The Mana Pool

Welcome to a very special episode of The Mana Pool, featuring a brand new guest host - Ralph the Guest Hosting Cricket! He's a new addition to the show, and hopefully he'll be EATEN BY A F@#$ING GECKO soon. Other than that, we've got a whole host of fun stuff to go over.There's an exceptionally long listener Mad Lib to do first. Then we've got a small rant about some EDH/Commander at a local card shop. Then there's an entirely different small rant about the supposed balance of Duel Decks: Knights vs. Dragons. We couldn't find it! Then there's the main topic, which is another edition of the Mortal Guilty Edge Fighter Champion Tag Shodown, or whatever the hell it's called. As always, this was entirely too much fun. Spoiler alert: At least this time a green rare didn't win! And finally, we're going to throw out our own unique perspectives on the Ban Jace nonsense, as some guys who only sort of play Standard and have no personal stake in the debate either way. I get the feeling this part will get us the most response. Let us know what you guys think!

Intro Music - Diamond by Swift - http://www.swift-band.comBreak Music - Vengeance by The Protomen - http://www.protomen.comNew website is live! - http://themanapool.comForum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-174-streets-of-double-ransom-championship-edition-hd-t663.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

Just so everyone is aware, we started off this episode short one Brian. We spend the first half of the show going over our neglected listener emails, which we've been skipping over for the last several episodes. Guess who answered the most rules questions that were emailed to us? Bet you guessed wrong!Luckily after all this we were able to find a Bryan to fill the void in our show, so that's excellent. We talked about New Phyrexia and gave our general opinions about it, then stepped into a Story Circle with Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite. You may or may not want to ignore one color that we added in.After that, Dirk went to bed. That means we had no one there to keep throwing out profound statements, so we lost our heads. It just sort of degenerated into random conversations about whatever came to mind. It happens. Hope you guys enjoy!Intro Music - Diamond by Swift - http://www.swift-band.comBreak Music - The Will of One by The Protomen - http://www.protomen.comNew website is live! - http://themanapool.comForum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-173-phyrexian-ramblings-and-mail-call-t662.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

Hey, welcome back! As you can tell, this is another episode where we play out a game of Magic for all to hear. Well, we're all on our separate computers, but we're still playing, just for all you listeners out there! Bear with us, it's our first time playing with the new M11 rules, since we didn't want to switch in the middle of a campaign, you know?It's Brian's turn as Planar Guide this time, running one of the new Zendikar scenarios. Hopefully this won't turn into another Romp on Ravnica that caused us to skip Mike's last turn. Jeez. Brian assures us he's going strictly by the book, but we'll see.Intro Music - Diamond by Swift - http://www.swift-band.comNew website is live! - http://themanapool.comCheck 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

Is that Eric on two episodes in a row with us? I think it is! Eric brought us two very deep and interesting topics to discuss. First off is a lot of talk about being casual, proxying, business models, and all sorts of nonsense. It essentially boils down to a discussion on realizing that there are other reasons to play this game than the one you hold most dear, and you should freakin' realize that.Follow Eric on Twitter - http://twitter.com/thewachmanAfter that, there's a long talk that actually outlasts two of the dorks (Brian Burrito and whatnot), and it's about threat selection in multiplayer. In the middle there it turns into a brief discussion on playing jerk generals in EDH, but I'm not entirely sure how that happened. Here's an article on Muse Vessel that Eric mentioned during this talk.http://musevessel.wordpress.com/2011/02/27/gbm7/And here's the infamous theory about the internet that I referenced at some point:http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2004/3/19/Of course, what episode would be complete without a Mad Lib? This one is from our old buddy Jars, and we agree that it was pretty brilliant, even though none of us read it first and we had to take a musical break in the middle of doing it. We also reveal the winners of the contest! If you heard your name on there and haven't contacted me, PLEASE DO! And we did a quick rundown of the new Duel Decks: Knights vs. Dragons, which you can find here:http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/arcana/673Intro Music - Diamond by Swift - http://www.swift-band.comTechnical Difficulty Music - Funeral for a Son by The Protomen - http://www.protomen.comBreak Music - Unrest in the House of Light by The Protomen - http://www.protomen.comNew website is live! - http://themanapool.comForum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-171-unrest-in-the-house-of-eric-t657.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 none other than the Many-Named One himself, Eric! Yay! Lots of news this episode, from new Commander cards to M12 Planeswalker news to Planeswalker news from the next big set. And we're on a new geeky network, and Swift is on iTunes! Man that was a lot. Of course Eric sidetracks us several times during all that. Otherwise it wouldn't be any fun at all.Don’t forget to enter the contest before it’s over on March 20! http://themanapool.com/pool-notices/update-mana-pool-mbs-contest/Follow Eric on Twitter - http://twitter.com/thewachmanM12 news:http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/arcana/665Innistrad:http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/arcana/666A.A.A. Network:http://www.aaanetwork.orgThen Eric hits us with his Searing Meditation deck, which sounds like a lot of fun. He got the set and didn't build a deck for roughly two and a half years, but I think it was worth the wait. Of course, somehow this leads into some random discussions about EDH...somehow. I'm not entirely sure how, really. Better listen to find out.From there, Brian takes us into the world of Mirrodin Besieged drafting, where he gives us a look at his first experience with it, which he claims was excellent. We shall soon see. From there the conversation turns to all kinds of nonsense, because Eric is here and he's entirely too much fun.Quick aside: The music for this episode is from The Protomen. It's Hope Rides Again, the first track from Act I, their first album. I've given you 3 bits of it in an attempt to get you hooked. They've taken the mythos of Mega Man and turned it into a badassed rock opera sort of thing, and it's seriously badassed.Intro Music - Diamond by Swift - http://www.swift-band.comBreak Music - Hope Rides Again by The Protomen - http://www.protomen.comNew website is live! - http://themanapool.comForum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-170-enchanted-evening-with-eric-t654.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

Holy crap we've updated the contest we mentioned in the last episode! If you'd like to see what we've changed, go here:http://themanapool.com/pool-notices/update-mana-pool-mbs-contestWe then follow up with a Mad Lib sent in by one of our listeners, Alex. How awesome was it? Well ideally you'd listen to find out, but I'll issue a little spoiler - pretty awesome! And if you like our Magic Mad Libs, then you'll love this new section of the website:http://themanapool.com/category/mad-libs-2/We've got a whole mess of emails, since we haven't managed to check them on-air in a few weeks. I mean it, we've got a lot! Look at the title of this episode! We are not screwing around here!And since I played the old Beast deck on the last live episode, Mike decided I should do an Out of the Deck Box with it. It's been a while since I talked about it, so I dug through the deck, told everyone what it does, and realized it really needs some changes. So we kicked around some ideas for updates, most of which I actually executed in the time between recording and uploading. Let me know if you guys have any other suggestions for it, I'm always willing to ignore our listeners! I mean...listen to them.Intro Music - Diamond by Swift - http://www.swift-band.comBreak Music - Super Mario's Sleigh Ride by The OneUps - http://www.theoneups.comNew website is live! - http://themanapool.comForum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-169-mailbag-and-beasts-t652.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/themanapoolVisit Cardshark! http://www.cardshark.comRead Chewie's 60 Card Challenge blog posts at http://themanapool.com/category/60ccCardshark Member Promotions: http://www.cardshark.com/Promotions/Member-Promotions.aspxSubscribe to our RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/themanapool

What an episode we've got for you this time! We've got a new contest, a super-secret special guest host, and...well that's about it. But isn't that enough?Okay, contest. If you want the full skinny, you're gonna have to hit the website for the official rules and all that. You can find it here:http://themanapool.com/uncategorized/promo_contest/Then there's a quick look at the new Deckbuilder's Toolkit, and some email, and really this was just a stalling tactic until our host arrived. When he does arrive, holy crap it's Tom from Monday Night Magic! I'm not entirely sure how I managed it, but I talked him into recording with us for a while! He joins us to give us some insight into a Quest for Ula's Temple deck first, then we do some Tribal Story Circle shenanigans. Of course with Tom on the job, all semblance of order went right out the window, so this isn't so much a deck as it is a lot of nifty possibilities. We start off with Sunrise Sovereign, the giant that makes all other giants infinitely more terrifying. Then there's the oldie-but-not-too-goodie Thrull Champion that made for an interesting deck idea.After all that excitement, Tom turns and walks away, quite literally fading into the aether. But we'll never forget Tom, for our man-crushes are far too strong for that. Now, did I forget anything?Intro Music - Diamond by Swift - http://www.swift-band.comBreak Music - Borrow Mega Nuke (Boomer Kuwanger from Mega Man X) by Armcannon - http://www.armcannon.comNew website is live! - http://themanapool.comForum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-168-tribal-time-with-tom-t651.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/themanapoolVisit Cardshark! http://www.cardshark.comRead Chewie's 60 Card Challenge blog posts at http://themanapool.com/category/60ccCardshark Member Promotions: http://www.cardshark.com/Promotions/Member-Promotions.aspxSubscribe to our RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/themanapool

Yes, it's time for another live episode! Already you ask? Yes, we answer. I'm glad we had this conversation.

Sadly, Dirk isn't able to join us due to almost having a baby. We start off with a little bit of Duel Decks news, since they've announced Ajani vs. Nicol Bolas. Then we play a game of Magic. Each of us is playing with a very special deck, and each deck is special for different reasons. One is a blast from the past, one is returning from exile, and one has a lot more cash in it than it did before.Then there's a new Mad Lib! Then we play another game of Magic. Then we break for lunch. Then there's another game of Magic! That's three games, plus a Mad Lib, plus some news, and we managed it all in about 2 and a half hours! Unheard of! Stay tuned next episode for an episode that we hope will feature a super awesome special guest host! And if not, then please disregard that bit of text as well as this one.Intro Music - Diamond by Swift - http://www.swift-band.comBreak Music - Dozen Elf Death Gel by Armcannon - http://www.armcannon.comNew website is live! - http://themanapool.comForum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-167-three-person-sixty-card-mayhem-live-t649.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/themanapoolVisit Cardshark! http://www.cardshark.comRead Chewie's 60 Card Challenge blog posts at http://themanapool.com/category/60ccCardshark Member Promotions: http://www.cardshark.com/Promotions/Member-Promotions.aspxSubscribe to our RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/themanapool

After a mess of emails, we've got those first two cards from the set code-named Action, which everyone has already seen. But of course, we have to give you our take on it. Then there's a look at the Event Decks, a new product from Wizards, but that's not the important part.And really, this isn't the important part either. But this is the main topic! Brian opened up a Scars Sealed pool, consisting of 3 packs of Scars and 3 packs of Besieged. We're gonna take a nice long look at it and see what we can come up with. Turns out we came up with two different decks, just so you know. If you'd like to see the pool in its entirety, please direct yourself to the forums. The link is right down there. Apologies in advance for the long drawn out discussion, but I think it's a good one :pSo what if I just used a tongue-sticking-out emoticon in the show notes? Kiss my butt!One more thing - beware the goats...Intro Music - Diamond by Swift - http://www.swift-band.comBreak Music - Techno (original track by Chris Keybor) by Armcannon - http://www.armcannon.comNew website should be live by the end of the week! - http://themanapool.comForum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-166-a-pool-of-mirrodin-t646.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/themanapoolVisit Cardshark! http://www.cardshark.comRead Chewie's 60 Card Challenge blog posts at http://themanapool.com/category/60ccCardshark Member Promotions: http://www.cardshark.com/Promotions/Member-Promotions.aspxSubscribe to our RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/themanapool

Magic Mad Lib! Mailbag! The homogenization of American music! A contest that's already over! And From the Vault: Legends starring Lawrence Fishburne! And all that is just the first half of this episode of The Mana Pool! Why can't I stop screaming?!Fishburne Legends right here:http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/arcana/641The gang's all here for this episode, if you ignore Brian wandering away a few times in the middle and leaving a bit early. So ignore that. But the second half of the episode is devoted to a special EDH edition of Pimp My Deckbox! Mike built a deck using Fumiko the Lowblood that looks pretty good on paper, but he's not terribly happy with how it's working out in practice. So we're going to poke at it a bit and try to figure out what's missing. He's got it on Tapped Out, so feel free to play along with us and send in your suggestions. Check it out right here:http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/fumiko-edh/Intro Music - Diamond by Swift - http://www.swift-band.comBreak and End Music - Super Cranial Syphon (Super Metroid) by Armcannon - http://www.armcannon.comDirk's Rant Background Music - Wishmaster by Nightwish - http://www.nightwish.comNew website coming soon! - http://themanapool.comForum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-165-fumiko-the-underperforming-t645.htmlCheck out our archive at http://themanapool.libsyn.comJoin our Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/TheManaPoolEmail us at [email protected]Follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/themanapoolVisit Cardshark! http://www.cardshark.comRead Chewie's 60 Card Challenge blog posts at http://themanapool.libsyn.com/category/60%20Card%20ChallengeCardshark Member Promotions: http://www.cardshark.com/Promotions/Member-Promotions.aspxSubscribe to our RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/themanapool