PODCAST · leisure
The Mana Pool
by Chewie Slate
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!
Episodes
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Now With 100% Less Suffering! - Reality Fracture | The Mana Pool #762
The dorks take a look at the new Magic: the Gathering set, Reality Fracture, because why not? Jace wants to create a new multiverse without suffering, so of course everything is all screwed up in all kinds of ways. Jace may or may not be a bit of an idiot. Mechanics:...
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Rise of the Midnight Dorks | Dorks Just Chatting
The dorks are Dirkless this week so we're Just Chatting. We talk about Brian's recent tumble that made us take an unexpected week off, it was pretty brutal. Then Chewie spends way too much time talking about Marvel's Midnight Suns, a game he's spent a ridiculous amount of time on recently. After...
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The Bards Tale | The Mana Pool #761
Like we did with Rogues back in episode 746, the Dorks are taking a look at bards and bard-like characters across all of media! From the very obvious and standards like Edward from Final Fantasy 4 and Jaskier from the Witcher to more speculative possibilities, we're digging around to see who we…
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Who's a Good Boy? | The Mana Pool #760
The dorks are talking about our favorite pets and animal companions in games! The dogs, dragons, horses, and whatever else that keep the player company or help out in some way need to be celebrated, and who better to do it than us? Let us know your favorites that we missed! Come join us in the...
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Dorks Talk The Legend of Zelda (part 2) | The Mana Pool #759
The dorks return to The Legend of Zelda to talk about our feelings on the next three games! We're hitting Link's Awakening (both the original Game Boy and the Switch remake), and the two Nintendo 64 games - Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask. The weird little handheld one, the iconic jump to 3D…
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Judging Old Stuff (and How Not To Do It) | The Mana Pool #758
The dorks discuss evaluating older video games, television, and movies in modern times. A lot has changed since the early days of each of these forms of media, from technological advancements to cultural shifts to changes in how each one is consumed. It's not just four old nerds rambling about…
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Dorks Talk The Legend of Zelda (part 1) | The Mana Pool #757
The dorks take a look at the beginning of The Legend of Zelda! We're taking our time with this one since we have a lot to say, especially the early ones that laid so much of the groundwork for the series. On this one we're covering the two games on the NES - The Legend of Zelda and Zelda II: The...
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Last Minute Pivot! | Dorks Just Chatting
Due to a sudden medical...issue, and yes you'll hear all about it on this episode, we decided at the last minute to do a low pressure DJC. Listen to the Dorks discuss music, Brian's eye, co-op gaming with one of the children, the stupid state we live in, what we've been playing lately, and an old...
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NOT Through the Omenpaths (Marvel Super Heroes MTG) | The Mana Pool #756
The dorks take a look at the new Marvel Magic set, because why not. Marvel Super Heroes Mechanics - https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/feature/marvel-super-heroes-mechanics Card Image Gallery - https://magic.wizards.com/en/products/marvel/marvel-super-heroes/card-image-gallery Come join us in the...
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Summer Game Fest HYPE! | The Mana Pool #755
The dorks are doing something a little different this week. The Summer Game Fest happened recently, showing off all kinds of new and upcoming video games. Each of us have picked out a handful of the games shown at the SGF that we're excited about or that just look really cool. From the biggest...
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The Inverse Tonberry Effect | The Mana Pool #754
Oh my god this guy is SO big and scary! How am I ever gonna...oh. Is that all? Huh. This week we're doing the opposite of last week, with enemies that look big and scary that turn out to be...nothing. Come join us in the future! The show is live on Thursdays around 8pm(ish) Eastern time on…
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The Tonberry Effect | The Mana Pool #753
Oh look, a cute little turtle lizard guy with a teeny little knife! Why's he just walking towards us? What does he think he's gonna OH DEAR LORD WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE! We're talking about enemies that look like they'd be pushovers, but will instead absolutely wreck you for one reason or another....
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Vamping, Extended | Dorks Just Chatting
The FINAL definition of vamp on the Merriam-Webster site says "Improvise, extemporize." That's the one we're using here. Not "a woman who uses her charm or wiles to seduce and exploit men," which is the FIRST definition. What the actual hell? On this Dorks Just Chatting, Chewie talks all about…
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Why Is This Not My Jam? | The Mana Pool #752
The dorks have returned! You know when there's a game or movie or whatever media that, when you look at it, you just know that this is gonna be right up your alley? But then you give it a shot and it just...isn't? What's that about? We're going to give lots of examples of this phenomenon for...
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You Should Probably Skip This One | Dorks Just Chatting
This is what happens when there's no Dirk and when the Pooligans don't give us a direction. You can't just leave us to our own devices! We cannot be trusted! Come join us in the future! The show is live on Thursdays around 8pm(ish) Eastern time on Twitch. Become a Lifeguard on Patreon! –...
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Differing Opinions on Preparation Level - Secrets of Strixhaven | The Mana Pool #751
The dorks return to Magic to take a look at Secrets of Strixhaven, the new set that amazingly isn't based on some other IP! Two of the dorks actually went to a prerelease for it, so they have Thoughts. You know the drill, mechanics then the card image gallery bouncing around looking at cool…
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Being a Nerd Over the Years (We're Old!) w/ Brian Edwards from Character Issues | The Mana Pool #750
We've done it! We're made it to three quarters of four figures! To celebrate doing this for over 18 years (not quite half our lives) we're going to take a look at what it's been like being a nerd over the course of our lifetimes. How we're viewed by society and even the very defintion of "nerd"...
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The Downfall of Blizzard Entertainment | The Mana Pool #749
And then it all came crashing down. After Overwatch, the Devil Himself took over and ran decades of goodwill into the ground in the pursuit of the mighty dollar. And also other...problems...came to light that accelerated the fall. But is it all doom and gloom forever? Can Blizzard save itself…
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So Whatcha Been Playing? | Dorks Just Chatting
We pivoted away from our second Blizzard show to save Brian's mental health, but we'll do it very soon! Instead we're doing a DJC that starts with the titular question and just goes from there, as these shows tend to do. Also, I think Dirk talks more on this episode than he has on a single…
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The Ascent of Blizzard Entertainment | The Mana Pool #748
Remember when Blizzard was great? Warcraft, Starcraft, and Diablo were some of the most powerful IPs in gaming, and they all came from a singular company that could do no wrong. It was truly a glorious time to be alive. So let's bask in the warm glow of nostalgia for this episode, remembering…
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Turtle Soup and the Dining Thereof | The Mana Pool #747
The dorks (most of them anyway) return to do exactly one (1) episode on the TMNT MTG set. There are improved versions of old mechanics, video game nostalgia, and lots of ampersands. What's your take on the turtle set, and have you ever had turtle soup? Mechanics:...
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The Rogues Gallery | The Mana Pool #746
The dorks are joined this episode by our old buddy and former Monday Night Magic host Squee! Or Bill, if you prefer. And we're talking about rogues across all media. The archetype of The Rogue is far wider than just the D&D definition of sneaking around in the shadows to pick locks and stab…
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Talking Crossovers | The Mana Pool #745
The dorks dive into the idea of crossovers, when intellectual properties show up in other intellectual properties. We're placing examples on a two-axis spectrum and discussing the good, the bad, the stupid, the greedy, and the ugly. Let us know about any types we missed and tell us about your...
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We Spent Longer Talking Lorwyn Than WotC Did | The Mana Pool #744
The dorks return for our second week on Lorwyn Eclipsed, which is officially more than Wizards of the Coast spent previewing the entire set. Sigh. So join us as we bounce around the gallery as usual! Just uh...ignore the bit about feet. Gallery:...
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Our Lorwyn Nostalgia Is Out of Control | The Mana Pool #743
It all comes full circle eventually. We first went to Lorwyn waaaay back in 2007, when The Mana Pool started, and we haven't been back since. Until now! The dorks are taking a look at the mechanics and then diving into the full set, focusing on the returning characters! We'll bounce around the…
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Welcome to Earth! - Aliens in Media | The Mana Pool #742
Hey it's the first episode of 2026! And the dorks are back in force, with a big look at the different types of aliens and how they're depicted in media. We're talking aliens that are friendly, absolutely not friendly, just sort of passing through, and not even sentient, and how they've been shown...
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Assorted Nostalgia | Dorks Just Chatting
For the last episode of 2025, the dorks (except Dirk) spend an entire episode inadvertently discussing a lot of nostalgic stuff. It kicks off with GI Joe movies and Ghostbusters lore (with some Dave Coulier thrown in, for some reason?). Then we move into video games for the majority of the show,...
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Supply Lines: Dungeons & Dragons Part 2 - Combat | The Mana Pool #741
Welcome to Supply Lines, a running feature here on TMP where the dorks will be looking at resource management in games. What games? All games, because Chewie is convinced that they're all just different styles of resource management dressed up in genre pants. This is the third Supply Lines…
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Vehicles in Video Games | The Mana Pool #740
The dorks are discussing the different types of vehicular transporation you can find in video games. From the cutscene/background only vehicles to the ones that essentially are the player, we're covering as many as we can think of, with plenty of suggestions from the TMP Discord (see, that's why...
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Then Everything Changed When the Fire Nation Attacked | The Mana Pool #739
The dorks continue checking out the Avatar set! And it's just after Chewie's 45th birthday! What is going on here? Where is the Avatar? What happened to my cabbages? Gallery: https://magic.wizards.com/en/products/avatar-the-last-airbender/card-image-gallery Come join us in the future! The show is...
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Long Ago the Four Dorks Lived Together in Harmony... | The Mana Pool #738
Yup, the dorks are looking at the Avatar: The Last Airbender set. And it's our 18 year anniversary! Holy crap! Mechanics: https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/feature/avatar-the-last-airbender-mechanics Gallery: https://magic.wizards.com/en/products/avatar-the-last-airbender/card-image-gallery Come...
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Gaming & Other Nonsense | Dorks Just Chatting
The dorks (except Mike) get together to discuss what we've been playing lately along with a bit of personal nonsense. You know how it is, we're dorks and we're just chatting! Come join us in the future! The show is live on Thursdays around 8pm(ish) Eastern time on Twitch. Become a Lifeguard on...
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Spooky Stories That Spooked Us | The Mana Pool #737
Since it's Halloween time the dorks thought they'd get into the spirit of things by telling you all about some spooky stories. These come from folklore, our childhood, the bookstore, and the internet, and all of them spooked us, or unsettled us, or at the very least just stuck with us, and we…
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Supply Lines: Dungeons & Dragons Part 1 - Character Creation | The Mana Pool #736
Welcome to Supply Lines, a running feature here on TMP where the dorks will be looking at resource management in games. What games? All games, because Chewie is convinced that they're all just different styles of resource management dressed up in genre pants. This is the second Supply Lines...
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Fictional Books (in Fiction) | The Mana Pool #735
On this fictional episode of The Mana Pool, the dorks are taking a look at books that don't actually exist. Whether they're macguffins that drive the story, plot points that provide exposition or power to the protagonists (or antagonists), or a self-referential meta thing that makes your head…
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Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Cards | The Mana Pool #734
The dorks dive back into the Spider-Man (and the Through the Omenpaths digital nonsense version) Magic set to pick out a mess of cards to talk about. As usual with Universes Beyond stuff, we're talking about what the cards do and what they represent from the source material. Radioactive spider...
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Doing Whatever A Spider Can | The Mana Pool #733
The dorks swing over to both the Spider-Man set and the Arena non-Spidey version at the same time to discuss what the new set looks like. Spider-Man mechanics article - https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/feature/spider-man-mechanics Become a Lifeguard on Patreon! – patreon.com/themanapool Podcast...
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Al, A.I., & Classic Games | Dorks Just Chatting
The dorks called an audible this week, so here's the Dorks Just Chatting that resulted. We're all over the place this week, talking about Weird Al, how AI art isn't art and how AI just sucks in general, Brian's long-forgotten first RPG waaaay back on the NES, how Chewie has been playing two…
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Cryptids - The Truth Is Out There | The Mana Pool #732
The dorks take on the existence of creatures that science doesn't support, known as cryptids. We're picking out some of them to talk about in a bit more depth, explaining what they are and why they probably don't exist. If there are any more weird stuff topics you want us to talk about be sure to...
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The Ramifications of Going to Space | The Mana Pool #731
The dorks head back into the Edge of Eternities gallery, poking around at cards in the set that are neat and tripping into tangents along the way. After a while we pause our gallery perusal and start discussing some of the potential ramifications of EoE and its setting and mechanics. Will we be...
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Magic...IN SPACE! | The Mana Pool #730
The dorks return to take their first (and possibly only) look at Edge of Eternities! Because of real life we haven't actually seen terribly much of the set, so a lot of this will be our first reactions to some of the more spicy cards that Twitch chat suggested. At the end, Mike & Chewie sorta...
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Geeks Only Gabbing | Dorks Just Chatting
With Brian still on a boat, the remaining dorks return to just talk about whatever comes to mind! We touch on the recent celebrity deaths before heading into video games we've been playing lately. We spend a fair amount of time on Baldur's Gate 3 since two of us have been playing it (and it's...
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Choose Your Weapon! | The Mana Pool #729
The dorks are looking back at their years of playing video games and choosing some of their favorite weapons to share! Sometimes it's for the wow factor, sometimes it taught a valuable lesson, sometimes it's just iconic, and sometimes it's so silly that it is permanently memorable. What are some…
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Answering Questions from Pooligans | The Mana Pool #728
The dorks couldn't settle on a topic for this week, so we turned to our Discord community of Pooligans for some ideas! We're answering three excellent questions on this episode, ranging from relatively simple to "gaining a deeper understanding of how the dorks' minds work" so we hope you enjoy!...
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Theme Park, Prerelease, & Game Design | Dorks Just Chatting
Most of the dorks are back! This week we're talking about world events that happen every four years...for some reason? Then Chewie talks about taking two teenagers, one of whom had not ridden a roller coaster, to Carowinds to ride roller coasters! After all of that of course we have to talk about...
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The Final(ish) Final Fantasy Preview Episode | The Mana Pool #727
The dorks return to finish up with the Final Fantasy Universes Beyond set! Along with the usual tangents and distractions, of course. It is still us after all. Card Image Gallery: https://magic.wizards.com/en/products/final-fantasy/card-image-gallery Come join us in the future! The show is live…
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Even More Final Fantasy MTG Previews | The Mana Pool #726
The dorks are back, bouncing around the Card Image Gallery for the Final Fantasy Universes Beyond set! As usual for UB, we're primarily checking out how well these cards reflect their source material. That's it really, you know the drill. There's probably one more episode of this coming, so be…
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More Final Fantasy MTG Previews | The Mana Pool #725
Now that the full previews have begun, the dorks dive back into card from the upcoming Universes Beyond Final Fantasy set! We're hitting the mechanics as usual, then poking around to check out the main characters of some of the games. As has become our thing with these UB sets, we're going to be...
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The Video Games of Star Wars | The Mana Pool #724
Originally we were going to make this episode about everything Star Wars other than the movies, but it turns out we spent WAY too much time on the video games. There are SO MANY video games. And we only covered a fraction of them! We'll dive into 2D platformers, 1st and 3rd person action, racing,...
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Supply Lines - Resource Management in MTG | The Mana Pool #723
Welcome to Supply Lines, a new running feature here on TMP where the dorks will be looking at resource management in games. What games? All games, because they all have a variety of resources that the player needs to manage to be able to play! To kick it all off, we're starting with the game that...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
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!
HOSTED BY
Chewie Slate
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does The Mana Pool have?
The Mana Pool currently has 849 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is The Mana Pool about?
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...
How often does The Mana Pool release new episodes?
The Mana Pool releases new episodes frequently with a large back catalog of 849 episodes. Check the episode list for recent publication dates.
Where can I listen to The Mana Pool?
You can listen to The Mana Pool on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts The Mana Pool?
The Mana Pool is created and hosted by Chewie Slate.
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