The Mana Pool - TopPodcast.com

View Top 200 Chart

Back to Rankings Page

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 329 - M15 Looks Really Good Jul 08, 2014

Show notes

As it's preview season, there's really not much else going on. Magic 2015 looks...well you read the title already. The more I see, the more excited I get. We also spend the requisite amount of time complaining about the crappy new Magic website redesign. Because it's awful. And you guys know we're not ones to complain about change.

And either I forgot to take notes or there was no point to doing so. Just in case, here are a few links.

M15 Promos - http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/promos-packaging-and-promos-some-more-2014-07-01M15 Tokens - http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/magic-2015-tokens-2014-07-02M15 Card Image Gallery - http://magic.wizards.com/content/magic-2015-core-set-card-set-archive-products-game-info

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.myspace.com/swiftband Break Music – Not today, Galvatron!

This episode’s post: http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-329 Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-329-m15-looks-really-good-t1018.html 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 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

Episode 328 - The Magic 2015 Designer Collection Jun 30, 2014

Show notes

Here we see the fabulous new Magic 2015 Designer collection. See how the fabulous non-Magic game designers turned their attentions to the intricacies of Magic design to create fabulous new cards.

Okay, enough of that. M15 previews are here of course, and this episode we're starting with the Designer Cards, made by various designers of other games. They're all pretty cool. There are a few other cards to discuss, including a few that WE PREDICTED! Holy crap we are so good!

Anyway, there are a few links to the Penny Arcade Watch Saga and an owl you DO NOT want to mess with. Hope everyone enjoys!

The Watch Saga:http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/1999/11/01 http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2001/03/02 http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2002/02/25 http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2003/04/04Designer Cards:http://screenburn.kotaku.com/magic-the-gathering-cards-designed-by-star-video-game-1594801925?M15 CIG:http://magic.wizards.com/en/content/magic-2015-core-set-card-set-archive-products-game-infoOwl in the house!http://www.wcsh6.com/story/news/weird/2014/06/24/man-panics-owl-in-house/11306229/

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.myspace.com/swiftband Break Music – Let's Get This Party Started by Korn - http://korn.com

This episode’s post: http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-328 Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-328-the-magic-2015-designer-collection-t1017.html 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 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

URGENT ANNOUNCEMENT FROM THE MANA POOL Jun 24, 2014

Show notes

Here it is everyone! I've been working on the super-secret project for over FIVE MONTHS now, and it's finally time to reveal it to the world! We're doing a Kickstarter to get capital to create all the merchandise we could ever want - sleeves and stickers with the TMP logo, t-shirts, and tokens and playmats with EXCELLENT new Jars art! If you want the full details, just click the link right down there! Thanks a lot to everyone for everything over these last 6 and a half years, I honestly hope that they were just the beginning!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/themanapool/the-mana-pool-mtg-merchandise-videos-podcasts-and

Episode 327 - Death's Approach Jun 24, 2014

Show notes

On this episode, the dorks are taking a look at death in Magic. Some of the planes we've visited over the years actually go into specifics about what happens when you die. Ravnica, Theros, and Innistrad, for example, paint a fairly clear picture of the afterlife. Most of the other planes mention it only casually or only bring it up as a way to justify reanimation spells.

But we're taking a look at all of them, whether it makes any sense or not. We hope you enjoy the discussion, because it'll be the last one you get for a while since previews will start next episode!

Rob Pardo's Designer Card - http://archive.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/arcana/1514Duels 2015 Promo Packs - http://archive.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/arcana/1514Elspeth Comic - http://www.5colorcontrol.com/noshyfts/?p=1209Theros block reels (the end bit) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C80w_qip5VU&feature=player_detailpage#t=345

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.myspace.com/swiftband Break Music – Living Dead Girl by Rob Zombie - http://robzombie.com

This episode’s post: http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-327 Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-327-death-s-approach-t1014.html 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 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

Episode 326 - At the Movies with The Mana Pool Jun 16, 2014

Show notes

The dorks begin this episode by telling you all about how awesome Conspiracy draft is. And it is. Like a lot. Seriously, go do some Conspiracy drafting, it's SO much fun!

But after that, we decided to do something silly. We've done it before with video games and again with television shows, so it's time we do it again. We're taking a look at movies and imagining what kinds of Magic cards we could get out of them. With everything from Wizard of Oz to the Princess Bride to slasher movies to action movies, we're covering a lot of stuff. And we're even staying away from most of the really obvious fantasy franchises like Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter and the like, just to make it more interesting. Let us know what we missed!

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.myspace.com/swiftband Break Music – The Hounds by The Protomen - http://protomen.com

This episode’s post: http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-326 Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-326-at-the-movies-with-the-mana-pool-t1012.html 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 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

Episode 325 - Conspiring on a Story Circle Jun 09, 2014

Show notes

This episode begins with a short look at the rest of the Conspiracy Card Image Gallery, now that the full set is on there. And by short, I mean we went on for EVER and EVER because there's SO MUCH good stuff! No really, we had to put off what we were originally going to do this episode because we spent so long being Conspiratorial.

That being said, we panicked slightly and decided to do a Story Circle with one of the new Conspiracy legends. We randomly picked one and took turns build a deck around it. If you'd like to follow along, the link to the accompanying post is right below!

Conspiracy Card Image Gallery - http://www.wizards.com/magic/tcg/article.aspx?x=mtg/tcg/conspiracy/cigEpisode 325 Story Circle - http://themanapool.com/the-deck-box/storycircle325edh/

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.myspace.com/swiftband Break Music – He's a Pirate from Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl by Klaus Badelt

This episode’s post: http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-325 Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-325-conspiring-on-a-story-circle-t1011.html 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 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

Episode 324 - MTG, JB, Ctrl-V, OMG May 29, 2014

Show notes

This episode is all over the place. We didn't really have a central topic this week, so it's sort of a potpourri of nonsense. We had plenty of speculation about the next block, then Brian left for the night. Then there was lawsuit talk, which everyone should totally read. There's a Kickstarter for crazy custom deck boxes, jailbait songs, sweet Terese Nielsen lands, and plenty of Conspiracy cards to talk about. We hope you all enjoy the randomness!

Khans of Tarkir - http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/arcana/1496WotC is suing Hex - http://company.wizards.com/content/wizards-coast-files-complaint-against-cryptozoic-entertainment-and-hex-entertainmentHex response - https://hextcg.com/official-legal-statement/#more-6370Custom Deck Box Kickstarter - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dogmight/build-your-own-custom-deck-box?ref=liveConspiracy Draft video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U09xnozP3gQConspiracy Card Image Gallery - http://www.wizards.com/magic/tcg/article.aspx?x=mtg/tcg/conspiracy/cigTop 10 JB songs - http://www.watchmojo.com/video/id/12409/Terese Nielsen Judge foils - http://www.examiner.com/article/new-promotional-foil-full-frame-art-basic-lands-by-terese-nielsenPT Coverage - https://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/eventcoverage/ptjou14/welcome

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.myspace.com/swiftband Break Music – Young Girl by Gary Puckett and the Union Gap - http://www.garypuckettmusic.com/

This episode’s post: http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-324 Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-324-mtg-jb-ctrl-v-omg-t1007.html 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 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

Episode 323 - What If It Cost 2 Less? May 18, 2014

Show notes

On this episode, the dorks are taking a look at old cards. Not just because Vintage Masters is coming up soon on Magic Online, and not just because it's preview time YET AGAIN, but because a demon told us to. A listener known only to Chewie as Shadow Demon asked a simple, innocuous question a while back, and ever since then it's been on the table as a possible show idea.

The question was (nearly) "What would Brainstorm have to cost to be printed now?" So we started there and went on to some of the other great old cards that are in Vintage Masters and those that aren't. We tried to put ourselves in R&D's shoes and figure out how to make these old cards fair by changing nothing but the casting cost. From there, we went on to some...less than powerful cards. In fact, we turned our attentions to some of the worst cards we could come up with.

After all of that, it's time for some final thoughts. Network television, band-aid ripping, interruptions, and non-drunk expressions of affection are the key features, and we hope you all enjoy!

Modern Event Deck List - http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/feature/299aVintage Masters Card Image Gallery - http://wizards.com/magic/tcg/article.aspx?x=mtg/tcg/vintagemasters/cig

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.myspace.com/swiftband Break Music – We sorta forgot to stop for music

This episode’s post: http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-323 Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-323-what-if-it-cost-2-less-t1006.html 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 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

Episode 322 - A Brief History of Centaurs May 11, 2014

Show notes

The dorks long for the days when we could just talk about something stupid for a whole episode, so we decided to just talk about something stupid for this whole episode. Mike decided that we should talk about the mighty centaurs, because Journey Into Nyx decided to give them a lord.

It ended up being a Magic history lesson with centaurs as the thread running through the whole episode. Be sure to let us know if you enjoy it!

Changes to Electronic Devices Policy - http://blogs.magicjudges.org/telliott/2014/04/28/journey-into-nyx-policy-changes-for-players/

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.myspace.com/swiftband Break Music – When White Horses Cry (Prince vs. Laid Back) by DJ Lobsterdust - http://djlobsterdust.com

This episode’s post: http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-322 Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-322-a-brief-history-of-centaurs-t1005.htmlCheck 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/TheManaPoolTubeOur 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

Episode 321 - The Countdown (Not Really) May 05, 2014

Show notes

The dorks tell you all about their Journey Into Nyx Prerelease experiences! Which of the dorks did well? Which of the dorks did multiple prereleases? Why is Chewie so bad at this game? These questions and more will be answered in this episode! Actually, not all of them will be answered. Sorry about that, but Chewie's just bad, there's no particular reason why.

There's also a pretty fair amount of news, so there's that. Links for all that stuff are below.

Brago, King Eternal - http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/arcana/1482FTV: Annihilation WoG - http://imgur.com/a/UeTXKEvent Deck - http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/arcana/1484Intro Packs - http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/arcana/1480Zero-Ticket Test Events - http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/arcana/1483B&R - http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/feature/297JOU Promos - http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazine/article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/arcana/1468

Intro & Outro Music – Diamond by Swift – http://www.myspace.com/swiftband Break Music – No time for love Dr. Jones!

This episode’s post: http://themanapool.com/podcast/episode-321 Forum thread for this episode: http://cardshark.freeforums.org/episode-321-the-countdown-not-really-t1004.htmlCheck 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/TheManaPoolTubeOur 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

Related Podcasts