride (From Disney’s ”Lilo & Stitch”) by Mark Keali’i Ho’omalu & North Shore Children’s Choir & Key Cygnetures

This episode’s post: http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-241
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The post The Mana Pool #241 – (Not Even) Quick-Fire Discussions appeared first on MTGCast.

But of course that’s not the real reason we recorded this episode.  Brian bought a brand-spanking-new Deckbuilder’s Toolkit, opened everything up, catalogued it, and sent us our homework.  We were to take this pool and build a 60-card deck with an eye towards multiplayer of course.  Unfortunately, Mike was unable to join us for this one but perhaps he’ll tell us about it next week.  As for the rest of us, I think you’ll appreciate the decks we built as well as the decks we didn’t build.  We spent a fair amount of time talking about both.  The pool was pretty deep (except for one color).  If you’d like to see the card pool in all its glory, here it is: http://themanapool.com/pool-notices/ep240pool/

By the way, here’s the Onion link that Chewie mentioned during the final thoughts. It’s meant to be funny, but do take it seriously: http://www.theonion.com/articles/sadly-nation-knows-exactly-how-colorado-shootings,28857

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.swift-band.com
Break Music – We Are Star Dust by Symphony of Science – http://symphonyofscience.com

This episode’s post: http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-240
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The post The Mana Pool #240 – Primal Ducks (Toolkit Deckbuilding) appeared first on MTGCast.

Yes, we are without Dirk this episode.  He’s not joining us on the show while on a cruise, that would be ridiculous.  But we kick off the festivities with another Magic Mad Lib from Brian, our first in quite some time.  It’s a long one, and it turns out to be pretty damn funny.

Of course, that’s not all.  We had a lot of announcements from the San Diego Comic Con that we just had to give you our opinions on (you know, like everyone else has been doing).  It’s about Return to Ravnica, the RTR prerelease, From the Vault: Realms, and something called Commander’s Arsenal.  I think I’ll just call that Commander’s Arse from now on.  Anyway, if you’d like to follow along you can read it all here:
http://www.gatheringmagic.com/devonerule-071612-sdcc-panel-return-to-ravnica-and-more/

Of course, we also have to tell you all about how we did at the Magic 2013 Launch, which no longer exists.  But Lucky decided to do one anyway, so Mike, Brian, and Chewie rolled out to play.  Remember from last episode how well Chewie did at the Prerelease?  Think he can repeat it?  Better listen to find out.

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.swift-band.com
Break Music – Fight the Minotaur by Swift

This episode’s post: http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-239
Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-239-dirk-s-on-a-cruise-t833.html
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The post The Mana Pool #239 – Dirk’s on a Cruise! appeared first on MTGCast.

We are sadly without Brian this time around, but that’s only because a) it’s his wife’s birthday (at least I’m pretty sure that’s the excuse he used) and b) Skype absolutely would not let us record the night before.  It was completely weird.  I think it’s plotting against us.  But of course it worked the next night, giving you this episode right here!  Yay!

We spent a little longer than anyone probably should have on the Magic 2013 Intro Pack decklists (since we sorta ran out of time last week).  Then we had to go into great detail about our Prerelease experiences!  Mike tells us all about his mediocre black and white deck (it appears lots of people were playing his deck just with better cards).  Then Chewie goes into all the smack he laid down with his blue and red deck.  Seriously, ALL the smack.

Then we dive into our neverending mailbag to point out a few interesting things to you listeners.  Here are a few of those things now!

Andrew’s Nicol Bolas Intro Pack Deck
http://meremortalblog.wordpress.com/2012/07/05/m13-the-nicol-bolas-intro-decklist/

Tosus’ Math of Magic Blog
http://mathofmagic.wordpress.com

M13 Intro Pack Decklists
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/arcana/1007

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.swift-band.com
Break Music – (Shake Shake Shake) Shake Your Booty by KC and the Sunshine Band

This episode’s post: http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-238
Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-238-extra-super-stupid-weird-like-damn-t829.html
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The post The Mana Pool #238 – Extra Super Stupid Weird (Like Damn) appeared first on MTGCast.

Anyway, we had lots of M13 to discuss. All of it actually, as the name of the episode implies. Though it really doesn’t imply it so much as state it explicitly. Anyway, to make up for the lack of Brian’s rambling, we all sort of became long-winded. Not Limited Resources set review long-winded, but pretty long for us. But we had basically an entire set to fool around with. Next week you’ll get to hear about the Prerelease, this week it’s all theory and Duels of the Planeswalkers 2013 experience. And as always, you can follow along in the Card Image Gallery:
http://www.wizards.com/magic/tcg/article.aspx?x=mtg/tcg/magic2013/cig#

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.swift-band.com
Break Music – Sara Smile by Daryl Hall & John Oates – http://www.hallandoates.com/

This episode’s post: http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-237
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The post The Mana Pool #237 – All the M13! appeared first on MTGCast.

The question and ensuing conversation involved the nature of Nicol Bolas as the big bad guy of Magic.  He’s Dr. Doom.  Moriarty.  The Architect (or Agent Smith, depending on your take on the films).  And Beach had some issues with that.  So we asked him on the episode to help us air those issues and in generally discuss the nature of Nicol Bolas in Magic fiction.  So if you’ve read the novels…you have our condolences.  If you haven’t read the novels, good on ya and enjoy our completely off-the-cuff and probably inaccurate recollections of the guy who’s behind it all (no, not Mark Rosewater – we’re not talking about real life this episode).
Nicol Bolas Wiki: http://wiki.mtgsalvation.com/article/Nicol_Bolas

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.swift-band.com
Break Music – Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies from The Nutcracker Suite by Tchaikovsky

This episode’s post: http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-236
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The post The Mana Pool #236 – The Saga of Nicky B appeared first on MTGCast.

We kick off the episode by opening up a package from Tim (@planar_snap), one of our favorite listeners from the UK.  That’s vague, lemme rephrase.  He’s from the UK, and he’s one of our favorite listeners.  Much better.  But he sent us a package with stuff in it, which was opened on the air.  And HOLY CRAP what stuff we got!  If you want to find out what, you’ll have to listen.  Tim, we really appreciate all of it.  You really didn’t have to do that.  Damn.

Then of course there’s all that other stuff that happened.  The Commander/EDH bannings, the Standard (non) bannings, and the Legacy unbanning all happened.  Then we had to talk about the Magic 2013 promo cards that they revealed, and Mike noticed something we’ve been missing for the last several months.  How about that?  From there we cover the rest of the M13 previews of course.

Commander Ban List Update – http://mtgcommander.net/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=12073
DCI Banned/Restricted List Update – http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/other/06202012a
M13 Promo Cards – http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/arcana/998
M13 CardImage Gallery – http://www.wizards.com/magic/tcg/article.aspx?x=mtg/tcg/magic2013/cig#

From there we have to talk about Duels of the Planeswalkers 2013, which had JUST come out the day we recorded this.  Then Khaos (I mean Joseph) has another poem that he wrote for us for having him on the show.  Hell yeah epic background music!  There’s also some random discussion of things that I only barely remember as well as some very important, very somber, and very true advice.  So listen up!

Also, here’s the link to the trailer for Wreck-It Ralph.  Holy crap this looks like fun. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btB8tb8fLYM

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.swift-band.com
Break Music – All Beauty Destroyed by Laura by Spruke – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVuTT-1puIM&feature=youtu.be

This episode’s post: http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-235
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The post The Mana Pool #235 – Vampiric Geyser appeared first on MTGCast.

Anyway, what else was there?  A bit of news of course, then we hit up the M13 previews.  Mind you, we recorded this on Wednesday of last week, so it’s not completely up to date.  But we weighed in on everything that had been officially spoiled at that point.  If you’d like to check these out, you can find them all right here in the M13 Card Image Gallery:
http://www.wizards.com/magic/tcg/article.aspx?x=mtg/tcg/magic2013/cig#

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.swift-band.com
Break Music – Raise Up by Petey Pablo – http://www.myspace.com/peteypablo

This episode’s post: http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-234
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The post The Mana Pool #234 – Innistrad Creature Awards Part 2 appeared first on MTGCast.

I’m sorry to say we only got in one game, and it was a LONG one.  But at no point did it become miserable or stupid.  It was actually pretty awesome the whole time.  And the end!  Not to spoil anything, but the end is completely nuts and epic and holy crap was it awesome.  Be sure you stick around for the whole thing.  Due to the magic of editing, you’ll actually get there about 20 minutes before we actually did.

Also, Trevor wasn’t terribly happy when we started recording, so you’ll hear a lot of him at the beginning.  But bear with us, he passed out not long after we started.  He’s a cute little 3/3 with trample and haste.

And if you’re not looking at this on TheManaPool.com, then click the link down there that says “This episode’s post” and check out the pictures I took during the recording!

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.swift-band.com
Break Music – We can’t take breaks! We’re playing Magic!

This episode’s post: http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-233
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The post The Mana Pool #233 – New Planechase EDH! (Live) appeared first on MTGCast.

Oh, right. Planechase. The entire decklists were revealed and all that, so we had to check those out too. All four of these decks look like serious fun, and the Planes and Phenomena (doot dooooo doo-doo-doo) are seriously ridiculous. Like damn.

Planechase Decklists:
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/arcana/981

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.swift-band.com
Break Music – Thriller by Michael Jackson (creepy voice provided by Vincent Price)

This episode’s post: http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-232
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The post The Mana Pool #232 – The Innistrad Creature Awards, Part One appeared first on MTGCast.

Chewie’s PTQ Tournament Report:
http://themanapool.com/articles/kamikaze-standard-ptq/

Oh yeah, and there’s this weird little thing called Planechase that has been making the preview circuit lately. We’re going to talk about all the cards and planes and phenomena that were spoiled at the time of this recording. Hope you all enjoy, and be sure to listen to the outro music. It’s really good.

Planechase Visual Spoiler:
http://www.wizards.com/magic/tcg/article.aspx?x=mtg/tcg/planechase2012edition/cig

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.swift-band.com
Break Music – The Chase by Giorgio Moroder from Midnight Express

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The post The Mana Pool #231 – How Many Years Has It Been? appeared first on MTGCast.

Mike, Brian, and Chewie lead off with a fairly quick game of Commander, where Chewie’s relatively new Johan deck got off to a ridiculous start. Holy crap. Then there’s another Commander game after that! After that, we clear up some confusion about whether or not Mike realizes we’re not playing EDH anymore, and proceed to play a game with normal decks. I can’t really call it a 60 card game, but you’ll see why. And we decided to end up with a relatively quick game of Horde Magic again Brian’s green Horde deck. Been a while since you heard about that format, hasn’t it?

So that’s our second long-lost live episode. During the last two games, Brian’s daughter Sam was awake and running around and happy, so you’ll just have to deal with all the assorted baby noises, toy noises, and Chewie turning around to talk to her. She’s so cute. And he has focus problems when there’s a baby around. Also, we hope you enjoyed the I Fight Dragons sampler platter.

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.swift-band.com
Break Musics – All of these are by I Fight Dragons (played on the episode in this order) off their album Kaboom! – http://www.ifightdragons.com
Save World Get Girl
My Way
Kaboom!
With You

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The post The Mana Pool #230 – Commanders & Casuals & Hordes Oh My! (Live) appeared first on MTGCast.

Main topic you say? Well AVR has lots of shiny new angels and a fair number of new demons, but what about the old guard? Both have been around since the first printing of Magic, but what are we dealing with here? What have these two types looked like throughout the history of the game? We’ll discuss some of the ancient creatures of each type and throw out plenty of personal experiences with them too of course.

Two things should become pretty obvious from this discussion. First, Brian doesn’t actually know the names of any angels or demons in the game of Magic. And second, demons DO NOT get along with Mike, so much so that we named the episode after this phenomenon. You’re gonna love these horrible, horrible demonic bad beats stories all the more when you realize that these ALL come from the demons that Mike is playing WITH, not against!

Avacyn Restored Event Decks: http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/arcana/967

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.swift-band.com
Break Music – Lights Out by Pitch the Woo – http://www.facebook.com/pitchthewooband

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The post The Mana Pool #229 – Mike’s Demonic Defects appeared first on MTGCast.

Of course, before we get to the Sealed events, we have a few things to discuss. In a quick message on DailyMTG by Helene Bergeot (and aren’t they all quick?), it was revealed that Guillaume Matignon’s suspension was cut in half. If you’ll recall, he was one of the Guillaumes responsible for GuillaumeGate. Guillaume Guillaume. Okay, I think that’s out of my system now. But he was one of the guys behind the New Phyrexia godbook leak. Or so we thought…*dramatic pause*

Also, there was plenty of talk about the Helvault promotion on the whole. We’ll go over the ups, the downs, why it was or wasn’t crazy good, and bat around a few ideas for improving future events and stuff. Let us know what you think!

GRISELBRAND!

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.swift-band.com
Break Music – Sympathy for the Devil by The Rolling Stones

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The post The Mana Pool #228 – The Helvault Experience (Play Boros) appeared first on MTGCast.

Avacyn Restored Card Image Gallery

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.swift-band.com
Break Music – Blue (Da Ba Dee) by Eiffel 65

Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-227-all-the-avr-all-the-time-t803.html
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The post The Mana Pool #227 – All the AVR, All the Time appeared first on MTGCast.

But when Brian unexpectedly had to leave just before we got to the inverted Zombie Apocalypse angel, something else happened. After finishing up the previewed cards, we had a bit of a poetry reading. It was a poem by our own KhaosKontrol over on the Mana Pool/Cardshark forums, and it was so awesome that we just had to read it on air. Hope you all enjoy it as much as we did.

Sprinkled throughout the rest of the show, Dirk has a strangest voice problem ever, Mike and Chewie recap some streaming shenanigans, Chewie recounts some powerful parental advice, and there are many dick jokes left unsaid. Thanks for listening!

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.swift-band.com
Break Music – All I Need is a Miracle by Mike and the Mechanics
Background Music – Mantis’ Hymn by Konami Computer Entertainment Sound Team Japan

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The post The Mana Pool #226 – Avacyn Restored and Poetry appeared first on MTGCast.

After that Chewie gives a quick rundown of all the podcast whoring he’s been doing lately. By lately we mean in the last couple months, because some of these took a while to show up. He’s been on Off-Color Cast, Kitchen Finks, Horde of Notions, and was one of the guys on the new Five Minutes of Magic cast that is, in fact, only five minutes long. He also had another video for CMDR Decks, his Spirit of the Night deck, which you can find right here:
http://themanapool.com/the-deck-box/cmdrspiritofthenight/

By now everyone’s heard the news that came out of PAX East, and if not you’ll hear it for the first time right here! There’s the Return to Ravnica, Duels of the Planeswalkers 2013, and Nicol Bolas showing up in the M13 Core Set. Holy crap that’s a lotta news keeping us from the spoilers! There’s one last thing before the spoilers though, as Chewie gets all mushy and heartfelt for once in his miserable life to extend a special thanks to some listeners for their generosity.

Oh, and then there’s a whole MESS of Avacyn Restored previews. We’ve got angels, demons, devils, BOOM, pants-crapping, stunned silence, angry eyebrows, miracles, and Elmer Fudd. It’s gonna be great.

Follow Bill/Squee on Twitter @SqueeGoblnNabob

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.swift-band.com
Break Music – Dinner Music for a Pack of Hungry Cannibals by Raymond Scott

For a list of the rest of the music, check out the this episode’s forum post

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The post The Mana Pool #225 – Avacyn Restored Previews 1 appeared first on MTGCast.

And since it’s Springtime, Brian thought we should talk about those things that make people absolutely miserable and unable to see or breathe, plants! Yes there are plenty of plants in Magic, we by the end of the show we’ll have talked about almost all of them! We even asked Twitter for some favorite plant creatures, which we promptly made fun of. Okay, not all of them, just the ones that deserved it. But if you’ve ever wanted to know about the Plant creature type in Magic, look no further! Be sure to pack Benadryl and some tissues!

Decked Builder Giveaway!
Cardshark prices are now available on Decked Builder, an iPhone/iPad app that covers all your Magic deckbuilding needs! If you want a chance to win a free redemption code, just go to this episode’s post on TheManaPool.com and comment intelligently (also let us know that you want the app). Keep an eye on our Twitter, Facebook, and Forums for more chances to win!

Avacyn Revealed:
http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/525246_10151450289785307_201120755306_23094082_859257884_n.jpg

Double-faced Tokens:
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/arcana/938

Fansite Toolkits:
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Downloads.aspx

Ralph McQuarrie’s Website: http://www.ralphmcquarrie.com/

Orbitars: A Kid Icarus Uprising Competitive Community
Blog: http://orbitars.wordpress.com/
Forums: http://orbitars.forumotion.com/
Twitter: @orbitars

Intro by Tosus!
Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.swift-band.com
Break Music – Requiem of the Gods from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night by Michiru Yamane

Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-224-plants-and-other-things-t795.html
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The post The Mana Pool #224 – Plants and Other Things appeared first on MTGCast.

Want more of the Chewie? Check out the Mana Pool http://themanapool.com or Monday Night Magic http://www.mtgcast.com/?cat=10

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Spirit of the Night Deck List

31 Swamp
Tectonic Edge
Leechridden Swamp
Crypt of Agadeem
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
Cabal Coffers
Magus of the Coffers
Mana Vault
Phyrexian Totem
Gauntlet of Power
Caged Sun
Nirkana Revenant
Mirri the Cursed
Ob Nixilis, the Fallen
Maga, Traitor to Mortals
Balthor the Defiled
Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni
Lim-Dul the Necromancer
Ascendant Evincar
Visara the Dreadful
Sheoldred, Whispering One
Nantuko Shade
Vampire Nighthawk
Liliana Vess
Sorin Markov
Lightning Greaves
Trailblazer’s Boots
Bad Moon
Corrosive Mentor
Expedition Map
Demonic Tutor
Beseech the Queen
Phyrexian Arena
Nezumi Graverobber / Nighteyes the Desecrator
Hell’s Caretaker
Scion of Darkness
Oversold Cemetery
Beacon of Unrest
Living Death
Twilight’s Call
Drain Life
Consume Spirit
Subversion
Polluted Bonds
Roiling Horror
Bloodrite Invoker
Tendrils of Corruption
Corrupt
Nightmare Lash
Lashwrithe
Strata Scythe
Nightmare
Damnation
Reiver Demon
Decree of Pain
Forced March
Nevinyrral’s Disk
Midnight Banshee
Gloomdrifter
Massacre Wurm
Helldozer
Guul Draz Assassin
Fatal Lore
Profane Command
Dregs of Sorrow
Dread
Altar of Shadows
Phthisis
Ritual of the Machine
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The post CMDR DECKS #82 – Chewie’s Spirit of the Night CMDR Deck appeared first on MTGCast.

Our main topic for the episode was the latest installment in our series “That’s How We’d Do It.” This time around, we tackled what we thought would be the best mechanics to bring back as the non-evergreen inclusion in Magic 2013. We touch on a number of recent and classic mechanics and try to decide how best to integrate the flavor and mechanics of the standard environment 2013 will be spending its otherwise lonely evenings with. We also talk about our candidates for who will replace the titans as the big mythic meanies of the new format.

After the break, we moved on to a popular recurring segment: the latest division of our flavorful throwdown between creatures from throughout the multiverse! Which creature will wield a mighty hobo knife? Which creature is the honey badger in disguise? Which card creeps us the eff out? You’ll have to listen to find out!

Oh, and we had a guest join us at the end of the show. We don’t really want to give away who it is, mainly because we’re ashamed to admit we had him on.  We apologize ahead of time for that.

Follow your hosts!
Bill: @SqueeGoblnNabob
Jack: @JackLacroix
Ben: @Panahinuva
Eric: @EricMTGcast

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.swift-band.com
Break Music – Theme from Sliders (Season 3)

Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-223-seismic-counter-bash-pro-head-to-head-etc-t791.html
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The post The Mana Pool #223 – Seismic Counter Bash Pro Head-to-Head Off-Road Haymaker Smackdown Gaiden 64 Game of the Year Edition appeared first on MTGCast.

But because it’s episode 222, we just had to spend a ton of time on everyone’s favorite bears! You know, 2/2′s for 2! We’re talking about bears of all shapes and sizes. How the two-drop 2/2 impacts drafts and cubes, the original Alpha bears, the plethora of bears that are Knights. We even touch on bears that have made an impact on the tournament scene and just which ones we’ve enjoyed over the years.

After a while however, we ran out of gas on bears. And without Brian’s rambling, we sort of lost our focus. We talked a fair bit about video games. Chewie’s playing Castlevania: Symphony of the Night for the FIRST TIME so we had to spend some time there. Really now.

And what’s this talk of an Easter Egg on the site?

Eric’s custom RK Post playmats (for the kids!)
http://yfrog.com/a/img736/1020/d11oq.jpg
http://yfrog.com/a/img861/5258/ja5go.jpg

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.swift-band.com
Break Music – The Bare Necessities (from Walt Disney’s ”The Jungle Book”) by Phil Harris & Bruce Reitherman

Be sure to check out all the great stuff on the website! – http://themanapool.com

Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-222-there-s-bears-outside-t785.html
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The post The Mana Pool #222 – There’s Bears Outside appeared first on MTGCast.

That leads (almost) naturally into the rest of the show!  We go from favorite cards to favorite planeswalkers, which leads us to nice roundtable discussion about the ‘walkers in general.  Favorites, most powerful in multiplayer and not, how do you play them, when do you put them in a deck, how do you play against them, etc etc.  All kinds of stuff came up, so hopefully you’ll find it either interesting or informative.  If nothing else, you can laugh at how Brian’s long confusing question caused Mike to completely lose track of the conversation. That was pretty awesome.

Also, I’d like to apologize ahead of time for the nonsense you’ll find in the break music and the full nonsense at the end of the episode.  Once the notion took hold in my brain, I just couldn’t resist.  For the full list of songs used, check the forum post that goes with this episode, the link is right down there.
 
Cast a Spell on MS charity Magic tournament – http://www.castaspellonms.org

Intro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.swift-band.com

Break & Outro Music – Planeswalker, Memphis Ranger Medley by Chewie (I got bored)

Be sure to check out all the great stuff on the website! – http://themanapool.com

Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-221-planes-walk-this-way-t782.html

Check out our archive at http://themanapool.com

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Your Host(s): Jason “Chewie” Slate and the Crew
Show’s Email: themanapool@cardshark.com

The post The Mana Pool #221 – (Planes)Walk this Way appeared first on MTGCast.

As for what we did this episode…I’m not going tell you.  Be surprised!

Okay fine, you waited me out.  In case you couldn’t tell from the title, we played a couple games of Horde Magic, which we’ve discussed before, against Brian’s monogreen Horde deck.  It was pretty cool, though I think the Horde deck still needs a bit of tweaking.  After we got done with the Horde Magic, we switched over to our normal 60-card casual decks.  To be honest, it’s been a long time and I don’t remember anything about these games, so I guess we’ll be finding out together.  I do know the last game took a fair amount of time, but I don’t think it was long in a bad way.  I could be wrong.  Feel free to let us know in the comments or the forums or an email or any of the other ways to get in touch with us if I was wrong.
 
Check out Hypermind – www.hypermindonline.com

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.swift-band.com

Break Music – When Push Comes to Shove by A Light Divided – http://www.facebook.com/ALightDivided or http://www.reverbnation.com/alightdivided

Be sure to check out all the great stuff on the website! – http://themanapool.com

Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-220-confronting-the-horde-live-t776.html

Check out our archive at http://themanapool.com

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Your Host(s): Jason “Chewie” Slate and the Crew
Show’s Email: themanapool@cardshark.com

The post The Mana Pool #220 – Confronting the Horde (Live) appeared first on MTGCast.

We got Bennie to help us answer some excellent listener questions, like how to deal with mass removal when you’re playing a heavily creature-centric deck.  Tosus asked if he should use EDH to teach new players the game or if that risked scaring them away forever.  And there was the obligatory most over- and under-rated generals question, which we kinda sorta answered mostly.

Then we moved from there into a Story Circle, with everyone’s favorite not-vigilance-giving (Johangilence?) general, Johan!  You can find the complete list for that right below this paragraph so you can follow along at home.  Holy crap I loved the deck we came up with.  As soon as this is done uploading, I’m gonna trade Mike for his.  No really, he’s sitting right here behind me!

http://themanapool.com/the-deck-box/storycircle219edh/

Oh, and if you’re in or around London or you just enjoy tabletop, role-playing, or war games (or Magic of course) you should go visit Roll of the Dice Online Games (yes, it spells ROTDOG) – ROTDOG.co.uk/blog.
 
Follow Bennie on Twitter: @blairwitchgreen

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.swift-band.com

Break Music – The Geeks Will Inherit the Earth by I Fight Dragons – http://ifightdragons.com

Be sure to check out all the great stuff on the website! – http://themanapool.com

Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-219-cmdr-month-the-1st-one-with-bennie-smith-t774.html

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Show’s Email: themanapool@cardshark.com

The post The Mana Pool #219 – Commander Month: The First One with Bennie Smith appeared first on MTGCast.

Want more Mike? Check out the Mana Pool http://themanapool.com

Look for CMDR Decks at GenCon 2012 in Indianapolis!

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Additionally, these videos are available on http://www.gatheringmagic.com/ as well as http://www.mtgcast.com/

The post CMDR DECKS #77 – Mike’s Dakkon Blackblade CMDR Deck appeared first on MTGCast.

Last weekend most of us went to the SCG Open in Charlotte.  We played lots of EDH, so of course we’re gonna talk about some of the crazy stuff that went on in a few of those games.  Bill (Bloodworth, not Spruke) and Brian played in the Standard Open.  Bill’s going to write up a tourney report that I’ll put on the site once it’s done.  Brian went into detail about his rounds at the beginning of this episode.  If you wanna check out his deck, then I have the link for you!

http://themanapool.com/the-deck-box/brians-bw-tokens

After having a few random musical and Magical discussions with Laura, she tagged out and Bill took over.  Bizarre last-minute scheduling issues work out well every once in while, you know?  With Bill we did more random discussions and a Story Circle with one of the most…let’s say interesting (yeah, that’s it) generals ever.  If you’d like to follow along at home, you can find that right here:

http://themanapool.com/the-deck-box/storycircle218edh

Bill and Laura were both a lot of fun to have on the show!  If you guys enjoyed their presence, let us know and we’ll see if we can’t get one or both of them on again sometime in the future.  In the meantime, why not go buy their album over on iTunes?  It’s called Katana & Tonic, and it’s awesome!

Follow Bill on Twitter: @ThaGatherin

Follow Laura on Twitter: @LauraGDiemer
 
Mike Fairservice’s MTG 3D Alters – http://www.facebook.com/groups/162273077183166/

3D Alters – http://3dalters.weebly.com

Black Wing Studio – http://blackwingstudio.blogspot.com

Intro and Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.swift-band.com

Break Music – What Now My Love by Miss Piggy

Be sure to check out all the great stuff on the website! – http://themanapool.com

Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-217-commander-month-you-don-t-know-jack-t765.html

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The post The Mana Pool #218 – Commander Month: Leaving a Crater with Laura by Spruke appeared first on MTGCast.

But that’s not all!  We did a Story Circle!  If you want to check out the full result list from that, there’s a link right below this paragraph.  And of course we can’t have an episode of The Mana Pool without a requisite amount of random nonsense, right?  Of course not.  It’s there.  Trust me on this.  Would I lie to you?  About the important stuff, that is.  The answer I’m looking for here is no, by the way.  Jeez.  http://themanapool.com/the-deck-box/storycircle217edh/

Follow Jack on Twitter: @JackLacroix
 
Intro and Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.swift-band.com

Break Music – What Now My Love by Miss Piggy

Be sure to check out all the great stuff on the website! – http://themanapool.com

Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-217-commander-month-you-don-t-know-jack-t765.html

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The post The Mana Pool #217 – Commander Month: You Don’t Know Jack! appeared first on MTGCast.

But because it’s Commander Month, we’ve asked Beach to do an Out of the Deck Box for one of his decks, and he chose the one he’s named Progenitalia and Friends.  Back in Episode 192 I pulled my Progenitalia deck Out of the Deck Box, and it was fascinating to see just how incredibly different Beach’s deck was from mine.  That’s probably because he’s a better player than me, just so we’re clear.  If you want to check out either of these decks, you’ll find a link on the next line down.

Beach’s Progenitalia: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/progenitalia-and-friends/
Chewie’s Progenitalia: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/progenitalia/

We didn’t stop with that though!  We hit up the Random Card button on Gatherer until we bumped into a legendary creature and did a Story Circle! If you want to see the full list for that, it’s right here:
http://themanapool.com/the-deck-box/storycircle216edh/

And other than that, we did an old Mad Lib again, talked about the Rules Update, discussed the Event Decks, discussed briefly the results of the first DKA-ready SCG Open (which had the best name for a Legacy deck EVER) and mentioned the Super Bowl Halftime show and how much we love Betty White.  We hope you enjoy!

Daniel Beach is on Twitter: @Beach7125

Intro and Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.swift-band.com
Break Music – For You (Mana Pool Mix) – music by Spruke, mixed by Daniel Beach

Be sure to check out all the great stuff on the website! – http://themanapool.com

Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-216-commander-month-a-day-at-the-beach-t763.html
Check out our archive at http://themanapool.com
Join our Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/TheManaPool
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Show’s Email: themanapool@cardshark.com

The post The Mana Pool #216 – Commander Month: A Day at the Beach appeared first on MTGCast.

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Kaervek the Merciless Deck List

12 Swamp
Leechridden Swamp
Barren Moor
Polluted Mire
6 Mountain
Forgotten Cave
Smoldering Crater
Spinerock Knoll
Dragonskull Summit
Urborg Volcano
Akoum Refuge
Tainted Peak
Blood Crypt
Lavaclaw Reaches
Shadowblood Ridge
Rakdos Carnarium
Graven Cairns
Strip Mine
Temple of the False God
Mikokoro, Center of the Sea
Pristine Talisman
Sol Ring
Talisman of Indulgence
Rakdos Signet
Crystal Ball
Baneful Omen
Haunted Crossroads
Wound Reflection
Polluted Bonds
Isolation Cell
Liability
Spellshock
Lightning Reaver
Patron of the Nezumi
Pestilence
Pyrohemia
Thrashing Wumpus
Pestilence Demon
Syphon Soul
Blood Tithe
Exsanguinate
Urborg Syphon-Mage
Subversion
Spiteflame Witch
Caustic Hound
Deathcurse Ogre
Netherborn Phalanx
Howling Banshee
Howling Mine
Font of Mythos
Seizan, Perverter of Truth
Teferi’s Puzzle Box
Psychosis Crawler
Kederekt Parasite
Underworld Dreams
Iron Maiden
Viseling
Skullcage
Vicious Shadows
Phyrexian Arena
Venser’s Journal
Massacre Wurm
Magma Phoenix
Breath of Darigaaz
Reiver Demon
Dread Cacodemon
Damnation
Black Sun’s Zenith
Decree of Pain
Blasphemous Act
Abyssal Gatekeeper
Syphon Flesh
Dread
Sheoldred, Whispering One
Syphon Mind
Balthor the Defiled
Kaboom!
Breath of Malfegor
War Elemental
Urabrask the Hidden
Deathbringer Thoctar
Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs
Mortivore

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Additionally, these videos are available on http://www.gatheringmagic.com/ as well as http://www.mtgcast.com/

The post CMDR DECKS #74 – Chewie’s Kaervek the Merciless CMDR Deck (FIXED) appeared first on MTGCast.

But of course, prerelease episodes are more than just Sealed tourney reports.  We also took the second half of the show to run through some of the listener mail that needs to be read on-air.  Rules questions, prerelease stories, and general hilarity.  Interspersed throughout the episode are rants and discussions of various things.  These things include lame intro packs, a good game of EDH at Lucky’s, Chewie not playing Thalia, Columbia House and BMG, and this one highly obnoxious guy who seems to run through the whole account of the prerelease.  We hope you enjoy!
 
Also, there were a few URLs from emails that we agreed to share with everyone:

Ace’s Altered Art – http://AcesAlteredArt.com

Bury St. Edmunds Wargaming Club – http://burywargamers.blogspot.com/
 
Intro and Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.swift-band.com

Break Music – Easy by Laura By Spruke – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybRVsCwDTqc

Be sure to check out all the great stuff on the website! – http://themanapool.com

Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-215-dka-prerelease-and-mailbag-t760.html

Check out our archive at http://themanapool.com

Join our Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/TheManaPool

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Your Host(s): Jason “Chewie” Slate and the Crew
Show’s Email: themanapool@cardshark.com

The post The Mana Pool #215 – DKA Prerelease and Mailbag appeared first on MTGCast.

Of course, we’re gonna talk about the rest of the Dark Ascension spoiler now that it’s all been revealed.  (Sorry I didn’t get this up before the Prerelease, but it’s not like we’re giving you any vital information, right?)  But before that, we have to talk about what we think should go into a From the Vault: Casual.  We kicked around a lot of ideas both good and bad.  What would you put in there?

Of course, there’s plenty of discussion of the flavor of certain cards, Bryan being old, the price of chase rares, how a Justin Bieber shirt almost destroyed Bryan’s life, Edward G. Robinson, website development, Magic as Satan’s Game, and lots of other nonsense.  And what episode would be complete without a little dig or two at Chris Lansdell?  HOpe you guys enjoy all this random conversating as much as we did!
 
Find Bryan and Christian over on http://avantcardshow.com

Intro and Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.swift-band.com

Break Music – Double Dragon (Opening Theme) by Kazunaka Yamane

Be sure to check out all the great stuff on the website! – http://themanapool.com

Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-214-crisis-ii-dork-harder-dka-preview-3-t757.html

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The post The Mana Pool #214 – Crisis II: Dork Harder appeared first on MTGCast.

Interspersed throughout the card discussions are a variety of tangents.  We’ll talk about expensive Magic merchandise, jerks on forums, jerks playing Commander, dragons on Innistrad, money gouging and crooks, the Magic Twitter community, and a certain professional player that I had to interact with later that night.  He’s not a bad guy it turns out, I just severely disagree with one of his opinions.  But still…screw him.

Follow Robert on Twitter – @TheBeme

Intro and Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.swift-band.com

Break Music – Hellrider by Judas Priest – http://www.judaspriest.com

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The post The Mana Pool #213 – Rant Over (DKA Preview 2) appeared first on MTGCast.

We’ve got the first of the Dark Ascension previews for you on this episode!  Of course, Sorin popped up after we recorded, so we’ll talk about him next episode.  We do have the Zombie Apocalypse though, which is pretty freakin’ sweet.  Because of when this was recorded, we’re really only talking about the first few days’ worth, so we were able to go a little more in-depth than usual.

But no matter how in-depth we get, two days of cards do not a full episode make!  But we didn’t have time to go full-on into another topic, so a listener suggestion came to the rescue!  The question was “what’s your favorite combo that you run in one of your decks?”  So we all dug through our decks and came up with the combos we love.  Except for Chewie, who brought every combo in his decks.  Don’t worry, he shoots more for synergy in his decks, so he only has a few.  It gives a little glance to the way the dorks build decks.
 
Intro and Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.swift-band.com

Be sure to check out all the great stuff on the website! – http://themanapool.com

Break Music – Corridors of Time (Chrono Trigger Zeal cover) by Laura By Spruke – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufJslNR_cOw

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The post The Mana Pool #212 – Dark Ascension Preview 1 appeared first on MTGCast.

But we’re missing Mike!  To help us out with this, we brought in Uriah Oxford, the man behind CMDR Decks on Youtube (and MTGcast).  Of course, we’ll talk about tribal in EDH and get distracted by various EDH issues and discussions while we’re at it.  I know, it’s amazing that we Mana Pool boys can get distracted by anything, but believe me it happens.  And it’s good stuff!

CMDR Decks on Youtube – http://www.youtube.com/cmdrdecks

Follow Uriah Oxford on Twitter – @CMDRDecks
 
Intro and Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.swift-band.com

Be sure to check out all the great stuff on the website! – http://themanapool.com

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The post The Mana Pool #211 – Tribal Talk with CMDR Decks appeared first on MTGCast.

First off there’s a quick discussion of the two cards Banned from Modern.  Then we took a quick look at Avacyn Restored.  We let Brandon cut loose on a topic we recently we recently talked about, keeping casual Magic casual.  Then there was a discussion of creatures with Defender in multiplayer Magic.  We finished up with a nice long discussion about the various mechanics in Future Sight and which of them were our favorites.  That one was a good one.

Big thanks to Brandon for joining us, we had a lot of fun with him!  You guys should definitely go check out his Musings, along with the other two guys over on The Muse Vessel!
 
Intro and Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.swift-band.com

Break Music – One Shot You Don’t Want to Miss by A Light Divided – http://www.facebook.com/ALightDivided or http://www.reverbnation.com/alightdivided

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The post The Mana Pool #210 – Seedborn Musings appeared first on MTGCast.

Then we have a Magic Mad Lib from Myke Okuhara, which is seriously drop-dead hilarious.  No really.  I might die.  Then we did a real Mad Lib that Brian wrote, because it was there to do.  Just don’t get used to this two-Mad-Libs-per-episode thing going on here, okay?

And we finish up with a sizable discussion about the pros and cons of each color, as seen from a gameplay perspective.  We started off with flavor, then realized that’s not what the person was asking.  I wish I could remember who asked and where, but them’s the breaks, you know?  Hope you enjoy!

Planeswalkers for Equality: http://www.steveargyle.com/?cmd=gallery_ext&art_id=411

Chandra closeup that Mike bought: http://www.steveargyle.com/?cmd=gallery_ext&art_id=368

Intro and Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.swift-band.com

Break Music – Why is the Rum Gone?

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The post The Mana Pool #209 – Dirk and a Half appeared first on MTGCast.

This episode is a little out there.  First off, we’re missing Dirk because it’s his anniversary.  Because not just anyone can fill in for Dirk, we tracked down two old friends to help us out.  First we got Bill, who is kurai_seraphim on the forums and a recent guest host.  Then we tracked down Ben, who is @Panahinuva on the forums, Twitter, and probably everywhere else.

We start off with a couple of listener-submitted Mad Libs, one from Jose Lorenzo de Jesus and one from Austin Abel.  Yeah I know we’ve done the first one before, shut up.  They’re fun.  After that, it’s time for a Story Circle.  But not just any Story Circle, this is a holiday special!  We’re taking a look at the various holiday special promo cards that Wizards has released the last few years, then we’re gonna concoct a Story Circle around one of them!  Trust me, it turned out great.

After that, things got a little unfocused.  We talked about some of the things that are coming up in the near future on TheManaPool.com and discussed our upcoming trip to the SCG Open Invitational in Charlotte.  Just a reminder, Mike’s taking on all comers with his High Tide Eldrazi Archenemy deck!  Then we turned our attention to some listener mail and assorted ramblings.  Hope you enjoy!
 
Intro and Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.swift-band.com

Break Music – They’re Taking the Hobbits to Isengard

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The post The Mana Pool #208 – Like for Bullets appeared first on MTGCast.

Then we get to the good stuff!  Way back in Episode 69 – Get A Life!, we each took the simple concept of “lifegain” and built a deck around it, completely separate from each other.  Then we compared and contrasted our decks on the show.  We each came up with something vastly different of course.  That episode got a really good response, and we’ve always meant to do it again.

Well we’re finally doing it.  This time, we started with the idea of “counters” and ran with it.  And in case you’re wondering, we’re not talking Cancel here.  We’re talking break out the Crown Royal bag full of dice.  So all five of us built a deck around this loose theme, and the results were again wildly different.  Brian, Mike, and Dirk each focused on one type of counter, while I decided to intentionally not focus on one type.  Tom, with his background as an EDH podcaster, built a Commander deck.  If you’d like to see what the decks looked like, here’s where you can go to find them:

http://themanapool.com/the-deck-box/make-itcount-deck-lists/

After that, we have a few good discussions that come from listener mail.  We discuss Magic Online vs. paper Magic.  We discuss some of the possible ways to get rid of your collection once you’re done playing.  We even talked about Worlds for a minute.

And finally, if you’re going to be at the Star City Games Open Series in Charlotte, NC (you know, the Invitational) then you might just see Chewie and Mike there, along with Bill (you know, from Episode 203 – Medium-Sized Discussions) and at least a few others from the podcasting community, including BigheadJoe, Jack LaCroix, and the crew from Runnin’ the Gauntlet.  So come on out and see us in Charlotte on Dec. 10!
 
Follow Tom on Twitter @MTGRadio

Planechase 2012
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/arcana/848

Faithless Looting
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/arcana/847

Yule Ooze
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/arcana/852

Intro and Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.swift-band.com

Break Music – The Picard Song by DarkMateria

Be sure to check out all the great stuff on the website! – http://themanapool.com

Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-206-kneel-before-mike-four-years-t736.html

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The post The Mana Pool #207 – Make It Count appeared first on MTGCast.

Actually, we didn’t exactly realize that this was our 4 year anniversary show until just before we started.  But luckily, we had chosen a topic that was very much suited for it!  This episode is a whole mess of Out of the Deck Box!  Each of us took one of our favorite decks (or one that listeners have asked about) and go over it.  We’re talking casual multiplayer here, so expect a lot of nonsense and fun!

Brian shared his Shared Fate deck at a listener’s request.  We are awesome.  Chewie showed off his Primalcrux deck, even though he still needs 2 more Primalcrux.  No seriously, we’re pretty great.  Dirk hauled out the aptly named X-Deck because he really doesn’t like us at all.  Actually Mike is the awesome one.  And Mike discussed his themeless Black/Red deck, probably because it’s one of the few decks he has that still just doesn’t have a central idea running through it.  Kneel before Mike!

Stupid thoctars…

Uncle Zod by memorypalace

Intro and Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.swift-band.com

Break Music – The Picard Song by DarkMateria

Be sure to check out all the great stuff on the website! – http://themanapool.com

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The post The Mana Pool #206 – Kneel Before Mike (Four Years!) appeared first on MTGCast.

After that, we attempted to knock out some of the listener emails that have been piling up over the last month.  Rules questions, congratulations on hitting 200 (oops), and assorted other topics come up for discussion, so don’t miss it!  You never know, you might learn something.

Intro and Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.swift-band.com

Break Music – Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! Theme

Intro by Tosus – http://dergeek.com

Image by snatx – http://community.wizards.com/snatx/blog/2009/10/19/zendikar_custom_tokens

Be sure to check out all the great stuff on the website! – http://themanapool.com

Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-205-would-solid-snake-have-shroud-t734.html

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The post The Mana Pool #205 – Would Solid Snake Have Shroud? appeared first on MTGCast.