After a bit of email and some news (including our long-lost interview with Amanda, which can now be found on Red Site Wins), we are joined by two very special guest hosts. No longer do we need wonder if these two are actually one and the same person, because I heard them both talking at the same time! Our two special guests are none other than the returning Adam Styborski and first time guest but long-time dork Chris Lansdell. If you want to find more about our guests, consult the links below.With introductions out of the way, we proceeded to talk about the various M12 events we attended, which included a vicious bad beats story from Stybs. After spending some time on M12 as a whole, we decided to do a Story Circle with our hosts. Apparently Chris does this a lot, since he ripped off the idea for his own show. But that means a better deck for all involved, right? We started with Pyromancy, and it just went out of control from there. With all the cards we rattled off, there's a wonderful starting place for all you deckbuilders out there. Probably three or four starting places, actually. From here the discussion went far afield, covering such random topics as planking, scrapple, old Hot Pockets commercials, and Billy Madison. I really wish I was making this up. Hope you guys enjoy!Our long-lost interview with Amanda Stevens is on Red Site Wins: http://redsitewins.com/2011/06/02/amanda-chewie-and-3-other-dorks-aka-the-mana-pool-interview/Adam StyborskiWeekly columnist for DailyMTG: http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Archive.aspx?author=Adam%20StyborskiThe Pauper Cube: http://thepaupercube.wordpress.com/Writer for Gathering Magic: http://www.gatheringmagic.com/author/adamstyborski/Casual Editor for Quiet Speculation: http://www.quietspeculation.comTwitter: @the_stybsChris LansdellHost of Horde of Notions: http://www.hordeofnotions.com/Writer for Mana Deprived: http://manadeprived.com/chris-lansdellOccasional host of Mana Screwed: http://mtgcast.com/?cat=57Twitter: @lansdelliciousIntro (and new Outro!) Music - Diamond by Swift - http://www.swift-band.comBreak Music - Bending Back As Far As I Can by SwiftBe sure to check out all the great stuff on the website! - http://themanapool.comForum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-188-horde-of-serious-notions-of-fun-t695.htmlCheck out our archive at http://themanapool.comJoin our Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/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 joined this episode by one Robert Martin, also known as The Beme. You might know him as the interviewer from The Men of Magic, or maybe from the Hardcast, or maybe even the suddenly-defunct Mana Screwed podcast (go listen to their episodes, dash it all!). He also pops up on Monday Night Magic sometimes! But today, he's here with us!At least, he starts out here with us. Due to circumstances beyond his control, he had to leave us before we actually got to the meat of the episode. He did stick around long enough to give us his take on the new Chandra and Garruk though, and those are the important ones. Before he left, we were reading listener mail and determining the best way to tell our listeners to RTFC. Ah, like that.But after that, we took a nice long look at the full set of Magic 2012, and I'm pretty sure we like it. I mean, it sure sounds like we do. Also, Dirk is calling it! Amphin Cutthroat is heralding the introduction of Salamanders in Innistrad! HA!I'd like to apologize to everyone expecting something removal-related for this appropriately-numbered episode. In all honesty, we had forgotten that this one was going to be 187. We prostrate ourselves before you and humbly beg forgiveness.Follow Robert on Twitter: http://twitter.com/thebemeIntro (and new Outro!) Music - Diamond by Swift - http://www.swift-band.comBreak Music - Children of Africa (The Story of Us) by Symphony of Science - http://www.symphonyofscience.com/Be sure to check out all the great stuff on the website! - http://themanapool.comForum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-187-guest-interrupted-and-m12-t694.htmlCheck out our archive at http://themanapool.comJoin our Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/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

After many requests for us to talk about the various cards in the new Commander decks, we decided to go one better. We all gathered at Brian's house, picked out one of the Commander decks, and played them in a 4-player game. Yeah yeah, we know everyone else is doing this too. The reason everyone else did this is because these decks are freakin' awesome, and people love to hear about them! So we jumped on the bandwagon with the rest of the world. The upside of us doing it is you get to hear our...unique take on things.Just so we're clear here, Brian chose Zedruu the Greathearted, Dirk was playing Kaalia of the Vast, Mike had Riku of Two Reflections, and Chewie was rolling with The Mimeoplasm. Spoiler Alert: The Mimeoplasm became something completely ridiculous every time it got played, but Riku set the record for number of times entering the battlefield. Oh, and Veteran Explorer is the greatest thing ever for multiplayer. Trust me on this. Go to Cardshark and buy some.Intro Music - Diamond by Swift - http://www.swift-band.comBreak Music - This was just one game, we didn't take a break!Be sure to check out all the great stuff on the website! - http://themanapool.comForum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-186-commander-shenanigans-live-t692.htmlCheck out our archive at http://themanapool.comJoin our Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/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

This is a weird one. Eric of Many Names joins us one final time before his family gets back into town, so we're trying to make the most of it. We mine his brain for some information about Cube Draft on behalf of one of our listeners. More specifically, he talks about creating your own Cube. For reference, you can find Eric's own Cube list here.And of course, we have a full load of M12 previews to go over, starting with the new Jace! We recorded this well before they revealed any other new planeswalkers, so be patient and you'll hear us rant about them eventually.There was also a momentous decision by the US Supreme Court that we discussed for a short while. Don't worry, it's definitely something Magic dorks are interested in. Well, a good number of you anyway.I'd like to dedicate this episode to Mario, Jumpman, and Ryu Hayabusa. They died so we could have appropriate music for the various times the call got cut off due to power outage at Chewie's house, Eric being forcibly muted, and Skype deciding it was sick of us being able to hear each other. Remember them fondly, everyone!Eric on Twitter: http://twitter.com/thewachmanIntro Music - Diamond by Swift - http://www.swift-band.comBreak Music - Too many other issues for a break!Be sure to check out all the great stuff on the website! - http://themanapool.comForum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-185-cubes-power-outages-and-m12-t691.htmlCheck out our archive at http://themanapool.comJoin our Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/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're joined again here at The Mana Pool by Eric of Many Names, who can add one more name to his repetoire - Judge. Yes, Eric went to GP: Kansas City and passed his test, so you guys get to hear all about it right here!Then we've got another handful of listener mail, including one that we took extra care to answer. It involved either moving cards from Standard back to Alpha, or bringing cards back from Alpha to the current Standard. We weren't sure which, so Brian took one, and the rest of us went the other way. Either way it was an interesting discussion, hope you guys enjoy it as much as we did.Dirk and I discussed Duels 2012 a bit, and then we had to turn to the elephant in the room. And yes, we talked about it for a good while. And we have lots of good discussion about it and the reasons that we either are or are not surprised by it. Let us know what you think!We're talking about the Jace and Stoneforge Mystic bannings here, by the way. Just so we're clear.Eric on Twitter: http://twitter.com/thewachmanIntro Music - Diamond by Swift - http://www.swift-band.comBreak Music - No breaks, we're on a mission!Be sure to check out all the great stuff on the website! - http://themanapool.comForum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-184-time-travel-and-room-elephants-t689.htmlCheck out our archive at http://themanapool.comJoin our Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/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

No really. They dropped a TON of stuff on us since our last recording. Apparently I was even allergic to some of it. Well, that or nerds, not sure which. But yeah, we're trying desperately to keep up, so much so that we enlisted the aid of the ever-awesome Eric of Many Names once again! He's going to help us out with the new M12 cards, the new Commander cards, and the other cards in the Commander decks. Mike also guides us through a relatively painless Rules Update. And of course, we knocked out a few of the many emails we've gotten since the last episode. And now, a lot of links to all this stuff:Eric on Twitter: http://twitter.com/thewachmanM12 previewshttp://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/arcana/731Commander previewshttp://www.wizards.com/magic/tcg/productarticle.aspx?x=mtg/tcg/commander/cigCommander decklistshttp://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/arcana/732Rules updatehttp://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/feature/146a&page=1Intro Music - Diamond by Swift - http://www.swift-band.comBreak Music - Forest of Death by SwiftBe sure to check out all the great stuff on the website! - http://themanapool.comForum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-183-drowning-in-previews-t682.htmlCheck out our archive at http://themanapool.comJoin our Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/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

After a few Skype problems that apparently cleared up just a short while before recording (for everyone but Brazil and Dirk it turns out) we finally got an episode started. And after Dirk reinstalled Skype, he joined us too. We started this episode off by catching up with our email! Yes, we covered EVERY email we had in the inbox!If you couldn't tell from the title, we spent the rest of the episode talking about the Commander previews. We've only seen a couple days' worth at the time we recorded this, and it's already ridiculous. And these are just the new cards! I'm sure some of the stuff they've reprinted to put in these things is equally nuts.Commander Image Gallery: http://www.wizards.com/magic/tcg/productarticle.aspx?x=mtg/tcg/commander/cigAnd watch out for a small rant at the end by Chewie. If you have any contact with Wizards, please refer them to this rant. Thank you.Intro Music - Diamond by Swift - http://www.swift-band.comBreak Music - No time for love, Dr. Jones!Be sure to check out all the great stuff on the website! - http://themanapool.comForum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-182-commander-conquer-generals-t680.htmlCheck out our archive at http://themanapool.comJoin our Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/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

This time around, we've got even more listener mail! Reading the mail leads to some interesting conversations. We discussed cheating a little bit, complete with judge-type commentary by Bryan from the Avant-Card Show, who happens to be a Level 2 Judge. There's a little bit of speculation about Innistrad (completely baseless, the best kind!). And just in case we're right, you heard it here first! Innistrad's going to deal with things dying and possibly life totals. HA!We've also got another listener-supplied Mad Lib! This one is from Tosus, our old buddy out in Germany, and it's a good one.Then we finally get to talk about the cycles in New Phyrexia, after a brief discussion of what cycles are in the first place. Then we realized...there really aren't that many cycles in the set. The Praetors, the Chancellors, the Exarchs, the Shrines, and the Souleaters. I think that might be it. But we went into detail for each cycle, so it works out well. Let us know if you have any thoughts on the cycles of New Phyrexia.Intro Music - Diamond by Swift - http://www.swift-band.comBreak Music - Release the Wolves by SwiftBe sure to check out all the great stuff on the website! - http://themanapool.comForum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-181-cycles-of-compleation-t678.htmlCheck out our archive at http://themanapool.comJoin our Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/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

Even though we ran through over 30 emails in the last episode, we still have more! So we took another chunk out of the remaining emails. I really enjoy doing lots of listener mail, because it lets us talk about all kinds of things we wouldn't ordinarily talk about. For instance, an email gave me a perfect segue into discussing a new repacked product thing I got at Target!But of course, we had to talk about lots of other things this episode! Which we were able to do, because Brian couldn't be with us. Apparently he couldn't stop coughing for more than a few seconds at a time, so he opted out. Of all people though, Dirk really picked up the slack Brian left us. He's on fire! (be sure to read that in the NBA Jam announcer voice)As far as what other stuff, it was all M12 all the time baby! Well not really, but we did talk about all the M12 stuff that has come to light since our last recording. It's all down there in those links Mechanics and whatnot: http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/feature/144Buy-a-box Promo: http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/arcana/716Core Set Survivor: http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/arcana/718New Dragon: http://twitpic.com/51sipeOld Dragon: http://twitpic.com/51sjyhIntro Music - Diamond by Swift - http://www.swift-band.comBreak Music - Out of the Frame by S.C.A.N.Be sure to check out all the great stuff on the website! - http://themanapool.comForum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-180-headline-m12-goes-bloodthirsty-dies-t675.htmlCheck out our archive at http://themanapool.comJoin our Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/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

It's that time again! We've left our listener emails for far too long, and now we've got to devote an entire episode to them! I was afraid this episode was going to end up kind of boring, but I was wrong. The great thing about going over a whole load of listener mail is that they lead us to all kinds of places. I'm talking everything from the Rapture to Standard to Cyndi Lauper to another take on a Magic RPG and all points in between. It's a heck of a trip, thanks to all of our emailers for leading us along! If you guys would like to email us in the future, we have a new email address! It's [email protected], please start sending your emails there!In between all this nonsense, we managed to actually talk about some things that matter, like the new planeswalker and decklist and trailer from Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012, which you can find right here on http://themanapool.com. And we did a new Mad Lib too! We also talked about the New Phyrexia Event Decks (holy crap!) which you can find here:http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/arcana/714Floor Rules in case of Rapture:http://dl.dropbox.com/u/408510/mrpg.txtAbe Sargent's Magic RPG:http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/article/15084.htmlEd Grabianowski's Magic RPG:http://io9.com/5799753/playing-magic-the-gathering-as-an-rpgIntro Music - Diamond by Swift - http://www.swift-band.comBreak Music - no breaks this time!Be sure to check out all the great stuff on the website! - http://themanapool.comForum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-179-listener-appreciation-sequel-t672.htmlCheck out our archive at http://themanapool.comJoin our Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/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