The Mana Pool

Is that some Duel Decks? We've got the decklists for the new Phyrexia vs. the Coalition Duel Decks, which we went over with great excitement. You don't get to hear that though. You get to hear the second take, due to some technical difficulties. Don't worry though, we made it sound just as good as the first.

Because of those tech problems we recorded the second half of the show the next night, which might explain why Dirk disappeared and we all sound different. But the topic for the second day of this recording marathon is devoted to the mightiest of the two-person draft formats, the Winston Draft. Created by Richard Garfield himself, it's a great way to get some Limited play in without gathering lots of people or driving to the card shop. We go over all the ins and outs and give some strategic insights, all included right here in this handy podcast.

Original article that introduced the Winston: http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtgcom/daily/af59

Chewie's first Winston walkthrough with Time Spiral: http://www.cardshark.com/content/view_article.asp?article_id=4036

Chewie's second Winston walkthrough with Lorwyn http://www.cardshark.com/content/view_article.asp?article_id=4111

Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-118-duel-decks-vs-the-winston-draft-t477.html

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Break music from Trogdor by Strong Bad: http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail58.html

Hey, this is Mike here. Hello again, and welcome to the... uh... um... *mumble* I really should have written these show notes back when Chewie first asked me to. Thankfully, he's around to remind me about all the interesting things we talked about on this most recent episode of The Mana Pool!

The first topic this time is the experience of the Worldwake Prerelease and Launch. You'll get to hear about some of the "deadly perils" we faced along our journeys to the "priceless treasures" that awaited (or the "0-2 drop and go home"s that awaited, as appropriate). Of course now I can't remember anything else about the discussion, so we'll all get a pleasant surprise when we listen!

Then I talked about the recent Rules Update Bulletin? Maybe? I'll be finding out right along with you.

Finally, we introduce a very interesting feature that I personally hope we come back to some day. Brian calls it the Story Circle, and it offers some very entertaining insights into our various creative processes we use for deckbuilding.

Honestly, I'm looking forward to listening to this episode just as much as you are.

Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-117-news-rules-and-a-story-circle-t470.html

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Extra special intro by Tosus, find him at http://dergeek.com

Poor Dirk, falling in the well again. Oh well. No pun intended there, really.

So here we are again with the last round of Worldwake previews. There are some doozies in this one too. From Wurms that blow up the world to stupid turtles to elementals that make wolves to a crazy go nuts Upwelling guy, we cover it all. At least all of it that was up when we recorded. Enjoy the cards and the ridiculous number of pop culture references, which were flowing like...I dunno, something that flows a lot.

Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-115-worldwake-previews-2-t461.html

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It's the time again! Previews galore, this time for Worldwake! Mix around 30 parts preview cards with something like 5 parts Magic news, and you get this episode!

Show notes are for punks on episodes this straightforward, so that's enough of that.

Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-114-worldwake-previews-1-t459.html

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This is it. Years in the making. Epic in scope. The episode many have clamored for has finally become a reality. The time has come. The four hosts have once again gathered. And the number 113 will never...be...the same.

Okay, enough of all that. But really, ever since The Mana Pool #15 waaaaaaay back in March of '08, we have had an overwhelmingly positive response to our Multiplayer Mayhem episodes. And listeners have been requesting that we record an episode while playing for just as long. As I am writing this, Mike and I are actually trying to figure out why we shied away from it for so long. For some reason, we thought it would either be boring, confusing, hard to follow, or generally terrible without being able to see what was going on. But with Mike joining us for the first time in well over a year, and coming equipped with a laptop containing the appropriate recording software, there was no way we could pass up the opportunity. I grabbed my handy desktop mic and the rest, as they say, is playing in your ear. Mike thinks they're weird to say things like that, but who are we to question them?

So again, this is it. We bring you three action packed games of multiplayer mayhem in less than three hours. And that's including one good rules debate that actually spawned an alternate reality where the game kept going (that's the one you're currently in, by the way), and the Cardshark Member Promotions for January. But enough of that, we're going to let the show speak for itself, and that's not just because it's been long enough that we can't really remember anything else that happened. It's called building tension. Yeah. That sounds good.

Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-113-multiplayer-mayhem-live-t454.html

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Through all the lag problems, special guests leaving early, and nauseous hosts, we bring you this momentous episode! Wizards of the Coast has included us in their pooled Worldwake preview cards, sending us 5 preview cards to go over on the show! They're not exclusive, but we're getting there! In an effort to make this even more special we grabbed Ben, who is Panahinuva on the forums and is easily our number one fan (that means Internet stalker), to join us for this extra bonus episode. Sadly, his future came calling and he had to tip out early, but at least he was able to hop on for a minute. But anyway! Sit back, listen to the previews, be amazed at the length of the show, and marvel at the joy that will be Worldwake!

Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/bonus-episode-worldwake-spoilers-t452.html

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Hello again, and welcome to the Show Notes! This is Mike, here to give you a quick rundown of what we're up to.

Before you start playing a game, you need to have a solid idea of whether or not you can do well enough to win. Given some thought (and depending on how the deck is built), your opening hand should be able to give you a fair approximation of an answer. Whether or not to mulligan any potential opening hand is the first decision you make in every game, and has an enormous impact on how favorable your outcome can be.

In this episode, we apply our usual dorky methods to discuss and examine Mulligans as a strategic aspect of the game. On display are examples from some of our most notable favorite decks, giving everyone a great amount of insight into the way things work. Stay tuned to the end for a very special surprise guest!

Music for this episode is Diamond by Swift - Check them out at http://www.swift-band.com to find out how to get the remixed and remastered discography!

Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-112-yeah-i-ll-keep-t451.html

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Chewie here, bringing you what we think will become another one of those "classic" episodes of The Mana Pool. Thanks to Bill (Kurai_Seraphim) for hitting us with this idea. We're going to take a look at the various mechanics in Magic. Big deal, nothing classic about that, right? Wrong! We're looking at them from a flavor perspective! We take all this reminder text and try to make some sense out of it. Flying is easy. Protection is sort of easy. But what about madness? Cascade and storm? And let's not forget double strike (spoiler alert: that's just dual-wielding) and first strike (just a long stick). Why are deathtouch and wither similar? What about fading/vanishing and phasing? And just how much mucus is too much mucus? Give this episode a listen and find out!

Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-111-mechanical-flavor-t445.html

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Brian here once again, telling you about the show so you know what you're getting into. Of course, you never really know what you're getting into here at the Mana Pool until you start to listen.

We start off with the usual rigmarole. As a side note, we love that listeners are sending us more emails than ever. Keep them coming! It provides us great feedback on the things you like (and don't like) about the show, and often your ideas are stolen pilfered graciously adopted by the staff here into topics for the show.

We get into a review of cards that we feel best represent sets. The sets that we cover are all from the early years of our playing together. Our choices sometimes met each other's expectations, but also came as a surprise. Dirk remembers making us pee our pants! Dragons have flying (or they would be Wurms)! Cats opening doors and going "Yo, what you doin?" Chefs popping out of Vials! Wizards R&D makes mistakes! Lands becoming Birds of Paradise! Ascending to Dragon Form! Host catch-phrases like you'd never believe!

So come on in and get to listening, children. Mana Pool Episode 110 is up and ready for your audio experience. Enjoy!

Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-110-there-can-be-only-one-or-four-t444.html

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And there's The Twelve Dorks of Christmas. Even though there's only four of us. Oh well.

We begin with an Out of the Deck Box from Mike, who has built an Esper-type deck with some old school flava. He wants some feedback on it, so by all means let us know what you think. As always, if you want to see the decklist and offer up some advice or comments, hit the forums. The link is at the bottom of the show notes down there.

Then we take a look back at 2009. Wizards released a lot of stuff for Magic this year. A Core Set, three Expert level expansions, some digital games, and a whole mess of assorted other Magic-related products. We take one last look at all of it, pointing out what we liked, what we didn't like, and generally just giving the whole year a once-over. Let us know what you liked, loathed, and were indifferent about!

Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-109-2009-in-review-t441.html

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