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The Dive Down

English, Hobbies, 1 season, 316 episodes, 23 hours, 55 minutes
About
The Dive Down is a podcast focused on Magic: The Gathering's Modern, Pioneer, and Historic formats, with the casual spike in mind. Each week your hosts Dave, Shane, and Stanislav discuss decks, events, and level-up topics related to the latest non-rotating formats. Proudly sponsored by ManaTraders, the best Magic card rental service for both Magic Online and paper! Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown2022" Download the FREE Magic Arena stats tracking software, Untapped, from our affiliate link; http://untapped.thedivedown.com Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thedivedown
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Episode 297: Modern: What to Play Before RCQ Season Ends

On this week's show, Dave tries to determine what to play during the one RCQ he can attend this season. We do our best to help him out by reviewing the latest Metagame Mentor, taking a closer look at Dimir Oculus, following in the steps of some Jeskai Control masters, and trying something new with Fear of Missing Out in Rakdos and Jund Delirium. The Break Down: Frank Loves Stats The Dive Down: Dave Needs a Deck Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2024 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWNTEN And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: * 7:25 - Heavy Play is our actual sponsor * 9:00 - This week's show/housekeeping * 14:36 - The Break Down begins: no Pioneer RCQs in 2025?? * 22:35 - Frank analysis on Modern's current meta * 34:22 - Current Modern winrates * 41:54 - The Dive Down begins: Shane played Dimir Frogtide * 1:04:32 - Dave and Devon played Delirium decks * 1:17:30 - Stan played actual Jeskai Control Links from this week's episode: * https://www.channelfireball.com/article/What-s-New-in-Modern-with-Duskmourn-House-of-Horror/80e67eba-474a-41bf-a704-15bc28755f02/ * Jeskai Control by YungDingo/George Jabbour: https://x.com/YungDingoMTG/status/1844245120658653515 * Dimir Oculus by Kane Daly: https://old.starcitygames.com/decks/159924 * Jund Delirium by Offl1ne: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/6682017#paper * Jund Delirium by d00mwake: https://www.moxfield.com/decks/OFxKWf-jx0WIiWlS_TWENg * Rakdos Shadow by J from TDD Nation: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/6701125#paper * Rakdos FOMO by @jacesdaddy from Twitter: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/6701123#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
10/17/20241 hour, 36 minutes, 46 seconds
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Episode 296: RC DC: Demons, Trees, Cauldrons, & Company

In the last part of our mini-arc on the current state of Pioneer, Devon, Dave, and Stan dive deep into what happened at this weekend's RC in Washington D.C. We cover the decks that took too long, the decks that aimed too high, and the decks that took it all down. Will Demons remain are force in the meta? Will we keep paying taxes to Selesnya after this event? How soon until we all get annoyed with Tree of Perdition? And then lastly — and most importantly — is Pioneer right now the Magic everyone SAYS they want? • 1,800+ Players • 1h30m Rounds • 3 Breakout Decks Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2024 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN_OBX And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 5:29 - Heavy Play is not cursed 7:40 - This week's show/housekeeping 13:30 - The Break Down begins - RC DC 39:17 - The outliers from RC DC 1:12:20 - Is Pioneer the Magic people want? 1:17:00 - Stan played Spirits 1:28:14 - Dave played Dimir Oculus 1:35:00 - Wrapping up Links from this week's episode: RC on MTGMelee: https://melee.gg/Tournament/View/63398 Pioneer Mono-Black Demons: https://melee.gg/Decklist/View/434736 Pioneer Rakdos Tree: https://melee.gg/Decklist/View/435309 Pioneer Selesnya Company: https://melee.gg/Decklist/View/433930 Pioneer Spirits: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/6677777#paper Modern Dimir Frog-eye: https://x.com/DackFayden07/status/1841510715783299151 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
10/10/20241 hour, 36 minutes, 58 seconds
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Episode 295: RC DC Preview & First Duskmourn Decks

It's time (for Devon) to get ready for the RC in DC this weekend, so we dive deep into Pioneer for the week. We talk through the RC that happened in Brazil last weekend, examine new/interesting decks, and go through some of Devon's considerations on deck selection. If you haven't been paying attention to Pioneer lately — post-Duskmourn seems like a good time to jump in! • An RC in Brazil! • Devon has been preparing! • There are lots of decks! Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2024 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN_OBX And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 4:28 - Heavy Play does not have art playmats (yet), but does have little windows 6:48 - This week's episode/housekeeping 11:56 - The Break Down begins: The City Class Games Brazil Pioneer RC 30:10 - The MTGO Pioneer Super Qualifier 34:28 - D00m's Decks: Gruul Delirium 47:08 - D00m's Decks continued: Boros Legends 52:33 - Cool Decks, Inc: Boros Tokens Control 56:30 - CDI, cont: Boros Aggro 1:04:05 - D00m's Decks, yet again: Bogles 1:09:03 - CDI, again! Rakdos Transmogrify 1:15:15 - Even more CDI: Rakdos Marvin 1:22:32 - Some Modern content: Abhorrent Oculus! 1:32:04 - Wrapping up Links from this week's episode: City Class Games Showdown VII Results: https://melee.gg/Tournament/View/136231 MTGO Super Qualifier: https://www.mtgo.com/decklist/pioneer-super-qualifier-2024-09-2912692890 Boros Control: https://melee.gg/Decklist/View/432621 Rakdos Transmogrify: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/6663193#paper Rakdos Huh? What? of Perdition: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/6663767#paper Boros Leyline of Resonance: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/6663759#paper Gruul Delirium: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/6665367#paper Boros Legends: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/6655957#paper Bogles: https://www.moxfield.com/decks/-07j5KR26E6G0EDjUNZLMg UW Oculus: https://x.com/TandyMTG/status/1839511915803857113 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
10/3/20241 hour, 33 minutes, 30 seconds
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Episode 294: Working Not Playing, ft Mark Stanton

On this week's show, Stan and Dave are joined by a new guest to The Dive Down. Taking a break from preparing for Regional Championship Washington DC and next month's World Championship in Las Vegas , Mark Stanton stops by to talk about the competitive mindset and how to practice Magic better. We chat about first impressions from Duskmourn, the current state of Pioneer leading up to the RC, and how to prepare for tournaments that matter. Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2024 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN_OBX And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 2:34 — Mark Stanton is Here to Teach Us How To Be Good at Magic 3:45 — Meet Team Rampant Growth, Sponsored by Heavy Play 6:57 — Mark Triples Down 9:35 — Housekeeping 10:44 — The Dive Down Begins: Inside the Grinder’s Studio 18:38 — Testing with Duskmourn 28:15 — Duskmourn in Pioneer 31:05 — Phoenix at the RC? 33:28 — As the Dusk Settles 34:58 — On Developing Magic Practice 40:10 — A Different Kind of Fun 43:20 — Working Rather Than Playing 50:10 — Building Metagame Knowledge 57:35 — The Pro Tour: A Whole Other Game 1:01:38 — People Playing Better Decks 1:05:45 — Let’s Talk Teams 1:12:00 — Closing Thoughts: What Do You Want from Magic? 1:20:52 — Signoff Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
9/26/20241 hour, 22 minutes, 51 seconds
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Episode 293: Boros Energy is Better than Rakdos Aggro & Duskmourn Spoilers, pt 2

On this week's show, d00mwake recaps his RCQ win with Gerry T's take on Boros Energy, Stan recounts all the reasons he hated Rakdos Aggro, the boys review results from the NRG Louisville Modern Open, and discuss our final picks from Duskmourn. The Break Down: Devon Wins an RCQ! The Break Down cont.: 70% Winrate Seems Good! The Dive Down: Goods Cards From the Bad House? Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2024 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN_OBX And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 8:13 - Heavy Play, a patient and caring member of your family 9:09 - This week's show/housekeeping 10:55 - The Break Down begins: Devon won an RCQ with the new Boros Energy! 28:05 - The NRG Louisville Modern 10k 38:46 - Stan played Rakdos Aggro in Pioneer 45:04 - The Dive Down Begins: Duskmourn spoilers, part 2! 46:28 - Rip, Spawn Hunter 50:41 - Sheltered By Ghosts 53:40 - Screaming Nemesis 57:55 - Trial of Agony 1:01:45 - Altanak, the Thrice-Called 1:03:19 - Valgavoth Terror Eater 1:08:14 - Kona, Rescue Beastie 1:11:42 - Exorcise 1:15:30 - Nashi, Searcher in the Dark 1:18:20 - Hedge Shredder 1:21:24 - Roaring Furnace 1:24:14 - Walk-In Closet 1:27:50 - Our top cards from Duskmourn 1:33:41 - Wrapping up Links from this week's episode: Gerry's Boros Energy: https://x.com/G3RRYT/status/1835089558964232249 NRG winrate matrix: https://mtgdecks.net/Modern/10-000-showdown-nrg-series-louisville-kentucky-tournament-169856/winrates Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
9/19/20241 hour, 35 minutes, 49 seconds
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Episode 292: Rakdos Aggro Takes Pioneer & Duskmourn Spoilers, pt 1

A new Pioneer metagame is upon us, just in time for a slate of new cards from Duskmourn. On this week's show, we review Pioneer MTGO Challenge results following the Amalia and Sorin bans, take a closer look at the hot new Rakdos Aggro deck making waves in the format, and peer into the latest spoilers from Duskrmourn. The Break Down: Rakdos Aggro, So Hot Right Now The Dive Down: Duskmourn Spoilers, pt 1 Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2024 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN_8LU And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 7:01 - Heavy Play is not a true crime 9:37 - This week's show/housekeeping 12:41 - The Break Down begins: Checking in on Pioneer 29:19 - Rakdos Prowess in Pioneer 37:12 - The Dive Down begins: Duskmourn previews! 42:19 - The mechanics of Duskmourn 56:22 - The Land cycles 1:03:22 - The Leyline cycle 1:10:35 - Pyroclasm 1:12:22 - Abhorrent Oculus 1:15:22 - Marvin, Murderous Mimic 1:17:16 - Split Up 1:19:25 - Kaito, Bane of Nightmares 1:22:10 - Chainsaw 1:25:37 - Silent Hallcreeper 1:27:33 - Nowhere to Run 1:29:09 - Unstoppable Slasher 1:32:01 - Razorkin Needlehead 1:35:44 - Wrapping up Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
9/12/20241 hour, 37 minutes, 36 seconds
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Episode 291: Dreams Do Come True: Stan Visits WOTC, Modern is Healing

What a long strange trip it's been... from Chicago to Seattle! On this week's show, Stan shares stories and highlights from his visit to Wizards of the Coast headquarters. Then we look at the first batch of Modern results since the Nadu ban, and breath a sigh of relief at a format finding its footing. The Break Down: The Sights and Sounds of Renton, WA The Dive Down: Energy Looks Good, Modern Looks Better Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2024 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN_8LU And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 5:13 - Heavy Play is better than Mountain Dewmwake 7:13 - This week's show/housekeeping 12:25 - The Break Down begins: Stan went to WOTC! 41:40 - Stan interviews Blake Rasmussen 51:45 - Stan interviews Aaron Forsythe, Mike Turian, and Carmen Klomparens 1:04:14 - The Dive Down begins: Post-ban Modern 1:23:29 - Dave played Hollow One 1:34:47 - Devon played Naya Energy 1:48:34 - Wrapping up Links from this week's episode: Samalia Combo: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/6612111#paper Devon's Naya Energy: https://x.com/d00mwake/status/1830402879229755474 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
9/5/20241 hour, 51 minutes, 19 seconds
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Episode 290: Grief is Banned. Joy is Allowed.

This week we talk about... what else? With multiple cards banned in Pioneer and Modern — and a few cards left suspiciously untouched — we talk through what happened, how we feel about it, and what we think will happen next. • It Finally Happened • Sorin and Amalia Go in Pioneer • Nadu and Grief (?) Go in Modern Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2024 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN_8LU And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 6:09 - Heavy Play will not file an injunction against you 8:08 - This week's show/housekeeping 11:14 - The Break Down begins: Bans in Pioneer 13:56 - Amalia is banned 21:45 - Sorin is banned 26:35 - What wasn't banned? 37:06 - Bans in Modern! 47:50 - Should Commander impact Modern? 56:20 - Why was Nadu banned? 1:14:20 - The One Ring - not banned! 1:28:40 - Changes to the B&R schedule 1:33:58 - Wrapping up Links from this week's episode: WOTC's B&R Announcement: https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/announcements/august-26-2024-banned-and-restricted-announcement Michael Majors's Article: https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/feature/on-banning-nadu-winged-wisdom-in-modern Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
8/28/20241 hour, 34 minutes, 35 seconds
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Episode 289: Breached Eldrazi and Lizards, Wizards

Despite Stan getting Nadu's out of a Modern RCQ, he brushed off the dust and went back to MTGO for some Rakdos Lizards in Standard. Then Shane casts Through the Breach to cheat some Eldrazi into play, and Dave revisits a few Modern Wizards in an updated Izzet shell. Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2024 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN_8LU And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 7:24 - Heavy Play enhances your natural abilities 9:28 - This week's show/housekeeping 14:27 - The Break Down begins: Stan played an RCQ 21:04 - More data from Anaël Yahi 23:35 - The Dive Down begins: Stan played Rakdos Lizards in Standard 44:00 - Shane played Through the Breach in Modern 1:08:30 - Dave played Izzet... stuff in Modern 1:19:40 - Wrapping up Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
8/22/20241 hour, 21 minutes, 42 seconds
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Episode 288: Scoop Less, Mull More, Remember Cards That Were Good Before

On this week's show, we marvel at the return of Through the Breach in MTGO Modern events, followed by a couple level up topics about scooping and mulligans. Then Lee McLeod drops buy to educate us about some Nadu Loops, and we wrap with a walk down memory lane via Dave's box of former playables. The Break Down: Return of Through the Breach? The Dive Down: Conceding? Mulliganning? The Dive Down cont.: Nadu Looping with Lee McLoud! The Wind Down: Dave's Box of Secrets Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2024 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN_8LU And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 6:44 - Heavy Play is not sold at Mars Cheese Castle 7:55 - This week's show/housekeeping 12:55 - The Break Down begins: Some more weekend challenges 23:05 - The return of Through The Breach? 29:05 - Cool Decks, Inc 37:59 - The Dive Down begins: Should you concede more or less? 54:45 - Why concede less? 1:02:10 - Mulliganning, briefly 1:06:11 - Learning loops with Lee (McLeod) 1:34:00 - The Wind Down begins: Would you like to play a game? 1:46:49 - Wrapping up Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
8/15/20241 hour, 48 minutes, 21 seconds
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Episode 287: Modern Since MH3 & First Bloomburrow Tests

This week it's a bit of a grab bag — or bags? Or grabs bag? One is the state of Modern since MH3, the other is our first tests with Bloomburrow in Modern and Pioneer. We take a dive through several recent challenges and a whole mess of concerning stats from frequently cited Modern watcher, Anaël Yahi. After that, we take a look at a few Bloomburrow cards in Modern and Pioneer — does Thundertrap Trainer slap? Is Rottenmouth Viper the truth... in Pioneer? We talk about all this and more. • Anaël Drops Another Banger • Mocked by Bird • Only a Snake Can Kill Another Snake Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2024 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN_8LU And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 3:51 - Heavy Play is as good as quick pickles 5:52 - This week's show/housekeeping 11:01 - The Break Down begins: The current state of Modern 18:29 - The Modern Super Qualifier 27:40 - MH3-era paper data breakdown 41:55 - The Dive Down begins: Bloomburrow in Modern 42:34 - Mockingbird 49:17 - Thundertrap Trainer 55:55 - Innkeeper's Talent 1:02:22 - Helga, Skittish Seer/Feed the Cycle 1:10:14 - d00m loves Rottenmouth Viper in Pioneer 1:26:29 - Wrapping up Links from this week's episode: Anaël Yahi's Metrics Tweet: https://x.com/AnaelYahi/status/1820337686982369522 D00mwake's Boros Energy List (Modern): https://www.mtgo.com/decklist/modern-challenge-64-2024-08-0312666568?player=D00mwake#deck_D00mwake Izzet by SvenSveeterSven (Modern): https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/6550302#paper Mono Green Scales (Modern): https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/6553561#paper Omnath + Helga by DackFayden (Modern): https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/6556724#paper D00m's Dimir Viper List (Pioneer): https://www.moxfield.com/decks/9nyVhbjTEUW28T2w-JHHEw D00m's Golgari Viper List (Pioneer): https://www.moxfield.com/decks/6M6aAGQTNEiUXsJWUaorOA D00m's Rakdos Viper List (Pioneer): https://www.moxfield.com/decks/Eki38qUUfkaIB9aqTYDwoQ Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
8/9/20241 hour, 28 minutes, 21 seconds
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Episode 286: Diving Into Modern Boros Energy, ft. YungDingo

Modern Boros Energy has quickly emerged as a Tier 1 Modern deck despite the ongoing menace of Nadu taking over tournaments left and right. On this week's show, The Dive Down is joined by YungDingo to break down how the deck functions, how to sequence its various 1-drops, and the benefits of splashing into black for Mardu Energy. Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2024 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN_8LU And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 2:56 - A Dingo ate my Heavy Play 4:40 - This week's episode/housekeeping 8:55 - The Dive Down begins: A wild Dingo appears! 17:28 - Inside the Grinder's Studio 21:52 - What is Boros Energy all about? 26:20 - The 1-drops 36:52 - The 2-drops 51:30 - The 3-drops 1:08:45 - Interaction 1:13:40 - The Energy economy 1:17:42 - The matchups 1:26:56 - The future of Boros Energy 1:31:01 - Bye, Dingo! Links from this week's episode: twitch.tv/yungdingo x.com/yungdingomtg https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/6540163#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
8/1/20241 hour, 35 minutes, 44 seconds
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Episode 285: The (Rhino) Boyz Are Back in Town & Bloomburrow End

Someone finally did it... Crashing Footfalls has revealed its beautiful face again in a post-MH3 Modern tournament, so D00mwake and Stan had to try the deck out themselves. Then we share our favorite picks from Bloomburrow in the final week of spoilers for the upcoming set. The Break Down: Stan and Devon talk about the same deck again. The Dive Down: Dave talks about the same cards again. Shane has the same doubts again. Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2024 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN_8LU And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 6:00 - Heavy Play, not a camarone 7:10 - This week's show/housekeeping 11:01 - The Break Down begins: The rhinos are back in town 43:44 - The Dive Down begins: Bloomburrow spoilers, part 2 44:26 - The Infamous Cruelclaw (revisited)/Sunspine Lynx 49:53 - Osteomancer Adept 52:36 - Lumra, Bellow of the Woods 55:04 - Beza, the Bounding Spring (revisited)/Dourport Mage 1:00:37 - Huskburster Swarm 1:03:13 - Fountainport 1:05:21 - Jackdaw Savior 1:09:34 - Vinereap Mentor 1:11:10 - Ygra, Eater of All 1:15:25 - Darkstar Auger 1:17:54 - Stormsplitter 1:20:22 - Valley Mightcaller 1:21:14 - Keen-Eyed Curator 1:25:28 - Thundertrap Trainer 1:27:30 - Our picks to click 1:35:16 - Wrapping up Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
7/25/20241 hour, 37 minutes, 12 seconds
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Episode 284: Nadu Soars at NRG & Seasons of Bloomburrow, pt. 1

Oh look, another Modern tournament dominated by Nadu decks! On this week's show, we break down the results from NRG Chicago, which included a Modern 10K and some cheeky side events featuring the rhino boys. Then we dive into our Bloomburrow spoilers. • No Surprises, All Alarms • Higher Highs for Nadu • The Cutest Little Cards Ever Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2024 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN_8LU And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 3:08 - Heavy Play is anything but bland 5:13 - This week's show/housekeeping 9:51 - The Break Down begins: NRG Chicagoland 26:20 - The MTGO Modern Super Qualifier 35:21 - The Dive Down begins: Bloomburrow Spoilers begin! 41:42 - Hidden Grotto 42:51 - Three Tree City 46:28 - Heartfire Hero 49:10 - Into the Floodmaw 52:13 - Iridescent Vinelasher 53:46 - Might of the Meek 55:41 - Valley Mightcaller 56:51 - Mistbreath Elder 59:49 - Emberheart Challenger 1:02:20 - Kitsa, Otterball Elite 1:06:37 - Brazen Collector/Coruscation Mage 1:09:33 - Artist's Talent 1:11:32 - Dawn's Truth 1:13:13 - Dewdrop Cure 1:15:33 - Pearl of Wisdom 1:16:17 - Rottenmouth Viper 1:18:17 - Huskburster Swarm 1:20:54 - Ral, Crackling Wit 1:22:43 - Maha, Its Feathers Night 1:25:00 - The Season Cycle 1:27:38 - Mockingbird 1:29:40 - The Infamous Cruelclaw 1:31:56 - Beza, The Bounding Spring 1:35:16 - Wrapping up Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
7/18/20241 hour, 37 minutes, 41 seconds
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Episode 283: Return of the MTGO Decklists & MH3 Sideboard Stonks

We couldn't get through an episode without mentioning the lack of a Nadu ban, but quickly dive into the huge batch of MTGO data that was finally unlocked after several weeks of downtime. Then we recap some of our favorite sideboard cards in the current Modern Metagame, and announce latest love of Basim Ibn Ishaq and Ocelot Pride. We kick off the show by asking the difficult question, "What is WOTC waiting for?" Then we dive into a ton of MTGO data, which finally came back this week with decks from Leagues, Challenges, and Last Chance qualifiers. We review the most successul decks and admire some of the coolest outliers. Then we rundown some of the biggest sideboard cards to make a splash after MH3 and the decks they attack most. The Break Down: What are they waiting for? The Break Down, cont.: New Pivot Tables Unlocked The Dive Down: How to Sideboard for MH3 Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2024 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN_8LU And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 6:00 - Heavy Play will not remove your fingers 9:24 - This week's episode/housekeeping 14:32 - The Break Down begins: Nadu's still here 22:10 - Decklists are back, and we broke them down 30:17 - MH3 has dramatically changed Modern - is this good? 47:55 - Some new decks on the Modern scene 1:11:28 - The Dive Down begins: New meta, new sideboards 1:31:39 - Winding down Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
7/11/20241 hour, 34 minutes, 2 seconds
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Episode 282: The Bird in the Room: PT MH3/Amsterdam Breakdown

PT Amsterdam was last week and Modern will never be the same. This week Dave, Devon, and Stan talk about the huge impact MH3 cards had on the tournament — and, of course, spend a ton of time speculating about what's going to happen with Nadu. Bans? Errata? Only Fly Away? We'll see, but we mostly bet it won't happen until about 6 weeks from now (sorry). Devon shares what he thinks the next best deck will be. Stan gets energetic about his RCQ deck choice. Dave is torn between two ways to gain card advantage. • 25.5% Nah Dude • Anyone Have a Line on Cheap Soul Spikes? • Is The One Ring The Real Problem? Timecodes: 2:30: Introduction 5:53: We Love Heavy Play 7:38: Housekeeping 9:35: PT Amsterdam Day 1 Metagame 15:10: Winrates, etc., starting with Nadu 17:01: Sideboard Cards (RIP Storm) 21:55: The Next Decks: Jeskai Energy Control and Necrodominance 31:31: 10-0 Lists (Bant Nadu, Necro, Esper Goryo's) 35:49: Boros Energy 43:18: Domain Zoo 45:10: Mono Black Grief 47:03: Underperformers (Storm, Merfolk) 52:48: Focus on Nadu 53:06: Eldrazi Winter and Hogaak 1:01:16: We Said the B Word — Time to Ban Nadu 1:09:38: What About The One Ring? 1:18:10: What We're Doing During the Nadu Era 1:20:30: Signoff Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2024 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN_8LU And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
7/3/20241 hour, 22 minutes, 41 seconds
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Episode 281: A New Modern Emerges: Tournament Results, PT Predictions, and More Decks

On this week's show, we take a look at the results from Modern's first big paper tournaments since the release of MH3. We chat about NRG St. Louis, MXP Tacoma, our predictions for PT Amsterdam, Stan's experiences playing Bant Nadu, Devon's experiments with Kappa Cannoneer, and Dave (and Devon's) explorations of Energy Prowess. The Break Down: Paper Modern Shows its Colors The Dive Down: Nadu, Kappa, and Mutagenic Growth Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2024 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN_43A And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 5:41 - Heavy Play time 7:00 - This week's show/housekeeping 10:22 - The Break Down begins: the NRG St. Louis Modern event 19:12 - The MXP Tacoma Modern event 24:55 - What does the PT metagame potentially look like? 48:31 - The Dive Down begins: What's the deal with these new cards? 49:57 - Stan Nadu'd so you Nadon't have to 1:03:30 - Devon loves Kappa Cannoneer 1:11:15 - Dave (and Devon) played Energy Prowess 1:23:20 - We mention a single Assassin's Creed card 1:26:00 - Wrapping up Links from this week's episode: https://melee.gg/Tournament/View/52904 https://melee.gg/Tournament/View/79404 https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/6464281#paper https://www.moxfield.com/decks/6oV78FnDbkCjyWt3OEVKRg https://www.moxfield.com/decks/mhmc1tqudk23WRA4yUUhew Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
6/27/20241 hour, 29 minutes, 30 seconds
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Episode 280: Sleeve/Believe/Heave MH3 Edition: Boros Energy, Eldrazi Prison & Ruby Storm

It's time to rev up those rental accounts because new cards are on the horizon. On this week's show, Shane and Stan (aka The Cool S Bros) share their war stories of leaguing with Modern Horizon 3 decks. Stan fires up some Boros Energy and Ruby Storm, while Shane locks his opponents out with Eldrazi Prison. We kick off the show with a high level check-in on format diversity in the weeks following MH3's release. Then we chat about the one-two punch of Guide of Souls and Ajani, flexible applications for Kozilek's Command, and Storming off against The One Ring decks. The Break Down: MH3 Week 2 The Dive Down: Sleeve, Believe, Heaving new decks in Modern Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2024 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN_43A And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 7:12 - Heavy Play is lovely 8:51 - This week's show/housekeeping 14:54 - The Break Down begins: The new top tier of Modern? 25:10 - The Dive Down begins: Stan played Boros Energy 50:52 - Shane played Eldrazi Prison Tron 1:19:18 - Stan played Ruby Storm 1:33:16 - Wrapping up Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
6/20/20241 hour, 35 minutes, 20 seconds
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Episode 279: MH3: New Decks, First Impressions

Welcome to the new Horizon of Modern. That long awaited day is finally here — Horizons 3 has launched and is in the hands of anyone who wants to: 1) use a Bird Wizard to draw their whole deck, 2) Break a line with a bowl of spaghet monsters, 3) Pay life to draw cards, then DIE, and 4) explore an potentially incredible new format. This week Dave and Devon talk through early impressions of decks we're seeing, things we've tested, early results from an MH3-inclusive 5k in Las Vegas and more. Tune in for the Nadu, stay for the Unstable Amulet. It's another week on The Dive Down! • Nadu • Eldrazi • And All the Rest of the Cards Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2024 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN_43A And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 3:20 — Heavy Play Means Business 7:40 — Housekeeping 9:30 — The only place we can start: Nadu 27:15 — Big Eldrazi (Tron) 33:40 — Lil 'Drazi (Aggro) 42:00 — Affinity 43:55 — Ruby Storm 52:05 — Energy Decks (Boros, R Prowess, 4c Control) 56:40 — Mono Black Griefs, Scam (Necrodominance and more) 1:07:02 — Buried Alive/Phoenix 1:09:38 — Stuff We Haven't Seen (Flare of Cultivation, Shifting Woodlands) 1:13:03 — What We've Excited for Next 1:16:01 — What About Old Modern? 1:17:19 — Outro Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
6/13/20241 hour, 19 minutes, 49 seconds
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Episode 278: MH3 Full Set Review, Part 2: The Rest of the Cards

It took another couple hours but we finally made it through the complete MH3 spoiler (even after skipping a ton of limited fodder). We wrap up our set review with the gold cards along with the new to Modern reprints, and cap it off with some of our favorite cards in the set and a few called shots about cards to watch. We at least mention every card by name so YOU KNOW if we don't think a card is good enough to see play. Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2024 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN_43A And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 4:26 - Heavy Play: likely better than Dark Knight Rises 5:36 - This week's episode/housekeeping 9:29 - Multicolored 35:12 - Artifacts 46:50 - Lands 1:04:25 - Dual-Faced cards 1:28:26 - Reprints 1:57:18 - Our MH3 awards 2:10:12 - Our final takes on MH3 2:20:55 - Wrapping up Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
6/6/20242 hours, 23 minutes, 4 seconds
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Episode 277: MH3 Full Set Review, Part 1: Colorless & WUBRG

It's finally here! The Modern Horizons 3 spoiler is complete — and wow do we have a lot to talk about. Join us this week as Dave, Devon, and Shane talk through every card * in the set from Colorless and WUBRG. We debate which new Eldrazi titan is best, how much energy you need to feel paid off, some pet cards that we wish we good, and more! Lots more because we're talking about every card *. We at least mention every card by name so YOU KNOW if we don't think a card is good enough to see play. Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2024 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN_43A And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 3:17 - Heavy Play is nothing to be apprehensive about 5:01 - This week's show/housekeeping 9:08 - The Dive Down: It's Modern Horizons 3 set review time! 10:10 - Colorless 23:29 - White 45:30 - Blue 1:10:05 - Black 1:32:42 - Red 1:50:53 - Green 2:07:05 - Wrapping up Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
5/31/20242 hours, 9 minutes, 10 seconds
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Episode 276: These MH3 Spoilers Are Making Me Thirsty

The time has finally come for the sea change that is Modern Horizons 3. We dissect the first batch of official spoilers from Tuesday, and revisit some of our most embarrassing evaluations from MH2 spoiler season all those moons ago. We chat about Phlage, the Eldrazi Titans, the Flares and Medallions, new toys for Storm, and lots more! The Dive Down: The MH3 Spoiler Season We Always Wanted The Wind Down: The MH2 Spoiler Season We Hoped to Forget Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2024 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN_43A And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 7:10 - Heavy Play can hold MH3 cards 9:08 - Housekeeping/this week's episode 12:37 - The Dive Down begins: MH3 spoilers begin! 15:26 - Stan's Polygon spoiler: Phlage, Titan of Fire's Fury 24:17 - Amped Raptor 28:00 - Devourer of Destiny 30:51 - Ulamog the Defiler 35:49 - Breaker of Creation 36:39 - Ugin's Labyrinth 39:52 - Thief of Existence 41:51 - Basking Broodscale 44:36 - Kozilek, the Broken Reality 49:00 - Flare of Fortitude (and other Flares) 54:09 - Flare of Duplication 55:11 - The Medallions 59:16 - Ral, Monsoon Mage 1:03:07 - Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student 1:05:06 - Harbinger of the Seas 1:09:58 - Orim's Chant 1:11:19 - Powerbalance 1:12:54 - Double-faced lands 1:14:54 - Eladamri, Korvecdal 1:19:01 - Our worst takes from the MH2 spoiler season 1:30:13 - Wrapping up Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
5/23/20241 hour, 32 minutes, 3 seconds
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Episode 275: One Last Modern Tournament Before Everything Changes

On this week's show, the four amigos break down the results of the Modern Open at NRG Indianapolis, the last big paper Modern tournament before MH3 changes everything (presumably). Plus, D00mwake joins the dark side and started playing Phoenix. And Stan tries some new cards in Ensoul, plus a bunch of OJT drafts. The Break Down: The Motor City is a Real Zoo Meta The Dive Down: Be the Bad Guy, Play Phoenix The Dive Down cont.: Stan Likes OTJ Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2024 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN_TZL And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 6:56 - Heavy Play is our favorite co-host 8:25 - Goodbye, Tanner! 12:23 - This week's show/housekeeping 17:15 - NRG Indy's Modern $10K 46:15 - Cool decks grab bag - d00m on Izzet Phoenix 56:36 - Stan played some new cards in Ensoul 1:08:20 - Talking about Freestrider Lookout 1:13:45 - Stan loves OTJ draft 1:25:40 - Wrapping up Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
5/16/20241 hour, 27 minutes, 51 seconds
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Episode 274: Goyf Are So Back: Modern Challenges, Gruul Aggro (Prowess), & More

After a brief intro, Stan is forced to drop out of the ep leaving Shane and Dave in the hot seat. First, they examine last weekend's 4 Modern Challenges in search of ideas, inspiration, and surprises. Do you know what the highest frequency deck was in all these Challenges? How about the one most likely to convert to an X-2 or better record? After all the event talk, the team goes deep into Andrea Mengucci's Gruul Prowess list from the weekend and welcome the return of the real king — Tarmogoyf. • Shane & Dave Take Over • A Few Surprising Challenges • More Talk About Tarmogoyf Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2024 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN_TZL And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 1:55 - Stanley Cups x Heavy Play 5:33 - This week's show/housekeeping 9:49 - The current Modern Challenge metagame 34:48 - Gruul Prowess in Modern 51:25 - Is Abundant Harvest good? 54:22 - Is Questing Druid good? 58:26 - More on Gruul Prowess 1:11:52 - Briefly talking MH3 spoilers 1:18:37 - Turn it off if you want: some Survivor chat 1:24:50 - Wrapping up Links from this week's episode: Bamzing's Challenge Posts: Saturday: https://www.reddit.com/r/ModernMagic/comments/1ckv7pz/saturdaymodernchallengesresultsmay42024/ Sunday: https://www.reddit.com/r/ModernMagic/comments/1cllxrd/sundaymodernchallengesresultsmay52024/ Mengu's Prowess List: https://x.com/Mengu09/status/1786721343523704991 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
5/9/20241 hour, 26 minutes, 49 seconds
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Episode 273: High Res MH3 Spoilers & A Wild West Pro Tour

Shout out to Wizards of the Coast for seeing some poor quality card pictures in the wild and letting us see them in high definition instead. Official MH3 spoilers dropped this week, on the heels of the latest Pro Tour. Stan and D00mwake discuss! Do Pro Tours still mean anything? Perhaps when the format they feature is fresh and exciting! We don't talk about Standard often, but enough innovations emerged at PT Thunder Junction, we were pumped to chat about the latest cards and winning decks. Speaking of latest cards. MH3 spoilers came early, despite the somewhat awkward circumstances. The Dive Down doesn't discuss leaks, but official spoilers have started to roll out and we chat about some standouts, including Flare of Denial, Winter Moon, Kappa Cannoneer, and Wight of the Reliquery. The Break Down: A Pro Tour for the Cowboy In All Of Us The Dive Down: A Look, A New Free Counterspell Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2024 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN_K4L And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 01:40 - Intro 02:00 - Holding a Heavy Play Heart 04:10 - A d00mwake-style Omelette 07:30 - This aggression will not stand 09:20 - This week’s show/housekeeping 16:05 - PT Seattle: What does it mean now? 19:40 - Overall Metagame 27:10 - Winrates 35:25 - Top 8 43:10 - Final thoughts on Standard 48:20 - Modern Horizons 3 early spoilers 49:05 - Nethergoyf 53:50 - Chthonian Nightmare 59:15 - Ugin’s Labyrinth 1:04:16 - Flare of Denial 1:09:22 - Kappa Cannoneer 1:12:45 - Winter Moon 1:16:25 - Wight of the Reliquary 1:21:21 - Wrapping Up Links from this week's episode: Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
5/2/20241 hour, 24 minutes, 17 seconds
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Episode 272: Slickshot Trick Shots

A new spellslinger's in town — goes by the name Slickshot Show-Off. This week we focus on the most hyped card coming into OTJ season, where it's fitting across formats, and talk about a few tricks to making sure the show off goes off without a hitch... off. Is there anything we can do to keep Dave from falling into a deep Prowess hole again? Probably not, but we're going to try — and just in case you're trying to avoid catching Prowess, too, we also talk about a few other decks Devon is having success with in Pioneer. But first — before all that — we dive into the Modern main event at this weekend's NRG Minneapolis tournament. • NRG Minneapolis • The Show Off Rides Again • It's Basically Demonic Tutor Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2024 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN_K4L And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 4:30 - Heavy Play has clout 6:42 - This week's show/housekeeping 11:32 - The Break Down begins: NRG Minneapolis 24:34 - The top 8 28:55 - Cool Decks, Inc 33:04 - The Dive Down begins: We played some cool decks! 34:10 - Slickshot Showoff - does it live up to the hype in Modern? 56:45 - Does it live up to the hype in Pioneer? 1:09:05 - Golgari Vampires in Pioneer 1:16:35 - Azorius Mentor Zombies in Pioneer 1:25:18 - Wrapping up Links from this week's episode: NRG Modern Open Decklists: https://melee.gg/Tournament/View/51194 Alex Poulosky, Modern Temur Prowess: https://melee.gg/Decklist/View/388962 Nathan VanDinter, Modern Temur Prowess: https://melee.gg/Decklist/View/388996 Ryan Overturf, Modern Gruul Prowess: https://melee.gg/Decklist/View/387842 Devon O'Donnell, Pioneer Gruul Prowess: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/6332355#paper d00mwake, Pioneer Golgari Vampires: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/6338707#paper Devon O'Donnell (aka d00mwake), Pioneer UW Zombie Mentor: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/6339425#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
4/25/20241 hour, 27 minutes, 54 seconds
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Episode 271: Casual Spiking RCQ Junction

On this week’s show, we manage to fill that awkward week between spoilers and set release by preparing for the upcoming RCQ season, which conveniently kicks off this weekend. We take a look at the Pioneer metagame going into the season, and some possible upgrades from Outlaws of Thunder Junction that could shake up the format too. Everything but the water and Clif Bars New season old decks D00m has prepared some new decks Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2024 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN_K4L And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 5:42 - Barenaked Heavy Play 7:35 - This week's show/housekeeping 11:17 - The Dive Down begins: Prepping for Pioneer RCQ season 22:21 - The current Pioneer meta - Tier 1 42:07 - The Tier 2 decks 56:31 - Some Cool Decks 59:50 - d00m's hot new decks for Pioneer 1:22:01 - Wrapping up Links from this week's episode: Anael Yahi's Data: https://twitter.com/anaelyahi/status/1779962905099665648 Metagame Mentor: https://magic.gg/news/metagame-mentor-the-pioneer-decks-to-defeat-at-april-2024-rcqs MTGDecks.net Pioneer Winrates: https://mtgdecks.net/Pioneer/winrates D00m's Dimir Proft: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/6322644#paper D00m's Slickshot Heroic: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/6322647#paper D00m's Azorius Geralf: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/6322650#paper D00m's MonoB Bronco: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/6322652#paper D00m's Bant Plot: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/6322653#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
4/18/20241 hour, 23 minutes, 58 seconds
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Episode 270: The BIG Lie: We Talk About More Cards

We said we'd never lie to you, but maybe... maybe we'd forget that there were another 30 mythics left to talk about in this set. So we did it for you — more cards! This week Dave, Devon, and Shane talk about what might happen with some of these weird, weird cards from The Big Score. Do we tell a certain Jitte to stay lost? What happens when we break out the Synthesizer? What card that Devon loves left Dave and Shane quaking in their boots? After we discuss The Big Score, we take a quick trip through Pure Modern 5 — the most recent installment of Devon's "What if there was a simpler Modern?" tournaments. • Congrats, Tanner • The Spoils of the Vault • Pure Modern: Stormwing is Back, Baby Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2024 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN_K4L And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 1:40 - Heavy Play is not impacted by the eclipse 5:52 - This week's show/housekeeping 9:03 - The Dive Down begins: The Big Score 12:20 - Lost Jitte 19:08 - Worldwalker Helm 23:00 - Simulacrum Synthesizer 27:01 - Bristlebud Farmer 30:22 - Torpor Orb 32:26 - Pest Control 36:26 - Generous Plunderer 39:13 - Sandstorm Salvager 41:25 - Harvester of Misery 44:20 - Grand Abolisher 46:35 - Legion Extruder 48:42 - Memory Vessel 49:58 - Esoteric Duplicator 53:24 - Greed's Gambit 57:16 - Sword of Wealth and Power 59:55 - Loot, the Key to Everything 1:02:52 - d00mwake's 5th Pure Modern tournament 1:17:08 - Wrapping up Links from this week's episode: d00m's Pure Modern 5 Meta: https://melee.gg/Tournament/View/70042 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
4/11/20241 hour, 19 minutes, 24 seconds
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Episode 269: Cowboy Hats Will Be Worn Until Morale Improves

Our friends from across the Multiverse have flooded the desert sands of Thunder Junction, and brought a host of exciting new spoiler cards with them. We recap some of our favorite cards and other notable arrivals in Magic's 100th set. Are all the Spree cards great or merely good? Is the emphasis on Crime cards the latest symptom of Magic's moral decline? Have we lost the Plot or simply found a new way to cast spells for free? D00mwake likes Duelist of the Mind. Dave likes Requisition Raid. Shane likes Magda, the Hoardmaster. Stan likes Calamity, Galloping Inferno. Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2024 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN_K4L And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 6:39 - Heavy Play is not an April Fool's joke 8:54 - Housekeeping/this week's episode 11:15 - The mechanics of Outlaws of Thunder Junction 20:07 - Aven Interrupter 23:58 - Final Showdown 27:05 - Fortune, Loyal Steed 29:07 - High Noon 31:30 - Claim Jumper 33:15 - Requisition Raid/Bovine Intervention 37:16 - Getaway Glamour 37:17 - Oltec Matterweaver 41:15 - Archmages Newt 44:28 - Duelist of the Mind 48:24 - Jace, Reawakened 51:22 - Geralf, the Fleshwright 53:35 - The Key to the Vault 56:49 - Three Steps Ahead 59:10 - Kaervek, the Punisher 1:10:59 - Hollow Murauder 1:04:30 - Lively Dirge 1:07:06 - Insatiable Avarice 1:09:09 - Pitiless Carnage 1:10:40 - Magda, the Hordemaster 1:13:22 - Magebane Lizard/Reckless Lackey 1:14:40 - Slickshot Showoff 1:19:01 - Calamity, Galloping Inferno 1:20:40 - Aloe Alchemist/Bristly Bill, Spine Sower 1:22:40 - Collosal Rattlewurm 1:24:14 - Smuggler's Surprise 1:27:10 - Railway Brawler 1:29:05 - Ornery Tumblewagg/Trash the Town 1:32:40 - Akul the Unrepentant 1:34:30 - Assimilation Aegis 1:36:40 - Doc Aurlock, Grizzled Genius/Ghired, Mirror of the Wilds/Intimidation Campaign 1:38:04 - Oko, the Ringleader/Obeka, Splitter of Seconds 1:40:36 - Satoru, the Infiltrator 1:44:35 - Pillage the Bog 1:46:54 - Lavaspur Boots 1:50:08 - Wrapping up Links from this week's episode: https://scryfall.com/sets/otj?order=set&as=grid Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
4/4/20241 hour, 51 minutes, 39 seconds
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Episode 268: A Trip to Prague, the Zoo, and an RCQ

Results are in from LMS Prague and we break down the top decks at the 265 player event. Then chat about our experiences playing a couple versions of Domain Zoo. And D00mwake shares the secret to winning an RCQ. The Break Down: Legacy European Tour Master Series Prague, Grand Open Qualifier (Modern) The Dive Down: Takeaways - A Domain Zoo Experience Discussion The Wind Down: D00mwake won an RCQ! Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2024 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN_K4L And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 5:35 - Heavy Plan is not from Khans era 7:33 - This week's episode/housekeeping 11:35 - The Break Down begins: The Legacy European Tour Prague Modern Open! 23:18 - The top 8 results 30:27 - Winrates and matchups 48:20 - How are we feeling about Modern? 53:04 - The Dive Down begins: It's all happening at the zoo 1:17:05 - Devon won another RCQ! 1:29:51 - Wrapping up Links from this week's episode: https://melee.gg/Tournament/View/59235 https://twitter.com/MTGdecks/status/1772028283762192725 https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/6272273#paper https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/6273416#paper https://twitter.com/d00mwake/status/1771203670236909886 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
3/28/20241 hour, 31 minutes, 33 seconds
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Episode 267: Somewhere Over the Rainbow: Post-Ban Modern Results & Testing

This weekend was the annual Hunter Burton Memorial Open, the first large paper Modern tournament since the recent B&R. We dive into the tournament results to see where the format is headed, try out some of the latest versions of Rhinos to see if Cascade still works, and enjoy a little Goryo's Vengeance as a treat. Thanks to smarter people than us, we've reviewed a ton of Modern results and win percentages to get a sense for who's beating who in the latest Modern format. We review some of the expected strategies to rise in popularity in a post-Rhino Modern tournament, admire some possible up and comers to the metagame, and pontificate about where Modern can go from here. Then Stan and Shane fire up some Rhino decks to see if the Cascade hits keep coming without Violent Outburst, and Stan finally wraps up his Goryo's Vengeance league and experiences some Scam flashbacks. The Break Down: Hunter Burton Memorial Open results to chew on. The Dive Down: Rainbow Rhino and Goryo's Vengeance decks to stew on. Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2024 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN_K4L And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 4:20 - Heavy Play gets a thumbs up 6:53 - This week's episode/housekeeping 10:16 - The Break Down begins: The HBMO Modern Event 53:34 - Stan plays Goryo's Vengeance 1:06:05 - Stan and Shane played the new Rainbow Rhinos 1:32:39 - Wrapping up Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
3/21/20241 hour, 34 minutes, 16 seconds
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Episode 266: Violent Reactions to a Modern Outburst

The mad lads did it, they banned our beloved Violent Outburst in Modern. We're not particularly happy about the outcome or its communication, but we discuss what it means for Cascade decks and the format moving forward. In today's episode, we delve into the somewhat surprising B&R announcement and discuss the survivability of Cascade strategies moving forward. We assess some potential winners and losers from the news, including some decks to watch out for in the coming weeks, including Yawgmoth, Titan, Reaninator, Creativity, and more. We also express our concerns about the ban announcement lacking detailed data, as we had hoped for more transparent communication from Wizards of the Coast. The absence of bans in Pioneer also caught our attention, and we critiqued the announcement for its perceived shortcomings, urging for greater detail and insight in future communications. Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2024 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN_P6W And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 2:15 - Heavy Play will not be banned 4:52 - This week's episode/housekeeping 7:32 - The Dive Down begins: Violent Outburst is banned! 32:33 - How we feel about the actual ban 45:00 - Where does Rhinos go? 50:50 - Where does Modern go? 1:02:25 - What about Pioneer? 1:13:45 - Yes, we talked about Balatro again 1:29:47 - Wrapping up Links from this week's episode: March 11 B&R: https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/announcements/march-11-2024-banned-and-restricted-announcement Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
3/14/20241 hour, 31 minutes, 31 seconds
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Episode 265: Why Does Everyone Hate Modern Now?

A discourse is brewing on this week's Dive Down, as the rhino boyz reflect on some of the issues Modern players seem to have with the current format and metagame. Can we close Pandora's box of free spells and triomes? Will MH3 save us? Or could WOTC do something more... drastic..? The Break Down: Devon asked, you answered. The Dive Down: Eight Hateful Hypotheses The Wind Down: Love that joker... for about 20 minutes. Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2024 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN_P6W And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 4:30 - Heavy Play: easy to open 8:09 - This week's episode/housekeeping 11:50 - The Dive Down begins: Modern's Hate Hypotheses 21:25 - Grief. 27:55 - Cascade. 39:15 - Free spells. 49:35 - The mana. 58:37 - The One Ring/Bowmasters. 1:07:51 - Modern is stale. 1:12:16 - Did a perfect Modern ever exist? 1:19:50 - The Wind Down: It's Balatro time! 1:38:18 - Wrapping up Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
3/7/20241 hour, 40 minutes, 6 seconds
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Episode 264: Rippin’ Veins & Takin’ Names at MagicCon Chicago

Last weekend was MagicCon Chicago — and wow are we tired, friends. Join the Rhino Boyz as we recap the main event, side events, and small events that made up what was a great weekend in the Motor City! Shane give a metagame breakdown of the PT. Stan takes a shot at the cup. D00m plays the hero. Dave falls in love with a bunch of real Jokers. • They Broke It • Rats, Assassins, Villians, and Free Spells • We Tried It Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2024 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN_3YO And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 3:38 - Heavy Play is not on a PIP 6:18 - This week's show/housekeeping 10:42 - The Break Down begins: MagicCon Chicago! 14:11 - A Pro Tour MKM breakdown 39:08 - The PT Top 8 41:46 - Final thoughts on the PT 45:04 - 4 new sets from the MC Preview Panel 1:10:53 - An interview with Blake Rasmussen and Roy Graham from WOTC 1:32:30 - The Dive Down begins: Rakdos Vampires takes a bite out of Pioneer 1:52:48 - Wrapping up Links from this week's episode: PT Meta on Melee: https://melee.gg/Tournament/View/52679 Frank Karsten's WR%s: https://twitter.com/karsten_frank/status/1761570878737748061/photo/1 Preview card reference: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/articles/future-sets-spoilers-february-23-modern-horizons-3-thunder-junction-bloomburrow-and-assassin-s-creed Seth Manfield's/CFB's RB Vampires Decklist: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/6211825#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
2/29/20241 hour, 54 minutes, 29 seconds
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Episode 263: What Are We Playing in Chicago? Plus NRG... Chicago

The MagicCon is finally upon us. We prepare for a weekend full of side events by looking at the most exciting innovations for our favorite formats, and figure out how to win the most tickets for the coveted prize wall. We take a look at Modern and Standard results since the release of Murders, plus whatever Pioneer results we can get our hands on, to share our favorite decks in each format and what strategies appear to be performing best too. We also stop by the first NRG Series Open of the year in beauitiful Elmhurst, Illinois to chat with Dom Harvey, Misplaced Ginger, and Christian Calcano! Don't forget, sign up for the officicial Dive Down afterparty at thedivedown.com/chicago! Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2024 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN_3YO And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 3:56 - Heavy Play: not complicated 6:04 - This week's show/housekeeping 12:37 - The Break Down begins: The NRG Chicago Pioneer $10k 19:05 - An interview with Derek Pite (aka Misplaced Ginger) 27:27 - Back to NRG Chicago 39:38 - The NRG Chicago Standard $5k 42:50 - The Dive Down begins: Planning for Magiccon Chicago! 48:58 - What we're playing in Modern 1:07:55 - What we're playing in Pioneer 1:18:58 - An interview with Dom Harvey 1:29:21 - Some Standard thoughts 1:42:04 - An interview with Christian Calcano 1:48:10 - Some final stuff about Magiccon Chicago 1:50:11 - Wrapping up Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
2/22/20241 hour, 51 minutes, 45 seconds
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Episode 262: Rainbow Rhinos and 19,442 Matches of Modern

Join us this week as we discuss how Modern has gone rainbow. The full compliment of Rhino Boys — Dave, Devon, Shane, and Stan — are together for the first time this year. We're talking about Modern in upheaval and the results from all the RCs this last weekend. • thedivedown.com/chicago • Rhino Supremacy, Part XXIV • Lifelink, Hexproof, Trample, First Strike, Vigilance Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2024 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN_3YO And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 0:01 - A big announcement! 5:05 - Heavy mise en Play-ce 7:56 - This week's episode/housekeeping 14:51 - The Dive Down: Modern Upheaval, and not the card 17:40 - The Dallas RC meta and Leyline Rhinos 25:30 - Dallas winrates and conversion rates 38:15 - The Dallas top 8 and other Modern events 44:29 - A giant winrate matrix 56:10 - Up-and-coming decks from the past weekend 1:08:41 - Dave played Leyline Zoo 1:16:02 - Stan played Leyline Rhinos 1:23:40 - Devon played Goryo's Vengeance Asmo stuff 1:30:02 - Some brief Pioneer NRG prep chat 1:33:05 - Wrapping up Links from this week's episode: Denver RC listsing: https://melee.gg/Tournament/View/54549 @AzoriusI's data: https://twitter.com/AzoriusI/status/1757036428674891821?t=eUvsssljH2AZZ0U3SmOWpA&s=19 Typical Rainbow Rhinos List (from Mack Endress): https://melee.gg/Decklist/View/363672 Modern Matrix from MtgDecks.net: https://mtgdecks.net/Modern/winrates/range:custom2024-02-092024-02-12 d00mwake's Goryo's Vengeance list: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/6173859#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
2/15/20241 hour, 34 minutes, 55 seconds
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Episode 261: SCGCON Hartford & MKM Cards Appear!

RC Denver is coming up. MagicCon Chicago is coming up. As a bit of an amuse bouche for these giant upcoming events, this week Dave and Shane take a look at SCGCON Hartford — Modern $10ks, Pioneer Events — and talk about MKM cards that we've seen pop up across our formats. Leyline? Surveil? More? • SCGCON Hartford's Modern $10ks • Surveiling the Landscape • Leyline is where? Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2024 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN_3YO And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 3:01 - Heavy Play is out of sight 4:50 - This week's episode/housekeeping 12:17 - SCG Hartford Modern 10k(s) check-in 23:15 - Saturday's Top 8 and general performance chat 36:28 - Sunday's Modern 10k 49:50 - New cards in Hartford's Pioneer events 53:55 - New decks from our favorite streamers 1:11:49 - Wrapping up Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
2/8/20241 hour, 13 minutes, 5 seconds
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Episode 260: Modern RC in Ghent & MKM Previews pt.2

This week Shane returns, and in celebration we take a quick trip to Ghent to recap the Modern RC this week. What's going on in Modern as we make our way towards the next RC in Denver? But first (well, second, actually) — the last cards we like from MKM, and our top 5 lists! • The More Modern Stays the Same, the More it Changes • Rhino Supremacy, Part XVI • More Orrible Murder Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2024 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN_3YO And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 3:54 - We can talk about Heavy Play 5:34 - This week's show/housekeeping 12:07 - The Break Down: Legacy European Championship Ghent 16:27 - Dave's Cool Decks, Inc diversion 22:52 - Deck performances 27:37 - The top 8 31:00 - Takes and takeaways 37:37 - The Dive Down: Week 2 of Murders at Markov Manor spoilers! 40:44 - Reenact the Crime 46:16 - Insidious Roots 50:49 - Break Out 57:55 - Gleaming Geardrake 57:56 - Tomik, Wielder of Law 1:01:21 - Pick Your Poison 1:05:16 - Assemble the Players 1:17:15 - Case of the Gorgon's Kiss 1:10:01 - Forensic Researcher 1:15:16 - Case of the Uneaten Feast 1:19:45 - Our Top 5 lists 1:39:26 - Wrapping up Links from this week's episode: Ghent matchup grids: https://mtgdecks.net/Modern/legacy-european-championship-ghent-legacy-european-tour-tournament-150715/winrates Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
2/1/20241 hour, 40 minutes, 37 seconds
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Episode 259: Only Murders in the Guilding (Previews, v1)

It's a simple show this week... or is it? Dave and Devon dive into the previews to date of the latest set — Murders at Karlov Manor! Tune in as we discuss Disguises, Cloaks, and whether the Mole God lives up to the hype (spoiler: it does). Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2024 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN_3YO And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 1:10 — Getting Heavy 4:00 — Tell Us If You’re Coming to Chicago! 4:45 — Spoiler: We’re Talking About Cards! 5:45 — Housekeeping 7:00 — It’s Cards!! 8:00 — It’s Rules!! 9:18 — Disguise 13:11 — Cloak 16:49 — Investigate 18:28 — Collect Evidence 23:01 — Suspect 23:17 — Cases 27:56 — Split Cards 30:40 — Just Random Cards 30:55 — Lightning Helix 33:24 — No More Lies 36:15 — Warleader’s Call 39:41 — Proft’s Eidetic Memory 43:25 — Krenko, Baron of Tin Street & Crime Novelist 47:37 — Fugitive Codebreaker 51:10 — Treacherous Greed 55:20 — Intrude on the Mind 58:52 — Massacre Girl, Known Killer 1:02:25 — Doorkeeper Thrull 1:05:53 — Leyline of the Guildpact 1:10:34 — Delney, Streetwise Lookout 1:13:28 — Anzrag the Quake-Mole 1:17:28 — Archdruid’s Charm 1:21:58 — Urgent Necropsy 1:25:36 — Kylox’s Voltstrider 1:30:08 — Sharp-Eyed Rookie 1:32:32 — Long Goodbye 1:33:04 — Surveil Lands 1:36:00 — One More Thing Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
1/25/20241 hour, 37 minutes, 24 seconds
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Episode 258: What is Standard Right Now?

Join Shane and Devon as they embark on an epic journey through the realm of... Standard. Yes, Standard. With RCQ season in full swing, it's time to look over all the decks you need to know to be prepared. The boys look at the recent history of standard, how WOTC is trying to revitalize it, and provide insight on basically all the decks in the format. With everything from hyper-aggro to over-the-top ramp, this format has something for everyone! The Dive Down: It's Standard. Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2024 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN_3YO And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 4:22 - Heavy Play: not bad 5:45 - This week's show/housekeeping 10:24 - Standard then and now 22:09 - So what IS Standard? 27:28 - What does Standard look like right now? 28:11 - Domain Ramp 32:19 - Esper Midrange 34:32 - Rakdos Discover 37:54 - Golgari Midrange 43:00 - Azorius Soldiers/Flash 48:14 - Mono-Red Aggro 54:57 - Azorius Tokens 1:00:26 - The other midrange decks 1:10:06 - Big Rakdos 1:12:45 - Azorius Craft 1:16:30 - Bant Toxic 1:21:34 - Azorius Tempo 1:24:19 - How to approach Standard in the RCQ season 1:33:54 - Wrapping up Links from this week's episode: Frank's Metagame Mentor article: https://magic.gg/news/metagame-mentor-everything-you-need-to-win-your-early-2024-standard-rcq Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
1/18/20241 hour, 35 minutes, 14 seconds
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Episode 257: What is Modern Right Now?

It's time for The Dive Down to get back to work! We're fully into 2024 and this week Shane and Dave are diving deep into what Modern is right now. Tune in as we discuss SCG Cincinnati's 20K and 10K along with the most recent MTGO Showcase Challenge and try to answer some of the formats biggest questions. How dare Scam still exist? How did Rhinos get to be 14% of the meta at the 20K? Is Yawgmoth the new top moth? All this and more on this week's Dive Down. • Queen City Callbacks • Not Dead After All After All • Sometimes UW Control Can Be Good Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2023 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use coupon code THEDIVEDOWNTWENTYTHREE for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN23 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 3:57 - A Heavy Play surprise 8:27 - Housekeeping/this week's episode 12:51 - The Dive Down begins: What is Modern in 2024? 15:59 - The SCG Cincinnati $20K meta and performance 42:34 - The MTGO Showcase Challenge meta and performance 56:35 - So what's going on in Modern right now? 1:11:55 - The NRG Championship results 1:16:43 - A tiny Wind Down 1:20:27 - Wrapping up Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
1/11/20241 hour, 22 minutes, 42 seconds
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Episode 256: New Year... New Formats?

This week's episode is not about about Modern or Pioneer! Instead, we fire off our free passes to MTGO's Vintage Cube and figure out how D00mwake became one of the format's trophy leaders. We also dust off our Arena accounts to play a little Timeless. Are we picking up new formats for the show? Only one way to find out! Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2023 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use coupon code THEDIVEDOWNTWENTYTHREE for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN23 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 2:18 - Heavy Play is also wonderful 4:24 - This week's episode/housekeeping 8:28 - It's Vintage Cube time! 54:57 - The best cards in Vintage Cube 1:14:00 - Beaudelaire is back, baby 1:17:00 - Time for... Timeless 1:39:44 - Wrapping up Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
1/4/20241 hour, 41 minutes, 33 seconds
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Episode 255: The Birds Are Back in Town, ft. CCR & OafMcNamara

Izzet Phoenix is back on the menu so we're diving back in for the first time in 5 years! Stan is joined by CCR from MTG Grindcast, along with the Pioneer trophy leader & Izzet Phoenix aficionado OafMcNamara to break down the deck in all its controlling glory. We chat in great detail about how to evaluate the cantrips and removal spells in a turbo xerox deck, how it pairs up against other top decks in the metagame, how to maximize its various flex slots, the benefits of Izzet over Grixis, and so much more. We have a couple true Phoenix masters on this episode so the level ups are imminent. Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2023 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use coupon code THEDIVEDOWNTWENTYTHREE for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN23 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 3:42 - Heavy Phoenix Play 5:15 - Housekeeping/This week's show 7:35 - This isn't your Modern's Phoenix 12:43 - Phoenix's gameplan and deck construction 37:49 - Cantrips. Just cantrips. 53:54 - The removal 1:00:52 - The flex cards 1:13:21 - Matchups 1:27:50 - Grixis Phoenix?? 1:34:10 - Fable and other considerations 1:41:18 - Wrapping up and where to find our guests Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
12/28/20231 hour, 44 minutes, 53 seconds
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Episode 254: RC Atlanta is Over and So is 2023

With all the discourse swirling around Dreamhack Atlanta, the Dive Down boys decide to avoid it at all costs and just look at the cold hard facts - which decks did well, which decks did poorly, what did the matchup spreads look like, and where does Pioneer go from here. We also wrap up the show with an extended wind down recapping some of our favorite moments from Magic, podcasting, and pop culture. Finally, at long last, UW control is good (in Pioneer). Thanks to Temporary Lockdown lining up just right against the latest builds of Rakdos Midrange and the up and coming Amalia combo, along with a ton of other counterspells and removal cards, control finally found a weekend to dominate the metagame. And in case you were wondering what kind of movies, music, TV, podcasts, and video games we've been consuming all year, we take a chance to finally recap our favorites from the year as well. Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2023 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use coupon code THEDIVEDOWNTWENTYTHREE for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN23 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 2:55 - The Heavy Play fence 4:34 - This week's episode/housekeeping 9:59 - The Break Down: The Atlanta Pioneer RC 37:21 - Takeaways from the weekend 52:14 - What's up with this meta? 1:00:20 - Stan Smells Better 1:02:13 - The Wind Down: Your hosts are talking 1:03:08 - Our favorite Magic things this year 1:07:30 - Best new host of the year 1:09:16 - Our favorite episodes of the year 1:13:59 - Stan's favorite thing 1:14:35 - The card(s) of the year 1:16:51 - The card(s) we would revoke from existence 1:19:30 - Magic is good 1:21:25 - Music we liked this year 1:25:32 - Movies we liked this year 1:28:38 - TV we liked this year 1:33:30 - Podcasts we liked this year 1:40:41 - Video games we liked this year 1:46:42 - Wrapping up Links from this week's episode: https://melee.gg/Tournament/View/28009 https://twitter.com/karsten_frank/status/1736897130722140214/photo/2 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
12/21/20231 hour, 48 minutes, 4 seconds
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Episode 253: RC Atlanta Preview: Amalia, Copters, & More

RC Atlanta is looming, so this week the team is diving into Pioneer. Dave, Devon, and Shane take a spin through what's happened to the format since the bans early last week. Is Copter rising? Is Mono Green Devotion dead? Where's Phoenix right now? How did Shane like the new hotness Amalia Combo — a deck that Dave hated a couple of weeks ago? Turn in to find out. Don't worry if Pioneer isn't your thing, we still spend some time on Modern going through the results of the Legacy European Tour: Barcelona Modern main event. Lots of interesting results to consider after this 700+ person tournament. Scam Still Won... Big? Infinite Loops No One Understands The Most Popular Deck Doesn't Have Copter Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2023 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use coupon code THEDIVEDOWNTWENTYTHREE for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN23 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 2:01 - Have you heard the Heavy word? 4:19 - This week's show/housekeeping/patreon highlight 10:04 - The Break Down begins: The Legacy European Tour Barcelona overall meta 23:37 - The Top 64 meta and conversion rates 27:24 - The Top 8 35:10 - We travel to Arrakis 38:04 - The Dive Down begins: prepping for RC Atlanta 39:24 - The effects of Pioneer's recent bans 57:20 - Lost Caverns of Ixalan's additions (including Amalia combo) 1:13:57 - What will happen at the RC, and what d00m is (probably) playing 1:24:15 - Predicting the RC meta 1:30:02 - Wrapping up Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
12/14/20231 hour, 31 minutes, 57 seconds
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Episode 252: Four Bans, Too Furious

The mad lads did it! Fury... banned. Up the Beanstalk... banned. Karn, the Great Creator... banned. Geological Appraiser... banned. Smuggler's Copter... once banned, now unbanned. We react to the bombshell B&R, consider which decks win and lose from the announcement, and think about what looks good for RC Atlanta. Our hands shook with anticipation as we vigorously refreshed the B&R URL on Monday morning. Wizards promised bans in Modern & Pioneer, and they practically told us they were banning Fury, Beans, Karn, and Appraiser, but maybe it was an elaborate bit? Turns out, not a bit! And what's this, Smuggler's Copter finally unbanned? There's so much to talk about, and so soon before the Pioneer RC in Atlanta. Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2023 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use coupon code THEDIVEDOWNTWENTYTHREE for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN23 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 3:20 - Hold your non-banned cards with Heavy Play 6:28 - This week's episode/housekeeping 9:31 - The Break Down begins: We got some bans 13:48 - The B&R schedule moving forward 18:51 - Pioneer bans overall 22:46 - Karn, the Great Creator banned 31:10 - Geological Appraiser banned 33:49 - Smuggler's Copter UNBANNED! 46:56 - Pioneer winners and losers 51:10 - Testing those new scents 54:35 - The Break Down continues: Fury banned in Modern 1:07:56 - Up the Beanstalk banned 1:13:45 - Modern winners and losers 1:26:53 - Where do we go from here? 1:30:39 - Wrapping up Links from this week's episode: https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/announcements/december-4-2023-banned-and-restricted-announcement Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
12/5/20231 hour, 32 minutes, 5 seconds
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Episode 251: Regional Championships and Unusual Discoveries in Pioneer

On this week's show, The Dive Down breaks down results from a variety of Pioneer RCs that took place in Asia, Latin America, and Canada. Our eyes pop out at some numbers from the new Discover decks, and we check-in on the final NRG Series open of the year. Three regional championships in one weekend, AND an NRG Series open? Yes please! Shane, Devon, and Stan chat about results from the latest batch of high level Pioneer play, and focus on the best and worst performing decks internationally. Discover had some... frightning results. But Phoenix has once again rose from the ashes. Who knew instant speed removal can be good? Then we wrap up with a check-in on the Modern Open results from NRG Madison. Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2023 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN23 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN23 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 7:02 - Devon talks Heavy Play 8:12 - This week's show 10:56 - The Break Down begins - Pioneer Regional Championships! 13:56 - The Japan/Korea RC 34:03 - The South America RC 41:16 - Some combined data 44:05 - The Canada RC 51:12 - What do we know about Pioneer now? 1:03:04 - Stan speaks 1:05:00 - The NRG Madison Modern 10k 1:24:33 - The NRG leaderboard update 1:28:00 - Wrapping up Links from this week's episode: Japan & Korea Regional Championship https://mtgmeta.io/tournaments/17934 https://melee.gg/tournament/view/15433 South America RC https://mtgmeta.io/tournaments/17939 https://melee.gg/Tournament/View/39553 Canada RC https://melee.gg/Tournament/View/17096 NRG Madison Modern Open: https://melee.gg/Tournament/View/15654 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
11/30/20231 hour, 29 minutes, 55 seconds
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Episode 250: Sleeve/Believe/Heave: Lost Caverns Edition

On this week's show, the ha ha boys take some new cards from Lost Caverns of Ixalan for a spin in Modern and Pioneer. They cast Tishana's Tidebinder, Geological Appraiser, Warden of the Inner Sky, and more! Holy moly, LCI has already made quite the splash! In its first week live, it's already led to a huge disruption to Pioneer, along with some interesting upgrades for Modern. Stan and Dave chat about Pioneer Merfolk, playing Modern Rhinos with Tidebinder, and then Devon jumps in to talk about Boros Convoke, Temur Discover, and a few more brews that might surprise you. Check out our Black Friday deal at thedivedown.com/store and use promo code horndogs for 15% off your order! The Dive Down: Stan Loves Merfolk The Dive Down cont.: Dave of the Inner Sky The Dive Down cont. cont.: Devon Discovers Something Broken Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2023 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN23 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN23 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 3:12 - Capitalism time 5:50 - This week's show/housekeeping 9:31 - The Dive Down begins: New cards, new decks! 11:51 - Tishana's Tidebinder in Modern Rhinos 23:14 - A few other Modern tidbits 25:36 - Amalia combo in Pioneer 33:41 - Black Friday deals! 36:28 - Boros Convoke with Warden of the Inner Sky 46:21 - Simic Merfolk with lots of new cards 57:52 - Hollow One is back? 1:07:36 - Temur Discover 1:23:18 - Wrapping up Links from this week's episode: * Amalia/Wildgrowth Walker: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/archetype/pioneer-abzan-amalia-combo#paper * Pascal Maynard’s Boros Legends https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/5982814#paper * Boros Convoke with Warden of the Inner Sky https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/5984424#paper * Pioneer Simic Merfolk: https://twitter.com/claudiohmtg/status/1724852503836045703 * Modern Rhinos ft. Tidebinder: https://twitter.com/DackFayden07/status/1725947372348604759 * Pioneer Discover: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/5993199#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
11/23/20231 hour, 25 minutes, 42 seconds
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Episode 249: These Rhinos Ride Again

This week on The Dive Down we get back to basics. Stan and Shane focus on the three things The Dive Down does best: a) break down a large Modern tournament (SCG Pittsburgh), 2) give some takes about Rhinos, and iii) have a heartfelt conversation about MTG Universes Beyond. Mono White Hammer, Halo Forager, Sheoldred, and Captain America – what do they have in common? They're all here for this week's episode of The Dive Down. The Break Down: SCG Pittsburgh The Dive Down: New Cards, Old Rhinos The Wind Down: Beyond Universes Beyond Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2023 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN23 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN23 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 6:43 - Stan gets Heavy 9:57 - This week's show/housekeeping 13:20 - The Break Down: The SCGCON Pittsburgh Modern $10k 36:15 - The Dive Down: Is Sheoldred Rhinos good? 43:18 - Sheoldred 57:33 - Halo Forager 1:00:36 - Commandeer 1:06:43 - Subtlety 1:18:29 - Brotherhood's End/Obsidian Charmaw 1:24:51 - The Wind Down: Our takes on Marvel in Magic 1:37:23 - Wrapping up Links from this week's episode: Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
11/16/20231 hour, 38 minutes, 46 seconds
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Episode 248: The Last Caverns of Ixalan (Spoilers Part 2)

It's time for the final spoiler episode of 2023! We think? We go through the full spoiler from The Lost Caverns of Ixalan and talk about the cards we think will have the most impact... that we haven't already spoken about. What lands from this lands set do we actually think could be worth trying? Did they finally fix Smuggler's Copter? How Bitter will our Triumphs be? Have we Lost any Corpses? Did we Cleave any Souls? Not really — but tune in to find out what we think of some of these cards! • What Devon Would Do with One Billion Dollars • Shane Has a Favorite Doors Song • Dave Has Lubed the Headset Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2023 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN23 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN23 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 4:30 - Heavy Play 6:03 - This week's show & housekeeping 8:55 - The Dive Down begins: MORE CARDS 10:52 - Volatile Fault 13:57 - Echoing Deeps 16:31 - Restless Anchorage 18:25 - Dusk Rose Reliquary 22:02 - Stalactite Stalker 24:45 - Goblin Tomb Raider 27:33 - Dreadmaw's Ire 29:41 - Tarrian's Soulcleaver 33:10 - Subterranean Schooner 33:57 - Dauntless Dismantler 38:55 - Bitter Triumph 41:24 - Fanatical Offering/Fungal Fortitude 43:25 - Zoyowa's Justice 45:47 - Sentinel of the Nameless City 48:39 - Corpses of the Lost 52:35 - Bloodletter of Aclazotz 58:49 - Ojer Axonil, Deepest Might 1:02:23 - Our favorite cards 1:11:54 - Wrapping up Links from this week's episode: Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
11/9/20231 hour, 16 minutes, 15 seconds
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Episode 247: Getting Lost in the Caverns of Ixalan

For the 375th time this year, we descend into the madness of trying to work out what cards from a new set will make an impact in our formats. It's Lost Caverns of Ixalan time! Spelunk with us as Dave, Shane, and Devon debate the great questions of this set. Which removal card is better — Get Lost or Molten Collapse? Which combo piece unlocks more combinations — The Millennium Calendar or Bartolome del Presidio? Which Merfolk is the most... gilly (?) — Tishana's Tidebender or Cenote Scout? You decide! But listen first before... you decide! • Is this Removal Good? • Are These Combo Cards Good? • The Splendid Descended Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2023 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN23 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN23 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 3:54 - Heavy Play! 5:57 - This week's show/housekeeping 7:48 - The Break Down begins: Metagame Mentor and the state of Modern 17:12 - The standout decks right now 24:23 - The Dive Down begins: The Lost Caves of Ixalan! 27:18 - Get Lost 32:17 - Molten Collapse 37:03 - Inti, Seneschal of the Sun 41:26 - The Ancient One 46:33 - Souls of the Lost 49:53 - Spelunking 53:14 - Restless Vents 55:45 - Enterprising Scallywag 58:42 - Glimpse the Core 1:02:24 - Helping Hand 1:04:42 - Tishana's Tidebinder 1:09:11 - Cenote Scout/Nicanzil, Current Conductor 1:13:07 - The Millenium Calendar 1:17:14 - Market Gnome 1:18:51 - Amalia Benavides Aguirre 1:20:39 - Bartolome del Presidio 1:24:03 - Squirming Emergence 1:29:37 - Wrapping up Links from this week's episode: Dr. Frank's Office Hours: https://magic.gg/news/metagame-mentor-the-top-15-modern-decks-for-november-2023 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
11/2/20231 hour, 31 minutes, 24 seconds
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Episode 246: The Apocalypse, The Druid, and The New Cards

Could the right move in Modern be... adding a 4mv black card to Rhinos? Playing a green 2 drop over Murktide in... Murktide? What is even going on right now? We believe there's new stuff to try in Modern even now! Tune in to hear Devon almost take Rhinos + Sheoldred all the way and hear Dave come to the grim realization that casting Divinations is the only thing that makes him feel something in this crazy world. We try out new lists, new ideas, all in a quest to somehow beat both Beans and Scam with the same deck. Can it be done? Not yet... but we think people (and Devon) may be onto something. After we talk what we've been playing in Modern, we dive into descending into some of the first cards from The Lost Caverns of Ixalan. • Devon Goes There ft. Sheoldred • Dave Plays Cheap Spells ft. Questing Druid • Shane Descends Into Spoilers Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2023 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN23 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN23 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 6:03 - Heavy Play time 6:59 - On this week's show 8:02 - Housekeeping 11:33 - The Dive Down begins: d00m makes the finals with Sheoldred Rhinos 35:22 - Dave tests Temur Tempo 55:33 - Spiderspace's Grixis Tempo deck (briefly) 57:53 - The Break Down begins: Spoiler season returns - Lost Caves of Ixalan! 58:58 - Craft & The Enigma Jewel 1:03:01 - Discover & Geological Appraiser 1:06:22 - Descend & The Mycotyrant (also Map Tokens) 1:12:30 - Saheeli, the Sun's Brilliance 1:14:54 - Spyglass Siren 1:16:45 - Jadelight Spelunker 1:19:15 - Abuelo, Ancestral Echo 1:21:35 - Quintorius Kand 1:26:00 - Wrapping up Links from this week's episode: d00mwake's Rhinos + Sheoldred: https://x.com/d00mwake/status/1716509786089443466?s=20 Andrea Mengucci's Temur Murktideless Murktide: https://x.com/Mengu09/status/1716078994670428517?s=20 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
10/26/20231 hour, 27 minutes, 33 seconds
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Episode 245: Never Play the Fourth Bean, ft. Aspiringspike

Come back home for some beans, ya hear? We know you've had a lot of legumes lately, but this week The Dive Down has a special chef here to cook for us — Evart Moughon. Evart joins Dave and Shane to talk through his Up the Beanstalk brews including Cascade, Calibrated Blast, and more. Since this was recorded on (Non) Ban Day, we also spend some time getting his reactions to the current state of Modern and what he really thinks about Scam/Grief. Lastly, to close out the show, we dip our toes back into Pioneer and take a look at The NRG Series Showdown in Indianapolis. • Meet our new sponsor: Pedialyte! • No changes to all formats but meet our new boosters! • Lean into the bean • NRG Indianapolis Pioneer Showdown Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2023 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN23 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN23 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 4:15 - Shane's Heavy Play XP 6:00 - This week's show/housekeeping 9:31 - The Break Down begins - (lack of) bans! 43:35 - Talkin' beards 46:54 - The Dive Down begins - Cascade Beans 56:40 - How this deck works 1:10:18 - Fighting the Bean 1:20:40 - The Dive Down, cont: The NRG Indy Showdown Pioneer $10k 1:28:12 - The top 8 1:32:16 - Some Pioneer takes 1:36:48 - The NRG standings 1:38:40 - Shane's extremely brief RCQ report and wrapping up Links from this week's episode: Honestly just: https://www.moxfield.com/users/aspiringspike Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
10/19/20231 hour, 41 minutes, 9 seconds
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Episode 244: To Ban or Not to Ban, Scam is the Question

No one fully understands the timing of the upcoming B&R announcement, but public opinion in Modern is swelling around Scam. Is it time to make a change to Modern? We look at the deck's performance, play patterns, and popularity to consider Wizard's options. The Dive Down boys are devided. Some of us like the deck! But it's insanely popular right now, and the Grief play patterns can be pretty annoyin. Messing with the ban list seems a bit awkward during the Modern RCQ season, but maybe saving people from the turn one Scam play would be a welcome change? The Dive Down: Luv2Grief The Dive Down, cont: More of a Dauthi head myself The Dive Down, still cont: This discussion isn't dead after all Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2023 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN23 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN23 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 3:58 - Heavy Beeps 6:25 - Housekeeping 9:42 - Why we are talking about Scam 13:13 - How did we get here? 21:13 - Scam's current place in the meta 39:12 - Our experiences with Scam 46:11 - How good is Scam, really? 1:00:11 - What's maybe not so good about Scam 1:12:07 - How you can beat Scam 1:20:08 - Winter scents 1:22:50 - Does Scam deserve a ban? 1:31:15 - Wrapping up Links from this week's episode: * https://www.magic.gg/news/metagame-mentor-everything-to-win-your-2023-modern-rcq?_ga=2.177410017.512776497.1696739444-1798107090.1696739444 * https://www.quietspeculation.com/2023/10/september-23-modern-metagame-update-getting-cheated/ Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
10/12/20231 hour, 32 minutes, 55 seconds
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Episode 243: Pioneer RCs, Coffers, Scales, & One Huge Dinosaur

This week what's on the tin is in the show! We begin to dip back into Pio and cover the recent RCs in the EU and Canada, talk Modern Coffers and Scales, and finally chat a little about new cards from our imminent return to Ixalan. • LEC Lille Pioneer • Devon talks RCQs, Dave gets mathy • Cavern of Souls is back... but why? Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2023 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN23 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN23 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 6:03 - Playing Heavy 11:20 - Housekeeping 15:36 - The Break Down begins: The Lille Pioneer RC 25:56 - The Lille Top 8 34:28 - The Face2Face Calgary Pioneer event 36:39 - The flat Pioneer metagame 42:15 - Getting Hollow 45:33 - The Dive Down begins: Devon's Coffers RCQ 1:05:42 - Dave played Hardened Scales 1:27:51 - Talking some fresh spoilers 1:38:15 - Wrapping up Links from this week's episode: LEC Lille Results: https://melee.gg/Tournament/View/16639 F2F Tour Championship: https://melee.gg/Tournament/View/17095 Pioneer Winrates: https://mtgdecks.net/Pioneer/winrates/event_ids:141948,142011,142012 Modern Hardened Scales: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/5888059#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
10/5/20231 hour, 40 minutes, 7 seconds
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Episode 242: This Episode is Full of Beans

We finally cast the new card in town and played a couple Up the Beanstalk decks in Modern and... Standard?! Plus some new Modern Prowess builds, and a recap of Stan's latest RCQ. Stan reached another top 8 finish in a Modern RCQ, and we recap his latest Rhino learning from the tournament. Then he keeps on casting free spells with a crazy Invasion of Alara Standard Cascade deck featuring Up the Beanstalk. Meanwhile, Shane learns to love 5C Bring to Light Beans. While d00mwake admits how much he hates Omnath decks and just played Prowess instead. The Break Down: The joy and pain of another top 8 The Dive Down: The musical fruit The Dive Down cont.: Playing Prowess without Dave Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2023 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN23 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN23 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: Links from this week's episode: Stan's Rhino Deck: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/5841110#paper d00mwake's Rhino Deck: https://www.moxfield.com/decks/waHIPFpV1UyF6II44-YS7w Modern Bring to Light Beans: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/5878236#paper Standard Cascade: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/5870855#paper Gruul Prowess: https://www.moxfield.com/decks/-Ii6mZEKQ0CnfLoATc4q1g Jeskai Prowess: https://www.moxfield.com/decks/nMdLGyE670G6s1BFzLLHfQ Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
9/28/20231 hour, 33 minutes
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Episode 241: Don't Play Control in Modern & RCQ Prep, ft. George Jabbour

President of the Narset fan club, George Jabbour, joins Stanislav to go over some tips to prep for the upcoming Modern RCQ season, a brand new sideboard guide tool, and why playing control is such a pain in the @$$. Stan and George are gearing up for some Modern RCQs this weekend, so they swap notes on how they prepare for competitive tournaments in any format. Plus, George talks about his brand new sideboard tool, flexslot.gg, which he developed himself and is free for anyone to use. Finally, we dive into control strategies, which are near and dear to George's heart, to go over why they're so tough to play, how they stack up against today's Modern metagame, and why some people should probably avoid them. The Break Down: How to prepare for a Modern tournament. The Dive Down: Never playing control again. Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2023 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN23 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN23 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 1:12 - Stan gets Heavy 3:33 - Housekeeping 5:55 - George in the Grinder's Studio 17:41 - Tournament prep practices 48:19 - Sideboarding and flexspot.gg 1:00:25 - Special Shane smell appearance 1:04:40 - Talking about Control 1:14:07 - How to think about playing Control 1:21:48 - Evaluating Control finishers 1:27:47 - Controls matchups 1:36:38 - Promoting George 1:38:33 - Wrapping up Links from this week's episode: https://linktr.ee/jabjabber https://shuddermtg.substack.com/p/how-bad-practice-can-make-you-worse-085 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
9/21/20231 hour, 40 minutes, 16 seconds
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Episode 240: WOE Betides Modern & Pioneer

Hello Magical Friends! This week it's all about WOE and the new cards that are making an impact in Modern and Pioneer. Turns out that this return to Eldraine might actually be hiding a little bit of power in it after all. First, we dive into Modern. Devon's been running hot with Mono-Black Coffers lately — thanks in no small part to a chase mythic that's a perfect fit for the deck. We also spend some time talking about two cards that look to be new format staples: Agatha's Soul Caludron and Up the Beanstalk. After that we hop over to Pioneer. At first glance, it looks like WOE has given aggro decks in Pioneer a bunch of new tools... but which ones are actually any good? We think you otter tune in to find out how just far this bunnicorn go. If you know what we mean. Actually, we don't know what we mean... just tune in anyway! It's another week on The Dive Down! • New Stuff! • Modern & Devon's Success • Pioneer & Aggro Decks Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Go to https://heavyplay.com/THEDIVEDOWN for 10% off your first order. Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN23 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN23 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 5:00 - Improve your gameplay and your gameday 8:10 - Housekeeping 10:43 - Modern Starts: Mono-Black Coffers 22:05 - Talkin' 'bout Talisman and Beseech the Mirror 36:45 - What makes Coffers good? 44:33 - Agatha's Soul Cauldron & Up the Beanstalk 1:02:04 - Smell Break 1:05:19 - Pioneer Starts: Boros Convoke ft. Regal Bunnicorn 1:22:19 - Elusive Otter in Izzet Prowess 1:32:40 - Devon's other intriguing decks 1:43:40 - Wrapping up Links from this week's episode: D00mwake's latest Mono-Black Coffers List: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/5855694#paper Claudioh's Soulful Yawg List: https://twitter.com/claudiohmtg/status/1700788139806081409?s=20 Danzant's 75-Card Main 4c Bean List: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/5855695#paper D00mwake's Boros Convoke List: https://www.moxfield.com/decks/5L65haImFUuje1toa8N15A WelcomeToTheInternet's Izzet Prowess List: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/5849646#paper D00mwake's Boggles List: https://www.moxfield.com/decks/wHNBKOkiOUijxke5Q3KoKA D00mwake's Naya Pia List: https://www.moxfield.com/decks/AmkMP2PT80SIk9_P1UxO-g Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
9/14/20231 hour, 47 minutes, 3 seconds
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Episode 239: Modern History: Infamous Sets & Iconic Moments

This week we talk about the history of Modern through the lens of the most important — and infamous — sets covering everything from Alara to Zendikar. Actually saying "from Alara to Zendikar" sounds less impressive than I hoped. Forget that. We start all the way back with 8th Edition and we at least mention nearly all the sets currently in Modern (well at least like... 60% of them). How did the sets designed before Modern was created impact the birth of this format? How did the format move from childhood into adolescence? What little detours ended up taking us into this Modern Horizons-driven reality? And most importantly... what were The Rhino Boys doing while all this was happening? Join us for this special episode brought to you by long time sponsor AND top tier Patron — Will from Barrister and Mann. He made the rules and we made the ep. Hope you enjoy it! Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2023 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN23 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN23 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 3:58 - Heavy Playtime 10:00 - Housekeeping 14:03 - The story of Modern begins 19:22 - Eighth Edition 25:40 - Mirrodin 30:04 - Ravnica 35:20 - Time Spiral 43:45 - Alara 47:19 - Magic 2010 55:36 - Zendikar 1:01:10 - Scars of Mirrodin 1:04:45 - PT Philly 1:08:06 - Innistrad 1:11:58 - Return to Ravnica 1:16:30 - Modern Masters 1:24:45 - Khans of Tarkir 1:34:03 - Some later sets, and some takes 1:43:20 - What sets did the most good for Modern? 1:46:51 - Thanks, Will! Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
9/7/20231 hour, 52 minutes, 7 seconds
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Episode 238: Wild 'n Out in Eldraine, pt.2

The full set is finally spoiled and we're back with the definitive opinions on what's good, what's bad, and what's just neat. We spend a lot of time chatting about some adventuring otters, introduce a once Modern playable cantrip to Pioneer, and head up the beanstalk to draw some cards. • Adventure Awaits • Virtue is a Virtue Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2023 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN23 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN23 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 3:48 - Weighted Play 7:07 - Housekeeping 8:32 - Moonshaker Cavalry 12:38 - Elusive Otter 18:51 - Devouring Sugarmaw 22:21 - Frolicking Familiar 26:31 - Scalding Viper 33:18 - Hearth Elemental 37:12 - Questing Druid 38:55 - Mosswood Dreadknight 41:40 - Thunderous Debut 44:54 - Regal Bunnicorn 48:47 - Royal Treatment 50:35 - Quick Study 53:27 - Woodland Acolyte 58:25 - Soap's on Sale 1:01:40 - Sleight of Hand 1:05:50 - Up The Beanstalk 1:08:58 - Faerie stuff 1:14:07 - Collector's Vault/Candy Trail 1:16:08 - Virtue of Persistence/Virtue of Courage 1:18:47 - Sentinel of Lost Lore 1:21:56 - Takes on Wilds of Eldraine 1:23:49 - The bests of the set 1:33:06 - Wrapping up Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
8/31/20231 hour, 36 minutes, 34 seconds
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Episode 237: Wild 'n Out in Eldraine, pt.1

It's that most magical time once again — it's spoiler season! Join Dave, Devon, and Shane as they begin surveying the Wilds of Eldraine. We're looking for new Adventures, causes for Celebration, and to take on new... Roles? Ok that didn't work for long. This week we talk about the cards and concepts from Eldraine that seem like they could make an impact in Modern and Pioneer. But before we get to that, we talk with Devon about his recent RCQ win, Rac Sac, and how it feels to claim lots of goblins in a single day. Join us! Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2023 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN23 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN2023 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 3:36 - The Heaviest Play 6:05 - Housekeeping 7:59 - Random Europe stories 10:36 - d00m finally won an RCQ! 18:50 - Wilds of Eldraine is here 21:55 - Adventures are back 23:10 - Decadent Dragon 29:44 - Callous Sellsword 33:56 - Kellan, the Fae-Blooded 37:36 - Knight of the Helix 39:42 - Creature Lands 50:18 - Choose your Role 53:26 - Monstrous Rage 56:01 - Not Dead After All 1:00:47 - Bargain 1:02:38 - Farsight Ritual 1:04:40 - Brave The Wilds 1:07:13 - Beseech The Mirror 1:09:48 - Celebration (briefly) 1:11:14 - Faerie Fencing and Ego Drain 1:14:22 - Enchantments matter (maybe) 1:15:21 - A Tale For The Ages and Yenna, Redtooth Regent 1:18:49 - Tough Cookie 1:21:38 - Agatha's Soul Cauldron 1:25:07 - Beluna Grandsquall 1:27:17 - Syr Ginger, the Meal Ender 1:31:02 - The Goose Mother 1:32:57 - Ruby, Daring Tracker 1:36:14 - Wrapping up Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
8/24/20231 hour, 37 minutes, 36 seconds
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Episode 236: Pondering Preordain & NRG Detroit, ft. SpiderSpace

This week Shane and Stan are joined by returning guest Gabriel Maxson, aka SpiderSpace, to talk about the implications, impact, and potential uses of Preordain in Modern. Before that, we take a good look at the results from the NRD Detroit Modern $10k. How many copies of Preordain made the top 8? I guess we will never know.... The Break Down: NRG Detroit Results The Dive Down: SpiderSpace on Preordain (aka Stan Loves Cantrips) Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2023 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN23 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN2023 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 6:21 - Housekeeping 9:40 - The NRG Detroit Modern $10k metagame 34:45 - The NRG Top 8 44:54 - The NRG leaderboard 46:46 - An ocean of aroma 48:26 - The Dive Down begins: What's the deal with Preordain? 51:31 - Why Preordain was banned in the first place 54:28 - How does Preordain compare to what we had before? 1:02:54 - Are cantrips even good in Modern? 1:07:50 - Preordain's role in particular decks 1:32:04 - Did we decide anything here? 1:41:10 - Wrapping up Links from this week's episode: NRG Detroit: https://melee.gg/Tournament/View/15650 Find SpiderSpace on Twitter: https://twitter.com/spiderspacemtg?lang=en Find SpiderSpace on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/spiderspace Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
8/17/20231 hour, 44 minutes, 11 seconds
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Episode 235: Pro Tour Deck Tests, Modern Bans, and Future Product Plans

On this week's episode, we kick off with a round of B&R reactions, followed by a recap of the upcoming product roadmap including Modern Horizons 3. Then we take some Pro Tour decks for a spin to see what these so-called pros have been cooking up. Devon tells us about his experiences playing with Merfolk, Reanimator, and Samwise, Shane tries out some of the latest Tron builds, and Stan rams some wizards into Rhinos. The Break Down: Preordain Unbanned! The Break Down (cont.): Modern Horizon 3 is coming! The Dive Down: New Modern decks fresh from Spain! Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2023 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN23 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN2023 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 2:59 - Some important Patreon stuff 3:58 - Very Heavy Play 5:48 - Housekeeping 7:06 - The Break Down: Tired: Bans; Wired: Unbans 19:02 - The unbanning of Preordain 26:17 - No changes in Pioneer 37:03 - WOTC's GenCon annoucements - MH3, Pioneer Masters, and more! 49:28 - Spooky smells 52:10 - The Dive Down: Testing Pro Tour lists 52:55 - Stan plays CFB's Temur Wizard Rhinos 1:07:07 - Devon plays 4C Reanimator, Merfolk, Samwise combo, and more 1:22:04 - Shane plays Handshake G Tron 1:38:27 - Wrapping up Links from this week's episode: B&R: https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/announcements/august-7-2023-banned-and-restricted-announcement Rhino Wizards: https://www.channelfireball.com/article/Temur-Rhinos-Got-Some-Spicy-New-Tech-from-Lord-of-the-Rings/943a3c89-7c29-4747-a3dd-3c8d581386b6/ Handshake Tron: https://melee.gg/Decklist/View/315233 Naya Scapeshift https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/5771029#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
8/10/20231 hour, 40 minutes, 16 seconds
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Episode 234: PT Barcelona Takeaways: 
What Happened, 
What it Might Mean

This week Dave, Shane, and Stan go through the biggest things we learned from the Modern PT last week in Barcelona. It might feel like Rakdos and Tron led the story (and they did) but there's a lot of other things to be learned from what happened. What do we think about The One Ring's win rate? How many decks out of the top 80% of the meta had winning records? How much more can we talk about Rhinos? The answers and what we think they mean might surprise you. • Only 10 Decks Had 50%+ Win Rate • The One Ring Might Not Be Broken • But Grief Probably Is Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use coupon code THEDIVEDOWNM23 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN2023 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code "DIVE8" at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 3:52 - Stan reps Heavy Play 5:28 - Housekeeping 7:33 - Headlines from the Modern Pro Tour 9:39 - 1: Rakdos was everywhere (and also won) 22:21 - 2: Five decks made up the top 57% of the meta 31:30 - 3: Tron is ... good. Right? 43:15 - 4: The less-represented decks were Not Good 50:02 - 5: Small Sample Size Theater 54:34 - 6: Only 10 deck archetypes had a 50+% winrate 56:15 - 7: The most popular cards might not have been the best 1:04:35 - 8: The top 32 had 13 different decks 1:09:12 - 9: The top 8 was stacked 1:12:34 - 10: What's next for Modern 1:20:48 - Does the PT impact Casual Spikes? 1:24:13 - Wrapping up Links from this week's episode: The decks of the Pro Tour: https://melee.gg/Tournament/View/16429 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
8/3/20231 hour, 26 minutes, 4 seconds
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Episode 233: PT Barcelona Preview, ft. d00mwake

It's almost PT Barcelona time — and we're super excited to talk through the decks, meta, and how we think everything is going to shape up this weekend. Shane, Dave, and Devon (aka d00mwake) go through all of the changes to Modern since LOTR and what we think that means to Pros and to the rest of us. Once we get through a meta discussion, we decide to put pride on the line and do a fantasy draft of the archetypes — nothing like a little competition on top of competition. Shane goes all in on Scam. Dave grabs late round value. Devon goes for big mana. Who will reign supreme? • What the Meta is • How it Got There • Fantasy Drafting the Meta Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use coupon code THEDIVEDOWNM23 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN2023 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code "DIVE8" at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 4:43 - Dave spoils his intro 6:42 - Housekeeping 10:15 - The Modern Pro Tour is back! 17:02 - How the meta has shifted with LOTR 24:23 - Last weekend's 4 challenges 35:36 - What's shaping Modern's meta 41:30 - The One Ring decks 58:18 - The Bowmasters decks 1:05:07 - The combo... deck? 1:07:50 - The other contenders (and non-contenders) 1:16:45 - Fragrances for individuals 1:19:05 - The Pro Tour fantasy draft! 1:35:45 - Wrapping up Links from this week's episode: Take a look at our draft board: https://www.figma.com/file/uHvwBeISD3a8PXfBvJVgf3/TDD-PT-LOTR-Draft-Board?type=whiteboard&node-id=0%3A1&t=3TczhXHJBK2Lig2q-1 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
7/27/20231 hour, 37 minutes, 32 seconds
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Episode 232: Over the Top with The One Ring

This week the boyz go over the top with the biggest decks that have gotten buffs from the LOTR set. Control and big mana strategies have been strengthened by The One Ring, so we take a trio of the best of them out for a test drive. That's right, it's time for Shane to break out his (nearly) all Russian deck, Mono-Green Tron. But before we get to that Stan professes his love for Mono-Black Coffers and Dave takes a spin with the Twitter hype deck of the week — UB Ring Control by Talisker. • Mono-Black Coffers • Dimir Control (from TaliskerMTGO) • Mono-Green Tron Check out Heavy Play to improve your gameplay and game day. Awesome deck boxes, playmats and more at heavyplay.com (https://heavyplay.com/) — and use code "THEDIVEDOWN2023" for 10% off your first order. Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use coupon code THEDIVEDOWNM23 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN2023 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code "DIVE8" at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 2:05 - Heavy Play! 5:35 - Housekeeping 8:36 - Stan talks Mono-Black Coffers 14:38 - How Coffers works 21:30 - Playing Coffers 29:58 - Coffers in the Modern meta 34:31 - Dave talks Dimir Control 44:29 - Playing Dimir Control 51:12 - Stan has a box 54:40 - Shane talks Green Tron 1:01:45 - How Tron is different and better 1:15:45 - So let's talk about The One Ring 1:25:00 - Wrapping up Links from this week's episode: Mono-Black Coffers by DreamsOfAshiok: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/5740288#paper UB Ring Control by Talisker: https://twitter.com/taliskermtgo/status/1679559848994676751?s=46 Mono-Green Tron by Giona Cai: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/archetype/modern-mono-green-tron#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
7/20/20231 hour, 26 minutes, 49 seconds
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Episode 231: Intercontinental Modern Tournament Results

On this week's show, we continue to track the impact of Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth on the Modern metagame with a detailed recap of tournaments all over the world and world wide web. We touch on the St. Louis NRG Team Trios, the Legacy European Tour Bologna event, and a bunch of Modern challenges. We look at which decks converted the best across tournaments, who's seeing the most consistent results among the format's top archetypes, interesting trends within online data, and how we rank the current Modern staples. Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Enhance your Magic accessories with the newest deck boxes, sleeves, and playmats from Heavy Play. Use code TheDiveDown2023 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com/ Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use coupon code THEDIVEDOWNM23 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN2023 Receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code "DIVE8" at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 8:07 - Housekeeping 11:58 - Heavy Play x The Dive Down 14:00 - The St. Louis NRG Team Trios 27:33 - The NRG Top 8 decks 32:22 - The Legacy European Tour Bologna Modern Event 42:20 - Live Smells of Little Treats 47:02 - Legacy European Tour deck performance 1:01:18 - The Top 8 1:03:34 - Cool Challenge stuff 1:10:40 - Takes on Modern decks 1:23:32 - Wrapping up Links from this week's episode: NRG Series Team Trios in St. Louis - https://melee.gg/Tournament/View/15645 Legacy European Tour Modern Bologna - https://melee.gg/Tournament/View/16657 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
7/13/20231 hour, 25 minutes, 25 seconds
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Episode 230: Put a Ring(s) on It

This week we keep talking about THE PRECIOUSSSSs... because no one can stop putting this colorless 4-drop in their Modern decks. Dave and Devon go through at least 6 or 10 decks with the ring while Stan silently looks on and nods approvingly (he has no voice, yet he lent his energy and notes to this episode). Then we do a bit of a deep dive into how to think about playing against The One Ring — and try to create a roadmap for how to think about playing against format-warping cards in general. Finally, we talk quickly about a couple of non-Ring decks you can consider right now. Rings Decks Playing Against Rings Decks Non-Rings Decks Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use coupon code THEDIVEDOWNM23 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN2023 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code "DIVE8" at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 1:48 - Housekeeping 3:39 - Modern is different, and The One Ring is why 5:30 - 4C Ringpile 15:14 - Ringos (and other chat) 29:10 - Ringanimator 37:20 - Dimir Asmoringtacular 42:13 - The emerging Ring Meta 44:35 - Azorius Ringtrol 46:26 - Playing against The One Ring 1:05:40 - Decks outside The One Ring 1:25:42 - Wrapping up Links from this week's episode: Rhinos ft TOR https://twitter.com/d00mwake/status/1674247337416310786 4C Money Pile https://twitter.com/Fencingbrick/status/1674185814429900804/photo/3 https://twitter.com/CHERRYAXEMAN_OP/status/1674357284795809794 https://twitter.com/Aspiringspike/status/1675246156874498048 Ponza ft TOR https://twitter.com/d00mwake/status/1674838758108037128 Reanimator ft TOR https://twitter.com/d00mwake/status/1673860448347619328 UW Control ft TOR https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/5707375#paper Dimir Asmo w/ TOR https://twitter.com/d00mwake/status/1675667766634860544 Scam ft. Bowmasters https://twitter.com/YungDingoMTG/status/1672503676840058880/photo/1 Samwise combo https://twitter.com/d00mwake/status/1672268892868161536 Creativity playing Reprieve https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/modern-challenge-2023-06-30#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
7/6/20231 hour, 26 minutes, 53 seconds
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Episode 229: NRG Chicagoland & the Power of The One Ring, ft. d00mwake

We finally return to Modern!! Shane and Devon join forces to break down a bunch of tournaments from last weekend, including the NRG Chicagoland Modern $10k, a huge Japanese paper tournament, and some wild MTGO Challenges. After that, they look more closely at The One Ring (and some other cards) and how it's quickly changing the face of Modern. The Break Down: Mono-G Tron has legs in Chicago The Break Down, cont: Living End returns to MTGO The Dive Down: Devon returns to... Modern? Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use coupon code THEDIVEDOWNM23 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN2023 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code "DIVE8" at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 6:36 - Housekeeping 8:59 - The Break Down begins: The NRG Chicagoland Modern $10k 11:46 - The overall metagame and deck breakdowns 26:25 - The NRG Top 8 33:55 - The NRG Leaderboard 35:52 - The Players Convention Modern Open 42:35 - What these two paper tournaments tell us 45:30 - The Modern Showcase Challenge 1:00:07 - What are we thinking about all these tournaments? 1:04:38 - Devon goes on an advertising journey 1:08:00 - The Dive Down begins: The One Ring(s) 1:27:54 - Delighted Halfling and Orcish Bowmasters 1:32:46 - Devon has been playing... Modern? 1:38:51 - Wrapping up Links from this week's episode: The NRG Chicagoland Modern $10K: https://melee.gg/Tournament/View/14061 The Player's Convention Modern Open: https://melee.gg/Tournament/View/15431 Mixed data: https://mtgmeta.io/tournaments/14956?mix=14939 The Showcase Challenge: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/modern-showcase-challenge-2023-06-24#paper Sunday's Challenge: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/modern-challenge-2023-06-25#paper Boros Hammer: https://melee.gg/Decklist/View/306630 Izzet... Stuff: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/5694033#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
6/29/20231 hour, 40 minutes, 43 seconds
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Episode 228: The Past, Present, and Future of MTGO, ft. Ryan Spain

Ryan Spain, now the Creative Director of Magic Online at Daybreak Games, returns to The Dive Down to talk about the transition of MTGO from WOTC to Daybreak, goals and hopes for the platform's future, and the realities of managing such monolithic software. We learn about how Magic card frames pose challenges for MTGO's file sizes, how two factor authorization was developed, and why MTGO still doesn't exist on Macs. Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use coupon code THEDIVEDOWNM23 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN2023 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code "DIVE8" at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 3:07 - Housekeeping 7:40 - Ryan Spain of Daybreak Games joins The Dive Down 12:14 - Creative Directing Magic Online 14:25 - Transitioning M:O to Daybreak 18:35 - How M:O fits into the Magic ecosystem 24:40 - Bugfixing and developing M:O 31:08 - Future plans for M:O 54:18 - The economy of M:O 1:05:15 - Engagement with formats on M:O 1:08:20 - Where's the Mac version?! 1:13:16 - Experimentation on M:O 1:18:34 - Some final thoughts 1:21:00 - Wrapping up 1:22:39 - Secret track Links from this week's episode: https://www.mtgo.com/news/mtgo-stateofmtgo-10112022 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
6/22/20231 hour, 27 minutes, 2 seconds
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Episode 227: The Pod Tempts You, ft. aspiringspike & d00mwake

This week Shane welcomes back two friends of the show — Devon O'Donnell (aka d00mwake) & Evart Moughon (aka aspiringspike) — to sub in for Dave and Stan and talk Post-RC Pioneer hype decks and where cards from Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth could find homes in Modern. That's right, two guests, two formats, and a whole lotta takes. Devon loves Evart's dogs. Evart loves The One Ring. Shane registers quiet skepticism about all these hobbits. • Devon & Evart's Wild Weekend • Post-RC Pioneer Hype Decks • anything cool going on in modern? • Is The One Ring Busted? Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use coupon code THEDIVEDOWNM23 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN2023 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code "DIVE8" at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 3:45 - Housekeeping 5:07 - The Break Down begins: Devon and Evart Do Dallas 20:48 - The hype decks of Pioneer post-RC 43:11 - Anything cool going on in Modern? 47:00 - LOTR: Tales of Middle-Earth spoilers continue 48:20 - Is The One Ring busted? 51:55 - Stern Scolding 55:26 - Aragorn, the Uniter 56:53 - Frodo, Determined Hero 1:00:14 - Orcish Bowmasters 1:02:30 - Boromir, Warden of the Tower 1:05:16 - Flowering of the White Tree 1:08:07 - Flame of Anor 1:11:29 - Samwise Gamgee 1:16:05 - Rosie Cotton of South Lane 1:18:40 - Elven Farsight 1:22:20 - This is not Modern Horizons 3 1:24:28 - Oliphaunt 1:28:50 - What Evart and Devon are up to 1:34:54 - Wrapping up Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
6/16/20231 hour, 36 minutes, 3 seconds
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Episode 226: Pioneer RC Results and Modern Ring Temptations, pt. 1

The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth spoilers are in full swing, so we dive into a bunch of cards that could see play in existing Modern decks or even create some new ones. Plus we recap the results of the latest Pioneer Regional Championship in Dallas. We attempt to Press the Enemy and get a Stern Scolding. But we Forge Anew with some Orcish Bowmasters and a determined Frodo in the legendary lands of Rivendell. After that we encounter the denizens of Khazad-dûm and Moira. Then Stan cracks a pack. Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use coupon code THEDIVEDOWNM23 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN2023 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code "DIVE8" at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 3:29 - Housekeeping 8:45 - LOTR Spoilers... again! 14:05 - Stern Scolding 20:36 - Cast Into the Fire 23:48 - Press the Enemy 30:45 - Forge Anew 37:10 - Orcish Bowmasters 43:15 - The Legendary Lands 54:32 - Frodo, Determined Hero 57:18 - Frodo Baggins 1:00:01 - Pippin, Guard of the Citadel 1:03:35 - Lobelia, Sackville-Baggins 1:05:13 - Troll of Khazad-dûm 1:07:48 - Moira Marauder 1:11:11 - Summertime Shaving 1:14:25 - Stan cracks a pack 1:18:28 - Dreamhack Dallas RC Break Down 1:21:18 - The RC Metagame 1:34:43 - Conversion rates 1:37:35 - The Top 8 1:42:58 - Pioneer takeaways 1:48:08 - Wrapping up Links from this week's episode: Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
6/8/20231 hour, 49 minutes, 37 seconds
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Episode 225: Boros Convoke: Demolishing Artifacts For Fun & Profit, ft. d00mwake

This week on The Dive Down we go deep on that deck that people can't stop talking about — Boros Convoke in Pioneer. Dave and Devon talk about the core strategy of the deck, the flex cards and why people use them, how to mull, what to keep, and matchups — the good, the bad, and the middle. Get ready for Devon to explain how his perceptions about some matchups have changed since he started playing the deck and for Dave to have an argument with ChatGPT about math. Finally, we talk about what's on Devon's mind as he gets ready for Dreamhack Dallas. It's all in a week on The Dive Down! • Risky Keeps? • ChatGPT Can't Do Multivariate Probabilities • Dreamhack Dallas via Valencia Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use coupon code THEDIVEDOWNM23 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN2023 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code "DIVE8" at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 3:03 - Housekeeping 5:48 - What's the deal with Boros Convoke? 10:22 - The cards of Convoke 46:53 - Playing Convoke 59:36 - Matchups and sideboard options 1:16:15 - The Valencia LMS Pioneer event meta 1:35:47 - Some final takes on Convoke 1:39:13 - Wrapping up Links from this week's episode: Boros Convoke Lists: D00m’s current list: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FxLkfM-WAAEB13p?format=jpg&name=medium Frank Karsten's article: https://strategy.channelfireball.com/cfb-pro-content/convoke-chaos-unleash-the-power-of-pioneers-hottest-new-deck-mtg-deep-dive/ Sodek’s list + guide: https://mystical-teachings.com/boros-convoke-primer/ Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
6/1/20231 hour, 40 minutes, 52 seconds
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Episode 224: B&R Hot Takes & NRG Minneapolis

Stan and Shane combine forces to discuss the NRG Pioneer $10K in Minneapolis, and then give some hot takes about the changes to the B&R cadence and Standard's new 3-year rotation. What latest tech from March of the Machine (and it's Aftermath?) had an impact in Pioneer? And what do WOTC's changes mean for the future of our formats? Listen and find out! The Break Down: Hyrule via Knutsford The Break Down, cont: An 160 All-Foil Control Mirror The Dive Down: Strong Feelings About B&Rs Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN2023 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN2023 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code "DIVE8" at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 6:40 - Housekeeping 9:14 - The NRG Minneapolis/St. Paul Pioneer $10K 12:40 - The overall metagame and performances 30:50 - Thoughts on the meta 34:51 - The Top 8 40:24 - Stanislav played Izzet Creativity 51:25 - Hot takes on WOTC's new B&R strategy 1:07:23 - Hot takes on Standard moving to a 3-year rotation 1:11:44 - Stan cracks a pack 1:15:34 - Wrapping up Links from this week's episode: The NRG Minneapolis Pioneer $10K: https://melee.gg/Tournament/View/14059 Revitalizing Standard: https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/announcements/revitalizing-standard Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
5/25/20231 hour, 17 minutes, 20 seconds
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Episode 223: Getting Weird in the Aftermath of MOM, ft. d00mwake

This week d00mwake joins Shane and Dave to go through a quick tour of the weirdness that happened in Modern and Pioneer MTG this week. We dive deep into the wild Modern Challenge on 5/13, a new + interesting deck d00mwake has been playing in Pioneer, and the somewhat surprising places new cards have appeared in the last few weeks. Dave declares his love for Sultai Shadow. Shane wonders if Ob Nixilis is really a win more. Devon takes us through an interesting new Boros Tokens list he's been working on. • Adventures in Pioneering • Surprising Modern Tricks • Yargle's Vengeance Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN2023 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN2023 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code "DIVE8" at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 5:25 - Housekeeping 8:15 - Devon's adventures in Pioneer 8:40 - Boros Tokens 16:48 - Rakdos Sacrifice with Ob Nixilis, Captive Kingpin 27:12 - Coppercoat Vanguard 33:45 - Some final Pioneer highlights 40:15 - Saturday's Modern Challenge highlights 40:51 - Sultai Traverse Shadow 51:07 - Hardened Scales makes a return! 55:14 - Weird Creativity tech 57:24 - Weird Rakdos Scam tech 1:02:03 - 4-Color Omnath with Nissa 1:04:05 - Some more weird Modern tech 1:11:34 - Sunday's Modern Challenge highlights 1:14:42 - Yargle's Vengeance 1:17:13 - Even more weird Modern tech 1:21:34 - Wrapping up Links from this week's episode: Saturday 5/13 Modern Challenge https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/modern-challenge-2023-05-13#paper Modern Humans w/ Coppercoat Vanguard jenesaisquoi, https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/5612522#paper Parrotlet, https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/5610799#paper Sunday 5/14 Modern Challenge https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/modern-challenge-2023-05-14#paper Coppercoat Vanguard in Pioneer https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/5616010#paper https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/5616016#paper Rakdos Sacrifice w/ Ob Nixilis, Captive Kingpin ChiChiChi, https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/5612490#paper Shadowz2005, https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/5612482#paper D00mwake's Boros Tokens https://twitter.com/d00mwake/status/1655674173904003106?s=20 Mason Clarke's NeoSoulflayerTraxa https://twitter.com/masoneclark/status/1657193505695887360?s=20 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
5/18/20231 hour, 23 minutes, 8 seconds
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Episode 222: Aftermath and LOTR: The Spoilers Will Continue Until Morale Improves

This week it's time for... you guessed it... more card talk on The Dive Down. With Dave out, Stan and Shane do double duty with a look at the cards that stand tall in the Aftermath of MOM and ask the question: how many bulk rares do you have to sacrifice to despark a planeswalker? After that we take a quick trip to Middle Earth to talk about some tempting new information. Listen. Now. You've been tempted. • Some Aftermath • Some Rings • A Pack is Cracked! Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN2023 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN2023 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code "DIVE8" at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 4:55 - Housekeeping 7:24 - The Dive Down begins: March of the Machine: Aftermath 13:02 - Coppercoat Vanguard 15:57 - Vesuvan Drifter 20:12 - Ayara's Oathsworn 24:32 - Nissa, Resurgent Animist 27:48 - Tranquil Frillback 30:47 - Jirina, Dauntless General 32:41 - Calix, Guided by Fate 35:58 - Narset, Enlightened Exile 40:02 - Ob Nixilis, Captive Kingpin 42:54 - Pia Nalaar, Consul of Revival 45:08 - Sarkhan, Soul Aflame 49:07 - Samut, Vizier of Naktamun 51:52 - Some final thoughts on Aftermath 53:32 - LOTR spoilers continue 54:30 - The Ring Tempts You 1:00:04 - Call of the Ring 1:01:54 - Delighted Halfling 1:08:10 - The Wind Down! Crack-a-pack! 1:15:01 - Wrapping up Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
5/11/20231 hour, 16 minutes, 49 seconds
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Episode 221: Deckfest 2 (Pioneer ed.): Gruul Elves & Boats, Dimir Rogues, Izzet Pyro, and Naya Tokens, ft. d00mwake

We kick off the show with a chat about a ton of Modern data that's been collected since the Yorion ban, and review matchups for the top decks in the format. Then we dive into four new Pioneer decks d00mwake helped put together to keep experimenting with cards from March of the Machine. Stan takes another Elves deck through the grinder, but Gruul with dinosaurs? Devon then plays his own Gruul dino deck, but with Reckless Stormseekrs and Esika's Chariots. Dave draws a bunch of cards with blue convoke spells. And we make as many tokens as possible in Naya. The Break Down: Modern data post Yorion ban! The Dive Down: Pioneer deckfest featuring more March of the Machine! Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN2023 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN2023 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code "DIVE8" at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 3:35 - Housekeeping 6:26 - Modern Meta Data Since the Yorion Ban 8:05 - Prevalence Data 15:25 - Win Percentages 18:05 - Matchup Percentages 26:05 - Barrister and Mann Welcome Spring 32:19 - Pioneer Deckfest Begins! 33:00 - Spirits, Rogues, etc. 38:50 - Gruul Elves w/ Imperiosaur 47:44 - Gruul "No Boats" w/ Imperiosaur 51:29 - Is Pioneer Becoming a Faster Format? 58:05 - Izzet Pyromancer 1:10:10 - Rakdos Ghalta 1:13:34 - Naya Tokens 1:16:58 - Wrapping Up With an Iron Bru Links from this week's episode: Anael Yahi's Modern data extravaganza: https://twitter.com/YahiAnael/status/1650601983697362956?s=20 Gruul Dino Elves (http://www.streamdecker.com/deck/gPcr1x_SO ), Gruul Dino no elves (http://www.streamdecker.com/deck/KMSs8DSJ9 ), Izzet Pyro (http://www.streamdecker.com/deck/DAjXwnxt2 ) Naya Tokens (http://www.streamdecker.com/deck/zIofmKPnZ ) Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
5/4/20231 hour, 22 minutes, 42 seconds
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Episode 220: Sleeve/Believe/Heave: Decks Go Marching (Modern and Pio)

It's Sleeve Believe Heave week for new cards from March of the Machine. We play Modern and Pioneer with cards like Ancient Imperiosaur, Rona, Herald of Invasion, Fairie Mastermind, and more! The Break Down: Four Modern decks! The Dive Down: Some Pioneer decks too! Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN2023 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN2023 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code "DIVE8" at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 4:45 - Sleeve/Believe/Heave: MOM in Modern 7:36 - Stan plays Kuldotha Aggro 20:50 - Dave plays Jeskai Prowess 34:24 - Stan plays Baral & Kari Zev 44:33 - Dave plays Jund Indomitable Creativity 53:13 - Adagio and Presto 57:07 - Sleeve/Believe/Heave: MOM in Pioneer 58:51 - Shane plays Sultai Rona Combo 1:21:35 - Dave plays Dimir Rogues 1:34:31 - Wrapping up Links from this week's episode: Modern Kuldotha Aggro: httdps://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/5569038#paper UR Prowess/YungDingo: https://www.streamdecker.com/deck/fOnU-Zwd- Baral & Kari Zev: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/5565460#paper Jund Creativity: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/5569004#paper Pioneer Sultai Rona Tandy Deck: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/5570816#paper Dimir Rogues: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/5566886#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
4/27/20231 hour, 36 minutes, 40 seconds
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Episode 219: Pio d00m Brews & Modern SCG Richmond, ft. d00mwake

This week we get to look at the first paper Modern tournament featuring the new cards of March of Machines - the $20K Modern RCQ that took place in Richmond this past weekend. We go over the metagame, the performances, and the top 12 decks! Following that, d00mwake is back to talk to us about a bunch of brews he has for Pioneer, featuring some hot tech from MOM. Is Jeskai Ascendancy back? Is Invasion of Tarkir going to change Pioneer? We don't actually know yet, but we sure can hope! The Break Down: Modern Keeps Being Modern The Dive Down: Devon Brings the Brews The Dive Down, cont: You'll Never Believe the Most Exciting Deck Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN2023 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code THEDIVEDOWN2023 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code "DIVE8" at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 4:29 - Housekeeping 8:53 - The Break Down: The SCG Richmond $20K Modern RCQ 9:37 - The overall metagame 27:41 - The top 12 43:08 - Cool Decks, Inc. 48:18 - Taxes... stink? 51:40 - The Dive Down: d00m brews in Pioneer 54:02 - 4C Ascendancy 59:39 - Rona Ascendancy 1:05:03 - Sultai Rona 1:09:24 - Gruul Dragons 1:17:02 - 4C Dragons 1:22:33 - Gruul Fling 1:27:36 - Mono-Green Scales 1:32:58 - Sorin + Ghalta 1:40:05 - Wrapping up Links from this week's episode: The Richmond $20K: https://mtgmelee.com/Tournament/View/14572 4C Ascendancy: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/5556305#paper Rona Ascendancy: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/5556308#paper Sultai Rona Combo: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/5556313#paper Gruul Dragons: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/5556306#paper 4c Dragons: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/5556315#paper Gruul Fling: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/5556307#paper Mono-G Scales: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/5556309#paper Sorin & Ghalta: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/5556312#paper Find d00mwake on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/d00mwake Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
4/20/20231 hour, 41 minutes, 20 seconds
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Episode 218: These Machines Are Making Me Marchy, pt 2

The boys are back for some more spicy takes and overall expectations for March of the Machine. We chat about some new instant speed draw spells, some potential combo shenanigans, and our called shots on the set's potential sleeper hits. We pay our respects to Archangel Espeth, theorycraft what type of Izzet spells deck can play the new convoke draw spells, and recap some of the crazy new combo omens via Omen Hawker. The Break Down: Dave is back to tell us we did a good job The Dive Down: Shane and Stan continue to do a good job Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN2023 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code THEDIVEDOWN10 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code "DIVE8" at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: * 4:08 - Housekeeping * 9:16 - March of the Machines spoilers, pt. 2 * 12:15 - Meeting of the Minds/Transcendent Message * 16:53 - Archangel Elspeth * 20:09 - Zephyr Singer * 23:26 - Khenra Spellspear * 29:10 - Invasion of Gobakhan * 34:22 - Urabrask * 40:03 - Polukranos Reborn * 43:17 - Sunfall * 46:55 - Ancient Imperiosaur * 50:16 - Tax Time * 53:22 - Voldaren Thrillseeker * 56:44 - Omen Hawker * 59:35 - Kroxa and Kunoros * 1:02:26 - Ozolith, the Shattered Spire * 1:04:19 - Our top picks from MOM * 1:10:56 - Sleeper picks * 1:18:21 - Wrapping up Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
4/13/20231 hour, 19 minutes, 51 seconds
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Episode 217: These Machines Are Making Me Marchy, pt. 1

There's a new card in town, and we're here to chat about Battles (including the band) during our first look at spoilers from March of the Machine, a Magic set that comes out in April... We kick with a chat about Battles in particular, and the type of questions we're asking before we trying playing these brand new cards in decks. Then we look at some new additions including Baral & Kari Zev, Halo Forager, The Sword of Once and Future, Elesh Norn, and more! Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN2023 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code THEDIVEDOWN10 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code "DIVE8" at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 5:01 - Housekeeping 9:31 - March of the Machine - Another Event Set! 13:09 - Battles are here! 21:26 - The spoilers begin, sort of 24:22 - Ayara, Widow of the Realm 29:28 - Baral and Kari Zev 34:35 - Surge of Salvation 38:35 - Bloodfeather Phoenix 44:19 - Elesh Norn 50:16 - Halo Forager 55:26 - Faerie Mastermind 59:32 - Sword of Once and Future 1:03:39 - Wrenn and Realmbreaker 1:08:00 - Invasion of Tarkir 1:10:57 - Invasion of Karsus 1:12:30 - Change the Equation 1:18:45 - Wrapping up Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
4/6/20231 hour, 20 minutes, 11 seconds
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Episode 216: Rhinos Overrun NRG & Pure Modern Preview, ft. d00mwake

Devon O'Donnell returns to help us break down the results of this weekend's NRG Chicago Modern and Pioneer trials. Then chat about d00mwake's own upcoming Pure Modern tournament and what to play in a tournament without Modern Horizon cards. The Break Down: NRG Mundelein: More Trials Than Salem The Dive Down: Elevator Constellation Triggers The Dive Down, cont: The Purest of Modern Tournaments Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN2023 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code THEDIVEDOWN10 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code "DIVE8" at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: * 4:40 - Housekeeping * 6:40 - The Break Down: Shane & Devon talk NRG Mundelein * 10:01 - The 2023 NRG Series structure * 13:35 - The Modern 10k metagame * 36:53 - The Modern top 8 * 45:13 - The Pioneer 5k metagame * 55:19 - The Pioneer top 8 * 57:30 - The NRG leaderboard * 59:38 - The Dive Down: Stan & Devon talk Pure Modern * 1:14:44 - What's good in Pure Modern? * 1:49:30 - Wrapping up Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
3/30/20231 hour, 51 minutes, 9 seconds
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Episode 215: New Sets, First Looks: Shadows Over Hobbiton

Sure it's 3 months away, but if that doesn't stop WOTC from sharing The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth spoilers, what should stop us from talking about the summer's straight to Modern set? We chat about Frodo, Samwise, Gollum and the One Ring, and somehow convince ourselves that maybe these cards can work in a deck with other lands and spells..? Then we dust off our old Arena accounts to play some new Innistrad cards. We break down which decks get the biggest boost from the latest update, bringing Explorer one step closer to Pioneer. And take count of which decks still have a way to go due to critical, missing pieces. The Break Down: One supplemental set to rule them all and in the darkness bind them The Dive Down: Shadows Over Innistrad Remastered but not forgotten Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN2023 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code THEDIVEDOWN10 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code "DIVE8" at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 7:20 - Housekeeping 8:50 - Do we want Hobbits to shake up Modern? 25:19 - How can we evaluate cards in the post-MH2 era? 31:50 - The One Ring 43:18 - Frodo, Sauron's Bane and Gollum, Patient Plotter 46:05 - Samwise, the Stouthearted 49:21 - Reprieve 53:50 - Mount Doom 57:03 - Live smelling experiences 1:00:23 - Shadows Over Innistrad Remastered is here! 1:13:53 - Are we back on Arena? 1:18:25 - What does Shadows Remastered do for Explorer? 1:21:00 - The Pioneer decks you can play on Arena now 1:25:30 - Golden Packs are sweet 1:27:37 - Wrapping up Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
3/23/20231 hour, 28 minutes, 59 seconds
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Episode 214: Deckfest 1: Tyvar Sac, Spirits, Elves, Calibrated Blast, and Humans, ft. d00mwake

Our international relations split today's show into two sections, and a new episode tradition was born. Join us for a multi-format look at some our favorite tribes, a new take on Calibrated Blast, and the latest version of Pioneer Sac. Listen in as Stan and Dave discuss what they've been up to in Modern and Pioneer over the last couple of weeks. Hint: it's in the title. After that Shane and Devon go deep on the new Pioneer Sac decklists featuring Tyvar. It's like two shows in one — enjoy the Deckfest 1! • Stan Loves Pioneer Now! • Dave Gets Weird in Modern! • Shane & Devon Break Down Tyvar Sac in Pioneer! Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN2023 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code THEDIVEDOWN10 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code "DIVE8" at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 3:52 - Housekeeping 7:03 - Dave and Stan played some MTG 8:22 - Stan played... Pioneer Elves??? 21:00 - Stan also played... Pioneer Spirits! 33:24 - Dave played Mardu Calibrated Blast 46:35 - Dave also played Mono-White Humans... in Modern?! 57:29 - Coming home to some Barrister & Mann 1:00:40 - Shane and Devon talk Pioneer Golgari Sacrifice 1:08:36 - Tyvar in Golgari Sacrifice 1:13:06 - Some mana dorks 1:14:52 - The sac engines 1:27:08 - The fodder makers 1:34:05 - The Collected Company 1:39:20 - The mana 1:43:20 - The sideboard 1:44:45 - So how do you play this deck? 1:54:50 - Matchups and sideboarding 2:01:00 - Why play this deck? 2:05:31 - Wrapping up Links from this week's episode: • Pioneer Elves by XBoxGreg: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/5391892#paper • Pioneer Azorius Spirits by ScouterTF2: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/5471488#paper • Modern Cottage Blast by Aspiringspike: https://twitter.com/Aspiringspike/status/1631397428585693188?s=20 • Modern Mono-White Humans by HanktheObese: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/5471479#paper • Pioneer Golgari Sac by d00mwake: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/5460137#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
3/16/20232 hours, 6 minutes, 55 seconds
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Episode 213: Let There Be Combo, ft. Ryan Donkin

Fresh off the heels of his RCQ win with Amulet Titan, our Twitter friend Ryan Donkin joins us to break down the power of Mycosynth Garden, pour one out for Ad Nauseum, and how to count all the triggers in Glimpse of Tomorrow decks. • More Ways to Win on Turn 2 • Glimpse the Ad Nauseum and Other Unthinkable Brews • Tinker, Brewer, Pilot, Consumer Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN2023 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code THEDIVEDOWN10 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code "DIVE8" at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 3:33 - Housekeeping (including notes about a TDD Discord Modern Tournament) 6:06 - Getting Into Ryan's Brain: A Peek Inside the Grinder's Studio 11:20 - Putting Cards Together in Ways That Win 11:40 - Amulet Titan 22:52 - Ad Nauseum 32:05 - Ad Break: Barrister & Mann 35:15 - The Spark that Lit a Love of Combo 41:04 - The Secret Third Cascade: Glimpse 53:14 - When to Play Glimpse 56:41 - What Kind of Main Are You? 1:03:27 - Cards Ryan is Brewing With Now 1:06:10 - What Ryan is Trying in Pioneer: Lotus Field + More 1:09:49 - Stan Cracks a Pack: Peak Consumer Main Content 1:12:45 - Closing Out Links from this week's episode: https://twitter.com/GR_DONKIN Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
3/9/20231 hour, 15 minutes, 49 seconds
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Episode 212: Modern's Back & So is Stanislav!

Well, here it is. The week you've all been waiting for — the Rhino Boyz finally get back their Rhino format. It's time for a check in on what's going on in Modern since Phyrexia: All Will Be One launched. We take a look at the Top 32 metas of all the MTGO Challenges from 2/10 – 2/24 and throw in some data on the Manatraders February final to boot. Oh yeah — and Stanislav finally rejoins the pod from his new home in the UK. Hear what we sound like during a daytime recording (for the first time ever) and also hear what we sound like in British accents (hopefully for the last time ever). What surprising decks are surging in Modern once again? What cards from ONE have made any impact? What terrible UK slang with each of us try to pepper our speech with? Find out on this week's ep! • Too Many English Accents • February Modern Challenge(s) Roundup • We Catch Up and Crack a Pack Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN2023 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code THEDIVEDOWN10 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code "DIVE8" at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 6:15 - Housekeeping 11:48 - The Break Down: What's going on in Modern? 44:53 - The Manatraders Modern top8 and what are we learning? 52:40 - Smuggling some bergamot 55:35 - Shane plays some Devoted Druid with Tyvar 1:09:30 - Cool Decks, Inc. 1:12:15 - Stan is back, and opens a pack! 1:21:40 - Wrapping up Links from this week's episode: Devoted Druid with Tyvar by Bean17h: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/5431806#paper Devoted Druid with Tyvar by MickeyPlaysMagic: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/5422748#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
3/2/20231 hour, 23 minutes, 44 seconds
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Episode 211: 8 Takes from PT Phyrexia, ft. d00mwake

With Shane and Stan both gone this week, Dave called in returning guest host Devon O'Donnell, aka d00mwake, to talk about his hot Pro Tour Phyrexia takes. Is d00m buying what Dave's selling? That's to be determined. Buying or not, Dave and Devon first go over the expected and unexpected decks from the return of the Pro Tour, then chat about some of the early previews from March of the Machines. The Break Down: The Metagame Everyone Saw Coming The Dive Down: A Winner No One Saw Coming The Wind Down: The Team-Ups No One Knew They Needed Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN2023 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code THEDIVEDOWN10 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code "DIVE8" at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 4:05 - Housekeeping 6:30 - Pro Tour Phyrexia - Is Devon buying what Dave's selling? 12:50 - Take 1: The meta was what we expected 18:07 - Take 2: The top of the meta didn't perform well 25:24 - Take 3: We should be playing the less popular decks 37:30 - Take 4: The rogues broke the format a bit 54:15 - Shane's secretly here 59:28 - Take 5: More metagame calls paid off 1:02:50 - Take 6: Fable of the Mirror Breaker is the best card in the format 1:07:50 - Take 7: The meta is unlikely to change 1:15:15 - Take 8: The top 8 was impressive and our predictions stunk 1:19:50 - March of the Machines early previews! 1:34:02 - Where to find d00mwake and wrapping up Links from this week's episode: The PT decks: https://mtgmelee.com/Tournament/View/14111 March of the Machines spoilers: https://scryfall.com/sets/mom Devon's Twitch Channel: https://www.twitch.tv/d00mwake Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
2/23/20231 hour, 35 minutes, 47 seconds
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Episode 210: Pro Tour Philly Preview, ft. d00mwake

This week Dave and Shane invite Devon O'Donnell (aka d00mwake) over to help us prepare for the return of the Pro Tour! We go deep on Pioneer as we take a look at the recent meta and last weekend's MTGO Challenges (or whatever they're called), go over where established decks are picking up new tech from ONE, and lastly run through a bunch of sleeper decks and their potential for a PT break through — one deck d00mwake likes may even surprise you. We likely don't talk about Atraxa enough. But we do talk about the angel... some? Tune in for all this and to see what each of us chose as a top 4 for the tournament. • As Much Pioneer as You Could Ever Want • Atraxa Unifies the Rogue Meta • One Deck That Oozes Potential Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN2023 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code THEDIVEDOWN10 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code "DIVE8" at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 5:00 - Housekeeping 7:57 - The Pioneer Pro Tour 15:10 - The current Pioneer meta 27:45 - What can happen at the Pioneer PT? 30:02 - The Saturday Pioneer Challenge 43:48 - Saturday's cool decks 57:09 - Sunday's Pioneer Showcase Challenge 1:10:05 - Sunday's cool decks 1:20:28 - What do we know about Pioneer? 1:24:58 - Some sleeper decks of the new Pioneer 1:42:35 - Calling our top 4 decks of the Pro Tour 1:44:50 - Where to find d00mwake Links from this week's episode: Devon's Twitch Channel: https://www.twitch.tv/d00mwake Frank Karsten's Metagame Mentor: https://magic.gg/news/metagame-mentor-10-surprising-pioneer-decks-that-can-win-pro-tour-phyrexia 2/11 Pioneer Challenge: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/pioneer-challenge-2023-02-11#paper 2/12 Pioneer Showcase: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/pioneer-showcase-challenge-2023-02-12#paper d00mwake's Video on New ONE Decks for Pioneer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qLghY2tsI4 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
2/16/20231 hour, 47 minutes, 10 seconds
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Episode 209: ONE Weekend of New Decks & Techs

This week Shane and Dave dive into results from the first weekend of Magic after ONE. It looks like the set has had more impact on Modern and Pioneer than we thought possible with upgrades coming to several decks and even a couple of new brews emerging. Are THE Mycosynth Gardens ready for Prime Time? Is Venerated Rotpriest the card that will make Infect ripe again? Is Tyvar, Jubilant Brawler the real deal in Druid... or... anywhere else? Shane and Dave go through the results from the Modern $5k and $10ks from SCGCON Indy and look at some speculative brews for Pioneer from Frank Karsten's most recent Metagame Mentor. • The Mycosynth Gardens Are So Nice This Time of Year • Rotpriest or Rockpriest? • Tyvar, Jubilant Brewer Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN2023 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code THEDIVEDOWN10 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code "DIVE8" at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 4:55 - Housekeeping 8:40 - The SCGCon Indy Friday Modern $5k RCQ 23:44 - The SCGCon Indy Sunday Modern $10k RCQ 51:16 - New Modern oddities and ephemera 1:02:09 - Frank Karsten's Pioneer potentials in ONE 1:12:37 - New Pioneer oddities and ephemera 1:14:58 - Wrapping up Links from this week's episode: SCGCon Indy Friday modern 5k RCQ: https://mtgmelee.com/Tournament/View/13258 SCGCon Indy Sunday Modern 10k: https://mtgmelee.com/Tournament/View/13259 Modern Devoted Druid Combo in 2023: https://themanabase.com/modern-devoted-druid-combo-in-2023/ Frank Karsten's Metagame Mentor: https://magic.gg/news/metagame-mentor-10-surprising-pioneer-decks-that-can-win-pro-tour-phyrexia Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
2/9/20231 hour, 16 minutes, 28 seconds
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Episode 208: Phyrexia: All Will Be One Spoilers, Part 2, ft. DarthJacen

Here it is — Part 2 of our tour through Phyrexia: All Will Be One. But this week we've called in some reinforcements in the form of Sky Mason, aka DarthJacen on Playing Pioneer, Twitch, and Twitter. While Shane engages in another flight of fancy about a Green 7 drop and Dave speculates about edicts or bolts or something, Sky helps us get through cards that have real potential in Pioneer and Modern from this second half of the set. And then, at the end, as a treat, we all go over our top 5(-ish) cards from the set. • It's Always 51 in Providence • Napping in Skrelv's Hive • [Everyone Had Almost the Same] Top 5 Cards Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN2023 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code THEDIVEDOWN10 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code "DIVE8" at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 3:35 - Housekeeping 6:38 - Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines 9:21 - The Eternal Wanderer 13:29 - Phyrexian Vindicator 16:21 - Skrelv's Hive 20:07 - Distorted Curiosity/Bring the Ending 25:14 - Prologue to Phyresis 28:37 - Mindsplice Apparatus 36:45 - Annihilating Glare 40:50 - Archfiend of the Dross 42:51 - Phrexian Obliterator 45:03 - Sheoldred's Edict 48:18 - Rebel Salvo 51:08 - Furnace Punisher 52:47 - All Will Be One 54:15 - Cankerbloom 55:36 - Nissa, Ascended Animist 1:00:24 - Migloz, Maze Crusher 1:05:50 - DarthJacen's top cards 1:21:35 - Shane's top cards 1:27:30 - Dave's top cards 1:31:35 - Where to find Darthjacen online Links from this week's episode: Check out Sky on Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/darthjacen) and Playing Pioneer (https://playingmtg.com/pioneer/) Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
2/2/20231 hour, 34 minutes, 4 seconds
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Episode 207: Phyrexia: All Will Be One Spoilers, Part 1

This week Shane and Dave dive into the weirdness that is Phyrexia: All Will Be One. What card will be our number one for hype this spoiler season? What card that we think will see very little play counters spells with mv one? What Phyrexian Mite is a 1/1 for 1 with Toxic 1 and is number one in our hearts? How many more ones can I fit in this description? At least one. At least one. Join us this week as we go through the cards we love, the cards we hate, and the cards we're just plain Perplexia'd by. • These Cenobites Are Making Me Thirsty • Skrelv Wars, Nothing But Skrelv Wars • So I Dub Thee Unforgiving Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN2023 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code THEDIVEDOWN10 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code "DIVE8" at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 3:43 - Housekeeping 6:07 - All Will Be One 7:38 - The mechanics of ONE 17:13 - The spoilers begin! Allied Fast lands 20:04 - The Mycosynth Gardens 23:58 - Minor Misstep 29:45 - Venerated Rotpriest 37:27 - Gleeful Demolition 40:36 - Skrelv, Defector Mite 43:21 - Vat of Rebirth 47:29 - Kemba, Kha Enduring 51:29 - Ossification/Soulless Jailer 54:14 - The Filigree Sylex 56:18 - Blade of Shared Souls/Sword of Forge and Frontier 1:00:50 - Glissa Sunslayer/Malcator, Purity Overseer 1:03:42 - Mirran Safehouse 1:05:32 - Tyvar, Jubilant Brawler 1:09:07 - Unctus, Grand Metatect 1:10:54 - Ichormoon Gauntlet 1:13:54 - Jace, the Perfected Mind 1:16:24 - Nahiri, the Unforgiving 1:21:16 - Mondrak, Glory Dominus 1:24:06 - Capricious Hellraiser 1:27:04 - Tyvar's Stand 1:30:00 - Wrapping up Links from this week's episode: Scryfall: https://scryfall.com/sets/one?as=grid&order=spoiled Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
1/26/20231 hour, 31 minutes, 25 seconds
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Episode 206: Modern Domain Zoo & NRG Champs

This week Dave and Shane work on becoming Masters of their Domain with a quick dive into a deck that has been a bit of surprise in modern lately — Modern Domain Zoo. We debate which two drops are the best in this deck, wonder why this deck even has one drops, and finally, most domainedly, talk about killing opponents from the low teens with gameplans that include double Tribal Flames. But before all that, we talk about the exciting end of the 2022 NRG Championship Series, break down the decks from Modern and Pioneer, and marvel about the tiny tech choices people can make in a field of 16 players. Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN15 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code THEDIVEDOWN10 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code "DIVE8" at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 4:13 - Housekeeping 6:24 - The Break Down: The NRG Championship 8:58 - The Modern meta & decklists 28:24 - The Pioneer meta & decklists 41:53 - The tournament results 47:55 - Spring is here 50:42 - The Dive Down: Masters of our Domain (Zoo) 52:37 - What Domain is all about 54:55 - The Domain creatures 1:05:48 - The Domain spells 1:14:06 - The manabase and mana strategy 1:21:14 - Some thoughts about Domain Zoo 1:26:08 - Wrapping up Links from this week's episode: NRG Champs Decklists: https://articles.nerdragegaming.com/decklists-archive/modern-2022-nrg-championship-january-14-15-2023/ https://articles.nerdragegaming.com/decklists-archive/pioneer-2022-nrg-championship-january-14-15-2023/ Sample Domain Zoo List: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/5339959#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
1/19/20231 hour, 28 minutes, 39 seconds
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Episode 205: 2023 Magic Kickoff: Modern & Pioneer

Dave and Shane kickoff 2023 in Magic in our first Stan-less episode of his hiatus. We take a quick tour around the formats we love: we first spend time on a tour of Modern via recent MTGO events, then through Pioneer via Frank Karsten's most recent assessment of the combined RC meta. But first we talk about this weekend's NRG Championship Series Finals. And then before that we also cry some because we miss Stan. Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN15 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code THEDIVEDOWN10 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code "DIVE8" at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 4:43 - Housekeeping 11:50 - The Dive Down begins - the NRG Championship preview 23:05 - The current state of Modern 48:19 - The current state of Pioneer 1:04:20 - Cool Decks, Inc. 1:20:05 - What we aren't talking about 1:22:30 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: NRG Championship Series Twitch Channel: https://www.twitch.tv/nrgseries 2022 NRG Series Championship Structure: https://articles.nerdragegaming.com/2022-nrg-series-championship-structure/ ManaTraders Modern $30k: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/2022-manatraders-series-30-000-invitational#paper MTGO Modern Super Qualifier: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/modern-super-qualifier-2022-12-26#paper Frank Karsten's Pioneer RC Metagame Mentor: https://www.magic.gg/news/metagame-mentor-the-top-15-pioneer-decks-from-regional-championships Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
1/12/20231 hour, 24 minutes, 12 seconds
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Episode 204: Our 2023 Goals & an Intro to Heavy Play

Surprise! We got one more episode out of Stan before he heads off to the UK — and it's a good one. It's time for our annual chat about our 2023 goals as Magic players, podcasters, friends, and frenemies. We touch on some ideas we have for expanding the show, expanding our planewalking skills, and on how we all feel like we need to fight to stay engaged and curious in life as old age creeps in. No big deal. But before all that, we're excited to bring you a fun discussion we had with Randy Chiang, CEO and Founder of Heavy Play (heavyplay.com) — a brand new, player-centric take on deck boxes, playmats, and sleeves. We talk with Randy about what inspired him to chase his dream to design this line of accessories that aim to help make gameday easier for Magic players of all kinds. Heavy Play is currently working on a Kickstarter launch campaign — go check it out before it closes on January 15th! The Break Down: The Last Playmat You'll Ever Need The Dive Down: 2023 Goals Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN15 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code THEDIVEDOWN10 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code "DIVE8" at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 3:08 - Housekeeping 4:06 - Talking with Randy from Heavy Play 41:10 - Cheshire Stan 43:50 - Some 2023 goals 47:01 - Show goals 55:59 - Magic goals 1:17:33 - Personal goals 1:23:53 - Wrapping up Links from this week's episode: Heavy Play Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/heavyplay/heavy-play-equipmag-system-and-curv-sleeves Heavy Play website: http://heavyplay.com Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
1/5/20231 hour, 25 minutes, 34 seconds
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Episode 203: The 2022 Divey Awards & a Major Announcement

For our final episode of the year, we're kicking off with a huge announcement of things to come in 2023. Then we dive into the hottest cards and decks of the year. Yes it's true, Stan is fleeing the country. But we're not letting him leave the podcast just yet. Change is coming, sure, but the show will go on as our three friends figure out how to manage the unique challenge of timezone management. Then we talk about the hottest cards and decks from the year, the ones that took us by surprise, and the ones we turned to whenever we had to win some tournament cash. Thanks for another amazing year at The Dive Down. We couldn't do it without our wonderful friends and fans who continue to support us. We have more plans for next year and we can't wait to see what's to come in 2023. The Break Down: The Mancunian Candidate The 2022 Divey Awards: The Cards We Loved and The Cards We Hated Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN15 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code THEDIVEDOWN10 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code "DIVE8" at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 3:20 - Housekeeping 5:37 - Stan's big announcement 13:11 - The 2022 Year in Review 14:55 - (Some) Companions are banned 20:06 - RCQs change competitive Magic 24:59 - The Nerd Rage Gaming Series 28:41 - The Best of 2022 Awards begin - The Experience of the Year 34:21 - The card of the year 42:58 - Our favorite card(s) 45:08 - The comeback card 52:40 - The best new deck 57:18 - Stan's instant classic 1:00:01 - The best deck 1:07:39 - Our favorite deck(s) 1:08:57 - The most overhyped card 1:15:58 - The most underhyped card 1:17:31 - The most hated deck(s) 1:21:34 - The most hated card(s) 1:23:30 - Favorite product of the year 1:27:03 - Favorite episode(s) of the year 1:29:58 - Guests of the year 1:31:54 - Wrapping things up Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
12/22/20221 hour, 33 minutes, 29 seconds
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Episode 202: Modern Jeskai Breach: Get on the Grind

Jeskai Breach has been dominating the paper and MTGO scenes for months, and Stan's obvious pleas have finally been answered. The boys dive into the deck to figure out some quick tips on what it takes to combo off. We also break down the results from NRG Louisville, including deck win rates across Saturday's Modern tournamnet, and the epic conclusion to the Player of the Year race. Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN15 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code THEDIVEDOWN10 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code "DIVE8" at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 5:15 - Housekeeping 8:06 - The Break Down - The NRG Modern Showdown 32:55 - Quick Pioneer Top 8 35:52 - Live Smell Reviews 39:15 - The Dive Down: Breaching for fun and profit 40:51 - A brief history of Grinding Breach 45:58 - How does the combo work? 50:45 - What's in the deck? 55:35 - What makes it tick? 1:02:24 - What we learned when playing 1:12:05 - How to beat it 1:18:50 - How did we like it? 1:24:19 - Wrapping up Links from this week's episode: Breach reference list: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/5272624#paper Jesse Robkin's Breach Deck Guide: https://infinite.tcgplayer.com/article/MTG-Modern-Izzet-Underworld-Breach-Deck-Guide/a4a197cf-3114-4d6b-b316-81a22363b068/ Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
12/15/20221 hour, 25 minutes, 46 seconds
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Episode 201: Sleeve/Believe/Heave: New Modern BROs

Annnnnnnd we're back. Now that your faithful hosts have or have not recovered from Episode 200, Dreamhack, Thanksgiving, NRG Chicago, international travel, and other... ailments... it's time for the three friends to embark on the next 200 episodes of the show. To kick off the dawning of this new age of TDD, we're first going to spend some time talking about NRG Chicago and Stan's incredible performance there. After heaping praise upon our favorite son who came in 10th place, we dive into some Modern decks that feature cards from The Brothers' War. First, Stan talks about Portal to Phyrexia in a Shape Anew shell — is it anew contender for the top spot in Modern? Dave talks about sacrificing creatures to get what you want in Hammer using Diabolic Intent. Shane gets Arcane but only via Proxy in Cascade Rhinos. And lastly, because he couldn't help himself, Dave breaks back into an old image of his — using Third Path Iconoclast in UR Prowess. Do any of these updates earn a coveted Sleeve rating from TDD Inc, Intl? Tune in and find out. The Break Down: Stan Tramples the Field at NRG Chicago The Dive Down: New Modern BROs Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN15 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code THEDIVEDOWN10 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code "DIVE8" at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 2:58 - Housekeeping 8:17 - The Break Down: The NRG Chicago Pioneer $10K 11:45 - Stan finishes 10th at the NRG Modern $5K 18:44 - The Modern Meta 22:02 - The top 8 decks 26:26 - Modern takeaways 32:00 - It's your local Santa impersonator 35:14 - The Dive Down: Stan Shapes Anew 43:00 - Dave Hammers with Diabolic Intent 54:30 - Shane Tramples with Arcane Proxy 1:04:31 - Dave Plays Prowess (Again) 1:19:20 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: Shape Anew/Portal to Phyrexia: https://twitter.com/Aspiringspike/status/1597399229558759424 Hammer w/ Diabolic Intent: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/5258908#paper Rhinos w/ Arcane Proxy: https://twitter.com/Brittney_MTG/status/1597630506103099392 UR Prowess w/ Third Path Iconoclast: https://www.streamdecker.com/deck/o5BZmd8eM Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
12/8/20221 hour, 21 minutes, 57 seconds
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Episode 200: 200 Modern Cards for the Casual Spike

Well, we finally made it — episode 200! And it's your Rhino Boyz live, together, and in the same room in a small studio outside of Atlanta during Dreamhack. To celebrate ep 200, we deliberated over a list of 200 important cards from Modern's past and present, broke them down into categories.... and then did what we do best — talked about them. Join us as we reminisce about Modern's past, celebrate its current form, and bring up every counterspell. A very special thanks to all of you Citizens of The Dive Down Nation who keep making this possible and for making our community the absolute best. We appreciate you! Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Check out our new merch store!: http://www.thedivedown.com/store Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN15 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code THEDIVEDOWN15 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code "DIVE8" at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 4:58 - Housekeeping 7:20 - 200 cards begins 8:12 - The Mana of Modern 12:32 - I'm Living in a Living Nightmare 16:22 - Stuff That's in Burn 19:30 - Cheap Removal 27:26 - Every Counterspell 30:54 - Free-ish Spells 36:26 - Look, I'm Drawing Cards 41:01 - Control Stuff 43:37 - Cascade Spells 45:28 - Midrange is Dead 49:52 - 1+1+1=7 56:30 - Other People's Favorite Cards, Pt. 1 1:02:16 - These Cards are Just Good, Get Over it 1:05:35 - Tempo Stuff 1:08:45 - Two Two-For-Ones 1:10:35 - The Elementals 1:13:39 - Stoneforge & Friends 1:15:24 - We Miss Her, We Want Her Back 1:16:54 - Dredge Stuff 1:18:37 - Our Robot Overlords 1:20:34 - It's Hammer Time 1:22:24 - Titan Stuff 1:25:29 - It's Tribal Time 1:27:25 - Some Dorks 1:29:27 - Creature Combo Shenanigans 1:31:02 - Spells Cards 1:34:32 - A Mill Card as a Treat 1:35:20 - Other People's Favorite Cards, Pt. 2 1:38:42 - These Cards Will Never Be Good Again 1:44:49 - Cards We Can't Believe Are Good Enough For Modern 1:47:45 - Hope These Work 1:49:44 - Two Companions 1:52:59 - Oops, We Broke Modern 2:01:49 - Namesake Cards 2:04:22 - Vaguely Unfair & Other Cool Lands 2:07:08 - The Top End 2:08:34 - Thank You! 2:09:44 - Other People's Favorite Cards, Pt. 3 2:13:19 - Closing Out Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
12/1/20222 hours, 17 minutes, 10 seconds
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Episode 199: RC Atlanta: Final Prep feat. darthjacen

The anticipation is almost over. What started as a blink our collective eye way back in the spring has come to pass. It's time for RC Atlanta. As the rhino boyz prepare to head down to Dreamhack to... cover(?)... the event, we turn to new friend of the show Sky Mason, aka darthjacen, from Playing Pioneer to help us work through the latest decks, trends, and strategies for Pioneer. It's a great final discussion on a format that has come back to prominence this year. But before all that, we have a special announcement — The Dive Down is excited to announce that we've launched our own custom merch store! Check out this limited collection of hats, shirts, and... a fanny pack (?) at thedivedown.com/store. Thank you + we appreciate you! Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN15 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code THEDIVEDOWN15 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code "DIVE8" at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 9:15 - Housekeeping 10:33 - WE NOW HAVE A STORE! 14:50 - Talking Pioneer with Sky 25:13 - Mono-Green Devotion 40:00 - Rakdos Midrange 51:38 - Izzet Phoenix 1:02:31 - Mono-White Aggro 1:08:28 - Abzan Greasefang 1:14:29 - A magical time of year 1:18:38 - Keruga Fires 1:23:41 - Selesnya Angels 1:28:32 - Gruul Vehicles 1:33:33 - Lotus Field 1:40:13 - Azorius Control 1:42:00 - Spirits 1:43:44 - Rakdos Sacrifice and other possibilities 1:50:15 - Anything from Brothers' War? 1:52:40 - Find Darthjacen on the net Links from this week's episode: For all things Sky Mason — https://linktr.ee/darthjacen For SCG CON Pioneer $30k Results — https://mtgmelee.com/Tournament/View/11890 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
11/17/20221 hour, 55 minutes, 31 seconds
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Episode 198: Bromancing the (Power)stones, Part 2

In this second installment of The Brothers' War spoilers, Dave and Shane lament the lack of Stan this week while chatting the plusses and minuses of 20-ish new cards that just might impact Modern and Pioneer. Is Third Path Iconoclast the new Seasoned Pyromancer? Will Woodcaller Automaton get Karn the Great Creator banned? Is Sarinth Steelseeker the sleeper card of the set? I guess we'll find out. But before all that, we spend some time assessing the Nerd Rage Gaming Team Trios $10k and Pioneer $5k that happened in Fort Wayne this past weekend. The Break Down: Devoted to NRG Fort Wayne The Dive Down: Saga Targets, Wishboard Targets, and More! Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN15 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code THEDIVEDOWN15 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code "DIVE8" at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 5:09 - Housekeeping 7:35 - The Break Down: NRG Fort Wayne 10:45 - The Team Trios top 8 20:38 - The Pioneer $5k 35:55 - Get Lavender-y 38:55 - The Dive Down: We continue to BROmance 40:13 - Haywire Mite 41:52 - Mishra's Research Desk 43:23 - Combat Courier 44:10 - Calamity's Wake 45:39 - Brotherhood's End 47:37 - Audacity 49:00 - Forging the Anchor 50:20 - Hostile Negotiations 52:42 - Diabolic Intent 57:17 - Arcane Proxy 59:40 - Third Path Iconoclast 1:03:38 - Obliterating Bolt 1:06:00 - Woodcaller Automaton 1:10:04 - Cityscape Leveler 1:13:16 - Rootwire Amalgam 1:16:02 - Arms Race 1:18:30 - Bladecoil Serpent 1:21:42 - No One Left Behind/Recomission 1:24:55 - Zephyr Sentinel 1:27:25 - Skystrike Officer 1:28:48 - Sarinth Steelseeker 1:30:39 - The most impactful cards of BRO 1:36:00 - We play the pre-order price game 1:38:43 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: NRG Fort Wayne Team Trios: https://mtgmelee.com/Tournament/View/11717 NRG Fort Wayne Pioneer $5k: https://mtgmelee.com/Tournament/View/11718 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? This week's ending music credit: Blue Wednesday - Middle School https://chll.to/f6dcacd3 email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
11/10/20221 hour, 41 minutes, 53 seconds
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Episode 197: Bromancing the (Power)stones, Part 1

It's that time of year again — we're fitting one more set into 2022, so it's time for us to talk about early impressions of the first batch of cards from The Brothers' War. It's a set dripping with nostalgia from here to 1994. Tune in to hear us talk about Teferi, Urzas, Wurms, and more! Before we do that we make a quick checkin on Stan's RCQ preparations on 4c... Kaheera? Karuga? Jegantha? Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN15 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code THEDIVEDOWN15 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code "DIVE8" at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 5:55 - Housekeeping 10:22 - The Break Down begins - Stan touches the spirit realm 25:18 - Dave unlocks something new in himself 29:16 - The Dive Down begins - Spoilers, BRO 32:45 - Prototype and Phyrexian Fleshgorger 37:31 - Skitterbeam Battalion 41:54 - The Commands and Mishra's Command 48:48 - Meld 51:06 - The Stone Brain 55:25 - Urza's Sylex 59:14 - Portal to Phyrexia 1:01:39 - The Stasis Coffin 1:04:48 - Blast Zone/Monastery Swiftspear 1:06:09 - Feldon, Ronom Excavator 1:09:57 - Ashnod, Flesh Mechanist 1:12:51 - Overwhelming Remorse 1:18:01 - Recruitment Officer 1:19:37 - Surge Engine 1:22:07 - Hurkyl, Master Wizard 1:27:13 - Teferi, Temporal Pilgrim 1:33:05 - Closing out Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
11/3/20221 hour, 34 minutes, 44 seconds
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Episode 196: NRG Newark: Featuring Kaheera

In this week's episode, we break down the Nerd Rage Gaming $10k Team Trios Trial and the $5k Modern Trial in Newark, Ohio. We look at the overall metagame, the new breakout decks in Modern, and what did well (and not so well). Following that, we take a bit of time to talk about some decks we've been playing in Modern and Pioneer! We share our hands-on experiences getting better with RB Scam, the swingness of Gruul beatdown in Pioneer, the power level of 4C Omnath in a post-Yorion metagame, and why Domain Zoo is probably not the aggro deck we were hoping for. The Break Down: Featuring Kaheera The Dive Down: Not Featuring Kaheera Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN15 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code THEDIVEDOWN15 And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code "DIVE8" at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 4:03 - Housekeeping 9:01 - The Break Down begins - The NRG Team Trio 10k 9:43 - The Pioneer meta 16:28 - The Modern meta 26:28 - The Team Trio top 8 36:52 - The Modern 5k meta 42:41 - The Modern 5k top 8 49:22 - Talking about Companions 55:51 - The Dive Down begins - Stan plays 5-Color Domain 1:02:18 - Stan plays Soul of Windgrace Jund Saga 1:08:35 - Stan plays 4C Control 1:15:00 - Shane plays Gruul Aggro 1:22:12 - Dave plays Red Aggro and Scam 1:26:39 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: The $10k Team Trios Trial: https://mtgmelee.com/Tournament/View/11715 The $5k Modern Trial: https://mtgmelee.com/Tournament/View/11716 4C Control: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/5168888#paper 5C Domain: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/5168914#paper Jund Saga: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/5168886#paper Gruul Aggro: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/5172483#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
10/27/20221 hour, 28 minutes, 9 seconds
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Episode 195: The People's Meta: Post-Noodle Doodles

What does Modern look like now that Yorion is banned? On this week's show we go through the complete Friday October 14 deck dump to discuss our expectations for the format's staples and other rogue decks. We consider the contenders for the "best new deck," including Murktide, Creativity, and Hammer. Plus we take stock of the initial attempts at 4C Omnath decks in 60 cards. And imagine the potential for emerging or rogue strategies, like 5C Zoo, Scam, and Breach. Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN15 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "THEDIVEDOWN15" And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code "DIVE8" at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 3:16 - Housekeeping 9:26 - The People's Meta begins 12:15 - Murktide 18:29 - Hammertime 24:09 - Creativity 30:52 - 4C Omnath 36:21 - Rakdos Midrange 42:19 - Cascade decks 45:18 - Burn 48:08 - Amulet Titan 50:18 - Yawgmoth 52:39 - Control decks 58:14 - Grinding Breach 1:03:47 - Shadow 1:10:25 - Riding the Waves 1:13:14 - Mill 1:16:12 - Scapeshift 1:18:40 - Tron 1:20:43 - Uncategorized assertive decks 1:27:04 - A bunch of midrange 1:30:07 - Aether Vial decks 1:33:37 - Affinity stuff 1:34:37 - Uncategorized creature combo 1:37:19 - Prowess 1:40:35 - Mono-black control stuff 1:41:53 - Combo grab-bag 1:43:03 - What we might want to try 1:47:12 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/modern-league-2022-10-14 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
10/20/20221 hour, 48 minutes, 32 seconds
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Episode 194: Rakdos Scam: Midrange is Undead

Yorion is banned, rejoice! To celebrate, we're scamming it up with Rakdos Scam aka Rakdos Elementals aka Rakdos Midrange aka Rakdos Blink. A deck that goes by many names but it's only got one thing on it's mind. Turn 1 Grief, baby! It's a Modern deck dive of undying proportions. We kick off with a Break Down of Modern's B&R. Did WOTC go far enough? Did the right card get banned? And where does the format go from here? Then we dive into Rakdos Scam to see what all the hype is about this MH2-inspired Midrange deck. Is it the next Jund or something new entirely? The Break Down: [BANS] Sky Noodles & Company The Dive Down, pt1: Evoking an Advantage The Dive Down, pt2: A Lot of Other Very Mid Cards Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN15 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "THEDIVEDOWN15" And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code "DIVE8" at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 5:50 - Housekeeping 8:49 - The Break Down - Yorion is banned! 25:44 - But no Pioneer bans 32:00 - Spooky scents 34:28 - The Dive Down - It's Scammin' time! 40:07 - A brief history of Rakdos Elementals 44:27 - The creatures of Rakdos Blink 1:02:42 - The spells of Rakdos Midrange 1:18:37 - Playing Rakdos Undying 1:25:41 - The strengths and weaknesses of Rakdos Scam 1:36:48 - Sideboarding and matchups 1:38:54 - Our final takes 1:44:30 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: B&R: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/news/october-10-2022-banned-and-restricted-announcement Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
10/13/20221 hour, 47 minutes, 18 seconds
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Episode 193: Creativity Can't Be Stopped feat. Zach Ryl

Today is the story of a deck that has been floating around for a long time in Modern, a deck that we won’t let Dave forget about, a deck that inspired us to invite our old pal Zach "Manacymbal" Ryl... that's right, it's time for a Indomitable Creativity deck dive. We chat about some of the different versions of the deck floating around, including the 5 color version with Leyline Binding and Grixis, sideboard strategies, tips and tricks with individual cards, and more. Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN15 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "THEDIVEDOWN15" And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code "DIVE8" at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: Housekeeping - 6:56 Early History of Creativity - 8:00 X=1 (Velomachus Turns) - 12:22 X=2 (MH2/Emrakul/Serra’s Emissary) - 16:30 X= up to 4 (Archon of Cruelty Emerges) - 19:00 Fable and Leyline Binding Emerge - 21:30 Flavors of Creativity - 24:15 How the Deck Works (or Doesn’t) - 27:19 Back Up Plans - 33:02 Enablers (W6 + Fable) - 35:14 Protection Spells/Teferi - 45:10 Interaction - 48:38 How To Be Creative - 53:22 Is W6 the backbone of creativity? - 55:00 Sequencing land drops - 58:10 How Creativity is positioned - 1:01:30 Closing out - 1:07:15:03 Links from this week's episode: 5C: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/5136656#paper Introduces Leyline Binding, Boseiju, Nature’s Claim, Veil of Summer https://mtgmelee.com/Decklist/View/246731 4C/Temur: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/5136649#paper Grixis: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/5133050#paper Kanister's list: https://twitter.com/kanister_mtg/status/1575123839968747521/photo/1 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
10/6/20221 hour, 11 minutes, 21 seconds
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Episode 192: NRG Minneapolis & Trying Out Scapeshift & MonoG

This week Dave and Stan review the results from the NRG Modern $10K in Minneapolis, where 5c Creativity beat Rakdos Scam in the finals. We also chat about the Sunday Pioneer $5K results, and other data that's been shared from across the weekend. Then we dip our toes in a couple new Modern decks to see if we like playing Scapeshift or Mono-Green Devotion. The Break Down: NRG Minneapolis Modern $10k and Pioneer $5k The Dive Down: Trying Out Scapshift (Modern) & MonoG (Pioneer) Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN15 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "THEDIVEDOWN15" And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code "DIVE8" at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: Housekeeping - 4:45 NRG Minneapolis Modern 10K - 7:07 Modern Metagame Breakdown - 10:00 Modern Top 8 - 29:15 NRG Pioneer $5K - 46:40 Tournament Winrates Across Decks - 58:00 Stan plays Scapeshift - 1:12:36 Dave plays Mono-Green Devotion - 1:28:22 Links from this week's episode: https://mtgmelee.com/Tournament/View/10501 https://twitter.com/jekleckner/status/1574519024452763648?s=46&t=LFo9NVqh6FHt7ERhNQEOJg https://twitter.com/jekleckner/status/1574527119706804240?s=21&t=wjnnmBpxc8xzQekdAoEOqQ https://articles.nerdragegaming.com/the-nrg-championship-series/nrg-championship-trials-standings/ https://twitter.com/GRDONKIN/status/1572390053556457472?s=20&t=9-72YkHS22jcINubKZ7XA Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
9/29/20221 hour, 42 minutes, 6 seconds
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Episode 191: My Sweet Lord(s): Goblins vs Merfolk vs Elves

The introduction of three new lords in Dominaria United was all the incentive we needed to do a tribal week on The Dive Down. We tested some Modern and a Pioneer deck featuring Leaf-Crowned Visionary, Vodalian Hexcatcher, and Rundvelt Hordemaster for another edition of Sleeve Believe Heave. We also kick off the show with a preview of NRG Minneapolis by looking at the recent Modern results from the LMS Paris Grand Open Qualifier. Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN15 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "THEDIVEDOWN15" And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code "DIVE8" at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 3:55 - Housekeeping 7:13 - The Break Down - NRG Minneapolis preview 10:16 - Talking about the Modern Grand Open Qualifier data 26:22 - What are we thinking about NRG Minneapolis 34:53 - The Four Horsemen 37:44 - The Dive Down begins - Stan with Leaf-Crowned Visionary in Elves 56:22 - Shane with Vodalian Hexcatcher in Merfolk 1:15:47 - Dave with Rundvelt Hordemaster in Goblins 1:34:00 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: NRG Series Trial Weekend Minneapolis: https://articles.nerdragegaming.com/event/nrg-series-15000-trial-weekend-minneapolis-mn-2/ LMS Paris Data: https://twitter.com/mtg_data/status/1571942341631516672 GB Elves Modern: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/5105536#paper Pioneer: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/5088823#paper Modern Merfolk: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/5105541#paper Modern Goblins: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/5073113#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
9/22/20221 hour, 35 minutes, 30 seconds
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Episode 190: Domainaria & More: First Impressions of DMU

This week it takes two to make a thing go right! And by two we me Dave and Shane. And by thing we mean podcast. This podcast. Stan is out this week, so Dave and Shane talk about early impressions of Pioneer and Modern with access to the powerful cards of Dominaria United. Topics covered include: Leyline Binding, Rundvelt Hordemaster, Boglins, Sheoldred, and more. Housekeeping: We Sent Out a Lot of Boxes The Dive Down: We Talk About a Lot of Cards Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN15 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "THEDIVEDOWN15" And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code "DIVE8" at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 3:19 - Housekeeping 6:56 - An ultra-short Break Down 7:50 - The Dive Down begins: Leyline Binding 31:03 - Rundvelt Hordemaster 37:30 - Serra Paragon 39:40 - Yotia Declares War/The Elder Dragon War 42:27 - Voldalian Hexcatcher 44:00 - Dave only wears Russian Leather 48:15 - The MIA cards from Dominaria United 53:11 - Liliana of the Veil 58:28 - Sheoldred, the Apocalypse 1:07:04 - Phoenix Chick 1:10:22 - Jaya, Fiery Negotiator 1:13:11 - Pain lands 1:14:40 - Some final thoughts 1:19:39 - Closing out Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
9/15/20221 hour, 22 minutes, 6 seconds
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Episode 189: NRG in STL & Dominaria United, pt 2 (ft Jesse Robkin & Aspiringspike)

Fresh off an amazing weekend at the NRG tournament in St. Louis, Jesse Robkin joins us to break down the Team Trios Trial and the Modern 5K. Then our old pal Aspiringspike drops in to go over the remaining cards from Dominaria United that have potential for constructed play. Jesse and team reached the finals of the NRG Team Trios Trial on Saturday, where she piloted Mono Green Devotion in the Pioneer seat. Then on Sunday, she pulled out her trusty Izzet Breach deck and made the finals again in the Modern 5K. She walks us through her touranments, lessons learned with the decks she played, and the overall metagame from the weekend's events. Then for the second half of the show, Evart Moughon AKA Aspiringspike drops in to wrap up our discussion of Dominaria United, now that the full spoiler is live. We go over the tribal lords, the white interaction, and more! Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN15 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "THEDIVEDOWN15" And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code "DIVE8" at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 3:17 - Housekeeping 5:06 - Introducing Jesse Robkin 9:35 - The NRG Team Trios event through Jesse's eyes 22:28 - The NRG Team Trios meta 27:32 - The finals winners 29:08 - Taking Izzet Breach to the finals of the 5k 35:48 - The 5K top 8 39:21 - Jesse's parting thoughts 42:48 - Well water woes 45:56 - Aspiringspike is back! 49:01 - Spike's thoughts on Modern 56:58 - The cards we're most excited about: Leyline Binding 1:07:56 - Aether Channeler 1:13:31 - Soul of Windgrace 1:18:25 - Founding the Third Path 1:23:48 - Balmor, Battlemage Captain 1:25:09 - Leafcrown Visionary 1:28:02 - Vodalian Hexcatcher 1:30:38 - Rundvelt Hordemaster 1:34:02 - Some cards we are excited for in Pioneer 1:44:53 - Temporary Lockdown and Karn's Sylex 1:47:43 - Good stuff for Pioneer or Modern if you're lucky: Serra Paragon 1:50:35 - Electrostatic Infantry 1:54:01 - Shore Up 1:55:54 - Ghitu Amplifier 1:58:38 - Academy Loremaster 2:00:23 - What we are excited for in Dominaria 2:03:55 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: Find Jesse Robkin on Twitter: https://twitter.com/tiddypills Find Aspiringspike on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Aspiringspike Find Aspiringspike on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/Aspiringspike Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
9/1/20222 hours, 6 minutes, 37 seconds
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Episode 188: Dominaria United Untied: Spoilers, Part 1

This week it's all about the first batch Dominaria United spoilers as Dave and Shane talk through what cards have caught our eye so far. How much of a lock is Temporary Lockdown? Does Cut Down make the cut? What other cards does Shane think aren't constructed worthy imo. imo bb. But before we get into all that we get a special RCQ report from Stan (still on vacation!) where he takes us through his last days of being a horn dog (and a top 8 finish!) in Green Bay. Dave and Shane also quickly check in on Frank Karsten's first pass at making sense of the modern meta. Part 1: Our Final Horndog Update... For Now? Part 2: A Frank Discussion About Modern Part 3: A Lockdown, A Sylex, & More Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN15 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "THEDIVEDOWN15" And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code "DIVE8" at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 3:44 - Housekeeping 8:22 - Stan talks his final (???) RCQ 29:02 - Frank Karsten analyzes the Modern meta 45:40 - Previewing the NRG Team Trio event 50:58 - A touch of patchouli 53:54 - Dominaria United spoilers begin 58:06 - Tolarian Terror, Writhing Necromass, Urborg Lhurgoyf 1:03:53 - Temporary Lockdown 1:09:53 - Karn's Sylex 1:13:55 - Rundvelt Hordemaster 1:17:03 - Founding the Third Path 1:19:45 - Phoenix Chick 1:23:33 - Cult Conscript 1:25:20 - Jaya, Fiery Negotiator 1:30:05 - Cut Down 1:31:52 - Astor, Bearer of Blades 1:35:06 - Rona's Vortex 1:37:20 - Shivan Devastator 1:39:02 - Twinferno 1:41:20 - Raff, Weatherlight Stalwart 1:43:30 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: Frank Karsten's Modern Meta Breakdown, 8/18: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/metagame-mentor-modern-roundup-august-2022 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
8/25/20221 hour, 45 minutes, 19 seconds
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Episode 187: Liliana, Pain Lands, & Frank Karsten

Our exciting first bit of Dominaria United spoilers are here, and the gang reacts to the addition of three new allied pain lands, Liliana of the Veil coming to Pioneer, and more. We also kick off the show with a Rhino tournament report from... Shane! The one and only took the deck out for his first Modern RCQ and did not disappoint us. Then we wrap up the episode with a discussion of a fascinating new article from our favorite Magic mathematician, Frank Karsten, who's latest foray into metagame reporting provides a new framework for deck and tournament analysis in the winner's metagame. Part 1: Shane Says Things About Rhinos Part 2: Stan Says Things Under Embargoes Part 3: Dave Says Things About Adjusting Wins Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN15 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "THEDIVEDOWN15" And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code "DIVE8" at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 4:38 - Housekeeping 7:32 - Shane talks his RhinoCQ 42:03 - Early Dominaria United spoilers begin 44:45 - The mechanics of Dominaria 48:21 - The World Spell 53:08 - Liliana of the Veil is back! 1:03:26 - The painlands are also back! 1:11:36 - The Phasing of Zhalfir 1:13:07 - Sheoldred, the Apocalypse 1:16:02 - Frank Karsten is our new Metagame Mentor 1:27:21 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: Shane's RCQ Rhinos deck: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/5022278#paper Frank's Pioneer Metagame Mentor: https://magic.gg/news/metagame-mentor-pioneer-metagame-roundup-august-2022 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
8/18/20221 hour, 28 minutes, 49 seconds
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Episode 186: These Ends Were Made for Living, ft. Chris Castro-Rappl

CCR from MTG Grindcast joins us to talk about all things Living End. On the heels of his RCQ win with the deck, Chris helps us break down the cards, the sickest plays, how to beat common hate strategies, and more! In another classic deck dive and pseudo follow-up to our recent episode on Rhinos, we discuss why the two cascade decks are fundamentally different, even though they share a common core. Chris was the perfect guest for this episode, not only because he's a seasoned podcaster with excellent mic technique, but he's been mastering various shades of Living End for years before Modern Horizons 2 took it to the top of the metagame. Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN15 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "THEDIVEDOWN15" And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code "DIVE8" at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 5:54 - Housekeeping 10:10 - The Dive Down begins - Living End with CCR! 16:18 - How Living End works 19:38 - The construction of the deck 25:18 - The Cascade engine 30:10 - Using the Cyclers (and a discussion about graveyard hate) 44:20 - CCR's approach to post-board games 46:13 - Back to the Cyclers 49:59 - The Elementals 57:08 - The lands 59:08 - The sideboard 1:09:53 - Strategic tips n' tricks - when to cycle? 1:14:06 - Using Grief 1:21:05 - When to Violent Outburst 1:25:34 - Mulliganing 1:29:04 - Matchups and sideboarding - 4 Color 1:39:46 - Most creature-based decks 1:42:52 - Izzet Murktide 1:47:15 - Other big matchups 1:50:11 - Our overall thoughts on Living End 1:57:52 - Let's talk Chris! 2:01:51 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: https://twitter.com/CCR_Grindcast Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
8/11/20222 hours, 3 minutes, 49 seconds
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Episode 185: NRG Chicago: It's-a Me, Yorion.

This week it's all about the NRG Championship Series event in Chicago. We dive deep into the data, the most popular decks, the sickest plays, and the cherished friendships that make an event like this possible. We go over the top 10 (or so) decks of the weekend, break down the overall metagame, talk with a few players from the floor of the tournament, and hear how Stan did in the swiss (spoiler: pretty well!). Intro: Number One Horn Player Meets Captain Cascade The Break Down: Pivots and Points Per Pilot The Break Down, 2: What Do We Think Now? Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN15 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "THEDIVEDOWN15" Timestamps: 4:23 - Housekeeping 9:04 - The Chicagoland NRG Modern 10k - Stan's tournament report 18:16 - The tournament meta report 24:50 - Stan talks to Zach Allen 34:21 - Stan talks to Jesse Robkin 41:25 - Back to the meta report 57:10 - Stan talks to Will Krueger 1:03:59 - More meta 1:14:22 - Beard talk 1:17:48 - Stan talks to Norman Cohen 1:29:37 - The top 8 1:33:38 - Cool Decks, Inc 1:37:11 - Parting thoughts Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
8/4/20221 hour, 42 minutes, 31 seconds
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Episode 184: These Foots Were Made For Crashing

Temur Rhinos are craschading onto this week's show, in a classic deck dive into the midrangy combo deck. Plus a preview of the upcoming Nerd Rage Series Modern Trial in Mundelein! Stan's been playing a lot of Rhinos lately, and some recent discounts on Force of Negation finally got Shane to pull the trigger on buying the deck. So Dave said "let's do a deck dive!" and in the ensuing practice matches, we discovered an amazing thing... everyone loves playing this deck! We also kick off the episode with some metagame predictions and leaderboard check-in ahead of this weekend's Nerd Rage Series Modern Trial in Mundelein. The Break Down: NRG: Chicago Preview The Dive Down: A Deck We Can All Agree On The Dive Down, cont: Crashing in for the Win Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN15 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "THEDIVEDOWN15" Timestamps: 1:38 - Housekeeping 6:58 - The Break Down begins: The NRG Modern 10k trial preview 11:48 - The potential NRG metagame 19:48 - What will the season leaders be playing? 23:00 - The Barbers of Seville 25:45 - The Dive Down begins - These Rhinos are Making me Crashy! 31:13 - What is this deck all about? 38:29 - The construction of the deck 42:14 - The interaction 50:50 - Additional threats and interaction 53:58 - Flex spots 58:43 - The sideboard 1:06:37 - Sweet plays and protips 1:10:44 - Keep or mull 1:16:14 - How to tempo your opponent out 1:24:16 - Buying yourself some time 1:28:15 - Matchups 1:37:03 - Sideboards 1:40:00 - Other Rhino variants 1:42:59 - Our takes on Rhinos 1:49:58 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: The NRG Chicago Modern 10k: https://articles.nerdragegaming.com/event/nrg-series-15000-trial-weekend-chicagoland-il/ Crashing Footfalls: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/4963081#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
7/28/20221 hour, 51 minutes, 35 seconds
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Episode 183: We Tried: Innovations in Modern Creativity, E Tron, & Prowess

It's another nice week to try new cards and decks in the wide world of Modern. Dave takes another stab at Indomitable Creativity with Gab Nassif's recent list, while Shane assembles a Tron of Eldrazi proportions with the latest prison shell. Meanwhile, Stan chases the dinosaur in search of turn 2 wins with Gruul Prowess. The Break Down: Stan Plays a RCQ The Dive Down: Dave Can't Direct Creativity The Dive Down, cont: Shane Accepts Any Kind of Tron The Dive Down, cont: Stan Finds No Quarter For Prowess Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN15 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "THEDIVEDOWN15" Timestamps: 5:00 - Housekeeping 11:59 - The Break Down begins - Stan's RCQ 25:15 - The Nation succeeds 27:09 - Bonjour! 30:40 - The Dive Down begins - Dave talks Creativity 53:54 - Shane talks E/Prison Tron 1:12:45 - Stan talks Gruul Prowess 1:29:45 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: 4C Creativity: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/4928222#paper Prison Tron: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/4961701#paper Gruul Prowess: https://www.streamdecker.com/deck/-0sQpLq8v Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
7/21/20221 hour, 31 minutes, 32 seconds
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Episode 182: The Four Pillars of Modern (ft. Zach Allen)

The current top dog of the NRG Series leaderboard joins us to discuss all things Modern for all your RCQ preparation needs. Zach Allen returns for a conversation about the various types of 4C Yorion decks, the merits of Murktide's flex spots, the position of green creature combo decks, and his favorite ways to cascade right now. Sure you can play the best deck when you try to take down your Modern RCQ, but what is the best deck REALLY? Turns out, there might be more than one... And when you least expect it, surprise, a maindeck Emrakul! Ready for another suprise? Boom, you just lost to burn on turn 4 before your Omnath could even do anything. Tune in to hear how you too can win (as long as you play a good deck or figure out what beats the good decks). Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN15 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "THEDIVEDOWN15" Get 8% off all your orders from Nerd Rage with code "Dive8" at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/ Timestamps: 7:05 — Housekeeping 8:58 — RCQs and what they are 11:04 — The Current Character of Modern 14:45 — An Overview: The Top 4 Decks of Modern 18:31 — Deck 1: Yorion Piles 38:28 — Deck 2: Cascade 49:04 — Deck 3: UR Ragavan Decks 1:05:08 — Deck 4: Yawgmoth 1:12:45 — The… Most Interesting… of the Rest 1:14:05 — Hammer Speculation 1:16:23 — UW Affinity Yorion/Urza Speculation 1:17:20 — Tameshi Combo 1:18:07 — Hammer Speculation, pt.2 1:22:40 — Creativity Speculation 1:23:47 — Amulet Titan 1:24:30 — Omnath Glimpse 1:26:01 — Last Thoughts on RCQs 1:27:38 — Can We Do This Unban Talk? 1:38:15 — Talking NRG 1:43:05 — Closing Out Links from this week's episode: twitter.com/a22en Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
7/14/20221 hour, 44 minutes, 47 seconds
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Episode 181: The Synergies of Pioneer's Metagame, ft. Todd Anderson

Friend of the show and Pioneer aficionado Todd Anderson joins us this week to go over the top decks, up and comers, unsung heroes, and potential traps in the format. Mono-Green continues to reign supreme, but could Young Pyromancer put up a fight? We also look into the Mono-Green vs Rakdos matchup, how well control is positioned, what happened to Lotus Field, and more! This episode is high flying, fast talking, and really in depth... try to keep up! The Dive Down: Mono-Green Devotion The Dive Down, cont: Izzet Pyromancer The Dive Down, cont: The Other Ones Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN15 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code THEDIVEDOWN15 Timestamps: 2:13 - Housekeeping and a special announcement 7:31 - Hanging with the Todd Squad 19:02 - How does Pioneer function as a format? 25:13 - What's the best deck in the format? 30:50 - How do the best decks play against each other? 32:33 - What makes a strong Pioneer deck? 37:02 - What are underappreciated decks in Pio? 38:50 - Summer Fridays 42:25 - Thoughts on some other decks 46:45 - Preparing for a Pioneer RCQ 48:37 - Todd talks Izzet Pyromancer 55:29 - Are there any "trap" decks or cards, and why is Rakdos Midrange good? 1:02:24 - Is Mono-Green too good? 1:06:20 - Stan's Pioneer ban burns 1:12:51 - Revisiting Izzet Pyromancer 1:16:50 - Final verdict: How to approach a Pioneer RCQ 1:22:02 - Closing out with Todd Links from this week's episode: Todd on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Tandy Todd on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/tandy Todd on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TandyMTG Izzet Pyromancer: https://twitter.com/TandyMTG/status/1543230873222381568?s=20&t=fkQba52rNy8QU6XqKxl5MA Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
7/7/20221 hour, 26 minutes, 25 seconds
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Episode 180: Life Lessons and Level Ups

Though we do have some frustrations to air at the start of the show, we eventually turn it around to discuss the many ways Magic (the Gathering) has improved our lives. Then we take a brief trip down memory lane to remember how some people improved our Magic playing skills too. Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN15 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code THEDIVEDOWN15 Timestamps: 7:38 - Housekeeping 12:32 - The Dive Down begins 14:28 - Leveling up in Magic - Have a plan 29:06 - Having a collective 75 cards 39:51 - Stan on mulligans 45:23 - Do the math 52:47 - Sometimes the best deck isn't for you 59:29 - Don't be ROTty 1:15:35 - The latest Barrister & Mann releases 1:18:43 - Don't tilt 1:29:26 - Appreciate community Links from this week's episode: Limited Resources Episode 57: Tilt Less Win More: https://lrcast.com/limited-resources-57-tilt-less-win-more/ Collins' Tweet: https://twitter.com/collinsmullen/status/1540050234788683779?s=20&t=43m5QektO51r128fOWp3Cw Mason's Tweet: https://twitter.com/masoneclark/status/1539653313335263232?s=21&t=JSJTZV16R3pkSgOUOw8nQ Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
6/30/20221 hour, 34 minutes, 3 seconds
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Episode 179: 10 Takes on Modern, Pioneer, & Magic

What can Izzet decks in Pioneer play instead of Expressive Iteration? How crazy was the MOCS meta from the weekend? Is Glimpse of Tomorrow a good card in Modern? This week's show answers these questions and more in a format-spanning Dive Down of takes hot and cold. But first, off the top we deliver a little announcement about the future of The Dive Down (nothing big, we swear — but you should listen). Shane doesn't even need Nykthos. Stan can quit cascading any time he wants to. Dave actually seems to get mad about something. Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code "THEDIVEDOWN15" for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "THEDIVEDOWN15" Timestamps: 10:01 - Housekeeping 13:11 - 1a: Expressive Iteration isn't irreplaceable in Pioneer 19:51 - 1b: EI in Izzet Control 25:52 - 1c: EI in Izzet Phoenix 30:42 - 2: Mono-Green Devotion is good, even without Nykthos 35:57 - 3: Mono-Blue Spirits is solidifying itself, but for how long? 43:44 - 4: Humans might be underexplored in Pio 49:25 - 5: What is there to like, and not like, about Pioneer? 1:02:45 - #smellovision 1:05:14 - 6: The MOCS final 1:17:00 - 7: Stan plays Calibrated Blast 1:21:59 - 8: Stan plays Glimpse Elementals Cascade 1:28:25 - 9: The sad loss of random playables 1:32:52 - 10: Stan plays... Commander? 1:37:47 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: MOCS Modern Decks: https://magic.gg/decklists/2022-magic-online-champions-showcase-season-1-modern-decklists Stan plays Commander on Brainstorm Brewery: https://www.twitch.tv/brainstormbrewery Mono-Green Devotion: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/archetype/pioneer-mono-green-ramp-2d53d633-2a78-4eb9-a5e7-52ad849c7a82#paper Mono-Blue Spirits: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/archetype/pioneer-mono-blue-spirits#paper Pioneer Humans: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/4895735#paper Calibrated Blast: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/archetype/modern-calibrated-blast#paper Glimpse Elementals: https://twitter.com/GR_DONKIN/status/1537259984702124032 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
6/23/20221 hour, 39 minutes, 31 seconds
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Episode 178: NRG Modern & Pio: Is 4c 2 Good 4 U?

It's a hot one on The Dive Down this week. We take a deep look at NRG's recent set of Modern and Pioneer Trials in Lansing, Michigan and tackle the big questions about our favorite formats. Is 4c too good for Modern? What can even be done if it is too good? What's happened to Pioneer without Winota and Expressive Iteration? How many words can the three of us get beeped out in one episode? And more! Stan fights through jet lag and still brings the insights. Shane loves talking about bad decks that performed badly. And, finally, Dave gets his comeuppance. The Break Down: An Intro for Our Times The Break Down: NRG Modern: A Format With Great Playstyle Diversity The Break Down: NRG Pioneer: No Alarms and No Surprises, Please Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN15 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "THEDIVEDOWN15" Timestamps: 4:30 - Housekeeping 6:15 - The NRG Lansing Event 9:40 - The NRG Modern overall metagame 15:39 - The Top 64 meta 36:10 - The Top 8 39:07 - Is 4-Color too good? 54:45 - Stan's back, and he smells good 57:30 - The NRG Pioneer metagame 1:02:33 - How the good Pioneer decks performed 1:21:20 - What decks didn't do well? 1:26:30 - The Top 8 1:28:47 - Even more thoughts on Pioneer 1:32:02 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: NRG Modern $10k: https://mtgmelee.com/Tournament/View/9604 NRG Pioneer: $5k: https://mtgmelee.com/Tournament/View/9605 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
6/16/20221 hour, 33 minutes, 48 seconds
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Episode 177: Ban Reacts, a Dream Hacked, & Some Mid Rakdos

Shane and Dave are totally blindsided by this week's Pioneer bans — especially since they happened after we recorded this ep. But don't worry, we use the power of technology to travel into the past and add a segment of hot reactions and speculation on what's next for Pio. After that, we continue with our regularly scheduled episode breaking down the Modern $10k at DreamHack Dallas and diving into Pioneer's most mid deck — Rakdos Mid! Shane hates all the creatures. Dave loves all the spells. Stan loves having a week off. The Break Down: A Record Scratched — Surprise Pioneer Bans The Break Down: A Modern $10K Where Mill 7-0-1’d The Dive Down: A 14% Meta Share Deck that Wasn’t Banned Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN15 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "THEDIVEDOWN15" Timestamps: 4:55 - Housekeeping 9:28 - The Break Down begins - SURPRISE it's some Pioneer bans! 23:18 - What is the impact on Pioneer? 29:16 - The Dallas Dreamhack Modern 10k 31:34 - The top 64 breakdown 41:08 - The top 8 53:51 - Cool Decks, Inc. 1:06:50 - Scent of the Day 1:12:20 - The Dive Down begins - Rakdos Midrange in Pioneer 1:16:02 - What's the deal with Midrange? 1:20:07 - Hand disruption 1:32:45 - Removal 1:41:08 - Creatures 1:57:11 - Planeswalkers 2:06:15 - Strengths and weaknesses 2:14:49 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: Dreamhack Modern 10k down in Dallas: https://mtgmelee.com/Tournament/View/10457 Rakdos Midrange in Pioneer: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/archetype/pioneer-rakdos-midrange#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
6/9/20222 hours, 16 minutes, 34 seconds
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Episode 176: The People's Meta(s): Modern and Pioneer

This week the three friends dive into an examination of not one but two metas — Modern and Pioneer — using some recent 5-0 league decks. We collect em, dissect em, and... tierect (???)... em. You know what we mean... we're placing them into groups and discussing what decks we think are going up, down, and sideways. Dave tries to run through Modern quickly. Stan and Shane dilly dally and then get mad when we don't have as much time as we'd hoped for Pioneer. Dave resists the urge to say I told you so. Please note/CW: this episode starts with a message of a serious nature from the team. Start at Housekeeping if you'd like to skip. The Dive Down: The People's Meta: Modern! The Dive Down, pt.2: The People's Meta: Pioneer! Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code "THEDIVEDOWN15" for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "THEDIVEDOWN15" Timestamps: 5:23 - Housekeeping 11:20 - The People's Meta - Modern ed. 16:20 - The mainstream decks of Modern 52:12 - Outside the Modern mainstream 1:09:40 - The People's Meta - Pioneer ed. 1:37:00 - Outside the Pio mainstream 1:43:30 - Some takes on Pioneer 1:53:25 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: Modern League 5/27: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/modern-league-2022-05-27#paper Why it is time to cut Murktide Regent by Michael Rapp: https://blog.cardkingdom.com/why-it-is-time-to-cut-murktide-regent/ Pioneer League 5/23: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/pioneer-league-2022-05-23#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
6/2/20221 hour, 54 minutes, 51 seconds
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Episode 175: Sleeve/Believe/Heave: Streets of New Capenna Edition

The three friends are taking it back to the streets on more time. This week we evaluate three different decks that were improved or created by the addition of SNC to our formats. Shane pods his way through a Naya deck full of combos in Modern. Stan shreds his way through infinite turns in Modern. Dave explains so he's falling short of virtuosity in Explorer. It's a real journey through a few more cards making an impact. Before that, though, we break down the top 8 of NRG Minneapolis where three other friends (of the pod) take the whole thing down. The Break Down: NRG Minneapolis The Dive Down: Combos in Modern! The Dive Down, pt.2: Prowess in Explorer! Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN2022 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "THEDIVEDOWN15" Timestamps: 6:06 - Housekeeping 8:34 - The Break Down - The NRG Team Tournament 11:06 - The Top 8 teams 33:34 - The Top 8 meta 41:45 - It's Soap Time 44:56 - The Dive Down begins - Shane on Naya Combos in Modern 51:45 - The strenghts of the deck 55:08 - The weaknesses of the deck 1:08:55 - Shane's final thoughts 1:12:04 - Stan on Dimir Asmo Food Combo in Modern 1:22:50 - How to turn 3 combo 1:26:16 - Sideboarding with combo decks is hard 1:32:45 - Stan's final thoughts 1:34:48 - Dave on Boros Aggro in Explorer 1:45:27 - Dave's final thoughts 1:49:32 - Wrapping up Links from this week's episode: Modern Naya Combos: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/4818579#paper Modern Dimir Asmo Food: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/archetype/modern-asmo-food#paper Modern Boros Prowess: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/4841502#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
5/26/20221 hour, 52 minutes, 44 seconds
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Episode 174: Explorer’s First Ban & More Pioneer Testing

This week's episode starts with Dave telling a shaggy dog story while fumbling through the Seinfeld theme on his bass — so you know it's going to be a loose one. Fortunately, Shane and Stan quickly bring the three friends back on track (within the first 4 minutes, we swear) and take us all through Winota's ban in Explorer, four different challenges across Modern and Pioneer, and finally some of their testing results with Winota and Izzet Phoenix in Pioneer. Stan rolls to a non-interactive 4-1. Shane can't stop shreddin. Dave can't stop slappin the bass. The Break Down, I: Winota's Gone in Explorer! The Break Down, II: Kicking Bass in a Bunch of Challenges The Dive Down: Winota's Here in Pioneer! So is Phoenix! Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN2022 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "THEDIVEDOWN15" Timestamps: 5:40 - Housekeeping 8:46 - The Break Down begins - The first Explorer bans 17:11 - Saturday's Pioneer Challenge 28:49 - Sunday's Pioneer Challenge 35:30 - Cool Decks, Inc - Pioneer ed. 38:48 - Saturday's Modern Challenge 46:23 - Sunday's Modern Challenge 52:26 - Public Smelling Stories 55:58 - The Dive Down - Stan's hot takes on Winota 1:00:16 - Fable of the Mirror breaker is a protection spell 1:04:00 - Esika's Chariot = Splinter Twin 1:06:58 - Deck mull good 1:09:25 - Enablers are good 1:12:05 - Modern vs. Pioneer gameplay discussion 1:20:05 - Shane casts blue and red cards 1:34:00 - Shane's thoughts on Izzet Phoenix in Explorer 1:41:56 - Stan cracks a pack 1:44:35 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: May 11 B&R: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/magic-digital/may-11-2022-banned-and-restricted-announcement Saturday's Pio Challenge: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/pioneer-challenge-12418751#paper Sunday's Pio Challenge: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/pioneer-challenge-12418755#paper Saturday's Modern Challenge: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/modern-challenge-12418748#paper Sunday's Modern Challenge: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/modern-challenge-12418754#paper Naya Winota in Pioneer: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/4818484#paper Izzet Phoenix in Explorer: https://mtgazone.com/explorer-izzet-phoenix-deck-guide/ Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
5/19/20221 hour, 46 minutes, 16 seconds
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Episode 173: Do You Even Shred, Tho?

The boys flap their little wings and scream caw caw as they dig their beaks into the hottest bird lawyer in Magic this week. Whether it's ripping up contracts, filtering hands, shouting 'objection!' or pumping flyers, Ledger Shredder does it all. But does it have what it take to be a multiformat staple? Yes, apparently yes. The Break Down: Living End Won't Die The Dive Down: New Bird Learns to Fly The Dive Down, cont: Filling Graveyards Can Be Sly Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN2022 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "THEDIVEDOWN2022" Timestamps: 4:02 - Housekeeping 5:56 - The Break Down - The Modern Showcase Challenge 6:54 - The Top 32 breakdown 10:25 - The Top 8 16:44 - Cool Decks, Inc - Modern edition 25:17 - The Pioneer Showcase Challenge 38:55 - Cool Decks, Inc - Pioneer Edition 41:53 - #Sponsored 45:16 - The Dive Down - Do You Even Shred? 52:03 - Why is Ledger Shredder good? 1:11:24 - Ledger Shredder in Explorer/Pioneer 1:27:55 - Ledger Shredder in Modern 1:41:42 - Closing Out Links from this week's episode: The Modern Showcase: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/modern-showcase-challenge-2022-05-08?xd28 The Pioneer Showcase: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/pioneer-showcase-challenge-2022-05-09 Izzet Flyers: https://tinyurl.com/izzetflyers Esper Greasefang: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/4806004#paper Esper Reanimator: https://mtgdecks.net/Modern/ledger-shredder-reanimator-decklist-by-kanister-mtg-1365778 Grixis Death's Shadow: https://www.streamdecker.com/deck/3m-EJaUSq Grinding Breach: https://twitter.com/tiddypills/status/1523323490866192386?s=20&t=6DB3Mg4lDJQPdZ54ohn7BA Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
5/12/20221 hour, 43 minutes, 58 seconds
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Episode 172: Exploring the Streets of New Capenna

Our three friends begin their visit to the Streets of New Capenna with some Explorer, Pioneer, and Modern decks. We take a look at Ob Nixilis, The Adversary and Stan's uncharacteristic BW Blink brew with Getaway Car and Extraction Specialist. The Break Down: New Cards in Pio + Modern Challenges The Dive Down: 20 Mostly Good Minutes on Mob Nixilis Stuff We Forgot: We’ll Talk About Ledger Shredder Next Week, Ok? Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN2022 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "THEDIVEDOWN2022" Timestamps: 3:17 - Housekeeping 11:17 - The Break Down begins - The Pioneer Challenge! 32:09 - Pioneer Cool Decks, Inc 40:16 - The Modern Challenge! 47:05 - Modern Cool Decks, Inc 58:20 - Stan's Razor Digression 1:02:37 - The Dive Down begins - The decks of New Capenna 1:05:55 - Rakdos Midrange in Explorer 1:15:30 - Evaluating Ob Nixilis, the Adversary 1:32:38 - More thoughts on Explorer 1:40:45 - Stan's Pioneer experiments 1:51:15 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/4774204#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
5/5/20221 hour, 53 minutes, 4 seconds
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Episode 171: 6 Ways You Can Get Better at Magic

In a special patron-requested episode, our three friends provide a roadmap to improvement for key Magic skills and other useful habits. We also kick off the show with run downs and reactions to the latest Magic Arena announcements for Explorer and Pioneer. Huge thanks to Codi for supporting our show at the esteemed Double-Sided Diamond Dust Rare level, which has earned them the coveted opportunity to select an episode topic for the show. The Break Down: An Explorer Exposition Dump The Dive Down: Getting Better at Magic: Stan Proposes Practice The Dive Down, 2: Getting Better at Magic: Dave and Shane Reject Practice Check out our NEW SPONSOR, Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN2022 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "THEDIVEDOWN2022" Timestamps: 4:28 - Housekeeping 7:30 - The Break Down - Explorer! 18:16 - How are we feeling? 26:05 - The potential decks of Explorer 32:35 - What are we playing in Explorer? 34:40 - An artistic diversion 37:57 - The Dive Down - How to get better at Magic 39:39 - 1) Play more Magic 42:20 - 2) Play both sides of the battlefield 49:42 - 2a) Do the math 1:03:24 - 3) Identify the decks you excel at 1:10:38 - 4) Mulligan better 1:22:15 - 5) Treat your games as experiments 1:41:49 - 6) Get feedback on your play 1:48:00 - Some conclusions Links from this week's episode: The announcement of Explorer: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/magic-digital/mtg-arena-state-game-streets-new-capenna-2022-04-21 PVDDR's Best plays in Magic history: https://pvddr.substack.com/p/the-best-plays-in-the-history-of?s=w Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown Leave us an audio message: https://www.podinbox.com/thedivedown
4/28/20221 hour, 52 minutes, 41 seconds
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Episode 170: Who Runs the Streets of New Capenna?

The full set of New Capenna has been revealed, so on this week's show we complete our run through of all the cards in the set. We go through the families, argue about how good Luxior is going to be (or not be), try to avoid taking an endless detour as we speculate about Giada, and wonder if there's a shadow of a chance that Shadow of Mortality has what it takes. But before that, we spend some time looking through recent Pioneer results with a focus on Izzet Control. The Break Down: It's Back: Two Pioneer Challenges The Dive Down: Dave Proposes Cards The Dive Down, pt.2: Stan and Shane Reject Cards Check out our NEW SPONSOR, Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN2022 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "THEDIVEDOWN2022" Timestamps: 3:45 - Housekeeping 7:10 - The Break Down begins: Pioneer challenges are back! 10:16 - 4/16 Challenge metagame 10:40 - Izzet Control 18:05 - Mono-G Ramp 22:10 - 4/16 Top 8 and Mono-W Devotion 25:55 - Mono-U Spirits 28:22 - The 4/17 Challenge 34:26 - Some Pioneer thoughts 44:08 - A smelly interlude 47:21 - The Dive Down begins - more Capenna spoilers! 49:17 - Luxior, Giada's Gift 57:47 - Endless Detour 1:02:58 - Rocco, Cabaretti Caterer 1:07:12 - Void Rend 1:10:52 - Urabrask, Heretic Praetor 1:14:27 - Shadow of Mortality 1:20:56 - Patch Up 1:23:10 - An Offer You Can't Refuse 1:25:10 - Unlicensed Hearse 1:29:48 - Giada, Font of Hope 1:33:04 - Tenacious Underdog 1:35:34 - Titan of Industry 1:36:50 - Boon of Safety 1:38:50 - Against the Odds: Aven Heartstabber, Tainted Indulgence 1:42:53 - What cards we want to cast most? 1:46:34 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: 4/16 Pioneer Challenge: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/pioneer-challenge-12409669#paper 4/17 Pioneer Challenge: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/pioneer-challenge-12409673#paper Faithless Looting's Epic Luxior Thread: https://twitter.com/FaithlessMTG/status/1513621542097334277?s=20&t=O0MEhNqOBhkhOWCMN6D_xA Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown Leave us an audio message: https://www.podinbox.com/thedivedown
4/21/20221 hour, 48 minutes, 15 seconds
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Episode 169: The Families of New Capenna and Old Fort Worth

The Dive Down visits sunny Texas for SCGCON Dallas! We chat about our very first free preview card from Streets of New Capenna, other highlights from the set so far, and our experiences playing paper Magic all weekend. The Break Down: Move Shane Get Out Da Way The Dive Down: Cards in Shards The Wind Down: The Fort Worth Main Street Arts Festival Check out our NEW SPONSOR, Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN2022 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "THEDIVEDOWN2022" Timestamps: 3:08 - Housekeeping 7:13 - Our preview card - Out of the Way! 16:07 - The first batch of New Capenna spoilers 16:42 - The common lands 18:31 - Sorry, weird audio glitch! An Offer You Can't Refuse 23:28 - Strangle 26:44 - Grisly Sigil 30:04 - Unlucky Witness 33:21 - A Little Chat 35:31 - Gala Greeters 39:39 - Make Disappear/Rob the Archives 42:54 - Brokers Charm 44:39 - Disciplined Duelist 47:15 - Devilish Valet 49:49 - Mage's Attendant 51:50 - Evolving Door 53:32 - Ob Nixilis, the Adversary 59:30 - Professional Face-Breaker 1:01:31 - Vivien on the Hunt 1:03:58 - Elspeth, Resplendent 1:06:39 - Cut Your Losses 1:08:14 - The Dive Down begins: Our SCGCon Dallas experiences 1:09:32 - Shane and Stan talk FAB, Pioneer, and Modern 1:28:41 - The Dive Down, cont: Dave talks Modern 1:35:22 - Shane and Stan talk Pioneer 1:41:15 - The Modern 30k Meta Links from this week's episode: Our Spoiler video: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/AymuqSbd80U Streets of New Capenna Spoilers: https://scryfall.com/sets/snc?as=grid&order=spoiled The Modern 30k: https://mtgmelee.com/Tournament/View/9196 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown Leave us an audio message: https://www.podinbox.com/thedivedown
4/14/20221 hour, 48 minutes, 8 seconds
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Episode 168: A Pre-Travel, Post-Lurrus Meta Deep Dive

The gang is reunited this week for an episode full of new cards, pivot tables, and tournament surprises. We start off with our initial reactions to the new charms spoiled from Streets of New Capenna, and imagine the impact of the complete triome cycle on our favorite formats. Then we go over the results of March's Modern metagame, the Manatraders Modern tournament, and the latest NRG results to analyze the growing and shrinking popularity of various decks in a post-Lurrus metagame. Finally, we wrap up with a Wind Down of our plans for SCG Con Dallas. Turns out... it's technically in Fort Worth! The Break Down: Greetings from New Capena The Dive Down: Greetings from Fort Wayne The Wind Down: Greetings from Dallas/Fort Worth Check out our NEW SPONSOR, Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN2022 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "THEDIVEDOWN2022" Timestamps: 4:59 - Housekeeping 8:50 - We're getting a preview card! 10:59 - Streets of New Capenna early spoilers - The Triomes 18:24 - The Charms - Obscura Charm 22:35 - Maestro's Charm 25:52 - Riveteers Charm 29:23 - Cabaretti Charm 33:03 - The Dive Down begins - March's metagame report 33:30 - The top decks 39:48 - The top cards 43:22 - The most winning decks 46:51 - The NRG Modern 20k 48:30 - The NRG meta 55:50 - The winrates 1:05:55 - The top 8 1:10:15 - The Manatraders Modern event swiss meta 1:14:20 - The best decks of Manatraders 1:17:20 - The top 8 1:23:05 - The Wind Down begins - SCGCon Dallas 1:28:57 - What we are playing in Dallas 1:39:55 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: Streets of New Capenna spoilers: https://scryfall.com/sets/snc?as=grid&order=spoiled The NRG tournament: https://mtgmelee.com/Tournament/View/8591 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown Leave us an audio message: https://www.podinbox.com/thedivedown
4/7/20221 hour, 41 minutes, 31 seconds
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Episode 167: The Pro Tour Returns! ft. Dom Harvey

This week Dave got lost in a cave while vacationing, so Dom Harvey joins the show to react and contextualize Wizard's official announcement that the Pro Tour is back! We break down the new competitive organized play systems, how it fits into the casual spike lifestyle, and how it supports Magic's highest level players. We warm up with a break down of some wild weekend top 8s. The Dive Down: Enter the Pyramid The Dive Down, cont: The Road to Regionals The Dive Down, cont: The Life of a World Champion Check out our NEW SPONSOR, Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN2022 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "THEDIVEDOWN2022" Timestamps: 1:55 - Dom's Housekeeping 7:57 - Housekeeping 10:32 - The Break Down begins: The Super Qualifier 24:07 - The Showcase Challenge 40:53 - Cool Decks, Inc - Rakdos Midrange "Blink" 43:56 - The Dive Down begins: The Pro Tour is back! 51:29 - The World Championship 57:21 - Regional Championships and Qualifiers 1:17:41 - The Pro Tour itself 1:27:24 - How do we feel about this? 1:37:58 - What goals can people have now? 1:46:42 - What's missing? 1:50:22 - Find Dom online and closing out Links from this week's episode: Find Dom online: https://linktr.ee/domhrv The Return of the Pro Tour!: https://magic.gg/news/return-of-the-pro-tour-faq Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown Leave us an audio message: https://www.podinbox.com/thedivedown
3/31/20221 hour, 53 minutes, 19 seconds
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Bonus 19: Probably Better Known As ft. Saffron Olive

Dave and Stan meet Saffron Olive from MTG Goldfish, and talk about Seth's sleep schedule, his MTG origins, and how the deck names in MTG Goldfish get fixed. Check out our NEW SPONSOR, Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN2022 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "THEDIVEDOWN2022" Links from this week's episode: www.mtggoldfish.com https://twitter.com/saffronolive Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes most Sunday nights at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown Leave us an audio message: https://www.podinbox.com/thedivedown
3/28/20221 hour, 6 minutes, 24 seconds
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Episode 166: All Shadow, No Doubt (ft. Michael Rapp)

This week, Shane's on vacation and Stan's late so Dave gets to do whatever he wants. And what he's decided is to check in with friend of the show and certified shadow scientist Michael Rapp about where everyone's avatar is headed these days. That's right, it's time for a deep dive on (mostly) Grixis Death's Shadow (along with a few other things). But first, we chat about Michael's recent trip to Indy and break down the Modern meta there. The Break Down: Shane’s Gone, Stan’s Late The Dive Down: Why Street Wraith is a Bad Card Now The Dive Down (pt.2): Shadow, Prepared Three Ways Check out our NEW SPONSOR, Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN2022 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "THEDIVEDOWN2022" Timestamps: 2:45 - Break Down Begins: Michael's Team at SCG Con Indianapolis 8:50 - Indianopolis Top 6 Begins 24:43 - The Indianapolis Modern Metagame 38:50 - How Michael's Team Prepared for Indy 44:19 - Dive Down Begins: Michael's Relationship with Death's Shadow 50:09 - The Lurrus Era of Shadow 56:27 - The First Weekend after Lurrus Was Banned 1:02:15 - The "Stock" Grixis Shadow Deck 1:15:3 - An Ode to Dress Down 1:20:00 - GDS, Still Hard to Play 1:25:35 - Murktide Shadow 1:33:27 - Mardu Shadow 1:37:39 - Jund Shadow 1:42:35 - Closing Out Links from this week's episode: Michael's Twitter: https://twitter.com/RappaciousOne Michael's recent article on the Card Kingdom Blog (includes write-ups and decklists): https://blog.cardkingdom.com/the-rumors-of-deaths-shadows-demise-have-been-greatly-exaggerated/ All Articles: https://blog.cardkingdom.com/author/mrapp2/ Discord server: https://discord.gg/wYCx6N4 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown Leave us an audio message: https://www.podinbox.com/thedivedown
3/24/20221 hour, 46 minutes, 5 seconds
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Episode 165: The People's Meta: Life After Lurrus

We are back with the second installment of The People's Meta! With Lurrus gone, and the first big paper tournament happening in the Hunter Burton Memorial Open, there's no time like the present to take a look at what's happening in Modern. We categorize and talk about every deck in a recent 5-0 League dump and break down what's changing in the wide open world of Magic Online. We then take some time to look at the paper metagame of the HBMO, examine what's changing, and take a gander at what did well down in Texas. The Break Down: Dave Breaks Down The Break Down, pt.2: Dave Dissects a Dump The Break Down, pt.3: The 2022 HBMO Check out our NEW SPONSOR, Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN2022 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "THEDIVEDOWN2022" Timestamps: 7:10 - Housekeeping 12:00 - The Break Down - The Post-Lurrus meta 14:35 - Death's Shadow decks 26:58 - Murktide 28:54 - Hammertime 30:05 - Blink 37:34 - Amulet Titan 42:56 - RBx Midrange 52:32 - Burn/Prowess 56:23 - Control 1:00:10 - Cascade 1:01:04 - Creativity 1:03:10 - Dredge 1:06:05 - Hardened Scales 1:11:50 - Creature Combo decks 1:16:55 - Prowess 1:18:50 - Midrange 1:21:35 - Humans and others 1:25:13 - Tron and others 1:31:55 - Combo junk drawer 1:34:55 - Other oddities 1:38:15 - Mono-Red Stuff 1:42:15 - The Hunter Burton Memorial Open 1:43:45 - The HBMO meta 1:47:10 - The Day 2 meta 1:50:30 - The Top 8 1:54:03 - What did we learn? 1:59:49 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: The 3/11 Deck Dump: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/modern-league-2022-03-11#paper The Hunter Burton Memorial Open: https://hunterburtonmemorialopen.com/ Decklists and standings from HBMO: https://www.hbpairings.com/ Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown Leave us an audio message: https://www.podinbox.com/thedivedown
3/18/20222 hours, 1 minute, 28 seconds
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Bonus 18: How to Win a Pro Tour ft. Eli Kassis

Shane and Stan sit down with the newly crowned Neon Dynasty Set Champion, Eli Kassis! We talk about Eli's deck selection and preparation for the Set Championship, the role of a testing team, and more. Check out our NEW SPONSOR, Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN2022 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "THEDIVEDOWN2022" Links from this week's episode: https://twitter.com/Eli_Kassis Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown Leave us an audio message: https://www.podinbox.com/thedivedown
3/16/202249 minutes, 2 seconds
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Episode 164: The Dream(-Den) is Over

Well they finally went and did it. Wizards of the Coast (kinda) surprised the entire Magic Non-Rotating Format World by sending everyone's favorite Nightmare Cat back to her den to think about what's she's done. In case that previous sentence isn't clear, I'm trying to say that they banned Lurrus of the Dream-Den in Modern and Pioneer. After (tearfully) throwing away an entire month of episodes we had planned out before this news, the three friends gather their composure and do what you pay (or don't pay) them to do — make predicitions about what will happen in Magic and just generally react to the news. Stan seems excited for Murktide. Dave seems excited for Obosh. Shane seems excited for things to stay mostly the same. The Break Down: What Happened The Dive Down: What We Think Will Happen The Wind Down: What We Hope Will Happen Check out our NEW SPONSOR, Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN2022 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "THEDIVEDOWN2022" Timestamps: 4:48 - Housekeeping 7:39 - The Break Down - Bye Bye Lurrus 8:43 - The rationales of the banning 22:10 - Did this go far enough? 31:24 - What's the impact of the Lurrus ban? 40:02 - Some hot takes 42:35 - A smelly diversion 45:50 - Stan's Monthly Meta Report 54:28 - The impact of losing Lurrus for the best decks 1:17:36 - The month-to-month change since Jan 1:19:58 - What the loss of Lurrus unlocks - Liliana(s) 1:25:56 - Seasoned Pyromancer 1:28:20 - Bedlam Reveler 1:30:09 - Lightning Skelemental 1:31:38 - Nettlecyst 1:32:40 - Asmo 1:33:43 - Plague Engineer 1:34:59 - Ranger-Captain of Eos 1:38:03 - Showdown of the Skalds 1:39:03 - Grist 1:39:41 - General Ferrous Rockerick 1:40:18 - What does Jund look like now? 1:43:14 - Dark Confidant 1:44:21 - Our final thoughts Links from this week's episode: The B&R: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/news/march-7-2022-banned-and-restricted-announcement Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown Leave us an audio message: https://www.podinbox.com/thedivedown
3/8/20221 hour, 47 minutes, 23 seconds
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Episode 163: Talking Magic in Trying Times

It's been a trying week. We needed a break. So this week, we're going to keep it positive by taking some time to discuss what we've been enjoying in Magic and beyond. It's a bit of a grab bag — we talk about the MOCS, Slogurk, Creativity, Oni-Cult, paper magic, hanging with Stan, hanging with Shane, and more. Stan gets a trophy. Dave loses creatively. Shane finds a deck he thinks is cool. We'll also be donating the proceeds of this week's episode to Trans Lifeline (https://translifeline.org/) and the UN Refugee Agency (https://www.unhcr.org/). The Break Down: Good Things in MOCS The Dive Down: Good Things in Modern The Dive Down, pt2: Good Things in Magic Check out our NEW SPONSOR, Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN2022 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "THEDIVEDOWN2022" Timestamps: 5:39 - Housekeeping 9:41 - The Break Down: The MOCS 15:29 - What makes GDS so good? 21:36 - The power of Lurrus 29:29 - Saturday's Modern Challenge 34:12 - The top 8 38:40 - The Super Qualifier top 8 42:40 - Are we banning Lurrus? 46:00 - A brief diversion 48:52 - The Dive Down begins - Stan likes Standard 54:10 - Dave plays Limited 1:00:31 - A mini deck tech on Aspiringspike's Rakdos Anvil in Modern 1:09:41 - Other Aspiringspike thoughts on Modern 1:11:20 - Stan 5-0's with Temur Slogurk 1:19:38 - Dave playing Indominatable Creativity 1:28:10 - Stan getting better at Magic 1:35:25 - Non-Magic things that bring us joy 1:43:40 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: The MOCS: https://magic.gg/events/2021-magic-online-champions-showcase-season-3 Saturday's Challenge: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/modern-challenge-12392345#paper The PTQ: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/modern-super-qualifier-12392317#paper Spike's Oni-Cult VOD: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jlf1Ay6bWI&ab_channel=Aspiringspike Stan's Slogurk Deck: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/4647667#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown Leave us an audio message: https://www.podinbox.com/thedivedown
3/2/20221 hour, 45 minutes, 13 seconds
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Episode 162: Sleeve/Believe/Heave: Neon Dynasty pt.2 Ed.

Turns out that sleevin' neon is so fun we had to do it for a second week. So here it is — three or four or maybe more new decks that feature cards from Neon Dynasty including Modern Assault Loam with Boseiju (and Slogurk!), Modern Death & Taxes with Boseiju, Pioneer Auras with Light-Paws, and Pioneer Burn with Reinforced Ronin. But before we state them and rate them, we first go through last weekend's Modern Showcase Challenge and discover many shades of innovation in... red... and... white? Dave has boeuf sweats. Stan believes it's slime time now. Shane plays a deck he hates... again. The Break Down: A Spicy Showcase The Dive Down: Boseiju Loam, Boseiju Taxes, Light-Paws, Pio Burn, and Others The Wind Down: 5 Minutes about Shane and Flesh and Blood Check out our NEW SPONSOR, Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN2022 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "THEDIVEDOWN2022" Timestamps: 3:32 - Housekeeping 6:40 - The Break Down: Modern Challenge Funtime 21:03 - The top 8 31:10 - A small diversion 34:50 - The Dive Down begins: S/B/H, Cool Cards Ed. 36:45 - Stan on Slogurk Oozing time 51:10 - Stan on Liquimetal Ponza 54:13 - Shane on Selesnya Taxes ft. Yorion 1:11:51 - Dave on Light-Paws Auras 1:28:35 - Shane on Shrapnel Blast Burn 1:34:35 - Shane's Flesh and Blood ProQuest 1:41:25 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: Modern Showcase Challenge: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/modern-showcase-challenge-2022-02-20 Temur Slogurk: Assault Loam: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/4614095#paper Temur Liquidmetal Ponza: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/4616201#paper Selesnya Taxes: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/4621930#paper Light-Paws Auras: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/4620131#paper and https://twitter.com/masoneclark/status/1493478580940156928?s=20&t=UEobUZhWlLmEQeVdwxQbZQ Ronin Burn: https://twitter.com/FelixSloo/status/1492313643962281989?t=blBSVeie85VXmdWpiRgErw&s=19 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown Leave us an audio message: https://www.podinbox.com/thedivedown
2/24/20221 hour, 44 minutes, 5 seconds
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Episode 161: Sleeve/Believe/Heave: Fun With Artifacts ed.

Turns out that Neon Dynasty may have had a little more impact on our formats than we originally anticipated. The reason why? Why, it's (mostly) thanks to Magic's favorite no-downside card type: Artifacts. Tune in as we try out builds of Urzaful/Urzaless Affinity and UW Hammer in Modern, Vehicle Tribal in Historic, and a whole new Ensoul Artifact build in Pioneer. But first, we take a look across 3 high level Modern MTGO events from the weekend. Dave asks for forgiveness. Shane withholds a harsh judgement. Stan gets chipped. The Break Down: Not many NEO cards in the Challenges The Dive Down: NEO cards in Leagues: Vehicles, Affinity, and Ensoul The Dive Down, cont: Stan's New Love: 4-0in' Prelims Check out our NEW SPONSOR, Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN2022 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "THEDIVEDOWN2022" Timestamps: 2:56 - Housekeeping 7:30 - The Break Down begins - Saturday's Challenge with NEW cards! 18:13 - The Sunday Challenge 25:25 - The Modern PTQ 30:25 - Some tournament takeaways 35:34 - A fun diversion 38:10 - The Dive Down begins - S/B/H Artifacts Ed. 40:20 - Shane with Historic Vehicles 57:02 - Dave on Modern Affinity 1:09:44 - Dave on Modern Vehicles 1:18:04 - Stan on Azorius Hammertime 1:31:34 - Stan on Ensoul Artifact 1:40:55 - Oni-Cult Anvil, briefly 1:43:15 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: Saturday's Challenge: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/modern-challenge-12387446#paper Sunday's Challenge: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/modern-challenge-12387452#paper Sunday's PTQ: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/modern-premier-12387425#paper Historic Vehicles: https://twitter.com/jaredfarris/status/1491972071404052481?s=20&t=ITEHIewCd0CHmRVSBee6Xg Spike's Consulate Dreadnaught Affinity: https://www.streamdecker.com/deck/ou3s6zIwy SpiderSpace Affinity: https://twitter.com/SpiderSpaceMTG/status/1492623539773394944?s=20&t=qGj6nPhmn6AhDrLdDAknNw Azorius Hammertime: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/4613330#paper Pioneer Ensoul Artifact: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/4614011#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown Leave us an audio message: https://www.podinbox.com/thedivedown
2/17/20221 hour, 44 minutes, 52 seconds
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Episode 160: A Dynasty of Neon Spoilers, Vol. 2

In the epic conclusion of our Neon Dynasty picks to click, we scan the complete set spoiler and shout out our favorite dragon, counterspell, samurai, and skyturtle. Before that, we kick off the show with break down of January's Modern MTGO metagame with another installment of the monthly report, and wrap up with a brief love letter to Legacy. The Break Down: Monthly Modern Metagame: January The Dive Down: Mode Cards Than You Could Ever Reconfigure The Wind Down: Stan's New Love: Legacy Check out our NEW SPONSOR, Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN2022 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "THEDIVEDOWN2022" Timestamps: 4:19 - Housekeeping 9:00 - The Break Down: The January Meta Breakdown 23:40 - The most popular cards of January 30:46 - The Dive Down: Neon Dynasty spoilers! 32:43 - Blade of the Oni 36:52 - Eater of Virtue 38:34 - Mnemonic Sphere 41:39 - March of Burgeoning Life 44:48 - Colossal Skyturtle/Mirrorshell Crab 46:41 - Otawara, Soaring City 49:21 - Atsushi, the Blazing Sky 52:45 - Mukotai Soulripper 54:44 - Invoke the Ancients 56:44 - Reinforced Ronin 1:00:25 - Hidetsugu Consumes All 1:05:43 - Experimental Synthesizer 1:08:08 - Enthusiastic Mechanaut 1:09:40 - Mech Hanger/Greasefang, Okiba Boss 1:13:09 - March of Wretched Sorrow 1:14:30 - Containment Construct 1:18:11 - Silverfur Master 1:19:45 - Light-Paws, Emperor's Voice 1:22:42 - March of Swirling Mist 1:25:27 - Mechtitan Core 1:27:52 - Explosive Singularity 1:30:12 - Generous Visitor 1:31:20 - Disruption Protocol 1:33:56 - Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire/Takenuma, Abandoned Mire 1:38:09 - What are we most excited to play with? 1:40:55 - The Wind Down: Stan <3 Legacy 1:46:20 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: Full spoilers: https://scryfall.com/sets/neo?as=grid Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown Leave us an audio message: https://www.podinbox.com/thedivedown
2/10/20221 hour, 48 minutes, 2 seconds
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Episode 159: A Dynasty of Neon Spoilers, Vol. 1

It's time to head back to Kamigawa in the latest set... our Neon Destiny. I mean Density. I mean Dynasty. We take a look at cards from the first batch of spoilers we think are good in Modern, Historic, Pioneer, or just plain good! Before that, we break down the ManaTraders January Pioneer tournament. Intro: Green Socks Filled With Money The Break Down: Closing the Book on Pioneer The Dive Down: You're My Density Check out our NEW SPONSOR, Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN2022 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "THEDIVEDOWN2022" Timestamps: 2:23 - Housekeeping 8:02 - The Break Down - Manatraders Pioneer January! 17:32 - The Top 8 and our thoughts on Pio 28:00 - The Dive Down begins - the mechanics of Kamigawa 39:07 - Let's talk cards! Boseju, Who Endures 50:28 - Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance 53:00 - Lion Sash 59:40 - The Reality Chip 1:04:26 - The Wandering Emperor 1:12:08 - Invoke Calamity 1:16:06 - March of Otherworldly Light 1:20:53 - Azusa's Many Journeys 1:23:58 - Secluded Courtyard 1:26:10 - Hotshot Mechanic 1:27:33 - "Procession of Joy" 1:31:19 - Lizard Blades 1:32:28 - Life of Toshiro Umezawa 1:35:11 - Mooncircuit Hacker 1:36:40 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: The decks and metagame of the ManaTraders Pioneer Tournament: https://pastebin.com/A6P4Dzs9 The Mechanics of Neon Dynasty: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/kamigawa-neon-dynasty-mechanics-2022-01-27 Neon Dynasty spoilers: https://scryfall.com/sets/neo?order=set&as=grid Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown Leave us an audio message: https://www.podinbox.com/thedivedown
2/3/20221 hour, 38 minutes, 59 seconds
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Episode 158: We Thought There Would Be Bans, ft. SpiderSpace

With Dave off this week, we are joined by streamer, former guest, and co-host of Mishra's Babble, SpiderSpace! In the Break Down we talk about the (lack of) bans in Modern, then dive deep into the Modern Super Qualifier and SpiderSpace's second place finish. We then head into the Dive Down to discuss our recent play experiences, and in the Wind Down talk about the somber announcement from SCG of their ceasing their competitive content coverage. The Break Down: Companions Live On The Dive Down: And Spider Made the Finals! The Wind Down: But Star City Though... Check out our NEW SPONSOR, Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN2022 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "THEDIVEDOWN2022" Timestamps: 4:34 - Housekeeping 7:20 - The Break Down begins - No bans in Modern! 17:16 - Analyzing the WOTC tea leaves 28:58 - Potential future unbannings 32:40 - What do we want unbanned? 39:25 - Saturday's Modern Showcase Challenge, ft Spiderspace! 1:02:21 - Cool Decks, Inc - Boros Brought Back 1:05:51 - The Dive Down begins - Spiderspace's lamenting 1:17:55 - Stan's smashing 1:23:30 - Shane's losing 1:30:45 - The Wind Down: But Star City Though... Links from this week's episode: January 25th B&R Announcement: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/news/january-25-2022-banned-and-restricted-announcement Find Gabe on Twitter: https://twitter.com/SpiderSpaceMTG Saturday's Super Qualifier: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/modern-challenge-12377842#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown Leave us an audio message: https://www.podinbox.com/thedivedown
1/27/20221 hour, 49 minutes, 7 seconds
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Bonus 17: The VML, Sloths, Moose(s), and Linguine ft Carolyn Kavanagh

Stan and Dave sit down with the wonderful Carolyn Kavanagh to talk about the latest season of the VML, how we make new friends as adults, and which tree-dwelling mammal is the best animal of all. We also check in on Carolyn's current relationship with Modern and Mono-Green Tron. Check out our NEW SPONSOR, Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN2022 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "THEDIVEDOWN2022" Links from this week's episode: vmlmtg.com https://twitter.com/VMLMTG https://twitter.com/MightyLinguine Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown Leave us an audio message: https://www.podinbox.com/thedivedown
1/25/20221 hour, 6 minutes, 35 seconds
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Episode 157: Understanding the Pioneer Metagame ft. Dom Harvey

The heat is on in Pioneer town. Is the format back from the dead? Seems like everyone is talking about it, and it’s this month’s format for the Manatraders monthly tournament series. So we’ve invited the incredibly wise and skilled Dom Harvey to share his insights and analysis of Pioneer’s most popular decks, including Jeskai Ascendancy, Izzet Phoenix, Boros Heroic, Lotus Field, and more. The Dive Down, pt1: No Break Down This Week! The Dive Down, pt2: Because the Whole Ep is Just Decks! The Dive Down, pt3: Phoenix, Ascendancy, Heroic, Chonks, and More! Check out our NEW SPONSOR, Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN2022 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "THEDIVEDOWN2022" Timestamps: 4:24 - Housekeeping 9:10 - The Dive Down begins - Pioneer Time! 11:30 - Izzet Phoenix 25:36 - Jeskai Ascendancy 36:13 - Boros Heroic 46:40 - Lotus Field 55:57 - Chonk-ish Red 1:06:07 - Jund Food 1:13:15 - Rakdos Midrange 1:19:25 - Azorius Control 1:25:41 - What is Pioneer about? 1:47:20 - Dom on Dom 1:53:29 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: Dom's Twitter: https://twitter.com/dominharvia?lang=en Dom's linktree: https://linktr.ee/domhrv The top decks of Pioneer: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/metagame/pioneer#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown Leave us an audio message: https://www.podinbox.com/thedivedown
1/20/20221 hour, 54 minutes, 54 seconds
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Episode 156: Yawgmoth: We Persisted

This one goes out to the one I Yawg. It's been a long time coming, but it's finally time for us to sling some wither counters and get undying with everyone's favorite physician, Yawgmoth. Tune in to hear us fumble around with triggers, stacking, and life totals, and to hear Shane give his tepid approval to a deck beloved by millions. Stan's approval is even more tepid. Dave claims he'd rather be playing Titan (is that a bit?). Before we get into all this though, we go over one of this weekend's Modern Challenges and talk about the weirdness that is Jund Reclaimer and a few other things. Thanks for tuning in, #yawgsqwad! The Break Down: They Reclaim Sagas Now Don't They? The Dive Down: -1 for You, -1 for Me The Dive Down, pt.2: For the Yawg Stans but Not for Our Stan Check out our NEW SPONSOR, Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN2022 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "THEDIVEDOWN2022" Timestamps: 3:00 - Housekeeping 4:48 - Barrister and Mann Promo Time 6:20 - The Break Down - The Sunday Challenge 18:08 - Cool Decks, Inc. 27:26 - The Dive Down Begins - Yawgmoth! 30:00 - Our history with Yawg 32:05 - The Yawgmoth combo 37:15 - Yawgmoth, Thran Physician 42:52 - The Undying creatures 48:12 - The mana dorks 54:13 - The tutors 58:07 - Grist, the Hunger Tide 1:05:15 - Sideboard options 1:11:41 - Strategic considerations and playing with Yawgmoth 1:20:34 - Keeps and mulls 1:26:45 - Life-total management 1:29:00 - Matchups 1:35:20 - Proliferating 1:37:45 - Strengths and weaknesses of Yawgmoth 1:42:16 - Our bottom line on Yawg Links from this week's episode: Sunday's Challenge: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/modern-challenge-12372530#paper DemonicTutors Yawg list: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/4541927#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown Leave us an audio message: https://www.podinbox.com/thedivedown
1/13/20221 hour, 47 minutes, 24 seconds
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Episode 155: 2022 Goals: The Nation Speaks

It's 2022, and we're back with an episode that looks forward to the new year. We asked for listeners to submit their 2022 goals via audio and text, and everyone delivered! We give our thoughts and feedback on the goals of The Nation, and also discuss our own. Before that, we go over Stan's December 2021 Modern summary and the latest Modern Challenges. Here's to 2022! The Break Down: December Modern Check-In The Dive Down: Your Goals are Our Goals Check out our NEW SPONSOR, Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN2022 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more. Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "THEDIVEDOWN2022" Timestamps: 4:20 - Housekeeping 7:27 - A Special Barrister and Mann announcement! - THEDIVEDOWN2022 13:16 - The Break Down begins - The December Recap 23:16 - Saturday's Challenge 30:24 - Saturday's Top 8 36:40 - Sunday's Top 8 42:08 - The Dive Down begins - The goals of the Nation 44:00 - Avoiding mistakes 57:04 - Simplification and moderation 1:14:45 - Diving in deeper and playing more 1:23:55 - Our playing goals in 2022 1:28:51 - Winning with a brew 1:31:35 - Performance-based goals 1:38:50 - Do we have any goals for new formats on The Dive Down? 1:48:42 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: Saturday's Challenge: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/modern-challenge-12367813#paper Sunday's Challenge: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/modern-challenge-12367819#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown Leave us an audio message: https://www.podinbox.com/thedivedown
1/6/20221 hour, 50 minutes, 45 seconds
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Episode 154: Our Year End Extravaganza, ft. Aspiringspike

The end of 2021 is upon us, which means it's time for our annual year in review episode! And this time, we've brought a friend, our reliable unofficial fourth co-host, Aspiringspike. We first talk about the biggest releases, bannings, and changes in 2021 for Modern and Historic, then head into the awards show to hand out this year's Diveys. We talk about our favorite cards, decks, and events of the year, then discuss our goals for 2022. Thanks to all of you for another great year of The Dive Down! The Break Down: A Whole Year (in Order!) The Dive Down: Taking and Taking and Taking Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown2021" Timestamps: 5:43 - Housekeeping 6:57 - The Break Down - 2021 begins! 13:38 - Kaldheim, Oops, all Valkis, and some bans 22:52 - Historic Anthology 4 and Time Spiral Remastered 24:30 - April update, Strixhaven, and the Mystical Archives 33:51 - Modern before and after Modern Horizons 2 43:48 - July and Adventures in the Forgotten Realms 49:20 - Jumpstart: Historic Horizons 52:24 - Modern in October and Innistrad: Midnight Hunt 1:00:21 - December begins and the year ends 1:04:55 - The Dive Down begings - The 2021 Awards Show! 1:05:32 - The Best Card of the Year 1:10:53 - The Non-2021 Card of the Year 1:12:21 - Supporting Card of the Year 1:15:11 - Overhyped Card of the Year 1:20:05 - Overperformer of the Year 1:21:57 - The Deck of the Year 1:25:53 - Most Hated Deck of the Year 1:27:52 - In Memoriam 1:32:36 - Magic Experience of the Year 1:37:13 - The Best WOTC Decision of the Year 1:40:01 - #mtgfinance of the Year 1:40:47 - Our 2022 Goals 1:46:13 - The Best Guest(s) of the Year and Thanks 1:48:40 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: Watch Aspiringspike on twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/aspiringspike Find Spike on twitter: https://twitter.com/Aspiringspike Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
12/22/20211 hour, 50 minutes, 34 seconds
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Episode 153: We Did It For Science: Amulet Titan

In the second installment of We Did It For Science, we explore... gulp... Amulet Titan. Yes, our most hated card goes through our rigorous experimental testing regimen. We go over what these decks are about, gameplans, threats, tips & tricks, and, most importantly, just how much we still hate Primeval Titan. Prior to that, we dive into the metagame of the latest Modern Showcase Challenge. The Break Down: A Showcase Challenge The Dive Down: No Idea How to Play This Deck The Dive Down, cont: Look at This Cool Screenshot Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown2021" Timestamps: 4:57 - Housekeeping 7:05 - The Break Down - The Milwaukee NRG Modern Trial 9:40 - The Saturday Modern Showcase Challenge meta 16:13 - The Showcase top 8 27:30 - The Dive Down begins - We Did it For Science: Titan Edition 34:30 - What are Titan decks all about? 55:20 - Keep or mulls? 59:26 - The land sequencing conundrum 1:09:24 - Gameplans with Amulet Titan 1:18:16 - The non-Titan threats 1:26:18 - Tips & tricks 1:35:04 - Why is Amulet resurging? 1:40:55 - Would we repeat the science experiment? 1:45:13 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: The December 11th Showcase Challenge Bamzing post: https://www.reddit.com/r/ModernMagic/comments/retyjd/modernshowcasechallenge3resultsdec11_2021/ Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
12/15/20211 hour, 46 minutes, 58 seconds
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Episode 152: Is Historic History?

It's another in our awesome series of top-tier Patreon request episodes, as we take on Mickey S's (no, the other Mickey S) challenge to explore the decks and metagame of best-of-one Historic on Arena. We played a bunch of fun decks and faced off against even more, and have a lot of thoughts on the format. Prior to that, we break down the Innistrad Set Championship and go over the announcement of Alchemy and its impact on Historic, and perhaps all of Magic. Thanks again, Mickey! The Break Down: Top 8s All Around The Dive Down: Alchemical Explanations The Dive Down, cont: Best of One, Best of All Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown2021" Timestamps: 5:15 - Housekeeping 6:32 - Dave and Stan top 8 a store championship! 15:56 - Alchemy... is here 22:55 - The positives 32:14 - Kinda moving into the negatives here 41:05 - Some final takes 48:05 - The Dive Down begins - the Innistrad Set Championship 52:45 - The Top 8 57:17 - Best-of-One Historic - what's the difference? 1:02:00 - The decks of BO1 Historic - Heliod Lifegain 1:06:17 - Elves 1:08:53 - Gruul Shamans 1:10:27 - Izzet Phoenix 1:17:35 - Abzan Auras 1:21:24 - Azorius Auras 1:25:02 - Selesnya Humans 1:27:45 - Mono-W Humans 1:32:50 - Chonky Red 1:34:07 - Mono-Red Torbran 1:41:28 - The rest of the BO1 metagame 1:46:55 - Our thoughts on BO1 1:53:30 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: The Arena State of the Game article: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/magic-digital/mtg-arena-state-game-alchemy-2021-12-02 Introducing Alchemy: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/magic-digital/introducing-alchemy-new-way-play-mtg-arena-2021-12-02 The Innistrad Championship: https://magic.gg/events/innistrad-championship The Untapped.gg Historic tier list: https://mtga.untapped.gg/meta/tierlist?format=historic Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
12/8/20211 hour, 54 minutes, 54 seconds
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Bonus 16: Magic, Games, and Culture (ft. the hosts of BAD END Podcast)

In this latest installment in our series of bonus eps, Shane is joined by the hosts of the videogame and culture podcast BAD END, Josh Calixto and Kyle Kukshtel. They talk about BAD END and the Superculture network, their thoughts on what makes games and Magic work, and, most importantly, what their least favorite video games are. It's a great conversation, and we hope you like it! Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown2021" Links from this week's episode: BAD END: https://www.badendpodcast.com/ BAD END on Twitter: https://twitter.com/badendpodcast Josh: https://twitter.com/HiThereJosh Kyle: https://twitter.com/kkukshtel Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
12/5/20211 hour, 21 minutes, 25 seconds
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Episode 151: TDD Live in Vegas, ft. Reid, Evart, Joe, Gal, Tannon, Sam, Eli, Michael, Joel, Levi, & Steven

We come to you LIVE (well, sorta) from the recent MTG Las Vegas event, where we tapped some cards, hung out with friends, and talked to some big name players! We talked to some current and future household names about Modern, the decks they brought, and their tournament experiences. Thanks to our old and new friends Joe Lossett, Tannon Grace, Yamakiller, Aspiringspike, Sam Pardee, Reid Duke, Eli Loveman, Michael Rapp, and top 8 finishers Joel Lapray, Levi Sprung, and Steve Pearlman for the fun and insightful conversations! The Dive Down: Shane & Stan went to Vegas! The Dive Down, cont: For some reason Dave is here too! The Dive Down, cont again: More interviews than you can shake your deck at! Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown2021" Timestamps: 3:20 - Housekeeping 6:17 - MtG Las Vegas discussion begins 8:18 - Shane & Stan live from Vegas 21:47 - Discussing the overall event 28:26 - Joe Lossett talks 4-Color Control 36:15 - Tannon Grace chats... magic! 41:40 - Yamakiller talks Grixis Shadow 49:28 - Aspiringspike talks Rakdos Lurrus 58:52 - Sam Pardee on 4C Elementals 1:06:16 - Reid Duke talks Yawgmoth 1:11:53 - Stan talks about his tournament 1:14:28 - Eli Loveman on Hammertime 1:20:27 - Michael Rapp on Grixis Shadow 1:26:29 - Top seed Joel Lapray on Hardened Scales 1:32:06 - Talking the top 8 decks 1:39:49 - Top 8 finisher Levi Sprung 1:48:05 - Top 2 finisher Steve Pearlman 1:56:45 - Our takes on Modern after Vegas 1:59:55 - Thanks and closing out Links from this week's episode: MTG top 8 lists: https://twitter.com/theMMcast/status/1462223403914387458 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
11/24/20212 hours, 1 minute, 53 seconds
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Episode 150: The Road to Las Vegas IV: Preparing to Win, ft. Zach Allen

It's episode 150!! In our final Road to Las Vegas segment, we are joined by SCG grinder, former host of Turn One Thoughtseize, and all around great guy Zach Allen. We first talk over the weekend's Challenges, then head into The Dive Down to talk about the decks of Modern, leveling up as a player, playing in a big tournament, why Aether Gust is the best card in Modern, and more. It's a can't-miss episode! The Break Down: A Huge Challenge The Dive Down: Preparation Makes Perfect The Dive Down, cont: The End of the Road Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown2021" Timestamps: 4:18 - Housekeeping 9:10 - The Saturday Challenge metagame 19:54 - The Top 8 39:24 - The Sunday Challenge Top 8 43:30 - The Dive Down begins - Zach's competitive past 47:08 - How Zach leveled up 57:15 - What is Modern about right now? 1:03:34 - Zach's thoughts on the best decks 1:30:11 - Do paper events lag behind MTGO? 1:35:35 - Performing your best at an event 1:40:41 - What does it take to win? 1:42:10 - Zach's advice on Modern 1:45:05 - Stan and Zach talk Murktide 1:51:30 - Where to find Zach and closing out Links from this week's episode: Find Zach on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a22en Saturday's Challenge: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/modern-challenge-12355688#paper Sunday's Challenge: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/modern-challenge-12355715#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
11/17/20211 hour, 55 minutes, 35 seconds
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Episode 149: ManaCymbal Crashes & Crimson Vow Spoilers, II

This week the three friends go through the second half of spoilers from Crimson Vow and consider which ones they'd marry for Modern (and other formats). But first, friend of the pod Zach Ryl (aka Manacymbal) stops by to talk us through his Modern Challenge Victory on Saturday, November 6. The Break Down: A Victorious Challenger The Dive Down: Crimson Vow — More 1 Mana Spells Than We Thought! Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown2021" Timestamps: 4:14 - Housekeeping 6:20 - The Break Down with ManaCymbal 7:24 - Saturday's Modern Challenge 37:17 - ManaCymbal talks his first place finish with 4C Creativity 1:01:05 - The Dive Down begins 1:02:35 - Geralf, Visionary Stitcher 1:04:22 - End the Festivities 1:06:16 - Ancestral Anger 1:10:30 - Blood Fountain 1:12:10 - Voldaren Epicure 1:14:09 - Wash Away 1:17:58 - Eruth, Tormented Prophet 1:22:28 - Cradle of Safety 1:24:36 - Stormchaser Drake 1:26:33 - Curse of Hospitality 1:28:17 - Cemetery Prowler 1:31:35 - Cemetery Illuminator 1:34:48 - Dreamshackle Geist 1:37:05 - Inspired Idea 1:39:31 - Faithbound Judge 1:41:45 - Thalia, Guardian of Thraben 1:42:40 - Ascendant Packleader 1:43:30 - Lantern of the Lost 1:46:11 - Reckless Impulse 1:49:24 - Our favorite cards 1:51:10 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: Saturday Modern Challenge - https://www.reddit.com/r/ModernMagic/comments/qosb9r/saturdaymodernchallengeresultsnov62021/ Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
11/11/20211 hour, 52 minutes, 59 seconds
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Episode 148: Events, Reanimator, and Crimson Vow Spoilers

The title says it all! We first talk the MOCS, the SCG Invitational, and some Modern Challenges to try to wrap our head around the Modern meta. Then Shane makes up for being off last week with a discussion of Esper Reanimator. Then we go over the first batch of Crimson Vow spoilers and talk about some Cool Cards, Inc. The Break Down: Several Events The Dive Down: Esper Reanimator The Dive Down, cont: Crimson Vow Spoilers Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown2021" Timestamps: 3:32 - Housekeeping 7:25 - The Break Down - A lot of events 8:12 - The MOCS 18:03 - The SCG Invitational 29:30 - Saturday's Challenge 38:30 - Sunday's Challenge 39:19 - Takeaways from these events 44:18 - The Dive Down begins - Shane on Esper Reanimator 51:53 - What Esper Reanimator is doing well 54:32 - What it isn't doing as well 1:06:00 - The bottom line on Reanimator 1:10:46 - The mechanics of Crimson Vow 1:19:22 - The cards begin - Manaform Hellkite 1:22:06 - Path of Peril 1:24:53 - Cemetery Protector 1:27:11 - Chandra, Dressed to Kill 1:31:01 - Dig Up 1:31:50 - Geist Lightsnare 1:34:40 - "Bedsheet Elemental" 1:36:04 - Dread Fugue 1:38:18 - Change of Fortune 1:40:01 - Grolnok, the Omnivore 1:41:07 - Demonic Bargain 1:43:30 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: The MOCS: https://magic.gg/decklists/2021-magic-online-champions-showcase-season-2-modern-decklists Randy's Spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1xmJkCX2mpIoVFd8TTwqE44LARRNevUeSSqJUdAjAV4s/edit#gid=0 SCG Top 8 Decks: https://old.starcitygames.com/decks/results/format/28/eventID/21/startdate/31-10-2021/enddate/31-10-2021/start/1/finish/8/wperc/0/gperc/0/rperc/0/bperc/0/uperc/0/aperc/0/order1/finish/limit/25/start_num/0/ Saturday's Challenge: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/modern-challenge-12351480#paper Sunday's Challenge: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/modern-challenge-12351484#paper Esper Reanimator: https://www.streamdecker.com/deck/IfleifZ9n Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane Leave us an audio message in our PodInbox: https://www.podinbox.com/thedivedown email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
11/3/20211 hour, 44 minutes, 54 seconds
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Bonus 15: Undoubtable Creativity ft. Manacymbal

Streamer, musician, podcaster, and ever-present Magic personality Zach Ryl, aka Manacymbal, joins Stan to talk about the Indomitable Creativity deck in Modern, content creation, and music! Recorded on October 7th. Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown2021" Links from this week's episode: Serum Visions Podcast: https://serumvisions.podbean.com/ MTG Parody Songs: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2KjuSPkJvLbbBstdPc2IVh1YSemmjQv This Week in Modern: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2KjuSPkJvLHdr51QgBsjKAevQz5U2bg Twitch: https://www.twitch.com/manacymbal 4C Creativity deck talk and tournament report: https://youtu.be/Ou7X5IjzVIw Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
11/1/20211 hour, 28 minutes, 27 seconds
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Episode 147: The Road to Las Vegas III: It's Elementalry!

Shane's gone so Stan and Dave are finally free to do whatever they want. And what they want to do is play too many colors and evoke some elementals! At least that's what they thought they wanted to do — we think? That's right, for the third in our Road to Vegas series we tackle the element... als. But first enjoy a tour of one of last week's Modern Challenges and a live paper tournament from NRG. Stan talks about cool things. Dave reminisces about when he seemed cool. Somewhere, Shane is being cool. Unnecessary Anecdote: The Beach Boys! The Break Down: A Challenge and Some NRG The Dive Down: Four Arms to Hold You Still Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown2021" Timestamps: 7:12 - Housekeeping 10:13 - The Break Down - A Modern Challenge 21:31 - The Nerd Rage Gaming paper event 30:10 - The Dive Down - The Road To Vegas pt 3 34:04 - Some powerful Modern cards 46:00 - Stan on 4-Color YoRhinos and Temur Rhinos 1:00:00 - The matchups 1:12:05 - Dave on 4-Color Elementals 1:18:40 - The matchups 1:42:15 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: Saturday Modern Challenge: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/modern-challenge-2021-10-24?xd34 Bamzing's Post About Same: https://www.reddit.com/r/ModernMagic/comments/qew011/saturdaymodernchallengeresultsoct232021/ NRG Modern on MTGMelee: https://mtgmelee.com/Tournament/View/7504 4c Yorhinos: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/4383735#paper 4c Elementals: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/4363826#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
10/28/20211 hour, 43 minutes, 26 seconds
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Episode 146: The Road to Las Vegas II: Jund, UW, Hammer

This week we dive into part two of our series in our anticipation of the return to paper Magic — The Road to Vegas. Dave, Stan, and Shane go through the ins and outs of the next tier of Modern's meta. We're looking at two boomer decks — Jund (secretly zoomer?) and UW Control — and one newmer deck in Hammer. Find out which one we think is best positioned for MTG Vegas. Before that we talk about the latest Historic changes, and go through the results of one of last week's MTGO Modern PTQs. Stan controls. Shane hammers. Dave ionizes. The Break Down: Modern Super Showcase WKQ The Dive Down: Boomer Decks The Wind Down: The Short List Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown2021" Timestamps: 3:33 - Housekeeping 5:36 - Historic Bannings! 10:29 - Historic digital only card changes! 16:13 - The Modern PTQ Top 16 analysis 25:56 - The PTQ meta 34:18 - The Dive Down begins: The Road to Vegas vol.2 36:20 - Dave on Jund Saga 1:05:52 - Stan on Azorius Control 1:29:18 - Shane on Hammertime 1:51:35 - What's on our decks to play shortlist? Links from this week's episode: Modern PTQ Results: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/modern-premier-2021-10-16?xd2 Moonblade Deck: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/modern-challenge-2021-10-17?xd2#taliskerstplace Jund Saga: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/4325030#paper UW Control: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/modern-premier-2021-10-16 Hammer: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/4109042#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane Leave us an audio message in our PodInbox: https://www.podinbox.com/thedivedown email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
10/20/20211 hour, 54 minutes, 47 seconds
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Episode 145: The Nation Speaks — Your Questions Answered

This week's ep is a Patreon request by one of the first citizens of The Dive Down Nation - KilgoreTrout, aka Jason! He asked us to do a Q&A episode, and to make it even more fun we brought in some new technology to get audio submissions. We got questions from citizens around the world about Magic, collecting, and podcasting - so thanks to everyone who got involved! And special thanks to Jason for being a true citizen for so long! The Break Down: Still Had to Get A Challenge In The Dive Down: Hear Our Voices, Hear Your Voices The Dive Down, pt2: Call Me Maybe Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown2021" Timestamps: 4:06 - Housekeeping 6:49 - The Break Down - More Modern Meta 21:00 - Sunday's Top 8 25:55 - The Dive Down begins - Questions... AND ANSWERS! 27:18 - Inside the Grinder's Studio 38:53 - What are we most excited about for CFB Vegas? 41:53 - How to play 8+ rounds of Magic? 47:45 - What are our favorite foils? 50:25 - What is the best Limited set of all time? 55:34 - What Modern Horizons cards would be safe in Standard? 1:02:26 - What does "bolting the bird" really mean anymore? 1:06:40 - How do we value our collections? 1:15:20 - How do we see ourselves engaging with Magic over the rest of our lives? 1:18:07 - How do we get the most bang for our buck in Magic? 1:28:02 - What cards do we want unbanned in Modern? 1:33:54 - What are our favorite topdecks? 1:37:23 - What decks would we buy first? 1:39:50 - What decks would we not play in paper? 1:41:38 - What would we be podcasting about if it wasn't Magic? 1:47:35 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: Saturday's Challenge: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/modern-challenge-12345852#paper Sunday's Challenge: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/modern-challenge-12345858#paper DemonicTutor's Yawgmoth VOD: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1172755666 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane Submit an audio question to our PodInbox: https://www.podinbox.com/thedivedown email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
10/13/20211 hour, 49 minutes, 32 seconds
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Episode 144: The Road To Las Vegas: Murktide v. Burn

In the first episode of a new miniseries (???), Stan and Shane talk about their experiences testing two of the top decks in the format in their preparation for the CFB Vegas event in November. How do Izzet Murktide and Boros Burn perform right now? Why are they good, and what might be their fatal flaws? Only one way to find out! The Break Down: Dave's Not Here, Man The Break Down, cont: Some Good Good Challenges The Dive Down: Matchups and Putdowns Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown2021" Timestamps: 3:07 - Housekeeping 6:16 - The Break Down begins 15:00 - Sunday's Challenge 21:30 - What these Challenges tell us 25:04 - Cool Deck(s), Inc. 27:35 - The Dive Down begins - The Road to Vegas 34:41 - Stan on Izzet Murktide 38:44 - Why has Murktide been successful, and how is it positioned right now? 42:32 - Murktide's matchups 1:01:13 - Some final thoughts on Murktide 1:06:40 - Shane on Boros Burn 1:07:31 - What's up with Burn? 1:10:32 - Burn's matchups 1:32:10 - Some thoughts on Burn 1:40:46 - What to try next? 1:43:00 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: Saturday's Challenge: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/modern-challenge-12344224#paper Sunday's Challenge: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/modern-challenge-12344230#paper Mardu Midrange: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/4342367#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
10/7/20211 hour, 44 minutes, 23 seconds
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Episode 143: The People's Meta: A Deeper Modern

On this week's episode Shane and Dave explore the depths of Modern in what we are calling.... "The People's Meta." We look at every deck from a recent 5-0 League dump to discuss their place in the metagame, what makes them interesting, and how they are implementing new cards and strategies. Before that, we go through Saturday's Showcase Challenge to look at what people are bringing to the top tournaments. The Break Down: Showcasing Modern The Dive Down: Mainstreams and Roguestreams The Dive Down, cont: More. Patron. Shoutouts. Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown2021" Timestamps: 3:25 - Housekeeping 5:00 - The Break Down - Saturday's Modern Showcase Challenge 14:30 - The Showcase top 8 21:12 - The Dive Down beings - The People's Meta 30:19 - The Current Mainstream 55:37 - The Past Mainstream 1:26:05 - The Upcoming Rogues 1:48:03 - Thoughts on Modern 1:51:01 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: Saturday's Showcase Challenge: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/modern-challenge-12342275#paper The League Dump: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/modern-league-2021-09-24#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
9/29/20211 hour, 52 minutes, 34 seconds
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Episode 142: Consider This: Sleeve/Believe/Heave: Midnight Hunt ed.

The latest set has hit the digital shelves of Magic Online and Arena, and we are here to dig into a few new decks and run them through the Sleeve/Believe/Heave wringer! We first look at Esper Reanimator and Jeskai Phoenix in Modern, then head over to Magic Arena and dive into Izzet Delver in Historic. Do the cards of Midnight Hunt have what it takes to make an impact? Let's find out! The Break Down: Star Studded Challenges! The Dive Down: Sleeve/Believe/Heave: Mend These Decks! Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown2021" Timestamps: 2:40 - Housekeeping 5:15 - The Break Down: Modern Challenges 24:47 - Sunday's Challenge 30:01 - Cool Decks, Inc 36:51 - The Dive Down begins: S/B/H, Midnight Hunt ed. 39:42 - Esper Reanimator 1:00:58 - Jeskai Phoenix 1:20:28 - Izzet Delver 1:34:07 - Closing Out Links from this week's episode: Saturday's Challenge: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/modern-challenge-12340205#paper Sunday's Challenge: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/modern-challenge-12340211#paper Jund Sac: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/4311126#paper Dredge: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/4311118 Esper Reanimator: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/4311099#paper Jeskai Phoenix: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/4311100#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
9/23/20211 hour, 35 minutes, 44 seconds
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Episode 141: Innistrad: Midnight Hunt Spoilers, Pt. II

This week, Stan leave Dave and Shane to their own devices as he returns to a parental-leave induced bliss. With dad gone, the last two friends decide to go wild and cover SCG's recent Historic satellites in a quick and fun break down followed by arguing about too many cards for far too much time. And they thought this would be a short one! Dave considers light up the night. Shane says the world "cool" 500,000 times in two hours. Somewhere, in the midst of a dream, Stan cringes. The Break Down: SCG Historic Satellites + $5k The Dive Down: Innistrad: Midnight Hunt Spoilers, pt.II Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown2021" Timestamps: 3:04 - Housekeeping 5:06 - The Break Down: The SCG Historic Championship Qualifier 14:15 - The Dive Down: Innistrad: Midnight Hunt, vol.2 15:40 - The Adversary Cycle 33:39 - Ghoulcaller's Harvest 37:49 - Willow Geist 40:23 - Sunset Revelry 42:34 - Meathook Massacre 45:40 - Fateful Absence 50:10 - Light Up The Night 55:02 - Turn the Earth 58:07 - Lunarch Veteran 1:01:30 - Delver of Secrets 1:07:54 - Secrets of the Key 1:12:11 - Otherworldly Gaze 1:14:51 - Malevolent Hermit 1:19:09 - Patrician Geist 1:22:46 - Suspicious Stowaway 1:25:39 - Outland Liberator 1:29:00 - Rem Karolus, Stalwart Slayer 1:31:35 - Slaughter Specialist 1:34:29 - Adeline, Resplendent Cathar 1:36:37 - Teferi, Who Slows the Sunset 1:39:47 - Dennick, Pious Apprentice 1:41:43 - Jerren, Corrupted Bishop 1:44:10 - Cathartic Pyre 1:45:17 - Memory Deluge 1:47:37 - The cards we are most sure about 1:49:23 - The cards we are most unsure about 1:50:09 - What cards do we want to be good? 1:50:55 - What cards will have the biggest impact on non-Modern formats? 1:52:00 - What cards will have the biggest impact on Modern? 1:54:00 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: Historic $5K SCG TOUR ONLINE CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFIER: https://mtgmeta.io/tournaments/4059 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
9/15/20211 hour, 55 minutes, 39 seconds
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Episode 140: Midnight Hunting & The Latest Historic Decks

This week we're getting to band back together. Stan returns to take Shane and Dave through a tour of the format he's been playing most recently — Historic. He's learned a lot from playing at all times of the night and day and night and who knows what time it is anyway? After that, the team fully jumps into the Midnight Hunt. Dave likes some cards. Shane doesn't like them. Stan knocks the rust off. The Break Down: Stan's Back... But For How Long? The Break Down, cont: A Taste of Historic The Dive Down: Midnight Hunt, Part 1 Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown2021" Timestamps: 3:19 - Housekeeping 5:58 - The Break Down: The new decks of Historic 8:49 - The Jeskai decks 22:54 - Counteracting Jeskai 26:18 - Cascade combo 29:25 - Gruul Shamans 35:31 - Scurry Oak combo 37:52 - Merfolk 41:09 - Mono-Red variants 45:43 - Vesperlark combo 49:00 - What we're playing 52:50 - The Dive Down: Innistrad: Midnight Hunt! 54:50 - The mechanics of Innistrad 1:05:39 - The cards begin - Consider 1:08:03 - Play With Fire 1:09:30 - Infernal Grasp 1:11:34 - Champion of the Perished 1:12:34 - The land cycle 1:15:45 - Wrenn & Seven 1:19:07 - Poppet Stitcher 1:22:50 - Rite of Harmony 1:26:00 - Curse of Silence 1:27:59 - Croaking Counterpart 1:29:34 - Vampire Socialite 1:30:59 - Bladestich Scaab 1:31:58 - Diregraf Rebirth 1:33:48 - Brutal Cathar 1:36:05 - Curse of Shaken Faith 1:38:35 - Flame Channeler 1:40:57 - Faithful Mending 1:47:05 - Predictions Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
9/9/20211 hour, 50 minutes, 53 seconds
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Episode 139: Spiking the New Modern, ft. Aspiringspike

This week, Dave and Shane recruited our old friend Evart Moughon, aka Aspiringspike, to help us wrap our heads around all things Modern. We talk about his deck selection at the HBMO, the ever-changing Modern metagame, and his thoughts about the best decks in the format. Before that, we discuss Magic's 2022 product release roadmap. Does Spike think Hobbit aggro will be the new tier 0? Listen and find out! The Break Down: All About 2022 The Dive Down: Dress Down Dive Down The Dive Down, cont: Just a Lot of Questions About Modern Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown2021" Timestamps: 2:52 - Housekeeping 6:10 - The Break Down: Magic's 2022 product roadmap 6:50 - Returning to Innistrad (again!) 12:14 - Returning to Kamigawa! Demon Crime Lords! 18:22 - Returning to Dominaria! 21:03 - Returning to Double Masters and Jumpstart! 22:39 - Pioneer Challenger Decks 28:41 - Secret Lairs and Universes Beyond 43:26 - The Dive Down: Talking Modern with Spike 43:45 - The Hunter Burton Memorial Open 48:50 - How do the paper and online meta differ? 51:40 - Grixis Dress Down Shadow 57:08 - Spike's favorite Dress Down interactions 59:07 - The evolving Modern meta 1:06:44 - Is there a best DRC deck? 1:11:20 - How do you think about playing a DRC deck? 1:15:24 - How can you wrap your head around the meta? 1:20:40 - Spike's take on the meta 1:25:40 - Defining tiers in Modern 1:27:34 - Hammertime time 1:30:58 - What keeps decks out of the upper tiers? 1:35:40 - How do we feel about MH2 Modern? 1:37:04 - Evart's trophy race 1:40:00 - What's your favorite MH2 card? 1:43:25 - Pro or anti-Core set? 1:46:15 - What is it about Modern? 1:48:31 - Where to find Spike 1:51:07 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: Aspiringspike on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/aspiringspike Aspiringspike on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MoughonEvart Rakdos Mid ft Den of the Bugbear: https://www.streamdecker.com/deck/VjqTVfP45 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
9/1/20211 hour, 52 minutes, 46 seconds
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Episode 138: Evaluating the Impact of Modern Horizons 2, ft. Mishra's Babble

With Stan and Dave out this week, Shane recruited the hosts of Mishra's Babble for another crossover episode. They spend time evaluating the metagame and decks from the Hunter Burton Memorial Open, then head into The Dive Down to evaluate the impact of MH2 on the meta, their deck selection, and how they think about the format. The Break Down: Meet The Babblers The Break Down Pt.2: HBMO The Dive Down: MH2 is Still Crushing It Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown2021" Timestamps: 3:07 - Housekeeping 4:30 - Introducing our guest hosts 16:25 - The Break Down: The Hunter Burton Memorial Open 19:10 - The Top 300 Meta 29:35 - The Top 128 Decks 38:47 - The Top 32 Decks 46:35 - The Top 8 1:12:15 - The Dive Down: The Impact of MH2 1:13:10 - Efficiency 1:21:32 - Flexibility 1:24:45 - What strategies and mindsets have shifted? 1:37:22 - What opportunities are there in Modern? 1:47:30 - How can we learn from our experiences? 1:55:02 - Where to find our guests and closing out Links from this week's episode: Mishra's Babble Podcast: https://anchor.fm/francisco-pawluszek/ Fran on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/fpawlusz Evan on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/evaros Gabe on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/spiderspace HBMO Decks: https://www.mtgel.com/deck/1 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
8/25/20211 hour, 58 minutes, 45 seconds
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Bonus 14: My Other Hammer is Also Red ft. MHayashi

MTGO grinder and deck designer, Matt Hayashi, aka MHayashi, joins Stan to talk about Mono Red Obosh, Hammer of Bogardan, and some of Matt's other favorite strategies in Modern. Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown2021" MHayashi's Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHayash55780121 MHayashi's YouTube channels: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvVnz4iBRxBtVI2oe80S3kg?viewas=subscriber https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVnBRe8ri0glLI05G-L11g MHayashi's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/MagicMatt Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
8/20/20211 hour, 5 minutes
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Episode 137: Does Stoneblade Cut It in This Meta?

This week we tackle a top-tier Patreon request! Sean D asked us to look at Stoneforge Mystic in Modern, and we were more than happy to oblige. We each played a deck featuring Stoneforge in very different ways, and of course are happy to bring you our takes. Before that, we take a look at two wild Modern challenges that give us a lot of hope! And don't miss Housekeeping for some very important announcements! The... Housekeeping??: A Can't Miss Housekeeping The Break Down: More Modern Challenges The Dive Down: Rock, Paper, Stoneblades Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown2021" Timestamps: 2:39 - Housekeeping 8:26 - The Break Down: More Modern Challenges 26:20 - The Dive Down: Revisiting Stoneforge 29:00 - Stoneforge's History in Modern 37:27 - The Decks We Tested 42:06 - Nettlecyst Non-Blade 59:34 - Esper Blade 1:11:39 - Orzhov Griefanimatorblade 1:37:10 - Our Takes on Stoneforge in Modern Today 1:42:00 - Closing Out Links from this week's episode: Saturday's Challenge: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/modern-challenge-12326162#paper Sunday's Challenge: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/modern-challenge-12326167#paper Orzhov Nettle-non-blade: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/4197511#paper Esper Blade: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/4206684#paper Orzhov Griefanimateblade: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/4212787#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
8/11/20211 hour, 45 minutes, 20 seconds
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Episode 136: Historic Horizons: New Cards Same as the Old Cards

Jumpstart: Historic Horizons is upon us, and we are contractually obligated to have takes for you. So here they are. We go over the new mechanics, the economy issues, and, most importantly, the stand-out cards in the set. Before that, we look at some of the most recent high-level Historic tournaments to take a look at the current meta before it gets shaken up. The Break Down: Historic Insights The Dive Down: Seeking Perpetual Conjuration The Dive Down, cont: Just a Whole Lot of Cards Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown2021" Timestamps: 2:20 - Housekeeping 8:31 - The Break Down Begins! 10:14 - The Historic Tournament Metagame 20:59 - The Winning Decks in Historic 25:49 - What We're Looking for in Historic Horizons 34:12 - The Dive Down Begins! Introducing Historic Horizons 38:44 - The Digital Mechanics of Historic Horizons 50:50 - Our Takes on Digital Mechanics 1:02:19 - Finally Talking About the Cards 1:04:13 - The White Cards 1:12:00 - The Blue Cards 1:20:25 - The Black Cards 1:26:00 - The Red Cards 1:34:30 - The Green Cards 1:37:40 - The Gold Cards 1:40:05 - The Artifacts 1:40:54 - Takes on Historic Horizons Cards 1:44:38 - Closing Out Links from this week's episode: Historic Horizons Announcement: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/magic-digital/what-mtg-arenas-jumpstart-historic-horizons-2021-07-26 The New-to-Magic Cards: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/card-image-gallery/jumpstart-historic-horizons The Packet Lists: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/magic-digital/jumpstart-historic-horizons-packet-lists-2021-07-26 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
8/4/20211 hour, 46 minutes, 35 seconds
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Episode 135: Modern ManaTraders and Metagamers

This week we do a deep dive into some STATS. We look at the big ManaTraders event from last weekend - what decks made it to the swiss, and how did they perform? We even get a tournament report from the one host who qualified! Following that, we take a look at the evolving Modern metagame from the last 3 weeks of tournament data to see how the format is shaking out. The Break Down: Historic What? The Dive Down: Crashing ManaTraders The Dive Down, cont: Hammer Seems Good Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown2021" Timestamps: 2:31 - Housekeeping 3:35 - The Break Down begins - Historic Changes are Afoot! 15:15 - The Historic Horizons leak 28:45 - The ManaTraders Modern Event 30:50 - The ManaTraders Modern Meta 44:44 - The MT Top 8 51:40 - Fighting HammerTime 53:40 - Stan's Footfalls Tournament Report 1:08:57 - A Look at the Competitive Modern Meta 1:17:15 - Looking More Closely at the Top Modern Decks 1:31:40 - What's Not at the Top? 1:34:35 - Takes on the Meta 1:41:40 - Closing Ou Links from this week's episode: Bamzing's ManaTraders breakdown: https://www.reddit.com/r/ModernMagic/comments/oqhs4y/manatradersseriesmoderndecklistsjuly_2021/ WIll Krueger's HammerTime writeup: https://docs.google.com/document/d/13NtaEE5xyhElk68kxcI9XYteWw6Je-hlXzik64otj3U/edit Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
7/28/20211 hour, 43 minutes, 13 seconds
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Episode 134: Five Cards You Want Banned in Modern

In this weeks ep, we reveal the results of The Dive Down Nation's Modern Ban survey. What are the five cards you voted on to be removed from Modern, and more importantly.... what are our takes on the results?! Before that, we go over some Tasha's Hideous Laughter math that citizen of the Nation Stefan generated, and briefly discuss Sunday's Modern Challenge Top 8! The Break Down: Tasha's Hideous Mathter The Dive Down: The Nation Decides The Dive Down, cont: What if Nothing? Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown2021" Timestamps: 2:45 - Housekeeping 7:10 - The Break Down - Tasha's Hideous Math 17:33 - Breaking News! The Sunday Challenge Top 8 22:22 - The Dive Down Begins 23:46 - Lurrus of the Dream-Den 25:57 - The case for banning Lurrus 38:02 - The case against banning Lurrus 44:40 - The final verdict on Lurrus 47:57 - Mishra's Bauble 51:40 - The case for banning Bauble 58:31 - The case against banning Bauble 1:04:36 - The final verdict on Bauble 1:07:22 - Primeval Titan 1:08:55 - The case for banning Titan 1:13:20 - The case against banning Titan 1:15:20 - The final verdict on Titan 1:18:37 - Teferi, Time Raveler 1:19:28 - The case for banning Teferi 1:24:05 - The case against banning Teferi 1:27:29 - The final verdict on Teferi 1:29:45 - Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer 1:30:40 - The case for banning Ragavan 1:36:40 - The case against banning Ragavan 1:38:10 - The final verdict on Ragavan 1:39:15 - Should we ban... Nothing? 1:41:10 - The Wind Down - what didn't make the top 5? 1:48:38 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: How Hideous is Tasha's Laughter: https://www.reddit.com/r/ModernMagic/comments/omalkc/howhideousistashaslaughterwhatthe_numbers/ Sunday's Challenge: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/modern-challenge-2021-07-19 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
7/21/20211 hour, 50 minutes, 13 seconds
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Episode 133: Izzet You Glad We Played Murktide?

First up this week, we take a quick spin through last week's Modern Leagues and pick out a few extremely cool decks to chat about. After that it's an Izzet world and we just delve right into it. That's right, it's UR week on The Dive Down (again) as we take a deep look at one of the latest best decks of Modern Horizons 2 Modern — Izzet Murktide. We discuss why we think the deck is suited to the meta right now, how to play it, and how to beat it (we think). Tune in to find out if this is a control deck, a midrange deck, or a tempo deck — we have a definitive answer! (Warning: We do not have a definitive answer.) Shane loves Counterspell. Dave loves Garden State. Stan loves 8-2s. The Break Down: Some Cool Decks We Saw The Dive Down, pt 1: An 8/8 for Two The Dive Down, pt 2: Izzet Just Death's Shadow? Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown2021" Timestamps: 4:00 – Housekeeping 8:36 – The Break Down begins – Cool Decks, Inc! 10:15 – 4C Carth the Lion Superfriends 17:30 – Sultai Tokens 22:00 – Izzet Phoenix 25:49 – Hammertime ft. Ingenious Smith 32:38 – The Dive Down begins – Izzet Murktide! 39:00 – The Spells 42:50 – A Mishra’s Bauble digression 47:07 – The Sideboard 49:40 – The fundamental strategies of Murktide 1:00:15 – Is this a Control deck? 1:07:41 – A Murktide Regent digression 1:12:00 – Is this a Graveyard deck? 1:20:33 – A Counterspell digression 1:23:20 – Tactics & Sequencing 1:33:50 – Our experiences playing 1:44:41 – Closing out Links from this week's episode: 4C Carth Superfriends, as trophied by Greenhide1 https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/4136337#paper BUG Tokens, as trophied by Litledude123 https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/4129352#paper MODERN Izzet Phoenix, as trophied by AspiringSpike https://twitter.com/MoughonEvart/status/1413522001583554568 Hammertime with Ingenious Smith by Hamuda https://twitter.com/hamudao3/status/1413998949728411648?s=20 2nd Place Izzet Murktide deck from Saturday’s Modern Challenge from DO0MSWITCH https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/modern-challenge-2021-07-11?xd2#domswitchndplace Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
7/14/20211 hour, 46 minutes, 1 second
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Episode 132: Venture Into the Adventure: MTG n' D&D Spoilers v1

Well, we've finally arrived at The Forgotten Realms, and talk about what mechanics and cards from the latest set we think have the potential to impact Historic, Modern, and Pioneer. Before that, we talk about the weekend's Modern Challenges to continue to keep up with the dynamic Modern meta. The Break Down: Another Heartfelt Thanks//It's Darcy B's World The Dive Down: Spoiled by Spoilers The Wind Down: Venture Bros. Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown2021" Timestamps: 3:08 - Housekeeping 6:09 - The Break Down begins- Modern Challenges 9:37 - A Murktide Regent and Izzet diversion 15:27 - The Cascade decks 22:18 - More thoughts on the Challenge 27:56 - The Challenge top 8 29:29 - The Sunday Challenge 33:29 - What We're Buying 39:10 - The Dive Down begins - Venture into the Adventure! 41:12 - Our History with D&D 50:44 - Dungeons 58:21 - D20s 1:05:34 - Creature Lands 1:10:13 - Classes 1:15:25 - Pack Tactics 1:18:06 - Cards that Inspire Us 1:18:58 - Treasure Vault 1:21:08 - Portable Hole 1:23:15 - Demilich 1:26:12 - Flameskull 1:29:14 - Circle of Dreams Druid 1:31:46 - Oswald Fiddlebender 1:34:59 - Grim Wanderer 1:36:52 - Yuan-Ti Malison 1:38:31 - Hand of Vecna 1:40:40 - Sphere of Annihilation 1:41:54 - Devour Intellect & Eye of Vecna 1:44:35 - The Wind Down - Venture Bros. Links from this week's episode: Saturday's Challenge: https://www.reddit.com/r/ModernMagic/comments/odmf2t/modernshowcasechallengeresultsjul32021/ Sunday's Challenge: https://www.reddit.com/r/ModernMagic/comments/oeac16/sundaymodernchallengeresultsjul42021/ Adventures in the Forgotten Realms: https://scryfall.com/sets/afr Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
7/7/20211 hour, 52 minutes, 4 seconds
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Episode 131: Still Crushing on Modern Horizons 2

SPECIAL NOTE: We had issues with Dave's audio this week, so he sounds bad! We are sorry! In this week's episode we continue to explore the developments and decks of the Modern Horizons 2 metagame. We first explore 4 Modern events that took place over the last weekend, then talk about our experiences playing some of the latest contenders in Modern. Is Stan converting to a full-time Enchantress player? Did Shane purchase another set of Stoneforge Mystics? Did Dave.... oh wait Dave always loves Rakdos. The Break Down: Together Again The Dive Down: 68 Degree Basement The Dive Down, cont: Rakdos, Hammer, Enchantress Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown2021" Timestamps: 3:40 - Housekeeping 7:35 - The Break Down begins - the evolving Modern meta 8:58 - The MOCS Showcase 15:40 - Insight Modern 5k 29:42 - Modern Challenges 31:09 - Takes on the Meta 37:23 - The Dive Down begins - S/B/H MH2v2 38:18 - Rakdos ft. Lurrus 1:02:39 - Mono-W Hammertime ft. Lurrus 1:21:00 - Selesnya Enchantress Links from this week's episode: MOCS Champions Showcase: https://magic.gg/decklists/2021-magic-online-champions-showcase-season-1-modern-decklists Insight Esports Modern 5k: https://mtgmelee.com/Tournament/View/6888 6/27 Modern Challenge: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/modern-challenge-12309177#paper 6/28 Modern Challenge: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/modern-challenge-12309183#paper Rakdos Rock: https://www.streamdecker.com/deck/6W2Hiwbm_ _Mono-White Hammer: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/4109042#paper Selesnya Enchantress: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/4100268#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
7/1/20211 hour, 40 minutes, 23 seconds
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Episode 130: Sleeve/Believe/Heave Modern Horizons 2 Blue Decks ed.

Stan and Shane played a whole lot of blue spells for the latest installment of Sleeve/Believe/Heave, featuring some emerging Modern Horizons 2 strategies. We chat about our findings with the Izzet Delver decks, Izzet Food, Jeskai Monkey Blade, and more! The Break Down: Modern Challenges The Dive Down: Sleeve/Believe/Heave Modern Horizons 2 Blue Decks ed. Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown2021" Timestamps: 3:35 - Housekeeping 5:38 - The Break Down - Two Modern Challenges 19:38 - Sunday's Challenge 28:31 - Challenge Trends 37:33 - The Dive Down Begins - Jeskai Tempo 43:55 - A Prismatic Ending Sidebar 49:05 - A Ragavan Sidebar 59:04 - A Kaldra Compleat Sidebar 1:05:41 - Izzet Urza Food Midrange 1:13:39 - Stan Quizzes Shane on Urza Food 1:23:44 - Delver in Modern 1:27:06 - Izzet Delver v2 1:30:39 - A Dragon's Rage Channeler Sidebar 1:32:30 - Back to the Deck 1:37:06 - Delver vs. Stoneblade 1:40:05 - An Urza's Saga Sidebar 1:48:30 - Closing Out Links from this week's episode: Saturday's Challenge: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/modern-challenge-2021-06-20 Sunday's Challenge: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/modern-challenge-2021-06-21 Jeskai Control/Tempo: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/4070264#paper Izzet Urza Food: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/4089146 Izzet Delver variants: V1: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/4074067#paper V2: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/4089149 Stan version: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/4074197#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
6/24/20211 hour, 50 minutes, 36 seconds
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Bonus 13: Filing Taxes with SpiderSpace

In our latest bonus episode, we're joined by a genuine MTGO stalwart, Gabe Maxson aka SpiderSpace to chat about Modern, content creation, and white taxes decks. Find SpiderSpace at: https://www.twitch.tv/spiderspace https://twitter.com/spiderspacemtg Hear Mishra's Babble at https://anchor.fm/francisco-pawluszek/episodes/Ep-5-Modern-Continues-to-Evolve-e12qogj SpiderSpace's Flickerwisp Lines for Aspiring Taxes Players: https://twitter.com/SpiderSpaceMTG/status/1313308453041922048 Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown2021" Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
6/18/20211 hour, 14 seconds
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Episode 129: The First Decks of Modern Horizons 2

On this week's episode we attempt something ambitious - looking at every deck in the most recent Modern deck dump that features MH2 cards. And that's almost all of them! Join us as we talk about the latest decks, trends, and dare we say it, strategies in Modern. Housekeeping: A Heartfelt Thanks The Break Down: 99 Decks The Break Down, pt2: The Bell Returns Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown2021" Timestamps: 6:58 - Housekeeping 10:15 - Some high-level Deck Dump stats 11:52 - The most seen MH2 cards so far 20:08 - The most seen old cards 21:35 - Some more deck dump stats 23:42 - The deck dump begins: Mono-black Food, Living End, Lantern Control, Azorious Affinity, Obosh Red 32:17 - Orzhov Stoneblade Blink, Living End variants, Azorious Stoneblade, G Hardened Scales, Golgari Elves 42:51 - Boros Burn, Azorious Blink, Izzet Delver, Golgari Elves, Elementals, Azorious Control 51:33 - Urza Affinity Food, Azorius Affinity and Urza's Saga talk 1:02:04 - Grixis Delirium, Jund, Orzhov Stoneblade Blink 1:11:49 - Orzhov Reanimator, Domain Zoo, Boros Taxes 1:17:41 - The Bell Returns! Abzan Blink, Merfolk, Esper Stoneblade, W Taxes, Jeskai Delver, Azorius Urza Control, Selesnya Enchantress, G Tron, Glimpse of Tomorrow, Orzhov Stoneblade 1:27:08 - Temur Cascade, Gruul Scales, Boros Prowess, Orzhov Stoneblade Control, Yawgmoth, Golgari Food, the Rock, Arclight Phoenix, Orzhov Shadowblade, Gruul Ponza, Blue Moon 1:37:00 - Amulet Titan, Rakdos Shadow, Rakdos Skelemental, Mardu Reanimator Electrodominance stuff, Hammertime, Sultai Urza Artifact stuff, Grixis Shadow, Golgari Food, Humans 1:45:07 - Izzet Delver, Foodvine, Crabvine, Jund Shadow, 4C Cascade Nahiri Control, Red Prowess, Azorius Affinityblade, Orzhov Reanimator, Titania Titan 1:50:35 - Fast takeaways and closing out Links from this week's episode: June 11th Modern League Deck Dump: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/modern-league-2021-06-11 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
6/16/20211 hour, 54 minutes, 38 seconds
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Episode 128: The Modern Horizons 2 Full-ish Set Review, Part 2

It's just Stan and Shane this week, and they tackle the second half of the Modern Horizons 2 full set review! Before that, there's a brief Cool Decks, Inc, where we cover 3 decks that made the top 8 of last weekend's Modern Challenge. We then plant some flags and light some takes on fire about the best and worst cards in MH2. The Break Down: Cool Decks, Inc - MH2 begins! The Dive Down: It's Just Cards The Wind Down: Hot Takes on MH2 Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown2021" Timestamps: 3:00 - Housekeeping 5:41 - Cool Decks, Inc. 6:18 - Hardened Scales 9:49 - Temur Cascade 12:16 - Foodgaak 17:19 - The MH2 set review continues!! 22:42 - The Blue Cards 33:31 - The Black Cards 42:58 - The Red Cards 48:19 - The Green Cards 50:07 - The Gold Cards 1:09:38 - The Artifacts 1:25:34 - The Lands 1:27:52 - The Reprints 1:35:03 - Hot Takes on MH2 1:35:50 - The Best New to Modern Reprint 1:36:39 - Our Favorite New Cards 1:37:21 - The Best Creatures 1:39:06 - What Cards Might Get Banned? 1:40:34 - Best Upgrade to an Existing Deck 1:41:28 - Most Improved and Hurt Modern Decks 1:43:47 - Best and Worst New Decks in Modern 1:44:50 - Most Underrated Cards 1:46:25 - Most Overrated Cards 1:48:13 - What Might Mess Up Modern? 1:49:13 - Our Final Takes on MH2 1:52:00 - Closing Out Links from this week's episode: Hardened Scales: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/4053051#paper Temur Cascade: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/4053052#paper Foodgaak: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/4053055#paper Modern Horizons 2: https://scryfall.com/sets/mh2?order=set&as=grid Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
6/9/20211 hour, 53 minutes, 56 seconds
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Episode 127: The Modern Horizons 2 Full Set Review, Part 1 ft. Aspiringspike

It's finally here!! The first in our two part FULL SET REVIEW for Modern Horizons 2. This week Shane's travel schedule kept him off the episode, but he's been replaced with our unofficial 4th host, Evart Moughon, aka Aspiringspike, one of the most respected and creative deck builders and streamers in Modern. The Dive Down: It's Just Cards This Time The Dive Down, cont: And Not Even All Of Them The Dive Down, cont: We Really Tried, Though Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown2021" Timestamps: 2:48 - Housekeeping 4:54 - The White Cards 26:01 - The Blue Cards 44:27 - The Black Cards 1:03:43 - The Red Cards 1:24:40 - The Green Cards 1:39:17 - Some of the Gold Cards 1:45:43 - A Few More Cards With Evart 1:57:07 - Closing Out Links from this week's episode: Modern Horizons 2: https://scryfall.com/sets/mh2?order=set&as=grid Evart's Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/aspiringspike Evart's Twitter: https://twitter.com/MoughonEvart Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
6/2/20211 hour, 59 minutes, 32 seconds
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Episode 126: Modern Horizons 2 Previews Begin & Thassa's Oracle Banning

This week we talk the banning of Thassa's Oracle in Historic and the first post-ban Historic tournament. Then we head into The Dive Down to discuss the early Modern Horizons 2 previews, and then tackle some listener questions in The Wind Down! The Break Down: Oracle Nomoreacle The Dive Down: Horizons for Yerizons and Ear...zons The Wind Down: Your Questions, Answered Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown2021" Timestamps: 3:40 - Housekeeping 4:51 - The Break Down begins - Thassa's Oracle is banned in Historic! 19:30 - The Insight eSports 5k Invitational metagame breakdown 24:15 - Deck winrates 33:05 - The Top 8 and what Historic decks are winning right now 36:30 - The Dive Down begins: Modern Horizons 2 Spoilers! 37:46 - Grief 49:39 - Cabal Coffers 53:38 - Yusri, Fortune's Flame 57:20 - Flametongue Yearling 1:00:07 - Thrasta, Tempest's Roar 1:06:29 - Unmarked Grave 1:10:07 - Rishadan Dockhand 1:11:57 - Profane Tutor 1:15:55 - Timeless Dragon 1:18:40 - Dakkon, Shadow Slayer 1:24:08 - MH1 Reprints 1:26:15 - The Wind Down: listener questions! 1:26:35 - Is MH2 a "cash grab?" 1:31:48 - What does Death's Shadow need to win in Historic? 1:34:42 - How to move to a new game store? 1:38:46 - How are we REALLY doing, personally? 1:43:13 - Closing Out Links from this week's episode: 5/19 B&R Annoucement: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/news/may-19-2021-banned-and-restricted-announcement Insight ESports Tier 1 Invitational: https://mtgmelee.com/Tournament/View/5400 Modern Horizons 2 Spoilers: https://scryfall.com/sets/mh2?as=grid&order=spoiled Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
5/27/20211 hour, 45 minutes, 9 seconds
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Episode 125: Hello Historic Anthology 5, Goodbye MPL

Jobs were lost (after next year) and new cards are announced (for next week). We go through all 25 additions from Historic Anthology 5, consider their potential and their competitive past. We also reflect on what the competitive future looks like for casual spikes. The Break Down: Goodbye MPL The Dive Down: Hello Historic Anthology 5 Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown2021" Timestamps: 1:48 - Housekeeping 4:46 - The Break Down begins: We are all Casual Spikes now 36:05 - The Dive Down begins: HA5 36:58 - The Praetors 48:02 - Silumgar's Command 49:49 - Ojutai's Command 51:38 - Dromoka's Command 56:31 - Atarka's Command 1:06:05 - Kolaghan's Command 1:13:45 - Ancient Grudge 1:14:44 - Ray of Revelation 1:15:51 - Grisly Salvage 1:18:14 - Dragonstorm 1:20:24 - Intangible Virtue 1:23:10 - Into the North 1:24:36 - Relic of Progenitus 1:26:56 - Trash for Treasure 1:27:49 - Ichor Wellspring 1:29:41 - Stifle 1:30:56 - Merfolk Looter 1:32:32 - Reverse Engineer 1:33:50 - Court Homunculus, Vault Skirge, and Whirler Rogue 1:37:15 - Final thoughts on Historic Anthology 5 1:39:15 - Closing Out Links from this week's episode: https://scryfall.com/sets/ha5 https://magic.gg/news/esports-transitions-and-getting-back-to-gathering Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
5/21/20211 hour, 40 minutes, 51 seconds
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Bonus12: Going Optimal with Ryan Spain

In our latest bonus episode, we're joined by a godfather of Magic podcast, limited extraordinaire, former member of WOTC's Arena team, Ryan Spain! We chat about how the platform works, whether or not it's out to get you, and how to use two Arena accounts to draft more. Find Ryan at: https://twitter.com/ryanspain https://www.twitch.tv/goingoptimal Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown2021" Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
5/14/20211 hour, 22 minutes, 59 seconds
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Episode 124: The Summer of Legend Emergency React-i-sode

We couldn't wait until Friday to get this out to you, so here's an early EMERGENCY REACT-I-SODE to Wizard's "Summer of Legend" announcement this past week. We talk about Modern Horizons II, the Adventures in the Forgotten Realms, the return of sanctioned Magic, Historic Anthology 5, and more! The Legendary Down: Emergency Reacts Only The Wind Down: Over/Under-rated Modern Cards Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown2021" Timestamps: 3:57 - The Legendary Down begins 6:29 - MH2 9:30 - Fetches 18:39 - MH2 Spoilers! 37:56 - Counterspell Time 53:29 - Our hopes for MH2 56:15 - Abundant Harvest side-chat 59:10 - Adventures in the Forgotten Realms 1:00:32 - Forgotten Realms Spoiler chat 1:08:29 - Sanctioned Play is Back! 1:10:16 - Historic Anthology 5 1:17:30 - Annoucement Odds 'n Ends 1:24:48 - The Wind Down Begins - Over/Underrated Modern Cards 1:31:03 - Closing Out Links from this week's episode: The Summer of Legend: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/news/welcome-summer-legend-2021-05-06 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
5/10/20211 hour, 33 minutes, 3 seconds
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Episode 123: Sleeve/Believe/Heave: Strixhaven Modern Edition

This week we are testing 2 new, and 1 not-really-new, decks featuring the latest cards from Strixhaven, and running them through the Sleeve/Believe/Heave ringer. Just how much DOES Dave love Magma Opus? Is Dredge back? Is Witchermancer the new Skelementals? Listen, and find out! Before that, we take a deep dive into the big weekend of Historic and analyze the winners and losers across the SCG Historic Satellite events. The Break Down: SCG Historic Satellites The Dive Down: Thrilling Dredge, a Witch, and Mopus Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 2:52 - Housekeeping 5:21 - The Break Down begins - One Thousand Sattelite Decks! 6:50 - Saturday's Meta 14:50 - Saturday's Winning Meta 21:18 - Sunday's Winning Meta 28:19 - Cool Decks, Inc. 28:46 - Selesnya Company 31:40 - Simic Stompy 36:22 - Tainted Pact Combo 41:38 - Jeskai Mutate Combo 43:33 - Temur Phoenix 48:05- Temur Superfriends 49:50 - Boros Midrange 53:01 - The Dive Down begins 55:53 - Dave w/ Jeskai Magma Opus 1:09:12 - Shane w/ Thrilling Dredge 1:28:04 - Stan w/ Rakdos Witchermancer 1:44:50 - Signing Off Links from this week's episode: GW Company: https://mtgmelee.com/Decklist/View/133964 Simic Stompy: https://mtgmelee.com/Decklist/View/133995 Tainted Pact: https://mtgmelee.com/Decklist/View/133955 Jeskai Mutate: https://mtgmelee.com/Decklist/View/133957 Temur Phoenix: https://mtgmelee.com/Decklist/View/133825 Temur Superfriends: https://mtgmelee.com/Decklist/View/132373 Boros Midrange: https://mtgmelee.com/Decklist/View/133988 Jeskai Magma Opus: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3946673#paper Thrilling Dredge: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3944691#paper Rakdos Witchermancer: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3955309#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
5/7/20211 hour, 48 minutes, 18 seconds
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Episode 122: We're Going Rogue(s)

This week is an old fashioned deck dive on the latest Hotness in Historic - Dimir Rogues! We explore the cards, the strategies, and the fun of the deck, and spend a LOT of time talking about Brainstorm. Is Shane finally ready to cast blue spells? Before that, we go over a recent Modern Challenge and talk about the latest winnings decks. Download the FREE Untapped Companion to track your stats, see your decklists, get details on your performance and more! Use our link to help us out without spending anything: https://mtga.untapped.gg/companion?utmmedium=affiliate&utmsource=youtube&utm_campaign=divedown Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 1:58 - Housekeeping 4:24 - The Break Down Begins - Modern Challenge Time 7:13 - The Aggro Decks 11:50 - The Creature Combo Decks 15:00 - 5-Color Scapeshift Stuff 15:42 - Some Event Takes 19:48 - What We'd Play 22:16 - The Dive Down Begins - Historic Rogues 29:08 - What Rogues is Trying to Do 32:32 - The Creatures 40:27 - The Spells 58:18 - Our Experiences Playing the Deck 1:00:57 - Tips n Tricks 1:07:05 - To Brainstorm or Not To Brainstorm? 1:27:59 - The Sideboard 1:36:19 - Matchups 1:42:48 - Did We Like It? 1:46:46 - Closing Out Links from this week's episode: 4/24 Modern Challenge: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/modern-challenge-2021-04-25?xd Historic Rogues: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3937684#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
4/30/20211 hour, 48 minutes, 21 seconds
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Episode 121: Early Risers of Strixhaven: At the Head of the Class with Aspiringspike

The unofficial 4th host Evart Moughon, aka Aspiringspike, joins us yet again to go over his early testing and experiments in Modern. Dave talks about, what else, Modern Prowess and Historic Phoenix, and Shane says another aggro deck in Historic isn't good enough. Probably. Before that we look at two early Historic tournaments and have an extended jam session of Cool Decks, Inc. The Break Down: Spike Top 8'd a Challenge! The Dive Down: Spike Made Some Luminancer Decks! The Dive Down, cont: Spike Has Thoughts About Historic! Download the FREE Untapped Companion to track your stats, see your decklists, get details on your performance and more! Use our link to help us out without spending anything: https://mtga.untapped.gg/companion?utmmedium=affiliate&utmsource=youtube&utm_campaign=divedown Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 7:08 - The Break Down begins: the first Historic tournaments 8:03 - The Insight esports $1k 13:50 - The Hooglandia open 17:10 - Cool Decks, Inc. 30:30 - Our Historic Thoughts 34:58 - Spike's Modern Challenge Top 8 43:20 - The Dive Down begins: the latest decks in Modern and Historic 45:25 - Jeskai Prowess 48:48 - Naya Prowess 53:23 - Boros Prowess 1:01:34 - Temur Taking Turns ft. Rowan 1:06:40 - Thoughts on Prismari Command 1:10:24 - Historic Boros Wizards 1:16:43 - Boros Wizards v2 1:21:23 - Boros Wizards v3 1:27:50 - Historic Izzet Phoenix 1:38:56 - Thoughts on Memory Lapse Links from this week's episode: Insight Esports Historic 1k: https://mtgmelee.com/Tournament/View/6052 Hooglandia Historic Open: https://mtgmelee.com/Tournament/View/5942 Watch Aspiringspike on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/aspiringspike Find Aspiringspike on Twitter: https://twitter.com/moughonevart Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Monday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
4/23/20211 hour, 45 minutes, 24 seconds
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Episode 120: Snows Melt, Phoenixes Rise

With our time on Kaldheim coming to an end, the Three Friends take a look back and a look forward. Stan takes us through Modern right now via a couple of MTGO Challenges + we consider what might be coming next. Then we do a little self assessment and grade how we did on reviewing Kaldheim cards going into this format. Finally, we look ahead and talk about the decisions people are grappling with with... you guessed it... building Izzet Phoenix in Historic. The Break Down: Where's Modern At? The Dive Down: Learning from Kaldheim Spoilers The Dive Down, cont.: The First of Many Times We'll Talk About Phoenix Download the FREE Untapped Companion to track your stats, see your decklists, get details on your performance and more! Use our link to help us out without spending anything: https://mtga.untapped.gg/companion?utmmedium=affiliate&utmsource=youtube&utm_campaign=divedown Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" 3:30 - Housekeeping 4:42 - The Break Down - Modern Showcase Challenge and Super Qualifier 6:33 - Modern Esper Control Chat 13:36 - Weekend Metagame 16:45 - Decks to beat vs. Decks that beat 21:55 - Can anything from Strixhaven beat tier 1? 27:45 - Dive Down pt. 1 - Sunsetting Kaldheim 28:20 - Tibalt’s Trickery 31:16 - Valki, God of Lies 33:16 - Vorinclex 36:17 - Doomskar 40:00 - In Search of Greatness 41:55 - Reidane, God of the Worthy 44:44 - Ascendant Spirit 46:55 - Birgi 49:17 - Jaspera Sentinal 51:45 - Elvish Warmaster & Realmwalker 53:53 - Behold the Multiverse 57:21 - Faceless Haven 1:02:43 - Dive Down pt. 2 - Historic Phoenix Brew Down 1:37:34 - Patreon Questions Wind Down! Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
4/16/20211 hour, 51 minutes, 48 seconds
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Episode 119: Back to School: Spoiling Strixhaven, Vol. 2

Well everyone, Shane and Dave really stepped in it last week. Stan's back. And he has things to say. About Mystical Archive cards, about playing to the stack, and about some other nonsense, too. After that's finished, the three friends go through the rest of the cards from Strixhaven and find a few worth talking about for our formats. Stan learns. Dave spoils. Shane toils. The Break Down: Stanislav's Back The Break Down 2: Stanislav's Mad The Break Down 3: Stanislav Hates the Takes We Had The Dive Down: Finally, Some Strixhaven Spoilers Download the FREE Untapped Companion to track your stats, see your decklists, get details on your performance and more! Use our link to help us out without spending anything: https://mtga.untapped.gg/companion?utmmedium=affiliate&utmsource=youtube&utm_campaign=divedown Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 2:47 - Housekeeping 6:04 - Break Down Begins: In Defense of Mystical Archive 8:37 - More Spells Can Be Good 12:26 - Electrolyze Though 15:10 - Archive’s Impact On Gameplay 27:54 - The Future of Historic & The Economy 34:30 - Abundant Harvest 39:14 - Dive Down Begins: Strixhaven Spoilers pt. 2 39:41 - Clever Luminancer 47:22 - Leonin Lightscribe 50:30 - Mavinda, Students’ Advocate 52:32 - Strict Proctor 55:54 - Guiding Voice 56:55 - Show of Confidence 59:01 - Test of Talent 1:00:44 - Ingenius Mastery 1:02:44 - Baleful Mastery 1:06:22 - Lash of Malice 1:08:39 - Sedgemore Witch 1:11:54 - First Day of Class 1:13:43 - Grinning Ignus 1:15:25 - Retriever Phoenix 1:16:40 - Crackle with Power 1:17:58 - Charge Through 1:20:03 - Dragonsguard Elite 1:22:55 - Body of Research 1:24:39 - Double Major 1:26:09 - Fracture 1:27:42 - Rushed Rebirth 1:30:07 - Thrilling Discovery 1:32:10 - Vanishing Verse 1:33:48 - Mila, Crafty Companion/Lukka, Wayward Bonder 1:36:47 - Expressive Iteration 1:38:16 - Flamescroll Celebrant/Revel in Silence 1:41:33 - Ecological Appreciation 1:44:11 - Zephyr Boots 1:46:00 - Bayou Groff 1:48:34 - Mage Duel 1:49:50 - Strixhaven Stadium 1:52:40 - Parting Thoughts Strixhaven Spoilers: https://scryfall.com/sets/stx?order=set&as=grid Strixhaven... Mystical Archive?? Spoilers: https://scryfall.com/sets/sta?as=grid&order=set Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
4/9/20211 hour, 58 minutes, 13 seconds
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Episode 118: Back To School: Spoiling Strixhaven, Vol. 1

This week, Professor Stan is on sabbatical, so Shane and Dave are headed back to school to give their takes on the first batch of Strixhaven spoilers. Is this the episode where Shane is the optimist? We also take some time to go over our Mystical Archive tier lists for Historic. Will Crux of Fate have what it takes to be the only S-Tier card? Before all that, we briefly go over the Historic meta at the Kaldheim Championship, and look at two novel decks that some big names brought. The Episode: Stan's Not Here, Man The Break Down: The History is History The Dive Down: Wizard College's Deepest Secrets Download the FREE Untapped Companion to track your stats, see your decklists, get details on your performance and more! Use our link to help us out without spending anything: https://mtga.untapped.gg/companion?utmmedium=affiliate&utmsource=youtube&utm_campaign=divedown Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 4:25 - Housekeeping 7:11 - The Break Down begins: the Kaldheim Champs 11:36 - Abzan "Midrange" overview 16:50 - Boros Cycling overview 18:48 - The Dive Down begins: Back to School! 19:50 - The Mechanics of Strixhaven 32:29 - The Snarl Lands 34:23 - Will & Rowan 37:28 - Storm-Kiln Shaman 40:50 - Rip Apart 45:40 - Elite Spellbinder 49:48 - Venerable Warsinger 53:30 – Radiant Scrollwielder 56:03 – Efreet Flamepainter 59:55 – Reduce to Memory 1:02:38 – Archmage Emeritus 1:06:40 – Witherbloom Apprentice 1:08:10 – Dragonsguard Elite 1:10:35 – Curate 1:13:09 – Shadrix Silverquill 1:15:46 – The Commands 1:23:20 – Professor Onyx 1:27:05 – The Mystical Archive in Historic 1:30:07 – The S/A-Tier 1:39:25 – The B-Tier 1:44:28 – C-Tier 1:51:34 – D-Tier 1:52:50 – Closing Out Links from this week's episode: The Kaldheim Championship Decks: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/kaldheim-championship#paper Strixhaven Spoilers: https://scryfall.com/sets/stx?order=set&as=grid Strixhaven... Mystical Archive?? Spoilers: https://scryfall.com/sets/sta?as=grid&order=set Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Monday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
4/2/20211 hour, 54 minutes, 15 seconds
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Episode 117: How to Beat Modern Heliod Combo

It's no secret that the Sun-Crowned has been ruling the roost in Modern, so on this week's episode we ask the very important question: how do we beat Heliod Company?! Or is it Heliod Combo? We're also kicking off the episode with a detailed breakdown of the SCG Tour Online's Historic weekend. #Spreadsheets The Disclaimer: Dave's Not Here The Break Down: Satellite of Jund The Dive Down: Tricksy Timing and Other Combo Breakers Download the FREE Untapped Companion to track your stats, see your decklists, get details on your performance and more! Use our link to help us out without spending anything: https://mtga.untapped.gg/companion?utmmedium=affiliate&utmsource=youtube&utm_campaign=divedown Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 3:02 — Housekeeping 6:07 — Break Down Begins: SCG Historic Satellites 10:50 — Swiss Meta: 1,053 Decks!! 25:25 — 4-2s or Better in the Swiss 30:28 — Sunday Championship Meta: 301 Decks!! 35:36 — Top 8 37:20 — Conclusions 46:30 — What it Means for Casual Spikes 49:52 — The Dive Down Begins: How to Beat Heliod 53:00 — How Heliod Got His Groove Back 56:12 — How the Deck is Different Now 1:00:12 — About the February 15 Bannings 1:04:00 — What We Did This Episode: Try to Lose 1:06:45 — What to Think About Against Heliod 1:07:06 — Favored Decks: UW Control 1:08:10 — Favored Decks: Green Tron 1:09:31 — Favored Decks: UB Mill 1:10:50 — Even Decks: Jund Death's Shadow 1:13:40 — Even Decks: Burn 1:21:25 — Even Decks: Taxes, Hammertime 1:22:05 — Other Combo Decks 1:23:22 — Cards We Love Against Heliod 1:28:00 — How Can You Beat Infinite Life? 1:31:50 — How to Interact Against Heliod 1:37:01 — Mirror Matches 1:39:40 — Is Heliod Overpowered? Links from this week's episode: The SCG 5K Strixhaven Qualifier: https://mtgmelee.com/Tournament/View/5656 Heliod Combo: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3853109#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Monday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
3/26/20211 hour, 47 minutes, 42 seconds
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Episode 116: Time Spiral Buyers' Guide & Shadows Over Historic

In something of a split episode, we first explore the reprints of Time Spiral Remastered, identify some potential cards that are "on sale," the impact of the old border reprints, and what we're eyeballing as purchases. Following that, Dave outlines the various Death's Shadow decks that players have been testing in Historic following the release of Anthology 4, Shane probably under-rates Historic cycling decks, and Stan continues to cast Elves. The Break Down: Pay More For Cards You Already Have! The Dive Down: Death's Shadow + Adanto Vanguard = <3 The Dive Down, cont: Other Anthology Thoughts Download the FREE Untapped Companion to track your stats, see your decklists, get details on your performance and more! Use our link to help us out without spending anything: https://mtga.untapped.gg/companion?utmmedium=affiliate&utmsource=youtube&utm_campaign=divedown Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 2:31 - Housekeeping 5:43 - Break Down Begins: Introducing the Time Spiral Buyer’s Guide 10:59 - Gemstone Cavern 13:13 - Tarmogoyf 17:11 - A bunch of quick hits 25:00 - The Value of Old Border Reprints 32:17 - Yawgmoth, Thran Physician 33:33 - Chalice of the Void 34:20 - Ancient Stirrings 35:46 - How Old Borders Impact Box Prices 41:33 - Time Spiral Parting Thoughts 43:55 - Dive Down Begins: Testing Death’s Shadow in Historic 48:36 - Grixis Death’s Shadow 52:20 - RB Arcanist 1:02:38 - RB Aggro 1:07:18 - Mono-Black Aggro 1:11:07 - Cycling Shadow 1:13:53 - Mardu Shadow 1:28:39 - More testing: Flameblade Adept 1:38:26 - Declaration in Stone 1:40:00 - Abomination of Llanowar 1:44:59 - Sawtusk Demolisher 1:49:05 - Parting Thoughts Links from this week's episode: Time Spiral Remastered: https://scryfall.com/sets/tsr?order=usd&as=grid The EV of TSR: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/articles/the-expected-value-of-time-spiral-remastered Mardu Shadow: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3829762#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Monday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
3/19/20211 hour, 52 minutes, 51 seconds
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Episode 115: Modern Bant Ephemerate: The Flicker Mob ft. Aspiringspike

This week we tackle another Patron request from Bob - Bant Ephemerate! And who better to have on than one of the masters of the deck, Aspiringspike himself, Evart Moughon. We go over the ins and outs of the deck, with Shane wondering just how to cast counterspells, Dave running out of time on Magic Online, and Stan just blinking stuff. Before that, we look at the latest Historic Anthology and give our takes on what cards might have an impact. The Break Down: A Shadow Over Historic The Dive Down: Draw 2 Whenever You Can The Dive Down, cont: Winning With Three 2/2s Download the FREE Untapped Companion to track your stats, see your decklists, get details on your performance and more! Use our link to help us out without spending anything: https://mtga.untapped.gg/companion?utmmedium=affiliate&utmsource=youtube&utm_campaign=divedown Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 2:36 - Housekeeping 6:08 - The Break Down begins - Historic Anthology 4 11:48 - The cards of Historic Anthology 4 14:50 - Death's Shadow 24:06 - Declaration in Stone 27:15 - Thraben Inspector 29:03 - Flameblade Adept 32:06 - Blinkmoth Nexus 34:01 - Sword of Body and Mind 35:31 - The other stuff 38:35 - Thoughts on Anthologies 43:26 - The Dive Down begins - a brief history of Bant Ephemerate 48:45 - What inspired Evart to keep coming back to this shell? 51:43 - Ephemerate: the key card 56:33 - What are we bouncing? Eternal Witness 1:01:30 - Ice-Fang Coatl 1:04:27 - Skyclave Apparition 1:07:43 - Wall of Omens 1:09:30 - Venser, Shaper Savant 1:11:40 - The Counterspells & How to Cast Them 1:23:04 - The Teferis 1:25:15 - The Mana 1:29:28 - Time Warp (Time Warp!) 1:31:35 - How Fun is the Deck? 1:37:37 - Some Sideboard Tips 1:41:12 - How Does This Slow Deck Win? 1:46:48 - Final Tips For Picking Up This Deck Links from this week's episode: Historic Anthology 4: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/magic-digital/get-ready-historic-anthology-iv-2021-03-05 Bant Ephemerate: https://www.streamdecker.com/deck/yHz1usZ4J Watch Aspiringspike on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/aspiringspike Find Aspiringspike on Twitter: https://twitter.com/moughonevart Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Monday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
3/12/20211 hour, 54 minutes, 21 seconds
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Episode 114: Modern Merfolk: A Brief History of Spreading Seas

This week it's a Modern-focused, Patron-thanking episode that's all about one of the format's classics, Merfolk. That's right. You've been waiting for 2 years for us to dive down into the depths of these seas. But first, we'll take a look through the Mana Traders Series from this month. It's Modern. It's good. Again. Dave hates seafood. Stan combos off. Shane is — surprisingly — a friend to all fish, everywhere. The Break Down: Manatraders Modern The Dive Down: Turn 1 Aether Vial The Dive Down, cont: Turn 4 Spreading Seas Download the FREE Untapped Companion to track your stats, see your decklists, get details on your performance and more! Use our link to help us out without spending anything: https://mtga.untapped.gg/companion?utmmedium=affiliate&utmsource=youtube&utm_campaign=divedown Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 3:16 - Special Patreon shoutout / Housekeeping 6:12 - The Break Down begins - the Manatraders Modern Month 7:33 - The overall Manatraders metagame 11:10 - 6-3 conversion rates 15:35 - The top 8 27:10 - Quick top 16 analysis of the weekend Challenges 28:39 - Takeaways and takes from the weekend's events 39:10 - The Dive Down begins: Modern Merfolk! 41:00 - What this deck is about 43:52 - A brief history of Merfolk 49:45 - The construction options of Merfolk 54:04 - The Lords 59:25 - The Beaters 1:05:01 - The Disruptive Creatures 1:13:20 - Aether Vial. It's good. 1:14:27 - Disruptive Spells 1:20:38 - The Lands. AKA Mutavault. 1:21:18 - Our playing experiences: what we played this week 1:22:35 - Dave on Azorius Merfolk 1:27:30 - Shane on Simic Merfolk 1:33:55 - Stan on Mystic Reflection Combo Fish 1:44:22 - What Merfolk does well, and what it doesn't 1:53:45 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: The Manatraders Metagame: https://twitter.com/YahiAnael/status/1365562502298361858?s=20 UW Merfolk: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3743267#paper Mystic Reflection Merfolk: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3765702#paper Simic Merfolk: https://mtgdecks.net/Modern/merfolk-decklist-by-zxrogue-1092933 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Monday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
3/5/20211 hour, 56 minutes, 4 seconds
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Episode 113: Post-Ban Plans: Small Samples, Big Conclusions

So what next? This week The Three Friends talk about each of our favorite formats in the wake of what some have claimed is the biggest set of bans in MTG history. Is it? We don't know. BUT. We do know that there's new (and old) stuff going on in Modern, Historic, and Pioneer. We will be giving you a Break Down of ALL THREE formats, talk about our experiences playing the formats, and, of course, tell you what we'd play. Shane and Stan pivot table it up while Dave just reads some line graphs out loud. It's can't miss audio content! The Break Down: First Modern The Break Down II: Then Historic The Break Down III: Then Pioneer The Break Down IV: Yep, All Three Download the FREE Untapped Companion to track your stats, see your decklists, get details on your performance and more! Use our link to help us out without spending anything: https://mtga.untapped.gg/companion?utmmedium=affiliate&utmsource=youtube&utm_campaign=divedown Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 1:28 - Housekeeping 4:32 - The Format-Palooza begins 6:16 - Modern post-ban event Break Down 13:47 - The winningest decks from Modern this week 19:00 - What's Modern about now? 22:26 - The NRG Open 31:39 - Stan's play experience 36:11 - Modern Cool Decks, Inc. 44:26 - What would we play in Modern? 47:21 - Historic post-ban meta Break Down 1:03:54 - Selensya Angels 1:14:26 - Golgari Elves 1:21:11 - What would we play in Historic? 1:25:14 - Pioneer post-ban event Break Down 1:39:41 - Pioneer Top 8s and Cool Decks, Inc 1:43:05 - Shane's play experience 1:46:00 - How is Pioneer different from Historic? 1:55:43 - What would we play in Pioneer? Links from this week's episode: 2/20/21 Modern Challenge: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/modern-challenge-2021-02-21 2/21/21 Modern Challenge: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/modern-challenge-2021-02-22 NRG Modern Open: https://mtgmelee.com/Tournament/View/4904 Selesnya Angels: https://mtga.untapped.gg/meta/archetypes/1041/selesnya-angels?format=historic&meta=current&rank=BRONZETOMYTHIC&tab=decks&wincon=bo3 Golgari Elves: https://mtga.untapped.gg/meta/archetypes/984/golgari-elves?format=historic&meta=previous&min-matches=100&rank=BRONZETOMYTHIC&tab=decks&wincon=bo3 2/20/21 Pioneer Prelim: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/pioneer-preliminary-2021-02-20 2/21/21 Pioneer Challenge: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/pioneer-challenge-2021-02-21 Grixis Release to the Wind: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3781283#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Monday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
2/26/20211 hour, 59 minutes, 37 seconds
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Episode 112: Roll That Beautiful Ban Footage ft. Aspiringspike

Well, those were some bans. And we're here to talk about them, with our regular guest host Evart Moughon, aka Aspiringspike. We first discuss the big bans in Modern, Pioneer, and Historic, then head into the Dive Down to talk about what these changes mean for the formats themselves. The Break Down: They Really Really Did It The Dive Down: The Face of the New Formats The Dive Down, cont: Why Does This Keep Happening? Download the FREE Untapped Companion to track your stats, see your decklists, get details on your performance and more! Use our link to help us out without spending anything: https://mtga.untapped.gg/companion?utmmedium=affiliate&utmsource=youtube&utm_campaign=divedown Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 2:33 - Housekeeping 4:59 - The Break Down fake begins - we give Spike an open door and he runs through it 8:08 - The Break Down actually begins - takes on the bans 8:53 - WOTCs statement on why they made some bans 15:00 - The Modern bans - Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath 22:15 - Field of the Dead/Mystic Sanctuary 27:21 - Simian Spirit Guide 31:52 - Tibalt's Trickery 35:56 - The Cascade rule change 38:51 - Will Modern be more fun? 43:45 - The Historic ban - so they banned Uro here, too 51:00 - The Pioneer bans 52:25 - WOTC's stated vision of Pioneer 55:18 - Teferi, Time Raveler 58:10 - Balustrade Spy/Undercity Informer 59:00 - Will Pioneer be better now? 1:04:15 - Final thoughts on all of this 1:08:38 - The Dive Down begins 1:09:05 - What looks good in Modern? 1:21:24 - Modern's other victims 1:28:42 - Historic's post-ban winners 1:34:52 - What are the dark horses in Pioneer? 1:42:35 - Formats full of possibilities? 1:44:50 - Why does this keep happening? 1:58:56 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: The 2/15/2021 B&R: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/news/february-15-2021-banned-and-restricted-announcement Watch Aspiringspike on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/aspiringspike Find Aspiringspike on Twitter: https://twitter.com/moughonevart Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Monday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
2/17/20212 hours, 28 seconds
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Episode 111: Sleeve/Believe/Heave: LOL Tibalt ed.

This week's a funny one. We set out to test some of the most recent winning decks featuring Kaldheim cards, in order to grade them on our (patent-pending) S/B/H rating system. Then, in the span of a few days, the Modern landscape shifted under our feet! So we'll still talk about those winning decks, but also about the communities iteration on Cascade Tibalt, what this means for Modern, and, as always, provide some mildly spicy takes. The Break Down: What The Dive Down: The The Dive Down, cont: Falki Download the FREE Untapped Companion to track your stats, see your decklists, get details on your performance and more! Use our link to help us out without spending anything: https://mtga.untapped.gg/companion?utmmedium=affiliate&utmsource=youtube&utm_campaign=divedown Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 1:40 - Housekeeping 3:47 - The Break Down begins: Two Modern Challenges 4:38 - Saturday Top 8 12:05 - Sunday Top 8 16:13 - A Very Valki Weekend 27:46 - Is there game against Valki? 33:32 - The Dive Down Begins: Sleeve/Believe/Heave, Tibalt ed. 35:34 - Jund Valki 1:01:35 - Tibalt’s Trickery 1:06:21 - 51 Land Trickery 1:10:46 - 8 Cascade Turbo Trickery 1:26:39 - Goblin Pyre 1:37:45 - Bant Cosima Stoneblade 1:44:10 - What to play? Links from this week's episode: Saturday's Challenge: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/modern-challenge-12258809#paper Sunday's Challenge: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/modern-challenge-12258815#paper Jund Valki: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3741655#paper All-in Trickery: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3741670#paper 8 Cascade Turbo Trickery: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3738934#paper Bant Cosima: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3734686#paper Goblin Pyre: https://www.streamdecker.com/deck/5I9yoEQ5r Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Monday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
2/12/20211 hour, 48 minutes, 13 seconds
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Episode 110: Kaldheim: Testing New Tech & Avoiding New Tricks

Kaldheim is out, which means there's a bunch of new great, fair decks for us to explore in our favorite formats! Hold on, I'm being handed a note.... oh wait there's some more ways to win on turn 1, as well... So this week we're testing some of the cards and decks that people are talking about, and reporting back with our findings. Before that we check out the latest Modern events to see what's changing there, and looking for Kaldheim cards that are making an impact. The Break Down: Modern Challenges The Dive Down: He's Tricky The Dive Down, cont: More Impact Than Advertised The Wind Down: Arena Experiences Download the FREE Untapped Companion to track your stats, see your decklists, get details on your performance and more! Use our link to help us out without spending anything: https://mtga.untapped.gg/companion?utmmedium=affiliate&utmsource=youtube&utm_campaign=divedown Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 2:25 - Housekeeping 5:49 - The Break Down begins: Modern Events! 7:00 - Weekend Challenge top 8 11:53 - Super Qualifier top 8 13:35 - Cool Decks, Inc. 18:05 - The Dive Down begins: The Impact of Kaldheim 19:10 - Tibalt's Trickery 33:30 - Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider 41:07 - In Search of Greatness 47:45 - Valki, God of Lies//Tibalt, Cosmic Imposter 1:04:25 - Ascendant Spirit 1:12:08 - Birgi, God of Storytelling//Harnfel, Horn of Bounty 1:23:04 - Spectral Steel 1:25:07 - Rise of the Dread Marn 1:27:33 - Immersturm Predator 1:30:29 - The Pathways 1:35:12 - The Wind Down: Arena Experiences 1:37:22 - Shane's January 1:39:40 - Dave's January 1:42:11 - Stan's January 1:44:10 - Goals for February 1:48:23 - Signing Off Links from this week's episode: Sunday Challenge: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/modern-challenge-12256327#paper Super Qualifier: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/modern-champ-qual-2021-01-31 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Monday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
2/5/20211 hour, 50 minutes, 20 seconds
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Episode 109: Historic Gruul: Smashing & Flashing to Victory

This week we Dive Down into Gruul Aggro in Historic. After a strong representation and showing in the recent MPL and Rivals Historic weekend events, Gruul looks to be the tier 1 aggro deck in the format. We guide you through deck construction, piloting the deck, and playing against it! Before that, we walk through a meta breakdown on the past month or so of Modern, and are again forced to discuss a certain escaping Titan. The Break Down: Deep, Deep Modern Meta The Dive Down: A Truly Busted 2 The Dive Down, pt. 2: A Truly Busted 6 Download the FREE Untapped Companion to track your stats, see your decklists, get details on your performance and more! Use our link to help us out without spending anything: https://mtga.untapped.gg/companion?utmmedium=affiliate&utmsource=youtube&utm_campaign=divedown Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 5:58 - The Break Down Begins: A Modern Update 7:02 - January 23rd Modern Qualifier 11:14 - the top 32 14:15 - A modern meta analysis 22:45 - How modern feels right now (aka Uro talk) 30:50 - The Dive Down Begins: Gruul is Kuul 35:20 - How Gruul works in Historic 36:20 - The 1 drops 41:15 - The 2 drops 59:30 - The 3 drops 1:08:01 - The 4 drops and beyond 1:17:02 - The manabase 1:20:20 - Sideboarding and sideboard tactics 1:25:01 - Playing as Gruul 1:34:49 - Playing against Gruul 1:42:35 - Who is this deck for? 1:46:53 - Signing off Links from this week's episode: Alatheio's Modern Analysis: https://www.reddit.com/r/ModernMagic/comments/l31jyc/mtgomodernmajoreventsreview2020122120210120/ Gruul Aggro: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/archetype/gruul-aggro-9590cf15-ec7b-4014-9d20-1114d43b8370#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Monday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
1/29/20211 hour, 48 minutes, 46 seconds
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Episode 108: Kaldheim Spoilers: Hot Takes on Cool Cards, Vol. 2 ft. AspiringSpike

We head back to Kaldheim for more spoiler takes, this time joined by regular guest host Evart Moughon, aka Aspiring Spike! What cards have what it takes to make an impact in Magic's non-rotating formats? We don't really know, but we have some thoughts... We also discuss the recent MPL and Rivals Historic weekend events, and break down the current meta. The Break Down: It's the MPL, Y'all The Dive Down: He's Finally Back The Dive Down, cont: Cards Evart Likes Download the FREE Untapped Companion to track your stats, see your decklists, get details on your performance and more! Use our link to help us out without spending anything: https://mtga.untapped.gg/companion?utmmedium=affiliate&utmsource=youtube&utm_campaign=divedown Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 3:00 - Housekeeping 5:18 - The Break Down begins: MPL and Rivals Historic weekend! 7:44 - A brief explanation of the MPL 9:55 - The overall metagame and our thoughts on the big 3 20:42 - Some thoughts on the Historic metagame 23:46 - Deck performance data 29:40 - The Dive Down begins: Kaldheim spoilers, Vol. 2 30:20 - Doomskar 39:18 - In Search of Greatness 47:20 - Mystic Reflection 54:38 - Magda, Brazen Outlaw 59:15 - Tibalt's Trickery, revisited 1:02:54 - Snow Duals, revisited 1:05:56 - Old-Growth Troll, revisited 1:07:27 - Valki/Tibalt, revisited 1:09:40 - Immersturm Predator 1:13:40 - Reidane, God of the Worthy 1:17:57 - Cosima, God of the Voyage 1:21:20 - Birgi, God of Storytelling 1:27:15 - Ascendant Spirit 1:29:08 - Vega, the Watcher 1:33:08 - Skemfar Avenger 1:34:19 - Jaspera Sentinal 1:36:25 - Toski, Bearer of Secrets 1:38:29 - Bind the Monster 1:43:46 - Parting thoughts, is this set good? 1:46:54 - Our Most Anticipated Cards Links from this week's episode: MTG data: https://twitter.com/mtg_data h0lydiva: https://twitter.com/h0lydiva Ball Lightning, phd: https://twitter.com/jpball5 Ball Lightning, phd's MPL spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1bkg1UE2HxEU-2vnS-3tQbm9VwqWtsPMGh3kitGZwTL0/edit#gid=1855992740 Kaldheim spoilers: https://scryfall.com/sets/khm?order=name&as=grid Find Aspring Spike on twitter: https://twitter.com/MoughonEvart and on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/aspiringspike Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Monday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
1/22/20211 hour, 53 minutes, 43 seconds
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Bonus 11: Breaking into Pyro Prison ft. FluffyWolf2

In our latest bonus episode, Modern streamer and Pyro Prison stalwart FluffyWolf2 joins us for a conversation about earning a reputation for championing a single deck, the state of Modern, and lessons learned streaming MTGO. Find Fluffy at: twitch.tv/fluffywolf2 twitter.com/fluffywolf2 fluffywolf2.com Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Now get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=t... and use code "thedivedown" Download our favorite Magic Arena companion tool at http://untapped.thedivedown.com Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown Support The Dive Down (patreon.com/thedivedown)
1/19/20211 hour, 8 minutes, 58 seconds
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Episode 107: Kaldheim Spoilers: Hot Takes on Cool Cards, Vol. 1

The first batch of Kaldheim spoilers have dropped, and we're here to provide our patent-pending hot takes. We answer important questions like: what Izzet card will Stan overrate, what Green 5-drop will Shane think just might work, and what reasonable stance will Dave take on every card we discuss? Prior to that we finish up our mutual journey through Zendikar Rising by finding some Cool Decks for our latest installment of Cool Decks, Inc. The Break Down: Gazpacho Decks, Inc. The Dive Down, pt 1: Cards Dave Loves The Dive Down, pt 2: Cards Shane & Stan Hate Download the FREE Untapped Companion to track your stats, see your decklists, get details on your performance and more! Use our link to help us out without spending anything: https://mtga.untapped.gg/companion?utmmedium=affiliate&utmsource=youtube&utm_campaign=divedown Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 3:33 - Housekeeping 6:51 - The Break Down Begins: Cool Decks Inc 7:37 - Bant Snowblade 10:01 - Boros Land Destruction 13:39 - 4C Lutri 16:35 - The Dive Down Begins: Kaldheim Spoilers 19:03 - Kaldheim Mechanics 38:44 - Snow Duals 42:53 - Tibatl’s Trickery 48:49 - Alrund, God of the Cosmos 53:35 - Annul 54:21 - Behold the Multiverse 57:40 - Dragon Berserker 1:01:25 - Esika, God of the Tree 1:05:47 - Goldspan Dragon 1:09:00 - Kaya’s Onslaught 1:11:39 - Koll, the Forgemaster 1:15:19 - Niko Aris 1:18:47 - Old-Growth Troll 1:23:33 - Ravenform 1:26:23 - Rise of the Dread Marn 1:29:24 - Saw It Coming 1:33:37 - Spectral Steel 1:35:28 - Valki, God of Lies 1:43:37 - Our Parting Thoughts Links from this week's episode: Niambi Stoneblade: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3678247#paper Boros Land Destruction: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3678255 4C Lutri: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3671439#paper Kaldheim mechanics: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/kaldheim-mechanics-2021-01-07 Kaldheim spoilers: https://scryfall.com/sets/khm?order=name&as=grid Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Monday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
1/15/20211 hour, 46 minutes, 8 seconds
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Episode 106: Modern: Stop. Hammertime.

This week we asked our patrons to tell us what deck to do our next dive on, and they chose one of the up-and-comers of Modern: Hammer Time. And what do you know, it performed incredibly well at the ManaTraders Modern Tournament and put 4 decks into the latest Challenge top 8. What timing! We first go deep on the ManaTraders tourny, then head into the Dive Down to provide a thorough overview of Hammer Time: how do the pieces work together, how you should think about playing it, and how people will try to hate you out. The Break Down: Modern Manatraders Meta Madness The Dive Down: The 0s and 1s The Dive Down, cont: The 2s and +10/+10s Download the FREE Untapped Companion to track your stats, see your decklists, get details on your performance and more! Use our link to help us out without spending anything: https://mtga.untapped.gg/companion?utmmedium=affiliate&utmsource=youtube&utm_campaign=divedown Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 2:39 - Housekeeping 6:39 - Break Down Begins 8:03 - Dave’s Tournament Report 12:36 - Manatraders Modern Metagame 40:27 - Dive Down Begins - Hammer Time 41:31 - What is Hammer Time? 48:44 - Steelshaper’s Gift & other cards that get hammers 51:50 - Sigarda’s Aid & other cards that cheat on equipment costs 58:42 - Ornithopter & other cards that wield hammers 1:03:41 - Mishra’s Bauble & other support cards 1:15:03 - Auriok Champion & other sideboard cards 1:19:23 - Playing the deck to various levels of success 1:27:14 - Keep or Mulls 1:32:43 - How to beat Hammer Time 1:37:48 - Why is Hammer so good right now? 1:42:14 - Who is this deck for & other parting thoughts Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Monday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
1/8/20211 hour, 47 minutes, 54 seconds
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Episode 105: 2020: A Real Year.

2020 is a year that did, in fact, happen. And we are here to talk about the year of Magic: The Gathering and our place in it. And maybe make fun of our bad takes. We review Modern, Pioneer, and Historic through 2020, talk about our favorite (and least favorit cards) from the year, review our best (and worst) picks to click, and more! Thanks for your amazing support through 2020. We appreciate you. Download the FREE Untapped Companion to track your stats, see your decklists, get details on your performance and more! Use our link to help us out without spending anything: https://mtga.untapped.gg/companion?utmmedium=affiliate&utmsource=youtube&utm_campaign=divedown Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 3:05 - Housekeeping 7:00 - 2020 begins with hope 9:00 - The loss of paper and gain of virtual 13:18 - Modern in 2020 30:54 - Pioneer in 2020 38:40 - Historic (and magic arena) in 2020 57:40 - Part 2: A year of The Dive Down 58:00 - Our favorite eps of the year 1:05:40 - Favorite deck and card dives 1:23:40 - Our best and worst picks to click 1:30:11 - Our worst sleeve/believe/heave take 1:33:30 - Our favorite cards of the year 1:37:02 - Our least favorite cards of the year 1:40:55 - Our best MTG experiences of the year 1:42:40 - Guests of the year 1:44:43 - Was 2020 a good year for MTG? Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Watch us stream our episodes every Monday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
1/1/20211 hour, 52 minutes, 16 seconds
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Episode 104: Must-Knows For (Today's) Modern Tournaments

This week we take a journey into the ManaTraders Modern Tournament Series. We talk about the decks we played with and against, potential mental and strategic approaches to events like these, and some hot hot takes about Modern and Magic. We also spend some time talking about Stan's recent successes, and the first batch of Kaldheim spoilers! The Break Down: Stan's Satellite Results! The Dive Down: Our Manatraders Results! The Wind Down: Kaldheim Spoiler Results! Download the FREE Untapped Companion to track your stats, see your decklists, get details on your performance and more! Use our link to help us out without spending anything: https://mtga.untapped.gg/companion?utmmedium=affiliate&utmsource=youtube&utm_campaign=divedown Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 3:29 - Housekeeping 6:02 - The Break Down begins: Stan’s SCG Tour Online Report 14:20 - New Insights on Historic Neostorm 25:12 - The Dive Down begins: Introducing the Manatraders Modern Qualifiers 34:30 - Who’s Playing in Manatraders Qualifiers? 39:50 - N=31 Metagame Analysis 46:30 - Trying to qualify with Elves, Bogles, and Ponza 52:38 - Trying to qualify with UR Prowess 1:01:16 - Trying to qualify with Mono-Red and GW Titan 1:15:36 - Let’s Talk About Modern… 1:22:38 - Tournament Takeaways 1:36:15 - The Wind Down begins: Kaldheim Spoilers, part 1 Links from this week's episode: The December Manatraders tournament: https://www.manatraders.com/tournaments/9 Ongoing Kaldheim Spoilers: https://scryfall.com/sets/khm?order=spoiled&as=grid Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
12/24/20201 hour, 54 minutes, 16 seconds
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Episode 103: The Best Decks in Historic

This week The Dive Down goes back to Historic. After bursting out briefly in song, the crew breaks down the metagame from last weekend's SCG Satellite Tournaments and reels in shock from one or two insights. Dave manages to make a recap of the Arena Open all about him. Stan is unsurprised. Shane is amused. After that we dive down into three of the best decks in Historic... that we haven't spoken about that much yet. The Break Down: Satellite Results The Break Down, pt 2: Customer Servicing into Day 2 The Dive Down: Best Titans, Best Wizards, Best Cats Download the FREE Untapped Companion to track your stats, see your decklists, get details on your performance and more! Use our link to help us out without spending anything: https://mtga.untapped.gg/companion?utmmedium=affiliate&utmsource=youtube&utm_campaign=divedown Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 1:50 - Housekeeping 6:56 - SCG Historic Satellites 28:56 - Dave Plays the Arena Open 40:35 - The Dive Down Begins 43:07 - Shane Plays Historic Sultai 1:11:01 - Stan Plays Historic Neostorm 1:29:36 - Dave Also Plays Historic Sacrifice 1:49:05 - Closing Out Links from this week's episode: Stan's Lovely Star City Breakdown: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Jw2JuAFYQmldURZrqr1IkeLn51tsThogo6DWvqSM4wM/edit#gid=0 Cool Decks Inc, #1 (Izzet): https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3620885#paper Cool Decks Inc, #2 (Sultai Explore): https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3622893#paper Dave's Auras Open List (Bo1): https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3624511#paper Dave's Auras Open List (Bo2): https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3624523#paper Shane's Sultai: https://www.coolstuffinc.com/a/kyleboggemes-11262020-sultai-midrange-in-historic Stan's Neoform: https://tinyurl.com/y8tyomw4 Dave's Rakdos Sac: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3624554#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
12/18/20201 hour, 55 minutes, 57 seconds
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Episode 102: A Tribal Quest: Hives, Grenades, and Skeletons

It's time for another top-tier Patron request episode! This time, long-time citizen of the nation Sean asked us to talk about tribal decks. We cover the history of tribes in Magic, common aspects of tribal decks, and do a Sleeve/Believe/Heave of some of the less popular tribes of Modern. Prior to that, we spend a long time breaking down the Historic decks and meta of the Zendikar Rising Championship that took place last weekend! The Break Down: A Historic Championship The Dive Down: Tribe Talk The Dive Down, cont: Which Deck Will Stan Qualify With? Download the FREE Untapped Companion to track your stats, see your decklists, get details on your performance and more! Use our link to help us out without spending anything: https://mtga.untapped.gg/companion?utmmedium=affiliate&utmsource=youtube&utm_campaign=divedown Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 4:27 - Housekeeping 9:42 - The Break Down: Championship Chat 12:20 - The Championship meta 21:40 - The Top 64 meta 29:05 - The Top 8 41:03 - Some takes 45:13 - Cool Decks, Inc. 50:25 - The Dive Down: Tribal Time 53:02 - A brief history of tribes in Magic 58:38 - What are the common features of these decks? 1:02:58 - The lords and lieutenants of tribal decks 1:10:55 - The best cards for tribal decks 1:13:40 - Testing lesser-known tribal decks: 5-Color Elementals 1:29:03 - Goblins Combo 1:35:50 - 8-Whack Goblins 1:40:44 - Slivers 1:53:22 - Tribal takeaways 1:57:03 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: Zendikar Rising Championship Coverage: https://magic.gg/events/zendikar-rising-championship 5-Color Elementals: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3574926#paper Goblin Combo: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/archetype/goblins#paper 8-Whack: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3468163#paper Slivers: https://mtgdecks.net/Modern/slivers-decklist-by-justburn420-1060211 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
12/11/20201 hour, 59 minutes, 51 seconds
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Episode 101: Historic 101: An Intro For Casual Spikes

For the first week of our NEXT 100 episodes, we finally took the plunge into Magic Arena's non-rotating format: Historic. We will help you understand how to assess and buy into Historic, what the decks and meta are like, what playing on Arena is like, and our thoughts on if Best of One is really Magic.... Enjoy the beginning of a new podcast adventure! The Dive Down: 88 Goblins The Dive Down, cont: Pants, Pants, Pants The Dive Down, cont: Gruul Smash Download the FREE Untapped Companion to track your stats, see your decklists, get details on your performance and more! Use our link to help us out without spending anything: https://mtga.untapped.gg/companion?utmmedium=affiliate&utmsource=youtube&utm_campaign=divedown Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 3:35 - Housekeeping 7:07 - The Dive Down: The Dive Down Does Historic 7:33 - Why are we covering Historic? 23:00 - What does this mean for The Dive Down? 26:42 - What were our expectations for Historic? 28:33 - How can you buy into Historic, and the economy of Arena 41:00 - The meta and decks in Historic 43:07 - Quick sidebar: how much Historic did we play? 46:53 - The decks of Historic: 47:40 - Azorius Auras 57:40 - Mono-Red Goblins 1:05:58 - Gruul Aggro 1:13:04 - Sultai Midrange 1:19:30 - Rakdos Sacrifice 1:23:07 - Other decks in brief 1:28:08 - Our thoughts on Historic's meta 1:31:43 - Best of One vs. Best of Three 1:39:30 - The competition on Arena 1:43:15 - Monitoring the Historic meta and some economy talk 1:49:45 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: Mono-Red Goblins: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/archetype/historic-goblins-3896#paper Azorius Auras: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/archetype/historic-azorius-aggro#paper Gruul Aggro: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3575700#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
12/4/20201 hour, 51 minutes, 18 seconds
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Episode 100: One. Hundred. Decks.

It's Episode 100, so we pulled out all the stops for a live streamed recording of mini-dives into the 100 most important/cool/powerful decks of Modern, from inception to today. That's... a lot of decks! Join us for an extra-long episode full of fun and surprises! We would have never made it to 100 episodes without the ongoing engagement and generous support from all of you out there in The Dive Down Nation. Thank you so much for being part of who we are as a podcast community. Please support our charity drive for Feeding America, the United States' largest domestic hunger relief campaign, by donating here: https://streamlabscharity.com/@thedivedown-shane/the-dive-down-nation-helps-feed-america The Break Down: One The Dive Down: Hundred The Wind Down: Decks Timestamps: 3:50 - Housekeeping 8:33 - Decks 100 to 75 38:49 - Decks 74 to 50 1:02:36 - Decks 49 to 26 1:28:09 - The Top 25 Modern Decks! Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown AGAIN! Please support our charity drive for Feeding America by donating here: https://streamlabscharity.com/@thedivedown-shane/the-dive-down-nation-helps-feed-america
11/20/20202 hours, 26 minutes, 2 seconds
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Episode 99: A Few of Our Favorite Things

We took things a little easy this week as we prepare for the big episode 100 live stream, and asked The Dive Down Nation to prompt us with: "What's your favorite ____?" We got a TON of awesome questions, so thank you, Nation! We talk about our favorite spells, overheard conversations, books, draft formats, and more. Prior to that we have an installment of Cool Decks, Inc, where we talk about a few recent... well... cool decks that we've seen popping up in Modern. The Break Down: Cool Decks Inc. The Dive Down: All of our favorite stuff! Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 3:50 - Housekeeping 5:55 - An Historic announcement 8:33 - The Break Down: Cool Decks, Inc. 8:54 - Rakdos Hollow Storm 13:50 - Golgari Infect 18:21 - 4-Color Flashback 24:38 - Izzet Control ft. Kiki-Jiki 30:00 - The Dive Down : A few of our favorite things 30:57 - Our favorite cards that aren't good enough for Modern anymore 36:04 - Our favorite sideboard hate cards 42:28 - Our favorite matchups 45:54 - Our favorite overheard comment at a Magic event 51:45 - Our favorite piece of MTG bling 55:22 - Our favorite judge interaction 59:26 - Our favorite draft format 1:04:42 - Our favorite non-sanctioned MTG format 1:07:27 - Our favorite books we have read more than once 1:16:03 - Our favorite albums 1:16:48 - Our favorite movies 1:17:07 - Our favorite Legacy cards 1:18:22 - Our favorite weird rules interaction 1:20:24 - Our favorite cards of 2020 1:28:30 - Our favorite decks ever 1:31:32 - Our favorite cards to imprint onto Isochron Scepter 1:32:38 - Our favorite flavor text 1:35:08 - How good do you want to get at Magic? 1:40:00 - Our favorite playmats 1:40:21 - Our favorite ways to win games 1:41:01 - Our favorite deck names 1:41:40 - Our favorite mtg slang 1:42:52 - Our favorite Magic art or artist 1:44:05 - Our favorite color shifted cards 1:45:30 - The Wind Down: Join us for TDD EP 100 — LIVE! Links from this week's episode: Rakdos Hollow Storm: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3541194#paper Golgari Infect: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3537083#paper 4-Color Flashback: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3541195#paper Izzet Kiki-Jiki: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3543682#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
11/13/20201 hour, 49 minutes, 15 seconds
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Episode 98: Auditing Modern Mono-White Taxes

We spend this week looking at an up-and-coming deck in Modern: Mono-White Taxes. We spend some time looking at the history of Taxes decks, how this deck works, and if we think it's actually that good. Before that we breeze through some Modern Challenge and Qualifier results from Magic Online. The Break Down: Challenging Tournaments The Dive Down: Challenging Sandwiches The Dive Down, cont: Challenging Playpatterns Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 2:36 - Housekeeping 7:26 - The Break Down begins 16:01 - Meta takeaways 19:45 - The Dive Down begins - Auditing Mono-White Taxes 21:45 - Why do people want this deck to work? 28:14 - The older Modern Taxes decks 35:10 - Why Death & Taxes is back 40:55 - The general anatomy of D&T 45:23 - Our initial takes 51:45 - The one-drops 57:30 - The two-drops 1:08:20 - The three-drops 1:25:00 - Land destruction 1:30:15 - How to play with Stoneforge Mystic and the equipment 1:38:34 - Sideboarding 1:39:43 - Is Taxes good? Links from this week's episode: The Modern Qualifier: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/modern-champs-12223552#paper Sunday's Challenge: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/modern-challenge-12223585#paper Saturday's Challenge: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/modern-challenge-12223580#paper Mono-White Taxes: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3519870#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
11/6/20201 hour, 50 minutes, 48 seconds
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Bonus 10: Songs About Cards ft. MTGRemy

In our latest bonus episode, musician and comedian MTGRemy joins us for a conversation about making Magic-inspired parody songs and sketches for YouTube. Remy's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/mtgremy Remy's Twitter: https://twitter.com/mtgremy Remy's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mtgremy Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Now get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown Support The Dive Down (patreon.com/thedivedown)
11/3/20201 hour, 11 minutes, 34 seconds
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Episode 97: Pioneer: A G.O.O.D. Format?

On the one year anniversary of Pioneer, we give the format a performance review. We look at what happened over the last year, and what are the Goals, Obstacles, Opportunities, and Decisions that we can evaluate and make for the newest competitive Magic format. The Break Down: A Call From Corporate The Dive Down: A History Lesson The Dive Down, cont: A Performance Review Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 3:21 - Housekeeping 7:59 - The Break Down Begins - Pioneer Challenges 22:20 - The Dive Down Begins - Pioneer, A Year in Review 25:44 - A Spike’s History of Pioneer’s Launch 35:10 - The Initial Round of Pioneer Bannings 40:06 - Pioneer First Golden Age 41:50 - Enter Theros Beyond Death 47:00 - The Companion Era Begins 49:27 - We’ve Been Told the Combo Decks Are Fine 52:39 - Combo Cards Banned, Pioneer is Saved(?) 57:04 - What the Pioneer Meta Looks Like Today 1:01:44 - Year 1 Takeaways 1:04:16 - Performance Reviews are Due 1:07:08 - How Has Pioneer Performed on its Goals? 1:20:50 - What Obstacles Should Pioneer Overcome? 1:31:54 - What Opportunities Does Pioneer Have Ahead? 1:37:45 - Decisions, Decisions 1:41:44 - Shane's Bottom Line: Pioneer is Fundamentally A Good Idea 1:43:10 - Dave's Bottom Line: It's Not the Gameplay's Fault 1:44:30 - Stan's Bottom Line: Dave is Right Links from this week's episode: 10/24/20 Pio Challenge: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/pioneer-challenge-12221068#paper 10/25/20 Pio Challenge: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/pioneer-challenge-12221072#paper Abe Stein "Defining the Pillars of Pioneer": https://articles.starcitygames.com/premium/defining-the-pillars-of-pioneer/ Pioneer announced: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/news/announcing-pioneer-format-2019-10-21 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
10/30/20201 hour, 50 minutes, 38 seconds
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Episode 96: The Unifying Theory of Good Magic Formats

This week Stan and Shane pair up to explore what can make Magic great, and why Modern has been a fan favorite in 2020. Before that, we look at a quartet of Modern and Pioneer challenges to see where the meta is headed. The Break Down: Breaking it Down The Dive Down: Building it Up The Wind Down: Moving it Around Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 4:43 - Housekeeping 8:44 - The Break Down begins 9:28 - Modern Challenges 22:37 - The Modern Challenge Meta 24:40 - Pioneer Challenges 28:02 - The Pioneer Challenge Meta 33:06 - The Dive Down begins - The Unifying Theory of Good Magic Formats 37:55 - Laying out the signs of a healthy format 44:38 - Evaluating diversity in Modern 53:46 - What is good gameplay? 1:03:47 - What are the different incentives to play Modern? 1:12:22 - What are the untapped possibilities in Modern? 1:21:48 - How can a good format go bad? 1:31:12 - The Wind Down - Moving it Around 1:40:56 - Closing Out Links from this week's episode: Modern challenge #1: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/modern-challenge-12218052#paper Modern challenge #2: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/modern-challenge-12218058#paper Pioneer challenge #1: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/pioneer-challenge-12218055#paper Pioneer challenge #2: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/pioneer-challenge-12218059#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
10/23/20201 hour, 42 minutes, 52 seconds
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Episode 95: We Did It For Science: The Titanic Power of Uro and Omnath

In the first installment of "We Did It For Science," we look at two cards we just aren't (or weren't) that interested in playing with: Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath and Omnath, Locus of Creation. Are these cards good, REALLY good, or TOO good? You're going to have to listen to find out. Before that, we take a (fairly) quick look at a few recent Challenges to see what's going on in the metagame. The Break Down: Always Challenging The Dive Down: Jump Into the Pile The Dive Down, cont: Four Arms to Hold You Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 4:04 - Housekeeping 9:50 - The Break Down begins - the Pioneer Championship Qualifier 23:03 - The Modern Challenge 31:55 - The Dive Down begins: We Did It For Science vol 1 34:19 - Why are we doing this? 37:05 - Why do we hate these cards? 45:29 - Why are these cards good? - Uro 54:03 - Omnath 57:25 - What are people doing with these cards? 1:06:03 - Our experiences: Dave plays Modern 1:16:30 - Shane plays pioneer 1:26:07 - Are Baneslayers becoming Mulldrifters? 1:33:15 - Is the juice worth the squeeze? (AKA our takes) 1:45:09 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: The Pioneer Championship Qualifier: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/pioneer-champ-qual-2020-10-12 The Modern Challenge: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/modern-challenge-2020-10-12#decklists Modern 4-Color Control: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3463389#paper Pioneer 4-Color Omnath: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3470841#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
10/16/20201 hour, 47 minutes, 4 seconds
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Episode 94: Zendikar Rules! New Innovations in Modern & Pioneer

Stan and Shane are on their own this week, so they talk about their recent playtesting in Modern and Pioneer in a vaguely Sleeve/Believe/Heave part two. Before that, they go over the weekend's Pioneer and Modern Showcase Challenges to see what's performing well and what the meta looks like. And then they finish with an extended Wind Down where they answer a bunch of listener questions. The Break Down: Dave's Not Here, Man The Break Down, pt. 2: Just Kidding The Dive Down: Stan and Shane Play Decks! The Wind Down: Getting Personal Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 4:19 - Housekeeping 8:15 - The Break Down begins: Pioneer and Modern Showcase Challenges 18:10 - The Pioneer Showcase top 32 meta 20:10 - Why Pioneer differs from Modern 23:40 -The Modern Showcase Challenge 36:21 - The Modern Showcase top 32 meta 40:33 - The Dive Down begins 42:18 - Chonky Gruul in Pioneer 52:45 - Boros Wizards in Pioneer 1:02:40 - A new Jeskai Fires in Modern 1:21:00 - Rakdos Sacrifice in Pioneer (briefly) 1:24:35 - The Wind Down begins: Listener questions! 1:25:05 - What is the origin story of The Dive Down? 1:28:32 - Who taught you how to play Magic, and how wrong did you have it? 1:31:43 - What is your favorite sound? 1:34:43 - What other formats are you exploring? 1:39:25 - What is your most memorable Halloween costume? 1:42:29 - What is your biggest misplay? 1:44:31 - What are your favorite LGS's you've been to? Links from this week's episode: 10/4/2020 Pioneer Showcase Challenge: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/pioneer-showcase-challenge-2020-10-05 10/4/2020 Modern Showcase Challenge: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/modern-showcase-challenge-2020-10-04#decklists Chonky Gruul: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3451939#paper Boros Wizards: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3451938#paper Rakdos Sacrifice: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3448907#paper Jeskai (wild)Fires: https://t.co/XWe7YiWHMQ?amp=1 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
10/9/20201 hour, 49 minutes, 41 seconds
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Episode 93: Sleeve/Believe/Heave: Zendikar Rising Edition

This week we apply our patent-pending Sleeve/Believe/Heave rating system to 3 potentially breakout Modern and Pioneer decks. Are they the real deal, or not worth your time? Only one way to find out. Prior to that, we look at the winning decks and statistics from the most recent Manatraders Modern tournament. The Break Down: Manatraders Modern 15k The Dive Down: Oops All Spells! The Dive Down, cont: Oops No Life! Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 1:45 - Housekeeping 5:17 - Break Down Begins 9:20 - Manatraders Top 8 19:22 - Metagame Share & Win Rates 23:50 - Top 10 Cards 31:48 - Dive Down Begins 37:00 - Modern Mono-White Taxes 1:02:04 - Pioneer Oops All Lands 1:24:45 - Modern Rakdos Shadow 1:44:48 - Shane’s Goonhammer Articles Links from this week's episode: qbturtle's white taxes: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3424897#paper Aluren85's oops, all spells: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3432467#paper trunks123's rakdos aggro: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3427687#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
10/2/20201 hour, 48 minutes, 49 seconds
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Episode 92: The Early Risers of Zendikar Rising

We take a good, long look at the latest decks, trends, and strategies in Modern and Pioneer, but this time with the cards of Zendikar Rising! We start with Cool Decks (and cards!), Inc, as we look through 2 Modern and 2 Pioneer Challenges. Then we head into The Dive Down and do a mini-dive on Gruul Goblin Charbelcher, and look at changes to Jeskai, Mill, and Death's Shadow. And look suspiciously at Omnath... The Break Down: Challenging Challenges The Dive Down: Recrossing, Reforging, Rebelching The Dive Down, cont: Other Concerning Things Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 20% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 2:11 - Housekeeping 4:26 - The Break Down begins - early results with Zendikar Rising 4:50 - 2 Modern Challenges 29:00 - 2 Pioneer Challenges 44:30 - The Dive Down begins 46:01 - Gruul Goblin Charbelcher 1:06:23 - Cleansing Jeskai 1:16:05 - Mill 1:22:10 - Omnath Piles 1:32:40 - Naya Winota (Pioneer) 1:35:49 - Shadow Decks 1:39:10 - Hot Takes on ZDR Links from this week's episode: The 9/19 Modern Challenge: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/modern-challenge-2020-09-20 The 9/20 Modern Challenge: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/modern-challenge-2020-09-21 The 9/19 Pioneer Challenge: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/pioneer-challenge-2020-09-20 The 9/20 Pioneer Challenge: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/pioneer-challenge-2020-09-21 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
9/25/20201 hour, 45 minutes, 45 seconds
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Episode 91: Zendikar Rising Rises: Spoilers, Vol. 2 ft. Aspiring Spike

Stan's on vacation, which means we get to have Evart Moughon (aka AspiringSpike) on as a returning guest host to talk about the second week of Zendikar Rising spoilers. We revisit some cards from last week to get Evart's takes and give some more picks to click from the latest set. Before that, we look at some Modern and Pioneer Challenges to see what's happening in the meta. The Break Down: Modern & Pioneer Challenges The Dive Down: A Few Redos The Dive Down, cont: The Last of the Spoilers Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Now get 20% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 2:47 - Housekeeping 5:07 - The Break Down begins - recent Modern events 25:25 - Evart's favorite decks in Modern right now 29:55 - 2 Pioneer challenges 39:27 - The Dive Down begins 39:51 - How Evart evaluates spoilers 41:54 - Pathway lands revisited 46:22 - Agadeem's Awakening 48:27 - The spell lands revisited 52:07 - Nahiri, Heir of the Ancients revisited 54:53 - Cleansing Wildfire revisited 57:22 - Roiling Vortex 1:00:49 - Thieving Skydiver 1:02:39 - Omnath, Locus of Creation 1:04:53 - Emeria's Call and Ondu Inversion 1:06:30 - Forsaken Monument 1:10:54 - Ruin Crab 1:13:16 - Wayward Guidebeast 1:16:31 - Inscription of Ruin 1:20:12 - Feed the Swarm 1:23:25 - Deliberate 1:25:15 - Archon of Emeria 1:27:47 - Grakmaw the Skyclave Ravager 1:30:29 - Lullmage's Domination 1:32:48 - Legion Angel 1:34:45 - Lithoform Blight 1:36:37 - Maul of the Skyclaves 1:38:26 - Felidar Retreat 1:40:28 - Sea-Gate Stormcaller revisited 1:43:26 - Evart's biggest picks to click 1:45:04 - Evart's early brews 1:46:07 - Fighting Uro in Modern 1:47:45 - Finding Evart Links from this week's episode: The 9/13 Modern Challenge: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/modern-challenge-12206263#paper The 9/12 Pioneer Challenge: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/pioneer-challenge-12206260#paper The 9/13 Pioneer Challenge: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/pioneer-challenge-12206264#paper Zendikar Rising spoilers: https://scryfall.com/sets/znr?order=spoiled Watch Aspiring Spike on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/aspiringspike Find Aspiring Spike on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MoughonEvart Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
9/18/20201 hour, 50 minutes, 39 seconds
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Episode 90: Zendikar Rising Rises: Spoilers, Vol. 1

We take a look at the first batch of spoilers from Zendikar Rising and identify some picks to click from the upcoming set. Before that, we have a conversation about the 2021 Magic roadmap in a non-meta Break Down! The Break Down: DDN FNM MTGG The Break Down, cont: Cool Set, Inc. The Dive Down: Spoilers, Spoilers, Spoilers! Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Now get 20% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 3:58 - Housekeeping 7:31 - The Break Down begins - the 2021 release schedule! 9:58 - Modern Horizons 2 16:54 - Kaldheim 19:34 - Time Spiral Remastered 24:27 - Strixhaven 27:23 - Forgotten Realms 31:30 - Innistrad V3 38:10 - The Dive Down begins - Zendikar Rising Spoilers, pt. 1 38:40 - How we evaluate spoilers 41:50 - The mechanics of Zendikar Rising 43:41 - The Pathway Lands 54:27 - The other modal lands 1:02:31 - The Planeswalkers 1:12:40 - Cool Landfall cards, and some thoughts on Landfall 1:17:33 - Sea Gate Stormcaller 1:23:05 - Scourge of the Skyclaves 1:27:51 - Skyclave Apparition 1:29:50 - Luminarch Aspirant 1:31:54 - Fissure Wizard 1:34:05 - Crawling Barrens 1:37:27 - Cleansing Wildfire 1:42:20 - Leyline Tyrant 1:46:20 - Magmatic Channeler Links from this week's episode: The Dive Down Nation FNM: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/the-dive-down-nation-modern-fnm-09-04-edition#paper Zendikar Rising spoilers: https://scryfall.com/sets/znr?order=spoiled The 2021 release schedule: https://articles.starcitygames.com/news/wotc-unveils-2021-mtg-release-schedule/ Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
9/10/20201 hour, 51 minutes, 46 seconds
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Episode 89: Return of the Living Dredge

This week we revisit Dredge! In our first repeat deck dive, we talk about what's changed for the deck, how that makes it better.. or worse.. or just different? What did playing this deck feel like in the current meta? What's up with Silversmote Ghoul? Before that, we dive into 3 recent Modern tournaments to see what's up. The Break Down: Modern MOCS & Challenges The Break down, pt.2: More Cool Decks, Inc. The Dive Down: Shane Beeps Returns to Play Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Now get 20% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 4:30 - Housekeeping 7:09 - The Break Down begins 9:11 - The Showcase Qualifier 17:20 - Saturday's Modern Challenge 25:09 - Sunday's Modern Challenge 31:08 - Metagame thoughts 35:02 - The Dive Down begins - Dredge 2: The Redredgining 38:35 - What's changed for Dredge pt.1 42:16 - A brief history of Dredge 46:52 - Why is Dredge powerful, and how is it winning? 51:30 - What's in the deck 57:10 - The impact of Silversmote Ghoul 1:07:20 - The mana and mana needs of the deck 1:11:12 - What's changed for Dredge pt.2 1:14:15 - A brief mulligan discussion 1:19:24 - A brief strategic aside about stops/timing 1:20:30 - Ten Things We Like About Oxen 1:30:10 - New hate cards 1:37:41 - What playing Dredge felt like Links from this week's episode: Saturday's challenge: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/modern-challenge-12201349#paper Sunday's challenge: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/modern-challenge-12201355#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
9/4/20201 hour, 49 minutes, 43 seconds
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Episode 88: Gifts Storm: A Modern Ritual

This week it's back to Modern for the TDD crew as they peruse Prelim pivots for a format pulse and then dive into one of the oldest and Izzetest decks in Modern — Gifts Storm. Stan gets emotional. Dave gets self-deprecating. Shane gets quiet. It's another week on The Dive Down. Housekeeping: A Winner is Announced! The Break Down: Surprises in the Modern Prelims The Dive Down: Grapeshot: The Gift That Keeps on Giving Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Now get 20% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 3:45 - Housekeeping 8:25 - The Break Down: Surprises in the Modern Prelims 21:22 - The Winner's Meta and some takes 25:51 - Cool Decks, Inc. 31:55 - The Dive Down: Grapeshot: The Gift that keeps on giving 34:10 - Why Storm? 36:14 - How Storm is designed 42:13 - The cost-reducing creatures 51:10 - Gifts Ungiven, Grapeshot, and other key cards 1:14:21 - The Gifts Packages 1:22:02 - The sideboard 1:26:29 - Beating Storm 1:35:12 - How we feel about Storm 1:39:02 - The Wind Down - P. Sully's Bonus Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
8/28/20201 hour, 41 minutes, 31 seconds
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Bonus 9: A Philosophy of Design ft. Patrick Sullivan

For this bonus ep, we welcome Patrick Sullivan to the pod to talk Magic, game design, and broadcasting! He shares some great insights with us from his long career in gaming. Find Patrick on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BasicMountain Donate to the Denver Justice Project: http://www.denverjusticeproject.org/ Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Now get 20% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
8/26/20201 hour, 11 minutes, 12 seconds
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Episode 87: The Buyer's Guide to Double Masters & Other Stuff

First on this week's show, the TDD crew do a quick check in on Pioneer a couple of weeks after the bannings. After that they do a deep dive into the financial implications of Double Masters and chat about how they approach the most fun part of Magic in general — buying stuff. Turns out it's more complicated than even Shane thought. The Break Down: Pioneer Challenges The Dive Down: Double the Masters The Double Dive Down: Putting the Fun in Financial Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Now get 20% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 3:11 - Housekeeping 4:49 - The First Dive Down GIVEAWAY! 7:48 - The Break Down begins - Pioneer Prelim Power 20:08 - The Winner's meta 31:21 - What's catching our eyes 32:47 - The Dive Down begins 36:37 - Magic is expensive 38:15 - Reprint sets: when Magic goes on sale 41:57 - What we're buying from 2XM 51:56 - The decks on sale right now 57:00 - One reason Modern is still expensive, even on sale 1:00:53 - Other ways to save money on Magic cards 1:08:30 - Buylisting for fun and.... profit? 1:14:20 - Why pay more than the absolute least? 1:20:30 - Playtesting before you buy 1:26:25 - The financial trap cards 1:33:35 - Budget MTG resources 1:35:24 - Maintaining a Magic budget 1:40:54 - The Wind Down - How do we handle Magic FOMO? 1:48:20 - Closing out Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
8/21/20201 hour, 49 minutes, 59 seconds
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Episode 86: Pioneer Format, Reborn

This week we break down the post-ban Pioneer Challenges and Prelims and talk about what's over and under-performing. Then we head into the Dive Down to talk about our experiences playing Pioneer, our thoughts on the state of the format, and answer some listener questions! The Break Down: Pioneer is Back, Baybee! The Dive Down: Are We Having Fun Yet? The Wind Down: Dive Down is that You? It's Me, Listeners. Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Now get 20% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 2:35 - Housekeeping 5:25 - The Break Down begins 7:58 - The overall competitive meta 25:27 - The winner's meta 28:17 - Cool decks! 36:10 - Hot takes on Pioneer 41:54 - The Dive Down begins 43:51 - What players were talking about 47:39 - What we were playing this week 50:49 - How did our decks feel? 1:03:00 - What we saw being played 1:10:25 - Was anything feeling under or overpowered? 1:16:00 - A digression - what makes Magic fun? 1:22:32 - Are the best cards and decks too good? 1:28:00 - Is the format healthier now? 1:31:20 - Listener questions! Does Uro make aggro unplayable? 1:35:28 - Does Pioneer need Bolt, Path, and better Counterspells? 1:39:10 - What would we play in a Pioneer GP? 1:41:25 - Will Pioneer be played when paper comes back? 1:45:12 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: Simic Spirits: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3283075#paper Abzan Aristocrats https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3279021#paper Inverterless Inverter https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3283205#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
8/14/20201 hour, 47 minutes, 8 seconds
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Episode 85: Pioneer Bans & Modern Prowess Stans

This week we break down the 4 new bans in Pioneer, and talk about what this means for the format! In the Dive Down we go over the many flavors of Prowess in Modern: Red, Izzet, Gruul, Rakdos - how to choose?! The Break Down: A Lovely Surprise Banning! The Dive Down: Not Everyone's Tempo The Dive Down, cont: We Could Bolt or Not Bolt Forever Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Now get 20% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 2:48 - Housekeeping 6:11 - The Break Down begins: SURPRISE BANS! 26:35 - Takes on the bans 32:39 - The Dive Down begins: The many flavors of Prowess 36:35 - A Red Prowess Primer  52:19 - Hey.... what's tempo? 57:35 - The decks we covered 1:04:06 - Izzet Prowess 1:09:45 - A strategic digression - the tempo of Prowess 1:14:55 - Back to Izzet Prowess 1:17:14 - Gruul Prowess 1:25:13 - Rakdos Prowess 1:33:40 - Burn vs. Prowess 1:39:08 - Why cast the "bad" spells of Prowess? 1:44:57 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: The August 8, 2020 B&R: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/news/august-8-2020-banned-and-restricted-announcement Izzet Prowess: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3234953#paper Gruul Prowess: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3234957#paper Rakdos Prowess: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3234951#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
8/7/20201 hour, 46 minutes, 50 seconds
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Episode 84: The Many Moods of Mystic Sanctuary

This week we take a look at one of the most popular and powerful cards in Modern - Mystic Sanctuary. What makes it good, how is it being played, and what can you do with it? Before that, we break down the Manatraders July Modern 15k tournament. The Break Down: Modern Manatraders The Dive Down: Making Mystic Mighty Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Now get 20% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 2:27 - Housekeeping 5:00 - The Break Down begins - The Manatraders July Modern 15k 9:50 - The MT meta 18:48 - The top 32 27:38 - Conversion rate discussion 32:52 - The Top 8 36:30 - The top cards 42:59 - The Dive Down begins - a brief history of Mystic Sanctuary 51:26 - What makes Sanctuary messed-up? 58:15 - The value plan of Sanctuary 1:11:15 - The impact on your mana 1:18:05 - The loops 1:30:10 - The strategies 1:34:25 - Facing down Sanctuary 1:39:05 - Is this the best card in Modern? 1:45:55 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: Gruul Prowess: https://goodgriefgames.wordpress.com/2020/04/22/brewed-up-r-g-prowess-modern/ Mystic Sanctuary is a Messed-Up Magic Card: https://articles.starcitygames.com/premium/mystic-sanctuary-is-a-messed-up-magic-card/ People Are Sleeping On Mystic Sanctuary: https://articles.starcitygames.com/premium/people-are-sleeping-on-mystic-sanctuary/ Examining The Future Of Mystic Sanctuary In Modern: https://articles.starcitygames.com/premium/examining-the-future-of-mystic-sanctuary-in-modern/ Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
7/31/20201 hour, 47 minutes, 58 seconds
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Episode 83: That New Meta Smell

On this week's episode, the team does a long break down on what's happened in Pioneer and Modern in the week since our most recent bans. Takes are given... and returned? Moods are had... and worked out? Then we talk about what we've been playing lately. Ponza! White Tokens! UR Prowess! Mono Green Devotion! We'll let you guess who is who! The Break Down: Modern/Pioneer: Similar/Same The Dive Down: Our Decks: That's the Same Picture Timestamps: 4:42 - Break Down Begins 5:24 - Modern Analysis Begins 12:44 - Modern Week 1 Metagame 29:50 - The Modern Winner's Metagame 42:30 - Pioneer Analysis Begins 50:06 - Pioneer’s Tier 2 and Beyond 55:00 - What do we want Pioneer to be? 1:04:57 - The Pioneer Winner’s Metagame 1:12:35 - Dive Down Begins: Our Testing Results 1:16:44 - Modern Mono-White Tokens 1:25:20 - Pioneer Mono-Green Devotion 1:35:06 - Modern Izzet Blitz Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown Support The Dive Down (http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown)
7/24/20201 hour, 49 minutes, 20 seconds
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Episode 82: Bans: 1 Mana Permanents Edition ft. Aspiring Spike

On this week's episode, friend of the show Evart Moughon aka Aspiring Spike drops in for a reaction to the latest Banned & Restricted announcement. Then we talk about some of Evart's latest takes on Modern Control. The Break Down: July 2020 B&R in Modern & Pioneer The Dive Down: Modern Control Concepts Wind Down: Spiking Listener Questions Timestamps: 5:10 - Break Down Begins - July 2020 B&R 57:24 - Dive Down Begins - Current State of Modern Control and Evart's Izzet Deck 1:35:05 - Wind Down Begins - Listener Questions! Links from this week's episode: July 2020 B&R: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/news/july-13-2020-banned-and-restricted-announcement-2020-07-13?ryujyu Aspiring Spike's Izzet Control: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3169395#paper Aspiring Spike on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MoughonEvart Aspiring Spike on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/aspiringspike Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown Support The Dive Down (http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown)
7/17/20201 hour, 50 minutes, 7 seconds
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Episode 81: A Dive Down State of Mind

This week the team tries to just chill (for once) and ends up with a 60min+ Break Down of the last 6 months of Modern and Pioneer, some ban speculation (before the upcoming announcement was announced), and answering listener questions. Shane brings some takes. Stanislav disagrees with Dave. Dave opens packs on air in retaliation. It's another week on The Down Down! The Break Down: 6 months of Modern + Pioneer The Dive Down: Listener questions Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Now get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 3:20 - Housekeeping 4:59 - The extended Break Down begins - Modern and Pioneer in 2020 6:35 - Modern in 2020 10:15 - The Modern up-and-comers 14:04 - Modern still hanging on 21:35 - Modern Falling Stars 28:13 - Recent Modern tournaments 45:35 - Our takes on Modern in 2020 49:15 - Pioneer in 2020 50:50 - The Pioneer up-and-comers 52:59 - Pioneer still hanging on and the falling stars 54:29 - Recent Pioneer tournaments.... sorta 57:55 - Our takes on the problems of Pioneer in 2020 1:10:58 - What would we change in Pioneer? 1:15:25 - What could be added to Pioneer? 1:21:40 - What would we ban/unban in Modern? 1:24:34 - The Wind Down begins: listener questions 1:25:34 - How do we track our performance? 1:31:30 - What promo cards do we like? 1:35:55 - What makes a deck eternal? 1:40:10 - What has been your favorite deck to play? 1:43:14 - What other formats would we like to try? 1:45:45 - What cards would we like to see printed into Modern? 1:48:58 - Closing out Links/Tournaments Referenced in this week's episode: Modern Challenge #1: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/modern-challenge-2020-07-05 Modern Challenge #2: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/modern-challenge-2020-07-06 Pioneer League #1: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/pioneer-league-2020-07-02 Pioneer League #2: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/pioneer-league-2020-07-06 Pioneer Prelim #1: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/pioneer-preliminary-2020-07-02 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
7/10/20201 hour, 50 minutes, 21 seconds
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Bonus 8: Big on Tik Tok w/ Deezy_MTG

In this bonus episode, Stan sits down with Nick Valdez, AKA Deezy MTG to talk about the art of content creation, MTG comedy, and what it's like being the #1 Magic Tik Tok account in America and maybe the world! Find Nick Twitter: https://twitter.com/nickvaldeezy Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/deezy_mtg Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@deezymtg Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Now get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
7/7/20201 hour, 7 minutes, 17 seconds
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Episode 80: Sleeve/Believe/Heave: Core Set 2021 Edition

On this week's episode we take three (or more!) decks featuring Core Set 2021 cards through the Sleeve/Believe/Heave gauntlet. Did they have what it takes to get the coveted "Sleeve" rating? Following that, we discuss how new cards are impacting classic decks in Modern and Pioneer! The Dive Down: Stanislav Snoops The Dive Down, pt 2: Dave Stormwings The Dive Down, pt 3: Shane Selesnyas ... And more! Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Now get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 5:58 - Sleeve Believe Heave Week Begins 7:51 - Modern Rakdos Goblins ft. Conspicuous Snoop 33:53 - Modern Izzet Prowess ft. Stormwing Entity 57:54 - Pioneer Selesnya Scales ft. Conclave Mentor 1:24:40 - Modern & Pioneer Elves ft. Llanowar Visionary & Fierce Empath 1:31:44 - Modern Grixis Delver ft. Thieves Guild Enforcer 1:33:40 - Modern & Pioneer Dredge ft. Silversmote Ghoul 1:39:07 - Modern Izzet Control ft. Teferi, Master of Time 1:41:35 - Pioneer Azorius Spirits ft. Shacklegeist & Lofty Denial 1:43:30 - Modern Izzet Phoenix ft. See the Truth 1:44:15 - Eliminate in Pioneer 1:45:35 - Pioneer Boros Cycling ft. No New Cards 1:46:47 - Pioneer Simic Wilderness Reclamation ft. Sublime Epiphany 1:47:40 - Pioneer Goblins ft. Conspicuous Snoop & Subira, Tulzidi Caravanner 1:50:17 - Closing Out Links from this week's episode: Snoopy Goblins: https://www.streamdecker.com/deck/UrwCOTAZK Izzet Prowess: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3144685#paper Selesnya Scales: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3150880#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
7/3/20201 hour, 52 minutes, 19 seconds
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Episode 79: Naya Winota: Joining Forces in Modern & Pioneer

This week we dive into both Modern AND Pioneer to explore Naya Winota! Did she successfully recruit us into joining her forces, or did we remain unaffiliated? We also do a quick break down of the latest Modern Challenge to explore the variety of decks finding success, and wind down with some Patreon questions. The Break Down: Stanislav <3s Modern The Dive Down: History's Best BoP Deck? The Wind Down: A Few Questions Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Now get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 2:58 - Housekeeping 6:12 - The Break Down begins: A Modern Challenge 8:10 - Top 8 analysis 23:42 - Takes on the tournament 26:14 - Core 21 projections 27:58 - The Dive Down begins: Why Winota? 30:50 - What Winota? 34:35 - The payoffs 40:32 - Payoff math and payoff tactics 45:40 - Gut checks and initial takes 49:55 - The mana dorks 52:55 - The token generators 56:21 - Eldritch Evolution and the sac fodder 1:06:00 - The early game plan and the power of that game plan 1:11:25 - Creating advantage with Winota 1:19:40 - Losing advantage with Winota 1:22:09 - Comparing this to other decks in the formats 1:30:18 - What's the better version? Pioneer or Modern? 1:40:02 - The Wind Down: Patreon questions 1:48:38 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: The 6/21 Modern Challenge: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/modern-challenge-2020-06-21#decklists Pioneer Winota: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3130303#paper Modern Winota: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3114576#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
6/26/20201 hour, 50 minutes, 56 seconds
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Episode 78: Pioneer Possibilities & Core 21, pt. 2

This week we receive a short but substantial ray of sunshine about Pioneer from Shane and then talk about our our second and final batch of picks to click from Core Set 2021! The Break Down: Pioneer is Actually Good The Break Down, cont: But What About Inverter? Stan Speaks The Dive Down: Spoilers, Spoilers, Spoilers (again) Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Now get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 3:00 - Housekeeping 5:00 -The Break Down begins — Get Up on Pioneer 6:15 - Shane’s Ray of Light: Pioneer Challenges 6:30 - The first Pioneer Challenge’s Top 8 9:45 - The second Pioneer Challenge’s Top 8 12:20 - Top 8s takeaways 13:00 - Top 32s assessment 15:10 - But what about Inverter? Stan speaks. 16:00 - The bottom line on Pioneer + what we’re playing 19:25 - The Dive Down begins: more Core 21 cards 19:35 - Conspicuous Snoop 27:30 - Ghostly Pilferer + Shacklegeist 36:20 - Terror of the Peaks 42:30 - Sublime Epiphany 47:20 - Heartfire Immolator 54:05 - Stormwing Entity 1:00:10 - Conclave Mentor 1:04:05 - Llanowar Visionary + Fierce Empath 1:09:40 - Lofty Denial 1:15:55 - Miscast 1:19:55 - Liliana, Waker of the Dead 1:27:18 - Colossal Dreadmaw 1:27:45 - Frantic Inventory 1:32:33 - See the Truth 1:34:32 - Subira, Tulzidi Caravanner 1:38:36 - Angelic Ascention 1:41:55 - The Wind Down begins — Core 21 called shots Links from this episode: Pioneer Challenge, June 14th https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/pioneer-challenge-2020-06-14 Pioneer Challenge, June 15th https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/pioneer-challenge-2020-06-15 Jim Davis on Conspicuous Snoop https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jgp12xXMlX0 https://www.coolstuffinc.com/a/jimdavis-06122020-the-scoop-on-conspicuous-snoop Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
6/19/20201 hour, 51 minutes, 59 seconds
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Episode 77: Companions Crash & Core 21, pt. 1

This week we look at the post-Companion metas for Pioneer and Modern, then talk about our picks to click from the first batch of Core Set 2021 spoilers! The Break Down: Our Companions Leave Us Alone The Break Down, cont: Modern & Pioneer Metas The Dive Down: Spoilers, Spoilers, Spoilers Timestamps: 2:42 - Housekeeping 5:45 -The Break Down begins - the post-Companion meta 10:38 - The Pioneer meta 16:30 - Some top 8s 23:55 - Pio Companion check in and cool decks 34:37 - Pioneer meta takes 35:20 - The modern meta 39:01 - Some top8s 44:43 - Some cool decks and cool takes 50:35 - Quick take - what would we play? 52:15 - The Dive Down begins 54:20 - Teferi, Master of Time 1:10:00 - Basri Ket 1:13:43 - Chandra, Heart of Fire 1:18:29 - Elder Garagroth 1:23:26 - Village Rites 1:28:30 - Plunge 1:34:46 - Containment Priest 1:39:00 - Gadrak, the Crown-Scourge 1:42:02 - Quick hits - Azusa, Vito, Chandra's Incinerator Links from this week's episode: SCG Tour Online: https://scgtouronline.starcitygames.com/ Core Set 2021 Spoilers: https://scryfall.com/sets/m21?order=spoiled&as=grid Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
6/12/20201 hour, 51 minutes, 2 seconds
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Episode 76: Gathering the Magic ft. Cavedan

The hosts of The Dive Down want to make our beliefs clear: Black Lives Matter. We share the commitment of many of our listeners in educating ourselves on the unfathomable pain faced by people of color in the United States and beyond. All proceeds from this week’s episode will go to the Black Lives Matter Global Network, and several other organizations that fight for justice on behalf of oppressed people and communities. We encourage our friends and listeners to support marginalized communities when and where you can. Below are some resources that you can consider in the fight to end institutional racism, and support justice for oppressed communities all around us. http://www.maximummiddleage.com/right-now/alton-sterling-philando-castile-how-to-be-an-ally-to-black-people The Bail Project: https://bailproject.org/ Campaign Zero: https://www.joincampaignzero.org/ Unicorn Riot: https://unicornriot.ninja/ George Floyd Memorial Fund: https://www.gofundme.com/f/georgefloyd Justice for Breonna Taylor: https://www.gofundme.com/f/9v4q2-justice-for-breonna-taylor Mutual Aid: https://www.mutualaidhub.org/ Black and Brown Founders: https://blackandbrownfounders.com/ Black Feminist Project: https://www.gofundme.com/f/theblkprojek Colin Kaepernick Know Your Rights Camp: https://www.knowyourrightscamp.com/ Black Girls Code: https://www.blackgirlscode.com/ Black Voters Matter Fund: https://www.blackvotersmatterfund.org/ The National Police Accountability Project: https://www.nlg-npap.org/donate/ Equal Justice Initiative: https://eji.org/ NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund: https://www.naacpldf.org/ BET and United Way COVID-19 Relief Fund: https://secure.unitedway.org/j/step/bet-covid-19-donate As for the episode itself: Join us this week as we have special guest Cavedan, of Faithless Brewing fame, on as we break down the latest B&R announcement and the companion rules change, talk about our thoughts and feelings about the game and meta-game of Magic, and quiz him about brewing. Timestamps: 7:56 - Housekeeping 12:13 - The Break Down: dissecting the B&R and Companion rule change 16:36 - Examining the text from the announcement 27:58 - Will divergent game play patterns take place? 33:00 - The implications of this rule change 43:40 - The Dive Down begins - The pace and impact of change 54:35 - How we can respond to change? 1:02:32 - Things to be positive about in Magic - New ways to play 1:02:36 - News digital ways to play is a good thing. 1:09:49 - Does anyone think paper is dying? 1:15:43 - The game is fundamentally great! 1:27:42 - How change keeps the community engaged. 1:33:34 - The Brew Down 1:37:22 - Deck Advantage vs. Deck Experience 1:39:29 - Checking in on our goals. 1:44:18 - The Wind Down Begins 144:41 - Has Rogue Refinery changed the way Dan brews? 1:47:40 - How do we approach an open meta game? 1:49:49 - What makes a card brew worthy? 1:51:11 - Can a brand new deck emerge in Modern? 1:53:39 - Please brew with Nahiri, the Harbinger 1:55:29 - What’s The Dive Down’s secret ingredient? 1:59:55 - Closing Out Links from this week's episode: June 1, 2020 B&R: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/news/june-1-2020-banned-and-restricted-announcement Faithless Brewing: https://faithlessbrewing.podbean.com/ Faithless Brewing on Twitter: https://twitter.com/faithlessmtg Faithless Brewing's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/faithlessbrewing Episodes of Rogue Refinery can found at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8ZGymAvfP97qJabgqUkz4A Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
6/5/20202 hours, 2 minutes, 44 seconds
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Episode 75: Pioneer Jeskai Lukka: Superfriendly Fires

We dive into one of the most powerful and popular decks in Pioneer - Jeskai Lukka Yorion Sharknado Fires Control! Or whatever it's called! The Break Down: The latest Pioneer SQ The Dive Down: TapouT The Dive Down, continued: Agents of Snap Concessions Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Now get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 2:35 - Housekeeping 6:25 - The Break Down begins - the Pioneer Super Qualifier 6:50 - PSQ Top 32 Meta 16:44 - PSQ Top 8 18:17 - Interesting Decks 27:27 - The Dive Down Begins - Yorion Superfriends! 30:30 - What is tapout control? 35:40 - Fires of Invention and tapout control 43:26 - The gameplan of Yorion Superfriends 53:01 - Enabling Lukka 56:40 - The yorion advantage 1:09:50 - Closing out games 1:12:30 - The supporting elements 1:18:51 - Getting the most out of Fires 1:32:55 - Sideboarding and matchups 1:47:30 - Some thoughts on the deck 1:50:20 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: Tapout Control / PV's Playhouse / Paulo Vitor Damo Da Rosa: https://www.channelfireball.com/all-strategy/home/pvs-playhouse-control/ The Pioneer SQ: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/pioneer-super-qualifier-2020-05-23 Jeskai Superfriends: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/archetype/wur-20302994-c1b8-4ede-a1ad-81e213d4b28a#paper More Superfriends: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3047732#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
5/29/20201 hour, 53 minutes, 4 seconds
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Episode 74: Complicated Companion Questions ft. Aspiring Spike

This week Aspiring Spike is back to help us understand the Companion metagame in Pioneer and Modern. What's good, what's not so good, and how to next-level your opponents! The Break Down: Lotus Box Modern The Dive Down: Shane Has Facts The Dive Down, pt. 2: A Love/Hate Relationship Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Now get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 2:55 - Housekeeping 4:37 - The Break Down sorta begins - Another B&R annoucement 10:48 - The Break Down really begins - The Team Lotus Box modern 1k 13:25 - The 1k metagame 31:52 - Companion stats and the top 8 33:30 - Tournament takeaways 36:36 - The Dive Down begins - the Companion metas 41:43 - Why has the metagame coalesced around Companions? 47:06 - Who's having fun? 51:28 - How is this metagame different than before? 58:55 - How are you getting an edge? 1:09:01 - Playing against Companions 1:29:03 - What do we think will happen to Companions? 1:34:25 - What are WOTCs long-term plans for Companions? 1:36:45 - Why might WOTC change Companions? 1:41:41 - Full-time Aspiring Spike 1:45:30 - The Sorta Wind Down - questions for Aspiring Spike 1:53:22 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: The Team Lotus Box Modern 1K: https://mtgdecks.net/Modern/lotus-box-league-season-1-modern-1k-team-lotus-box-tournament-62866 Ari Lax: How to Exploit Every Companion in Constructed: https://articles.starcitygames.com/premium/how-to-exploit-every-companion-in-constructed/ Aspiring Spike on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MoughonEvart Aspiring Spike on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/aspiringspike Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
5/22/20201 hour, 55 minutes, 3 seconds
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Episode 73: Diving Deeper: How Do I Know If I'm Winning?

This week we tackle a level-up prompt from a Patron of The Dive Down Nation - what does it mean to have advantage in a game of Magic? We explore what advantage can look like in different aspects of the game, how to use it in your game play, and how to play when you are ahead or behind. The Break Down: Cool decks from recent challenges The Dive Down: The Unified Theory of Magic The Dive Down, pt. 2: Debunking the Unified Theory of Magic Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Now get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 6:27 - The Break Down begins: Cool decks! 6:59 - May 11 Pioneer Challenge 20:42 - May 11 Modern Challenge 26:44 - UW Miracles ft. Counterbalance 31:52 - The Dive Down begins: Advantage in Magic 42:50 - What’s the first thing that comes to mind with advantage? 49:32 - Is there a way to talk about advantage in a single cohesive way? 57:58 - Thinking about actions instead of turns. 1:06:22 - Are some decks more sensitive to advantage? 1:09:39 - Does it all come down to deck plans? 1:12:05 - What about advantage in combo? 1:14:50 - How fragile is having an advantage in Magic? 1:23:45 - Does a format’s power level make advantage more important? 1:27:17 - Taking your plan to the next level with advantage. 1:30:14 - What to do with your knowledge of in-game advantage. 1:33:05 - How do you regain advantage? 1:41:02 - What to down you already have the advantage. 1:46:38 - How do we get from advantage to intuition? Links from this week's episode: The May 11th Pio Challenge: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/pioneer-challenge-2020-05-11#decklists The May 11th Modern Challenge: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/modern-challenge-2020-05-11#decklists The May 10th Modern Challenge: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/modern-challenge-2020-05-10 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
5/15/20201 hour, 53 minutes, 32 seconds
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Episode 72: Sleeve/Believe/Heave: Constant Companions, v.2

We take three more Companions and three new decks through the S/B/H process, and let you know what we thought about them! Maybe we even used that hippo one! (We didn't.) The Break Down: The Lotus Box is a League The Dive Down: Yorion, Lurrus (Again?), and Gyruda The Wind Down: 3 Minutes About Hobbies Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Now get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 2:34 - Housekeeping 6:03 - The Break Down - The Team Lotus Box Pioneer Tournament top 8 11:28 - Closer looks at the new Companion decks of Pioneer 22:15- Winrate stats 24:20 - Takeaways from the tournament 31:00 - The Dive Down begins - Companion S/B/H, pt.2 32:29 - Bant Snow Control ft. Yorion 59:40 - Pioneer Boros Burn ft. Lurrus 1:21:05 - Sultai Gyruda Combo ft.... Gyruda 1:46:01 - The Wind Down - what we're doing during Social Distancing 1:49:26 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: The Team Lotus Box tournament series: https://www.lotusboxleague.com/ Bant Snow Control: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2982916#paper Boros Burn: https://mtgdecks.net/Pioneer/boros-burn-lurrus-decklist-by-piper-powell-965744 Gyruda combo: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2974794#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
5/8/20201 hour, 51 minutes, 34 seconds
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Episode 71: Sleeve/Believe/Heave: Constant Companions, v.1

This week The Dive Down boys test out some of the latest decks in Modern and Pioneer, all featuring Companions! Love them or hate them, they are certainly here for now. Listen and learn what we think about 3 of the newest popular Companions! The Break Down: 2 Challenging Modern Challenges The Dive Down: Our New Friends Lurrus, Obosh, and Zirda The Wind Down: Funeral For a Friend Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Now get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 2:26 - Housekeeping 6:03 - The Break Down: 2 Modern Challenges 15:26 - The second Modern Challenge! 26:56 - The Dive Down begins: Ever hear of Companions? 29:15 - Grixis Death's Shadow ft. Lurrus in Modern 49:33 - Some tips with and against Lurrus 57:03 - Gruul Aggro ft. Obosh in Pioneer 1:20:04 - Beating Obosh 1:23:24 - Zirda Elves in Modern 1:33:15 - Stoneforge Mystic Zirda! 1:41:08 - Our takes on Companions 1:51:41 - The Wind Down: RIP DCI LInks from this week's episode: Lurrus Shadow: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2958819#paper Obosh Gruul: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2940733#paper Zirda Elves: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2948760#paper Zirda SFM Elves: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2958129#paper Izzet Lutri: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2961717#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
5/1/20201 hour, 59 minutes, 51 seconds
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Episode 70: Ponza: Sprawling Out

We hang out with our old friend Klothys and her minions as we do a deck dive into the latest tier 1 Modern deck, Ponza! The Break Down: Challenge of the Companions The Break Down, cont: The Takes You're Looking For The Dive Down: 2 Glorybringers on Turn 3 Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Now get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 2:45 - Housekeeping 5:42 - The Break Down begins: a Pioneer super qualifier 6:28 - The top 8 (with maybe some Companion talk) 22:42 - The rest of the meta 25:48 - The immediate impact of Companions and our hot takes 39:25 - The Dive Down: Gruul Midrange/RG Ponza 45:10 - Our initial thoughts 48:40 - What this deck is trying to do 53:15 - The early game 58:22 - The midgame 1:00:58 - A special focus on Klothys 1:06:43 - Back to the ramp targets and midgame plays 1:13:20 - Closing out the game 1:21:01 - The Companion Variant 1:31:45 - Why is Ponza good now? 1:36:30 - Some good and kinda bad matchups 1:41:30 - Some helpful thoughts 1:45:30 - How to stop Ponza 1:48:50 - The future of Ponza in the meta 1:50:28 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: The Pioneer Super Qualifier: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/pioneer-super-qualifier-2020-04-18 The “Classic” Ponza list: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2878672#paper The Companion list: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2941115#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
4/24/20201 hour, 53 minutes, 12 seconds
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Episode 69: Ikoria: A Lair of Spoilers, Pt. 2

Dave is back and we tackle a second batch of spoilers from Ikoria, and give you our picks to click in Pioneer and Modern! Then we wind things down with The Dive Down Nation's spoiler survey. The Break Down: The latest Pioneer Super Qualifier The Dive Down: More Monsters, Fewer Problems The Wind Down: The Nation's spoiler survey Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Now get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 1:57 - Housekeeping 4:16 - The Break Down begins: the Pioneer Super Qualifier top 8 14:25 - The top 32 metagame breakdown 21:05 - The Dive Down begins: Ikoria spoilers pt 2 21:27 - Of One Mind 29:22 - Shark Typhoon 34:03 - Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy 40:44 - Slitherwisp 45:58 - Cunning Nightbonder 49:01 - Skycat Sovereign 53:20 - Blitz of the Thunder-Raptor 1:00:16 - Labyrinth Raptor 1:03:54 - Swallow Whole 1:10:01 - The Ozolith 1:14:14 - Neutralize 1:18:27 - Quick Hits! 1:27:18 - The Triomes! 1:36:27 - The Wind Down: The Nation's spoiler survey 1:47:48 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: The Pioneer Super Qualifier: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/pioneer-super-qualifier-12130311#paper Ikoria spoilers: https://scryfall.com/sets/iko?order=set&as=grid Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
4/17/20201 hour, 49 minutes, 36 seconds
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Bonus 7: Mono-Red Prowess ft. Ryan Overturf

In this bonus episode, Dave and Stan got to chat with Ryan Overturf about Mono Red Prowess! Who doesn’t love an explosive Lightning Bolt deck? We chat about the deck’s evolution in Modern, how to evaluate its threats, side boarding and more! Find Ryan Overturf: Twitter: https://twitter.com/RyanOverdrive Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/ryanoverdrive Lodestone Games: https://twitter.com/LodestoneCG Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Now get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=t... and use code "thedivedown" Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
4/15/20201 hour, 21 minutes, 51 seconds
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Episode 68: Ikoria: Lair of the Spoilers, Pt. 1 ft. Aspiring Spike

We have Evart Moughon, aka Aspiring Spike, on as a guest host to go over the first batch of Ikoria spoilers! The Break Down: Modern Showcase! The Dive Down: Behemoth Spoilers! The Wind Down: Listener Questions! Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Now get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 2:28 - Housekeeping 3:35 - The Break Down: Modern Super Qualifier 5:30 - The top 8 14:42 - The top 32 meta 28:07 - The Dive Down begins: how we evaluate cards 32:39 - The mechanics of Ikoria 44:31 - Picks to Click: Lurrus of the Dream Den 52:09 - Heartless Act 57:01 - Vivien, Monsters' Advocate 1:04:06 - Sea-Dasher Octopus 1:07:24 - Fiend Artisan 1:11:29 - Sprite Dragon 1:16:24 - General Kudro of Drannith 1:22:01 - Rielle, the Everwise 1:25:39 - Mythos of Nethroi 1:29:27 - Some quick hits 1:35:12 - The Wind Down - questions for Aspiring Spike 1:45:21 - Where to find Aspiring Spike 1:46:29 - Closing Out Links from this week's episode: Modern Super Qualifier: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/modern-super-qualifier-2020-04-05#decklists The Mechanics of Ikoria: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/ikoria-lair-behemoths-mechanics-2020-04-02?sd Ikoria spoilers: https://scryfall.com/sets/iko?order=set&as=grid Aspiring Spike on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/aspiringspike Aspiring Spike on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MoughonEvart/ Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
4/10/20201 hour, 48 minutes, 2 seconds
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Episode 67: Sleeve/Believe/Heave: Pioneer Budget Decks

This week we each take a budget deck through the S/B/H process, and share our experiences testing out some novel options in Pioneer! The Break Down: Talking Two Pioneer Super Qualifiers The Dive Down: Ox Talk (and some other things) Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Now get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 3:40 - Housekeeping 6:54 - The Break Down begins - Pioneer Super Qualifiers 8:00 - PSQ#1 14:45 - PSQ#2 21:45 - The top 32x2 metagame 37:45 - The Dive Down begins - Why budget decks in Pioneer? 42:29 - Mono-Red Phoenix 58:04 - Mono-Red Hollow One 1:16:01 - Mono-Blue Fliers and budget UW Spirits 1:34:18 - Do budget decks have a home in Pioneer? 1:41:00 - Closing Out Links from this week's episode: Pioneer SQ #1: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/pioneer-super-qualifier-2020-03-29-0 Pioneer SQ #2: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/pioneer-super-qualifier-2020-03-29 Emma's budget Pioneer article: https://infinite.tcgplayer.com/article/Pioneer-Budget-Brews:-Which-Card%3F-Dis-card/f29f8aad-6742-4df0-abcb-47f2eb592e42/ Mono-Red Phoenix: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2873533#paper Mono-Blue Skies: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2873660#paper Budget Azorius Spirits: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2875538#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
4/3/20201 hour, 42 minutes, 43 seconds
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Episode 66: Mono-White in Pio: Heliod, Fun-Crowned, pt. II

This week we head back for another Heliod deck dive, this time in Pioneer! The Break Down: Super MTGO Qualifiers in Modern and Pioneer The Dive Down: Infinite Clicks 'n' Damage 'n' Stuff Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Now get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 6:36 - Housekeeping 8:25 - Modern Super Qualifier 25:30 - Pioneer Super Qualifier 39:15 - The Dive Down Begins: Mono-White Heliod in Pioneer 45:10 - The Strength of Heliod 47:35 - A Brief History 48:10 - The Combo 53:49 - The Beat Down 1:06:32 - The Mana 1:08:16 - The Disruption 1:19:02 - The Gideons 1:26:33 - Playing the Deck 1:33:56 - The Matchups 1:39:45 - The Sideboard 1:41:38 - Wrapping Up Links from this week's episode: Modern Super Qualifier: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/modern-super-qualifier-2020-03-22 Pioneer Super Qualifier: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/pioneer-super-qualifier-2020-03-22 Heliod deck list example: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2863625#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
3/27/20201 hour, 53 minutes, 34 seconds
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Episode 65: Staying in Touch at a Distance

This week's a weird one, because things are weird. We first go over the Modern and Pioneer MTGO Challenges, then head into a grab bag of listener questions! The Break Down: Business as Usual The Dive Down: Staying Healthy and Staying Positive Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Now get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 4:03 - Some positive news to start your Friday 7:22 - Housekeeping 9:49 - The Break Down - The Pioneer MTGO Challenge 25:46 - The Modern MTGO Challenge 39:50 - The Dive Down begins 42:31 - What we're covering with paper tournaments cancelled 46:03 - Some board games we like 52:13 - Magic Online, Magic Arena, computers, and you 1:04:32 - Questions lightning round begins - Bant snow control, the best deck in modern? 1:06:46 - The best pioneer deck? 1:10:20 - The tribes on the edge of glory? 1:14:20 - Where is Wilt-Leaf? 1:15:43 - Why do we like Pioneer, and what still draws us to Modern? 1:21:54 - Is Uro the new Oko? 1:26:48 - Should sets be tested online before print? 1:30:00 - Do we play Commander? 1:34:12 - Finding your deck 1:38:38 - Our favorite places 1:44:20 - Our go-to non-Magic Podcasts 1:48:28 - Closing out Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
3/20/20201 hour, 51 minutes, 42 seconds
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Episode 64: MTG Bans, SCG Regionals, and Other Happy Thoughts

This week we're doing a bit of a news show — we're covering and discussing a bunch of current topics in Modern and Pioneer including Monday, March 9th's B&R, Pioneer on Arena, and SCG Regionals in Modern. Join us as we break down and break down and break down the last week of mtg. The Break Down 1: Pioneer Masters The Break Down 2: B&R The Dive Down: SCG Regionals (Modern) Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Now get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 2:43 - Housekeeping 4:21 - The Break Down begins: Pioneer Masters on Arena 19:32 - BANS! 32:53 - NO BANS?? 48:21 - The Dive Down begins: SCG Regionals Weekend 50:48 - The top decks across all the top 8s 1:04:42 - The winners! 1:12:45 - The spicy decks 1:32:29 - Surprises 1:37:29 - Stan and Dave’s Regionals Experiences 1:47:28 - Closing out Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
3/13/20201 hour, 49 minutes, 54 seconds
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Episode 63: Testing Innovations in Modern and Pioneer

This week we are looking at some of the newest (and oldest) tech and decks in Modern and Pioneer! Mono G Walkers in Pioneer, Grinding Station Breach in Modern, and... Shadow of Doubt? The Break Down: The Modern and Pioneer Showcase Challenges The Dive Down: Innovations in Modern and Pioneer Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Now get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 2:19 - Housekeeping 5:27 - The Break Down Begins - upcoming bans and a listener poll 13:25 - The Modern Showcase Challenge 27:05 - The Pioneer Showcase Challenge 33:20 - The Dive Down begins - New tech in Modern and Pioneer 34:24 - Mono G Walkers in Pioneer 55:08 - Shadow of Doubt in Modern 1:24:08 - Grinding Station Breach 1:46:44 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: Pioneer showcase challenge: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/pioneer-showcase-challenge-2020-03-02 Modern showcase challenge: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/modern-showcase-challenge-2020-03-01 Mono G Walkers: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2819606#paper Izzet Flash w/ Shadow of Doubt: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2511750#paper Grinding Station Breach: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2815217#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
3/6/20201 hour, 49 minutes, 25 seconds
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Episode 62: Orzhov Sram Auras: Pants in Pioneer

The gents explore a Patreon request - Orzhov Sram Auras - in Pioneer! Who's wearing the pants in this format? Listen to find out! The Break Down: SCG Indy Pio Open The Dive Down: Some Hate, Some Hope, Some Pants The Wind Down: Hey... Whacha Doin? Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Now get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 2:34 - Housekeeping 3:00 - Important updates to our Patreon! 10:44 - The Break Down: SCG Indianapolis Pioneer Open 39:53 - The Dive Down Begins: Sram Auras 41:23 - Intro to Sram Auras 43:25 - The Creatures 57:41 - Auras & Blessings 1:06:52 - The Lands 1:09:03 - The Game Plan 1:15:37 - Playing Against Different Strategies in Pioneer 1:22:43 - Beating Sram Auras 1:26:25 - The Sideboard plans 1:36:06 - Our thoughts on the deck 1:46:15 - The Wind Down: What we're playing for fun 1:54:18 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: SCG Indy coverage: https://old.starcitygames.com/events/220220_indianapolis.html An example Sram Auras decklist: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2794551#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
2/28/20201 hour, 56 minutes, 54 seconds
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Bonus 6: Modern Blue Moon w/ ThePenSword

In this bonus episode, Stan interviews a fixture of the MTGO leagues and Modern Blue Moon aficionado, Jacob Cumiskey aka ThePenSword. They talk about the ins and outs of Blue Red control decks, ranging from Thing in the Ice to Through the Breach, and gush over some of their favorite counterspells. Find Jacob Cumiskey: Twitter: https://twitter.com/CumiskeyJacob Twitch: twitch.tv/jacobcumiskey Discord: https://bit.ly/2VvbZu3 Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Now get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
2/25/20201 hour, 23 minutes, 25 seconds
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Episode 61: Heliod Combo: Modern Spike Feeding

We take a dive into Heliod Company Combo in Modern. How it works, what we learned, and how annoying it is to play on Magic Online! The Break Down: NRG Indianapolis The Dive Down: Infinite Life and Infinite Misclicks The Wind Down: Manners, Schmanners Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Now get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 2:40 - Housekeeping 5:54 - The Break Down begins - The NRG Pioneer Trial 26:12 - The NRG Modern Trial 36:40 - The Dive Down begins - Heliod Company Combo 38:40 - What the deck is trying to do 40:15 - Infinite life combos 48:08 - Infinite mana and damage 54:48 - The tutors 1:03:46 - The ramp 1:09:05 - Strategies playing the deck 1:23:08 - Using the sideboard 1:26:42 - Playing against Heliod Combo 1:30:30 - What we liked about the deck 1:33:34 - Troubles we had playing the deck 1:41:33 - The Wind Down - Magic Online Combo Etiquette 1:49:58 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: NRG Pioneer Trial: http://articles.nerdragegaming.com/decklists-archive/pioneer-nrg-series-trial-february-15-2020/ NRG Modern Trial: http://articles.nerdragegaming.com/decklists-archive/modern-nrg-series-trial-february-16-2020/ Heliod w/ Anafenza: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2784654#paper Heliod w/ Infinite Mana: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2758766#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
2/21/20201 hour, 51 minutes, 43 seconds
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Episode 60: More Meta, More Meta, More Meta

We're headed back to where it all started - Modern! This week's episode is an exploration of the past month+ of Modern events on Magic Online. What's rising, what's fading, and what do we think about it? The Break Down: RPT Phoenix and Shane's GP Phoenix experience The Dive Down: More Meta, More Meta, More Meta Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Now get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 3:22 - Housekeeping 5:26 - The Break Down Begins - RPT Phoenix 19:30 - Pioneer RPT win percentages 26:00 - Adapting to the combo metagame 28:25 - Shane's GP Phoenix experience 40:34 - The Dive Down Begins - The new Modern Meta 44:05 - The Modern Challenge data 54:15 - The Modern Prelims data 1:03:04 - The current decks of Modern: Titan 1:07:13 - Mono-Red Prowess 1:11:44 - Urza 1:14:02 - Tron decks 1:18:19 - Jund and Death's Shadow 1:23:00 - Izzet Control 1:25:08 - Some quick hits 1:35:20 - Our takeaways 1:42:08 - Wrapping up Links from this week's episode: WOTC's RPT Phoenix coverage: https://magic.gg/events/players-tour-phoenix-2020 CFB's GP Phoenix coverage: https://coverage.channelfireball.com/event/52 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
2/14/20201 hour, 43 minutes, 42 seconds
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Bonus 5: The Shadowy Science w/ Michael Rapp

In this bonus episode, Dave interviews certified Death's Shadow Scientist Michael Rapp about playing... well Death's Shadow. They actually do a bit of a deep dive on decks of all different shadow sizes including the most popular build of the moment — 4 Color Traverse. Find Michael Rapp: Twitter: @RappaciousOne Articles: https://blog.cardkingdom.com Discord: https://discord.gg/H8kRu4R Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Now get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
2/11/20201 hour, 18 minutes, 16 seconds
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Episode 59: Sleeve/Believe/Heave: Theros Beyond Death Edition

We kick off this week’s show with a Break Down of the first two Pioneer Players Tours, from sister cities Brussels and Nagoya. Then we Dive Down with the latest Sleeve/Believe/Heave episode, featuring 3 spicy Pioneer decks inspired by new cards from Theros. The Wind Down: Players Tours Brussels & Nagoya The Dive Down: Sleeve/Believe/Heave ft. Theros Beyond Death Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Now get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timecodes: 5:05 - Break Down Begins 7:56 - PT Brussels Analysis 18:10 - PT Nagoya Analysis 41:55 - Dive Down Begins 43:58 - RB Midrange 59:30 - UB Inverter 1:22:44 - UG Ramp Links from this week's episode: Rakdos Midrange: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2728102#online Dimir Inverter: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2723294#paper Simic Ramp: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2723199#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
2/7/20201 hour, 41 minutes, 51 seconds
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Episode 58: Diving Deeper: #2020Goals

First up this week, we take a spin through what's been popping up in Pioneer and Modern since the release of Theros: Beyond Death. In our Dive Down section, each of us talks about our goals for improving our game or relationship with MtG in 2020 (#2020Goals #squadgoals #whathappensnextmightsurpriseyou). Finally, we wind down with some of Stan's tales of fantastic planeswalkers and where to find them — in London and Amsterdam, at least. The Break Down: A Trip to the Spice Station The Dive Down: Getting Better in 2020 The Wind Down: Player's Club International Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Now get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timecodes: 3:09- Break Down begins 4:36- TBD and the state of Modern 17:48 -TBD and the state of Pioneer 33:12 - Dive Down Begins 34:39 - Stan's Goals: Focusing on a specific archetype 53:43- Zak's Goals: Sequencing 1:06:39 - Shane's Goals: Mulligans 1:23:03 - Dave's Goals: Take it Easy 1:37:39 - Wind Down begins Links from this week's episode: – Modern Titan Field w/ Dryad by toondoslav https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2705484#paper Zur’s Weirding.dek by Nephtyz https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2698557#paper GW/Abzan Heliod by Spoonmanaron https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2698538#paper – Pioneer Pioneer Showcase Challenge lists https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/pioneer-challenge-12076816#paper Breach Lotus Storm by Taruto1212 https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2705456#paper Abzan Rallistocrats by Uniq https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/pioneer-league-2020-01-23#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
1/31/20201 hour, 48 minutes, 41 seconds
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Episode 57: Oh Lord He Comin': Chonky Red ft. Todd Anderson

This week The Dive Down crew welcomes special guest Todd Anderson to join us on our first Pioneer-focused Deck Dive — Chonky Red! Listen to find out why it's not an aggro deck, how tightly you should hold your Rabblemasters, and how to really bring the glory. The Break Down: Todd and All Things Todd The Dive Down: Chonk and All Things Chonk The Wind Down: Listener Questions You can find Todd at: https://www.twitch.tv/strongsad or https://twitter.com/strongsad Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Now get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 3:30 - Housekeeping 4:30 - The Break Down: An interview with Todd! 33:12 - The Dive Down begins: Chonky Red! 34:52 - What is the Chonk? 36:30 - Why all those lands? 42:00 - What makes this deck popular? 45:00 - The development of the Chonk 53:30 - The construction of the Chonk - the aggro creatures 1:09:00 - The burn spells 1:12:24 - The creatures that are also burn spells! 1:22:09 - The goldfish cards 1:31:26 - The… Chandra 1:35:33 - Sideboard considerations 1:42:23 - The future of the Chonk 1:46:02 - The Wind Down: listener questions! 1:52:23 - Where to find Todd Links from this week's episode: Todd's recent Chonky Red article on SCG, including his most recent decklist: https://articles.starcitygames.com/premium/its-not-big-its-chonky-all-things-chonky-red-in-pioneer/ Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
1/24/20201 hour, 55 minutes, 22 seconds
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Episode 56: Bans & Theros: Beyond Hyped, Vol. 2

We take another look at Theros Beyond Death, and share some of our picks to click in Pioneer and Modern! The Break Down: Irrelevant top 8s and, oh yeah, HUGE MODERN BANS The Dive Down: Theros Beyond Death Picks to Click - Again! The Wind Down: The Dive Down Nation's favorite cards from Theros Beyond Death Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Now get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 4:10 - Housekeeping 5:18 - The Break Down begins - Some outdated Top 8s 8:34 - A closer look at Golgari Yawgmoth 14:30 - 3 Modern bans! 33:20 - The Dive Down begins - Shadowspear 39:53 - Nylea, Keen Eyed 46:45 - Underworld Breach 55:06 - Gallia of the Endless Dance 1:00:26 - Shatter the Sky 1:08:45 - Klothys, God of Destiny 1:16:42 - Quick Picks begin - Thassa, Deep Dwelling 1:18:05 - Dryad of the Ilysian Grove 1:19:52 - Eidolon of Obstruction 1:22:00 - Escape Velocity 1:23:52 - Thassa’s Oracle 1:25:40 - Gravebreaker Lamia 1:27:52 - Fruit of Tizerus 1:30:34 - The Wind Down - The Picks to Click Listener Survey 1:40:22 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: Jan 13 B&R announcement: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/news/january-13-2020-banned-and-restricted-announcement?n MagicFest Austin coverage: https://coverage.channelfireball.com/event/47 SCG Knoxville Open coverage: https://old.starcitygames.com/events/110120knoxville.html Golgari Yawgmoth deck tech: https://old.starcitygames.com/events/coverage/golgariyawgmothwithaaron_ba.html Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
1/17/20201 hour, 42 minutes, 27 seconds
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Episode 55: Theros: Beyond Hyped, Vol. 1

The crew takes a first look at Theros Beyond Death, and share some of their favorite, standout cards. The Break Down: MTGO Modern Championship The Dive Down: Theros Beyond Death Picks Timestamps: 1:52 - Housekeeping 3:26 - The Break Down begins 6:00 - MTGO Modern Championship 15:00 - SCG Open Columbus 16:33 - Bryan Gottlieb’s Hot New Deck 28:55 - The Dive Down Begins 29:39 - Our New Card Wishlists 38:17 - How We Evaluate Cards 42:45 - Tectonic Giant 49:12 - Escape Discussion 51:12 - Ox of Agonas 59:52 - Heliod, Sun-Crowned 1:11:12 - Polukranos, Unchained 1:20:05 - Whirlwind Denial 1:26:54 - The RB and UG Titans Links from this week's episode: https://www.reddit.com/r/ModernMagic/comments/ekmpp3/mtgomodernchampstop32_decklists/ https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/modern-champs-2020-01-05 https://twitter.com/BryanGo/status/1213962888194318336/photo/2 Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Now get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
1/10/20201 hour, 36 minutes, 46 seconds
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Bonus 4: Casual Spike Meets Aspiring Spike

In this installment of our monthly bonus episodes, Shane talks to the popular streamer Evart Moughon, better known as Aspiring Spike, about Pioneer, Modern, streaming, and playing with and against control decks. Find the Aspiring Spike: Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/aspiringspike Twitter: https://twitter.com/moughonevart Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Now get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
12/31/20191 hour, 1 minute, 37 seconds
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Episode 54: The Many Moods of Monastery Mentor

The lads see if Monastery Mentor has what it takes to succeed in Pioneer by testing 3 different decks! The Break Down: Looking over the post-Oko Pioneer Preliminaries (plus some Modern Prelims) The Dive Down: Making mistakes with Monastery Mentor The Wind Down: Holiday listener questions Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Now get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 1:53 - Housekeeping 3:20 - The Break Down begins - Pouring over the post-Oko Pioneer Prelims 13:22 - Looking more closely at Green Ramp in Pioneer 21:56 - A brief look at the Modern Prelims 29:40 - The Dive Down begins - There's a Mentor in my Monastery! 36:40 - Exploring Mentor in Pioneer 38:46 - Shane with GW Mentor Tokens 48:30 - The verdict on GW Mentor 55:22 - Dave with Mardu PyroMentor 1:09:35 - The verdict on Mardu PyroMentor 1:11:29 - Stan with Esper Mentor 1:20:16 - The verdict on Esper Mentor 1:29:52 - Lessons learned on Monastery Mentor 1:34:13 - The Wind Down - Listener questions Links from this week's episode: Shane's GW Mentor Tokens: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2587692#paper Dave's Mardu PyroMentor: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2590187#paper Stan's Esper Mentor: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2587940#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
12/27/20191 hour, 44 minutes, 17 seconds
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Episode 53: Diving Deeper: 5 Pioneer Takeaways

This week we Dive Deeper into the Pioneer format, and bring you 5 ways to level up your play! The Break Down: The latest Pioneer bans, and WOTC's new B&R schedule The Dive Down: Level up your Pioneer thinking with 5 takeaways The Wind Down: We answer some listener questions Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Now get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 3:02 - Housekeeping 4:19 - The Break Down begins - The latest Pioneer bans 19:07 - WOTC's new B&R schedule, or lack thereof 29:18 - The Dive Down begins - Observations on Pioneer 30:18 - Non-basic lands.... can be good! 43:17 - Taking the advantage back on the draw 57:25 - The 3 toughness challenge 1:11:00 - The casting cost mindshift, 1 mana cards in Pioneer 1:19:30 - Counterspells in Pioneer 1:26:30 - The Wind Down: Listener questions on Pioneer Links from this week's episode: The 12/16/19 Pioneer bannings: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/news/december-16-2019-pioneer-banned-announcement The 12/16/19 B&R annoucement: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/news/december-16-2019-banned-and-restricted-announcement Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
12/20/20191 hour, 39 minutes, 51 seconds
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Episode 52: 2019: A Real Year

The guys get together in a studio to indulge themselves with discussion of our favorite Dive Down (and Magic) moments of 2019. The Break Down: We talk about what we have been playing and enjoying in Modern and Pioneer The Dive Down: The best (and worst) of 2019 Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Now get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 1:52 - Housekeeping 3:33 - The Break Down: what we've been playing 34:15 - The Dive Down begins: our 2019 35:14 - Favorite episodes of the year 43:45 - Favorite Deck Dives of the year 47:01 - Worst and best card picks to click of the year 1:03:10 - Sleeve/Believe/Heave decks of the year 1:14:43 - Our cards of the year 1:21:16 - Our Magic experiences of the year 1:26:28 - The best new format of the year 1:30:03 - Our guests of the year 1:33:07 - Our worst takes of the year 1:39:22 - Was 2019 a good year for Magic? 1:44:34 - Signing off Links from this week's episode: Find Gal Schlesinger on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/yamakiller Listen to the Pioneer Cast, featuring Ross Merriam: https://twitter.com/CastPioneer Read Emma Partlow's content on TCG Player: https://magic.tcgplayer.com/db/articlesearchresult.asp?author=Emma%20Partlow Find Riley Knight's content on Channel Fireball: https://www.channelfireball.com/all-strategy/author/riley-knight/ Listen to Faithless Brewing: https://faithlessbrewing.podbean.com Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
12/13/20191 hour, 47 minutes, 30 seconds
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Episode 51: ROY G NIV: 5C Niv-Mizzet ft. Faithless Brewing

The Dive Down teams up with Faithless Brewing to bring you a deck dive into Five Color Niv-Mizzet! The Break Down: The week of Pioneer PTQs and the subsequent bans The Dive Down: The Five Color Niv-Mizzet deck dive! Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Now get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 3:28 - Introducing Faithless Brewing 7:52 - Housekeeping 10:28 - The Break Down begins: Pioneer PTQs = Pioneer bans 19:28 - The Dive Down begins: Introducing 5C Niv 25:10 - What IS 5C Niv? 31:28 - The gameplan 43:24 - The cards begin: The BTL toolbox 50:00 - The mana 57:34 - The guild cards 1:16:15 - Executing the game plan 1:21:03 - The place in the meta 1:29:10 - Sideboarding with Niv 1:32:07 - Sideboarding against Niv 1:36:43 - The future of Niv 1:41:26 - Closing out Links from this week's episode: Faithless Brewing's homepage: https://faithlessbrewing.podbean.com Faithless Brewing on Twitter: https://twitter.com/faithlessmtg Faithless Brewing's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/faithlessbrewing December 2nd Pioneer Bannings: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/news/december-2-2019-pioneer-banned-announcement An example 5CNM decklist: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2518206#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
12/6/20191 hour, 45 minutes, 5 seconds
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Bonus 3: Return of the Reply Guys

In our third bonus episode, we take questions from our awesome fans and listeners about Magic the Gathering and our personal lives. Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Now get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 2:05 - How bad does your favorite deck have to be in the metagame for you to play something else? 5:55 - How have your paper groups changed with Pioneer? Have people started leaving Modern to play Pioneer? 9:28 - Is The Dive Down going to transition its focus to Pioneer? 13:11 - What are your favorite deck archetypes? 17:35 - What were your favorite cards when you started playing, and what are your current favorite cards? 26:29 - How did we start playing Magic? 37:34 - What do you do outside of Magic for fun or when you need a break from Magic? 47:24 - What's one pre-Modern card we would add to the card pool? Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown Support The Dive Down (patreon.com/thedivedown)
12/2/201956 minutes, 22 seconds
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Episode 50: How to Casual Spike a New Deck

The crew tackle a level-up topic: how to overcome the challenge of picking up a new deck! The Break Down: GP Columbus The Dive Down: That Fresh Deck Smell The Dive Down, cont.: Those Fresh Deck Plans Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Now get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 2:16 - Housekeeping 4:45 - The Break Down begins - GP Columbus 7:07 - The day 1 meta 17:20 - The day 2 meta 21:38 - The top 8 and our thoughts on Modern at the end of 2019 31:30 - The Dive Down begins - how to learn a new deck 33:10 - What we like about picking up a new deck 40:10 - What we don’t like about picking up new decks 45:59 - How do we learn about new decks 54:58 - Thinking about a deck’s plan - the early game 1:05:38 - The mid-game 1:11:03 - The late-game 1:13:25 - What is your deck trying to do better than other decks 1:19:00 - Looking for card synergies in your deck 1:21:24 - What is your deck’s position in the meta? 1:23:44 - What’s the role of your deck? 1:31:52 - what can you lose to? 1:37:50 - closing out Links from this week's episode: CFB's MF Columbus Coverage: https://coverage.channelfireball.com/event/42 Who's The Beatdown?: https://articles.starcitygames.com/premium/whos-the-beatdown/ Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
11/27/20191 hour, 39 minutes, 23 seconds
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Episode 49: Ban is Just Another Word for Pioneer Justice

This week, the Dive Down looks at some of Modern's bans throughout history, and examine how they shaped the format as it today. The Beak Down: SCG Invitational, Modern and Pioneer results The Dive Down: A history of bans and their impact on Modern The Wind Down: The cards we liked in 2019 Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Now get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 1:59 - Housekeeping 3:44 - The Break Down Begins 8:00 - Modern Discussion 24:43 - Pioneer Discussion 40:55 - The Dive Down Begins 44:39- The First B&R 50:45 - Eggs Ban 57:36 - Eye of Ugin Ban 68:37 - KCI Ban 77:08 - Putting it All Together 91:54 - The Wind Down Links from this week's episode: SCG Pioneer Day 2 Metagame: http://www.starcitygames.com/events/coverage/4680day2metagamebreakdown.html SCG Modern Day 2 Metagame: http://www.starcitygames.com/events/coverage/4680day2metagamebreakdown.html SCG Modern Decks 7-1 or Better: http://www.starcitygames.com/events/coverage/468771orbettermodern_decklists.html The First B&R: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/explanation-september-2011-br-changes-2011-09-20-0 Eggs Ban: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/banned-and-restricted-2013-04-22-0 Eye of Ugin Ban: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/news/banned-and-restricted-announcement-2016-04-04 KCI Ban: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/news/january-21-2019-banned-and-restricted-announcement Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
11/22/20191 hour, 39 minutes, 21 seconds
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Episode 48: Sleeve It/Believe It/Heave It: Pioneer Edition

This week, the Dive Down gents explore three winning decks from the breakout new format - Pioneer! The Break Down: Veil of Summer banned, and the MTGO Modern Challenge The Dive Down: S/B/H Pioneer Edition! The Wind Down: Archival Masters Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Now get 15% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 2:16 - Housekeeping 3:06 - The Break Down Begins - MORE Pioneer Bans 9:33 - The Nov 10th Modern Challenge 32:38 - The Dive Down Begins - Our first Pioneer Sleeve/Believe/Heave 34:20 - Shane with Hardened Scales 54:01 - Dave with Boros Feather 1:15:51 - Stan with Izzet Ensoul Artifact 1:29:22 - The speed of Pioneer 1:32:28 - Is Pioneer Standard+ or Modern-? 1:39:32 - The Wind Down: Our card storage methods Links from this week's episode: The Nov 11 Pioneer Banning: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/news/november-11-2019-pioneer-banned-announcement The Nov 9 Modern Challenge: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/modern-challenge-12014490#paper Hardened Scales: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/archetype/pioneer-hardened-scales-111268#paper Boros Feather: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2463134#paper Izzet Ensoul: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2473872#paper The Ultimate Guard Arkhive: https://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Guard-Arkhive-XenoSkin-Card/dp/B01M9C7OUU Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
11/15/20191 hour, 51 minutes, 41 seconds
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Episode 47: Spirits: Be Yourself, in Ghost Form

This week, The Dive Down gents do a patent-pending Dive into a fan favorite tribe - Spirits! We also discuss the first wave of Pioneer bans and the decks of the first Pioneer PTQ. Breaking News - The first Pioneer bans! The Break Down - The first Pioneer PTQ! The Dive Down - A Spooky Modern Tribe Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 10% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 04:47 - Housekeeping 05:42 - Breaking News - Pioneer Bans! 18:40 - The Break Down - The Pioneer PTQ 33:36 - The Dive Down Begins - An introduction to Modern Spirits 37:09 - A brief history of Spirits 42:00 - Cards and strategy - The disruption 59:56 - The lords 1:04:41 - The broken cards 1:15:38 - Bant vs Azorius Spirits 1:22:02 - The Spirits sideboard 1:25:29 - Playing against Spirits 1:31:40 - The future of Spirits 1:37:34 - Wrapping things up Links from this week's episode: The Nov 4 Pioneer Bannings: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/news/november-4-2019-pioneer-banned-announcement The first Pioneer PTQ: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/pioneer-ptq-12006968#paper Azorius Spirits: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2422839#online Bant Spirits: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/archetype/modern-bant-spirits-52507#online Pioneer Spirits: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2474730#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
11/8/20191 hour, 41 minutes, 26 seconds
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Episode 46: Threat Level: Oko

This week we dive deep on Magic's latest boogeyman — Oko, Thief of Crowns. Is it one of the best cards ever or just one of the goodest? We work it out in between tournament reports on SCG Atlanta and the first MTGO Pioneer Challenge. The Break Down: SCG Open Atlanta The Dive Down: Oko, Thief of Hearts The Wind Down: The First Challenge of Pioneering Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 10% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" 2:05 — Housekeeping 3:30 — The Break Down begins: SCG Open Atlanta 7:50 — Meet Simic Whirza 14:00 — Day 2 Meta 25:36 — Top 8 30:00 — Shocking math about Urza 33:17 — Oko rising 35:15 — Takeaways 39:40 — The Dive Down Begins: #OkoWatch2k19 40:53 — Why are we talking about Oko? 46:52 — How Oko impacted our games 59:58 — Common play patterns with Oko 1:06:20 — Is Oko the best planeswalker ever? 1:12:40 — So… how ya killing Oko? 1:17:10 — What happens to the best planeswalker ever? 1:24:35 — The Wind Down begins: What we’ve been playing in Pioneer 1:31:30 — The first Pioneer Challenge meta Links from this week's episode: SCG Atlanta day 2 decks: http://www.starcitygames.com/decks/StarCityGamesOpen/2019-10-26modernAtlantaGAUS/1/ Team Lotus Box Simic Whirza deck tech: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIkQn5vCrA First MTGO Pioneer Challenge: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/pioneer-challenge-2019-10-28 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
11/1/20191 hour, 46 minutes, 39 seconds
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Bonus 2: Modern Horizons Revisited: Mistakes Were Made

In our second monthly bonus episode, we revisit our Modern Horizons grades to see what we missed on - and why. The Dive Down: Modern Horizons Revisited Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 10% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 2:26 - Introducing this month's bonus episode 3:39 - Arcum's Astrolabe 8:45 - Aria of Flame 12:12 - Wrenn and Six 16:42- Marit Lage's Slumber 20:24 - Sling-Gang Lieutenant 23:59 - Giver of Runes 27:41 - Soulherder 30:58 - Flusterstorm 35:02 - Crashing Footfalls 39:01 - Tribute Mage 41:24 - Archmage's Charm 44:59 - Planebound Accomplice 47:05 - Cabal Therapist 50:59 - Unsettled Mariner Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
10/29/201959 minutes, 9 seconds
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Episode 45: Pioneer Days: Fording Rivers, Dying of Dysentery

We talk the SCG Regionals, the decks that got away, and, oh yeah, an ENTIRELY NEW ETERNAL FORMAT - Pioneer! The Break Down: SCG Regionals The Dive Down: Welcome to Pioneer Town The Wind Down: White Whales Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 10% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 2:22 - Housekeeping 3:58 - The Break Down begins - SCG Regionals top 8 data 9:53 - 9 takeaways from the SCG Regional results 33:37 - The Dive Down begins - Introducing Pioneer! 41:55 - The Pioneer ban list philosophy 48:57 - What Pioneer means for The Dive Down 56:22 - What are we excited to play? 1:06:47 - What are we nervous about? 1:12:00 - The potential impact of Pioneer on Modern 1:17:00 - What does this mean for Modern players? 1:29:29 - Our final takes on Pioneer 1:32:16 - The Wind Down - The decks that got away Links from this week's episode: A bunch of SCG Regionals lists: http://www.starcitygames.com/decks/results/startdate/2019-10-19/enddate/2019-10-19 WOTC's Pioneer announcement: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/news/announcing-pioneer-format-2019-10-21 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
10/25/20191 hour, 39 minutes, 53 seconds
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Episode 44: Ascending Urza: A Whirld of Clicks

We go over the SCG Indy (AKA the Motor City) Open, then perform our patented deep dive process on the various Urza-based decks showing up in Modern! The Break Down: The Motor City SCG Open The Dive Down: Playing Vintage in Modern The Wind Down: How the podcast has impacted our play Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 10% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 1:54 - Housekeeping 2:48 - The Break Down begins - SCG Indy's day 2 metagame 8:13 - SCG Indy top 8 20:01 - SCG Indy take-aways 23:20 - The Dive Down begins - how we're covering Urza 28:45 - The common thread - Urza! 35:24 - The artifact friends 45:09 - Paradoxical Urza 50:40 - Paradoxical Urza's payoffs 54:24 - Emry, Lurker of the Loch 58:18 - Planeswalkers 1:05:08 - Paradoxial Ascendancy 1:14:35 - Selecting between the Paradoxical versions 1:17:18 - Whirza 1:24:01 - How to beat Urza decks 1:28:30 - Our thoughts on Urza decks 1:34:45 - The Wind Down - are we better or worse? Links from this week's episode: The day 2 meta of SCG Indy: http://www.starcitygames.com/events/coverage/4664day2metagamebreakdown.html The day 2 decks of SCG Indy: http://www.starcitygames.com/decks/StarCityGamesOpen/2019-10-12modernIndianapolisIN_US/1/ Paradoxical Urza: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2327485#online Paradoxical Ascendancy: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2368650#paper 4C Whirza: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/archetype/modern-four-color-whirza#online Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
10/18/20191 hour, 42 minutes, 41 seconds
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Episode 43: Comboing Off with Throne of Eldraine: Sleeve/Believe/Heave Edition

The crew talk about combo decks they have tested with new Throne of Eldraine cards. The Break Down: Modern Challenge The Dive Down: "Wait, do you just win here?" The Wind Down: I Don't want No Slump Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 10% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 1:31 - Housekeeping 3:25 - The Break Down - The Modern Challenge 23:10 - The Dive Down Begins 32:16 - Goblin Combos 45:06 - Kiki Jiki Combos 1:06:26 - UR Through the Breach 1:23:31 - Grixis Control 1:30:06 - The Wind Down Begins Links from this week's episode: The Modern Challenge: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/modern-challenge-2019-10-06 Goblin Combo: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2320042#online Grummy’s Toolbox: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2356719#online Vannifar Kiki: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2311103#paper Naya Kiki Value/Stoneblade): https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2311113#paper Temur Kiki: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2311099#paper UR Through the Breach: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2311111#paper Blue Moon: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2327488#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
10/11/20191 hour, 40 minutes, 46 seconds
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Episode 42: Mono-Red Prison: A Guide to Turn 1 3-Drops

The crew do a deck dive into a personal favorite - Mono-Red Prison! The Break Down: #OkoWatch2019 The Dive Down: SSG Ritual Ritual Karn The Wind Down: Pocket Monsters Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 10% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 2:32 - Housekeeping 5:00 - The Break Down - The Modern Challenge 16:02 - The Dive Down begins - Mono-Red Prison 17:42 - What are prison decks? 21:34 - The fast mana spells 26:43 - The lock pieces 35:00 - The wishboard lock pieces 41:16 - The threats 55:13 - The planeswalkers 1:10:05 - The removal 1:13:25 - The lands 1:18:35 - The sideboard 1:21:30 - Playing against Mono-Red Prison 1:28:16 - Our thoughts on Mono-Red Prison 1:30:18 - The Wind Down - Gotta catch 'em all! Links from this week's episode: The Modern Challenge: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/modern-challenge-2019-09-29 Mono-Red Prison decklist; https://www.mtggoldfish.com/archetype/modern-mono-red-prison-84623#online Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
10/4/20191 hour, 39 minutes, 27 seconds
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Bonus 1: Milling About

The Dive Down: Reducing Libraries to Zero With UB Mill Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 10% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=t... and use code "thedivedown" Timestamps: 4:47 - What is Mill? 8:50 - Cards That Mill 14:20 - The Creatures 23:20 - Non-Creature Permanents 31:59 - The Planeswalkers 34:52 - Cards That Keep You Alive 51:09 - How to Mill 53:50 - The Sideboard 56:56 - How to Beat Mill 1:03:45 - Would We Mill Again? Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
9/30/20191 hour, 13 minutes, 36 seconds
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Episode 41: Watch the Throne (of Eldraine) ft. Emma Partlow

The Dive Down: Our picks to click from Throne of Eldraine The Wind Down: What we plan to do with some downtime ** Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Get 10% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown"** Timestamps: 2:10 - Housekeeping 4:38 - The Dive Down begins - What makes a card appealing for Modern? 11:44 - The mechanics of Eldraine 24:43 - The Dive Down Nation's set review survey 25:48 - Once Upon a Time 33:36 - Emry, Lurker of the Loch 45:22 - Hushbringer 53:46 - Brazen Borrower 60:18 - Grumgully the Generous 66:00 - Charming Prince 71:45 - The Royal Scions 78:48 - Claim the Firstborn 82:19 - The Wind Down - Our plans for the break in Modern tournaments 89:18 - How to find Emma Partlow Links from this week's episode: The Dive Down Nation's set analysis: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1jHEbC0kKlcXxC3qrtMjMnT4x1VrVCX-Tn4CAqP0rs0/viewanalytics https://scryfall.com/card/celd/371/once-upon-a-time https://scryfall.com/card/celd/342/emry-lurker-of-the-loch https://scryfall.com/card/celd/339/hushbringer https://scryfall.com/card/celd/281/brazen-borrower-petty-theft https://scryfall.com/card/eld/192/grumgully-the-generous https://scryfall.com/card/celd/335/charming-prince https://scryfall.com/card/celd/272/the-royal-scions https://scryfall.com/card/eld/118/claim-the-firstborn Emma's twitter: https://twitter.com/emmmzyne Emma's twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/emmmzyne Emma's TCGPlayer articles: http://magic.tcgplayer.com/db/articlesearch_result.asp?author=Emma%20Partlow Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
9/27/20191 hour, 31 minutes, 36 seconds
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Episode 40: Modern Sideboarding: Going From Good to Great

The Break Down: GP Ghent discussion and analysis The Dive Down: Talking sideboarding in modern The Wind Down: Our favorite sideboard cards Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Timestamps: 1:25 - Housekeeping 3:29 - The Break Down begins - GP Ghent 8:40 - GP Ghent top 4 team decks 16:17 - Thoughts on the meta 19:25 - The Dive Down begins - talkin' sideboards 20:55 - Silver bullet cards 29:51 - Color hosers 35:55 - Building a sideboard 38:27 - Knowing your plan, pivoting your plan 42:59 - Why to not netdeck sideboards 46:48 - Should you plan for your perceived local meta? 50:40 - Preparing for an expected meta 53:53 - Preparing for an unknown meta 56:48 - Sideboarding - for your good or bad matchups? 70:25 - When to tweak your sideboard 74:53 - Common sideboarding habits of Modern decks 87:04 - The Wind Down begins - our favorite sideboard cards Links from this week's episode: CFB's MagicFest Ghent coverage: https://coverage.channelfireball.com/event/32 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
9/20/20191 hour, 35 minutes, 52 seconds
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Episode 39: Stoneforge Steve Austin: Live and Die by the Blade

The Break Down: GP Hoosier State The Dive Down: Wielding Swords The Wind Down: Heel Turn Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Timestamps: 2:36 – The Break Down begins: GP Indianapolis 9:49 – Our thoughts on the top 4 team decks 13:13 – The GP Indy metagame 22:28 – The Dive Down begins: The history of Stoneforge Mystic 28:44 – The Stoneforge unban in New Modern 32:59 – The Stoneforge Package 42:36 – New swords on the block 47:14 – Sword strats 50:55 – Sleeve/Believe/Heave – UW Control 1:02:26 – S/B/H – GW Eldrazi 1:10:55 – S/B/H – Jeskai Tempoforge 1:24:47 – S/B/H – Bant Snowflash 1:31:50 – The Wind Down begins – is modern better with a big baddie? 1:39:35 – What do you love playing against? Links from this week’s episode: Every deck from GP Indy: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vTCwN2g7cBwLzmED2vedpMsqsSObsvi3jHJCJSDm7YQ36gSHRUICWOi0fzbKCvGle5lIFekPt02wOIs/pubhtml Day 1 and day 2 GP Indy data: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vSsh9wpyhBTSTOjTmUrsiOOrSCyO1K0zsPK0E2gh2I1m9bRFCZ2BoIyNeL2gR7AQuWxYD2LQM_mX30A/pubhtml UW Control: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2232374#paper GW Eldrazi: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2239583#online Jeskai Tempoforge: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2239424#paper Bant Snowflash: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2239373#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
9/13/20191 hour, 43 minutes, 29 seconds
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Episode 38: Settling the Wreckage: Stoneforge Ahoy!

The Break Down: 24 to 32 Modern Decks The Dive Down: Reactions // Responses Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Timestamps: 2:35 - Housekeeping 4:17 - The Break Down begins - SCG Dallas Modern Open 23:35 - SCG Dallas Modern Classic 34:15 - MTGO Modern MCQ 46:09 - MTGO Modern Challenge 56:20 - The Dive Down begins - our initial thoughts 1:01:22 - Are you still playing graveyard hate? 1:04:03 - How does the speed of the format feel? 1:09:00 - Is this the new normal? 1:13:25 - The community reaction 1:19:49 - The first 5-0 deck dump 1:22:05 - What we've been playing and seeing 1:25:37 - Thoughts on "old" decks 1:31:44 - Where do we want to go from here? 1:35:10 - Where's the wind down? Links from this week's episode: SCG Modern Open: http://www.starcitygames.com/decks/StarCityGamesOpen/2019-08-31modernDallasTXUS/1/ SCG Modern Classic: http://www.starcitygames.com/decks/StarCityGamesClassic/2019-09-01modernDallasTXUS/1/ MTGO Modern MCQ: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/modern-mcq-2019-09-02 MTGO Modern Challenge: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/modern-challenge-2019-09-01 29 Stoneforge Deck 5-0 dump: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/modern-league-2019-08-30 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
9/6/20191 hour, 37 minutes, 22 seconds
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Episode 37: Eldrazi Tron: Smash Back to Reality

The Break Down: B&R Bonanza The Dive Down: All Hail Eldrazi Temple Timestamps: 1:44 - Housekeeping 3:54 - The Break Down begins - the B&R announcement 24:01 - GP Las Vegas 27:30 - The Dive Down begins - Eldrazi Tron 28:45 - What E-Tron Isn't 38:48 - What E-Tron Is 43:30 - The History of E-Tron 46:56 - Diving into E-Tron - The Manabase 57:06 - The Planeswalkers 1:05:42 - The creatures 1:17:19 - The non-creature spells 1:24:33 - The sideboard 1:30:35 - Playing with E-Tron 1:39:06 - Playing against E-Tron 1:42:09 - Our thoughts on E-Tron Links from this week's episode: The 8/26/19 B&R Announcement: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/news/august-26-2019-banned-and-restricted-announcement-2019-08-26 GP Las Vegas top 8: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/grand-prix-las-vegas-2019#paper The Modern Streamers League: https://www.modernstreamersleague.com Eldrazi Tron decklist: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2202225#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
8/30/20191 hour, 46 minutes, 34 seconds
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Episode 36: Modern in Mathmagic Land

The Break Down: GP Birmingaak with a special focus on Mardu Death's Shadow The Dive Down: Probably Correct Math The Wind Down: Comboing Out Timestamps: 2:15 - Housekeeping 3:58 - The Break Down Begins - GP Birmingaak 8:24 - Day 1 stand-outs 11:33 - Day 2 metagame breakdown and conversion rates 14:01 - Top 8 begins 14:57 - Discussing Mardu Death's Shadow 22:00 - 2nd place and beyond 24:14 - Post-GP discussion 26:11 - The Dive Down Begins - Probably correct math 31:52 - Why care about Magic Math? 39:28 - How to use a hypergeometric calculator 46:27 - Thanks to Frank Karsten 46:51 - 1) The Rule of 2 and 4 54:59 - 2) Your opening 7 57:26 - 3) 2-card combos 1:01:57 - 4) Mana screwing yourself 1:05:56 - 5) Cheating that Chalice 1:09:04 - 5a) The Deckulator 1:10:10 - 6) T1 Blood Moon 1:13:12 - 7) Natty Tron and other Tron math 1:16:42 - 8) Getting burned 1:20:21 - 9) Hollow numbers vs. Hogaak numbers 1:25:24 - 10) Jund'ing them out 1:26:28 - 11) Mono-red damage 1:30:30 - The Wind Down - Comboing out Links from this week's episode: See Zak commentate the MSL on 8/28: https://www.modernstreamersleague.com Our custom token art: https://www.patreon.com/posts/our-awesome-are-29292615 More of Ben Dewey: https://benjamindewey.tumblr.com GP Birmingham Top8: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/grand-prix-birmingham-2019#paper Math References: http://channelfireball.com/articles/how-many-copies-of-any-given-card-should-you-put-in-your-deck/ https://www.channelfireball.com/articles/the-london-mulligan-rule-mathematically-benefits-strategies-that-rely-on-specific-cards/ https://www.channelfireball.com/articles/how-reliable-is-hollow-one/ https://www.channelfireball.com/articles/magic-math-hogaak-can-be-played-on-turn-2-in-60-of-its-games/ Calculators: https://stattrek.com/online-calculator/hypergeometric.aspx https://deckulator.appspot.com/ Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
8/23/20191 hour, 37 minutes, 47 seconds
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Episode 35: Turn Zero Gaaktions: Leylines in Modern

The Break Down: GP Gaakiapolis The Dive Down: Leying Lines The Wind Down: What We Deck in the Shadows Timestamps: 1:40 - Housekeeping 2:38 - The Break Down begins - GP Minneapolis 10:56 - Discussing the lack of GP coverage 19:20 - The Dive Down begins - Introduction to Leylines 24:33 - The Guildpact Leylines 26:39 - The M11 Leylines 30:24 - The design of Leylines 35:20 - Leyline math! 42:16 - The Modern playable Leylines - Leyline of the Void 56:36 - Leyline of Sanctity 1:05:13 - Leyline of Abundance 1:10:44 - Leyline of Combustion 1:22:43 - The Wind Down Begins - What Shane's playing 1:25:31 - What Stan's playing 1:28:14 - What Dave's playing 1:31:42 - What Zak's playing Links from this week's episode: https://www.channelfireball.com/home/grand-prix-minneapolis-top-16-decklists/ Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
8/16/20191 hour, 36 minutes, 41 seconds
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Episode 34: All Decks Go To Heaven ft. Ross Merriam

The Break Down: The 8/4/19 Modern Challenge - only 38% Hogaak The Dive Down: I've Abandoned My Bird The Wind Down: It's Not Easy Being Fair Timestamps: 03:15 - Housekeeping 03:39 - The Break Down begins - 8/4/19 Modern Challenge 24:13 - The Wind Down begins - Is it time to put Izzet Phoenix down in Modern? 37:47 - The current and past Modern metagame 43:55 - Has Modern "rotated"? 49:16 - The impact of Modern Horizons 56:19 - Is Hogaak bannable? 60:55 - Making the most of Modern now 74:37 - Modern after Hogaak 79:17 - Can Phoenix actually survive in a Hogaak world? 87:23 - The Wind Down Begins - Why play fair? 98:14 - The role of Magic in Ross's life Links from this week's episode: 8/4/19 Modern Challenge: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/modern-challenge-2019-08-04 The MTG ELO Project: http://www.mtgeloproject.net/50decks/modern.html Ross's article: http://www.starcitygames.com/articles/38921Its-Time-To-Put-Izzet-Phoenix-Down-In-Modern.html Gerry's article: http://www.starcitygames.com/articles/38937Dont-Give-Up-Yet-Ross-Izzet-Phoenix-Is-Actually-Great-Right-Now.html Find Ross on twitter: https://twitter.com/RossHunneds Watch Ross on Vs. Live! https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5d1KNNFArSPiU3vDwsH3dNtMGVm7Ldmd Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
8/9/20191 hour, 47 minutes, 8 seconds
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Episode 33: Jund: The Matriarch of Midrange

The Break Down: MC IV: Karn's Comeback The Dive Down: For Those About To Jund: We Can Help You The Wind Down: Practice Makes Perfect Timestamps: 1:51 - Housekeeping 5:10 - The Break Down begins - MC Barcelona 10:33 - MC Barcelona top 8 20:57 - SCG Columbus Open 23:44 - Discussing the weekend's results 28:40 - The Dive Down begins - Jund! 34:31 - Jund's Creatures 58:09 - Jund's Removal 1:06:56 - Jund's Planeswalkers 1:15:31 - Playing against Jund 1:23:03 - What Jund will do vs. you 1:27:03 - Our experiences playing Jund 1:33:13 - The Wind Down - Getting comfortable with a deck Links from this week's episode: Mythic Championship 4 Barcelona decklists: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/mythic-championship-iv-barcelona#paper SCG Columbus Open decklists: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/scg-open-columbus#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
8/2/20191 hour, 38 minutes, 14 seconds
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Episode 32: Down and Out at the Denver MCQ

The Break Down: The Modern MOCS - Hogaak's Back The Dive Down: MCQs are Hard - Our experiences at MF Denver The Wind Down: The Modern Power 9 Timestamps: 02:13 - Housekeeping 03:42 - The Break Down begins – The Modern MOCS 18:30 - The Dive Down begins – Getting to MF Denver 22:45 – What’s a MF like? 35:30 – The decks we played during the MF 38:29 – What’s a MCQ like? 45:33 – What we played at the MCQ – Shane 48:50 – Dave 1:01:25 – Shane pt2 1:05:08 – Stan 1:16:39 – Zak 1:26:19 – The Wind Down – Our Modern Power 9 Links from this week's episode: The Modern MOCS: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/modern-mocs-2019-07-17-0 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
7/26/20191 hour, 40 minutes, 27 seconds
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Episode 31: How to Casual Spike a Tournament

The Break Down: MF Krakow's MCQ and Tobi Henke's GP Dallas Data The Dive Down: Deck Selection for GP Denver's MCQ The Wind Down: The Timing of MH1's Release Timestamps: The Break Down Begins – MF Krakow's MCQ: 2:36 Tobi Henke’s GP Dallas data: 18:08 The Dive Down Begins – Our deck selection process: 31:40 Shane: Timing your selection and metagaming modern: 35:00 Zak: Familiarity vs. Power and learning something new: 45:14 Stan: Playing the unfamiliar and tournament goals: 56:51 Dave: Finding your way in the Modern meta and data-driven decisions: 1:10:40 The Wind Down – The timing of MH1’s release: 1:28:21 Links from this week's episode: GP Krakow's MCQ T8: https://www.channelfireball.com/top-8-decklists-of-the-modern-mcq-at-magicfest-krakow/ Tobi Henke's Dallas Data: https://www.channelfireball.com/articles/full-modern-metagame-and-win-rates-from-dallas-and-what-it-means-moving-forward/ Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
7/19/20191 hour, 35 minutes, 31 seconds
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Episode 30: Cut to the Core

The Break Down: Analyzing the Bridge from Below ban The Dive Down: Our picks to click for Core Set 20 The Wind Down: What to do with all these cleared up sideboard slots Timestamps: Start of the Break Down - 2:21 Analyzing WOTC’s Announcement - 8:10 ELO Project - 24:18 Start of Dive Down - 27:20 Thunkerin Awakener - 29:19 Chandra, Awakened Inferno - 33:46 Elvish Reclaimer - 40:39 Fry - 46:25 Chandra, Acolyte of Flame - 51:48 Scheming Symmetry - 58:23 Leyline of Abundance - 1:06:28 Chandra’s Regulator - 1:08:05 Risen Reef - 1:11:37 Brought Back - 1:15:37 Start of the Wind Down - 1:17:59 Leyline of the Void moving forward - 1:22:05 Links from the episode: B&R announcement - https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/news/july-8-2019-banned-and-restricted-announcement-2019-07-08 ELO Project - http://www.mtgeloproject.net/ Thunderkin Awakener - https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=466916 Chandra, Awakened - https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=466881 Elvish Reclaimer - https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=466923 Fry - https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=466894 Chandra, Acolyte - https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=466880 Scheming Symmetry - https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=466867 Leyline of Abundance - https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=466933 Chandra’s Regulator - https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=466885 Risen Reef - https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=466971 Brought Back - https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=466763 Edgar’s Elemental Deck - https://twitter.com/EdgarMTG/status/1148284547156647936 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
7/12/20191 hour, 27 minutes
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Episode 29: The Gaak Came Back

The Break Down: SCG Pittsburgh Open & GP DFW The Dive Down: Hogaak Bridgevine Deck Dive The Wind Down: Randomness in Modern Magic Timestamps: 2:07 Housekeeping 3:07 The Break Down begins: GP Dallas / Fort Worth 21:57 SCG Pittsburgh Team Open 36:59 The Dive Down: The Gaak Came Back 1:40:04 The Wind Down: Randomness in Modern Magic Links from this week's episode: GP DFW Top 2 decklists: http://coverage.channelfireball.com/event/22 SCG Pittsburgh Day 2 decklists: http://www.starcitygames.com/decks/StarCityGamesTeamOpen/2019-06-29modernPittsburghPAUS/1/ Hogaak Bridgevine: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/archetype/modern-hogaak-bridgevine#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
7/5/20191 hour, 48 minutes, 34 seconds
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Episode 28: Sleeve It / Believe It / Heave It: Modern Horizons Edition

The Break Down: We analyze the emerging meta and the Hogaak menace in MTGO tournament results. The Dive Down: Do we want to Sleeve, Believe, or Heave 4 Modern decks built around new Modern Horizons cards? The Wind Down: Mistakes were made. Timestamps: Break Down Starts - 3:39 Modern MCQ - 4:24 Modern Playoffs - 10:34 Dive Down Starts - 24:31 Sultai Snow - 25:38 RB Goblins - 27:25 RB Skelemental - 34:10 Mardu Octomancer - 52:18 Bant Infect - 1:06:03 Wind Down Starts - 1:23:56 Aria of Flame - 1:24:19 Crashing Footfalls - 1:29:46 Unearth - 1:31:08 Hogaak - 1:32:35 Links from the episode: JOIN OUR PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Modern MCQ: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/modern-mcq-2019-06-24#decklists Modern Playoffs: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/modern-event-2019-06-23#decklists Deck lists: Sultai Snow: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/archetype/modern-snow-sultai#paper RB Goblins: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/archetype/modern-rakdos-goblins#online RB Skelemental: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/archetype/modern-red-black-aggro#paper Mardu Octomancer: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2025289#paper Bant Infect: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2019572#online Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
6/28/20191 hour, 37 minutes, 23 seconds
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Episode 27: Knights of the Necropolis ft. Riley Knight

The Break Down: We talk about the latest MTGO 5-0 deck dumps and the last MTGO Modern Challenge. The Dive Down: Stan and Zak chat with CFB's Riley Knight. Timestamps: 4:56 - Start of Break Down 5:32 - Sultai Snow 5:54 - Devoted Karnbo 9:27 - Jeskai Humans 14:08 - RB Goblins 17:22 - Mardu Octomancer 18:39 - Modern Challenge 31:20 - Start of Riley Knight interivew 32:15 - "What’s your favorite Modern deck to play?” 35:28 - “How often do you get to play?” 36:29 - “How has broadcasting Magic events changed your perception of the game?” 39:14 - “What are your most and least favorite decks to discuss while broadcasting?” 41:55 - “Do any banalities in the game get more interesting when you’ve seen them for the thousandth time?” 43:26 - “Does the nature of Modern make covering it different compared to Standard or Limited?” 45:36 - "Are you ever at a loss for things to talk about on coverage?” 47:42 - "Does coverage make you a better player?” 49:46: CFB Modern Madness 57:15 - "Why is playing snow basics strictly better?" 1:00:13 - "Do you like any Modern Horizons cards for Scapeshift?" 1:02:38 - "What effect will the new Force cycle have on Modern?" 1:05:51 - Hogaak discussion. 1:09:08 - "How often do you get concerned with new decks' power levels?" 1:11:48 - "What consequences do overpowered decks have on Modern?" 1:14:13 - "What other decks could Modern Horizons introduce or improve?" 1:17:02 - "Are Modern decks becoming more versatile?" 1:18:40 - "Do you set goals for yourself as a player?" 1:22:33 - "Should combo decks be built to be faster or more resilient?" 1:29:04 - "Could Hogaak get banned before MC Barcelona?" 1:32:48 - "Does WOTC print enough answers to new cards?" 1:40:33 - "How much vegemite do you have on your toast?" Links from this weeks episode: JOIN OUR PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Riley's Twitter: https://twitter.com/rileyquarytower CFB Articles: https://www.channelfireball.com/author/riley-knight/ Arena Boys: https://www.channelfireball.com/author/arena-boys/ Half-Arsed History Podcast: https://halfarsedhistory.net CFB Modern Madness: https://www.channelfireball.com/articles/denis-stranjak/modern-madness-the-best-modern-deck-of-all-time/ Deck lists: Sultai Snow: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/1999817#paper Devoted Karnbo: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2004203#paper Jeskai Humans: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2004168#paper RB Goblins: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2004208#paper Mardu Octomancer: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2004185#paper Battle of Wits: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2013017#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
6/21/20191 hour, 47 minutes, 26 seconds
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Episode 26: Reply Guys

The Break Down: We talk about the London Mulligan and the first Modern Horizons MTGO Modern Challenge The Dive Down: Modern Horizons Listener Questions! Timestamps: 03:08 - London Mulligan 09:18 - 6/8/19 Modern Challenge 12:09 - Modern Horizons cards show up 22:30 - Hogaak Bridgevine discussion 33:30 - The Dive Down begins 36:30 - Did Modern Horizons deliver? 47:01 - How will the meta shake out after MH1? 52:47 - Which tribe will see the most success? 56:48 - What would we play at the next large event? 1:04:52 - Which archetypes got the right push to be competitve? 1:08:40 - What's the most noticeable reprint that wasn't in MH1? 1:13:16 - Why so few reprints vs new cards? 1:15:06 - Fallen Shinobi?! 1:17:11 - Are graveyard engines accidental or on purpose? 1:20:45 - What new cycle of cards would you like to see in the next MH? Links from this weeks episode: JOIN OUR PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Hogaak Bridgevine: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/1989519#paper Esper Death's Shadow: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/1989525#paper UR Control: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/1989528#paper UR Delver: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/1989534#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
6/14/20191 hour, 30 minutes, 26 seconds
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Episode 25: Modern Horizons Set Review, Part the Second

The Dive Down: The gang reviews the OTHER half of Modern Horizons using the beloved sleeve / believe / heave grading system. W: 4:04 U: 15:40 B: 41:42 R: 1:04:15 G: 1:17:23 Multicolor: 1:23:37 Artifacts: 1:34:27 Lands: 1:37:00 Links from this weeks episode: JOIN OUR PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Modern Horizons full set: https://scryfall.com/sets/mh1 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
6/7/20191 hour, 45 minutes, 47 seconds
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Episode 24: Modern Horizons Set Review, Part the First

The Dive Down: The gang reviews half of Modern Horizons using the beloved sleeve, believe, heave grading system. Links from this weeks episode: JOIN OUR PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Frank Karsten on Collected Conjuring: https://twitter.com/karsten_frank/status/1131215587470970880 Modern Horizons full set: https://scryfall.com/sets/mh1 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
5/31/20192 hours, 19 minutes, 19 seconds
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Episode 23: UW Control: My Son Is ALSO Named Teferi

The Break Down: 4 early preview cards from Modern Horizons. The Dive Down: The UW Control Deck Dive! What makes control decks tick, and why is UW seemingly better than ever? The Wind Down: A Patreon question about the Golden Age of Modern. Links from this weeks episode: JOIN OUR PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/thedivedown The UW Control list we ran: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/1909178#online "The Deck" article on The Dojo: http://www.classicdojo.org/history/thedeck2.html Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
5/24/20191 hour, 48 minutes
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Episode 22: Sleeve It / Believe It / Heave It: War of the Spark Edition

The Break Down: We look at some spicy new decks making their appearance in the Modern Challenge and the Modern MOCS Monthly. The Dive Down: Do we want to Sleeve, Believe, or Heave 4 Modern decks built around new War of the Spark cards? The Wind Down: When and how to buy into Modern? Links from this week’s episode: JOIN OUR PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Modern Challenge: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/modern-challenge-2019-05-13 MOCS Monthly: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/modern-mocs-2019-05-13 10-Rack: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/1895733#online Narset Prison: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/archetype/modern-ub-86040#paper Rainbow Niv-Mizzet: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/archetype/modern-rainbow-niv-mizzet#paper Wish Tron: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/1906135#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood -_ Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? _ email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
5/17/20191 hour, 42 minutes
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Episode 21: Humans: Be Yourself, In Card Form

The Break Down: 3 new decks courtesy of War Of The Spark The Dive Down: Deck Dives are back! We talk Humans - how it's constructed, some tips and tricks, and how you might try to beat this Tier 1 staple. The Wind Down: Why isn't UW Control more popular? Links from this weeks episode: JOIN OUR PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Neoform Combo: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/1885374#paper Wish Tron: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/1879166#paper Narset Pitch Blue: https://twitter.com/Conley81/status/1124172639180689408 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
5/10/20191 hour, 41 minutes, 17 seconds
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Episode 20: MC2: London Boogaloo

The Break Down & The Dive Down: Mythic Championship London. The Wind Down: We take some listener questions. Links from the episode: The most played cards at MC London: https://magic.wizards.com/en/events/coverage/2019MC2/most-played-modern-cards-mythic-championship-ii-2019-04-27 The top 8 from MC London: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/articles/mythic-championship-london-top-eight-decklists Mark Jacobson's Red Eldrazi Deck: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/1847510#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
5/3/20191 hour, 22 minutes, 10 seconds
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Episode 19: War of the Spec!

The Break Down: Going over the final GP before Mythic Championship London: GP Yokohama. The Dive Down: Our picks to click from War of the Spark. The Wind Down: A philosophical tournament report from Stanislav. Links from the episode: The top 32 decks of GP Yokohama: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/grand-prix-yokohama-2019#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
4/26/20191 hour, 48 minutes, 23 seconds
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Episode 18: London Mulling

The Break Down: We talk about the latest Modern GP, Sao Paulo! The Dive Down: The London Mulligan: how does it impact modern? What we can learn from the latest Magic Online tournaments, and our own experiences. The Wind Down: Our predictions for MC London. Links from this weeks episode: TAKE OUR PATREON SURVEY: https://forms.gle/yjyDSZSntAzR2mcg7 The Day 2 Sao Paulo Metagame: https://twitter.com/ChannelFireball/status/1117406325254828032 Day 2 winrates: https://twitter.com/ChannelFireball/status/1117559245803855879 The Modern Challenge: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/modern-challenge-2019-04-14 The Modern MOCS: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/modern-mocs-2019-04-14 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
4/19/20191 hour, 29 minutes, 2 seconds
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Episode 17: The Best Unplayables

The Break Down: We talk the SCG Cleveland Modern Open and the latest MTGO Modern Challenge. The Dive Down: 4 cards (and a little bonus!) that aren't quite ready for prime time. Why they aren't there and what we're looking for to make them playable. The Wind Down: A special announcement many of you have been waiting for! Links from this weeks episode: TAKE OUR PATREON SURVEY: https://forms.gle/ay8AsPLdHhn5zheTA The SCG Cleveland decks: http://www.starcitygames.com/decks/StarCityGamesOpen/2019-04-06modernClevelandOH_US/1/ The 4/7/19 Modern Challenge: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/modern-challenge-2019-04-07 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
4/12/20191 hour, 42 minutes, 17 seconds
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Episode 16: The Unholy Grail

The Break Down: Dissecting GP Calgary, the Modern MOCS, and Tobi Henke's full meta packet of GP Bilbao. The Dive Down: How best to use, abuse, and understand Chalice of the Void. The Wind Down: Our first picks to click from War of the Spark. Links from this weeks episode: Tobi Henke's GP Bilbao Breakdown: https://www.channelfireball.com/articles/full-meta-packet-the-99-of-grand-prix-bilbao/ Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
4/5/20191 hour, 46 minutes, 4 seconds
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Episode 15: 1+1+1=7

The Break Down: Analyzing the results from SCG Cincinnati's Team Open and Modern Classic. The Dive Down: We dive down into the big green menace: TRON. How it works, what it's trying to do, and how you can try to stop it. The Wind Down: The crew answers a listener question about the Modern decks we miss most. Links from this weeks episode: Brandon Czognowski's Restore Balance deck: http://www.starcitygames.com/decks/128025 Philip Silberman's Cruel Control deck: http://www.starcitygames.com/decks/128007 Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
3/29/20191 hour, 45 minutes, 10 seconds
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Episode 14: The Bird That Shan't Be Named ft. Ross Merriam

The Break Down: Analyzing the results from GPs Tampa and Bilbao, and SCG Philadelphia. The Dive Down: We interview Ross Merriam about Izzet Phoenix, tournament preparation, Modern Horizons reprints, and more. The Wind Down: The crew talks about new decks we're looking at. Links from this weeks episode: Subscribe to Ross on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosshunneds See past episodes of Versus Live at https://www.youtube.com/user/starcitygamesvideo/videos Watch Versus Live when it airs and more SCG events at https://www.twitch.tv/scgtour Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
3/22/20192 hours, 9 minutes, 51 seconds
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Episode 13: Modern Modulation ft. GP LA Runner-Up Gal Schlesinger

The Break Down: Digesting all the top 8 results from the SCG Regionals The Dive Down: Gal Schlesinger joins us for an interview to talk all things Hardened Scales The Wind Down: Another B&R announcement with no changes Links from this weeks episode: Subscribe to Gal on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/yamakiller/ Our SCG Regionals breakdown spreadsheet: https://tinyurl.com/y2az8l3j How to Play Hardened Scales by Matt Nass: https://www.channelfireball.com/articles/how-to-play-hardened-scales/ Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
3/15/20191 hour, 42 minutes, 59 seconds
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Episode 12: Surgical Precision

The Break Down: The Grand Prix Los Angeles metagame, fun and winning decks, and the power of Faithless Looting. The Dive Down: How to avoid and overcome 3 problems related to Surgical Extraction. The Wind Down: How Stan is prepping for this weekend's SCG Regionals. Links from this weeks episode: GP LA Top 32: https://www.channelfireball.com/grand-prix-los-angeles-top-32-deck-lists/ GP LA Top 8: https://www.channelfireball.com/grand-prix-los-angeles-top-8-decklists/ Craig Wescoe's Mono-White Devotion Deck Tech: https://twitter.com/ChannelFireball/status/1101960638123765760 The 3/2/19 Modern Challenge: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/modern-challenge-2019-03-03#decklists Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
3/8/20191 hour, 43 minutes, 23 seconds
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Episode 11: Dredge: It's Confla-Great!

First things first, we talk about the announcement of Modern Horizons! The Break Down - Feb 24 Modern Challenge and MagicFest Cleveland's Modern MCQ, as well as some spicy picks from this weeks Modern Leagues The Dive Down - An in-depth look at Dredge: how it works, how it wants to win, and how to try to beat it The Wind Down - We talk the newly proposed mulligan rule Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Find Emma Partlow's work here: https://www.hipstersofthecoast.com/author/epartlow/ email us: [email protected] twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
3/1/20191 hour, 48 minutes, 33 seconds
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Episode 10: Prime Real Estate

We break down the GP Strasbourg and Magic Online Modern Mythic Champ Qualifiers, dive down into four different decks built around Primeval Titan, then wind things down with a conversation on what happens if your favorite deck gets banned. Ironworksless Ironworks: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/archetype/modern-ironworksless-ironworks#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
2/22/20191 hour, 18 minutes, 48 seconds
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Episode 9: Sleeve It / Believe It / Heave It: The Latest Developments in Modern

We go over GP Toronto and the Nerd Rage Gaming 5k in Milwaukee, then rate 5 of the latest winning decks in Modern, and finally answer the burning question: what is a "casual spike?" Decklists from this episode: Shaman Tribal: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/1643170#paper RG Beats: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/1643157#paper Vannifar Pod: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/1643149#paper Sultai Teachings: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/1647502#paper Living Dominance: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/1643173#paper Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
2/15/20191 hour, 20 minutes, 28 seconds
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Episode 8: To Tweak: Weak, or on Fleek?

We talk about the Modern portion of the Team Constructed event at SCG Baltimore, then dive down into the highs and lows of tweaking decks for the metagame, and bring it home with a listener question. Jeffrey Carr's write-up from his awesome run with Mono-Red Phoenix: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VtTGrHGm-5vvTdaE9tKny-eHLXgmVZZqT6VCDTNt0/ Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
2/8/20191 hour, 20 minutes, 25 seconds
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Episode 7: When In Doubt, Burn 'Em Out!

We go over the latest Modern Challenge and the new Pod, talk about Stanislav's awesome finish at the SCG Classic, then dive down into a discussion of the latest experiments with Burn. Prime Speaker Vannifar Pod: https://www.channelfireball.com/articles/prime-speaker-vannifar-with-kiki-combo-in-modern/ Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
2/1/20191 hour, 11 minutes, 59 seconds
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Episode 6: My Shadow Hold Me Down 4 Whatever

We discuss the banning of KCI and some MTGO tournament results, dive down into an analysis of Death's Shadow decks, and chat about Gavin Varhey's interview with The Professor. Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
1/25/20191 hour, 17 minutes, 46 seconds
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Episode 5: Pterry, Phoenix, and Pfriends

We discuss the results of SCG Worcester, analyze ways to beat Izzet Phoenix, and break down our picks for the top modern cards from Ravnica Allegiance. Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
1/18/20191 hour, 27 minutes, 18 seconds
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Episode 4: I, For One, Welcome Our New Furnace Overlords

The crew break down the SCG Non-Unified Team Modern and GP Oakland results, then talk about KCI, what makes a deck bannable, and the impact of some potential upcoming bans in modern. The KCI Combo Explained: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8olqGdtZuvg Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? Thanks to our friends for the use of their music! email us: [email protected] twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
1/11/20191 hour, 12 minutes, 46 seconds
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Episode 3: These Planes Were Made For Walking

The crew talks about the MTGO Modern "Finals" (whatever that means) results, then dives down into the topic of Planeswalkers in Modern. The Modern Finals results can be found here: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/modern-finals-2018-12-31 email us: [email protected] twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
1/5/20191 hour, 17 minutes, 42 seconds
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Episode 2: 2018 in Review

In this episode, the crew talks about the most impactful cards of 2018, then breaks down the 2018 metagame across all the Modern GPs. The reddit article that looks at the 2018 Modern GPs can be found here: https://www.reddit.com/r/ModernMagic/comments/a64wnc/lookingbackat2018gptop8splusbr_speculation/ email us: [email protected] twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
12/29/20181 hour, 15 minutes, 32 seconds
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Episode 1: Modern Izzet Phoenix and the costs and benefits of self-mill

Welcome to the first episode of The Dive Down, a modern focused podcast for the casual spike! In this episode we talk about Izzet Phoenix, and the costs and benefits of milling yourself. email us: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
12/22/20181 hour, 11 minutes, 38 seconds