MLB The Show 21 Diamond Dynasty’s Best Modes Explained

The card-based, team-building Diamond Dynasty is central to MLB The Show 21. The other core parts of the game, Road To The Show and March To October, are fairly linear, whereas Diamond Dynasty is much more free, with several different paths to chose from. MLB The Show 21‘s iteration of Dynasty allows players to pursue specific ballplayers more easily than in past years, but with its several different game modes, it can be hard to know where to begin.

Building a solid team in Diamond Dynasty is easiest in its single-player modes. Online modes like Ranked Seasons, Events, and Battle Royale can offer rare items if played successfully, but these are risky and only rewarding for experienced The Show players. For example, a 12-0 record in Battle Royale can offer cards like 92 overall Vladimir Guerrero, but an inexperienced player losing immediately may only receive a Show Pack as a reward.

Offline modes offer more reliable ways to beef up a squad, but they aren’t all equally rewarding. Conquest, which tasks players with conquering “territories” and “strongholds” on the Nation of Baseball map, provides helpful cards if completed to exhaustion, but recent years’ versions of the mode have felt like a chore, being more about playing a board game than playing baseball. A diamond Albert Pujols card is a nice reward, after all, but conquering the map to get it is extremely boring.

Diamond Dynasty in MLB The Show 21 Should Be Fun, Not Exhausting

Moments, short but rewarding snippet missions in condensed games, have also returned in MLB The Show 21. The Topps Now Moments are a great and easy way to improve a Diamond Dynasty team, since they provide diamond-level cards that focus on specific weekly moments in the MLB season – great for players just starting out and looking to add a few top ballplayers to their squad.

Showdown mode offers a series of regular Moments with a unique finale. Starting off with a draft of just a few ballplayers, players must try to complete each Moment on the first try. If done successfully, they’re rewarded with one run towards the final “showdown” mission (and sometimes another player or one of MLB The Show 21‘s perks), in which the opposing team is already winning by three or more runs. This final mission is hitting-only, and 15 or 20 outs are allowed to get however many runs are needed to beat the opponent, which won’t get a chance to bat. This offense-only finale makes Showdown a fun and unique mode that rewards different cards depending on the version chosen.

MLB The Show 21 doesn’t get everything right, but Diamond Dynasty has seen some helpful improvements; the versatility of having online and offline modes is a nice balance. While it’s still challenging to build a top squad, it’s ultimately rewarding to play and beat other specifically crafted teams. For new players, Moments provide an easy start with good rewards, and there are plenty of routes to go from there.

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