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The Mana Pool — Games & Hobbies
The Mana Pool

Chewie, Mike, Brian, and Dirk have been talking about Magic: The Gathering on the internet for almost 10 years (at the time of this writing). Since there are so many shows about strategy and tournaments, these dorks focus on all the fun you can have with the game outside of that, from flavor to philosophy to game design to history to whatever else we can come up with. We’re funny, we’re serious about what we do, and we love it!

Latest Episodes:

Episode 475 - Travis the Cursed Aug 20, 2017

Show notes

Let us tell you a tale, a tale of a dude. That dude is Travis, and he just keeps having problems. Poor Travis. Maybe if he wasn't so awesome he wouldn't run into so much trouble. Or maybe he just really sucks.

Hey look, Brian's back! And look, we have a lot more Commander cards to talk about! Yay! And look, the Cat Dragon token is SO ADORABLE! I WANT ONE!

Please excuse Chewie's mic the first 2.5 minutes of this episode. That was weird.

Commander 2017 Card Image Gallery - http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/card-image-gallery/commander-2017 Commander 2017 Decklists - http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/commander-2017-edition-decklists-2017-08-11 Commander 2017 Tokens - http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/commander-2017-edition-decklists-2017-08-11

Support us on Patreon! – https://www.patreon.com/themanapool

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – https://myspace.com/swiftband

This episode's post: http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-475 Check out our archive at http://themanapool.com/category/podcast Email us at dorks@themanapool.com Follow us on Twitter at @TheManaPool Like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheManaPool Subscribe to us on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/c/TheManaPool Follow us on Twitch at http://www.twitch.tv/themanapool TMP Steam Group: http://steamcommunity.com/groups/themanapool Subscribe to our RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/themanapool

Brought to you by Mana Pool Productions

Episode 474 - We Can't Handle All This Majesty! Aug 13, 2017

Show notes

These Commander 2017 cards are SO MAJESTIC! Seriously. Mike forgot how to speak. Dirk forgot how to read. Chewie almost choked to death. And they were SO MAJESTIC that Brian wasn't even here. Look at all that majesty!

But because we got so caught up in the multicolored cards (mostly the legends), we opted to leave the monocolored cards until next week so Brian can join in on the fun.

Commander 2017 Card Image Gallery - http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/card-image-gallery/commander-2017

Support us on Patreon! – https://www.patreon.com/themanapool

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – https://myspace.com/swiftband

This episode's post: http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-474 Check out our archive at http://themanapool.com/category/podcast Email us at dorks@themanapool.com Follow us on Twitter at @TheManaPool Like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheManaPool Subscribe to us on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/c/TheManaPool Follow us on Twitch at http://www.twitch.tv/themanapool TMP Steam Group: http://steamcommunity.com/groups/themanapool Subscribe to our RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/themanapool

Brought to you by Mana Pool Productions

Episode 473 - The Sky Swallower Discussion Aug 06, 2017

Show notes

We begin with another Sam Quiz, which was a little tricksy. Then, after a brief story of personal injury and public surgery from Chewie we get right into it! We're doing a Mythic Conscription for Dissension, finishing out the original Ravnica block. This set, much like some of the other Ravnica sets, was a little hard to do. Or maybe easy. We're not sure. There's a bizarre switch with the leadership of the Azorius guild. Dirk actually leans towards a red rare enchantment as mythic. And then, at the very end, there's the big discussion about Simic Sky Swallower.

Support us on Patreon! – https://www.patreon.com/themanapool

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – https://myspace.com/swiftband

This episode's post: http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-473 Check out our archive at http://themanapool.com/category/podcast Email us at dorks@themanapool.com Follow us on Twitter at @TheManaPool Like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheManaPool Subscribe to us on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/c/TheManaPool Follow us on Twitch at http://www.twitch.tv/themanapool TMP Steam Group: http://steamcommunity.com/groups/themanapool Subscribe to our RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/themanapool

Brought to you by Mana Pool Productions

Episode 472 - History of the Banhammer, Pt 3 Jul 30, 2017

Show notes

We're back with Level 3 judge and SCG writer Chris Lansdell to finish up the history of the Banned & Restricted List. From the Day 0 Modern Banned List to the most recent cleanup of the miserable state of Standard, we're covering it all! And since all the announcements still exist, we can give you actual explanations for each banning and unbanning. Then we'll wrap it all up by discussing why there is a B&R list and the reasons for constantly updating it.

Just remember - Dark Ritual is fine.

Timeline of DCI bans & restrictions: http://mtg.gamepedia.com/Timeline_of_DCI_bans_and_restrictions History of the Banhammer, Pt 1: http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-462/ History of the Banhammer, Pt 2: http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-465/ Check out Chris Lansdell's articles: http://www.starcitygames.com/tags/ChrisLansdell

Check out the sweet cards inspired by our MTG RPG campaign from Shai Ofer! - http://themanapool.com/created-cards/custom-cards-trivester/

Support us on Patreon! – https://www.patreon.com/themanapool

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – https://myspace.com/swiftband

This episode's post: http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-472 Check out our archive at http://themanapool.com/category/podcast Email us at dorks@themanapool.com Follow us on Twitter at @TheManaPool Like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheManaPool Subscribe to us on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/c/TheManaPool Follow us on Twitch at http://www.twitch.tv/themanapool TMP Steam Group: http://steamcommunity.com/groups/themanapool Subscribe to our RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/themanapool

Brought to you by Mana Pool Productions

Episode 471 - Fighting a Goblin Mob! (MTG RPG) Jul 23, 2017

Show notes

Karim, Alaric, and The Angel are back to explore more of Trivester and see what they can get into! We're heading towards a huge tree, losing our way, and getting into a scrape with goblins! At least I get to use my awesome sword! Much love to Jars for the amazing map!

After that, we're catching up on stuff - Mike's prereleases, Dirk's job hunt, my trip to Busch Gardens, and Brian's anniversary!

In case you're completely lost, Brian created this MTG RPG from scratch and we periodically play it on the show. This campaign is called Heirs of Trivester. If you'd like to hear the previous installments, here are some links to get you caught up!

Character Creation - http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-407/ Part 1 - http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-423/ Part 2 - http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-430/ Part 3 - http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-450/

Support us on Patreon! – https://www.patreon.com/themanapool

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – https://myspace.com/swiftband

This episode's post: http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-471 Check out our archive at http://themanapool.com/category/podcast Email us at dorks@themanapool.com Follow us on Twitter at @TheManaPool Like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheManaPool Subscribe to us on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/c/TheManaPool Follow us on Twitch at http://www.twitch.tv/themanapool TMP Steam Group: http://steamcommunity.com/groups/themanapool Subscribe to our RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/themanapool

Brought to you by Mana Pool Productions

Episode 470 - Learning to Attack Charitably Jul 09, 2017

Show notes

The dorks are covering the rest of Hour of Devastation since the full set was revealed immediately after we recorded last week. There are quite a few bits of good stuff left. There's a lot of art on commons and uncommons that is just awesome too, so we'll be sure to point that out.

And there are discussions of StarCraft and copyright claim at the end. Just a warning.

Hour of Devastation Card Image Gallery - http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/card-image-gallery/hour-devastation Striped Riverwinder full art - http://imgur.com/gHOCZb4

Support us on Patreon! – https://www.patreon.com/themanapool

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – https://myspace.com/swiftband

This episode's post: http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-470 Check out our archive at http://themanapool.com/category/podcast Email us at dorks@themanapool.com Follow us on Twitter at @TheManaPool Like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheManaPool Subscribe to us on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/c/TheManaPool Follow us on Twitch at http://www.twitch.tv/themanapool TMP Steam Group: http://steamcommunity.com/groups/themanapool Subscribe to our RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/themanapool

Brought to you by Mana Pool Productions

Episode 469 - This Plane is So Boned Jul 02, 2017

Show notes

The dorks are taking another look at Hour of Devastation previews! Torments, afflictions, curses, eternalization, more Hours, and lots of sand. I hate sand. It's coarse and rough and irritating...and it gets everywhere.

Also, now ALL my horses can be amazing, and there's a zombie camel. Oh yeah, you read that right.

Hour of Devastation Card Image Gallery - http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/card-image-gallery/hour-devastation Hour of Devastation Tokens - http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/tokens-hour-devastation-2017-06-29

Support us on Patreon! – https://www.patreon.com/themanapool

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – https://myspace.com/swiftband

This episode's post: http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-469 Check out our archive at http://themanapool.com/category/podcast Email us at dorks@themanapool.com Follow us on Twitter at @TheManaPool Like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheManaPool Subscribe to us on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/c/TheManaPool Follow us on Twitch at http://www.twitch.tv/themanapool TMP Steam Group: http://steamcommunity.com/groups/themanapool Subscribe to our RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/themanapool

Brought to you by Mana Pool Productions

Episode 468 - Hour of Mournful Overtones Jun 25, 2017

Show notes

The Hour of Devastation looms near! Brian is getting attacked by malicious flying creatures and Dirk is being stalked by the gods of sleep, but at least Mike's beard is still glorious. Thank goodness.

In case you can't tell, we're covering the early Hour of Devastation previews. The Invocations, the mechanics of the set, and all the really sick stuff that had shown up at this point. Bolas is a bad bad dude, and we're really concerned about what's going to happen. This whole story is getting seriously dark and depressing.

Invocations: http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/masterpiece-series-hour-devastation-invocations-2017-06-19 Mechanics: http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/hour-devastation-mechanics-2017-06-16 Card Image Gallery: http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/card-image-gallery/hour-devastation Promos: http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/card-preview/promos-and-planeswalker-decks-hour-devastation-2017-06-16

Support us on Patreon! – https://www.patreon.com/themanapool

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – https://myspace.com/swiftband

This episode's post: http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-468 Check out our archive at http://themanapool.com/category/podcast Email us at dorks@themanapool.com Follow us on Twitter at @TheManaPool Like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheManaPool Subscribe to us on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/c/TheManaPool Follow us on Twitch at http://www.twitch.tv/themanapool TMP Steam Group: http://steamcommunity.com/groups/themanapool Subscribe to our RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/themanapool

Brought to you by Mana Pool Productions

Episode 467 - Announcement Week! Jun 18, 2017

Show notes

It's Announcement Week for Magic, and wow they've thrown a lot at us! There's a LOT of good stuff here! First there's Pro Tour news and yet another Standard banning. Then we've got to talk about all the Magic Digital Next news, which is bittersweet but probably still good. Then we spend a LOT of time on MaRo's Metamorphosis 2.0, which outlines the totally new direction Magic sets will be going in after Ixalan block. We're actually going through the article point by point to explain why they're doing what they're doing. It's good stuff. Then it's time to touch on all the upcoming products. Most of them are pretty standard, but there are a few that will BLOW. YOUR. MIND. No kidding.

Pro Tour stuff - http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/organized-play/playing-pro-tour-2017-06-15 Banned & Restricted List stuff - http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/june-13-2017-banned-and-restricted-announcement-2017-06-13 Magic Digital Next stuff - http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/magic-digital/magic-digital-next-update-2017-06-13 Set structure stuff - http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/making-magic/metamorphosis-2-0-2017-06-12 Upcoming products stuff - http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/news/25th-anniversary-announcement-day-2017-06-14

Support us on Patreon! – https://www.patreon.com/themanapool

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – https://myspace.com/swiftband

This episode's post: http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-467 Check out our archive at http://themanapool.com/category/podcast Email us at dorks@themanapool.com Follow us on Twitter at @TheManaPool Like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheManaPool Subscribe to us on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/c/TheManaPool Follow us on Twitch at http://www.twitch.tv/themanapool TMP Steam Group: http://steamcommunity.com/groups/themanapool Subscribe to our RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/themanapool

Brought to you by Mana Pool Productions

Episode 466 - Brand Expansion (The MTG MMO Episode) Jun 11, 2017

Show notes

On the day this episode was recorded, it was announced that Cryptic Studios is working on a Magic: The Gathering Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game! This is absolutely unprecedented in MTG's history of licensing, and we decided to do an entire episode about it! We're beginning with Dirk's extensive MMO experience! He goes on at length about what Magic's world and mechanics could bring the MMO genre, and the rest of us pipe up whenever we have something to add.

After all the rampant speculation, it's time to talk about the dark side of all this. There has been a massive negative reaction to this from the MTG community, and it's because nerds are, I'm sorry to say, terrible people when it comes to the properties that they nerd over.

After that we're going over as many of the other ways MTG has attempted to expand its brand over the years as we can remember. Old video games, books & comics, a miniatures game, Jones Planeswalker Soda...just whatever. Be sure to let us know if we missed any good ones!

Announcement/Interview article - http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2017-07-06-taking-an-ip-and-making-it-your-own Cryptic Studios - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptic_Studios MTG Video Games - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic:_The_Gathering_video_games

Support us on Patreon! – https://www.patreon.com/themanapool

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – https://myspace.com/swiftband

This episode's post: http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-466 Check out our archive at http://themanapool.com/category/podcast Email us at dorks@themanapool.com Follow us on Twitter at @TheManaPool Like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheManaPool Subscribe to us on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/c/TheManaPool Follow us on Twitch at http://www.twitch.tv/themanapool TMP Steam Group: http://steamcommunity.com/groups/themanapool Subscribe to our RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/themanapool

Brought to you by Mana Pool Productions

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