The Mana Pool

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

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 Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-247-stack-of-pancakes-t842.html Check out our archive at http://themanapool.com/category/podcast Our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/TheManaPool Our Google+ page: http://gplus.to/themanapool Email us at [email protected] Follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/themanapool Cardshark Member Promotions: http://www.cardshark.com/Promotions/Member-Promotions.aspx Subscribe to our RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/themanapool

Yup, it's preview time again! We are returning to Ravnica in the next set, Return...to Ravnica. Really? Is that the best they could come up with? Maybe the next time they do this we can just all it "Printing Money" or "Preying on Nostalgia". Anyway, the Card Image Gallery is right here so you can follow along:http://www.wizards.com/magic/tcg/article.aspx?x=mtg/tcg/returntoravnica/cig#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/1049Also, 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/welcomeAlso, 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-ScheduleAnd 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 Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-246-return-to-ravnica-address-unknown-t841.html Check out our archive at http://themanapool.com/category/podcast Our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/TheManaPool Our Google+ page: http://gplus.to/themanapool Email us at [email protected] Follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/themanapool Cardshark Member Promotions: http://www.cardshark.com/Promotions/Member-Promotions.aspx Subscribe to our RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/themanapool

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-ScheduleBrian'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/210From 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 Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-245-dredging-in-the-woods-t840.html Check out our archive at http://themanapool.com/category/podcast Our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/TheManaPool Our Google+ page: http://gplus.to/themanapool Email us at [email protected] Follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/themanapool Cardshark Member Promotions: http://www.cardshark.com/Promotions/Member-Promotions.aspx Subscribe to our RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/themanapool

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/1039There'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/1040They 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 Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-244-foolaroundishness-t839.html Check out our archive at http://themanapool.com/category/podcast Our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/TheManaPool Our Google+ page: http://gplus.to/themanapool Email us at [email protected] Follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/themanapool Cardshark Member Promotions: http://www.cardshark.com/Promotions/Member-Promotions.aspx Subscribe to our RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/themanapool

Hey look, we're doing another Commander episode! Told you we weren't done with these, what now haters? Or whatever. Gimme a break, I never know how to start off these episode write-ups. But we are focusing on Commander again this week, and of course we've got a guest host. We managed to snag none other than Tom of the now-defunct MTG Radio podcast. That show is the main reason Chewie decided to give EDH a try back in the day!

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 Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-243-up-your-arsenal-w-story-circle-t838.html Check out our archive at http://themanapool.com/category/podcast Our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/TheManaPool Our Google+ page: http://gplus.to/themanapool Email us at [email protected] Follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/themanapool Cardshark Member Promotions: http://www.cardshark.com/Promotions/Member-Promotions.aspx Subscribe to our RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/themanapool

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/1033Achievements: 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 Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-242-listener-submitted-ideas-appreciation-fortnight-t837.html Check out our archive at http://themanapool.com/category/podcast Our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/TheManaPool Our Google+ page: http://gplus.to/themanapool Email us at [email protected] Follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/themanapool Cardshark Member Promotions: http://www.cardshark.com/Promotions/Member-Promotions.aspx Subscribe to our RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/themanapool

It's time once again for us to dig into our mailbag and come up with something to talk about! This time we hit on an email about podcasting hardware and software because we seem to have gotten a lot of those lately. How many of you are starting a podcast anyway?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.comBreak Music – Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride (From Disney's ''Lilo & Stitch'') by Mark Keali'i Ho'omalu & North Shore Children’s Choir & Key CygneturesThis episode’s post: http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-241Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-241-not-even-quick-fire-discussions-t835.htmlCheck out our archive at http://themanapool.com/category/podcastOur Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/TheManaPoolOur Google+ page: http://gplus.to/themanapoolEmail us at [email protected]Follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/themanapoolCardshark Member Promotions: http://www.cardshark.com/Promotions/Member-Promotions.aspxSubscribe to our RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/themanapool

We begin this episode with a look at the Magic 2013 Event Decks, now that they've FINALLY released them. If you'd like to follow along, you can do so here: http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/arcana/1022

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.comBreak Music – We Are Star Dust by Symphony of Science - http://symphonyofscience.comThis episode’s post: http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-240Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-240-primal-ducks-toolkit-deckbuilding-t834.htmlCheck out our archive at http://themanapool.com/category/podcastOur Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/TheManaPoolOur Google+ page: http://gplus.to/themanapoolEmail us at [email protected]Follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/themanapoolCardshark Member Promotions: http://www.cardshark.com/Promotions/Member-Promotions.aspxSubscribe to our RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/themanapool

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.comBreak Music – Fight the Minotaur by SwiftThis episode’s post: http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-239Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-239-dirk-s-on-a-cruise-t833.htmlCheck out our archive at http://themanapool.com/category/podcastOur Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/TheManaPoolOur Google+ page: http://gplus.to/themanapoolEmail us at [email protected]Follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/themanapoolCardshark Member Promotions: http://www.cardshark.com/Promotions/Member-Promotions.aspxSubscribe to our RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/themanapool

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 Deckhttp://meremortalblog.wordpress.com/2012/07/05/m13-the-nicol-bolas-intro-decklist/Tosus' Math of Magic Bloghttp://mathofmagic.wordpress.com

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

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.swift-band.comBreak Music – (Shake Shake Shake) Shake Your Booty by KC and the Sunshine BandThis episode’s post: http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-238Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-238-extra-super-stupid-weird-like-damn-t829.htmlCheck out our archive at http://themanapool.com/category/podcastOur Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/TheManaPoolOur Google+ page: http://gplus.to/themanapoolEmail us at [email protected]Follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/themanapoolCardshark Member Promotions: http://www.cardshark.com/Promotions/Member-Promotions.aspxSubscribe to our RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/themanapool