What are peoples thought on not playing domri or chord? I have been looking at my list trying to make my list better against zoo while keeping a good game against uwr. Been thinking about dropping the domris for te fourth kitchen finks and third voice. I am a huge advocet of domri so he would emedietly be in the sb for the grindy matchups. I just wanted to get other peoples thought on it.
kitchens finks and voice are pretty bad against anger
What do you guys think about kikipod in the current metagame? It saw really less play at the pro tour and im in a torn wether to concentrate on this or faeries for the future. I really want to stick to one deck a greater period of time.
Opinions?
Honestly, I don't think Kiki Pod is well positioned in the current meta. That doesn't mean you can't have success with it, or you can't win events with the deck. But just from looking at the top Pro Tour decks, we don't have a great matchup against anything except Melira Pod. Affinity, Zoo, Living End, Bogle, Storm, and Twin are all relatively hard matchups and the control decks are about 50:50. It's also very hard to win with more and more decks playing Anger of the Gods and Blood Moon. I was planning on playing Kiki Pod at GP Richmond, but I just think it's a bit too fragile for a large event like that, right now at least.
What do you guys think about kikipod in the current metagame? It saw really less play at the pro tour and im in a torn wether to concentrate on this or faeries for the future. I really want to stick to one deck a greater period of time.
Opinions?
Honestly, I don't think Kiki Pod is well positioned in the current meta. That doesn't mean you can't have success with it, or you can't win events with the deck. But just from looking at the top Pro Tour decks, we don't have a great matchup against anything except Melira Pod. Affinity, Zoo, Living End, Bogle, Storm, and Twin are all relatively hard matchups and the control decks are about 50:50. It's also very hard to win with more and more decks playing Anger of the Gods and Blood Moon. I was planning on playing Kiki Pod at GP Richmond, but I just think it's a bit too fragile for a large event like that, right now at least.
+1. I totally love Kiki Pod, but between Nacatls, Blood Moons and Anger of the Gods I think we might often find ourselves stuck between a rock and a hard place.
@ Muten Yoshi: honestly, Faeries don't seem to be in a much better place at the moment. I'm personally considering to switch either to Melira Pod or to Tempo Twin (or Tarmo Twin... Dickmann's list is so sweet!). Both decks have the ability to beat down while threatening an infinite combo, just like Kiki Pod does, but have better disruption and a much less greedier manabase. The idea of abandoning this deck is painful, though. It's so much fun to play
especially painful since i deconstructed UWR and traded away pieces to build my Legacy deck. i compromised on winning less to have more fun, because Kiki Pod really is the most fun deck to play in modern. that being said, i do want to be successful. so rather than abandoning the list, how can we effect changes to make it positioned to take advantage of the meta?
What do you guys think about kikipod in the current metagame? It saw really less play at the pro tour and im in a torn wether to concentrate on this or faeries for the future. I really want to stick to one deck a greater period of time.
Opinions?
Honestly, I don't think Kiki Pod is well positioned in the current meta. That doesn't mean you can't have success with it, or you can't win events with the deck. But just from looking at the top Pro Tour decks, we don't have a great matchup against anything except Melira Pod. Affinity, Zoo, Living End, Bogle, Storm, and Twin are all relatively hard matchups and the control decks are about 50:50. It's also very hard to win with more and more decks playing Anger of the Gods and Blood Moon. I was planning on playing Kiki Pod at GP Richmond, but I just think it's a bit too fragile for a large event like that, right now at least.
+1. I totally love Kiki Pod, but between Nacatls, Blood Moons and Anger of the Gods I think we might often find ourselves stuck between a rock and a hard place.
@ Muten Yoshi: honestly, Faeries don't seem to be in a much better place at the moment. I'm personally considering to switch either to Melira Pod or to Tempo Twin (or Tarmo Twin... Dickmann's list is so sweet!). Both decks have the ability to beat down while threatening an infinite combo, just like Kiki Pod does, but have better disruption and a much less greedier manabase. The idea of abandoning this deck is painful, though. It's so much fun to play
especially painful since i deconstructed UWR and traded away pieces to build my Legacy deck. i compromised on winning less to have more fun, because Kiki Pod really is the most fun deck to play in modern. that being said, i do want to be successful. so rather than abandoning the list, how can we effect changes to make it positioned to take advantage of the meta?
First thing you need to do is become very proficient with the deck. I have a lifetime positive win percentage against Twin, Tron, and Affinity which are some of the harder matchups for the deck. But I also realize that there's very little we can do to win against their nut draws (which are far more common than our nut draws since we have so many one ofs.) That's the easiest way to stay ahead of the meta. Then after that you just take everything one step at a time.
To beat Anger of the Gods, you will probably have to dedicate more of your deck to X/4s like Loxodon Smiter or Knight of the Reliquary at the 3 drop slot. Beating Anger of the Gods also in turn helps against Zoo. Wall of Roots becomes important at the 2 drop slot (I think I was the only person to really play Caryatid anyway.)
For Blood Moon, you may want to add a basic Island to the deck in one of the flex land slots. Be familiar with what decks might be bringing in Blood Moon against you and make sure to fetch out basics early, even if it hinders your gameplan a bit. Most decks with Blood Moon tend to be more controlling and slower, so advancing your board slowly is perfectly fine. Also don't over extend your mana creatures. They will be necessary since we have so few basics. Also decks with Blood Moon will more than likely play some amount of Anger of the Gods or another sweeper. Against the Blue Moon deck, it may be safe to get Qasali Pridemage early for their Spreading Sea or Vedalken Shackles/Threads of Disloyalty.
Other than that, we can't do much to prepare for every deck, which is why I don't think Kiki Pod is the best choice right now. To fight Zoo, more Voices and Finks are good, but they are bad against Anger of the Gods. Affinity hate is very narrow as well as Twin hate. If you have a meta that is dominated by one specific archtype or deck, it's easy to tool your deck to be able to beat the field, but at a large event like a Grand Prix, it is very hard to pinpoint the exact meta and picking up 3 losses can be very easy. Melira Pod has a more stable mana base, has discard and Abrupt Decay to beat combo decks, and has a combo of its own to threaten decks that won't interact with it. Splinter Twin is simply more a powerful and consistent of a combo deck. Zoo is a much faster aggro and midrange deck. UWR Control is now packing an answer to what used to be our best threats against them. The format has polarized much more than it used to. Kiki Pod sits pretty much in the middle of everything. If you want to be playing Birthing Pod, Melira is most likely the correct answer as of right now.
edit: It also really hurts that Kiki Pod went from having very few "unwinnable" matchups, to now having many. Burn was awful and Twin was probably the second worst matchup for the deck. Now we have Twin, Storm, Bogle, Living End all coming in with much larger number than ever before. I would also expect to see Infect see some sort of resurgence. With so many awful matchups and just as many 50:50 matchups, it would just be very hard to day 2 a GP.
here's the list i've been piloting for awhile and taking tonight. i'm interested in hearing your suggestions as to what to swap out for what (e.g., mainboard thalia / canonist, second wall of roots, chord in domri out, etc.). right now i'm thinking about going -1 Finks +1 Courser and -1 Domri +1 Kiora's Follower:
Hey all here
seems to be like a bad time to start to play this deck, but I just discovered it and it's soo much fun to play.
But if Anger of the Gods should see really that much more play in the upcoming meta, how about a Burrenton Forge-Tender in the SB?
It costs only one and is therefore easily searched for with Chord and Safes all of our dear Finks, Voices and Dorks.
Opinions?
Everything in your list seems reasonably spot on. The only thing I would change is drop Eternal Witness for a second Deceiver Exarch. I know you previously said the chord interaction is too good to be ignored. But it's really not, I'd ignore it to be honest. It takes too long to combo with it, most of the time you'll want to chord for something you actually need.
I used to really like it for the Voice of Resurgence interaction. Pod Voice to Eternal witness, get Voice back and play it again but it's just cute...
2 Exarch's means you can combo from two 2cmc creatures. It also gives you more paths to just pod form a 2 drop to a 4 drop.
No SB Fiend Hunter because, really, it is only useful in the mirror as a poddable answer to Linvala. In almost every other matchup it is close to unplayable because it means imploring your opponent to blow you out of the game (removal on Hunter after your attackers are declared; get back my monster, block and kill your dude). Less Pod around, less need for Hunter.
Chord for Fiend Hunter in reaction to a sweeper allows you to keep your best dude (and you might even re-set a persisted Finks this way). you can't really ignore that in a world of Anger of the Gods.
I like the idea of Forge Tender in the sideboard.
I never really liked running fiend hunter. If you think Fiend hunter is good for battling anger of the gods, maybe just run more Forge Tenders instead, It does a much better job. I guess it's not that great against other non red sweepers but fiend hunter has always under performed for me.
That also being said, the types of decks that run non red board wipes are also the decks you side chord out against (uwr etc)
same guy i've played over the last two weeks. looks like he figured out how to play against me. too much removal to live through, though it was close. i'd still call this a very favourable matchup.
2 - 0 v Fish
izzet staticaster was a house, including resto blinks to ping lords. no spreading seas hurt fish and the deck was just outmatched.
the interesting part of the night's playtesting was swapping a Wall of Roots for a Kiora's Follower. she won me both games i saw her. she allows pod chains without exarch. she suffers from a lack of haste, but her power is huge when she's paired with a pod.
This is my main board at the moment. The Fauna shaman may become a wall of omens. Or if Zoo becomes too prevalent, it'll probably become another Wall of roots and I'll swap both Domri's for Chords.
Why are people saying if Zoo become big then they will switch out Domris for Chords? Chord is equally as bad if not worse against zoo than Domri.
I've never really liked Chord of Calling in Kiki-Pod because we're not trying to tutor for Viscera Seer or Melira, Sylvok Outcast like Melira Pod is, we're searching out things like Deceiver Exarch (Chord CMC = 6) and Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker (Chord CMC = 8!!). For 6 or 8 mana, I'd rather develop my board or set up for my combo a few turns from now. Nothing hurts more like tapping out for 8 mana for a Kiki-Jiki and having it Spell Pierced. Most of the time I view the deck as value-town beatdowns with pod as my re-usable tutor for silver bullets with an "Oops, I win" combo available if they tap out. For Domri Rade, he gives you consistent value if you have the board to protect him, a fight ability which this deck so badly needs (Melira runs 2 maindeck Abrupt Decay, something we lack) to break board stalls, and an ultimate that is just bonkers against the slow, durdly decks. I'm either playing Domri or nothing going forward.
On a side note (no pun intended :P), I'm looking to switch my sideboard up a little bit. Here's what I run now:
For context, I have 2 Voices and 1 Ooze maindeck. Sowing Salt might not be so necessary anymore with Tron dropping off, although it helps our Scapeshift matchup as well (though good players will play around it in SB games or hold countermagic up when it can come down). I'm also less convinced I need Linvala main, as I cut it in almost every matchup. Here are some things I'm considering, feel free to chime in on any of them (they all might be fine, just a meta-call):
Ancient Grudge: Lists back in the day used to run 1 for the Pod mirrors (Ari Lax was a big proponent of it) and is also a live card for Affinity.
Spike Feeder/Archangel of Thune Combo: Recent Melira lists have dropped this as their backup combo, might be interesting sideboard tech. Really nice since it dodges Torpor Orb and can be used in matchups where your gameplan is to combo quickly at any cost.
Meddling Mage: Yeah it's fragile, and you might need 2 (one on Lightning Bolt and one on whatever you want), but it seems like some nice hidden tech for matchups that hinge around one card or a few very powerful cards. Can be podded off a dork for "uncounterability"
Burrenton Forge-Tender: Has been suggested on here, really good card since Anger of the Gods seems to be picking up. Although packing an additional Negate or two might be the answer to that one as well.
Why are people saying if Zoo become big then they will switch out Domris for Chords? Chord is equally as bad if not worse against zoo than Domri.
I disagree. Domri is great if you drop him on turn 2/3. If you do that against zoo, it's just going to die really fast and you will get 1 or 2 triggers from it. Chord lets you tutor for things like spellskite or other blockers.
Also, Domri really shines in the BGx and UWR matchups. Obviously UWR is fine but if the BGx deck starts to show up less, I'd be less inclined to continue to run domri. Chord in the mainboard against decks like Twin just seems stronger...
It obviously needs to be tested more but that's what I'm inclined to think at the moment.
Why are people saying if Zoo become big then they will switch out Domris for Chords? Chord is equally as bad if not worse against zoo than Domri.
I disagree. Domri is great if you drop him on turn 2/3. If you do that against zoo, it's just going to die really fast and you will get 1 or 2 triggers from it. Chord lets you tutor for things like spellskite or other blockers.
Also, Domri really shines in the BGx and UWR matchups. Obviously UWR is fine but if the BGx deck starts to show up less, I'd be less inclined to continue to run domri. Chord in the mainboard against decks like Twin just seems stronger...
It obviously needs to be tested more but that's what I'm inclined to think at the moment.
Chord is very slow against decks like zoo. It will just get countered against twin. You will probably "get them" game one with it but after that it's easily played around. I just don't like chord. I'll test it again just to see but I have feeling it will be too clunky.
Why are people saying if Zoo become big then they will switch out Domris for Chords? Chord is equally as bad if not worse against zoo than Domri.
I disagree. Domri is great if you drop him on turn 2/3. If you do that against zoo, it's just going to die really fast and you will get 1 or 2 triggers from it. Chord lets you tutor for things like spellskite or other blockers.
Also, Domri really shines in the BGx and UWR matchups. Obviously UWR is fine but if the BGx deck starts to show up less, I'd be less inclined to continue to run domri. Chord in the mainboard against decks like Twin just seems stronger...
It obviously needs to be tested more but that's what I'm inclined to think at the moment.
Chord is very slow against decks like zoo. It will just get countered against twin. You will probably "get them" game one with it but after that it's easily played around. I just don't like chord. I'll test it again just to see but I have feeling it will be too clunky.
Both Domri and Chord would get sided out anywho, it's just what would you prefer game one. I'm thinking of even dropping both Chord and Domri so I can run a loxodon smiter and a Huntmaster or something...
this matchup is so hard. if i can resolve a pod and get some sort of board state i can take off. if not i'm pretty much boned. i didn't.
2 - 1 v Mill
mill is underrated i think. if it's not answered mainboard their game 1 is just a beating. after sideboarding i think i take a big lead. i was helped a little by his land situation. i won game 3 by swinging out for 1 point of damage per turn over 10 turns with a noble hierarch (ensnaring bridge on 0).
1 - 2 v UR Fae
i am convinced UR is better than UB. much better. i might have taken this match 2 - 1 but he had all the exile answers for Voice and Finks. i had a bye in round 4.
Both Domri and Chord would get sided out anywho, it's just what would you prefer game one. I'm thinking of even dropping both Chord and Domri so I can run a loxodon smiter and a Huntmaster or something...
Well, if you're siding Chord out then what are you bringing in? You're bringing all your instant speed removal (PtE + Combust) and all your Negates. That shouldn't be more than 4. Add in a Spellskite if you're not playing it main, and that's about all the cards that should come in (Harmonic Sliver is useless if you take Chord out). For argument's sake, let's assume it's the Tarmo-Twin version.
So yeah, there's one missing card to take out. That can be a Chord, maybe, although I think it should more probably be either a Voice or a Finks depending on the version you're facing. But taking both out sounds like a mistake to me, when they play the role of Spellskite/Pridemage 2-3.
Chord is not good against twin either way you cut it. If they suspect you have it they will wait one turn so they can counter it and then kill you. Id rather have both Knight (even though i dont play card to begin with) and redcap than chords in the tiwn matchup. Knight is just a huge threat that puts a great clock on them, and redcap leaves the 4cmc persist pod chain. No reason to take him out.
Why are people saying if Zoo become big then they will switch out Domris for Chords? Chord is equally as bad if not worse against zoo than Domri.
I disagree. Domri is great if you drop him on turn 2/3. If you do that against zoo, it's just going to die really fast and you will get 1 or 2 triggers from it. Chord lets you tutor for things like spellskite or other blockers.
Also, Domri really shines in the BGx and UWR matchups. Obviously UWR is fine but if the BGx deck starts to show up less, I'd be less inclined to continue to run domri. Chord in the mainboard against decks like Twin just seems stronger...
It obviously needs to be tested more but that's what I'm inclined to think at the moment.
Chord is very slow against decks like zoo. It will just get countered against twin. You will probably "get them" game one with it but after that it's easily played around. I just don't like chord. I'll test it again just to see but I have feeling it will be too clunky.
Both Domri and Chord would get sided out anywho, it's just what would you prefer game one. I'm thinking of even dropping both Chord and Domri so I can run a loxodon smiter and a Huntmaster or something...
I have been thinking about doing the same. I am considering cutting 2 Domri for the fourth finks, and third voice. (I already play 1 huntmaster)
To tack onto the ongoing discussion, I did try out 2 Chord of Calling last night instead of Domri Rade and yeah, I think I like them better. I've been having problems with the 1-of Rugged Prairie lately, I see the need to be able to filter between the supporting colors but I never really find myself needing it and it really hurts to see it early game when you want to land that Voice of Resurgence (a 3-of in my MB) or Qasali Pridemage and you don't have a dork up. I have gone up to 4 Arid Mesa instead of the "normal" 3 (with one Clifftop Retreat that I cut), and I really like it, definitely helps getting down the colors you want (which is maybe why Prairie seems so unnecessary to me).
My main problem I'm having with the deck right now is how to sideboard right. My biggest weakness with the deck is trying to play the grindy beats style with the combo as a backup option if they leave the coast clear, but I recognize that some matchups you just want to go max effort towards the combo. Can anyone point me in the right direction with some basic matchup analysis/sideboarding?
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Legacy: RUG RUG Delver GUR
Modern: RG GR Tron (Retired) GR WURG Kiki Pod (Retired) GRUW BRG Jund (Retired) GRB
To tack onto the ongoing discussion, I did try out 2 Chord of Calling last night instead of Domri Rade and yeah, I think I like them better. I've been having problems with the 1-of Rugged Prairie lately, I see the need to be able to filter between the supporting colors but I never really find myself needing it and it really hurts to see it early game when you want to land that Voice of Resurgence (a 3-of in my MB) or Qasali Pridemage and you don't have a dork up. I have gone up to 4 Arid Mesa instead of the "normal" 3 (with one Clifftop Retreat that I cut), and I really like it, definitely helps getting down the colors you want (which is maybe why Prairie seems so unnecessary to me).
My main problem I'm having with the deck right now is how to sideboard right. My biggest weakness with the deck is trying to play the grindy beats style with the combo as a backup option if they leave the coast clear, but I recognize that some matchups you just want to go max effort towards the combo. Can anyone point me in the right direction with some basic matchup analysis/sideboarding?
You seem to be boarding out domri quite a bit which I think is fine since he plays a more of a flex spot in the deck.
I don't really understand dropping a pod in the uwr matchup, can you explain?
Also I didn't really notice you siding out phantasmal image very often which is a slot i often look to cut when i am unlikely to have an opportunity to chain all the way to combo. This is especially bad vs decks with electroyze. If you aren't playing image, you probably should be since it allows a fairly easy to assemble turn 4 kill when necessary vs other combos or tron.
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kitchens finks and voice are pretty bad against anger
Honestly, I don't think Kiki Pod is well positioned in the current meta. That doesn't mean you can't have success with it, or you can't win events with the deck. But just from looking at the top Pro Tour decks, we don't have a great matchup against anything except Melira Pod. Affinity, Zoo, Living End, Bogle, Storm, and Twin are all relatively hard matchups and the control decks are about 50:50. It's also very hard to win with more and more decks playing Anger of the Gods and Blood Moon. I was planning on playing Kiki Pod at GP Richmond, but I just think it's a bit too fragile for a large event like that, right now at least.
especially painful since i deconstructed UWR and traded away pieces to build my Legacy deck. i compromised on winning less to have more fun, because Kiki Pod really is the most fun deck to play in modern. that being said, i do want to be successful. so rather than abandoning the list, how can we effect changes to make it positioned to take advantage of the meta?
First thing you need to do is become very proficient with the deck. I have a lifetime positive win percentage against Twin, Tron, and Affinity which are some of the harder matchups for the deck. But I also realize that there's very little we can do to win against their nut draws (which are far more common than our nut draws since we have so many one ofs.) That's the easiest way to stay ahead of the meta. Then after that you just take everything one step at a time.
To beat Anger of the Gods, you will probably have to dedicate more of your deck to X/4s like Loxodon Smiter or Knight of the Reliquary at the 3 drop slot. Beating Anger of the Gods also in turn helps against Zoo. Wall of Roots becomes important at the 2 drop slot (I think I was the only person to really play Caryatid anyway.)
For Blood Moon, you may want to add a basic Island to the deck in one of the flex land slots. Be familiar with what decks might be bringing in Blood Moon against you and make sure to fetch out basics early, even if it hinders your gameplan a bit. Most decks with Blood Moon tend to be more controlling and slower, so advancing your board slowly is perfectly fine. Also don't over extend your mana creatures. They will be necessary since we have so few basics. Also decks with Blood Moon will more than likely play some amount of Anger of the Gods or another sweeper. Against the Blue Moon deck, it may be safe to get Qasali Pridemage early for their Spreading Sea or Vedalken Shackles/Threads of Disloyalty.
Other than that, we can't do much to prepare for every deck, which is why I don't think Kiki Pod is the best choice right now. To fight Zoo, more Voices and Finks are good, but they are bad against Anger of the Gods. Affinity hate is very narrow as well as Twin hate. If you have a meta that is dominated by one specific archtype or deck, it's easy to tool your deck to be able to beat the field, but at a large event like a Grand Prix, it is very hard to pinpoint the exact meta and picking up 3 losses can be very easy. Melira Pod has a more stable mana base, has discard and Abrupt Decay to beat combo decks, and has a combo of its own to threaten decks that won't interact with it. Splinter Twin is simply more a powerful and consistent of a combo deck. Zoo is a much faster aggro and midrange deck. UWR Control is now packing an answer to what used to be our best threats against them. The format has polarized much more than it used to. Kiki Pod sits pretty much in the middle of everything. If you want to be playing Birthing Pod, Melira is most likely the correct answer as of right now.
edit: It also really hurts that Kiki Pod went from having very few "unwinnable" matchups, to now having many. Burn was awful and Twin was probably the second worst matchup for the deck. Now we have Twin, Storm, Bogle, Living End all coming in with much larger number than ever before. I would also expect to see Infect see some sort of resurgence. With so many awful matchups and just as many 50:50 matchups, it would just be very hard to day 2 a GP.
4 Noble Hierarch
2 Voice of Resurge
1 Wall of Roots
1 Spellskite
1 Phantasmal Image
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Qasali Pridemage
3 Kitchen Finks
2 Deceiver Exarch
1 Izzet Staticaster
3 Restoration Angel
1 Murderous Redcap
1 Glen Elendra Archmage
1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
1 Huntmaster of the Fells
2 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
1 Zealous Conscripts
Spells - 6
4 Birthing Pod
2 Domri Rade
Land - 23
4 Grove of the Burnwillows
4 Arid Mesa
3 Misty Rainforest
1 Scalding Tarn
2 Gavony Township
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Steam Vents
1 Breeding Pool
1 Temple Garden
1 Stomping Ground
1 Relic of Progenitus
2 Negate
1 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
1 Kataki, War's Wage
1 Ethersworn Canonist
1 Fiery Justice
1 Aven Mindcensor
1 Harmonic Sliver
1 Obstinate Baloth
1 Avalanche Riders
1 Thruh, the Last Troll
1 Sigarda, Host of Herons
seems to be like a bad time to start to play this deck, but I just discovered it and it's soo much fun to play.
But if Anger of the Gods should see really that much more play in the upcoming meta, how about a Burrenton Forge-Tender in the SB?
It costs only one and is therefore easily searched for with Chord and Safes all of our dear Finks, Voices and Dorks.
Opinions?
I used to really like it for the Voice of Resurgence interaction. Pod Voice to Eternal witness, get Voice back and play it again but it's just cute...
2 Exarch's means you can combo from two 2cmc creatures. It also gives you more paths to just pod form a 2 drop to a 4 drop.
I never really liked running fiend hunter. If you think Fiend hunter is good for battling anger of the gods, maybe just run more Forge Tenders instead, It does a much better job. I guess it's not that great against other non red sweepers but fiend hunter has always under performed for me.
That also being said, the types of decks that run non red board wipes are also the decks you side chord out against (uwr etc)
not much to say. newer player, budget deck.
1 - 2 v Fae
same guy i've played over the last two weeks. looks like he figured out how to play against me. too much removal to live through, though it was close. i'd still call this a very favourable matchup.
2 - 0 v Fish
izzet staticaster was a house, including resto blinks to ping lords. no spreading seas hurt fish and the deck was just outmatched.
the interesting part of the night's playtesting was swapping a Wall of Roots for a Kiora's Follower. she won me both games i saw her. she allows pod chains without exarch. she suffers from a lack of haste, but her power is huge when she's paired with a pod.
4x Birds of Paradise
4x Noble Hierarch
1x Qasali Pridemage
1x Fauna Shaman
1x Spellskite
1x Tarmogoyf
2x Voice of Resurgence
1x Wall of Roots
1x Phantasmal Image
2x Deceiver Exarch
1x Izzet Staticaster
2x Kitchen Finks
1x Glen Elendra Archmage
1x Linvala, Keeper of Silence
3x Restoration Angel
1x Murderous Redcap
2x Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
1x Knight of the Reliquary
1x Zealous Conscripts
3x Arid Mesa
1x Breeding Pool
1x Forest
1x Gavony Township
4x Grove of the Burnwillows
1x Hallowed Fountain
1x Minamo, School at Water's Edge
4x Misty Rainforest
1x Mountain
1x Plains
1x Sacred Foundry
1x Steam Vents
1x Stomping Ground
1x Tectonic Edge
1x Temple Garden
4x Birthing Pod
Planeswalker (2)
2x Domri Rade
I've never really liked Chord of Calling in Kiki-Pod because we're not trying to tutor for Viscera Seer or Melira, Sylvok Outcast like Melira Pod is, we're searching out things like Deceiver Exarch (Chord CMC = 6) and Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker (Chord CMC = 8!!). For 6 or 8 mana, I'd rather develop my board or set up for my combo a few turns from now. Nothing hurts more like tapping out for 8 mana for a Kiki-Jiki and having it Spell Pierced. Most of the time I view the deck as value-town beatdowns with pod as my re-usable tutor for silver bullets with an "Oops, I win" combo available if they tap out. For Domri Rade, he gives you consistent value if you have the board to protect him, a fight ability which this deck so badly needs (Melira runs 2 maindeck Abrupt Decay, something we lack) to break board stalls, and an ultimate that is just bonkers against the slow, durdly decks. I'm either playing Domri or nothing going forward.
On a side note (no pun intended :P), I'm looking to switch my sideboard up a little bit. Here's what I run now:
1x Aven Mindcensor
1x Ethersworn Canonist
1x Harmonic Sliver
1x Kataki, War's Wage
2x Negate
3x Path to Exile
1x Scavenging Ooze
2x Sowing Salt
1x Thrun, the Last Troll
1x Voice of Resurgence
For context, I have 2 Voices and 1 Ooze maindeck. Sowing Salt might not be so necessary anymore with Tron dropping off, although it helps our Scapeshift matchup as well (though good players will play around it in SB games or hold countermagic up when it can come down). I'm also less convinced I need Linvala main, as I cut it in almost every matchup. Here are some things I'm considering, feel free to chime in on any of them (they all might be fine, just a meta-call):
Any thoughts?
Edit: Formatting
RUG RUG Delver GUR
RG GR Tron (Retired) GR
WURG Kiki Pod (Retired) GRUW
BRG Jund (Retired) GRB
I disagree. Domri is great if you drop him on turn 2/3. If you do that against zoo, it's just going to die really fast and you will get 1 or 2 triggers from it. Chord lets you tutor for things like spellskite or other blockers.
Also, Domri really shines in the BGx and UWR matchups. Obviously UWR is fine but if the BGx deck starts to show up less, I'd be less inclined to continue to run domri. Chord in the mainboard against decks like Twin just seems stronger...
It obviously needs to be tested more but that's what I'm inclined to think at the moment.
Chord is very slow against decks like zoo. It will just get countered against twin. You will probably "get them" game one with it but after that it's easily played around. I just don't like chord. I'll test it again just to see but I have feeling it will be too clunky.
Both Domri and Chord would get sided out anywho, it's just what would you prefer game one. I'm thinking of even dropping both Chord and Domri so I can run a loxodon smiter and a Huntmaster or something...
0 - 2 v UWR Control
this matchup is so hard. if i can resolve a pod and get some sort of board state i can take off. if not i'm pretty much boned. i didn't.
2 - 1 v Mill
mill is underrated i think. if it's not answered mainboard their game 1 is just a beating. after sideboarding i think i take a big lead. i was helped a little by his land situation. i won game 3 by swinging out for 1 point of damage per turn over 10 turns with a noble hierarch (ensnaring bridge on 0).
1 - 2 v UR Fae
i am convinced UR is better than UB. much better. i might have taken this match 2 - 1 but he had all the exile answers for Voice and Finks. i had a bye in round 4.
Chord is not good against twin either way you cut it. If they suspect you have it they will wait one turn so they can counter it and then kill you. Id rather have both Knight (even though i dont play card to begin with) and redcap than chords in the tiwn matchup. Knight is just a huge threat that puts a great clock on them, and redcap leaves the 4cmc persist pod chain. No reason to take him out.
I have been thinking about doing the same. I am considering cutting 2 Domri for the fourth finks, and third voice. (I already play 1 huntmaster)
My main problem I'm having with the deck right now is how to sideboard right. My biggest weakness with the deck is trying to play the grindy beats style with the combo as a backup option if they leave the coast clear, but I recognize that some matchups you just want to go max effort towards the combo. Can anyone point me in the right direction with some basic matchup analysis/sideboarding?
RUG RUG Delver GUR
RG GR Tron (Retired) GR
WURG Kiki Pod (Retired) GRUW
BRG Jund (Retired) GRB
This is my basic sideboard plan:
Affinity:
- 1 Kiki Jiki
- 2 Domri Rade
- 1 Birthing Pod
- 1 Scavenging Ooze
- 1 Glen Elendra
+ 2 Ancient Grudge
+ 1 Fracturing Gust
+ 3 Path to Exile
UWR:
- 1 Izzet Staticaster
- 1 Kiki Jiki
- 1 Wall of Roots
- 1 Qasli Pridemage
- 1 Birthing Pod
- 1 Redcap
- 1 Linvala
+ 1 Obstinate Baloth
+ 1 Thragtusk
+ 2 Negate
+ 1 Voice
+ 1 Sigarda
+ 1 Thrun the Last Troll
Living End:
- 1 Staticaster
- 2 Domri Rade
+ 2 Negate
+ 1 Sigarda
Maybe path to exiles as well.
Zoo:
- 1 Staticaster
- 1 Kiki Jiki
- 1 Pridemage
- 2 Domri Rade
+ 1 Obstinate Baloth
+ 1 Thragtusk
+ 3 Path to Exile
Tron:
- 1 Ooze
- 2 Domri
- 1 Staticaster
+ 2 Negate
+ 1 Avalanche Riders
+ 1 Fiend Hunter
Jund/ BGx:
- 1 Staticaster
- 1 Kiki Jiki
- 1 Pidemage
+ 1 Thrun
+ 1 Sigarda
+ 1 Thragtusk
Twin:
- 1 Staticaster
- 2 Domri
- 1 Kiki Jiki
- 1 Wall of Roots
+ 3 Path to Exile
+ 2 Negate
Pod/ Mirror
- 1 Kiki Jiki
- 1 Huntmaster of the Fells
- 1 Spellskite (maybe)
- 1 Glen Elendra
+ 3 Path to Exile
+ 1 Fiend Hunter
Scapeshift:
- 1 Staticaster
- 2 Domri
+ 2 Negate
+ 1 Avalanche Riders
You seem to be boarding out domri quite a bit which I think is fine since he plays a more of a flex spot in the deck.
I don't really understand dropping a pod in the uwr matchup, can you explain?
Also I didn't really notice you siding out phantasmal image very often which is a slot i often look to cut when i am unlikely to have an opportunity to chain all the way to combo. This is especially bad vs decks with electroyze. If you aren't playing image, you probably should be since it allows a fairly easy to assemble turn 4 kill when necessary vs other combos or tron.