The Mana Pool

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Episode 372 - Stark's Fifteen Minutes of Fame May 15, 2015

Show notes

The dorks are joined by another Kickstarter backer this week, Stark Maximum! Stark has a thing for the flavor of the game, so he has two very Vorthosy topics for us to discuss! First, he wants to discuss everyone's favorite italicized words, flavor text! He and the dorks talk about some of their favorite flavor texts, touch on a few different kinds (flavors?) of flavor text, and discuss some of the characters who first made their mark on the game of Magic in italics.

From there, Stark steers us into a more general discussion about planeswalkers. But we're chatting about planeswalkers not as cards, but as actual characters. We poke around some of the story that surrounds some of the walkers, discuss the planeswalkers who, as Stark put it, have A story but don't fit into THE story. You know, stuff like that.

This episode was a fun one and we hope everyone enjoys! Let us know about your favorite flavor text and planeswalker as a character not as a card

Follow Stark on Twitter - @StarkMaximumThe Love Song of Night and Day - http://archive.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtgcom/feature/145#1Black Labels, a Peculiar Flavor Special Short Story by Myke Okuhara - http://themanapool.com/peculiar-flavor/black-labels-peculiar-flavor-special-short-story/

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-372 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/TheManaPoolSubscribe to us on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/TheManaPoolTubeJoin the Forums: http://cardshark.freeforums.comAnd Google+ too: http://gplus.to/themanapool Cardshark Member Promotions: http://www.cardshark.com/Promotions/Member-Promotions.aspx Subscribe to our RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/themanapool

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Episode 371 - Clayton's Fifteen Minutes of Fame! May 08, 2015

Show notes

On this episode the dorks are joined by another of the Kickstarter backers, Clayton Clemens! Clayton is a pretty cool guy (even though he's one of those Canadians) and doesn't afraid of anything.

He's here to get us to talk about Cube! Waaaaaaaay back in our first year, Brian built a Cube and we played it and talked about it on an episode. That was episode 29, for those keeping track. But Cubing has really taken off since then, and we've fallen WAY behind on it. That's what Clayton is here for though! He tells us all about what a Cube is and how you do it and the different flavors and oh my god so much information!

Don't worry though, there are PLENTY of sidetracks, tangents, rabbit holes, and various other off-topic conversations, just in case you forgot what show you were listening to. Like I said, Clayton's pretty cool!

Follow Clayton on Twitter @Teele87Clayton's Peasant Cube - http://www.cubetutor.com/viewcube/19284Brian's Cube from TMP's first year - http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-29-to-the-third-power-cubed/Black Labels, a Peculiar Flavor Special Short Story by Myke Okuhara - http://themanapool.com/peculiar-flavor/black-labels-peculiar-flavor-special-short-story/

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-371 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/TheManaPoolSubscribe to us on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/TheManaPoolTubeJoin the Forums: http://cardshark.freeforums.comAnd Google+ too: http://gplus.to/themanapool Cardshark Member Promotions: http://www.cardshark.com/Promotions/Member-Promotions.aspx Subscribe to our RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/themanapool

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Episode 370 - So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish People May 01, 2015

Show notes

We're joined this week by fellow podcaster and all-around awesome guy, Mr. Jason Roskam! He's one of the hosts of the Higher Standards podcast, which focuses solely on, oddly enough, the Standard format. Imagine that. But we're not here to talk about Standard! Mr. Roskam tells us all about how he plays Magic with his son! It involves keeping him interested in the game while still helping him to improve and learn more, which is a pretty nifty balancing act. From there the discussion turns to some ideas for how to make Magic, competitive and otherwise, a little more welcoming to newer players. Do you have any ideas? Let us know!

After that, we turn to Dirk for another edition of Dirk's Creature Corner! This time (in case you couldn't tell from the title) Dirk is turning his eye towards the fishy existence of Merfolk! Dirk points out all the biological, physiological, evolutionary, and cultural reasons why merfolk just...won't work, whether they are the Leggy or Finny variety. We had a lot of fun discussing fish gills, fish necks, fish hands, fish junk, and of course, fish boobs. There's a lot of talk about the potential origins of these fish people - did they come straight from fish or were they perhaps already on land and backed back into their aquatic homes

This one was a lot of fun, and be sure to let us know what creatures we should dissect in the next episode of Dirk's Creature Corner!

Follow Mr. Roskam on Twitter - @roskam76Check out Higher Standards on MTGCast - http://mtgcast.com/topics/mtgcast-podcast-shows/active-podcast-shows/higher-standardsThe Mana Pool Episode 38 - The Eventide Prerelease Ordeal - http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-38-the-eventide-prerelease-ordeal/

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-370 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/TheManaPoolSubscribe to us on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/TheManaPoolTubeJoin the Forums: http://cardshark.freeforums.comAnd Google+ too: http://gplus.to/themanapool Cardshark Member Promotions: http://www.cardshark.com/Promotions/Member-Promotions.aspx Subscribe to our RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/themanapool

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Episode 369 - Kim's Fifteen Minutes of Fame! (That's Racist) Apr 24, 2015

Show notes

The dorks are joined this week by our third Kickstarter backer, Kim Ho! Kim is really awesome even though he lives in Canada! And that's racist. Prepare yourself, that's one of the running jokes here! You've been warned!

After explaining who he is and how he's doing, Kim directs us to a topic we did a while back on Episode 323 - What If It Cost 2 Less? that we didn't actually name. He has a list of old unfair cards for us to analyze and try to re-cost at a fair price by today's standards. There are also a few less-than-impressive cards in the mix too, just so we don't get bored adding mana to a bunch of stuff. We're pretty sure Kim hates us based on some of his choices. It's cool though, we kind of deserve it!

We end the episode with a quick game from Kim - Beast or Six Drop? Taken from former LR host Brian Wong, the idea is that he gives us a card name and we decide if it's a beast, a six drop, both, or neither. I think it was pretty funny, with us tripping over our own thoughts and definitely not cheating. I hope not anyway, because if we did we were cheating poorly.

Follow Kim on Twitter @RandomKHo, he's pretty awesome!

Mike's Game Day deck - http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/dtk-game-day-nonsense/

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-369 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/TheManaPoolSubscribe to us on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/TheManaPoolTubeJoin the Forums: http://cardshark.freeforums.comAnd Google+ too: http://gplus.to/themanapool Cardshark Member Promotions: http://www.cardshark.com/Promotions/Member-Promotions.aspx Subscribe to our RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/themanapool

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Episode 368 - Take a Look... (Reading WUBRG) Apr 19, 2015

Show notes

On this episode the dorks have two main topics. First up, Mike and Brian went to SCG Modern States this weekend! Brian took Jeskai Ascendancy (or Ascension, apparently) and Mike took his Loam Assault (with a dash of Smallpox) to do battle. How'd they do? Well that's why you listen to the episode, of course. I mean, duh.

After that it's time for the next entry in our semi-annual-ish series where we take a look at properties in other media to turn into Magic! We've done video games, television shows, and movies (that we can remember) so now it's time for books! The dorks take a look at some modern fantasy books, classic sci-fi, a bunch of favorites, and some seriously obscure stuff. Join us for a discussion of books we've known and loved with some Magic thrown in for good measure!

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-368 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/TheManaPoolSubscribe to us on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/TheManaPoolTubeJoin the Forums: http://cardshark.freeforums.comAnd Google+ too: http://gplus.to/themanapool Cardshark Member Promotions: http://www.cardshark.com/Promotions/Member-Promotions.aspx Subscribe to our RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/themanapool

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Episode 367 - Shenanigans Remastered Apr 09, 2015

Show notes

On this episode, the dorks are taking a look at Exodus, the last set in the Tempest block! We're putting it through the Mythic Conscription, picking out the rares that would have been mythics if that was a thing back then. After we're done with Exodus, we pull up the rares and mythics from Tempest Remastered to see how we did over our last three Conscriptions. Spoiler alert: not bad, not bad at all.

Then it's time for a good old Magic Mad Lib! Brian cooked up a nice long one, and after all the old-school card discussion we were suitably silly. Shenanigans, shenanigans everywhere! And our final thoughts this week were pretty long, with Brian going over three different ones himself and Chewie telling a story about almost dying! We hope you all enjoy!

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-367 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/TheManaPoolSubscribe to us on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/TheManaPoolTubeJoin the Forums: http://cardshark.freeforums.comAnd Google+ too: http://gplus.to/themanapool Cardshark Member Promotions: http://www.cardshark.com/Promotions/Member-Promotions.aspx Subscribe to our RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/themanapool

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Episode 366 - Blackrock Mountain Blues Apr 01, 2015

Show notes

The guys are back for their monthly Hearthstone episode! We begin the episode by answering the frequent question about how the five of us became a long-running Blizzard gaming podcast. If you've ever wondered about our humble origins, this is the episode to listen to! Learn all about how Chewie, Brian, Mike, Dirk, and Squanto (Ecksell) got together!

After that it's back to business as usual for a Hearthstone episode! We begin by going over new decks and recent changes to existing decks. Lots of discussions come out of this, including whether Dr. Boom should be nerfed and how they might do it and what decks we're sick of running into all the time.

After that, Dirk takes the reins for his Lore segment. This week, thanks to the imminent release of Blackrock Mountain, he tells us all about Ragnaros the Firelord. And what a Tolkien fever dream of a story that is, holy crap.

And finally, we each pick a pair of cards from Blackrock Mountain to talk about in depth. Don't forget, you can start playing the first wing on April 2nd!

Mike's MechWarrior -http://www.hearthpwn.com/decks/217570-mechwarrior Dr. Boom is pretty good - http://www.dailydot.com/esports/dr-boom-nerf-hearthstone/Blackrock Mountain full set revealed on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.875939775782125.1073741868.498467596862680

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-366 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/TheManaPoolSubscribe to us on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/TheManaPoolTubeJoin the Forums: http://cardshark.freeforums.comAnd Google+ too: http://gplus.to/themanapool Cardshark Member Promotions: http://www.cardshark.com/Promotions/Member-Promotions.aspx Subscribe to our RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/themanapool

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Episode 365 - Stronghold: Very Weird Mar 27, 2015

Show notes

This episode begins with a discussion of the new Commander rules change that eliminates tucking and bouncing of Commanders. The dorks are split for and against this particular change, let us know how you feel about it!

Next up is a Mythic Conscription for the next set in the Tempest block - Stronghold! This is a seriously strange set, as each of us had trouble actually finding ten mythics! But the discussion is really interesting and entertaining. Let us know what you think should or should not have been mythic!

And finally, the dorks tell you all about their Prerelease experiences! Brian and Mike did two apiece and Chewie did one, so you'll get to hear all about that! What did you play and how did you do?

Commander rules chage: http://mtgcommander.net/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=17560

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

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – https://myspace.com/swiftbandBreak Music - Jenova Celestial, remixed by bLiNd on ocremix.org

This episode’s post: http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-365 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/TheManaPoolSubscribe to us on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/TheManaPoolTubeJoin the Forums: http://cardshark.freeforums.comAnd Google+ too: http://gplus.to/themanapool Cardshark Member Promotions: http://www.cardshark.com/Promotions/Member-Promotions.aspx Subscribe to our RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/themanapool

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Episode 364 - Ancient Carp: Best Card in Dragons! Mar 21, 2015

Show notes

This episode the dorks are joined by an old friend - Eric of Many Names! (@EricMTGCast on Twitter) He used to hold the record for most guest appearances on the show (until Bill gradually stole it from him), and he's back this week to talk about Dragons of Tarkir! Rather than do the usual thing where we just pick cards we like seemingly at random, Brian had a neat idea. We're each going to create a pack of cards from the set - 9 commons, 3 uncommons, 1 rare, and a "foil" that can be anything. All five of us made up a pack, and there wasn't as much overlap as you might think! So get ready for a massive dose of Dragons with our friendly voice from the past!

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

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – https://myspace.com/swiftbandBreak Music - Join the Dragonlord by Swift

This episode’s post: http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-364 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/TheManaPoolSubscribe to us on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/TheManaPoolTubeJoin the Forums: http://cardshark.freeforums.comAnd Google+ too: http://gplus.to/themanapool Cardshark Member Promotions: http://www.cardshark.com/Promotions/Member-Promotions.aspx Subscribe to our RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/themanapool

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Episode 363 - Dagrons of New Set Mar 15, 2015

Show notes

Of course we're gonna talk about all the news that came out of the Magic panel at PAX East! As usual, they dropped quite a few bombs on us, so we're gonna tell you all about it! If you'd like to see more about it, check out the latest TMP News so Chewie can tell you all about it with visual accompaniment!

Since the last episode, almost HALF of Dragons of Tarkir has been revealed! Since there were WAY too many cards to actually cover them all, we just hit the big awesome important things. Mythics, awesome cycles, and a few others that jumped out at us.

Chewie finally got the Patreon finished! If you want to help support the show a little bit at a time, that's the best way to go about it! You can find it here: https://www.patreon.com/themanapool

Latest TMP News - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPjPi5nzr94PAX East panel - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tadiOCUl7sDragons of Tarkir Card Image Gallery - http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/card-image-gallery/dragonsoftarkirScreenshot from the GP Miami finals - How Do Chameleons Change Color? from Veritasium - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQggDnScsvI

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

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – https://myspace.com/swiftbandBreak Music - Not today, Galvatron!

This episode’s post: http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-363 Check out our archive at http://themanapool.com/category/podcast Email us at dorks@themanapool.com Follow us on Twitter at @TheManaPool Our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/TheManaPool Our YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/TheManaPoolTube Our Forums: http://cardshark.freeforums.comOur Google+ page: http://gplus.to/themanapool Cardshark Member Promotions: http://www.cardshark.com/Promotions/Member-Promotions.aspx Subscribe to our RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/themanapool

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