The Dive Down

By The Dive DownLeisure Games

The Dive Down episodes

September 18, 2020 Episode 91: Zendikar Rising Rises: Spoilers, Vol. 2 ft. Aspiring Spike
Stan's on vacation, which means we get to have Evart Moughon (aka AspiringSpike) on as a returning guest host to talk about the second week of Zendikar Rising spoilers. We revisit some cards from last week to get Evart's takes and give some more picks to click from the latest set. Before that, we look at some Modern and Pioneer Challenges to see what's happening in the meta.
The Break Down: Modern & Pioneer Challenges
The Dive Down: A Few Redos
The Dive Down, cont: The Last of the Spoilers
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Timestamps:
2:47 - Housekeeping
5:07 - The Break Down begins - recent Modern events
25:25 - Evart's favorite decks in Modern right now
29:55 - 2 Pioneer challenges
39:27 - The Dive Down begins
39:51 - How Evart evaluates spoilers
41:54 - Pathway lands revisited
46:22 - Agadeem's Awakening
48:27 - The spell lands revisited
52:07 - Nahiri, Heir of the Ancients revisited
54:53 - Cleansing Wildfire revisited
57:22 - Roiling Vortex
1:00:49 - Thieving Skydiver
1:02:39 - Omnath, Locus of Creation
1:04:53 - Emeria's Call and Ondu Inversion
1:06:30 - Forsaken Monument
1:10:54 - Ruin Crab
1:13:16 - Wayward Guidebeast
1:16:31 - Inscription of Ruin
1:20:12 - Feed the Swarm
1:23:25 - Deliberate
1:25:15 - Archon of Emeria
1:27:47 - Grakmaw the Skyclave Ravager
1:30:29 - Lullmage's Domination
1:32:48 - Legion Angel
1:34:45 - Lithoform Blight
1:36:37 - Maul of the Skyclaves
1:38:26 - Felidar Retreat
1:40:28 - Sea-Gate Stormcaller revisited
1:43:26 - Evart's biggest picks to click
1:45:04 - Evart's early brews
1:46:07 - Fighting Uro in Modern
1:47:45 - Finding Evart
Links from this week's episode:
The 9/13 Modern Challenge: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/modern-challenge-12206263#paper
The 9/12 Pioneer Challenge: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/pioneer-challenge-12206260#paper
The 9/13 Pioneer Challenge: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/pioneer-challenge-12206264#paper
Zendikar Rising spoilers: https://scryfall.com/sets/znr?order=spoiled
Watch Aspiring Spike on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/aspiringspike
Find Aspiring Spike on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MoughonEvart
Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name?
email us: [email protected]
twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
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1 hr 51 min
September 10, 2020 Episode 90: Zendikar Rising Rises: Spoilers, Vol. 1
We take a look at the first batch of spoilers from Zendikar Rising and identify some picks to click from the upcoming set. Before that, we have a conversation about the 2021 Magic roadmap in a non-meta Break Down!
The Break Down: DDN FNM MTGG
The Break Down, cont: Cool Set, Inc.
The Dive Down: Spoilers, Spoilers, Spoilers!
Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown
Now get 20% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown"
Timestamps:
3:58 - Housekeeping
7:31 - The Break Down begins - the 2021 release schedule!
9:58 - Modern Horizons 2
16:54 - Kaldheim
19:34 - Time Spiral Remastered
24:27 - Strixhaven
27:23 - Forgotten Realms
31:30 - Innistrad V3
38:10 - The Dive Down begins - Zendikar Rising Spoilers, pt. 1
38:40 - How we evaluate spoilers
41:50 - The mechanics of Zendikar Rising
43:41 - The Pathway Lands
54:27 - The other modal lands
1:02:31 - The Planeswalkers
1:12:40 - Cool Landfall cards, and some thoughts on Landfall
1:17:33 - Sea Gate Stormcaller
1:23:05 - Scourge of the Skyclaves
1:27:51 - Skyclave Apparition
1:29:50 - Luminarch Aspirant
1:31:54 - Fissure Wizard
1:34:05 - Crawling Barrens
1:37:27 - Cleansing Wildfire
1:42:20 - Leyline Tyrant
1:46:20 - Magmatic Channeler
Links from this week's episode:
The Dive Down Nation FNM: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/the-dive-down-nation-modern-fnm-09-04-edition#paper
Zendikar Rising spoilers: https://scryfall.com/sets/znr?order=spoiled
The 2021 release schedule: https://articles.starcitygames.com/news/wotc-unveils-2021-mtg-release-schedule/
Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name?
email us: [email protected]
twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
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1 hr 52 min
September 04, 2020 Episode 89: Return of the Living Dredge
This week we revisit Dredge! In our first repeat deck dive, we talk about what's changed for the deck, how that makes it better.. or worse.. or just different? What did playing this deck feel like in the current meta? What's up with Silversmote Ghoul? Before that, we dive into 3 recent Modern tournaments to see what's up.
The Break Down: Modern MOCS & Challenges
The Break down, pt.2: More Cool Decks, Inc.
The Dive Down: Shane Beeps Returns to Play
Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown
Now get 20% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown"
Timestamps:
4:30 - Housekeeping
7:09 - The Break Down begins
9:11 - The Showcase Qualifier
17:20 - Saturday's Modern Challenge
25:09 - Sunday's Modern Challenge
31:08 - Metagame thoughts
35:02 - The Dive Down begins - Dredge 2: The Redredgining
38:35 - What's changed for Dredge pt.1
42:16 - A brief history of Dredge
46:52 - Why is Dredge powerful, and how is it winning?
51:30 - What's in the deck
57:10 - The impact of Silversmote Ghoul
1:07:20 - The mana and mana needs of the deck
1:11:12 - What's changed for Dredge pt.2
1:14:15 - A brief mulligan discussion
1:19:24 - A brief strategic aside about stops/timing
1:20:30 - Ten Things We Like About Oxen
1:30:10 - New hate cards
1:37:41 - What playing Dredge felt like
Links from this week's episode:
Saturday's challenge: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/modern-challenge-12201349#paper
Sunday's challenge: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/modern-challenge-12201355#paper
Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name?
email us: [email protected]
twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
Support The Dive Down
1 hr 50 min
August 28, 2020 Episode 88: Gifts Storm: A Modern Ritual
This week it's back to Modern for the TDD crew as they peruse Prelim pivots for a format pulse and then dive into one of the oldest and Izzetest decks in Modern — Gifts Storm. Stan gets emotional. Dave gets self-deprecating. Shane gets quiet. It's another week on The Dive Down.
Housekeeping: A Winner is Announced!
The Break Down: Surprises in the Modern Prelims
The Dive Down: Grapeshot: The Gift That Keeps on Giving
Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown
Now get 20% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown"
Timestamps:
3:45 - Housekeeping
8:25 - The Break Down: Surprises in the Modern Prelims
21:22 - The Winner's Meta and some takes
25:51 - Cool Decks, Inc.
31:55 - The Dive Down: Grapeshot: The Gift that keeps on giving
34:10 - Why Storm?
36:14 - How Storm is designed
42:13 - The cost-reducing creatures
51:10 - Gifts Ungiven, Grapeshot, and other key cards
1:14:21 - The Gifts Packages
1:22:02 - The sideboard
1:26:29 - Beating Storm
1:35:12 - How we feel about Storm
1:39:02 - The Wind Down - P. Sully's Bonus
Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name?
email us: [email protected]
twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
Support The Dive Down
1 hr 42 min
August 26, 2020 Bonus 9: A Philosophy of Design ft. Patrick Sullivan
For this bonus ep, we welcome Patrick Sullivan to the pod to talk Magic, game design, and broadcasting! He shares some great insights with us from his long career in gaming.
Find Patrick on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BasicMountain
Donate to the Denver Justice Project: http://www.denverjusticeproject.org/
Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown
Now get 20% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown"
Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name?
email us: [email protected]
twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
Support The Dive Down
1 hr 12 min
August 21, 2020 Episode 87: The Buyer's Guide to Double Masters & Other Stuff
First on this week's show, the TDD crew do a quick check in on Pioneer a couple of weeks after the bannings. After that they do a deep dive into the financial implications of Double Masters and chat about how they approach the most fun part of Magic in general — buying stuff. Turns out it's more complicated than even Shane thought.
The Break Down: Pioneer Challenges
The Dive Down: Double the Masters
The Double Dive Down: Putting the Fun in Financial
Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown
Now get 20% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown"
Timestamps:
3:11 - Housekeeping
4:49 - The First Dive Down GIVEAWAY!
7:48 - The Break Down begins - Pioneer Prelim Power
20:08 - The Winner's meta
31:21 - What's catching our eyes
32:47 - The Dive Down begins
36:37 - Magic is expensive
38:15 - Reprint sets: when Magic goes on sale
41:57 - What we're buying from 2XM
51:56 - The decks on sale right now
57:00 - One reason Modern is still expensive, even on sale
1:00:53 - Other ways to save money on Magic cards
1:08:30 - Buylisting for fun and.... profit?
1:14:20 - Why pay more than the absolute least?
1:20:30 - Playtesting before you buy
1:26:25 - The financial trap cards
1:33:35 - Budget MTG resources
1:35:24 - Maintaining a Magic budget
1:40:54 - The Wind Down - How do we handle Magic FOMO?
1:48:20 - Closing out
Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name?
email us: [email protected]
twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
Support The Dive Down
1 hr 50 min
August 14, 2020 Episode 86: Pioneer Format, Reborn
This week we break down the post-ban Pioneer Challenges and Prelims and talk about what's over and under-performing. Then we head into the Dive Down to talk about our experiences playing Pioneer, our thoughts on the state of the format, and answer some listener questions!
The Break Down: Pioneer is Back, Baybee!
The Dive Down: Are We Having Fun Yet?
The Wind Down: Dive Down is that You? It's Me, Listeners.
Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown
Now get 20% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown"
Timestamps:
2:35 - Housekeeping
5:25 - The Break Down begins
7:58 - The overall competitive meta
25:27 - The winner's meta
28:17 - Cool decks!
36:10 - Hot takes on Pioneer
41:54 - The Dive Down begins
43:51 - What players were talking about
47:39 - What we were playing this week
50:49 - How did our decks feel?
1:03:00 - What we saw being played
1:10:25 - Was anything feeling under or overpowered?
1:16:00 - A digression - what makes Magic fun?
1:22:32 - Are the best cards and decks too good?
1:28:00 - Is the format healthier now?
1:31:20 - Listener questions! Does Uro make aggro unplayable?
1:35:28 - Does Pioneer need Bolt, Path, and better Counterspells?
1:39:10 - What would we play in a Pioneer GP?
1:41:25 - Will Pioneer be played when paper comes back?
1:45:12 - Closing out
Links from this week's episode:
Simic Spirits: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3283075#paper
Abzan Aristocrats https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3279021#paper
Inverterless Inverter https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3283205#paper
Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name?
email us: [email protected]
twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
Support The Dive Down
1 hr 48 min
August 07, 2020 Episode 85: Pioneer Bans & Modern Prowess Stans
This week we break down the 4 new bans in Pioneer, and talk about what this means for the format! In the Dive Down we go over the many flavors of Prowess in Modern: Red, Izzet, Gruul, Rakdos - how to choose?!
The Break Down: A Lovely Surprise Banning!
The Dive Down: Not Everyone's Tempo
The Dive Down, cont: We Could Bolt or Not Bolt Forever
Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown
Now get 20% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown"
Timestamps:
2:48 - Housekeeping
6:11 - The Break Down begins: SURPRISE BANS!
26:35 - Takes on the bans
32:39 - The Dive Down begins: The many flavors of Prowess
36:35 - A Red Prowess Primer
52:19 - Hey.... what's tempo?
57:35 - The decks we covered
1:04:06 - Izzet Prowess
1:09:45 - A strategic digression - the tempo of Prowess
1:14:55 - Back to Izzet Prowess
1:17:14 - Gruul Prowess
1:25:13 - Rakdos Prowess
1:33:40 - Burn vs. Prowess
1:39:08 - Why cast the "bad" spells of Prowess?
1:44:57 - Closing out
Links from this week's episode:
The August 8, 2020 B&R: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/news/august-8-2020-banned-and-restricted-announcement
Izzet Prowess: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3234953#paper
Gruul Prowess: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3234957#paper
Rakdos Prowess: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3234951#paper
Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name?
email us: [email protected]
twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
Support The Dive Down
1 hr 47 min
July 31, 2020 Episode 84: The Many Moods of Mystic Sanctuary
This week we take a look at one of the most popular and powerful cards in Modern - Mystic Sanctuary. What makes it good, how is it being played, and what can you do with it? Before that, we break down the Manatraders July Modern 15k tournament.
The Break Down: Modern Manatraders
The Dive Down: Making Mystic Mighty
Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown
Now get 20% off your first 3 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown"
Timestamps:
2:27 - Housekeeping
5:00 - The Break Down begins - The Manatraders July Modern 15k
9:50 - The MT meta
18:48 - The top 32
27:38 - Conversion rate discussion
32:52 - The Top 8
36:30 - The top cards
42:59 - The Dive Down begins - a brief history of Mystic Sanctuary
51:26 - What makes Sanctuary messed-up?
58:15 - The value plan of Sanctuary
1:11:15 - The impact on your mana
1:18:05 - The loops
1:30:10 - The strategies
1:34:25 - Facing down Sanctuary
1:39:05 - Is this the best card in Modern?
1:45:55 - Closing out
Links from this week's episode:
Gruul Prowess: https://goodgriefgames.wordpress.com/2020/04/22/brewed-up-r-g-prowess-modern/
Mystic Sanctuary is a Messed-Up Magic Card: https://articles.starcitygames.com/premium/mystic-sanctuary-is-a-messed-up-magic-card/
People Are Sleeping On Mystic Sanctuary: https://articles.starcitygames.com/premium/people-are-sleeping-on-mystic-sanctuary/
Examining The Future Of Mystic Sanctuary In Modern: https://articles.starcitygames.com/premium/examining-the-future-of-mystic-sanctuary-in-modern/
Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name?
email us: [email protected]
twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
Support The Dive Down
1 hr 48 min
July 24, 2020 Episode 83: That New Meta Smell
On this week's episode, the team does a long break down on what's happened in Pioneer and Modern in the week since our most recent bans. Takes are given... and returned? Moods are had... and worked out? Then we talk about what we've been playing lately. Ponza! White Tokens! UR Prowess! Mono Green Devotion! We'll let you guess who is who!
The Break Down: Modern/Pioneer: Similar/Same
The Dive Down: Our Decks: That's the Same Picture
Timestamps:
4:42 - Break Down Begins
5:24 - Modern Analysis Begins
12:44 - Modern Week 1 Metagame
29:50 - The Modern Winner's Metagame
42:30 - Pioneer Analysis Begins
50:06 - Pioneer’s Tier 2 and Beyond
55:00 - What do we want Pioneer to be?
1:04:57 - The Pioneer Winner’s Metagame
1:12:35 - Dive Down Begins: Our Testing Results
1:16:44 - Modern Mono-White Tokens
1:25:20 - Pioneer Mono-Green Devotion
1:35:06 - Modern Izzet Blitz
Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name?
email us: [email protected]
twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown
Support The Dive Down
Support The Dive Down
1 hr 50 min

About The Dive Down

From the publisher's feed

The Dive Down is a weekly podcast for people who love Magic: The Gathering but like talking about other things too. From videogames, to parenting, to 3D printing, and beyond. Each week hosts Dave,…