The Dive Down

Latest Episodes:

Episode 58: Diving Deeper: #2020Goals Jan 31, 2020

Show notes

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

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Episode 57: Oh Lord He Comin': Chonky Red ft. Todd Anderson Jan 24, 2020

Show notes

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/strong_sad or https://twitter.com/strong_sad

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

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Episode 56: Bans & Theros: Beyond Hyped, Vol. 2 Jan 17, 2020

Show notes

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

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/110120_knoxville.html
Golgari Yawgmoth deck tech: https://old.starcitygames.com/events/coverage/golgari_yawgmoth_with_aaron_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: thedivedown@gmail.com
twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown

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Episode 55: Theros: Beyond Hyped, Vol. 1 Jan 10, 2020

Show notes

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/mtgo_modern_champs_top_32_decklists/
https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/modern-champs-2020-01-05
https://twitter.com/BryanGo/status/1213962888194318336/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: thedivedown@gmail.com
twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown

Support The Dive Down

Bonus 4: Casual Spike Meets Aspiring Spike Dec 31, 2019

Show notes

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

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 54: The Many Moods of Monastery Mentor Dec 27, 2019

Show notes

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

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

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Episode 53: Diving Deeper: 5 Pioneer Takeaways Dec 20, 2019

Show notes

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

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

Support The Dive Down

Episode 52: 2019: A Real Year Dec 13, 2019

Show notes

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

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

Support The Dive Down

Episode 51: ROY G NIV: 5C Niv-Mizzet ft. Faithless Brewing Dec 06, 2019

Show notes

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!

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

Support The Dive Down

Bonus 3: Return of the Reply Guys Dec 02, 2019

Show notes

In our third bonus episode, we take questions from our awesome fans and listeners about Magic the Gathering and our personal lives.

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

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

Support The Dive Down

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