The Mana Pool

First off, I just wanted to say sorry for the lateness of this episode. I'm sure you'll hear about why in the next one.

In this Mike-free show, we're here to talk the Alara Reborn Prerelease. We decided that it made more sense to record on a night that Brian could join us, since he was at the Prerelease, so we had to do it on a night Mike was unavailable. Sorry to all the Mike fans out there, he should be back next episode.

So join us for a complete look at how we did. All three of us competed in the Sealed portion. Guess what colors Dirk played! For that matter, guess what all of us played. It actually matches what you would think. Then Dirk and Brian did a draft. Guess what colors Dirk played! I bet you guess wrong! Hit the forums if you haven't already and let us know how you did. And if you want to cheat, you can check out the forum thread for this episode to see all 5 decklists. The link is right down there if you're not already on the forums.

Music for this episode: I Don't Vote Republican by Social Outcast u.b.

Check them out at http://www.myspace.com/socialoutcastub

Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-79-alara-reborn-prerelease-spectacular-t324.htmlCheck out our archive at http://themanapool.libsyn.comEmail us at [email protected]Send 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

And the final Alara Reborn Preview is upon us! We are Mikeless in this episode, but that's okay because we have joining us the amazing Jason, also known as garthok84 on the forums, who was the third place winner of our big contest at the beginning of the year. He takes up the slack from Mike's absence and is generally a horrible human being throughout the entire episode. Which is what we look for in a guest host named Jason.

But of course, we have a whole thoctar-load of previews to get through. Which is really hard considering all the random tangents, animal interruptions, challengers appearing, and poisoning of the forum members that are going on. But we eventually get through them all. You know, eventually. It's a seriously funny ride this time around though, so if you can make it through the whole thing, we hope you enjoyed it. Contrary to what you hear me say in this episode, we did not go past two hours. I just thought we did because I can't tell time.

Alara Reborn Visual Spoiler:

http://www.wizards.com/magic/tcg/article.aspx?x=mtg/tcg/alarareborn/spoiler

Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-78-alara-reborn-preview-3-t321.html

Check out our archive at http://themanapool.libsyn.com

Email us at [email protected]

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Hello to all you folks out there in Internet Land! This is Mike, filling in on the notes for Chewie because... uh... because he told me to, really. Welcome to another Alara Reborn preview episode! As usual, Wizards dumped a whole truckload of stuff on us through the main site and other venues since we last sat down to record, so we're just doing a partial update of the official spoiler list as it stands (stay tuned later in the week for the rest).

We are Brian-less this time, as Chewie does not have veto power over Tom, but we were able to get Bill (of kuraiseraphim fame) to join in, with a special silent mystery guest (Warning: episode contains spoilers regarding the identity of the mystery guest). Fire up your audio player of choice and look forward to good burn, awesome names, Chewie only getting B/R cards, solid commons, and the Yeti hitchhiker.

Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-77-alara-reborn-preview-2-t319.html

Check out our archive at http://themanapool.libsyn.com

Email us at [email protected]

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And then we jump into the Alara Reborn previews. For those of you following along at home, we start at Unscythe, Killer of Kings and go all the way up the visual spoiler to Jenara, Asura of War. We skip over the couple we've mentioned before of course. If you want to follow along or just check out all the previewed cards, go here:http://www.wizards.com/magic/tcg/article.aspx?x=mtg/tcg/alarareborn/spoiler

Wake up Mike. Mike? Helloooo?

Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-76-alara-reborn-preview-1-t315.htmlCheck out our archive at http://themanapool.libsyn.comEmail us at [email protected]Send 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 begin Mikeless, because something stupid happened at work. Then we dive into Brian's Scarecrow Deck, which was requested as an Out of the Deck Box. Here's the list for that.We Wish We Had A Brain14: Swamp4: Cloudpost2: Temple of the False God2: Rupture Spire1: Shimmering Grotto1: Vesuva2: Chainbreaker1: Wingrattle Scarecrow1: Rattleblaze Scarecrow3: Watchwing Scarecrow2: Thornwatch Scarecrow3: Scuttlemutt3: Scrapbasket2: Transguild Courier2: Bringer of the Black Dawn1: Scarecrone1: Painter's Servant1: Grim Poppet3: Reaper King2: Mana Cylix2: Scarscale Ritual2: Fate Transfer1: Dregs of Sorrow2: Patriarch's Bidding2: Plunge into DarknessThen we have to talk about the latest news, which is the release of the Divine vs. Demonic decklists. Just as we get started, we suddenly find ourselves no longer Mikeless! So whole once again, we dive into the two decks and give you our full opinions. Not to spoil too much, but half the hosts have already purchased this product. Just so you know. If you wanna check it out, go here:http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/feature/33And then we have some special preview cards. In the latest Player Rewards mailing there was an oversized card from Alara Reborn. On the back of this oversized card are pictures of the the Prerelease card and the Launch card. So we go over all three of them for the benefit of our listeners. Of course, just about 3 hours after we wrapped up recording, the Alara Reborn minisite went live, complete with a massive visual spoiler. I guess that means you know what's going on next week here on the show. If you want to check that out too, it's right here. I have it bookmarked.http://www.wizards.com/magic/tcg/article.aspx?x=mtg/tcg/alarareborn/spoilerForum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-75-halos-horns-and-straw-t312.htmlCheck out our archive at http://themanapool.libsyn.comEmail us at [email protected]Send 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

Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-73-shred-memory-t308.htmlCheck out our archive at http://themanapool.libsyn.comEmail us at [email protected]Send 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 Music for this episode: Back to the Future (Main Theme) by Alan SilvestriAnd finally, there's really nothing much else to say about this episode other than this - what you're hearing is completely correct. Hopefully the name of the episode will make sense once you're done. You know, since we never actually mentioned the card it was named after.Then we decided to try something a little odd. Brian picked out a few cards that have come out since we all started playing together. We then proceeded to discuss our own personal histories, experiences, and impressions for each of the cards, then went on to discuss some of the potential uses for each card. Even though we just did the Binder Pull last episode, we thought this was different enough to warrant doing. Of course, lots of fun and random tangents go hand in hand with each bit of discussion, so that makes it even more interesting.Then, because they showed us the Banned & Restricted List update just after we recorded, we have to go over that really quick. Like really quick. And they showed us the packaging for the Alara Reborn Intro Packs, so of course we have to check that out. Nifty stuff.First off, of course, we have the standard intro stuff. Hosts, the various contact points, new members on the Facebook group, music explanation, etc etc. You know, the usual.

There's a lot going on in this episode. First off, we have lots of Mana Pool news. New members on the forums, new people in the Facebook group, some comments on the MTGCast page, stuff like that. Also, I got a job. Yay employment! There's also that whole bit about From the Vault: Exiled, but we really don't know enough about it to do anything other than read the stuff on the announcement, found here:http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/arcana/148Then we have two editions of Out of the Deck Box, with two decks that were requested some time ago. First up is Dirk's infamous X Deck, with its way-too-easy-to-assemble infinite mana engine. Then we have Brian's Boros Reloaded deck, which is a highly aggressive take on the RW Ravnica guild, with some new stuff thrown in for good measure. For a complete list of each deck, please check out the forum post for this episode, which you'll find in the links below as usual.And then there's the meat of the episode, which is our second Binder Pull. We each comb through our rare binders to find cards that are worth talking about. And we're bouncing all over the place, from The Dark all the way up to Kamigawa block. So take a listen, check out some random cards, and be entertained by the ensuing dorky discussion.Music for this episode: Intro Theme to Mega Man III on the NES. Good stuff. And vaguely appropriate, believe it or not.Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-72-binder-pull-2-t306.htmlCheck out our archive at http://themanapool.libsyn.comEmail us at [email protected]Send 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

Man, this whole show has gone to the dogs. Well, hounds. And it's for the birds. And cats. And even rabbits and slugs and leeches. We're taking a look at the way Magic handles real-world animals. Any creature type that is a real animal, I have taken a look at and figured out how many there are and what, if anything, ties them all together. Since I did this, I'm going to torment my fellow dorks by making them guess what animals are where on the list. It's a lot of fun. So sit tight and check out the entire menagerie. And no, goblins don't count. And just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, along comes Banding. We recorded this a few weeks ago but haven't had a chance to use it yet, so here it is. Rules Corner with Mike presents Banding! Everything you've ever wanted to know about this horrible yet pretty freakin' useful old mechanic. Music for this episode: Linger by Ill MicCheck them out at www.illmic.comForum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-71-animal-house-t305.htmlCheck out our archive at http://themanapool.libsyn.comEmail us at [email protected]Send 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 extra-long and woefully non-creatively named episode, we have lots and lots of stuff to go through. First off, there's all the new member promotions on Cardshark. The featured promotion is especially interesting, be sure to check it out. We have new members on the Facebook group, new members on the forums, and a quick message to one of our forum members, involving the words "dude" and "dork". We have a comment on the hosting site about an article by Kelley Digges, so we have to comment on that. And then there's news involving some of our fellow Magic podcasters. There's a quick apology to Mr. Suitcase for our promo ruining his show. Sorry about that. Then there's an announcement about Avant Card, a new podcast by our very own forum member and big dork spaceninja. You can find that here:http://www.avantcardshow.comThen there's Magic news! First off, they showed new cards from the Divine vs. Demonic set last week (they showed more after we recorded this of course). Then we had to go outside our normal area of influence and discuss Pro Tour – Kyoto. I had to highlight two key points in the Top 8. The first involves Gabriel Nassif's called shot against a hopeless board in the quarterfinals. It was awesome. Then I wanted to discuss the best game in the finals, Nassif vs. Luis Scott-Vargas. Game 4 was freakin' epic and really shows why these guys are the pros. Give it a listen, and then if you're interested you can find the Top 8 webcasts archived here:http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/eventcoverage/ptkyo09/welcomeWhich brings us finally to the meat of the episode. Brian recently did a triple Conflux draft on Magic Online, and we wanted to go step-by-step through his draft and discuss each pick. If you're into drafting at all, this is going to be fun. If you're not into drafting at all, this is going to be educational and entertaining. Hope you enjoy!And don't forget to pick up a copy of Legacy Publishing's latest best-seller, Michael Shiver's My Life as a Wombat. Available now absolutely nowhere near you!Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-70-triple-conflux-draft-t303.htmlCheck out our archive at http://themanapool.libsyn.comEmail us at [email protected]Send me an article at [email protected]Cardshark located at http://www.cardshark.comCardshark Member Promotions: http://www.cardshark.com/member_promotions.aspRSS Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/themanapool