The Dive Down

Bonus 19: Probably Better Known As ft. Saffron Olive

Episode  |  March 28th, 2022  |  1 hr 6 mins

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.

Episode 166: All Shadow, No Doubt (ft. Michael Rapp)

Episode  |  March 24th, 2022  |  1 hr 46 mins

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.

Episode 165: The People's Meta: Life After Lurrus

Episode  |  March 18th, 2022  |  2 hrs 1 min

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

Bonus 18: How to Win a Pro Tour ft. Eli Kassis

Episode  |  March 16th, 2022  |  49 mins 2 secs

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 importance of a testing team, and more.

Episode 164: The Dream(-Den) is Over

Episode  |  March 8th, 2022  |  1 hr 47 mins

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.
The Break Down: What Happened
The Dive Down: What We Think Will Happen
The Wind Down: What We Hope Will Happen

Episode 163: Talking Magic in Trying Times

Episode  |  March 2nd, 2022  |  1 hr 45 mins

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.

Episode 162: Sleeve/Believe/Heave: Neon Dynasty pt.2 Ed.

Episode  |  February 24th, 2022  |  1 hr 44 mins

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.

Episode 161: Sleeve/Believe/Heave: Fun With Artifacts ed.

Episode  |  February 17th, 2022  |  1 hr 44 mins

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

Episode 160: A Dynasty of Neon Spoilers, Vol. 2

Episode  |  February 10th, 2022  |  1 hr 48 mins

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

Episode 159: A Dynasty of Neon Spoilers, Vol. 1

Episode  |  February 3rd, 2022  |  1 hr 38 mins

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.

Episode 158: We Thought There Would Be Bans, ft. SpiderSpace

Episode  |  January 27th, 2022  |  1 hr 49 mins

With Dave off this week, we are joined by streamer, former guest, and co-host of Mishra's Babble, Gabe Maxson, aka 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...

Bonus 17: The VML, Sloths, Moose(s), and Linguine ft Carolyn Kavanagh

Episode  |  January 25th, 2022  |  1 hr 6 mins

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.

Episode 157: Understanding the Pioneer Metagame ft. Dom Harvey

Episode  |  January 20th, 2022  |  1 hr 54 mins

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!

Episode 156: Yawgmoth: We Persisted

Episode  |  January 13th, 2022  |  1 hr 47 mins

Episode 155: 2022 Goals: The Nation Speaks

Episode  |  January 6th, 2022  |  1 hr 50 mins

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

Episode 154: Our Year End Extravaganza, ft. Aspiringspike

Episode  |  December 22nd, 2021  |  1 hr 50 mins

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!