I like Kiora's Follower after testing it. It's probably the best 2-cmc mana dork I've tried in this deck (and I've tried Wall of Roots, Lotus Cobra, Zhur-Taa Druid, Radha, Heir to Keld, Steward of Valeron...I like 9+ mana dorks). Although it's merely a mana dork most of the time, accelerating Pod chains (especially in 1 Exarch builds like mine), protecting the combo, giving big stuff Vigilance, and badly comboing with Kiki-Jiki has been clutch often enough. (Killing Phantasmal stuff against Merfolk and Ninja Bear Delver is a nice bonus, interacting with tap-happy guys like Izzet Staticaster and Knight of the Reliquary is fun...)
It really wants 7-8 fetches, Hallowed Fountain, Breeding Pool, and Steam Vents in the deck, though, and even then, it'll rage at being uncastable in opening hands fairly often.
hey guys. i'm concerned for my sideboard in light of the recent DRS ban. i suspect we'll see a rise in GY strategies; e.g., Living End, Dredgevine, Snapcaster decks. right now my only real graveyard hate is a singleton mainboard scooze. do you think i should be slotting in at least 1 Relic into my sideboard, and if so, what goes? i'm thinking Fauna Shaman.
hey guys. i'm concerned for my sideboard in light of the recent DRS ban. i suspect we'll see a rise in GY strategies; e.g., Living End, Dredgevine, Snapcaster decks. right now my only real graveyard hate is a singleton mainboard scooze. do you think i should be slotting in at least 1 Relic into my sideboard, and if so, what goes? i'm thinking Fauna Shaman.
I have a mainboard Scooze and a sideboarded Stonecloaker. I like being able to have tutorable dudes at different CMCs (a la Pridemage and Sliver). I also have a second Scooze in the SB that's mainly there because I can't find anything better to add that I own, but if graveyard decks, and Pod decks as well, become more popular I might keep it there.
hey guys. i'm concerned for my sideboard in light of the recent DRS ban. i suspect we'll see a rise in GY strategies; e.g., Living End, Dredgevine, Snapcaster decks. right now my only real graveyard hate is a singleton mainboard scooze. do you think i should be slotting in at least 1 Relic into my sideboard, and if so, what goes? i'm thinking Fauna Shaman.
Just throwing this out here. I cut my fauna shaman for Huntmaster of the fells and I would have to say he is quite good. I don't know if he is better than a third voice or a forth kitchen finks yet though. Thoughts?
Honestly I think its really close between 1 Huntmaster, the 4th Finks, and 3rd Voice. Its super close to the point that I wouldnt fault anyone for choosing one over the other. I like Huntmaster for these reasons:
1: He is two bodies and 2 life. So slightly better against zoo than Finks, because chances are finks just eats a Path.
2: He Threatens to take over the game by himself. He is a huge threat against UWx Control decks, and potentially fae. Forcing them to either have an answer or play spells on their own turn.
3: He is a 4 drop. So if you do have a finks out, and you still need extra life you can pod into him, and get 2 more blockers.
I play Melira Pod now, but Kiki Pod was the deck I wanted to get into Modern for. I never ended up building it but I often come haunt this thread. I'm trying to decide if trading in some of my Melira pieces for Kiki pieces would be worth it.
On a different note, I'm also worried about Pod being banned.
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Fblthp had always hated crowds.
Decks
Modern
Affinity [MTGO]
Recovering from the Pod ban in paper
If my meta were full of Zoo, I would never cut Voice. I would seriously consider increasing my Voice count. Against Zoo, I've found that Voice either gets exiled/tucked (worst-case scenario), walls their board and takes over the game, or dies to something and the token still takes over the game (by swinging or walling really hard).
Honestly I think its really close between 1 Huntmaster, the 4th Finks, and 3rd Voice. Its super close to the point that I wouldnt fault anyone for choosing one over the other. I like Huntmaster for these reasons:
1: He is two bodies and 2 life. So slightly better against zoo than Finks, because chances are finks just eats a Path.
2: He Threatens to take over the game by himself. He is a huge threat against UWx Control decks, and potentially fae. Forcing them to either have an answer or play spells on their own turn.
3: He is a 4 drop. So if you do have a finks out, and you still need extra life you can pod into him, and get 2 more blockers.
I agree. I cut Fauna Shaman for Huntmaster mainboard before Nacatl unbanning. I think he's just that good for us.
So I played this deck about 6 months ago in paper and haven't really done much with it since, how are people finding it post-bannings? Worth picking up for MTGO?
I have a few questions about things that have changed since I played it though, any responses would be greatly appreciated!
Fauna Shaman was never that good for me back in the day, but she was really good at baiting out a Lightning Bolt or counterspell if I needed to stick something relevant. Has she been replaced by an additional Voice of Resurgence or Scavenging Ooze?
As a follow-up, are the 2 Scoozes in the MD absolutely necessary? Or could one be cut for Strangleroot Geist? (I like having another 1-creature combo enabler, even if the creature itself is a bit lackluster) or Huntmaster of the Fells (I just really like the card )
For the MTGO meta (lots of combo and counterspells), Chord of Calling seems better than Domri Rade, right? And if the meta shifts more towards creatures, Domri is the better choice?
Thanks all!
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Legacy: RUG RUG Delver GUR
Modern: RG GR Tron (Retired) GR WURG Kiki Pod (Retired) GRUW BRG Jund (Retired) GRB
So I played this deck about 6 months ago in paper and haven't really done much with it since, how are people finding it post-bannings? Worth picking up for MTGO?
I have a few questions about things that have changed since I played it though, any responses would be greatly appreciated!
Fauna Shaman was never that good for me back in the day, but she was really good at baiting out a Lightning Bolt or counterspell if I needed to stick something relevant. Has she been replaced by an additional Voice of Resurgence or Scavenging Ooze?
As a follow-up, are the 2 Scoozes in the MD absolutely necessary? Or could one be cut for Strangleroot Geist? (I like having another 1-creature combo enabler, even if the creature itself is a bit lackluster) or Huntmaster of the Fells (I just really like the card )
For the MTGO meta (lots of combo and counterspells), Chord of Calling seems better than Domri Rade, right? And if the meta shifts more towards creatures, Domri is the better choice?
Thanks all!
1. Our fast mana is in the form of Grove of the Burnwillows. Rugged Prairie is used mainly so that we can cast Linvala with ease. I would not want any of the Scars lands because we want all of our lands to come into play untapped. Sometimes you need that last land to win with Pod or cast Kiki for the win. Right now, I have 1 Rugged Prairie and 1 Clifftop Retreat as my flex land slots.
2. I have never had a bad experience with Fauna Shaman yet. She either eats removal, which I'm happy to have happen, or she just wins the game for you. She can tutor up hate for just about any deck as well. I would not underestimate her. That being said, other's have not had the same experience I have had with Fauna Shaman, and she can be cut if you need. Right now my list has 3 Voice of Resurgence and 0 Scavenging Ooze. My one Ooze is in the sideboard. I have found Ooze in the main to be too mana intensive and a dead draw early in the game.
3. If you play Ooze in the main, I suggest only one. If you need two, I'd have the other in the sideboard. Like I said above, it's a dead draw early, and once you have it out, it's very mana intensive. I'd also want to consider playing Fire-Lit Thicket instead of Rugged Prairie if you play multiple Oozes.
4. Domri is better in grindy, slow matchups. So he really shines against decks with a lot of counterspells. They often lack the creatures to remove him effectively. Against combo, neither is good. Chord and Domri are too slow to have a huge impact on those matchups. If you needed one, I guess Chord would be slightly better because if you could ramp enough, you could tutor for a hate card. Against creature decks, I would say Chord is actually better. Being able to tutor for any creature is very powerful. It's an easy way to set up your combo if your opponent isn't playing discard or counterspells. You should also remember that for the most part, our deck doesn't have any creatures that are too powerful, so we need to be fighting X/3s for Domri to be used as a removal spell. Meaning Goyf, Knight of the Reliquary, Loxodon Smiter, Etched Champion, any manland, ect gets around him pretty easily.
I think the direction this deck goes is highly dependant on the Pro Tour. If the format becomes Zoo and Fae, we will want to max out on Voice and Finks. If it goes in the direction of Twin, we will need to adapt a lot because Twin is one of our toughest matchups. If Melira becomes the best deck in the format, we should probably just learn to play something else, because a Pod ban will come with the next set.
I have not tested against Fae yet due to no one in my meta building the deck yet. In theory Domri should not be great against them though. All of their creatures fly and we have a lack of flying creatures to chump with. You might get 2 activations out of Domri before he dies, and his fight ability is lackluster as well. I think the key to winning the Fae matchup will most likely be Kitchen Finks and Voice of Resurgence. Izzet Staticaster will be very good at removing Bitterblossom tokens as well
I have not tested against Fae yet due to no one in my meta building the deck yet. In theory Domri should not be great against them though. All of their creatures fly and we have a lack of flying creatures to chump with. You might get 2 activations out of Domri before he dies, and his fight ability is lackluster as well. I think the key to winning the Fae matchup will most likely be Kitchen Finks and Voice of Resurgence. Izzet Staticaster will be very good at removing Bitterblossom tokens as well
I also think Huntmaster will be great against them. I already play one main. It's also good against zoo. I might also sb a great sable stag if fae gets big.
I have not tested against Fae yet due to no one in my meta building the deck yet. In theory Domri should not be great against them though. All of their creatures fly and we have a lack of flying creatures to chump with. You might get 2 activations out of Domri before he dies, and his fight ability is lackluster as well. I think the key to winning the Fae matchup will most likely be Kitchen Finks and Voice of Resurgence. Izzet Staticaster will be very good at removing Bitterblossom tokens as well
I also think Huntmaster will be great against them. I already play one main. It's also good against zoo. I might also sb a great sable stag if fae gets big.
I think Huntmaster is good in theory, but the 4 drop slot is kind of crowded right now. I wouldn't want to cut a 2 or 3 drop for another 4 drop and I think we need all the Restos we have right now. Great Stable Stag is a good sideboard option if Fae becomes overwhelming, but is really only good in that specific matchup. I think we have plenty of threats that can handle Faeries, so Great Stable Stag is currently unnecessary. For GP Richmond, I am going to be focusing on being able to consistently beat Twin while tuning the deck to have solid matchups against Zoo, Faeries, and UWR.
I think keeping 1 main is pretty important even in non chord lists. Being able to use the mana immediately is pretty good.
As for sideboarding for Fae, obviously try and get your staticaster out quickly. If Fae becomes a prominent deck, it might be worth putting another Staticaster in the sideboard or a Electrickery / Corrosive Gale / Raking Canopy
It really wants 7-8 fetches, Hallowed Fountain, Breeding Pool, and Steam Vents in the deck, though, and even then, it'll rage at being uncastable in opening hands fairly often.
1 Sigarda, Host of Herons
1 Aven Mindcensor
3 Path to Exile
1 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
1 Kataki, War's Wage
1 Thrun, the Last Troll
1 Obstinate Baloth
1 Avalanche Riders
1 Fauna Shaman
1 Harmonic Sliver
1 Fiery Justice
I have a mainboard Scooze and a sideboarded Stonecloaker. I like being able to have tutorable dudes at different CMCs (a la Pridemage and Sliver). I also have a second Scooze in the SB that's mainly there because I can't find anything better to add that I own, but if graveyard decks, and Pod decks as well, become more popular I might keep it there.
Regarding running a 4-color deck without fetchlands:
MostlyLost on Cockatrice.
Why Relic over rest in peace?
1: He is two bodies and 2 life. So slightly better against zoo than Finks, because chances are finks just eats a Path.
2: He Threatens to take over the game by himself. He is a huge threat against UWx Control decks, and potentially fae. Forcing them to either have an answer or play spells on their own turn.
3: He is a 4 drop. So if you do have a finks out, and you still need extra life you can pod into him, and get 2 more blockers.
On a different note, I'm also worried about Pod being banned.
Decks
Affinity [MTGO]
Recovering from the Pod ban in paper
I agree. I cut Fauna Shaman for Huntmaster mainboard before Nacatl unbanning. I think he's just that good for us.
I have a few questions about things that have changed since I played it though, any responses would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks all!
RUG RUG Delver GUR
RG GR Tron (Retired) GR
WURG Kiki Pod (Retired) GRUW
BRG Jund (Retired) GRB
1. Our fast mana is in the form of Grove of the Burnwillows. Rugged Prairie is used mainly so that we can cast Linvala with ease. I would not want any of the Scars lands because we want all of our lands to come into play untapped. Sometimes you need that last land to win with Pod or cast Kiki for the win. Right now, I have 1 Rugged Prairie and 1 Clifftop Retreat as my flex land slots.
2. I have never had a bad experience with Fauna Shaman yet. She either eats removal, which I'm happy to have happen, or she just wins the game for you. She can tutor up hate for just about any deck as well. I would not underestimate her. That being said, other's have not had the same experience I have had with Fauna Shaman, and she can be cut if you need. Right now my list has 3 Voice of Resurgence and 0 Scavenging Ooze. My one Ooze is in the sideboard. I have found Ooze in the main to be too mana intensive and a dead draw early in the game.
3. If you play Ooze in the main, I suggest only one. If you need two, I'd have the other in the sideboard. Like I said above, it's a dead draw early, and once you have it out, it's very mana intensive. I'd also want to consider playing Fire-Lit Thicket instead of Rugged Prairie if you play multiple Oozes.
4. Domri is better in grindy, slow matchups. So he really shines against decks with a lot of counterspells. They often lack the creatures to remove him effectively. Against combo, neither is good. Chord and Domri are too slow to have a huge impact on those matchups. If you needed one, I guess Chord would be slightly better because if you could ramp enough, you could tutor for a hate card. Against creature decks, I would say Chord is actually better. Being able to tutor for any creature is very powerful. It's an easy way to set up your combo if your opponent isn't playing discard or counterspells. You should also remember that for the most part, our deck doesn't have any creatures that are too powerful, so we need to be fighting X/3s for Domri to be used as a removal spell. Meaning Goyf, Knight of the Reliquary, Loxodon Smiter, Etched Champion, any manland, ect gets around him pretty easily.
I think the direction this deck goes is highly dependant on the Pro Tour. If the format becomes Zoo and Fae, we will want to max out on Voice and Finks. If it goes in the direction of Twin, we will need to adapt a lot because Twin is one of our toughest matchups. If Melira becomes the best deck in the format, we should probably just learn to play something else, because a Pod ban will come with the next set.
I also think Huntmaster will be great against them. I already play one main. It's also good against zoo. I might also sb a great sable stag if fae gets big.
I think Huntmaster is good in theory, but the 4 drop slot is kind of crowded right now. I wouldn't want to cut a 2 or 3 drop for another 4 drop and I think we need all the Restos we have right now. Great Stable Stag is a good sideboard option if Fae becomes overwhelming, but is really only good in that specific matchup. I think we have plenty of threats that can handle Faeries, so Great Stable Stag is currently unnecessary. For GP Richmond, I am going to be focusing on being able to consistently beat Twin while tuning the deck to have solid matchups against Zoo, Faeries, and UWR.
i agree. i would probably side out both domri's against fae. probably linvala, too. what are we siding in? i'm thinking Fiery Justice, Harmonic Sliver, and Sigarda, Host of Herons.
also, what do you think about swapping Kiora's Follower for Wall of Roots in a non-chord list?
As for sideboarding for Fae, obviously try and get your staticaster out quickly. If Fae becomes a prominent deck, it might be worth putting another Staticaster in the sideboard or a Electrickery / Corrosive Gale / Raking Canopy