Episode Archive
290 episodes of The Dive Down since the first episode, which aired on December 22nd, 2018.
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Episode 175: Sleeve/Believe/Heave: Streets of New Capenna Edition
Episode | May 26th, 2022 | 1 hr 52 mins
The three friends are taking it back to the streets on more time. This week we evaluate three different decks that were improved or created by the addition of SNC to our formats. Shane pods his way through a Naya deck full of combos in Modern. Stan shreds his way through infinite turns in Modern. Dave explains so he's falling short of virtuosity in Explorer. It's a real journey through a few more cards making an impact. Before that, though, we break down the top 8 of NRG Minneapolis where three other friends (of the pod) take the whole thing down.
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Episode 174: Explorer’s First Ban & More Pioneer Testing
Episode | May 19th, 2022 | 1 hr 46 mins
Shane and Stan take the three friends through Winota's ban in Explorer, four different challenges across Modern and Pioneer, and finally some of their testing results with Winota and Izzet Phoenix in Pioneer.
The Break Down, I: Winota's Gone in Explorer!
The Break Down, II: Kicking Bass in a Bunch of Challenges
The Dive Down: Winota's Here in Pioneer! So is Phoenix! -
Episode 173: Do You Even Shred, Tho?
Episode | May 12th, 2022 | 1 hr 43 mins
The boys flap their little wings and scream caw caw as they dig their beaks into the hottest bird lawyer in Magic this week. Whether it's ripping up contracts, filtering hands, shouting 'objection!' or pumping flyers, Ledger Shredder does it all. But does it have what it take to be a multiformat staple? Yes, apparently yes.
The Break Down: Living End Won't Die
The Dive Down: New Bird Learns to Fly
The Dive Down, cont: Filling Graveyards Can Be Sly -
Episode 172: Exploring the Streets of New Capenna
Episode | May 5th, 2022 | 1 hr 53 mins
Our three friends begin their visit to the Streets of New Capenna with some Explorer, Pioneer, and Modern decks. We take a look at Ob Nixilis, The Adversary and Stan's uncharacteristic BW Blink brew with Getaway Car and Extraction Specialist.
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Episode 171: 6 Ways You Can Get Better at Magic
Episode | April 28th, 2022 | 1 hr 52 mins
In a special patron-requested episode, our three friends provide a roadmap to improvement for key Magic skills and other useful habits. We also kick off the show with run downs and reactions to the latest Magic Arena announcements for Explorer and Pioneer.
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Episode 170: Who Runs the Streets of New Capenna?
Episode | April 21st, 2022 | 1 hr 48 mins
The full set of New Capenna has been revealed, so on this week's show we complete our run through of all the cards in the set. But first, we spend some time looking through recent Pioneer results with a focus on Izzet Control.
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Episode 169: The Families of New Capenna and Old Fort Worth
Episode | April 14th, 2022 | 1 hr 48 mins
The Dive Down visits sunny Texas for SCGCON Dallas! We chat about our very first free preview card from Streets of New Capenna, other highlights from the set so far, and our experiences playing paper Magic all weekend.
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Episode 168: A Pre-Travel, Post-Lurrus Meta Deep Dive
Episode | April 7th, 2022 | 1 hr 41 mins
The gang is reunited this week for an episode full of new cards, pivot tables, and tournament surprises. We start off with our initial reactions to the new charms spoiled from Streets of New Capenna, and imagine the impact of the complete triome cycle on our favorite formats. Then we go over the results of March's Modern metagame, the Manatraders Modern tournament, and the latest NRG results to analyze the growing and shrinking popularity of various decks in a post-Lurrus metagame. Finally, we wrap up with a Wind Down of our plans for SCG Con Dallas. Turns out... it's technically in Fort Worth!
The Break Down: Greetings from New Capenna
The Dive Down: Greetings from Fort Wayne
The Wind Down: Greetings from Dallas/Fort Worth -
Episode 167: The Pro Tour Returns! ft. Dom Harvey
Episode | March 31st, 2022 | 1 hr 53 mins
This week Dave got lost in a cave while vacationing, so Dom Harvey joins the show to react and contextualize Wizard's official announcement that the Pro Tour is back! We break down the new competitive organized play systems, how it fits into the casual spike lifestyle, and how it supports Magic's highest level players. We warm up with a break down of some wild weekend top 8s.
The Dive Down: Enter the Pyramid
The Dive Down, cont: The Road to Regionals
The Dive Down, cont: The Life of a World Champion -
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.