About the show
The Dive Down is a Magic: The Gathering podcast focused on the latest decks, trends, and strategies for the casual spikes in Modern, Pioneer, Explorer, and more!
Each week your hosts Dave, Shane, and Stanislav discuss the latest innovations, competitive events, and level-up topics for paper and online players.
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Episodes and Blog Entries
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Episode 297: Modern: What to Play Before RCQ Season Ends
Episode | October 17th, 2024 | 1 hr 36 mins
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.
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Episode 296: RC DC: Demons, Trees, Cauldrons, & Company
Episode | October 10th, 2024 | 1 hr 36 mins
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.
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Episode 295: RC DC Preview & First Duskmourn Decks
Episode | October 3rd, 2024 | 1 hr 33 mins
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.
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Episode 294: Working Not Playing, ft Mark Stanton
Episode | September 26th, 2024 | 1 hr 22 mins
On this week's show, Stan and Dave are joined by a new guest to The Dive Down. Taking a break from Regional Championship and World Championship testing, Mark Stanton stops by to talk about the competitive mindset and how to practice Magic better.
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Episode 293: Boros Energy is Better than Rakdos Aggro & Duskmourn Spoilers, pt 2
Episode | September 19th, 2024 | 1 hr 35 mins
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.
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Episode 292: Rakdos Aggro Takes Pioneer & Duskmourn Spoilers, pt 1
Episode | September 12th, 2024 | 1 hr 37 mins
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.
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Episode 291: Dreams Do Come True: Stan Visits WOTC, Modern is Healing
Episode | September 5th, 2024 | 1 hr 51 mins
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 breathe a sigh of relief at a format finding its footing.
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Episode 290: Grief is Banned. Joy is Allowed.
Episode | August 28th, 2024 | 1 hr 34 mins
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.
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Episode 289: Breached Eldrazi and Lizards, Wizards
Episode | August 22nd, 2024 | 1 hr 21 mins
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.
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Episode 288: Scoop Less, Mull More, Remember Cards That Were Good Before
Episode | August 15th, 2024 | 1 hr 48 mins
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.
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Episode 287: Modern Since MH3 & First Bloomburrow Tests
Episode | August 9th, 2024 | 1 hr 28 mins
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.
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Episode 286: Diving Into Modern Boros Energy, ft. YungDingo
Episode | August 1st, 2024 | 1 hr 35 mins
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.
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Episode 285: The (Rhino) Boyz Are Back in Town & Bloomburrow End
Episode | July 25th, 2024 | 1 hr 37 mins
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.
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Episode 284: Nadu Soars at NRG & Seasons of Bloomburrow, pt. 1
Episode | July 18th, 2024 | 1 hr 37 mins
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.
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Episode 283: Return of the MTGO Decklists & MH3 Sideboard Stonks
Episode | July 11th, 2024 | 1 hr 34 mins
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.
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Episode 282: The Bird in the Room: PT MH3/Amsterdam Breakdown
Episode | July 3rd, 2024 | 1 hr 22 mins
This week Dave, Devon, and Stan talk about what went down in Amsterdam — birds, rings, energy, all of it — and also make some wild (but informed) guesses about what might happen next.