The Dive Down

Episode 206: Modern Domain Zoo & NRG Champs

Episode  |  January 19th, 2023  |  1 hr 28 mins

This week Dave and Shane work on becoming Masters of their Domain with a quick dive into Modern Domain Zoo. But mostly we just gush about Tribal Flames. But first we talk about the exciting end of the 2022 NRG Championship Series and marvel at the decks and tiny tech choices people made in a field of 16 players.

Episode 205: 2023 Magic Kickoff: Modern & Pioneer

Episode  |  January 12th, 2023  |  1 hr 24 mins

Dave and Shane kickoff 2023 in Magic in our first Stan-less episode of his hiatus. We take a quick tour around the formats we love: we first spend time on a tour of Modern via recent MTGO events, then through Pioneer via Frank Karsten's most recent assessment of the combined RC meta. But first we talk about this weekend's NRG Championship Series Finals. And then before that we also cry some because we miss Stan.

Episode 204: Our 2023 Goals & an Intro to Heavy Play

Episode  |  January 5th, 2023  |  1 hr 25 mins

Surprise! We got one more episode out of Stan before he heads off to the UK — and it's a good one. It's time for our annual chat about our 2023 goals as Magic players, podcasters, friends, and frenemies. But before all that, we're excited to bring you a fun discussion we had with Randy Chiang, CEO and Founder of [Heavy Play](heavyplay.com) — a brand new, player-centric take on deck boxes, playmats, and sleeves.

Episode 203: The 2022 Divey Awards & a Major Announcement

Episode  |  December 22nd, 2022  |  1 hr 33 mins

For our final episode of the year, we're kicking off with a huge announcement of things to come in 2023. Then we dive into the hottest cards and decks of the year.

Episode 202: Modern Jeskai Breach: Get on the Grind

Episode  |  December 15th, 2022  |  1 hr 25 mins

Jeskai Breach has been dominating the paper and MTGO scenes for months, and Stan's obvious pleas have finally been answered. The boys dive into the deck and break down the results from NRG Louisville.

Episode 201: Sleeve/Believe/Heave: New Modern BROs

Episode  |  December 8th, 2022  |  1 hr 21 mins

Annnnnnnd we're back. Now that your faithful hosts have or have not recovered from Episode 200, Dreamhack, Thanksgiving, NRG Chicago, international travel, and other... ailments... it's time for the three friends to embark on the next 200 episodes of the show. To kick off the dawning of this new age of TDD, we're first going to spend some time talking about NRG Chicago and Stan's incredible performance there. After heaping praise upon our favorite son who came in 10th place, we dive into some next decks in Modern that feature cards from The Brothers' War.

Episode 200: 200 Modern Cards for the Casual Spike

Episode  |  December 1st, 2022  |  2 hrs 17 mins

Well, we finally made it — episode 200! To celebrate, we deliberated over a list of 200 important cards from Modern's past and present, broke them down into categories.... and then talked about them. Join us as we reminisce about Modern's past, celebrate its current form, and bring up every counterspell.

A very special thanks to all of you Citizens of The Dive Down Nation who keep making this possible and for making our community the absolute best. We appreciate you!

Episode 199: RC Atlanta: Final Prep feat. darthjacen

Episode  |  November 17th, 2022  |  1 hr 55 mins

The anticipation is almost over. What started as a blink our collective eye way back in the spring has come to pass. It's time for RC Atlanta. As the rhino boyz prepare to head down to Dreamhack to... cover(?)... the event, we turn to new friend of the show Sky Mason, aka darthjacen, from Playing Pioneer to help us work through the latest decks, trends, and strategies for Pioneer.

Episode 198: Bromancing the (Power)stones, Part 2

Episode  |  November 10th, 2022  |  1 hr 41 mins

In this second installment of The Brothers' War spoilers, Dave and Shane lament the lack of Stan this week while chatting the plusses and minuses of 20-ish new cards that just might impact Modern and Pioneer. Is Third Path Iconoclast the new Seasoned Pyromancer? Will Woodcaller Automaton get Karn the Great Creator banned? Is Sarinth Steelseeker the sleeper card of the set? I guess we'll find out. But before all that, we spend some time assessing the Nerd Rage Gaming Team Trios $10k and Pioneer $5k that happened in Fort Wayne this past weekend.

Episode 197: Bromancing the (Power)stones, Part 1

Episode  |  November 3rd, 2022  |  1 hr 34 mins

Our first tour in The Brothers' War! We chat about the Modern and Pioneer potential for Teferi, Temporal Pilgrim, Phyrexian Fleshgorger, Urza's Command, Skitterbeam Battalion, and more. We also dip our toe in the latest version of 4C Control featuring Keruga, the Macrosage.

Episode 196: NRG Newark: Featuring Kaheera

Episode  |  October 27th, 2022  |  1 hr 28 mins

In this week's episode, we break down the Nerd Rage Gaming $10k Team Trios Trial and the $5k Modern Trial in Newark, Ohio. We look at the overall metagame, the new breakout decks in Modern, and what did well (and not so well). Following that, we take a bit of time to talk about some decks we've been playing in Modern and Pioneer!

Episode 195: The People's Meta: Post-Noodle Doodles

Episode  |  October 20th, 2022  |  1 hr 48 mins

What does Modern look like now that Yorion is banned? On this week's show we go through the complete Friday October 14 deck dump to discuss our expectations for the format's staples and other rogue decks.

Episode 194: Rakdos Scam: Midrange is Undead

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

Yorion is banned, rejoice! To celebrate, we're scamming it up with Rakdos Scam aka Rakdos Elementals aka Rakdos Midrange aka Rakdos Blink. A deck that goes by many names but it's only got one thing on it's mind. Turn 1 Grief, baby! It's a Modern deck dive of undying proportions.

Episode 193: Creativity Can't Be Stopped feat. Zach Ryl

Episode  |  October 6th, 2022  |  1 hr 11 mins

Today is the story of a deck that has been floating around for a long time in Modern, a deck that we won’t let Dave forget about, a deck that inspired us to invite our old pal Zach "Manacymbal" Ryl... that's right, it's time for a Indomitable Creativity deck dive.

Episode 192: NRG Minneapolis & Trying Out Scapeshift & MonoG

Episode  |  September 29th, 2022  |  1 hr 42 mins

This week Dave and Stan review the results from the NRG Modern $10K in Minneapolis, where 5c Creativity beat Rakdos Scam in the finals. We also dip our toes in a couple new Modern decks to see if we like playing Scapeshift or Mono-Green Devotion.

Episode 191: My Sweet Lord(s): Goblins vs Merfolk vs Elves

Episode  |  September 22nd, 2022  |  1 hr 35 mins

The introduction of three new lords in Dominaria United was all the incentive we needed to do a tribal week on The Dive Down. We tested some Modern and a Pioneer deck featuring Leaf-Crowned Visionary, Vodalian Hexcatcher, and Rundvelt Hordemaster for another edition of Sleeve Believe Heave.