Across the Table

In this week's episode, we discuss our respective PTQ successes and failures, Dustin's M15 spirit tribal deck and good cards. Or rather, we discuss what qualities make good cards good. Or rather, we discuss the terms we need to define these qualities. Or rather...

The required reading links for this week are:

"The good, the bad, and the ugly truth" by Mark Rosewater http://archive.wizards.com/Magic/magazine/article.aspx?x=mtgcom/daily/mr185

"Results Oriented Thinking" by Owen Turtenwald http://www.channelfireball.com/articles/owens-a-win-results-oriented-thinking/

Follow Matt and Dustin on Twitter @mattmendoza and @dustinseth respectively. Follow 5 Color Media on Twitter and Instagram @5colormedia and Like us on Facebook. Send any long-form feedback to us via Facebook or email at [email protected]. We're streaming now at twitch.tv/fivecolormedia!

Thanks for listening!

In this week's episode we recap James and Matt's whirlwind six days of sanctioned Magic. We discuss M15's changes to Standard. Dustin lets the listeners in on his subtle tech for Mono Black Devotion. Toward the middle we talk about our fun M15 draft and our observations on the new format. Then we turn to introducing two new segments for the cast.

If you want to holla atcha boys, you can find Matt and Dustin on Twitter @mattmendoza and @dustinseth or you can find James on Facebook (James Mellish). Follow 5 Color Media on Twitter @5colormedia or on Instagram for decks, daily M15 draft packs, cheeky gaming pics, and much more!

Thanks for listening!

Welcome to the first episode of Mental Discipline with Matt Mendoza, James Mellish, and Dustin Sendejas. Three grinders are we and we're on a journey to improve our game, and yours! Join us as we introduce ourselves, establish our Magic goals, and discuss M15 Limited and how you should proceed.

Follow 5 Color Media on Twitter for more episodes and cool stuff @5colormedia Friend James on facebook at James Mellish or follow Matt and Dustin on Twitter @mattmendoza and @dustinseth respectively.

Thanks for listening!

Robert Vroman’s been out of the game for a while, but his Vintage innovation carved out a place for him in Magic’s history. Inventor of the Uba-Stax deck, he crushed tournaments around the midwest, all the while using Magic as a tool for education. Now, he’s onto bigger things, unleashinghis MtG skills on the real estate market and turning to political action after a particularly horrifying experience. We met in his hometown of St. Louis to talk about all this and more.

The missing decklist is:3 Cryptic Command 4 Snapcaster Mage 1 Vendilion Clique 4 Lightning Bolt 4 Mana Leak 2 Remand 3 Lightning Helix 4 Path to Exile 1 Spell Snare 2 Ajani Vengant (promo) 2 Sphinx’s Revelation 1 Anger of the Gods (donated by Elliott Risch, thank you!) 4 Celestial Colonnade 3 Arid Mesa 4 Scalding Tarn 2 Hallowed Fountain 3 Steam Vents 1 Sacred Foundry (donated by Ryan Hopkins, thank you!) 1 Plains 3 Island Sideboard: 2 Porphury Nodes 1 Anger of the Gods (donated by Elliott Risch, thank you!) 1 Celestial Purge 1 Crucible of Worlds 1 Threads of Disloyalty 2 Relic of Progenitus 1 Rule of Law

Thank you for your help!

As always, you can find the cast on Twitter @acrossthecast or on Facebook. You can find and follow me @mattmendoza Please send any feedback to [email protected] or leave me a comment on ManaDeprived or a review on iTunes.

Thanks for listening!

Jason Alt has gone and done it. After his job relocated without him, he looked to make money from the one thing he knows best, Magic. Jason is now a pillar of the financial community whose articles are almost (literally) everywhere and you can hear him banter weekly with his co-conspirators on his own podcast, Brainstorm Brewery. In this week's episode, we talked over Skype about swimming, spread, sausages, and much more (okay, we didn't talk about sausages).

As always, you can find the cast on Twitter @acrossthecast or on Facebook. You can find and follow me @mattmendoza Please send any feedback to [email protected] or leave me a comment on ManaDeprived or a review on iTunes. I need them to live.

Thanks for listening!

Usman Jamil's about as St. Louis as it gets, with his part Pakistani, part Indian, part nerd upbringing and all. In this week's episode, my roommate John joins us after a late night of 20 Questions, Cubing, Pauper EDH, and drinking. We chat about growing up nerdy, efficiency, cultural rebellion, metal and more. Check out all Usman's articles every other Tuesday on StarCityGames.com. Also, in a new check-in segment, I see how previous guest writer Titus Chalk is doing following the release of his e-book, "So Do You Wear a Cape?" now available on Amazon.

Be sure to follow the cast on Twitter @acrossthecast or on Facebook for news and updates. Send any feedback to me, or follow me, @mattmendoza. You can always reach the cast via email at [email protected]. As well, don't forget to leave me a comment on ManaDeprived.com or a review on iTunes!

Thanks for listening!

Erin Campbell is a self-described handful. Before she was hosting her Magic interview podcast, The Deck Tease on GatheringMagic.com, she was tearing up World of Warcraft and blogging all about it. Oh, and she’s a trangendered woman to boot. Not afraid to talk about it, gaming that is, we had a great conversation about growing up, porn stores, elitism, being mean, and much more.

Here are the relevant links:

Erin’s coming out blog: http://thestoriesofo.wordpress.com/2011/09/18/out/

Nina’s coming out blog: http://manadeprived.com/just-a-girl/

And the response on Hipsters of the Coast: http://www.hipstersofthecoast.com/2012/12/hope-eternal-trans-not-special/

As always, send feedback to me on Twitter @mattmendoza or via email [email protected]. Also, please leave the podcast a review on iTunes, it helps get it out there. Follow the cast on Twitter @acrossthecast or on Facebook for updates and new episodes.

And don’t forget to leave me a comment on ManaDeprived.com!

Thanks for listening!

Before he was a world-traveling, freelance-filmmaking co-creator of Walking the Planes, Nathan Holt was a giant, basketball-playing theatre geek who worked odd jobs between roles. Inspired by his web series, executively produced by WotC, I decided to drag him on his show to, of course, ask him about his breakfast. Afterward, we took a turn into some common territory and talked about David Lynch, theatre with an R-E, basketball teams, and much more.

As always, send feedback to me on Twitter @mattmendoza or via email [email protected]. Also, please leave the podcast a review on iTunes, it helps get it out there. Follow the cast on Twitter @acrossthecast or on Facebook for updates and new episodes.

And don’t forget to leave me a comment on ManaDeprived.com or KCCompetition.com.

Thanks for listening!

When it comes to fun, Good Times Games' Rob Gruber is your guy. While he's not exactly a Magic guy (I met him shooting Kaijudo in Dallas), he's definitely a boon for the gaming community in general. When we talked in Texas, I couldn't help but be inspired by his life philosophies and how they helped him create an amazing community in his small town of 10,000. I'd like to share him with you now. From all the way in Prince Rupert, BC, Canada, we talked about gaming, generational Dungeons and Dragons, both kinds of exercise, and much more.

As always, send feedback to me on Twitter @mattmendoza or via email [email protected]. Also, please leave the podcast a review on iTunes, it helps get it out there. Follow the cast @acrossthecast for updates and new episodes.

And don’t forget to leave me a comment on ManaDeprived.com or KCCompetition.com.

Thanks for listening!

Josh McClain has a case of the run-goods. Earning 2nd place finish after 2nd place finish, he finally cracked the ceiling after a short hiatus to snatch himself a spot on the tour, which he quickly lost. Emboldened by his first PT experience, he put his nose to the grindstone and began one of the biggest tears in recent history. In GP Miami, he lost the trophy to Reid Duke, but quickly avenged himself by beating Duke in the finals of GP Detroit. As if that wasn't impressive enough, two weeks ago, he cut down the net at the TCGPlayer.com Modern 50k. We met over Skype to talk about success, failure, parental disappointment, and school.

As always, send feedback to me on Twitter @mattmendoza or via email [email protected]. Also, please leave the podcast a review on iTunes, it helps get it out there. Follow the cast @acrossthecast for updates and new episodes.

And don’t forget to leave me a comment on ManaDeprived.com or KCCompetition.com.

Thanks for listening!