The Dive Down

Latest Episodes:

Episode 102: A Tribal Quest: Hives, Grenades, and Skeletons Dec 11, 2020

Show notes

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?

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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: thedivedown@gmail.com
twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown

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Episode 101: Historic 101: An Intro For Casual Spikes Dec 04, 2020

Show notes

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

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: thedivedown@gmail.com
twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown

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Episode 100: One. Hundred. Decks. Nov 20, 2020

Show notes

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!

Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name?

email us: thedivedown@gmail.com
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

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Episode 99: A Few of Our Favorite Things Nov 13, 2020

Show notes

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!

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: thedivedown@gmail.com
twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown

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Episode 98: Auditing Modern Mono-White Taxes Nov 06, 2020

Show notes

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

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: thedivedown@gmail.com
twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown

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Bonus 10: Songs About Cards ft. MTGRemy Nov 03, 2020

Show notes

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: thedivedown@gmail.com
twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown

[Support The Dive Down](patreon.com/thedivedown)

Support The Dive Down

Episode 97: Pioneer: A G.O.O.D. Format? Oct 30, 2020

Show notes

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

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: thedivedown@gmail.com
twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown

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Episode 96: The Unifying Theory of Good Magic Formats Oct 23, 2020

Show notes

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

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: thedivedown@gmail.com
twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown

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Episode 95: We Did It For Science: The Titanic Power of Uro and Omnath Oct 16, 2020

Show notes

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

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: thedivedown@gmail.com
twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown

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Episode 94: Zendikar Rules! New Innovations in Modern & Pioneer Oct 09, 2020

Show notes

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

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: thedivedown@gmail.com
twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown

Support The Dive Down

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