The Dive Down

A Magic: The Gathering podcast for the casual spike, focused on Modern and constructed!

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 and constructed!

Each week your hosts Dave, Stan, and D00mwake discuss the latest innovations, competitive events, and level-up topics for paper and online players.

Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thedivedown

Proudly sponsored by Heavy Play, a new card gaming accessories brand that'll improve your gameplay and game day. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2025 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com/

We're also sponsored by ManaTraders, the best Magic card rental service for both Magic Online and paper! Get 25% cashback after 3 months of using ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown or use Manatraders coupon code THEDIVEDOWN

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Episodes and Blog Entries

  • Episode 56: Bans & Theros: Beyond Hyped, Vol. 2

    Episode  |  January 17th, 2020  |  1 hr 42 mins

    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

  • Episode 55: Theros: Beyond Hyped, Vol. 1

    Episode  |  January 10th, 2020  |  1 hr 36 mins

    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

  • Bonus 4: Casual Spike Meets Aspiring Spike

    Episode  |  December 31st, 2019  |  1 hr 1 min

    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.

  • Episode 54: The Many Moods of Monastery Mentor

    Episode  |  December 27th, 2019  |  1 hr 44 mins

    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

  • Episode 53: Diving Deeper: 5 Pioneer Takeaways

    Episode  |  December 20th, 2019  |  1 hr 39 mins

    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

  • Episode 52: 2019: A Real Year

    Episode  |  December 13th, 2019  |  1 hr 47 mins

    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

  • Episode 51: ROY G NIV: 5C Niv-Mizzet ft. Faithless Brewing

    Episode  |  December 6th, 2019  |  1 hr 45 mins

    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!

  • Bonus 3: Return of the Reply Guys

    Episode  |  December 2nd, 2019  |  56 mins 22 secs

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

  • Episode 50: How to Casual Spike a New Deck

    Episode  |  November 27th, 2019  |  1 hr 39 mins

    The crew tackle a level-up topic: how to overcome the challenge of picking up a new deck!
    The Break Down: GP Columbus
    The Dive Down: That Fresh Deck Smell
    The Dive Down, cont.: Those Fresh Deck Plans

  • Episode 49: Ban is Just Another Word for Pioneer Justice

    Episode  |  November 22nd, 2019  |  1 hr 39 mins

    This week, the Dive Down looks at some of Modern's bans throughout history, and examine how they shaped the format as it today.
    The Beak Down: SCG Invitational, Modern and Pioneer results
    The Dive Down: A history of bans and their impact on Modern
    The Wind Down: The cards we liked in 2019

  • Episode 48: Sleeve It/Believe It/Heave It: Pioneer Edition

    Episode  |  November 15th, 2019  |  1 hr 51 mins

    This week, the Dive Down gents explore three winning decks from the breakout new format - Pioneer!
    The Break Down: Veil of Summer banned, and the MTGO Modern Challenge
    The Dive Down: S/B/H Pioneer Edition!
    The Wind Down: Archival Masters

  • Episode 47: Spirits: Be Yourself, in Ghost Form

    Episode  |  November 8th, 2019  |  1 hr 41 mins

    This week, The Dive Down gents do a patent-pending Dive into a fan favorite tribe - Spirits! We also discuss the first wave of Pioneer bans and the decks of the first Pioneer PTQ.

    Breaking News - The first Pioneer bans!
    The Break Down - The first Pioneer PTQ!
    The Dive Down - A Spooky Modern Tribe

  • Episode 46: Threat Level: Oko

    Episode  |  November 1st, 2019  |  1 hr 46 mins

    This week we dive deep on Magic's latest boogeyman — Oko, Thief of Crowns. Is it one of the best cards ever or just one of the goodest? We work it out in between tournament reports on SCG Atlanta and the first MTGO Pioneer Challenge.

    The Break Down: SCG Open Atlanta
    The Dive Down: Oko, Thief of Hearts
    The Wind Down: The First Challenge of Pioneering

  • Bonus 2: Modern Horizons Revisited: Mistakes Were Made

    Episode  |  October 29th, 2019  |  59 mins 9 secs

    In our second monthly bonus episode, we revisit our Modern Horizons grades to see what we missed on - and why.
    The Dive Down: Modern Horizons Revisited

  • Episode 45: Pioneer Days: Fording Rivers, Dying of Dysentery

    Episode  |  October 25th, 2019  |  1 hr 39 mins

    We talk the SCG Regionals, the decks that got away, and, oh yeah, an ENTIRELY NEW ETERNAL FORMAT - Pioneer!
    The Break Down: SCG Regionals
    The Dive Down: Welcome to Pioneer Town
    The Wind Down: White Whales

  • Episode 44: Ascending Urza: A Whirld of Clicks

    Episode  |  October 18th, 2019  |  1 hr 42 mins

    We go over the SCG Indy (AKA the Motor City) Open, then perform our patented deep dive process on the various Urza-based decks showing up in Modern!
    The Break Down: The Motor City SCG Open
    The Dive Down: Playing Vintage in Modern
    The Wind Down: How the podcast has impacted our play