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The Dive Down

The Dive Down

The Dive Down

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. 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 THEDIVEDOWN2024 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 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown or use Manatraders coupon code THEDIVEDOWN_8LU
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Top 10 The Dive Down Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best The Dive Down episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to The Dive Down for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite The Dive Down episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

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 chat about the Sunday Pioneer $5K results, and other data that's been shared from across the weekend. Then we dip our toes in a couple new Modern decks to see if we like playing Scapeshift or Mono-Green Devotion.

The Break Down: NRG Minneapolis Modern $10k and Pioneer $5k
The Dive Down: Trying Out Scapshift (Modern) & MonoG (Pioneer)

Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown

Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN15 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more.

Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "THEDIVEDOWN15"

And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code "DIVE8" at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/

Timestamps:
Housekeeping - 4:45
NRG Minneapolis Modern 10K - 7:07
Modern Metagame Breakdown - 10:00
Modern Top 8 - 29:15
NRG Pioneer $5K - 46:40
Tournament Winrates Across Decks - 58:00
Stan plays Scapeshift - 1:12:36
Dave plays Mono-Green Devotion - 1:28:22

Links from this week's episode:

https://mtgmelee.com/Tournament/View/10501

https://twitter.com/jekleckner/status/1574519024452763648?s=46&t=LFo9NVqh6FHt7ERhNQEOJg

https://twitter.com/jekleckner/status/1574527119706804240?s=21&t=wjnnmBpxc8xzQekdAoEOqQ

https://articles.nerdragegaming.com/the-nrg-championship-series/nrg-championship-trials-standings/

https://twitter.com/GR_DONKIN/status/1572390053556457472?s=20&t=9-72YkHS22jcINubKZ7X_A

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

Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane

email us: [email protected]
twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown

Support The Dive Down

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The Dive Down - Episode 187: Liliana, Pain Lands, & Frank Karsten
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08/18/22 • 88 min

Our exciting first bit of Dominaria United spoilers are here, and the gang reacts to the addition of three new allied pain lands, Liliana of the Veil coming to Pioneer, and more.

We also kick off the show with a Rhino tournament report from... Shane! The one and only took the deck out for his first Modern RCQ and did not disappoint us. Then we wrap up the episode with a discussion of a fascinating new article from our favorite Magic mathematician, Frank Karsten, who's latest foray into metagame reporting provides a new framework for deck and tournament analysis in the winner's metagame.

Part 1: Shane Says Things About Rhinos
Part 2: Stan Says Things Under Embargoes
Part 3: Dave Says Things About Adjusting Wins

Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown

Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN15 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more.

Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "THEDIVEDOWN15"

And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code "DIVE8" at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/

Timestamps:
4:38 - Housekeeping
7:32 - Shane talks his RhinoCQ
42:03 - Early Dominaria United spoilers begin
44:45 - The mechanics of Dominaria
48:21 - The World Spell
53:08 - Liliana of the Veil is back!
1:03:26 - The painlands are also back!
1:11:36 - The Phasing of Zhalfir
1:13:07 - Sheoldred, the Apocalypse
1:16:02 - Frank Karsten is our new Metagame Mentor
1:27:21 - Closing out

Links from this week's episode:
Shane's RCQ Rhinos deck: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/5022278#paper
Frank's Pioneer Metagame Mentor: https://magic.gg/news/metagame-mentor-pioneer-metagame-roundup-august-2022

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

Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane

email us: [email protected]
twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown

Support The Dive Down

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This week it takes two to make a thing go right! And by two we me Dave and Shane. And by thing we mean podcast. This podcast. Stan is out this week, so Dave and Shane talk about early impressions of Pioneer and Modern with access to the powerful cards of Dominaria United. Topics covered include: Leyline Binding, Rundvelt Hordemaster, Boglins, Sheoldred, and more.

Housekeeping: We Sent Out a Lot of Boxes
The Dive Down: We Talk About a Lot of Cards

Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown

Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN15 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more.

Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "THEDIVEDOWN15"

And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code "DIVE8" at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/

Timestamps:
3:19 - Housekeeping
6:56 - An ultra-short Break Down
7:50 - The Dive Down begins: Leyline Binding
31:03 - Rundvelt Hordemaster
37:30 - Serra Paragon
39:40 - Yotia Declares War/The Elder Dragon War
42:27 - Voldalian Hexcatcher
44:00 - Dave only wears Russian Leather
48:15 - The MIA cards from Dominaria United
53:11 - Liliana of the Veil
58:28 - Sheoldred, the Apocalypse
1:07:04 - Phoenix Chick
1:10:22 - Jaya, Fiery Negotiator
1:13:11 - Pain lands
1:14:40 - Some final thoughts
1:19:39 - Closing out

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

Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane

email us: [email protected]
twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown

Support The Dive Down

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The Dive Down - Episode 178: NRG Modern & Pio: Is 4c 2 Good 4 U?
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06/16/22 • 93 min

It's a hot one on The Dive Down this week. We take a deep look at NRG's recent set of Modern and Pioneer Trials in Lansing, Michigan and tackle the big questions about our favorite formats. Is 4c too good for Modern? What can even be done if it is too good? What's happened to Pioneer without Winota and Expressive Iteration? How many words can the three of us get beeped out in one episode? And more! Stan fights through jet lag and still brings the insights. Shane loves talking about bad decks that performed badly. And, finally, Dave gets his comeuppance.

The Break Down: An Intro for Our Times
The Break Down: NRG Modern: A Format With Great Playstyle Diversity
The Break Down: NRG Pioneer: No Alarms and No Surprises, Please

Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown

Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN15 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more.

Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "THEDIVEDOWN15"

Timestamps:
4:30 - Housekeeping
6:15 - The NRG Lansing Event
9:40 - The NRG Modern overall metagame
15:39 - The Top 64 meta
36:10 - The Top 8
39:07 - Is 4-Color too good?
54:45 - Stan's back, and he smells good
57:30 - The NRG Pioneer metagame
1:02:33 - How the good Pioneer decks performed
1:21:20 - What decks didn't do well?
1:26:30 - The Top 8
1:28:47 - Even more thoughts on Pioneer
1:32:02 - Closing out

Links from this week's episode:
NRG Modern $10k: https://mtgmelee.com/Tournament/View/9604
NRG Pioneer: $5k: https://mtgmelee.com/Tournament/View/9605

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

Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane

email us: [email protected]
twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown

Support The Dive Down

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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

Timestamps:
5:41 - Heavy Play time
7:00 - This week's show/housekeeping
10:22 - The Break Down begins: the NRG St. Louis Modern event
19:12 - The MXP Tacoma Modern event
24:55 - What does the PT metagame potentially look like?
48:31 - The Dive Down begins: What's the deal with these new cards?
49:57 - Stan Nadu'd so you Nadon't have to
1:03:30 - Devon loves Kappa Cannoneer
1:11:15 - Dave (and Devon) played Energy Prowess
1:23:20 - We mention a single Assassin's Creed card
1:26:00 - Wrapping up

Links from this week's episode:
https://melee.gg/Tournament/View/52904
https://melee.gg/Tournament/View/79404
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/6464281#paper
https://www.moxfield.com/decks/6oV78FnDbkCjyWt3OEVKRg
https://www.moxfield.com/decks/mhmc1tqudk23WRA4yUUhew

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

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This week's episode starts with Dave telling a shaggy dog story while fumbling through the Seinfeld theme on his bass — so you know it's going to be a loose one. Fortunately, Shane and Stan quickly bring the three friends back on track (within the first 4 minutes, we swear) and take us all through Winota's ban in Explorer, four different challenges across Modern and Pioneer, and finally some of their testing results with Winota and Izzet Phoenix in Pioneer. Stan rolls to a non-interactive 4-1. Shane can't stop shreddin. Dave can't stop slappin the bass.

The Break Down, I: Winota's Gone in Explorer!
The Break Down, II: Kicking Bass in a Bunch of Challenges
The Dive Down: Winota's Here in Pioneer! So is Phoenix!

Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown

Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN2022 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more.

Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "THEDIVEDOWN15"

Timestamps:
5:40 - Housekeeping
8:46 - The Break Down begins - The first Explorer bans
17:11 - Saturday's Pioneer Challenge
28:49 - Sunday's Pioneer Challenge
35:30 - Cool Decks, Inc - Pioneer ed.
38:48 - Saturday's Modern Challenge
46:23 - Sunday's Modern Challenge
52:26 - Public Smelling Stories
55:58 - The Dive Down - Stan's hot takes on Winota
1:00:16 - Fable of the Mirror breaker is a protection spell
1:04:00 - Esika's Chariot = Splinter Twin
1:06:58 - Deck mull good
1:09:25 - Enablers are good
1:12:05 - Modern vs. Pioneer gameplay discussion
1:20:05 - Shane casts blue and red cards
1:34:00 - Shane's thoughts on Izzet Phoenix in Explorer
1:41:56 - Stan cracks a pack
1:44:35 - Closing out

Links from this week's episode:
May 11 B&R: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/magic-digital/may-11-2022-banned-and-restricted-announcement
Saturday's Pio Challenge: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/pioneer-challenge-12418751#paper
Sunday's Pio Challenge: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/pioneer-challenge-12418755#paper
Saturday's Modern Challenge: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/modern-challenge-12418748#paper
Sunday's Modern Challenge: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/modern-challenge-12418754#paper
Naya Winota in Pioneer: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/4818484#paper
Izzet Phoenix in Explorer: https://mtgazone.com/explorer-izzet-phoenix-deck-guide/

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

Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane

email us: [email protected]
twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown

Support The Dive Down

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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.

Timestamps:
6:00 - Heavy Play, not a camarone
7:10 - This week's show/housekeeping
11:01 - The Break Down begins: The rhinos are back in town
43:44 - The Dive Down begins: Bloomburrow spoilers, part 2
44:26 - The Infamous Cruelclaw (revisited)/Sunspine Lynx
49:53 - Osteomancer Adept
52:36 - Lumra, Bellow of the Woods
55:04 - Beza, the Bounding Spring (revisited)/Dourport Mage
1:00:37 - Huskburster Swarm
1:03:13 - Fountainport
1:05:21 - Jackdaw Savior
1:09:34 - Vinereap Mentor
1:11:10 - Ygra, Eater of All
1:15:25 - Darkstar Auger
1:17:54 - Stormsplitter
1:20:22 - Valley Mightcaller
1:21:14 - Keen-Eyed Curator
1:25:28 - Thundertrap Trainer
1:27:30 - Our picks to click
1:35:16 - 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: [email protected]
twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown

Support The Dive Down

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In the first episode of a new miniseries (???), Stan and Shane talk about their experiences testing two of the top decks in the format in their preparation for the CFB Vegas event in November. How do Izzet Murktide and Boros Burn perform right now? Why are they good, and what might be their fatal flaws? Only one way to find out!

The Break Down: Dave's Not Here, Man
The Break Down, cont: Some Good Good Challenges
The Dive Down: Matchups and Putdowns

Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown
Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown2021"

Timestamps:
3:07 - Housekeeping
6:16 - The Break Down begins
15:00 - Sunday's Challenge
21:30 - What these Challenges tell us
25:04 - Cool Deck(s), Inc.
27:35 - The Dive Down begins - The Road to Vegas
34:41 - Stan on Izzet Murktide
38:44 - Why has Murktide been successful, and how is it positioned right now?
42:32 - Murktide's matchups
1:01:13 - Some final thoughts on Murktide
1:06:40 - Shane on Boros Burn
1:07:31 - What's up with Burn?
1:10:32 - Burn's matchups
1:32:10 - Some thoughts on Burn
1:40:46 - What to try next?
1:43:00 - Closing out

Links from this week's episode:
Saturday's Challenge: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/modern-challenge-12344224#paper
Sunday's Challenge: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/modern-challenge-12344230#paper
Mardu Midrange: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/4342367#paper

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

Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane

email us: [email protected]
twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown

Support The Dive Down

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The Dive Down - Episode 134: Five Cards You Want Banned in Modern
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07/21/21 • 110 min

In this weeks ep, we reveal the results of The Dive Down Nation's Modern Ban survey. What are the five cards you voted on to be removed from Modern, and more importantly.... what are our takes on the results?! Before that, we go over some Tasha's Hideous Laughter math that citizen of the Nation Stefan generated, and briefly discuss Sunday's Modern Challenge Top 8!

The Break Down: Tasha's Hideous Mathter
The Dive Down: The Nation Decides
The Dive Down, cont: What if Nothing?

Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown
Get 15% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "thedivedown2021"

Timestamps:
2:45 - Housekeeping
7:10 - The Break Down - Tasha's Hideous Math
17:33 - Breaking News! The Sunday Challenge Top 8
22:22 - The Dive Down Begins
23:46 - Lurrus of the Dream-Den
25:57 - The case for banning Lurrus
38:02 - The case against banning Lurrus
44:40 - The final verdict on Lurrus
47:57 - Mishra's Bauble
51:40 - The case for banning Bauble
58:31 - The case against banning Bauble
1:04:36 - The final verdict on Bauble
1:07:22 - Primeval Titan
1:08:55 - The case for banning Titan
1:13:20 - The case against banning Titan
1:15:20 - The final verdict on Titan
1:18:37 - Teferi, Time Raveler
1:19:28 - The case for banning Teferi
1:24:05 - The case against banning Teferi
1:27:29 - The final verdict on Teferi
1:29:45 - Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer
1:30:40 - The case for banning Ragavan
1:36:40 - The case against banning Ragavan
1:38:10 - The final verdict on Ragavan
1:39:15 - Should we ban... Nothing?
1:41:10 - The Wind Down - what didn't make the top 5?
1:48:38 - Closing out

Links from this week's episode:
How Hideous is Tasha's Laughter: https://www.reddit.com/r/ModernMagic/comments/omalkc/how_hideous_is_tashas_laughter_what_the_numbers/
Sunday's Challenge: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/modern-challenge-2021-07-19

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

Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane

email us: [email protected]
twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown

Support The Dive Down

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The Dive Down - Episode 195: The People's Meta: Post-Noodle Doodles
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10/20/22 • 108 min

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.

We consider the contenders for the "best new deck," including Murktide, Creativity, and Hammer. Plus we take stock of the initial attempts at 4C Omnath decks in 60 cards. And imagine the potential for emerging or rogue strategies, like 5C Zoo, Scam, and Breach.

Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown

Check out our sponsor Barrister and Mann! https://www.barristerandmann.com/ Use code THEDIVEDOWN15 for 15% off your first order of some incredible fragrances, soaps, beard oils, and more.

Get 10% off your first 2 months of ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use code "THEDIVEDOWN15"

And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code "DIVE8" at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/

Timestamps:
3:16 - Housekeeping
9:26 - The People's Meta begins
12:15 - Murktide
18:29 - Hammertime
24:09 - Creativity
30:52 - 4C Omnath
36:21 - Rakdos Midrange
42:19 - Cascade decks
45:18 - Burn
48:08 - Amulet Titan
50:18 - Yawgmoth
52:39 - Control decks
58:14 - Grinding Breach
1:03:47 - Shadow
1:10:25 - Riding the Waves
1:13:14 - Mill
1:16:12 - Scapeshift
1:18:40 - Tron
1:20:43 - Uncategorized assertive decks
1:27:04 - A bunch of midrange
1:30:07 - Aether Vial decks
1:33:37 - Affinity stuff
1:34:37 - Uncategorized creature combo
1:37:19 - Prowess
1:40:35 - Mono-black control stuff
1:41:53 - Combo grab-bag
1:43:03 - What we might want to try
1:47:12 - Closing out

Links from this week's episode:
https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/modern-league-2022-10-14

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

Watch us stream our episodes every Sunday night at 8pm Central: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivedown_shane

email us: [email protected]
twitter: https://twitter.com/thedivedown

Support The Dive Down

bookmark
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FAQ

How many episodes does The Dive Down have?

The Dive Down currently has 321 episodes available.

What topics does The Dive Down cover?

The podcast is about Leisure, Games, Explorer, Gaming, Podcasts, Magic The Gathering and Modern.

What is the most popular episode on The Dive Down?

The episode title 'Episode 267: Somewhere Over the Rainbow: Post-Ban Modern Results & Testing' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on The Dive Down?

The average episode length on The Dive Down is 100 minutes.

How often are episodes of The Dive Down released?

Episodes of The Dive Down are typically released every 7 days.

When was the first episode of The Dive Down?

The first episode of The Dive Down was released on Dec 22, 2018.

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