I've been working a Kiki brew in order to be competitive in the current meta....hence I'm currently thing a 5c version:O!...for the inclusion of Siege Rhino MB and Pontif SB....I did go up to 24 lands in doing so (also at 61 MB to spread out draws...not sure if that right but it has been fine thus far... (adding Overgrown Tomb)...so far in testing its been doing well: I do miss Chord, but its just not very practical right now with all the Blue around...I would like to add another Wall of Roots for ramp/blockers...path's could be many things but they have been useful and haven't been too disappointed when the show up...the question may be why not just run Angel-Pod...well no real reason other than I like to have the combo for enviably..but it grinds much better then previous versions. insights?
The format is pretty hostile to Kiki right now. Lots of efficient and cheap burn that disrupt the combo and Kiki tends to run little interaction to deal with cheap efficient threats like Delver and Pyro.
If you are going to a Modern event soon, play Junk with the Archangel combo (so you still have an auto win button). Rhino is very good in the format and having access to Decay and Seize is pretty clutch. Tron is at all time low so you don't have to worry about that auto-loss matchup. The new PrimeTime deck is still pretty good against both Pod decks though.
in my opinion, take away blue. This is my placing in the last 4 LGS tourneys: 20+ players, 2n place, 1st place, 4th place, 3th place. i play NO blue, 4 kitchen main, 3 angels, 2 kikipod, 2 path to exile main, 1 chord main. Side i have many tools against skapeshift, 2x burrentown, and against midrange. I finished many times 4-0 or 5-0 and ust lost in the top8. I don't know if i finally achieved how to play the deck, or if the deck without blue is much more consistent, but i couldn't be happier. The meta is really variegated, many many top tier decks, since the beginning i faced almost every deck: GW hatebears, Junk, Jund, URx delvers, pods, scapeshift, burn, infect, bogles, urx control...really everything a part from tron. The only deck i have real big issue is scapeshift, i lost 2 games to 3 against it, but it was already an unfavoured match up. But really, i don't miss blue at all!
@Trench82: Give Vendilion Clique a try if you're looking for some more disruption. It does a pretty good sin collector impersonation.
@Archanz: What advantages does GRW offer over GBW? Without blue to enable pod chains why not run Angel/Melira? As far as the scapeshift match being rough; funny that the blue cards are generally the keys to the match-up. Glen Elendra was always my first target to pod towards. Negate out of the side also helps a lot.
23 lands (i play 1x horizon canopy and 2x gavony, LOVE canopy) 7x fetch 4x groves and the rest shocklands and untapped dualands and 3x basic lands
4x kitchen finks
3x restoration angel
3x voice of resurgence
4x noble hierarch
4x birds of paradise
2x kiki jiki
1x scavenging ooze
1x cunning sparkmage
1x redcap
1x qasali pridemage
1x reclamation sage
1x zealous coscripts
1x huntmaster of the fells
1x spellskite
1x wall of roots
1x linvala
4x birthing pod
2x path to exile
1x chord of calling
side:
2x burrenton
1x path to exile
1x fiery justice
1x reveillark
1x aven mindcensor
1x eidolon of rethoric
1x kataki
1x avalanche rider
1x shatterstorm
1x ancient grudge
1x combust
1x sowing salt
1x thrun
1x eternal witness
against aggro i have no problem, 4x kitchen finks + restoration angel is GG, and with sideboard i become more a control deck with all the removal i put inside
against control/midrange i have also 0 problems, with 4x kitchen finks 3x voice of resurgence, big flyers + combo and from sideboard reveillark + eternal witness
2x burrenton against red mass removal is just great, they can't do anything
against combo i have nice tool and never felt any problem
my affinity matchup is really easy with reclamation sage + restoration angel and qasali pridemage main (kitchen finks + birds of paradise + path to exile give me enough time) and from side i just crush them
with tron i may have some problems, but i usually combo faster, till now i'd give it 60/40
the only hard matchup is scapeshift, but also there when i loose i allways lost 1-2, allways close games
i noticed that blue lands make too many dmg to me, and too often i had glen elendra wasted for the wrong mana. this deck is really skill intesive and adding complexity to the deck in the long games (5+top8) is bad for mistakes. Wiht this build i allways topped , it feel more in my hands and i couldn't be happier. as i said my metagame is healthy and i played against almost any decks. Maybe is just because i've been lucky (and i've been many times, but this is magic) and i managed to play the deck correctly (i took 5 months to learn it xD) but this deck gave me more win than any other deck, i repeat myself, couldnt me more happy
i feel my deck more similar to melira/angel pod than the old kikipod, and it is what i meant this deck to be, the recurring creatures + life gain + combo is very hard to beat for 60% of modern decks. I feel so good, beacause, when i took this deck to my LGS they kept saying: where are you going without glen elendra, exarch etc.?? (someone suggested me to add black too ahah) but when i kept crushing their faces they learnt to fear my deck, at the point that the metagame switched from fast aggro (burn mostly, infect, boggle and delver too) to pod/bgx midrange to tron... but my deck is still in top
so take my advices, try it for 3-4 months, and then we can speak about it, if it's been only lucky, if it's only because i learnt how to play this deck, or if we really dont need anymore the blue with this type of fast metagame.
PS: i used to play 2 kitchen finks main, when burn and delver popped out i brought in 4, but i wouldnt come back to 2 neither 3 at all if the metagame would become slower (as it did), they really make the enemy waste too much removal, and you can gain 6 life with resto angel, just top creature.
@vind. I found glen elendra and negate against scapeshift pretty useless, negate wants you to keep your mana untapped, pretty hard with this kind of deck, and they just wait for 4 lands for scapeshift + 2-4 lands for counter. glen elendra helps more, but it just take so few times that i became irrelevant most of times i played it (and i played it a lot). Glen elendra was the only blue card i missed at the beginning, but after 6 months of playing without it, i really dont miss it anymore i kept it inside my book till now, yesterday i looked at it, and put it on ebay to sell it
Match 1 vs Mono Green Devotion:
Game 1 goes by quickly. Turn two Pod nets me tons of value off of Kitchen Finks and Restoration Angel. Swing in enough times for the beats to win. (Take out Murderous Redcap, Izzet Staticaster, and Linvala for 2 Negate and Avalanche Riders.)
Game 2, an early Garruk Wildspeaker makes a couple of dudes, and one of them gets triple Rancor.
Game 3, another turn 2 Birthing Pod means value all over. Avalanche Riders takes out a Forest that has two Utopia Sprawls on it, and Restoration Angel them to take out a Nykthos. He gets left with one Forest, and that sealed the deal.
Match 2 vs UWR Flash:
Game 1: Turn 2 Pod means get to Purphoros ASAP. Once I stuck a Finks into play, I podded immediately for the God. I eventually land a Murderous Redcap, and pod him off for a Kiki-Jiki to deal a grand total of 16 damage in one turn. Pretty nice! (I take out the combo. -2 Kiki, -2 Exarch, -1 Image, -1 Izzet Staticaster, -1 Linvala for Avalanche Riders, Reclamation Sage, Thrun, Sigarda, Keranos, and 2 Negate)
Game 2: This was a war of attrition. I know this player has adapted her deck for the current meta, and main decks Anger of the Gods. Luckily I didn't see any of them against me. Once I stuck a Pod, I quickly went for Glen Elendra, Keranos, and Sigarda. At one point, I used Avalanche Riders to take her off of all of her white mana sources, which was enough to keep me in the game to commence the beats.
Match 3 vs UR Burn:
Game 1: Turn two pod means pod for value. Kitchen Finks and Restoration Angel takes it. (Take out 2 Kiki, 1 Image, 1 Conscripts, bring in Sigarda, Thrun, Obstinate Baloth, and Eidolon)
Game 2: He gets stuck on one land, but almost gets there with Lava Spikes and Rift Bolts. Once again, Finks and Angels seal the deal.
Match 4 vs Affinity: Split, but I lost hard.
Game 1, Double Cranial Plating. Hurts bad.
Game 2, same deal, just on Inkmoth. Didn't see any sideboard cards, and I brought in quite a few.
Hey, I just noticed your list is a lot like how mine used to be. I actually took out purphoros for the meta right now, and put in thragtusk, and a few other cards. But, if you are running Domri, then you should definitely run Courser. The CA you get off those two is nuts. Also, the lifegain is pretty nice for the meta.
also, I've found affinity to be the worst matchup by far. We're too durdly, and we can't do anything before they kill us usually. So now I have 3 creeping corrosion in the side.
I was absolutely overwhelmed by Domri and Courser personally, but each to their own I guess. My build is pretty different from most others.
I didn't have a problem casting Clique, but I just didn't like it that much. Some people have tested with it well though, so it may be worth the inclusion. My list is again, kind of wonky, which may be why I didn't like it.
I never connected it like this before, but if you think about it, this is kind of like a GW hatebears deck, except rather than running search hate, we run a search engine and 2 other colors for more hate.
This made me think when I came across this card in my jank rares for a Clique replacement: Burning-Tree Shaman.
It seemed like a really bad idea when I first saw it, but then it seemed better and better the more I thought about it, especially with delver and burn on the downturn.
The things it deals damage to us on are: pod (which could be pretty big when doing long pod chains, but my build is a lot less combo oriented than most), Glen Elendra, which is mostly a silver bullet, so probably wouldn't be that relevant most of the time, Domri Rade,(which is the only real card I'm worried about. The repeated damage with this just seems really bad), scavenging ooze (which the lifegain replaces the damage), and Kiki-Jiki. The last one seems pretty bad, but it doesn't seem hard to pod Burning-Tree Shaman as part of the chain. This all makes it seem pretty bad, except for what it is really good against. Tron, Affinity, opposing pod decks, merfolk, hatebears... Note how most of those seem to be this decks worst matchups. On a whole, I think it's probably better in the sideboard, but for lack of anything better, I'm going to test it. If I had another Noble Hierarch, I'd run that instead probably.
For context and discussion, here is my current list.
I've been having really good results, doing well in my extremely competitive meta. I won the last time I played, going 3-1 in the first part, beating Affinity, UR Delver, Angel Pod, and losing to Affinity. In top 4, beat Affinity ( one I lost to earlier), then split for top 2 with Affinity (the one I beat earlier). Note, I had 1 more path in the side then, and one less Creeping Corrosion. I kept a 5 land hand with a mana dork and reclamation sage game 3 of the one I beat. Later, facing down lethal, I crack a fetch. I'm about to get a sacred foundry, but then I think about how I only have 1 green source then, and think about the possibility of drawing a Creeping Corrosion. I topdeck Creeping Corrosion, windmill slam it, and just laugh at him (he's a good friend of mine). Anyway, it wipes his board (obviously) and he's stuck on 1 island for mana only, and he scoops after like 2 turns of reclamation sage-voice of resurgence beats. Best. Topdeck. Ever.
Slaughter games was a house against pod. She was a really bad player, but all game 1, she complained about not getting a pod, so game 2, about 4 turns in, I slaughter games naming pod. She gets mad, but can't do anything about it. I find pod-pod matchups to be mostly about who gets a pod first. Also, with scapeshift rising again, Slaughter Games is a house against that too.
Only 2 finks because of the three courser, but if Burning-Tree Shaman turns out to be good, I may raise this up back to three. Other than a few of those things, a pretty standard combat-based Kiki-pod list.
Tarmogoyf has been really good at winning games that normally would be lost. Like, I beat a UWR control deck with one, when I was mana screwed and needed a boltproof guy. I don't know if i'd play more than one, and one is all I could afford.
I don't run into jund very much, and face combo decks a lot, so domri feels like a liability. At one point, I had two Domri and two Chord of Calling, but that brought my creature count down a bit too much perhaps.
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Islandswamp on MTGO - MTGGoldfish Writer - Vintage 101
I'm currently on the 2 Chord, 0 Domri plan as of now. Domri is great in a grindy metagame, but right now aggressive decks seem to be more popular, so I'd rather have the ability to combo fast and get the silver bullets I need with Chord.
I'm on the fence about Courser still, I need to do more testing with it to see if it pulls it's weight as my current list is so tight for spots already. As for Vendilion Clique and Tarmogoyf, they're not really things I can afford to test with at the moment
I play mtgo, so some cards are cheaper, luckily. I just picked up a Vendilion Clique for the sideboard, to bring in against combo decks. I haven't actually cast it yet.
I wish I could bring myself to play Domri, but man It sucks when you're opponent is on scapeshift or fatestitcher ascendancy.
I saw a list on mtggoldfish that ran Domri Rade and Huntmaster of the Fells. I tried it in a few games, and in some games against fair decks it was great. There is just a lot of unfair decks online right now, because of Dig Through Time and Treasure Cruise.
I'm always on the lookout for new tech, I'll always check out a list if anyone posts it.
UPDATE I finally get a Vendilion Clique in my hand I want to play (I boarded it in against Tarmo-twin to try it out) and I couldn't get a second blue source. I even had courser out and was hitting my land drops like a champ. I ended up winning the match anyway.
A word on Courser of Kruphix: Kiki Pod does a lot of damage to itself with shock lands and fetches. With a courser out, you can fetch an untapped shock for the net loss of one life. You're playing two lands and three life, and gaining two life. The way I made space for Courser was this: My lists usually would run three or four kitchen finks, to combat burn and delver, and other aggro decks. I just Swapped out one finks for one courser. i am even up to two coursers and it's been good. You don't want too many, because although they provide value, it's not value from it's interaction with pod. Finks into resto is a +1 card advantage each time.
Also, you really want to hit your land drops, which courser helps with, you need good turn two plays to stop goblin guide and swiftspear, and I want as many creatures that survive pyroclasm or anger of the gods as possible.
And don't be affraid to pod away courser if you have to. especially if you played some free lands off it.
i think the reason for running three or four is for life gain, and stabilizing the board with some early blockers. if all you want one for is to pod into, and pod away into resto, then two is probably fine.
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I only play 2 finks theese days.. Its bad against anything playing combo, and it's just ok against control and pod.. It's good against delver, burn etc obviously, so your meta might be different..
So, someone posted a 4-0 list from a daily online, and I downloaded it and have been playing it. i changed the sideboard a bit, but kept the main deck, it's been testing well.
Am I insane for running a singleton Pact of Negation? Sometimes it's completely dead and other times it obviously just straight wins the game. It's probably too high variance but going off with it in hand feels great haha.
I went 4-0 in Modern FNM last week and Eidolon of Rhetoric was an all-star. I brought it in for every round, from Zoo (4 toughness is great) to WUR Delver to Jeskai Ascendancy to a weird Temur deck in round 4. He stops Snapcaster, doesn't die to burn, and has hardly any effect on my own play. My opponent can't cast spells lest they be ambushed by a Chord of Calling. I'm moving it to the main deck for this week, displacing an Eternal Witness that was never exciting to draw nor worth tutoring for. Thalia, Guardian of Thraben has also been great as a must-kill against combo and control, and a strong creature in general combat situations.
I have a long list of things I am considering for the sideboard, and am interested in any input and ideas.
Strongly Considered SB Cards Aven Mindscensor - Obvious inclusion against Gifts/Tron/Pod/Scapeshift Reclamation Sage - Obvious inclusion. I prefer Qasali Pridemage maindeck because it comes out earlier and is good in combat. Also needed for Torpor Orb. Izzet Staticaster - Seems very good in the current meta. Kills Bob, mana dorks, Infect, Goblin Storm, Young Pyromancer, wrecks combat math. Avalanche Riders - Good against control, Scapeshift, and Tron. I've very worried about my Tron matchup. Fiery Justice - Wrecks Delver, Zoo, Pod, Affinity.
Good looking SB Cards Ethersworn Canonist - Another copy of Eidolon of Rhetoric for redundancy in the mana curve. Maybe should just be a 2nd Eidolon? Kataki, War's Wage - I'm concerned about ultra aggro decks like Affinity (errr I mean "Robots") Sigarda, Host of Herons - Seems like a trump in matches where combo is unsafe because of removal. I haven't yet actually played her. Sowing Salt - Did I mention I'm worried about Tron? Shatterstorm/Creeping Corrosion - And that I'm worried about Robots? Is this going too far? Kor Firewalker - If burn is a thing, I want this. But he might be hard to cast. Negate - Not a creature, but I've heard good things. Huntmaster of the Fells - Lifegain, flips immediately if you pod him in. Kills stuff. Good enough? Path to Exile - I don't have much interaction with unfair decks. This would give me something. Combust - Worse than Path unless you suspect counters. Eternal Witness - Bad early, and slow late, but a long-time staple of the main deck. Are his days over?
Crazy SB Ideas Aegis of the Gods - Seems great against the various one-shot combo decks. But he's so easy to kill. Burning-Tree Shaman - Bolt-proof. Very painful for Tron, stops opposing infinite combos and Jeskai. Hurts us too but we can sac him. Sort of like Eidolon that stops Pod. Engineered Explosives - Versatile, but not a creature. Helps against bad matchups like Infect and Boggles. Keranos, God of Storms - The king of the grind game. Better than Sigarda? Purphoros, God of the Forge - Crazy idea I saw in a list on this thread. Might be bad b/c he's only good when we are doing things. Magus of the Moon - Catching people with this and totally screwing them out of the game is fun. But many decks have burn, or are few colors. Pure // Simple - SB for Affinity/Boggles? Spirit of the Labyrinth - Very burnable, but very tough for control to beat. Stonehorn Dignitary - Seems decent against aggro. Might just be too slow. Thrun, the Last Troll - Used to be a big favorite, but everyone has tons of blockers these days. He's so slow! Thragtusk - I feel like 5 mana should be more resilient, or win the game immediately.
Thoughts and comments and new ideas are appreciated. I haven't played in a while, but Pod is my Modern deck of choice going back 2 years (and Standard before that) so I'm psyched to play it again.
3x noble
3x Voice
2x wall of roots
1x ph. Image
1x spellskite
1x q. pridmage
3x kitchen finks
1x e. witness
1x deceiver
1x izzet staticaster
1x Livala
3x resto angel
1x siege rhino
1x murderous redcap
1x zealous
2x kiki
1x thragtusk
2x path
4x birthing pod
24 lands
If you are going to a Modern event soon, play Junk with the Archangel combo (so you still have an auto win button). Rhino is very good in the format and having access to Decay and Seize is pretty clutch. Tron is at all time low so you don't have to worry about that auto-loss matchup. The new PrimeTime deck is still pretty good against both Pod decks though.
BGStandard Green AggroGB
UWRGModern Saheeli CobraGRWU
UBRGLegacy StormGRBU
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so based on previous posts, you think kiki pod will not longer be a top tier deck? at least not in the near future?
what kind of cards would be required for kiki to be a real contestant again?
@Archanz: What advantages does GRW offer over GBW? Without blue to enable pod chains why not run Angel/Melira? As far as the scapeshift match being rough; funny that the blue cards are generally the keys to the match-up. Glen Elendra was always my first target to pod towards. Negate out of the side also helps a lot.
4x kitchen finks
3x restoration angel
3x voice of resurgence
4x noble hierarch
4x birds of paradise
2x kiki jiki
1x scavenging ooze
1x cunning sparkmage
1x redcap
1x qasali pridemage
1x reclamation sage
1x zealous coscripts
1x huntmaster of the fells
1x spellskite
1x wall of roots
1x linvala
4x birthing pod
2x path to exile
1x chord of calling
side:
2x burrenton
1x path to exile
1x fiery justice
1x reveillark
1x aven mindcensor
1x eidolon of rethoric
1x kataki
1x avalanche rider
1x shatterstorm
1x ancient grudge
1x combust
1x sowing salt
1x thrun
1x eternal witness
against aggro i have no problem, 4x kitchen finks + restoration angel is GG, and with sideboard i become more a control deck with all the removal i put inside
against control/midrange i have also 0 problems, with 4x kitchen finks 3x voice of resurgence, big flyers + combo and from sideboard reveillark + eternal witness
2x burrenton against red mass removal is just great, they can't do anything
against combo i have nice tool and never felt any problem
my affinity matchup is really easy with reclamation sage + restoration angel and qasali pridemage main (kitchen finks + birds of paradise + path to exile give me enough time) and from side i just crush them
with tron i may have some problems, but i usually combo faster, till now i'd give it 60/40
the only hard matchup is scapeshift, but also there when i loose i allways lost 1-2, allways close games
i noticed that blue lands make too many dmg to me, and too often i had glen elendra wasted for the wrong mana. this deck is really skill intesive and adding complexity to the deck in the long games (5+top8) is bad for mistakes. Wiht this build i allways topped , it feel more in my hands and i couldn't be happier. as i said my metagame is healthy and i played against almost any decks. Maybe is just because i've been lucky (and i've been many times, but this is magic) and i managed to play the deck correctly (i took 5 months to learn it xD) but this deck gave me more win than any other deck, i repeat myself, couldnt me more happy
i feel my deck more similar to melira/angel pod than the old kikipod, and it is what i meant this deck to be, the recurring creatures + life gain + combo is very hard to beat for 60% of modern decks. I feel so good, beacause, when i took this deck to my LGS they kept saying: where are you going without glen elendra, exarch etc.?? (someone suggested me to add black too ahah) but when i kept crushing their faces they learnt to fear my deck, at the point that the metagame switched from fast aggro (burn mostly, infect, boggle and delver too) to pod/bgx midrange to tron... but my deck is still in top
so take my advices, try it for 3-4 months, and then we can speak about it, if it's been only lucky, if it's only because i learnt how to play this deck, or if we really dont need anymore the blue with this type of fast metagame.
PS: i used to play 2 kitchen finks main, when burn and delver popped out i brought in 4, but i wouldnt come back to 2 neither 3 at all if the metagame would become slower (as it did), they really make the enemy waste too much removal, and you can gain 6 life with resto angel, just top creature.
@vind. I found glen elendra and negate against scapeshift pretty useless, negate wants you to keep your mana untapped, pretty hard with this kind of deck, and they just wait for 4 lands for scapeshift + 2-4 lands for counter. glen elendra helps more, but it just take so few times that i became irrelevant most of times i played it (and i played it a lot). Glen elendra was the only blue card i missed at the beginning, but after 6 months of playing without it, i really dont miss it anymore i kept it inside my book till now, yesterday i looked at it, and put it on ebay to sell it
3 Noble Hierarch
3 Kitchen Finks
3 Restoration Angel
2 Deceiver Exarch
2 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
2 Voice of Resurgence
2 Wall of Omens
1 Qasali Pridemage
1 Phantasmal Image
1 Spellskite
1 Izzet Saticaster
1 Murderous Redcap
1 Purphoros, God of the Forge
1 Glen Elendra Archmage
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
2 Domri Rade
4 Birthing Pod
1 Mountain
1 Plains
1 Island
1 Razorverge Thicket
1 Gavony Township
1 Steam Vents
1 Temple Garden
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Breeding Pool
1 Fire-Lit Thicket
2 Stomping Ground
1 Misty Rainforest
2 Wooded Foothills
3 Windswept Heath
3 Grove of the Burnwillows
1 Avalanche Riders
1 Keranos, God of Storms
1 Sigarda, Host of Herons
1 Izzet Staticaster
1 Reclamation Sage
2 Negate
3 Path to Exile
1 Obstinate Baloth
1 Thrun, the Last Troll
1 Eidolon of Rhetoric
1 Combust
1 Ancient Grudge
Match 1 vs Mono Green Devotion:
Game 1 goes by quickly. Turn two Pod nets me tons of value off of Kitchen Finks and Restoration Angel. Swing in enough times for the beats to win. (Take out Murderous Redcap, Izzet Staticaster, and Linvala for 2 Negate and Avalanche Riders.)
Game 2, an early Garruk Wildspeaker makes a couple of dudes, and one of them gets triple Rancor.
Game 3, another turn 2 Birthing Pod means value all over. Avalanche Riders takes out a Forest that has two Utopia Sprawls on it, and Restoration Angel them to take out a Nykthos. He gets left with one Forest, and that sealed the deal.
Match 2 vs UWR Flash:
Game 1: Turn 2 Pod means get to Purphoros ASAP. Once I stuck a Finks into play, I podded immediately for the God. I eventually land a Murderous Redcap, and pod him off for a Kiki-Jiki to deal a grand total of 16 damage in one turn. Pretty nice! (I take out the combo. -2 Kiki, -2 Exarch, -1 Image, -1 Izzet Staticaster, -1 Linvala for Avalanche Riders, Reclamation Sage, Thrun, Sigarda, Keranos, and 2 Negate)
Game 2: This was a war of attrition. I know this player has adapted her deck for the current meta, and main decks Anger of the Gods. Luckily I didn't see any of them against me. Once I stuck a Pod, I quickly went for Glen Elendra, Keranos, and Sigarda. At one point, I used Avalanche Riders to take her off of all of her white mana sources, which was enough to keep me in the game to commence the beats.
Match 3 vs UR Burn:
Game 1: Turn two pod means pod for value. Kitchen Finks and Restoration Angel takes it. (Take out 2 Kiki, 1 Image, 1 Conscripts, bring in Sigarda, Thrun, Obstinate Baloth, and Eidolon)
Game 2: He gets stuck on one land, but almost gets there with Lava Spikes and Rift Bolts. Once again, Finks and Angels seal the deal.
Match 4 vs Affinity: Split, but I lost hard.
Game 1, Double Cranial Plating. Hurts bad.
Game 2, same deal, just on Inkmoth. Didn't see any sideboard cards, and I brought in quite a few.
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also, I've found affinity to be the worst matchup by far. We're too durdly, and we can't do anything before they kill us usually. So now I have 3 creeping corrosion in the side.
I didn't have a problem casting Clique, but I just didn't like it that much. Some people have tested with it well though, so it may be worth the inclusion. My list is again, kind of wonky, which may be why I didn't like it.
I never connected it like this before, but if you think about it, this is kind of like a GW hatebears deck, except rather than running search hate, we run a search engine and 2 other colors for more hate.
This made me think when I came across this card in my jank rares for a Clique replacement: Burning-Tree Shaman.
It seemed like a really bad idea when I first saw it, but then it seemed better and better the more I thought about it, especially with delver and burn on the downturn.
The things it deals damage to us on are: pod (which could be pretty big when doing long pod chains, but my build is a lot less combo oriented than most), Glen Elendra, which is mostly a silver bullet, so probably wouldn't be that relevant most of the time, Domri Rade,(which is the only real card I'm worried about. The repeated damage with this just seems really bad), scavenging ooze (which the lifegain replaces the damage), and Kiki-Jiki. The last one seems pretty bad, but it doesn't seem hard to pod Burning-Tree Shaman as part of the chain. This all makes it seem pretty bad, except for what it is really good against. Tron, Affinity, opposing pod decks, merfolk, hatebears... Note how most of those seem to be this decks worst matchups. On a whole, I think it's probably better in the sideboard, but for lack of anything better, I'm going to test it. If I had another Noble Hierarch, I'd run that instead probably.
For context and discussion, here is my current list.
4 Birds of Paradise
3 Noble Hierarch
2 Scavenging Ooze
1 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
3 Voice of Resurgence
1 Burning-Tree Shaman
3 Courser of Kruphix
2 Kitchen Finks
1 Deceiver Exarch
1 Reclamation Sage
1 Glen Elendra Archmage
1 Murderous Redcap
3 Restoration Angel
1 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
1 Thragtusk
1 Zealous Conscripts
Other stuff
2 Path to Exile
2 Domri Rade
4 Birthing Pod
1 Island
1 Forest
1 Mountain
1 Plains
4 Arid Mesa
2 Verdant Catacombs
1 Breeding Pool
1 Godless Shrine
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Steam Vents
1 Stomping Ground
1 Temple Garden
2 Gavony Township
3 Grove of the Burnwillows
1 Razorverge Thicket
1 Path to Exile
2 Negate
1 Spellskite
1 Qasali Pridemage
1 Eidolon of Rhetoric
1 Fiery Justice
1 Izzet Staticaster
3 Creeping Corrosion
2 Slaughter Games
1 Thrun, the Last Troll
1 Sigarda, Host of Herons
I've been having really good results, doing well in my extremely competitive meta. I won the last time I played, going 3-1 in the first part, beating Affinity, UR Delver, Angel Pod, and losing to Affinity. In top 4, beat Affinity ( one I lost to earlier), then split for top 2 with Affinity (the one I beat earlier). Note, I had 1 more path in the side then, and one less Creeping Corrosion. I kept a 5 land hand with a mana dork and reclamation sage game 3 of the one I beat. Later, facing down lethal, I crack a fetch. I'm about to get a sacred foundry, but then I think about how I only have 1 green source then, and think about the possibility of drawing a Creeping Corrosion. I topdeck Creeping Corrosion, windmill slam it, and just laugh at him (he's a good friend of mine). Anyway, it wipes his board (obviously) and he's stuck on 1 island for mana only, and he scoops after like 2 turns of reclamation sage-voice of resurgence beats. Best. Topdeck. Ever.
Slaughter games was a house against pod. She was a really bad player, but all game 1, she complained about not getting a pod, so game 2, about 4 turns in, I slaughter games naming pod. She gets mad, but can't do anything about it. I find pod-pod matchups to be mostly about who gets a pod first. Also, with scapeshift rising again, Slaughter Games is a house against that too.
Only 2 finks because of the three courser, but if Burning-Tree Shaman turns out to be good, I may raise this up back to three. Other than a few of those things, a pretty standard combat-based Kiki-pod list.
I'm torn between running chord of calling and domri rade though.
3 Noble Hierarch
4 Grove of the Burnwillows
4 Birthing Pod
3 Restoration Angel
3 Misty Rainforest
3 Kitchen Finks
2 Gavony Township
2 Fire-Lit Thicket
1 Deceiver Exarch
1 Zealous Conscripts
2 Voice of Resurgence
1 Temple Garden
1 Stomping Ground
1 Steam Vents
1 Spellskite
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Phantasmal Image
1 Murderous Redcap
1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Glen Elendra Archmage
1 Breeding Pool
4 Birds of Paradise
2 Wall of Roots
2 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
1 Reclamation Sage
1 Forest
1 Plains
2 Chord of Calling
1 Courser of Kruphix
1 Tarmogoyf
1 Eternal Witness
1 Thragtusk
1 Kataki, War's Wage
2 Negate
1 Avalanche Riders
1 Fiery Justice
1 Eidolon of Rhetoric
2 Combust
1 Qasali Pridemage
1 Fracturing Gust
2 Path to Exile
1 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
Tarmogoyf has been really good at winning games that normally would be lost. Like, I beat a UWR control deck with one, when I was mana screwed and needed a boltproof guy. I don't know if i'd play more than one, and one is all I could afford.
I don't run into jund very much, and face combo decks a lot, so domri feels like a liability. At one point, I had two Domri and two Chord of Calling, but that brought my creature count down a bit too much perhaps.
I'm on the fence about Courser still, I need to do more testing with it to see if it pulls it's weight as my current list is so tight for spots already. As for Vendilion Clique and Tarmogoyf, they're not really things I can afford to test with at the moment
I wish I could bring myself to play Domri, but man It sucks when you're opponent is on scapeshift or fatestitcher ascendancy.
I saw a list on mtggoldfish that ran Domri Rade and Huntmaster of the Fells. I tried it in a few games, and in some games against fair decks it was great. There is just a lot of unfair decks online right now, because of Dig Through Time and Treasure Cruise.
I'm always on the lookout for new tech, I'll always check out a list if anyone posts it.
UPDATE I finally get a Vendilion Clique in my hand I want to play (I boarded it in against Tarmo-twin to try it out) and I couldn't get a second blue source. I even had courser out and was hitting my land drops like a champ. I ended up winning the match anyway.
A word on Courser of Kruphix: Kiki Pod does a lot of damage to itself with shock lands and fetches. With a courser out, you can fetch an untapped shock for the net loss of one life. You're playing two lands and three life, and gaining two life. The way I made space for Courser was this: My lists usually would run three or four kitchen finks, to combat burn and delver, and other aggro decks. I just Swapped out one finks for one courser. i am even up to two coursers and it's been good. You don't want too many, because although they provide value, it's not value from it's interaction with pod. Finks into resto is a +1 card advantage each time.
Also, you really want to hit your land drops, which courser helps with, you need good turn two plays to stop goblin guide and swiftspear, and I want as many creatures that survive pyroclasm or anger of the gods as possible.
And don't be affraid to pod away courser if you have to. especially if you played some free lands off it.
I am building a naya pod with kiki jiki. The deck is less focused on the combo than yours and more into the beatdown plan.
http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/modern/modern-deck-creation/582056-anyone-interested-in-building-a-gwr-pod
If you have any suggestion, feel free to post them on that thread.
1 Eidolon of Rhetoric
1 Eternal Witness
1 Glen Elendra Archmage
3 Kitchen Finks
1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
1 Murderous Redcap
3 Noble Hierarch
1 Phantasmal Image
1 Reclamation Sage
3 Restoration Angel
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Spellskite
2 Voice of Resurgence
3 Wall of Roots
1 Zealous Conscripts
2 Chord of Calling
4 Birthing Pod
1 Breeding Pool
1 Fire-Lit Thicket
1 Gavony Township
4 Grove of the Burnwillows
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Steam Vents
1 Stomping Ground
1 Temple Garden
4 Windswept Heath
4 Wooded Foothills
2 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
4 Birds of Paradise
1 Mountain
1 Plains
1 Forest
2 Fiery Justice
1 Obstinate Baloth
1 Qasali Pridemage
3 Path to Exile
1 Avalanche Riders
1 Thrun, the Last Troll
1 Sigarda, Host of Herons
3 Negate
1 Fracturing Gust
Budget considerations include Avacyn's Pilgrim in place of Noble Hierarch and only 1 Grove of the Burnwillows.
3x Avacyn's Pilgrim
4x Birds of Paradise
1x Scavenging Ooze
1x Spellskite
1x Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
1x Voice of Resurgence
1x Phantasmal Image
1x Qasali Pridemage
3x Wall of Roots
2x Kitchen Finks
1x Deceiver Exarch
1x Eidolon of Rhetoric
1x Linvala, Keeper of Silence
1x Murderous Redcap
4x Restoration Angel
1x Zealous Conscripts
2x Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
Spells (7)
3x Chord of Calling
4x Birthing Pod
Land (23)
2x Copperline Gorge
3x Misty Rainforest
4x Wooded Foothills
1x Breeding Pool
1x Hallowed Fountain
1x Sacred Foundry
1x Steam Vents
1x Stomping Ground
1x Temple Garden
1x Forest
1x Plains
1x Karplusan Forest
1x Grove of the Burnwillows
2x Fire-Lit Thicket
2x Gavony Township
I went 4-0 in Modern FNM last week and Eidolon of Rhetoric was an all-star. I brought it in for every round, from Zoo (4 toughness is great) to WUR Delver to Jeskai Ascendancy to a weird Temur deck in round 4. He stops Snapcaster, doesn't die to burn, and has hardly any effect on my own play. My opponent can't cast spells lest they be ambushed by a Chord of Calling. I'm moving it to the main deck for this week, displacing an Eternal Witness that was never exciting to draw nor worth tutoring for.
Thalia, Guardian of Thraben has also been great as a must-kill against combo and control, and a strong creature in general combat situations.
I have a long list of things I am considering for the sideboard, and am interested in any input and ideas.
Strongly Considered SB Cards
Aven Mindscensor - Obvious inclusion against Gifts/Tron/Pod/Scapeshift
Reclamation Sage - Obvious inclusion. I prefer Qasali Pridemage maindeck because it comes out earlier and is good in combat. Also needed for Torpor Orb.
Izzet Staticaster - Seems very good in the current meta. Kills Bob, mana dorks, Infect, Goblin Storm, Young Pyromancer, wrecks combat math.
Avalanche Riders - Good against control, Scapeshift, and Tron. I've very worried about my Tron matchup.
Fiery Justice - Wrecks Delver, Zoo, Pod, Affinity.
Good looking SB Cards
Ethersworn Canonist - Another copy of Eidolon of Rhetoric for redundancy in the mana curve. Maybe should just be a 2nd Eidolon?
Kataki, War's Wage - I'm concerned about ultra aggro decks like Affinity (errr I mean "Robots")
Sigarda, Host of Herons - Seems like a trump in matches where combo is unsafe because of removal. I haven't yet actually played her.
Sowing Salt - Did I mention I'm worried about Tron?
Shatterstorm/Creeping Corrosion - And that I'm worried about Robots? Is this going too far?
Kor Firewalker - If burn is a thing, I want this. But he might be hard to cast.
Negate - Not a creature, but I've heard good things.
Huntmaster of the Fells - Lifegain, flips immediately if you pod him in. Kills stuff. Good enough?
Path to Exile - I don't have much interaction with unfair decks. This would give me something.
Combust - Worse than Path unless you suspect counters.
Eternal Witness - Bad early, and slow late, but a long-time staple of the main deck. Are his days over?
Crazy SB Ideas
Aegis of the Gods - Seems great against the various one-shot combo decks. But he's so easy to kill.
Burning-Tree Shaman - Bolt-proof. Very painful for Tron, stops opposing infinite combos and Jeskai. Hurts us too but we can sac him. Sort of like Eidolon that stops Pod.
Engineered Explosives - Versatile, but not a creature. Helps against bad matchups like Infect and Boggles.
Keranos, God of Storms - The king of the grind game. Better than Sigarda?
Purphoros, God of the Forge - Crazy idea I saw in a list on this thread. Might be bad b/c he's only good when we are doing things.
Magus of the Moon - Catching people with this and totally screwing them out of the game is fun. But many decks have burn, or are few colors.
Pure // Simple - SB for Affinity/Boggles?
Spirit of the Labyrinth - Very burnable, but very tough for control to beat.
Stonehorn Dignitary - Seems decent against aggro. Might just be too slow.
Thrun, the Last Troll - Used to be a big favorite, but everyone has tons of blockers these days. He's so slow!
Thragtusk - I feel like 5 mana should be more resilient, or win the game immediately.
Thoughts and comments and new ideas are appreciated. I haven't played in a while, but Pod is my Modern deck of choice going back 2 years (and Standard before that) so I'm psyched to play it again.
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Currently playing Knight of the Reliquary - Retreat to Coralhelm Combo