The Mana Pool

On this episode, we have the second coming of the Eldrazi! In other words, found out how we all did at the various and sundry Launch Parties for Rise of the Eldrazi. There are 4 tournaments to discuss, but Dirk didn't go. Figure that out. Oh, then there's another Magic Mad Lib. Aw yeah!And then, we hearken back to something that hasn't seen the light of day since waaaaay back in Episode 41! *commence redneck accent* So what we gonna do is, we gonna take 6 packs of that there Rise set, and we gonna build us a Sealed deck out of it. Hoo boy it's gonna be heaps a fun! *AHEM* Sorry about that. But yeah, we took a Sealed pool of Rise and, live on the air, built a deck out of it. And this deck is pretty awesome. For a complete list of the cards in the pool, please check out the forum thread for this episode. The link is right down there in the show notes.And please try to overlook the various technical problems, jump cuts, record scratches, and Brian. We have no idea what was going on. At least it's not TOO bad, just a little annoying.And check out the Card and Controller Blog at http://cardandcontroller.blogspot.com/Forum thread for this episode: Right here!Check 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.comCardshark Member Promotions: http://www.cardshark.com/member_promotions.aspSubscribe to our RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/themanapoolIntro music - Diamond by Swift: http://www.swift-band.comBreak music - The Weight of Instruction by Swift

This is it. The Eldrazi have been loosed upon this world. It was only a matter of time until they crossed paths with the dorks of The Mana Pool - and that time has come. Inside this digital audio construct, you will learn what happens when an unstoppable force meets...a bunch of dorks. Oh, and there's a Magic Mad Lib too. Don't forget that.

Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-127-eldrazi-first-contact-t510.html

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Intro music - Diamond by Swift: http://www.swift-band.com

Break music - Creepy Doll by Jonathan Coulton: http://www.jonathancoulton.com

Thank you for purchasing the latest episode of The Mana Pool. A credit has been charged to your account. Don’t worry if you didn’t give us a card number; we know it already. The dorks have gathered once again to bring you a valuable, consumer-tested product sure to delight children of all ages and a few adults as well. This episode is chock full of new, never-before-heard content. As you listen to the episode, you can hear all about: Recording issues! Tapeworms! Tech support calls! Piles of dirt riding chariots! Stupid soldiers! Kung-fu masters! Picky vampire knights! AC-DC and Clash of the Titans! Giants throwing pebbles! Goblinshamancommons! Upside-down insects! Tired hosts! Oh, and there are a bunch of card previews that we go over, too. Be sure to attend your local Rise of the Eldrazi Prerelease the weekend of April 17-18 or Launch Party the weekend of April 24-25. Satisfaction not guaranteed, but you should hopefully have a decent time and get new card stuff. Yay stuff. Some assembly required for some stuffs. Thanks again for your purchase. 1000% of our profits go to keeping Chewie off the street and the money left over goes to keeping Dirk in school.

Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-126-rise-of-the-eldrazi-preview-3-t508.htmlCheck out our archive at http://themanapool.libsyn.comEmail us at [email protected] Follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/themanapool Visit Cardshark! http://www.cardshark.com Cardshark Member Promotions: http://www.cardshark.com/member_promotions.asp Subscribe to our RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/themanapool Intro music - Diamond by Swift: http://www.swift-band.com

Hello again, and welcome to the second preview episode for the upcoming Rise of the Eldrazi release. This is Mike, writing the show notes at the very last minute, several days after the recording, possibly because I'm a lazy dope. I'll leave the proof of whether or not that's true as an exercise for the listeners.

So yes! Rise of the Eldrazi previews! They pretty much speak for themselves! I can't stop shouting! We're glad to have you join us for another high quality episode of discussion and analysis, full of evil Pokemans, gasseous demons, Eldrazi in top hats, and how we almost died.

Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-125-rise-of-the-eldrazi-preview-2-t503.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.comCardshark Member Promotions: http://www.cardshark.com/member_promotions.aspSubscribe to our RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/themanapoolIntro music - Diamond by Swift: http://www.swift-band.comBreak music - Join the Dragonlord by Swift

Surviving tornadoes, tearing the space-time continuum, attempting to predict the future, B&R list updates, the largest Magic event in history, nifty Tainted Sigil tech, Phyrexian boobs, reprint policies - and all that happens in the first quarter of the show!

Then we go off on the important stuff, which is of course Rise of the Eldrazi previews. There are lots and lots, including our take on the level-up guys (higher rarity seems to mean better quality), the Eldrazi spells (but what if they cost 2 less?), and all the rest of the good stuff (yay Defender!). It's a long one but well worth it, if I do say so myself.

Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-124-rise-of-the-eldrazi-preview-1-t500.html

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Intro music - Diamond by Swift: http://www.swift-band.com

Break music - Code Monkey by Jonathan Coulton: http://www.jonathancoulton.com

Hey there, fellow geeks. This is Dirk. I got roped into writing the show notes again since Brian didn't feel like getting around to them (Brian: hey! I'm a busy guy, what with all of this.. stuff... and other stuff!) So anyway, this wasn't a shorter episode, so let's get to it.

We have the usual opening; we're still brought to you by Cardshark and all of that jazz. We've gotten some emails. Brian says a special thank you to those that have congratulated him on his proven ability to reproduce. There were some other opening parts, but none that really excited me.

Then we're off to the best part of the episode: the actual content! In this one, staying true to our commitment to report on games of all shapes, sizes, types, and historical significance, we go over some card games from Brian's past. He and I played a few games of Lord of the Rings TCG, so we go over how the game works and he runs through how the games turned out. It was actually a lot of fun to step back and give this game another go, so listen in. Then he and Mike talked about the Star Wars CCG, but that's their thing- I kind of almost fell asleep while they were playing.

Chewie, the most quiet member of the cast. Gets in a few words in Chewie's Corner. He goes over video games and other things that have struck his fancy. There's some talk about Magic in there, but don't worry; we're over it quickly. Finally, we wrap up with our standard last segment and close it out.

You're in for a treat this time. Pick up your headphones or whatnot and turn up the volume, because The Mana Pool is on- We're Game(c)!

Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-123-backdoor-shenanigans-t499.html

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Break music - Diamond by Swift: http://www.swift-band.com

Hey look, another episode of us playing Magic live and in person! There's not much to say really, so here's a quick rundown. The four of us got together for another reason, but we couldn't skip playing Magic and recording it for our beloved listeners. So we broke out the microphone, the laptop, and the something soft to put the mic on and went to town.

Mike did the work putting this episode together, but he didn't write any show notes, so I'm not sure how many games we played this time. I think it was two. One ended up as a 3-on-1 struggle, and I'm not entirely clear on what happened in the second one. I guess we'll find out together. Hope you enjoy!

Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-122-multiplayer-mayhem-live-2-t495.html

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Intro by Tosus, host of Der Geek: http://www.dergeek.com

Intro music - Diamond by Swift: http://www.swift-band.com

Hello again, boys, girls, and other various creatures of the multiverse! This is Brian, bringing you a quick overview of tonight's (today's? yesterday's?) show.

The first thing you will notice is that we have an extra voice with us. No, not Dirk, although Dirk has gone from being a common host to an uncommon host lately. Maybe he'll have a higher toughness for the same cost now. No, we were honored to be joined by the great Eric of Many Names for this episode. He shares his insights with us on topics big and small. Those of you who listen to the Mr. Suitcase or Monday Night Magic podcasts are probably already fans, and those of you who have never heard the mellifluous sound of his voice are in for a treat.

Arm-in-arm, we conquer a number of subjects on this episode. We respond to listener emails, including a challenge to Dirk's green superiority (self-proclaimed). We do another Magic Mad Lib, this time with considerably more clarity on my own part. Finally, three hours in, we approach the subject of multiplayer formats. Of course, there are almost as many variations on playing as there are players, but we tried to hit the highlights and give our impressions where we have tried out a format in the past. Listeners, PLEASE hit the forums for this episode! What are your favorite multiplayer formats? Did you agree with our impressions? Did we skip your favorite format ever? Let us know!

That's pretty much it. No huge, life-changing announcements this time, but more multiplayer content than you can shake a Wand of Ith at. All brought to you by the lovely people at Cardshark.com. Go listen!

Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-121-pack-your-suitcases-t488.html

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Intro music - Diamond by Swift: http://www.swift-band.com

Break music - Swell Guy by Swift

Before you get too excited, there's lots of stuff to go through before the big topic. We've got an announcement about Cardshark and a new site design. And there's the March Member Promotions while we're on the topic of Cardshark. Then we crack open a pack of Zendikar and a pack of Worldwake and discuss what we've got. Remember Mad Libs? We've got a Mad Magic Lib for you. Let us know what you think of that, we might have another one soon.

Okay okay, enough screwing around. Wizards has given us access to the pooled spoilers for Rise of the Eldrazi! This includes 6 cards as well as a whole mess of artwork, which you'll find on our Facebook group. There is LOTS of discussion, both in-depth and not, about all of these things. So why are you still reading this? Give it a listen!

Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-120-rise-of-the-eldrazi-spoilers-t483.html

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Chewie here, and this is an episode quite unlike most of our others. Mike and Brian went to the Star City Games 5K tournament in Richmond, and this episode is all about their experiences. They both did Saturday (Standard) while Mike tackled Sunday as well (Legacy). Hear all about how they did and what they thought in this very episode!

And while we're on the subject of tournament Magic, let's discuss a little bit of tournament etiquette, shall we? It all boils down to a very simple idea - don't be a jerk! But you know we're going to flesh it out just a little bit more than that, so take a listen to our mental meanderings on the topic.

Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-119-scg-5k-richmond-highlights-t481.html

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Intro music - Diamond by Swift: http://www.swift-band.com

Break music from the Battlefield 1942 Loading Music by Joel Eriksson: http://www.joeleriksson.com