The Mana Pool

The dorks return to take another look at the murky waters that are video game genres! We'll be rattling off a genre, giving some examples of it, and discussing pros and cons of each one. We're hitting less of them this time around because some of the ones we did hit are much bigger this time around. Be sure to tell us what games you love or hate in any given genre! Check out the JWST stream playli...

After the last thoroughly depressing episode of TMP, the dorks return with something hopefully more upbeat. We're talking about hobbies, and how we engage with them! We'll discuss the levels of engagement one can have with a given hobby, like Magic or Star Wars. We'll cover ways to disengage with a hobby when it becomes necessary or wanted. We'll talk about gatekeeping, which is the dark side of f...

The announcement of the 30th Anniversary thing really rubbed Chewie the wrong way, and none of the other dorks understood it either. So here's an episode about WotC's decline into the role of Evil Corporation, with lots of talking points provided by you, the fans!  Sorry we didn't actually get to the positive things we wanted to talk about. But damn WotC, could you just not be so horribly money-gr...

The dorks get together to discuss some of the pros and cons of the various genres of video games, despite the fact that genres don't actually mean much of anything in video games anymore. We didn't cover them all (not even close) so there will be a part 2 and probably a part 3 in the future! What are your favorite and least favorite games in the genres we covered this episode? And what genres shou...

The dorks return once again to comb through the Dominaria United card image gallery to find interesting cards to talk about. There is no shortage of them in this set, holy crap. Be sure to let us know what you think and tell us how you did at the prerelease! Dominaria United CIG -  https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/card-image-gallery/dominaria-united Check out the third video on The De...

On this episode it's all Dominaria United all the time! We're bouncing around the Card Image Gallery and picking out cards  and cycles that jump out at us!  Seriously though, where is the Balduvian Atrocity's face? Dominaria United CIG -  https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/card-image-gallery/dominaria-united Check out the second video on The Deep End, Chewie's new YouTube channel! -  ht...

The dorks dive into the first day of Dominaria United previews! We'll cover the mechanics, a handful of the many many cards shown that first day, and even briefly check out what's coming in Magic for the next year. Oh, and there's a Magic Mad Lib in the middle that Brian has been trying to do for the last month or so. Hope you enjoy that as much as we did! Dominaria United Mechanics - https://magi...

Sorry this episode is so late! Life happens, ya know?   In this episode the dorks do a Mythic Conscription for the second set in the Time Spiral block, Planar Chaos! How will the color shifting and alternate legendaries affect the rares? Guess you better listen to the episode huh?   Also there is an extremely rare request to help out a friend of Chewie's monetarily. So please help if you can and s...

The dorks tackle all the stuff that's going on in the world or in their heads, from the then-upcoming Sandman to making fun of Alex Jones, to reading, to Godzilla, to the new head of Warner Bros, to Final Fantasy 7!   If you don't want to hear us make fun of Alex Jones and subsequently have to explain who he is, skip from 30:15 to 57:03   Check out the first video on The Deep End, Chewie's new You...

It's time for another Mythic Conscription! And this time it's for Time Spiral, which makes us all feel a little funny. We were all actively playing during this set. We loved it, and our memories are totally colored by nostalgia. But what could have been Mythic? Be sure to let us know what you think!   Check out the first video on The Deep End, Chewie's new YouTube channel! - https://youtu.be/ZcHF-...

The dorks hopped on Tiermaker to argue further about the MCU! Because Phase 3 was the culmination of the Infinity Saga we spent a long time on each entry, so this one is more in-depth than the last episode. Let us know what you think of our rankings! Come join us in the future! The show is live on Thursdays around 8pm(ish) Eastern time on  Twitch ! Become a Lifeguard on Patreon! –  www.patreon.com...

The dorks hopped on Tiermaker to argue about the MCU! Of course because we went so in-depth we only made it through the first two phases, so you'll have to wait for the rest of the tiermaking. Come join us in the future! The show is live on Thursdays around 8pm(ish) Eastern time on  Twitch ! Become a Lifeguard on Patreon! –  www.patreon.com/themanapool Podcast RSS Feed:  https://themanapool.libsyn...

The dorks are joined by our old buddy Stark Maximum this episode! Why? Because we're doing a No Plane Like Home for The Sword Coast (you know, where Baldur's Gate resides) and we don't know anything about the place. And since Stark is all about D&D, and D&D's primary location these days is the Forgotten Realms, and The Sword Coast is located there...well there it is.   Also we brought up some rece...

The Heirs of Trivester campaign is back again! The Angel, Alaric, and Karim are heading across the dangerous countryside to go back to the mysterious tower of Icolnir. Will we track down the scroll thief? Will there be more bees? Will the GM convince one of us to do something stupid?   Come join us in the future! The show is live on Thursdays around 8pm(ish) Eastern time on  Twitch !   Become a Li...

The dorks are back with more Battle for Baldur's Gate! This time we're taking another look at the actual set, then migrating over to the cards that are exclusive to the Commander precons. There's a lot of bizarre stuff going on here.   Be sure to stay to the end for things to get more serious, because it's important stuff.     Actual Set Card Image Gallery - https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/a...

The dorks take our first look at Battle for Baldur's Gate! We'll be explaining Backgrounds simply, get mildly frustrated with Initiative, discuss Gates and be unsure of their numbers, and the rest of the usual nonsense that we get up to on preview episodes.   Battle for Baldur's Gate Mechanics - https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/commander-legends-battle-baldurs-gate-mechanics-2...

Recorded on Revenge of the 5th, the dorks return to spend an entire episode talking about various aspects of Star Wars! We'll begin with how we first encountered Star Wars back when we were just wee little dorks, and from there the conversation just flows from one thing to another. It should be clear that we all love (most of) Star Wars, and we're all very passionate about it! Let us know what you...

The dorks return with another Mythic Conscription! This time we're looking at Judgment, the one set in Magic weighted towards Green and White. The one question that starts the episode and lingers throughout the entire time is in the title - are the Wishes Mythic? Be sure to let us know what you think!   Come join us in the future! The show is live on Thursdays around 8pm(ish) Eastern time on  Twit...

The dorks (sans Brian) check out the vehicles, discuss the difference between hugging a building and punching your face, and discover that the elves have horns!   Streets of New Capenna CIG -   https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/card-image-gallery/streets-of-new-capenna   Come join us in the future! The show is live on Thursdays around 8pm(ish) Eastern time on  Twitch !   Become a Lifeg...

The dorks return once again to hit the new stuff in New Capenna! Most of us anyway, one dork was in a tropical paradise at time of recording.   Streets of New Capenna CIG - https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/card-image-gallery/streets-of-new-capenna   Come join us in the future! The show is live on Thursdays around 8pm(ish) Eastern time on  Twitch !   Become a Lifeguard on Patreon! –  w...

The dorks are back, to do exactly what the title says. We're hitting the new mechanics, the old mechanics, and then poking around the card image gallery. The set mechanics are pretty neat without being super-complicated, and the 1920's Chicago organized crime vibes are very real. Streets of New Capenna CIG - https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/card-image-gallery/streets-of-new-capenna Me...

The dorks gather again and chat about stuff with no plan! This one was a lot of fun, as we flowed from topic to topic without sad awkward pauses. We talked about VR stuff, old games, kids' eyes, video games, adaptations of things to other media, and lots of other stuff! Come join us in the future! The show is live on Thursdays around 8pm(ish) Eastern time on  Twitch ! Become a Lifeguard on Patreon...

After a brief look at the coming drug running theme in New Capenna (that is sadly not a joke), the dorks are focusing once again on Neon Dynasty. This time we're looking at how Kamigawa itself has changed over the last twelve centuries and doing a No Plane Like Home. Will neo-Kamigawa be another plane you should absolutely avoid, or will it end up being a nice place to live? Come join us in the fu...

The dorks have returned with another no-planned-topic Just Chatting episode! We bounce around with assorted nonsense for a while, then make fun of Flat Earthers and Sovereign Citizen morons. Chewie tells the tale of his own injury and Mike's generosity, and Brian asks why there were so many crypto commercials during the Super Bowl. After all that, Chewie asks the dorks whether they like horror as...

Hey check it out, an episode that's two weeks late! Sorry about that, my computer threatened to die and so I was unable to get to the files. More information at the beginning of the episode. So yeah, the dorks are checking out the entire CIG for Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty. Because this episode is two freakin' weeks old I have no idea what to put here to sound all clever and stuff. Except that DJs aren...