The Dive Down

Latest Episodes:

Episode 93: Sleeve/Believe/Heave: Zendikar Rising Edition Oct 02, 2020

Show notes

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

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Episode 92: The Early Risers of Zendikar Rising Sep 25, 2020

Show notes

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

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Episode 91: Zendikar Rising Rises: Spoilers, Vol. 2 ft. Aspiring Spike Sep 18, 2020

Show notes

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

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Episode 90: Zendikar Rising Rises: Spoilers, Vol. 1 Sep 10, 2020

Show notes

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!

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

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Episode 89: Return of the Living Dredge Sep 04, 2020

Show notes

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

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

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Episode 88: Gifts Storm: A Modern Ritual Aug 28, 2020

Show notes

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

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

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Bonus 9: A Philosophy of Design ft. Patrick Sullivan Aug 26, 2020

Show notes

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/

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

Episode 87: The Buyer's Guide to Double Masters & Other Stuff Aug 21, 2020

Show notes

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

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

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Episode 86: Pioneer Format, Reborn Aug 14, 2020

Show notes

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.

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

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Episode 85: Pioneer Bans & Modern Prowess Stans Aug 07, 2020

Show notes

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

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

Support The Dive Down

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