Blinking and cloning Stonehorn Dignitary sounds like a lot of fun. Timewalk against Affinity. Fauna Shaman I believe the consensus was that it was great when it stuck around but generally just a lightning rod. Baiting removal away from dorks and kiki may not be a bad thing though. Forgetender is nice if you have the slots.
@Koopa:
I may be an oddball on it but the primer didn't mention Loxodon Hierarch as another option in the Obstinate Baloth/Thragtusk role. Like Baloth it's normally just a 4/4 for 4, gain 4 life; but the flavour text hates Anger of the Gods instead of Liliana
I really want to like Courser but so far he has yet to really impress me. Most of the time he just does a bad finks impression, that forces me to think harder about my lands.
The other change I've been playing with is +1 Deceiver Exarch which I have been very happy with. A nod to tempo twin, exarch is still a really good card on its own, the extra combo chain off of 2 2-drops is incidental. Tonight he tapped down a steam vents end of their turn, turning off their lightning bolt and allowing me to combo. And tapped down a flier with cranial plating giving budgie an extra turn to live (I kept a greedy hand where bird was only white source divided between path, kataki and pridemage). I mean, if our key cards are resto, pod and kiki well deceiver interacts positively with all of them. Pestermite is even tempting as well as a sub 4 mana flier.
If we wanted a pod deck to grind games out, we'd be playing melira. Kiki pod, I believe our strength is being mentally harder to play against. Leaving mana up could be chord, or resto, or exarch, or gavony, or scooze, or a bluff. When I can track down a copy I think Vendilion Clique in place of Courser is exactly the direction I want to go: it puts down early pressure (in the air!), can target ourself to dig deeper and put back a zealous conscript, clear out their bolt or slow down a scapeshift. Potentially a second copy in the board as a catch-all answer to Tron/Scapeshift/Storm to free up some slots; I dislike devoting so much to fringe decks. Maybe it's even worth going deep on the flash: Wolfir Avenger against UWR/Jund? Stonecloaker for a (bad, but turn sooner) restoration angel? Skylasher? Yeva?!?
I've liked the 2 of courser and 2 Domri. In a few playtests, it's really helped the aggro style of the deck by allowing more draws while you don't see the combo.it feels stronger than the chords and finks that you lose in the process.
In the r(g) matchup, do we have anything that takes out karn? I found the hardest thing was that, even otp, they could assemble before I could drop mindcensor or avalanche riders on the right turns without a mama dork. Turn 2, they can sylvan for a third land. Turn 3, they can drop a karn. I know it's a tough mu, but there has to be an answer to . Turn 3 karn with 10 loyalty.
I had a thought about a possible sideboard option, and it's mostly because I suggested it to a friend of mine.
What if we pack a small Gifts Ungiven package in the side? I managed to beat Living End with this strategy quite a few times during an FNM. They Living End, you Gifts in response and dump Kiki-Jiki plus Resto Angel for an auto-win. Not to mention, placing an Elesh Norn with Unburial Rites in the graveyard could trash aggressive decks before Torpor Orb could hit. Grafdigger's Cage is a problem still, but I dig this "playing a second combo" deal a lot. Thoughts?
Honestly, I have thought about playing Gifts for a while now but have been too scared to even try it. The problem is most of the time that we are tutoring we are tutoring for a specific card, and we really don't have the room to play redundant threats. There are niche cases where Gifts would be insane, but most of the time Chord is going to be better.
I played to a 4-0 victory at the LGS today with a pretty stock list. I ended up trimming Resto #4 and Finks #2 for two Courser of Kruphix. I never Podded for them but they were very good when I drew them. They are not spectacular but just general good role-players. This deck has few creatures that can actually punish an opponent for attacking. That is, they can swing into Wall of Roots with no downside or swing into Kitchen Finks to shrink it, but they can't really profit on a swing into an untapped Courser.
I also maindecked a Cunning Sparkmage and that guy did a little bit of work. I probably would cut it for a third Courser and move it to the board.
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Gifts is an interesting idea. Replacing chords probably?
I think you'd want to find room for Reveillark and maybe a second E.Witness? If we're adding Elesh and Reveillark we probably want a 6 drop to bridge the gap.
Sun Titan is likely the most tested in pod shells. From a 2 drop, you're 2 turns away from Elesh Norn (->Exarch->any 4 Drop // -> Conscripts -> Sun Titan -> Elesh) but you can just as easily pod into the combo in the same time and one fewer pod activation. Other recursion options are: Twilight Shepherd, Gleancrawler, Adarkar Valkyrie. "Good stuff": Yosei, Prime Time, Wurmcoil, Ruric Thar.
Ruric Thar is actually striking me as a really interesting option for general sideboards. 6 mana is a lot, and modern is less spell dominant than legacy but I think snap bolt decks just instantly concede to the card
Ruric Thar is cut but I think I would rather have Thrun against them since you can actually resolve him without Pod. You will never be able to cast Ruric Thar naturally.
I'm pretty new to Modern. I built a deck very similar to FabeRox's list, but am having some serious difficulties. I've read through the primer, but still don't always know when to keep/mull, what is best to pod for in a given scenario, when to play pod vs some other 3-drop, etc... I'm sure I'll get better with the deck with practice, but are there any resources you would point me towards that may expedite the process? Gameplay videos or other guides may be helpful.
Also, I'm curious if I've made the right choice in building this deck. The rationale behind running this over Melira pod makes sense to me, but when I look at top 8 finishes of tournaments I see a lot of Melira pod and no Kiki pod. Is the list under-represented, not positioned well in some tournament metas, or just weaker than other pod variants?
As for my opinion on different card choices -- keep in mind that I'm new to the list and I haven't tinkered with it as much as some of you have -- I've noticed that Domri is great. I would side him out against dedicated combo decks, but he really shines in any grindy matchup and frequently buys several turns against aggro decks. They sometimes get preoccupied with killing Domri when the better strategy would be to just kill me.
(I have a noob MTGO question as well: is there a reliable way to watch replays of my games? Support said they don't reliably save all of them, but I see people saying they're watching replays so there's a gap in my understanding here.)
Using a screen capturing tool for watching replays is smart and I'm going to start doing that immediately.
I didn't mean to continue a discussion that had been resolved! I guess it should have been obvious to me that it has been talked about on this thread, but maybe the points you made about Melira ought to be on the first post to keep idiots like me from asking.
I'll check out the resources you've pointed towards tonight when I'm off work. (You might consider going back and editing the post with links once you're able to, in case others are interested, but that's obviously up to you.)
After reading your advice, I can guarantee that in the games I've played thus far, I haven't been podding for non-combo creatures nearly enough.
I'm sure I'll continue to post to this thread as I become more experienced with the deck and format. Thanks again for the warm welcome and content!
EDIT: I may have come across a bit harsh with my comment on the coverage of Melira Pod on the OP. I think the first post is extremely informative and up-to-date, I guess I am just nitpicking
I want your opinion here please. I already read a lot of pages in this topic.
There is a PTQ happening this weekend and my list will be similar with the list I played the Richmond GP (Finishing 8-1 day 1 and 8-4 drop because personal issues). I have a lot of experience with this deck, I'm playing it since I can remember in Modern.
I'm thinking to use it because in Brazil we have a lot of cheap decks, like Affinity, Monored and Storm. I choose to use Chords because I need the instant speed and tutoring to beat combo decks.
Tusk gave me a chance to turn the game when I'm loosing against attriction.
So I'm bringing Kiki Pod to a PTQ next week and I'm preparing mainly for a field of mostly Melira Pod and UWR.
Although I picked up Kiki Pod back in January, I'm still having issues sideboarding. Knowing what to cut is the hardest part for me
@Gaba: I think you want another land honestly and I do prefer the full 8 dorks (though it isn't required). 22 Land is awfully low though, especially with 3 Chord, a Tusk, Conscripts, and what I assume is 2 Kiki
3 Fiery Justice is a man that know what he wants.
Blinking and cloning Stonehorn Dignitary sounds like a lot of fun. Timewalk against Affinity. Fauna Shaman I believe the consensus was that it was great when it stuck around but generally just a lightning rod. Baiting removal away from dorks and kiki may not be a bad thing though. Forgetender is nice if you have the slots.
@Koopa:
I may be an oddball on it but the primer didn't mention Loxodon Hierarch as another option in the Obstinate Baloth/Thragtusk role. Like Baloth it's normally just a 4/4 for 4, gain 4 life; but the flavour text hates Anger of the Gods instead of Liliana
4x Grove of the Burnwillows
2x Gavony Township
2x Fire-Lit Thicket
4x Arid Mesa
3x Misty Rainforest
1x Breeding Pool
1x Hallowed Fountain
1x Sacred Foundry
1x Steam Vents
1x Stomping Ground
1x Temple Garden
1x Forest
1x Plains
Creatures
4x Birds of Paradise
4x Noble Hierarch
2x Wall of Roots
2x Scavenging Ooze
1x Spellskite
1x Qasali Pridemage
2x Kitchen Finks
2x Deceiver Exarch
1x Courser of Kruphix
1x Eternal Witness
3x Restoration Angel
1x Glen Elendra Archmage
1x Murderous Redcap
1x Linvala, Keeper of Silence
2x Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
1x Zealous Conscripts
Noncreatures
4x Birthing Pod
2x Chord of Calling
1x Ancient Grudge
2x Combust
1x Aven Mindcensor
1x Fiery Justice
1x Kataki, War's Wage
1x Loxodon Hierarch
2x Negate
3x Path to Exile
1x Thrun, the Last Troll
2x Sowing Salt / Avalanche Riders / Ethersworn Canonist
I really want to like Courser but so far he has yet to really impress me. Most of the time he just does a bad finks impression, that forces me to think harder about my lands.
The other change I've been playing with is +1 Deceiver Exarch which I have been very happy with. A nod to tempo twin, exarch is still a really good card on its own, the extra combo chain off of 2 2-drops is incidental. Tonight he tapped down a steam vents end of their turn, turning off their lightning bolt and allowing me to combo. And tapped down a flier with cranial plating giving budgie an extra turn to live (I kept a greedy hand where bird was only white source divided between path, kataki and pridemage). I mean, if our key cards are resto, pod and kiki well deceiver interacts positively with all of them. Pestermite is even tempting as well as a sub 4 mana flier.
If we wanted a pod deck to grind games out, we'd be playing melira. Kiki pod, I believe our strength is being mentally harder to play against. Leaving mana up could be chord, or resto, or exarch, or gavony, or scooze, or a bluff. When I can track down a copy I think Vendilion Clique in place of Courser is exactly the direction I want to go: it puts down early pressure (in the air!), can target ourself to dig deeper and put back a zealous conscript, clear out their bolt or slow down a scapeshift. Potentially a second copy in the board as a catch-all answer to Tron/Scapeshift/Storm to free up some slots; I dislike devoting so much to fringe decks. Maybe it's even worth going deep on the flash: Wolfir Avenger against UWR/Jund? Stonecloaker for a (bad, but turn sooner) restoration angel? Skylasher? Yeva?!?
BGStandard Green AggroGB
UWRGModern Saheeli CobraGRWU
UBRGLegacy StormGRBU
Wizards Certified Rules Advisor
What if we pack a small Gifts Ungiven package in the side? I managed to beat Living End with this strategy quite a few times during an FNM. They Living End, you Gifts in response and dump Kiki-Jiki plus Resto Angel for an auto-win. Not to mention, placing an Elesh Norn with Unburial Rites in the graveyard could trash aggressive decks before Torpor Orb could hit. Grafdigger's Cage is a problem still, but I dig this "playing a second combo" deal a lot. Thoughts?
DCI Level 1 Judge
BGStandard Green AggroGB
UWRGModern Saheeli CobraGRWU
UBRGLegacy StormGRBU
Wizards Certified Rules Advisor
I also maindecked a Cunning Sparkmage and that guy did a little bit of work. I probably would cut it for a third Courser and move it to the board.
I think you'd want to find room for Reveillark and maybe a second E.Witness? If we're adding Elesh and Reveillark we probably want a 6 drop to bridge the gap.
Sun Titan is likely the most tested in pod shells. From a 2 drop, you're 2 turns away from Elesh Norn (->Exarch->any 4 Drop // -> Conscripts -> Sun Titan -> Elesh) but you can just as easily pod into the combo in the same time and one fewer pod activation. Other recursion options are: Twilight Shepherd, Gleancrawler, Adarkar Valkyrie. "Good stuff": Yosei, Prime Time, Wurmcoil, Ruric Thar.
Ruric Thar is actually striking me as a really interesting option for general sideboards. 6 mana is a lot, and modern is less spell dominant than legacy but I think snap bolt decks just instantly concede to the card
BGStandard Green AggroGB
UWRGModern Saheeli CobraGRWU
UBRGLegacy StormGRBU
Wizards Certified Rules Advisor
EDIT: I also like Thrun, he survives Elesh Norn and can be podded for Conscripts, which is actually the nuts against Elesh.
BGStandard Green AggroGB
UWRGModern Saheeli CobraGRWU
UBRGLegacy StormGRBU
Wizards Certified Rules Advisor
Also, I'm curious if I've made the right choice in building this deck. The rationale behind running this over Melira pod makes sense to me, but when I look at top 8 finishes of tournaments I see a lot of Melira pod and no Kiki pod. Is the list under-represented, not positioned well in some tournament metas, or just weaker than other pod variants?
As for my opinion on different card choices -- keep in mind that I'm new to the list and I haven't tinkered with it as much as some of you have -- I've noticed that Domri is great. I would side him out against dedicated combo decks, but he really shines in any grindy matchup and frequently buys several turns against aggro decks. They sometimes get preoccupied with killing Domri when the better strategy would be to just kill me.
(I have a noob MTGO question as well: is there a reliable way to watch replays of my games? Support said they don't reliably save all of them, but I see people saying they're watching replays so there's a gap in my understanding here.)
EDIT: I may have come across a bit harsh with my comment on the coverage of Melira Pod on the OP. I think the first post is extremely informative and up-to-date, I guess I am just nitpicking
I want your opinion here please. I already read a lot of pages in this topic.
There is a PTQ happening this weekend and my list will be similar with the list I played the Richmond GP (Finishing 8-1 day 1 and 8-4 drop because personal issues). I have a lot of experience with this deck, I'm playing it since I can remember in Modern.
The differences are:
Main deck diferences: 22 Lands, 1 Tusk, 0 Qasali / 1 Reclamation Sage, 2 Wall of roots, 3 Chords, 1 Izzet staticaster, 2 Oozes, 1 Enxarch, 3 Nobles.
I'm thinking to use it because in Brazil we have a lot of cheap decks, like Affinity, Monored and Storm. I choose to use Chords because I need the instant speed and tutoring to beat combo decks.
Tusk gave me a chance to turn the game when I'm loosing against attriction.
What do you guys think?
Although I picked up Kiki Pod back in January, I'm still having issues sideboarding. Knowing what to cut is the hardest part for me
Heres my decklist and sideboard
4 Arid Mesa
4 Misty Rainforest
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Breeding Pool
1 Temple Garden
1 Steam Vents
1 Stomping Ground
4 Grove of the Burnwillows
1 Fire-lit Thicket
2 Gavony Township
1 Forest
1 Plains
Creatures
4 Birds of Paradise
3 Noble Hierarchs
3 Wall of Roots
1 Deceiver Exarch
1 Glen Elendra Archmage
1 Murderous Redcap
2 Kiki-Jik, Mirror Breaker
1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
2 Voice of Resurgence
1 Qasali Pridemage
1 Reclamation Sage
2 Scavenging Ooze
3 Restoration Angel
1 Spellskite
1 Zealous Conscripts
1 Eternal Witness
2 Kitchen Finks
3 Chord of Calling
4 Birthing Pod
3 Fiery Justice
1 Avalanche Riders
1 Aven Mindcensor
1 Eidolon of Rhetoric
1 Kataki, War's Wage
1 Obstinate Baloth
1 Thrun, the Last Troll
2 Ancient Grudge
1 Combust
3 Path to Exile
BGStandard Green AggroGB
UWRGModern Saheeli CobraGRWU
UBRGLegacy StormGRBU
Wizards Certified Rules Advisor
BGStandard Green AggroGB
UWRGModern Saheeli CobraGRWU
UBRGLegacy StormGRBU
Wizards Certified Rules Advisor