The Mana Pool

More Zendikar previews! Join us this episode for lots more Zendikarian goodness, along with a discussion of temporal mechanics and a special guest of sorts. This episode also includes a good 11 minutes of lost footage from the previous episode, including our take on Nissa Revane, Nissa's Chosen, and a somewhat depressing Mike story. There's a brief discussion of the Banned & Restricted List updates in there too.

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Hey, Mike here. Well, here it is, the episode we all knew had to be coming. Thank goodness that we were all looking forward to it, too! It's the first big episode of Zendikar previews here on the Mana Pool, and we decided to go for a bit of a different structure this time. Rather than just go up the list, Brian had the foresight to group the cards into convenient broader discussion topics, based on mechanics, themes, and/or content. Give us your feedback on how you think it worked out.

But yes, listen in for an episode full of Vampires, Fire, and Arguing on the Internet. And also another Brian with Phasing. We'll try to work on that...

Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-98-zendikar-preview-1-t397.html

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DISCLAIMER: In an effort to keep our listeners safe while listening to our show, we have decided to forgo any and all comedy this episode. We here at The Mana Pool are committed to your well-being, and we certainly don't want anything bad to happen to any of you (with only very few exceptions). That being said, we hope you enjoy this funny-free episode of The Mana Pool. Thank you and drive around.

To begin the show, we have a small collection of Zendikar previews. We figured from these cards that land will probably be pretty big in this block, so we decided to take that idea and run with it. Actually, it was Brian's idea, but his head is big enough already. That's probably why he was in and out of the episode all night. Spoiler: He didn't make it all the way to the end.

To start off this land-tastic episode, I take my Land Deck...Out of the Deck Box! It's a deck built around Earth Surge, which is one of the crappiest cards to come out of the Ravnica Block (a tie-in to last week!). But I made it work. As always, for a full decklist, check out the forums. Then we spend a fair amount of time taking a look back at some of our favorite lands. We're talking cycles of lands, weird land, useful land, just whatever you can think of. Except Sorrow's Path. Hit the forums and tell us about some of your favorite lands!

And finally, we end the episode on a bit of a rant, as I pull out the old Chewie's Soapbox from my time doing the Cardshark Member Newsletter back in the day. This rant is about Tazeem, that promotional planar card you could ONLY get by going to the Planechase Release Event. Let us know how you feel about the exclusive promo card.

Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-97-land-before-time-t393.html

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Holy crap it's the Mana Pool! Wizards has revealed the last two Planechase decks, so we check out each and every plane on this fabulous tour of the multiverse. Keep an ear out for lots of informational sound-related material - like what being on fire sounds like, and discussions on spheres on the vertical surface that holds up the ceiling. Doosh!

Because we talked about bad mechanics on the last episode, we mentioned Ravnica quite a few times. So Dirk thought we should do a block review of Ravnica as a whole. So we did! We take each of the 10 guilds of Ravnica and go over what their deal is. This includes but is not limited to: their mechanic, their philosophy, their place in the Ravnican society, and a few nifty cards from each one. We really loved Ravnica block.

And a big thank you goes out to all the people who entered the Duel Decks Contest! We're going to get started on that at some point and determine winners...at some point.

Download this episode here: right here!

Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-96-reflection-on-ravnica-t391.html

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On this episode, we've got a cameo by my new roomie Scott. He's one of my best and oldest friends, and he was one of the people I played Magic with back in the days of Homelands when I played the first time. But that's just the intro, there's a lot more where that came from.

First up, there's Planechase. As of this recording, two of the decks had been shown, so of course we have to go over those. We give you an in-depth into each of the planar cards, and we mention the Magic decks as they relate to the planes. There's lots of discussion and the usual bickering.

Dirk came up with a great topic for this episode. We're going to take a look at some of the mechanics of old and tell you about the ones we think are great, and the ones we think are crap. Where do you think Cycling fits in? What about Radiance? Sweep? Ninjutsu? Let's not forget Flashback and Shadow. Hit the forums and let us know what mechanics you really liked or really hated.

And this is the LAST CHANCE to enter the Duel Decks Contest! DON'T FORGET!

Download this episode here: right here!

Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-95-classical-mechanics-t388.html!

Duel Decks Contest!: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/duel-decks-contest-t363.html

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We are joined this episode by none other than the architect of the Cutie-Pie Deck Challenge herself, Claire! Most excellent! Tasteless innuendo and bad jokes abound. Of course, we have to go over what happened during the Challenge. Spoiler: I WON! We discuss the spoils of victory, the lady's prerogative, and creepy people on the internet.

Then we get underway with the news. First off, there's the new full-art Zendikar lands. Then we have the list of cards in From the Vault: Exiled. And we FINALLY know how Planechase works. Next episode we'll have a few more planar cards and decklists for you, this one was recorded before they showed any of that stuff.

Then, since we took so incredibly long on all the news and whatnot, we decided to skip our previously agreed-upon topic for this episode. We just don't have the time to properly devote to it. Check it out next episode. Instead, we take a request from a listener and take Brian's Jund Wickedness Out of the Deck Box. As always, see this episode's forum post for the full decklist. This one is definitely one to check out, as it has a whole lot going on.

For the record, Claire doesn't just sound hot. She totally is. Like damn.

Music for this episode: Beautiful by Ill Mic. Check them out at http://www.illmic.com

Download this episode here: right here!

Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-94-the-hotness-t384.html

Duel Decks Contest!: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/duel-decks-contest-t363.html

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Let's talk about some stuff, shall we? We FINALLY got to play the first round of post-edit Divine vs. Demonic! Yay! We made a few changes to the decks, trying to bump the Demonic deck into the same league as the Divine one. Listen in to find out if we succeeded or just made it worse.

Wizards announced the Premium Deck Series: Slivers. So we talk about it. At great length. Opinions abound. There's even a little bit of prestidigitation, as we try to figure out what the lone mythic rare might (or even should) be. Wow, I spelled that right on the first try, but screwed up when I wrote "myhtic".

Then, in an effort to get away from M10 for a little while, we take a step back and look at Alara Reborn. Favorite cards, underrated cards, underused cards, and just cards we think are nifty - we all weigh in on the set as a whole. And you know what? Turns out we liked it.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Time is running out! Enter the contest! The link is right down there!

Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-92-use-silver-for-werewolf-infestation-t378.htmlDuel Decks Contest: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/duel-decks-contest-t363.htmlCheck out our archive at http://themanapool.libsyn.comEmail us at [email protected]Follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/themanapoolSend me an article at [email protected]Cardshark located at http://www.cardshark.comCardshark Member Promotions: http://www.cardshark.com/member_promotions.aspSubscribe to our RSS Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/themanapool

On this episode, we have even more Magic 2010! Don't worry, next week we're gonna ease up off the M10 for a while. But we had to stay with it this time, because there's a Launch discussion to be had! Brian and I attended, along with Jonathan and Logan. It was Logan's first tournament, so we asked him to join us on this episode, not only to tell us how he did, but to give us his perspective on the whole tournament thing.And then, just to finish up with M10 for a little while, we decided to take a look at the set as a whole. Not just the rares or the previews, not just the mechanics involved, but the whole shebang. We're talking flavor, art, mechanics, love, hate, balls of wax, and whatever else comes to mind.Then, just to spite our friends over at the Avant-Card Show, we're bringing back Out of the Deck Box. I've picked out a deck that go hurt a little bit by the rules change – the Chuck Deck! Of course, in the time since we recorded this, I've already made several changes, so no promises about the decklist in the forums and the one discussed on this episode actually being the same.Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-91-m10-launched-t373.htmlDuel Decks Contest!: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/duel-decks-contest-t363.html Check out our archive at http://themanapool.libsyn.comEmail us at [email protected]Follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/themanapoolSend me an article at [email protected]Cardshark located at http://www.cardshark.comCardshark Member Promotions: http://www.cardshark.com/member_promotions.aspSubscribe to our RSS Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/themanapool

Wow, we've made it up to 90. You believe that? To celebrate this auspicious occasion (not really) we have a whole mess of episode for you. After a somber intro, where we dedicate this episode to a friend who is no longer with us, we go into further detail about the new Duel Decks Contest here on The Mana Pool. You can find the official forum announcement for the contest here:http://cardshark.freeforums.org/duel-decks-contest-t363.htmlThere's been a lot of super-neato stuff on the Magic site in the last week, so we go over all of it. The RYZ shoe design contest winners (Wrath and Damn is sweet!), some Magically delicious soda, and a teeny little hint of Planechase. Check out the links to all of those down below.Then we finally come to the long-awaited topic at hand. We've been meaning to do an episode on multiplayer combat for at least a month or so, but lots of things kept getting in the way. But we've managed to get past all the events and updates and whatnot, and boy was Brian ready for this one. His lawyer side took over, and he categorized all the various important attacks that occur in multiplayer Magic. And I mean all of them. And then we discussed them all, offering anecdotes and examples where applicable. And don't ever attack Dirk. No really. Don't do it. You'll be sorry.Then I finish us up with a quick recounting of my M10 Prerelease experience. I was with AJ (Kill AJ!), just outside of Washington DC, and the tournament was...let's say interesting. You can hear the full story right here. A teaser: I played black/red (big surprise).The Planechase product images can be seen here:http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/arcana/234The Magic-flavored Jones Soda can be seen here:http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/arcana/232The announcement of the winners for the RYZ shoe design contest can be found here:http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/arcana/233Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-90-instructions-on-not-attacking-dirk-mp-combat-t367.htmlCheck out our archive at http://themanapool.libsyn.comEmail us at [email protected]Follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/themanapoolSend me an article at [email protected]Cardshark located at http://www.cardshark.comCardshark Member Promotions: http://www.cardshark.com/member_promotions.aspSubscribe to our RSS Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/themanapool