On this week’s show, we manage to fill that awkward week between spoilers and set release by preparing for the upcoming RCQ season, which conveniently kicks off this weekend. We take a look at the Pioneer metagame going into the season, and some possible upgrades from Outlaws of Thunder Junction that could shake up the format too.

Everything but the water and Clif Bars

New season old decks

D00m has prepared some new decks


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Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store
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Timestamps:

5:42 - Barenaked Heavy Play

7:35 - This week's show/housekeeping

11:17 - The Dive Down begins: Prepping for Pioneer RCQ season

22:21 - The current Pioneer meta - Tier 1

42:07 - The Tier 2 decks

56:31 - Some Cool Decks

59:50 - d00m's hot new decks for Pioneer

1:22:01 - Wrapping up

Links from this week's episode:

Anael Yahi's Data: https://twitter.com/anaelyahi/status/1779962905099665648

Metagame Mentor: https://magic.gg/news/metagame-mentor-the-pioneer-decks-to-defeat-at-april-2024-rcqs

MTGDecks.net Pioneer Winrates: https://mtgdecks.net/Pioneer/winrates

D00m's Dimir Proft: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/6322644#paper

D00m's Slickshot Heroic: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/6322647#paper

D00m's Azorius Geralf: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/6322650#paper

D00m's MonoB Bronco: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/6322652#paper

D00m's Bant Plot: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/6322653#paper

Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name?

email us: thedivedown@gmail.com

twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown Support The Dive Down

Episode 271: Casual Spiking RCQ Junction

The Dive Down is a Magic: The Gathering podcast focused on the latest decks, trends, and strategies for the casual spikes in Modern, Pioneer, Explorer, and more! 
Each week your hosts Dave, Shane, and Stanislav discuss the latest innovations, competitive events, and level-up topics for paper and online players.
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Games

Leisure

On this week's show, the four amigos break down the results of the Modern Open at NRG Indianapolis, the last big paper Modern tournament before MH3 changes everything (presumably). Plus, D00mwake joins the dark side and started playing Phoenix. And Stan tries some new cards in Ensoul, plus a bunch of OJT drafts. 

The Break Down: The Motor City is a Real Zoo Meta

The Dive Down: Be the Bad Guy, Play Phoenix

The Dive Down cont.: Stan Likes OTJ


Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown
Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store
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Timestamps:

6:56 - Heavy Play is our favorite co-host

8:25 - Goodbye, Tanner!

12:23 - This week's show/housekeeping

17:15 - NRG Indy's Modern $10K

46:15 - Cool decks grab bag - d00m on Izzet Phoenix

56:36 - Stan played some new cards in Ensoul

1:08:20 - Talking about Freestrider Lookout

1:13:45 - Stan loves OTJ draft

1:25:40 - Wrapping up

Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name?

email us: thedivedown@gmail.com

twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown Support The Dive Down

Episode 275: One Last Modern Tournament Before Everything Changes

After a brief intro, Stan is forced to drop out of the ep leaving Shane and Dave in the hot seat. First, they examine last weekend's 4 Modern Challenges in search of ideas, inspiration, and surprises. Do you know what the highest frequency deck was in all these Challenges? How about the one most likely to convert to an X-2 or better record? After all the event talk, the team goes deep into Andrea Mengucci's Gruul Prowess list from the weekend and welcome the return of the real king — Tarmogoyf. 

• Shane & Dave Take Over

• A Few Surprising Challenges

• More Talk About Tarmogoyf


Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown
Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store
Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2024 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com
Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN_TZL
And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/


Timestamps:

1:55 - Stanley Cups x Heavy Play

5:33 - This week's show/housekeeping

9:49 - The current Modern Challenge metagame

34:48 - Gruul Prowess in Modern

51:25 - Is Abundant Harvest good?

54:22 - Is Questing Druid good?

58:26 - More on Gruul Prowess

1:11:52 - Briefly talking MH3 spoilers

1:18:37 - Turn it off if you want: some Survivor chat

1:24:50 - Wrapping up

Links from this week's episode:

Bamzing's Challenge Posts:

Saturday: https://www.reddit.com/r/ModernMagic/comments/1ckv7pz/saturday_modern_challenges_results_may_4_2024/

Sunday: https://www.reddit.com/r/ModernMagic/comments/1cllxrd/sunday_modern_challenges_results_may_5_2024/

Mengu's Prowess List:  https://x.com/Mengu09/status/1786721343523704991 

Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name?

email us: thedivedown@gmail.com

twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown Support The Dive Down

Episode 274: Goyf Are So Back: Modern Challenges, Gruul Aggro (Prowess), & More

Shout out to Wizards of the Coast for seeing some poor quality card pictures in the wild and letting us see them in high definition instead. Official MH3 spoilers dropped this week, on the heels of the latest Pro Tour. Stan and D00mwake discuss!

Do Pro Tours still mean anything? Perhaps when the format they feature is fresh and exciting! We don't talk about Standard often, but enough innovations emerged at PT Thunder Junction, we were pumped to chat about the latest cards and winning decks. 

Speaking of latest cards. MH3 spoilers came early, despite the somewhat awkward circumstances. The Dive Down doesn't discuss leaks, but official spoilers have started to roll out and we chat about some standouts, including Flare of Denial, Winter Moon, Kappa Cannoneer, and Wight of the Reliquery. 

The Break Down: A Pro Tour for the Cowboy In All Of Us

The Dive Down: A Look, A New Free Counterspell


Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown
Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store
Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2024 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com
Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN_K4L
And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/


Timestamps:

01:40 - Intro

02:00 - Holding a Heavy Play Heart

04:10 - A d00mwake-style Omelette

07:30 - This aggression will not stand

09:20 - This week’s show/housekeeping

16:05 - PT Seattle: What does it mean now?

19:40 - Overall Metagame

27:10 - Winrates

35:25 - Top 8

43:10 - Final thoughts on Standard

48:20 - Modern Horizons 3 early spoilers

49:05 - Nethergoyf

53:50 - Chthonian Nightmare

59:15 - Ugin’s Labyrinth

1:04:16 - Flare of Denial

1:09:22 - Kappa Cannoneer

1:12:45 - Winter Moon

1:16:25 - Wight of the Reliquary

1:21:21 - Wrapping Up

Links from this week's episode:

Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name?

email us: thedivedown@gmail.com

twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown Support The Dive Down

Episode 273: High Res MH3 Spoilers & A Wild West Pro Tour

A new spellslinger's in town — goes by the name Slickshot Show-Off. This week we focus on the most hyped card coming into OTJ season, where it's fitting across formats, and talk about a few tricks to making sure the show off goes off without a hitch... off. Is there anything we can do to keep Dave from falling into a deep Prowess hole again? Probably not, but we're going to try — and just in case you're trying to avoid catching Prowess, too, we also talk about a few other decks Devon is having success with in Pioneer. But first — before all that — we dive into the Modern main event at this weekend's NRG Minneapolis tournament. 

• NRG Minneapolis

• The Show Off Rides Again

• It's Basically Demonic Tutor


Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown
Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store
Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2024 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com
Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN_K4L
And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/


Timestamps:

4:30 - Heavy Play has clout

6:42 - This week's show/housekeeping

11:32 - The Break Down begins: NRG Minneapolis

24:34 - The top 8

28:55 - Cool Decks, Inc

33:04 - The Dive Down begins: We played some cool decks!

34:10 - Slickshot Showoff - does it live up to the hype in Modern?

56:45 - Does it live up to the hype in Pioneer?

1:09:05 - Golgari Vampires in Pioneer

1:16:35 - Azorius Mentor Zombies in Pioneer

1:25:18 - Wrapping up

Links from this week's episode:

NRG Modern Open Decklists: https://melee.gg/Tournament/View/51194

Alex Poulosky, Modern Temur Prowess: https://melee.gg/Decklist/View/388962

Nathan VanDinter, Modern Temur Prowess: https://melee.gg/Decklist/View/388996

Ryan Overturf, Modern Gruul Prowess: https://melee.gg/Decklist/View/387842

Devon O'Donnell, Pioneer Gruul Prowess: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/6332355#paper 

d00mwake, Pioneer Golgari Vampires: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/6338707#paper 

Devon O'Donnell (aka d00mwake), Pioneer UW Zombie Mentor: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/6339425#paper 

Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name?

email us: thedivedown@gmail.com

twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown Support The Dive Down

Episode 271: Casual Spiking RCQ Junction

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