Episodes
The doctor is in. For a very special episode 300, The Dive Down sits down with THE Richard Garfield, inventor of Magic: The Gathering and great-great-grandson of President James A. Garfield. What is Magic as Garfield intended? We finally have the answer.
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Upgrade your gameplay and...
Published 11/13/24
They said it couldn't be done, but one of the Dive Down boys (other than D00mwake) finally won an RCQ. On this week's show, Stan talks about piloting Boros Energy to qualify for RC Portland, and we break down the Standard metagame and results from the Magic World Championship in Las Vegas.
The Break Down: 6 Matches to Portland
The Dive Down: Congratulations, Javier Dominguez
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Published 10/31/24
Hot off the presses of WOTC's Foundations announcement, we break down and discuss the impact of Universes Beyond sets entering the Standard format in 2025.
The Break Down: Cards That Will Be Standard Legal for 5 Years
The Dive Down: Squidward Reborn
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Upgrade your gameplay and your...
Published 10/25/24
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.
The Break Down: Frank Loves Stats
The Dive Down: Dave Needs a Deck
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Published 10/17/24
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. Will Demons remain are force in the meta? Will we keep paying taxes to Selesnya after this event? How soon until we all get annoyed with Tree of Perdition? And then lastly — and most importantly — is Pioneer right now the Magic...
Published 10/10/24
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. If you haven't been paying attention to Pioneer lately — post-Duskmourn seems like a good time to jump in!
• An RC in Brazil!
• Devon has been preparing!
• There are lots of decks!
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Published 10/03/24
On this week's show, Stan and Dave are joined by a new guest to The Dive Down. Taking a break from preparing for Regional Championship Washington DC and next month's World Championship in Las Vegas , Mark Stanton stops by to talk about the competitive mindset and how to practice Magic better.
We chat about first impressions from Duskmourn, the current state of Pioneer leading up to the RC, and how to prepare for tournaments that matter.
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Published 09/26/24
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.
The Break Down: Devon Wins an RCQ!
The Break Down cont.: 70% Winrate Seems Good!
The Dive Down: Goods Cards From the Bad House?
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Published 09/19/24
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.
The Break Down: Rakdos Aggro, So Hot Right Now
The Dive Down: Duskmourn Spoilers, pt 1
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Show the...
Published 09/12/24
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 breath a sigh of relief at a format finding its footing.
The Break Down: The Sights and Sounds of Renton, WA
The Dive Down: Energy Looks Good, Modern Looks Better
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Show...
Published 09/05/24
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.
• It Finally Happened
• Sorin and Amalia Go in Pioneer
• Nadu and Grief (?) Go in Modern
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Published 08/28/24
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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Upgrade your...
Published 08/22/24
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.
The Break Down: Return of Through the Breach?
The Dive Down: Conceding? Mulliganning?
The Dive Down cont.: Nadu Looping with Lee McLoud!
The Wind Down: Dave's Box of Secrets
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Published 08/15/24
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.
•...
Published 08/09/24
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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Published 08/01/24
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.
The Break Down: Stan and Devon talk about the same deck again.
The Dive Down: Dave talks about the same cards again. Shane has the same doubts again.
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Published 07/25/24
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.
• No Surprises, All Alarms
• Higher Highs for Nadu
• The Cutest Little Cards Ever
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Published 07/18/24
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.
We kick off the show by asking the difficult question, "What is WOTC waiting for?" Then we dive into a ton of MTGO data, which finally came back this week with...
Published 07/11/24
PT Amsterdam was last week and Modern will never be the same. This week Dave, Devon, and Stan talk about the huge impact MH3 cards had on the tournament — and, of course, spend a ton of time speculating about what's going to happen with Nadu. Bans? Errata? Only Fly Away? We'll see, but we mostly bet it won't happen until about 6 weeks from now (sorry).
Devon shares what he thinks the next best deck will be. Stan gets energetic about his RCQ deck choice. Dave is torn between two ways to...
Published 07/03/24
On this week's show, we take a look at the results from Modern's first big paper tournaments since the release of MH3. We chat about NRG St. Louis, MXP Tacoma, our predictions for PT Amsterdam, Stan's experiences playing Bant Nadu, Devon's experiments with Kappa Cannoneer, and Dave (and Devon's) explorations of Energy Prowess.
The Break Down: Paper Modern Shows its Colors
The Dive Down: Nadu, Kappa, and Mutagenic Growth
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Published 06/27/24
It's time to rev up those rental accounts because new cards are on the horizon. On this week's show, Shane and Stan (aka The Cool S Bros) share their war stories of leaguing with Modern Horizon 3 decks. Stan fires up some Boros Energy and Ruby Storm, while Shane locks his opponents out with Eldrazi Prison.
We kick off the show with a high level check-in on format diversity in the weeks following MH3's release. Then we chat about the one-two punch of Guide of Souls and Ajani, flexible...
Published 06/20/24
Welcome to the new Horizon of Modern. That long awaited day is finally here — Horizons 3 has launched and is in the hands of anyone who wants to: 1) use a Bird Wizard to draw their whole deck, 2) Break a line with a bowl of spaghet monsters, 3) Pay life to draw cards, then DIE, and 4) explore an potentially incredible new format.
This week Dave and Devon talk through early impressions of decks we're seeing, things we've tested, early results from an MH3-inclusive 5k in Las Vegas and more....
Published 06/13/24
It took another couple hours but we finally made it through the complete MH3 spoiler (even after skipping a ton of limited fodder). We wrap up our set review with the gold cards along with the new to Modern reprints, and cap it off with some of our favorite cards in the set and a few called shots about cards to watch.
We at least mention every card by name so YOU KNOW if we don't think a card is good enough to see play.
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Published 06/06/24
It's finally here! The Modern Horizons 3 spoiler is complete — and wow do we have a lot to talk about. Join us this week as Dave, Devon, and Shane talk through every card * in the set from Colorless and WUBRG. We debate which new Eldrazi titan is best, how much energy you need to feel paid off, some pet cards that we wish we good, and more! Lots more because we're talking about every card *.
We at least mention every card by name so YOU KNOW if we don't think a card is good enough to see...
Published 05/31/24