Temple of the False Pod

This week, as we wrap up season 2, we put on our creativity hats and build some decks around an eccentric theme!  It's May, it's getting warm out, we thought it'd be fun to break out the grills and cook up some Barbecue themed decks. From the sand between your toes to flipping burgers, we have thought of everything to get anyone looking to chill under the sun ready. While Andy took a scenic approa...

We take some time to address the tutor problem. What the tutor problem is, is when do you play them, if at all? Are they too good? Should I just run another land instead? See, tutors allow you to use your entire wealth of resources (your deck) to find a specific answer, and that's pretty cool. Bruce and Andy? We're not that cool. But it's more complicated than that.  Come bask with us in the casua...

Threat Assessment can be one of the most intimidating things in Magic, especially when you're new to the game. The everchanging boardstate and the possibility of hidden information are reasons that assessment could seem like a pro-move, but we're here to tell you the three easy steps to step up your own multiplayer games.     Come bask with us in the casual formats, and may your fifth land always...

As always with our deck techs, it's less about what's in the deck and more about how it was made, what it's trying to do, and tell some stories surrounding it. Bruce, this week, brought to the table, a doozy of a deck, one that creates tales every time it lands on the table. Brudiclad, Telchor Engineer was not only a card Bruce helped preview, but one that stuck to Bruce's imagination like Phyrexi...

Building a deck is more than just slotting in cards into a template. It's knowing how things work in your meta, it's knowing your budget, it's figuring out HOW you want to play Magic: The Gathering. Building a deck, especially a commander deck, is more of a thought experiment and an exercise in decision making than trying to find the best cards in any given color combination... unless that's what...

That's right, everyone's favorite segment, where we dig up some treasure, is back! This week Andy and Bruce talk about some powerful Red Enchantments that rarely see play.    The rules:

While some mechanics are garbage and rarely see play, some mechanics see too much play because as the pool widens and deepens, they find themselves gaining traction and having more power to play with. Bruce and Andy talk about both of these kinds while trying to figure out the sweet spot that makes new mechanics, good, bad, or just plain goofy. Like the dog. Goofy, I'm sure will be part of the Mag...

Being one of the Brawl preconstructed decks, doesn't mean you can't build it into a sweet and stylish EDH deck, in fact, it just makes it that much easier! Andy discusses and shows Bruce how fun it can be to build some of the easiest style of deck (equip/voltron and tribal). Remember folks, it's not about optimizing the deck, it's about not thinking too hard about what goes into it. Imagine the po...

It's easy to get caught up in conversation and forget about the game, and well that's not wrong to do. This is a social format after all. But there are things that can make the game smoother and more enjoyable when it comes back to your turn! But, also, continue having your conversations, it's why we're here after all. Bruce and Andy  dive deep into their favorite pastimes during their other favor...

White gets a lot of complaints when it comes to power level and general design space, but Bruce and Andy discuss the finer points of how White actually dominates the other colors in the things it does well. Does White deserve the hate it gets? Find out what we think! We are BACK for season 2! Join us while we gab about new topics and touch on repeat topics over the next ten weeks! If you want to r...

As we close our first season, we bring you our first deck building challenge! The theme (surprisingly not intentionally topical) was germs! We were to both separately make a germ tribal/theme deck and see where we landed without any cross-consultation. These decks were not meant to be refined or focused in any way, just on theme and fun. Linked below are our lists, and if you have a list you'd lik...

Bruce and Andy sit down and talk about the nuances of everything from faking holding up a counterspell to holding onto that last land card in your hand. Looking from the perspective of someone who doesn't know what's in your hand makes it seem much easier to get away with small bluffs, but be careful! Could you be in big trouble if you bluff too much? Come bask with us in the casual formats, and m...

Bruce and Andy stumble across a cursed sealed pack of Double Masters that they feel compelled to open and examine. They have a blast doing it, and know you'll love hearing the niche treasures they end up finding. It's an even chiller episode than normal!    Come bask with us in the casual formats, and may your fifth land always be the Temple.  We are available wherever podcasts are found, so subsc...

This week, we tackle one of Andy's favorite decks of his (and one of Bruce's least favorite to play against). We discuss how it was built, what is going on thematically and why it can be unfun to play against. Is this deck against everything Bruce and Andy stand for with regards to how Magic is played? Of course not! But we're going to discuss how to make it better, and what steps have already bee...

After some careful consideration, Bruce and Andy discuss the ins and outs of what Professional, sanctioned-by-Wizards EDH/Commander League would look like to them. It's a nuanced discussion about prize support, new bans and power levels becoming out of control. Just kidding, we talk about about hanging out, personality-based content, and making it work through a pandemic. We discuss why we would t...

Time and time again we see some cards get ALL the play. Today we want to bring a few cards to the forefront that we think aren't getting enough play compared to how fun these cards can be! Today, we discuss specifically black enchantments in this special episode. There are a few ground rules we set ourselves, that can be flexible, yet give us guidance in finding some of the most forgotten treasure...

We were faced with the age old question when Commander Legends came along of "Do we buy boxes? Do we buy packs? Do we just buy the singles?" Well, needless to say we never expected to wait this long to draft our most anticipated set, yet. So what do we do? What do you do? All these questions (kinda) answered, here at the Temple of the False Pod.      Come bask with us in the casual formats, and ma...

This week at the Temple of the False Pod, Ol' Buzzbark  pays us a visit, and we talk about the not-strictly-legal Unmander deck that Bruce has been playing and updating for years. It's full of silver-bordered nonsense and loads of dice! Ol'Buzzbark decklist: 

In this episode, we praise the variant play-style of Planechase! From ramping to infinity to herding goats, Planechase adds a bit of chaos and a WHOLE LOT of fun to any game whether it is EDH or just a casual 60 card game. Witness big plays and more here at the Temple of the False Pod.   Come bask with us in the casual formats, and may your fifth land always be the Temple.  We are available wherev...

Welcome to Temple of the False Pod, where our decks aren't optimized but our plays sure as HECK are fun. In this episode, we discuss some of the stories that shape what the EDH format (and Magic: The Gathering as a whole) means to us. Using the recently released Commander Legends as a springboard, we jump from tokens to wombats to some unlikely big plays. We talk about our white-whale card combina...

Hey Everyone, Andy here.  We've been working hard through November and December to bring you the first season of Temple of the False Pod, and I'm proud of what we've produced. We recorded most if not all of this before ANY official spoilers started for the brutal set of Kaldheim, so if you're wondering why we're not talking about those cool Gods, new frames or that one particular card, well, that'...