The Mana Pool

We are joined this week by Trevor and Tom from MTG Radio, another fabulous podcast on the MTGCast Network, one that focuses primarily on the excellent format known as Elder Dragon Highlander. If you're at all interested in EDH, you should definitely check them out. If you're not interested in EDH, you should listen to them anyway because they're awesome. Otherwise we wouldn't have them on the show, duh. You can find them here:http://www.mtgcast.com/?cat=63So this episode it's all about Scars of Mirrodin previews! Yes I know it's late, but I worked 75 hours last week, so I was delayed in getting it posted. Check out some of the new planeswalkers (like the best card in the set, and the one that's actually better than that), new mechanics (one of which I absolutely can't pronounce), and all the rest of the cool new stuff right here in this episode! Here's the Visual Spoiler:http://www.wizards.com/magic/tcg/article.aspx?x=mtg/tcg/scarsofmirrodin/spoilerIntro Music - Diamond by Swift - http://www.swift-band.comBreak Music - The Moon, from the NES game DuckTales, composed by Yoshihiro SakaguchiForum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-146-exploitation-of-the-proletariat-t589.htmlCheck out our archive at http://themanapool.libsyn.comEmail us at [email protected] 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

Kicking off our series of episodes with guests hosts from all over the place, we are joined by none of than Jungle Rat Rob! You may know Rob as the guy who did No One Expects the Mana Pool and Mana Pool 2: Electric Boogaloo for us. He's also one of the hosts of The Retro League, a podcast about classic video games, which I've been listening to religiously for a few months now. It's awesome, you can find it here:http://www.theretroleague.comThey showed the Elspeth vs. Tezzeret Duel Deck lists (yes I know they're out now, but they weren't when we recorded this) and we decided to take a look through them. Good stuff, good stuff.Because of the revelation that Rob had never done any sort of Limited play, we thought we'd take a Sealed pool of M11 and see what we could do with it live on the air. It was a lot of fun and led to some very good discussion about how to build a Sealed deck. Not that we're experts or anything, but I think the debate about the deck was educational.Then, while we were on the deckbuilding kick, we decided to do a Story Circle with Rob. The deck came out looking like a blast. If you want to see the completed list, hit the forum thread listed below to see it.Intro Music - Intro Theme to Justice League, the animated series from Cartoon NetworkBreak Music - Penguin Cap by CarboHydroM - http://www.carbohydrom.net/ (Not actually on OCRemix...blame Mike)Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-145-deckbuilding-with-jungle-rat-rob-t587.htmlCheck out our archive at http://themanapool.libsyn.comEmail 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/ ... 0ChallengeCardshark Member Promotions: http://www.cardshark.com/Promotions/Mem ... tions.aspxSubscribe to our RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/themanapool

In this episode, we're going to veer off the usual beaten path a little bit. First off, we have to talk some more about our last get-together at Dirk's house that was featured on the last episode. Especially once we get to what happened after the last episode - Respawn Magic! After we finished the Planechase game that you listened to, we shuffled up some decks and played one game of Magic that lasted for several hours! Not the miserable kind of "this game's never gonna FREAKIN' END" several hours, but the "holy crap I can't believe this is still awesome" kind. Find out who was the elephant, which unlikely decks lasted the longest, and which decks might not work so well in this format.Of course, there's Infect. At this point it's a little late, but don't worry, there's more coming. Not next episode, but the one after that.Then we have to reach into our massive mailbag. Apparently 3 weeks worth of email tend to pile up when you don't get to any of it. So this is our giant Listener Appreciation Week episode, where we touch on all the email we can find. Since we read all these, we need some more, so send us an email!Intro music - Diamond by Swift: http://www.swift-band.comBreak Music - Chainsaw Hedge Maze Mayhem from Zombies Ate My Neighbors (Super NES). Composed by George Alistair Sanger - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Sanger_%28musician%29Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-144-listener-appreciation-week-t585.htmlCheck out our archive at http://themanapool.libsyn.comEmail 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

On Game Day, we all gathered at Dirk's place to play some Magic! And you are listening to the fruits of that labor. We started off with a quick recap of the day's events thus far, then played a knock-down, drag-out game of Archenemy, featuring Brian's custom Archenemy deck and Scheme deck. No I'm not going to tell you who won. Really now, listen to the episode. The ending was really freakin' epic though.But that didn't take nearly as long as we thought it would, so as an added bonus we decided to play a game of Planechase. That also ended in epic fashion, but only after a string of griefer planes tortured us for a while. So what did you guys think?Featuring a cameo by Dirk's lovely wife Chelsea!Intro by TosusIntro music - Diamond by Swift: http://www.swift-band.comForum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-143-alternate-multiplayer-formats-live-t578.htmlCheck out our archive at http://themanapool.libsyn.comEmail 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

Are you ready for this? I CAN’T HEAR YOU! Are you ready for the latest, (probably not the) greatest, absolutely most current episode of the Mana Pool?! I hope so, because HERE IT IS!Pumped yet? Well, you will be. This is Brian, here to bring you the highlights and higher-lights of episode 142 of the Mana Pool.First off, we go over listener emails. Listen closely, listeners, because while you’re listening you just might get to listen to an email that you sent us (probably after listening to a previously listened to episode). Seriously, we really do appreciate the feedback that we get from you guys. Without you, we’d have about 141 copies of episode 1, and who wants that? Then we launch right into a review of a draft that Chewie, Mike, and myself participated in not too long ago. Actually, it was two different drafts, with two different groups of Mana Pool dorks. Why? You’ll have to find out… by listening!We then cover an announcement regarding the Scars of Mirrodin Game Day. This hasn’t been covered too extensively elsewhere yet, and we only really found out because Mike is resourceful, but this is 100% accurate. What announcement? Keep listening to find out! If you don't want to hear it, skip ahead to 1:04:30 in the episode after we announce the spoiler section. After that, Chewie and I go over the first game of Archenemy that we had a chance to play. I know, I know, we’re about two months behind the rest of the world in that area, but it’s totally my fault. Listen to discover how it turned out, especially with Chewie’s multi-deck management skills.Finally, we discover that we don’t actually have time to go over what we thought would be the main topic for this episode. I’d act surprised, but this has happened before. Instead, we take Dirk through his first Story Circle, a feature that we started way back in episode 117. While that may not sound too long ago- a short 25 episodes if my math is correct- that episode was recorded and put up way back in February. While this isn’t the first time we’ve come back to it, it’s definitely Dirk’s first time, and he approaches it with his own unique style. What style is that? I think you know what to do by now!.........Listen! Intro Music - Diamond by Swift: http://www.swift-band.comBreak Music - Tetris Music B, and we still don't know who it's byForum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-142-bits-and-pieces-t575.htmlCheck out our archive at http://themanapool.libsyn.comEmail 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

Greetings! A big hello and welcome to all of you Mana Pool listeners out there! This is Brian! I’m talking like this because I’ve taken the BAR EXAM and thus don’t have to/can’t complain about it anymore!Ahem.Thanks for tuning in. We’ve got quite the interesting show for you hear today/tonight/tomorrow (how is that possible?). However, we misplaced our Dirk, so you’ll have to wait til next week (or later- no spoilers!) for you to hear the glistening wisdom off of his tongue. But let’s get back to what we do actually have for you this time. First, we go over emails. I know, I know, we do that every time, but we really do appreciate it when you guys take the time to send us your thoughts. It makes us warm and fuzzy inside. To prove it, we spend a fair amount of the first part of this episode talking about the emails that we’ve gotten. We try to respond to each and every email that we get, provided that the content is appropriate for the show (a very low bar indeed).Then, we talk for some length about a particular topic. In fact, we talk about it so much you’d think that that was the actual theme for the show, but no! So what was it? Well, here’s the trick. See, I’m a cryptic kind of guy. Just ask the other players. You already read the title for the episode, so you should know the main topic. Let’s just call this preliminary topic the “secret thing.” How you do discover the identity of the “secret thing?” Why, by listening to the episode! The actual idea behind this show is our next, and final, discussion. It’s based off of a listener email (hint, hint) inquiring as to the role of control. We take some liberty with the question and actually interpret it to refer to threats versus answers. The dialog that results is quite fascinating, stimulating, and exhilarating. Especially the part where Chewie wanders off.That’s it for this week. Be sure to check back next week, when the secret of the baboon is revealed! No, that’s a different “secret thing” kind of thing.Intro Music - Diamond by Swift: http://www.swift-band.comBreak Music - Mega Man 3 Selection Theme by Bun BunForum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-141-threats-and-answers-t573.htmlCheck out our archive at http://themanapool.libsyn.comEmail 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

Between vacations to Canada and the Bar exam, half of the host dorks have gone missing! But never fear, we'll find them. But until then, you're stuck with just me and Mike, taking it nice and easy this week. We start off with a little bit of random nonsense, then jump right into the big spoiler for Scars of Mirrodin. If you're looking to avoid this, skip ahead to about the 13 minute mark and you'll be good. Then we take up some Duel Decks, brought to you live! It's a best of three with Garruk vs. Liliana followed by Phyrexia vs. the Coalition. We'll talk you through the games while we play, and there's always the usual conversation and silliness. Hope you enjoy this laid-back, no pressure episode as much as we did.Intro Music - Diamond by Swift: http://www.swift-band.comBreak Music - FlashFire (Mega Man 2 Flash Man remix) remixed by AE: http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00067Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-140-duel-decks-at-ten-paces-t569.htmlCheck out our archive at http://themanapool.libsyn.comEmail 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

Well hello there everybody. This is Mike, filling in for Chewie on the show notes because something something I don't even know. There's probably a perfectly reasonable explanation. But hey, that's what friends are for. Speaking of, by way of Brian's creative genius, we have a very special episode for you tonight.I'm sure all of you out there at some point have dreamed up some custom cards, or at least thought of some wacky abilities or nifty text to put onto a card. Because Magic is a 2+ person game, I'm also assuming most of you play it with other people, some of them fairly regularly. Every player has his or her own special quirks and characteristics (some endearing, some infuriating), so what if you took those gameplay elements and translated them onto cards? Brian gave us all a homework assignment to do just that, and you'll be both surprised and unsurprised at many of our results.Oh, and something about movies. Rant rant rant.Intro Music - Diamond by Swift: http://www.swift-band.comForum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-139-create-a-host-t562.htmlCheck out our archive at http://themanapool.libsyn.comEmail 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/member_promotions.aspSubscribe to our RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/themanapool

Well we've got lots of stuff for you this episode. First off, there's a Magic Mad Lib, provided by jars from the forums. Then we have some controversial stuff. We kick it off with Hornet Sting again, this time going into a deeper discussion about what may or may not be wrong with the card on any number of levels. Then we hit the Esper Charm incident described by Cedric Phillips on StarCityGames. This one gets deep. Feelings are hurt, friendships are destroyed, podcasts are forever ruined...and then Dirk proves once again why he's a genius.Then we've got M11 as a whole. Two of us hit the Prerelease, which we'll tell you about. Then we all take a look at M11 in its entirety and ruminate and marinate on it for your amusement and edification.Oh yeah, check out this awesome Legend of Zelda set that Monday Night Magic mentioned. It's awesome.http://www.gamesradar.com/f/behold-our- ... 4459310090Intro Music - Diamond by Swift: http://www.swift-band.comBreak Music - Chrono Trigger Main Theme (Orchestrated) composed by Yasunori Mitsuda

Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-138-pick-your-controversy-and-m11-t559.htmlCheck out our archive at http://themanapool.libsyn.comEmail 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/ ... 0ChallengeCardshark Member Promotions: http://www.cardshark.com/member_promotions.aspSubscribe to our RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/themanapool

Hey there, all of you Mana Pool listeners! If you’re not a Mana Pool listener, you’re in the wrong place. Otherwise, hey! This is Brian. My rambling has spilled over onto the show notes, no longer content to take up 80% of the podcast air space.Mike and I handle the usual tasks of intro matters, listener emails, and Cardshark member promotions for July. Why us instead of Chewie? You’ll have to find out!Then it’s time for M11 previews. We definitely take our time with a fair number of these, but that’s because they are both sweet and great. By now, you can see the entire spoiler up on the Wizards page, but you’ll find exclusive ramble-lore-chewie content here that you can’t find anywhere else. If you happen to hear an inappropriate joke here or there, don’t worry about it- it’s just the voices in your head. Lines of Lay, Lichs (Liches?) that beat down, cards that aren’t Twincast, Destructive Force and the creatures that survive it (but only if you have enough Mountains), and the worst color pie related crime since ever await. We hope that you are just as excited about M11 as we are, and if you have your own thoughts about the previewed cards in this episode, head over to the forums and voice your opinion.Sit back, turn down the lights, turn up the volume and leave the heat at medium well. The Mana Pool is hereIntro Music - Diamond by Swift: http://www.swift-band.comForum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-137-m11-and-why-chewie-is-on-every-show-t554.htmlCheck out our archive at http://themanapool.libsyn.comEmail 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/ ... 0ChallengeCardshark Member Promotions: http://www.cardshark.com/member_promotions.aspSubscribe to our RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/themanapool