Across the Table

In Across the Table, I sit down with figures from the nerd community to discuss themselves and their passion. Thanks for listening!

Mental Discipline 10 - Stuck on land and out of control 11/18/2014

Mental Discipline 10 - Stuck on land and out of control In this week's episode, we sat down after a post-tournament pizza party and talked all sorts of Standard, Modern and milling. Matt's setting aside the 2/1's for 1 for some Esper control action. Dustin tries a wacky Chord of Calling deck trying to pay tribute to his beloved Birthing Pod. And James is playing Quickling again. /episode/index/show/acrossthetable/id/3187315

Mental Discipline 9 - Siege Rhy-Nope (I think we have an episode title) 11/07/2014

Mental Discipline 9 - Siege Rhy-Nope (I think we have an episode title) The gang talks Eternal Champs, changes to Mono Black Aggro in Standard, and other topics du jour in this week's Mental Discipline. Also, WHO WILL WIN the battle between the dreaded GIANT TRAP DOOR SPIDER and the funky FUNGASAUR? You decide (and let us know!). /episode/index/show/acrossthetable/id/3167918

Mental Discipline 8 - #Bestowlo 10/22/2014

Mental Discipline 8 - #Bestowlo James is woefully absent in this week's episode, so Dustin and Matt try to pick up the slack. They're not as good at bad puns, but they're good at stretching a timeline. This week, on the heels of Grand Prix Los Angeles, it's all Standard all the time. /episode/index/show/acrossthetable/id/3133792

Across the Table 38 - Newly Resurrected Jason Thurston 10/15/2014

Across the Table 38 - Newly Resurrected Jason Thurston Not too long ago, my friend Jason Thurston died. In this week's Across the Table, he's here to talk about mental illness, suicide, brain surgery, and, of course, death. /episode/index/show/acrossthetable/id/3120852

Mental Discipline 7 - As snug as a Sultai in a Temur 10/13/2014

Mental Discipline 7 - As snug as a Sultai in a Temur In this week’s episode, Dustin talks about his experience in the new Standard. James talks about his observations while watching the new Mdern and Legacy. And Matt talks about his experience with his newly updated Cube. It’s new, everybody! Our metatopic this week is taken over by a Q&A section wherein Matt talks about being a fly on the wall. And, finally, we discuss our required consumption. /episode/index/show/acrossthetable/id/3116862

Mental Discipline 6 - Hopeful Liedolon (The Almost Lost Episode) 10/06/2014

Mental Discipline 6 - Hopeful Liedolon (The Almost Lost Episode) The gang is back with a new-ish episode we recorded about a month ago. Thank you for bearing with us. In this episode James talks Modern, Dustin talks about his experience at the WMCQ and about Craig Wescoe's hilarious hand, and Matt talks about his cube experiences. /episode/index/show/acrossthetable/id/3105425

Mental Discipline 5 - Flipping the switch...everywhere 09/01/2014

Mental Discipline 5 - Flipping the switch...everywhere Welcome to another episode of Mental Discipline, at long last. Flying in the face of life events, the gang sits down to talk about Magic. James and Dustin share their M15, Modern, and Standard experiences while Matt talks a bit about the one Cube draft he did the one time. Then the boys talk about the week's metatopic, flipping the switch. They round off with a trifecta or required reading, viewing, and...listening. /episode/index/show/acrossthetable/id/3042412

Across the Table 37 - Foretold, Rise of a God from GenCon 08/22/2014

Across the Table 37 - Foretold, Rise of a God from GenCon Welcome to the new Across the Table. I'm switching up the format! Instead of a one-on-one conversation with a specific person, I'm moving towards a broader format where I can bring to your ears cool people and things I encounter in the gaming world. What does that mean? Well, for my first new interview, allow me to introduce Steve Port and Jay Semerad, publisher and designer of the new game Foretold, Rise of a God. We met at GenCon to talk about what it was like bringing the game to market. I'm proud to present Across the Table 37 - Foretold, Rise of a God from GenCon. /episode/index/show/acrossthetable/id/3025343

Weekly Huegle 1 - Laundry and GenCon 08/12/2014

Weekly Huegle 1 - Laundry and GenCon LIVE from the laundromat down the street at 6am, it's the first episode of the Weekly Huegle! The WH is a brief weekly update about what I'm doing as 5 Color Media. After a whirlwind week getting ready for it, I'm off for another whirlwind week at GenCon. During the con, I'm working the Collector's Cache booth (1629). Come say hi! At night, I have some cool stuff cooking. Look forward to GenCon content here, on YouTube, and on Instagram. Also, stay tuned for an announcement on Monday as well as your regularly scheduled Mental Discipline next Friday. /episode/index/show/acrossthetable/id/3008968

Mental Discipline 4 - Deadshot Minotaur. Can't lose. 08/08/2014

Mental Discipline 4 - Deadshot Minotaur. Can't lose. This one's a Monstr-ous Carabid of a podcast as James and Dustin regail us with their tournament exploits. I accomplish nothing of note whie Dustin Top 8's an IQ and James tightens up his play on his way to the TCGPlayer.com Modern State Championship trophy. As a bonus, Dustin talks about his cousin's success with a Standard BasicMountain.dec that is both uninspired and formidable. Along the way we discuss salt and sugar, premier preperation, having fun, and our first submissions for required viewing. And, if it wasn't clear already, James is just a better person than Dustin and myself. /episode/index/show/acrossthetable/id/3001437

Mental Discipline 3 - WWWWWWWWWWWinning the Goblin Game 08/06/2014

Mental Discipline 3 - WWWWWWWWWWWinning the Goblin Game In this week's episode, we discuss our respective PTQ successes and failures, Dustin's M15 spirit tribal deck and good cards. Or rather, we discuss what qualities make good cards good. Or rather, we discuss the terms we need to define these qualities. Or rather... /episode/index/show/acrossthetable/id/2998055

Mental Discipline 2 - #adorbz 07/25/2014

Mental Discipline 2 - #adorbz In this week's episode we recap James and Matt's whirlwind six days of sanctioned Magic. We discuss M15's changes to Standard. Dustin lets the listeners in on his subtle tech for Mono Black Devotion. Toward the middle we talk about our fun M15 draft and our observations on the new format. Then we turn to introducing two new segments for the cast. /episode/index/show/acrossthetable/id/2970933

Mental Discipline 1 - Introductions, Goals, and M15 07/18/2014

Mental Discipline 1 - Introductions, Goals, and M15 Welcome to the first episode of Mental Discipline with Matt Mendoza, James Mellish, and Dustin Sendejas. Three grinders are we and we're on a journey to improve our game, and yours! Join us as we introduce ourselves, establish our Magic goals, and discuss M15 Limited and how you should proceed. /episode/index/show/acrossthetable/id/2953071

Across the Table 36 - Vintage Connoisseur Robert Vroman 03/20/2014

Across the Table 36 - Vintage Connoisseur Robert Vroman Robert Vroman’s been out of the game for a while, but his Vintage innovation carved out a place for him in Magic’s history. Inventor of the Uba-Stax deck, he crushed tournaments around the midwest, all the while using Magic as a tool for education. Now, he’s onto bigger things, unleashinghis MtG skills on the real estate market and turning to political action after a particularly horrifying experience. We met in his hometown of St. Louis to talk about all this and more. /episode/index/show/acrossthetable/id/2740123

Across the Table 35 - Financier Jason Alt 03/06/2014

Across the Table 35 - Financier Jason Alt Jason Alt has gone and done it. After his job relocated without him, he looked to make money from the one thing he knows best, Magic. Jason is now a pillar of the financial community whose articles are almost (literally) everywhere and you can hear him banter weekly with his co-conspirators on his own podcast, Brainstorm Brewery. In this week's episode, we talked over Skype about swimming, spread, sausages, and much more (okay, we didn't talk about sausages). /episode/index/show/acrossthetable/id/2715727

Across the Table 34 - Cubist Usman Jamil 02/13/2014

Across the Table 34 - Cubist Usman Jamil Usman Jamil's about as St. Louis as it gets, with his part Pakistani, part Indian, part nerd upbringing and all. In this week's episode, my roommate John joins us after a late night of 20 Questions, Cubing, Pauper EDH, and drinking. We chat about growing up nerdy, efficiency, cultural rebellion, metal and more. Check out all Usman's articles every other Tuesday on StarCityGames.com. Also, in a new check-in segment, I see how previous guest writer Titus Chalk is doing following the release of his e-book, "So Do You Wear a Cape?" now available on Amazon. /episode/index/show/acrossthetable/id/2676942

Across the Table 33 - The Deck Tease's Erin Campbell 01/30/2014

Across the Table 33 - The Deck Tease's Erin Campbell Erin Campbell is a self-described handful. Before she was hosting her Magic interview podcast, The Deck Tease on GatheringMagic.com, she was tearing up World of Warcraft and blogging all about it. Oh, and she’s a trangendered woman to boot. Not afraid to talk about it, gaming that is, we had a great conversation about growing up, porn stores, elitism, being mean, and much more. /episode/index/show/acrossthetable/id/2654746

Across the Table 32 - Walking the Planes' Nathan Holt 12/14/2013

Across the Table 32 - Walking the Planes' Nathan Holt Before he was a world-traveling, freelance-filmmaking co-creator of Walking the Planes, Nathan Holt was a giant, basketball-playing theatre geek who worked odd jobs between roles. Inspired by his web series, executively produced by WotC, I decided to drag him on his show to, of course, ask him about his breakfast. Afterward, we took a turn into some common territory and talked about David Lynch, theatre with an R-E, basketball teams, and much more. /episode/index/show/acrossthetable/id/2593604

Across the Table 31 - Good Times Games' Rob Gruber 12/06/2013

Across the Table 31 - Good Times Games' Rob Gruber When it comes to fun, Good Times Games' Rob Gruber is your guy. While he's not exactly a Magic guy (I met him shooting Kaijudo in Dallas), he's definitely a boon for the gaming community in general. When we talked in Texas, I couldn't help but be inspired by his life philosophies and how they helped him create an amazing community in his small town of 10,000. I'd like to share him with you now. From all the way in Prince Rupert, BC, Canada, we talked about gaming, generational Dungeons and Dragons, both kinds of exercise, and much more. /episode/index/show/acrossthetable/id/2581789

Across the Table 30 - GP Detroit Champion Josh McClain 11/21/2013

Across the Table 30 - GP Detroit Champion Josh McClain Josh McClain has a case of the run-goods. Earning 2nd place finish after 2nd place finish, he finally cracked the ceiling after a short hiatus to snatch himself a spot on the tour, which he quickly lost. Emboldened by his first PT experience, he put his nose to the grindstone and began one of the biggest tears in recent history. In GP Miami, he lost the trophy to Reid Duke, but quickly avenged himself by beating Duke in the finals of GP Detroit. As if that wasn't impressive enough, two weeks ago, he cut down the net at the TCGPlayer.com Modern 50k. We met over Skype to talk about success, failure, parental disappointment, and school. /episode/index/show/acrossthetable/id/2560634

Across the Table 29 - GP OKC Finalist John Penick 11/15/2013

Across the Table 29 - GP OKC Finalist John Penick My first returning guest, John Penick, recently finished 2nd at Grand Prix Oklahoma City. What’s more amazing is the amount of Magic he didn’t play before. But did it change how much he played after? We spoke after his mind-frying GRE about that finish, its effects, depression, steak knives, and flourishing. /episode/index/show/acrossthetable/id/2553394

Across the Table 28 - Writer Adam Styborski 11/08/2013

Across the Table 28 - Writer Adam Styborski Adam Styborski works harder than you. Between his marketing gig at Geico, traveling to tournaments for Wizards, managing GatheringMagic.com, being a dad and a husband, and the laundry, he’s a busy guy. We meant to meet up to cast from DC, but I was thwarted by a faulty piece of equipment. Instead, we spoke over Skype about being an asshole, our “guys,” and what you actually do with a math degree. /episode/index/show/acrossthetable/id/2542411

Across the Table 27 - Writer Titus Chalk 10/24/2013

Across the Table 27 - Writer Titus Chalk You've probably never heard of him, but writer Titus Chalk is about to publish one of the most important pieces of Magic writing in the history of the game. A journalist by trade, Titus's book, "So Do You Wear a Cape?" will chronicle twenty years of Magic history and culture from an accessible, anthropological, and often personal perspective. I discovered him and the project through a great feature piece he wrote that ties Magic's history with that of his own called In our interview, he talked about growing up the son of a well-known Games Workshop miniature-painter, moving to different continents, and how Magic helped him through some troubling times. Follow him on Twitter @tituschalk and keep up with his book, due out soon, on Facebook, "So Do You Wear a Cape?" /episode/index/show/acrossthetable/id/2522029

Across the Table 26 - Brainstorm Brewery's Marcel White 10/18/2013

Across the Table 26 - Brainstorm Brewery's Marcel White Armed with a silky voice, sharp business sense, and rough past, Marcel White has made a name for himself in the community as a financial podcaster, above-average player, and media wiz. Marcel and company's podcast, Brainstorm Brewery, is frequently cited as the best in business for financial advice. Hailing from Oakland, California (by way of SanFran), we talked about growing up white, being a nerd, weed, and, because Marcel turned the tables, myself. /episode/index/show/acrossthetable/id/2513763

Across the Table 25 - A Compilation 10/04/2013

Across the Table 25 - A Compilation For my 25th episode, I look back at some of my first ten, warts and all. In order of appearance: grinders Chi Hoi Yim, Gerald “Jim Bob” Sixkiller, John Penick, Cody Jennings, and Adam Boyd. /episode/index/show/acrossthetable/id/2496050

Across the Table 24 - Ogre 09/26/2013

Across the Table 24 - Ogre Matthew “Ogre” Stevens has made quite the reputation for himself buying, selling, and trading Magic cards in North America. After a wicked bender at GenCon which saw $80,000 in sales, we talked at the shop in which I now work, Ogre’s Games in St Louis. Bonus: his daughter Daisy accompanies us for the interview! /episode/index/show/acrossthetable/id/2486921

Across the Table 23 - Level 1 Judge Michael Arrowsmith 09/19/2013

Across the Table 23 - Level 1 Judge Michael Arrowsmith Michael Arrowsmith was a bouncer, Naval officer, and semi-professional football player in a former life. Now, he’s one of, if not the only, Level 1 Judge making a living judging and traveling exclusively. I first knew him as the guy I never wanted to meet in a fight. So, I sat down with him at GenCon where we talked about intimidation, being a foodie, and growing out of a non-traditional childhood. /episode/index/show/acrossthetable/id/2477148

Across the Table 22 - Legion Events' Steve Port 09/13/2013

Across the Table 22 - Legion Events' Steve Port /episode/index/show/acrossthetable/id/2469926

Across the Table 21 - Writer John Friggin' Rizzo 09/05/2013

Across the Table 21 - Writer John Friggin' Rizzo “Some things do make me angry. When people, you got this whole life, it seems like it lasts forever, and you just tow the line. You don’t ever step out of the line, you don’t ever ask the questions, you don’t ever challenge authority; you just do what you’re supposed to do...What kind of legacy is that? You just lived and then you died.” Writer and Magic player John F Rizzo was loved, and hated, for his articles back in the “old day.” With self-deprecating wit and self-indulgent stylings, he made a name for himself by being one of the most entertaining losers around. On a nice afternoon, we chatted about life, bad jobs, changing interests, and a whole lot more. /episode/index/show/acrossthetable/id/2461226

Across the Table 20 - Artist John Matson 08/29/2013

Across the Table 20 - Artist John Matson “I don’t dance, but I love the music.” Artist John Matson has worked on Magic and other collectable card games for the better part of two decades and has become an expert in appreciation of all things both organic and mechanical. What do I mean exactly? Listen and find out as we delve deep into art, God, inspiring, and much more. /episode/index/show/acrossthetable/id/2453011

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