This was a great week in Magic: The Gathering podcasts. There were tons of shows made available this week, and all were worth listening to. Popular topics were the health of the current Extended format and possible changes to improve it, the Star City Games Open: Los Angeles, the TCGPlayer Wizard World Series: Toronto, the new MTGO client (discussed on Yo! MTG Taps! and Monday Night Magic, though I was unable to do my writeup of MNM this week), the Legacy format and what can be done to make it more accessible (Aaron Forsythe stirred things up a bit on Twitter, which you can read about in Ryan Bushard's article, also found on ManaNation.com), and much more. Without further ado, let's jump right in.

CommanderCast #20 – Spicing Things Up

Running time 1 hour 11 minutes

• Andy, Byron, and Donovan bring us another week of Commander thoughts and tips, this week joined by Andrew (also known as Shoe) of Wooberg.
• Wooberg is a site dedicated to alternate formats of Magic: The Gathering. Shoe joins the guys this week to focus on alternate Commander variants.
• Community: Free-for-All Roundtable

• On this week's Community Free-for-All, the guys discuss "tucking."
• Tucking is a term used to describe the effect of cards like Hinder or Spin Into Myth that "tuck" your Commander into your deck (both aforementioned cards put the Commander on the bottom of its controller's deck).
• The guys give a healthy debate about "tucking." The central question at hand is whether "tucking" is necessary to keep certain problem Commanders in check, or whether it robs the format of what makes it unique (the ability to replay your Commander from the command zone).

• Community: Wooberg

• Shoe takes a few moments to discuss his site. He describes how he came to be interested in Magic variants and what information is available on his site.
• If you are interested in alternate ways to play this game we all love, Wooberg.weebly.com is a great resource.

• Community: Alternative Formats

• The guys take advantage of Shoe's expertise to cover this week's primary talking point: Magic: The Gathering variants.
• The first suggestion the crew has is Commander Planechase, using the Eternities Map Planechase rules.
• Other variants mentioned are Emperor, Star, Respawn, or Vanguard.

• Community: Contest 2

• The hosts are having another contest inspired by their most popular show segment: Secret Tech. Listen to the show and check out their contest website to learn more.

• Strategy: Two-Headed Giant

• Shoe leads a discussion about one Commander variant that is popular, thanks in part to the fact that it is a popular variant format in regular Magic.
• The group discusses the way that the rules of Two-Headed Giant change a bit when playing Commander because the rules of Commander are so different from traditional Magic.

• Technology: Break My Card

• This week's card to break is Infernal Genesis.

• Technology: Alternate-Casting-Cost Cards

• Byron leads a discussion about cards that can be cast using some resource other than mana, like Force of Will, Submerge, Massacre, etc.
• These cards can be really great in Commander when one turn can mean the difference between winning and losing. Surprising your opponents when you are tapped out and seemingly vulnerable can really be a blowout.

CrazyTalk #5 – Robin the Rich

Running time 2 hours 15 minutes

• Wow, CrazyTalk got an incredible new music intro. I'm not sure who is responsible for the music montage, but I thought it was pretty great.
• Jonathan and Alex hugged it out and are now bros for life. The guys are going to make a concerted effort to keep the tug-of-war heard in previous episodes to a minimum. I for one am very pleased about this. I've always found the arguing very distracting in the show, and that's a shame, because as you know I'm a fan of Medina's, and it's plain to see that Alex is a great Magic personality, and I want to hear more from him. Alex clearly knows his stuff and is very familiar with Legacy. I am very anxious to hear more of his opinions in future episodes without the distraction of arguments on the show.
• KYT, Alex, Frankie, and Jonathan are joined today by Drew Levin (@mtglegacy), a specialist on the format of Legacy.
• New show segment! The guys have decided to introduce a new segment to the show whenever a guest joins the podcast. The segment is titled "The Five," which will be the same five questions asked of all guests. (Great idea, guys!)
• The Five: Drew Levin

1. How did you get into Legacy?

   • Northern Virginia, where Drew is from, has a healthy Legacy player base. Drew got hooked quick and never looked back.

2. What is your favorite Magic card, and why?

   • Drew's favorite card of all time is Eternal Witness because he can't get enough of rebuys.

3. What are you trying to do for the Magic community?

   • Drew hopes to promote Legacy in order to see it grow to be as popular as the other common competitive formats (limited, Standard, etc.).

4. If you had to choose one Magic personality to be at your side in a bar fight, which would it be?

   • Drew doesn't hesitate to answer that he would like to have Gerry Thomson at his side.

5. What is the craziest thing you have ever done?

   • Drew has some pretty good answers for this one: (1) he dropped out of high school and entered college when he was fifteen years old, and (2) he was kicked out of a Grand Prix Top 8 for making a joke about betting on his chances of getting into the Top 8.

• Cutting right to the chase with Drew on the show, Jonathan asks if Drew feels that the incident that occurred between him and Craig Wescoe at Grand Prix: Columbus in 2010 had a big impact on making his name more well-known.
• Considering what a mess the "Wescoe-check" incident was, Drew has handled the entire thing with grace, class, and good humor. His attitude toward the whole thing seems really healthy and sensible.
• Levin describes his experience at Grand Prix: Columbus and the events that followed, including his transition to writing Legacy content for StarCityGames.com.
• Frankie asks Drew to tell the hosts and the listeners about some of the Legacy decks that see a lot of play at SCG Opens and could be considered up-and-coming decks.
• Drew gives a lot of praise to Caleb Durward for being an innovative deck designer in Legacy, mentioning a number of decks that he has built.
• Drew discusses a really interesting-sounding deck that he has been working on inspired by the Judgment rare Solitary Confinement.
• The guys offer up a very good discussion about burn as a Legacy strategy. The consensus seems to be that if your name isn't Patrick Sullivan, you should probably not be playing burn in the format.
• The guys make sure to discuss the very heated discussion that followed Aaron Forsythe's Tweet asking the Magic community how everyone would feel if Wizards of the Coast printed Snow versions of the original dual lands.
• Just as it did on Twitter, Forsythe's comment begins a heated discussion about the price of Legacy and what will happen in the future as the format becomes more popular.
• A number of other topics are discussed over the course of the episode, from ethics in playing and trading to Drew's top five most overrated cards in Legacy.
• Thanks to Jonathan for the shout-out! I hope my Twitter follower count will double again like it did the last time he mentioned me. Medina has a powerful army.

The Eh Team #30 – I'll Squadron Hawk You

Running time 1 hour 55 minutes

• This week, The Eh Team guys recount their experience at the TCGPlayer.com event in Toronto.
• This event was notable because, as anyone who follows the show on Twitter knows, the fans of the show came together to help Jay Boosh fund his trip.
• In Episode 30, the Team announces the winners of the contest held for providing support.
• The guys make an interesting point about meeting people you know on Twitter in real life. I haven't come across this, but I imagine everyone should make an effort to identify themselves through their Twitter handles (that is, if your Twitter handle isn't your actual name).
• Ha, ha! According to Scott, Jay Boosh is a "decent" player whose skill level seems higher than it is because he top-decks like a boss! Good stuff.
• After covering the event in Toronto, Jay Boosh and the crew announce the winners of the contest for those listeners who contributed to getting Jay to Toronto.
• Scott asks the guys what they expect from Grand Prix: Barcelona, and the guys kick around their ideas about which decks they expect to see in the Top 8.

The Eh Team #31 – Smi77y's Angels

Running time 1 hour 22 minutes

• Whoa! The Eh Team's intro got a seriously cool update!! Big shout-out to @KerryDan for the amazing work. I'm so jealous of that dude's awesome beard.
• Speaking of KerryDan, the man, he is a guest on the show this week. It's great to hear him on the show—finally—knowing that he has been working behind the scenes editing and doing the sound work for some time. Plus, what an awesome podcast voice, am I right?
• The guys talk for a while about Canadian Nationals and what they hope to play.
• The discussion of Canadian Nationals leads to a fascinating look into the structure of the DCI ratings system, which encourages players to "sit" on their ratings in order to qualify for events. Should the system be restructured so that players have to continue playing rather than waiting it out?
• From there, the fellas talk about the decks that they have been playing recently and what they hope to play for Nationals Qualifiers.
• From there, the guys talk about deck choices and whether the lengths of games factor into their decisions about playing them in tournaments.
• Scotty announces the return of Tangent and the Mana Screwed podcast.
• This was a really good, classic-style The Eh Team episode. It felt just like old times again. Great job, guys!

Forcespikes #20 – Thea Steeles the Show!

Running time 1 hour 25 minutes

• Tristan Shaun Gregson and Thea Steele join John and Greg this week for a special show focused on Cube drafting.
• Regular listeners may be tempted to not tune in because this episode is a departure from Forcespikes' usual competitive focus, but I really recommend listening. Cube draft is a popular format that is only getting more and more popular, and the discussion in this episode is great.
• Thea talks with the guys about online Cube drafting, which is a do-it-yourself format that really takes Cubing to the next level. I was fortunate enough to watch one of these drafts on MTGO a few weeks ago. If you are interested in Cube drafting at all, you should really look into Thea's method. If you would like to learn more, check out her article about it on StarCityGames.com.

The Hardcast #9 – Additional Firepower

Running time 52 minutes

• The show has a cool new intro this week.
• Robert and Tristan announce two more new additions to the ChannelFireball team—Yuuya Watanabe and Matt Sperling—and run down the week in articles on the site.
• This week's product review is Knights vs. Dragons. You can pick the set up now. Tristan runs down the playability and collectability of the set.
• Check out the show's notes for Tristan and Robert's recommended FNM Deck of the Week, which is a Blue/White control list.
• Be sure to listen in for Tristan's reasoning for this week's Five Up/Five Down:

• Up:

• Koth of the Hammer
• Squadron Hawk
• Creeping Tar Pit
• Darkslick Shores
• Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon

• Down:

• The Titans (Sun Titan, Frost Titan, Grave Titan, Inferno Titan, and Primeval Titan)
• Primeval Titan (He makes his way onto the list twice? I guess this means ship all of your Primeval Titans to me. I accept all free Titans.)
• Awakening Zone
• Eldrazi Temple
• Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas

Limited Resources #76 – Flores in Seattle

Running time 2 hours 6 minutes

• Woohoo! Marshall and Ryan are joined by Michael J. Flores on this week's show!
• The show kicks off where any good parent's guest spot should: Mike's awesome daughter, Bella Flores. The guys talk about Bella's card-evaluation skills (which, while possibly skewed by sheer power level of cards, are actually good evaluations).
• Talking about Bella's card evaluation segues perfectly into discussion of the ways that Mike evaluates cards today versus the way he did in his heyday. Mike makes a case for his feeling that the game as it exists today is almost completely different than it was when he played a lot of competitive Magic.
• Mike feels that the printing of Damnation, then Tarmogoyf, and finally Planeswalkers were the fundamental shifts in the game.
• This episode is hysterical. Mike challenges everything that Marshall and Ryan preach, week in and week out. It's so interesting to hear three guys discuss their positions when they are so radically different.
• Mike's parable of the ribeye and chicken nuggets may or may not be great wisdom, but it is seriously funny.
• This week, the guys like Mike open a pack of Mirrodin Besieged for the show's Crack-a-Pack

• Turn the Tide
• Shriekhorn
• Crush
• Kuldotha Ringleader
• Leonin Skyhunter
• Caustic Hound
• Vivisection
• Myr Sire
• Serum Raker
• Pistus Strike
• Viridian Claw
• Kemba's Legion
• Core Prowler
• Titan Forge

• Mike narrows it down to Viridian Claw, Serum Raker, or Vivisection. Marshall and Ryan seem to both agree with this assessment. I tend to listen pretty carefully to podcasts since I get paid to relate what these guys say to you all, but I don't think they ever actually decided on their Pack 1, Pick 1. Leave it to Mike Flores to derail the discussion with so many tangents (beautiful, brilliant tangents) that the guys never come back to determining their first pick.
• The rest of the show is pretty standard Flores, which is to say that it's great to listen to. The topics don't really sit still long enough for me to even list them for you guys, but if you've ever listened to Flores talk, you know better than not to listen to this show. One nice little nugget right at the end of the show—I'm pretty sure Mike said that Jon Finkel will be playing in the Star City Games Invitational. I'm looking forward to that.

The Magic Show #227 – Everyone Hates Extended

Running time 9 minutes

• Evan Erwin sits down to talk about the Extended format and why it seems to be lacking in popularity and support from players.
• At this point, the only real reasons to play Extended are if you are trying to win a PTQ or will be playing on the Pro Tour. No one seems to actually enjoy playing the format, so the only people who play it are those who are forced to.
• Evan discusses Wizards' recent announcement of New Phyrexia as the final set in the Scars of Mirrodin block, including the spoiled Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite and the spoiled art for Sword of War and Peace.
• We are provided a rundown on the most recent Star City Games Open series in Los Angeles in this week's Open Series Update.

Magic TV Top 8 of the Week: Best Two-Drop Creatures

Running time 11 minutes

• Tristan, LSV, and Humphrey bring us a very interesting Top 8 edition of Magic Show.
• This week, the guys are discussing the top eight creatures in Magic's history with a converted mana cost of 2.
• The Top 8 list is as follows, but please tune in to hear the guys' thoughts on each card, as they are very much worthwhile:

1. Dark Confidant
2. Tarmogoyf
3. Arcbound Ravager
4. Wild Mongrel
5. Stoneforge Mystic
6. Lotus Cobra
7. Meddling Mage
8. Qasali Pridemage

MTGCast Interviews the Men of Magic #22 – Sam Stoddard

Running time 1 hour 2 minutes

• Robert Martin interviews Star City Games writer and podcaster Sam Stoddard.
• Sam is a great guy and a lot of fun to listen to on podcasts. Check out his interview here with Robert and tune in to the In Contention podcast when it is available.

MTGCast Interviews the Men of Magic #23 – Evan Erwin

Running time 1 hour 15 minutes

• Robert sits down for an hour with none other than Evan Erwin of Star City Games.
• This is easily, hands down, the best episode of The Men of Magic that I've heard. I'll admit that I still have not heard every episode. Prior to this episode, I think the best of the bunch was The Men of Magic # 5 – Patrick Jarrett.
• In trying to figure out what sets these two episodes apart, I realized that both Trick and Evan not only have interesting backgrounds and stories built around Magic, but also are very outspoken and speak well.
• Robert did a great job in his interviews with Trick and Evan by allowing them to speak freely and openly, only guiding the interview when absolutely necessary.
• Evan opens up to reveal a lot about himself and his history with Magic: The Gathering, which is all very illuminating.
• Being an energetic, outspoken interview subject seems to have really helped a lot, because Evan is not afraid to talk and really does a great job of keeping the listener engaged.
• I wholeheartedly recommend that you tune in to this episode.

MTG Tournament Cast #2 – Los Angeles and Barcelona Grand Prix

Running time 44 minutes

• Back again with Episode 2 of their new podcast, Jake and David run down recent tournament results.
• This is a great concept for a podcast. The show is focused and to-the-point, concentrating solely on its niche. If you are interested in keeping up with the latest tournament technology, I recommend you tune in to see what's happening.
• Jake and David do a great job of giving the relevant decks their attention for listeners' benefit. The show sounds really good and got some nice intro music this week. Grade A stuff. I'm looking forward to more from these guys.

The Starkington Podcast – Pozsgay Speaks!

Running time 26 minutes

• Bill Stark sits down with frequent Star City Games Open series competitor Michael Pozsgay, who was recently suspended by the DCI for six months for bribery.
• Pozsgay discusses his suspension, relating his side of the story.

Super Friends #2 – Megan Holland

Running time 45 minutes

• Justin Treadway interviews Megan Holland, creator of the excellent MTGMom.com.
• Megan's website is a great resource for the Magic community. She maintains a Google Calendar that tracks most major Magic tournaments. If you need to map out your Magic: The Gathering year, this is the place to do it.
• In addition to running the calendar, Megan attends a number of events where she provides cupcakes to players and takes a ton of great pictures, which can also be found on her site. Tune in to this episode of Super Friends to learn more about how she came to be the MTGMom.

Untapped #3 – Sword of Zings and Beats

Running time 1 hour 33 minutes

• Frank, Jonathan, JR, and Trick are back with another episode of Untapped.
• The show kicks off with discussion of the recently semi-spoiled New Phyrexia card Sword of War and Peace.
• The guys debate what they expect the abilities of the Sword to be.
• Trick speculates that it may possibly be Tezzeret holding the Sword in the spoiled art.
• Jonathan offers a really interesting suggestion for the ability of the Sword: What if it destroyed one target land you control and one target land an opponent controls?
• Discussion of the Sword segues into talk about the Planeswalkers the guys expect and hope to be in Magic 2012.
• We know that some version of Jace, Chandra, Gideon, Sorin, and Garruk are in the set, but at this point, no one has any real idea which version of each will appear.
• Next up is a really interesting debate about cards to build around if you know that you are playing a given color. In this case, the colors in question are Blue and Black, and the cards are Jace, the Mind Sculptor and Inquisition of Kozilek, respectively.
• I have to agree with the next point on the show—Gideon looks really odd in the art that was spoiled at PAX East.
• The winners of the show's contest have yet to contact the guys to collect their prizes. If you are reading, get in touch!
• The Knights vs. Dragons duel-deck lists are now available, and the guys do not particularly care for the set.
• Why did Sword of Fire and Ice all of a sudden skyrocket in price? Jonathan and the crew weigh in with their thoughts (Hint: it might have something to do with Stoneforge Mystic).
• Talk of Stoneforge Mystic in Legacy leads to a discussion of a Blue/White AEther Vial tempo deck that Jonathan has played. The guys talk about a few updates available with recent card releases. I have to be honest—the deck sounds like a lot of fun.
• Frank is so inspired by the deck they brew up that he wonders aloud about the amount of innovation in the consistent top finishers at the Star City Games Legacy Open series.
• Jonathan talks a bit about his Magical Outcomes.
• There has been a lot of talk on Twitter and elsewhere lately about the quality of the SCGLive coverage teams, and the guys chime in with their thoughts and offer some suggestions for what could be done differently to make the coverage better.
• Trick has high hopes for the future of Magic coverage!
• Medina offers up an interesting (but poorly received) idea about showing scenes from the trade floor as a part of the SCGLive coverage. I think this is a pretty interesting thought. Would you guys be interested in seeing that?
• To wrap up the show, each of the hosts discusses his Magic history—how he got into the game and how it has impacted his life. Very interesting.
• This episode was pretty hysterical. I enjoyed the interactions among the four co-hosts. You can really see their personalities clicking and working well together.

Yo! MTG Taps! #60 – Extended, Dissected

Running time 1 hour 1 minute

• This week's Yo! MTG Taps! kicks off with Joey Pasco and BigheadJoe discussing the results of both Grand Prix: Barcelona and Star City Games Open: Los Angeles.
• Grand Prix: Barcelona presented us with some very interesting results, with two Blue/Black control decks present, one of which won the tournament.
• In a very interesting twist inspired by a Patrick Chapin quote, the Joes speculate that Caw-Blade may find some of its key pieces (probably Stoneforge Mystic) banned in an effort to stir up Standard and make the format interesting again.
• The guys give a few moments' discussion to Michael Pozsgay's DCI suspension.
• Following their previous episode titled "All Talk, No Action," Joey is relieved to finally learn that the final set of the Scars of Mirrodin block is "New Phyrexia."
• The last Sword in the Mirrodin cycle will be Sword of War and Peace.
• Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite has been spoiled with the announcement of "New Phyrexia."
• Joey and Joe are both very excited that Richard Garfield himself was on the design team for Innistrad!
• Touching on Magic finance a little bit, Joey echoes Jonathan Medina's sentiment that the time to sell your Jace, the Mind Sculptor might be now—rotation is coming!
• We know from previous YMTGT episodes that both Joes are very interested in and excited about Legacy. The guys decide to spend a little bit of time talking about the format and what separates it from Vintage.
• Joey recommends the preconstructed Legacy decks available on MTGO and also talks about the upcoming new MTGO client, which seems very exciting.
• Joey also recommends Sam Stoddard's great, exhaustive article about playing Legacy on MTGO.
• The hot topic of the week gets the YMTGT treatment as well: What can be done to make Extended more interesting and popular? The guys really seem to have done their research and listened to a lot of different opinions. Tune in to this discussion for sure. This is one of the best primers you can get right now about the problems of Extended and some really interesting suggestions for what could be done to improve it.