Nothing quite hates on artifacts as bad as Ancient Grudge does. They kill your pod, you play another pod, they kill it again. That said I never really thought Pod would vanish like it did.
I actually liked the idea so I hope it comes back.
Birthing Pod has a decent shot of becoming competitive again if more sweet cards like Strangleroot Geist are printed that fit perfectly into their pod chains.
I am hoping Pod makes a come back. I have been sitting on my Birthing Pods for awhile since rotation. I have pretty much all the dual lands for whatever pod I choose to build.
If Pod does good again, then I am ready with my cards
It is interesting in a set with a lot of graveyard interactions that the birthing pod deck actually lost competitiveness since innstrad
Preordain and sea gate oracle (a.k.a. 'preordain on a stick') gave the deck some card selection and thus stability/consistency.
For example, they helped you to win when pod didn't stick by finding and just casting your big spells, *OR* if you didn't have the mana you put those big spells on the bottom of your library. That's a powerful effect for a deck which without pod is essentially a ramp deck. People underestimate card selection, as a rule. The oracle could then be podded away (into a phyrexian metamorph perhaps, copying your pod and requiring your opponent to find two artifact removal spells....) and filled in an otherwise lacklustre 3 drop slot.
Ancient grudge certainly didn't help, but I miss those two cards much more than I fear ancient grudge, especially since ancient grudge hasn't seen mass play for a while now.
Besides, birthing pod is a card that obviously gets much better as more targets are printed. When the card pool shrinks dramatically, as it does in a rotation, such cards get weaker.
Still, I'm optimistic now about the next two sets. Every playable undying card could push pod back into contention.
My prediction is that we'll see some form of a competitive birthing pod deck where the birthing pod isn't the key to winning, but is just a fantastic tool for utility and consistency. To my understanding, this is how Birthing Pod is working in modern right now. Those decks just try to establish their little combos of 2-3 cheap creatures, and the birthing pod just helps them get that out. There are lists floating around without the pod, and lists that side out the pods post board for artifact hate and still work. I think the undying creatures could be a step in this direction of play, and I want to see some kind of interaction with that recurring zombie Gravecrawler. The traditional toolbox into seven drop line of play has been clunky in this meta so far, but I like pod's chances a lot. Maybe it's just wishful thinking on my part, as I got a playset of pods now on the cheap :P.
The new Lich is gonna make BUG Pod alot more fun. I liked how disruptive rock pod was but when i added in clones and ponders it got alot better and allowed many nasty plays my favourite being a cloned Massacre wurm. The 5 drop was the weak link all you had was Acidic Slime with a couple iffy choices if you wanted nmore toolbox options. I can't wait to use the Lich in Pod since we are a deck that can easily abuse creatures in the GY to be recast. I also planned on running Garruk Relentless as a backup tutor plan which the Lich also works very well with, I mean sac a ETB creature grab anything you want then recast the ETB trigger. All this coupled with the Undying creatures that I'm sure green and black will get more of I already excited.
My prediction is that we'll see some form of a competitive birthing pod deck where the birthing pod isn't the key to winning, but is just a fantastic tool for utility and consistency. To my understanding, this is how Birthing Pod is working in modern right now. Those decks just try to establish their little combos of 2-3 cheap creatures, and the birthing pod just helps them get that out. There are lists floating around without the pod, and lists that side out the pods post board for artifact hate and still work. I think the undying creatures could be a step in this direction of play, and I want to see some kind of interaction with that recurring zombie Gravecrawler. The traditional toolbox into seven drop line of play has been clunky in this meta so far, but I like pod's chances a lot. Maybe it's just wishful thinking on my part, as I got a playset of pods now on the cheap :P.
That was how good pod decks played. As things happened, toolbox pod slowly drifted into obscurity. Certainly pod decks played more 2 ofs than other decks, but the kind of pod that had no 3 or 4 ofs disappeared.
I'm really liking
Strangleroot and the guy that lets you cast creatures from the graveyard. I'm going to be making a bug pod list when I get the chance.
I guess OP wants it to be 'keyworded' like "dies" was. What word would you replace ETB with though?
When Aegis Angel is born?
When Huntmaster of the Fells arrives?
When Kitchen Sphinx lands?
When Faerie Imposter busts in?
When Dread Cacodemon pops in?
When Malfegor shows up?
If anything is bringing Pod back, it's the new Lich. It allows you to reclaim your sacrificed creatures, while also allowing you to steal your opponents creatures. It gives you a steady source of CA, and it allows you to advance your board like crazy.
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"If you don't wear your seatbelt, the police will shoot you in the head."
- To my youngest sister when she was 6.
Everyone knows that good luck and good game are such insincere terms that any man who does not connect his right hook with the offender's jaw on the very utterance of such a phrase is no man I would consider as such.
Tormentor is going to be a dead card really often. Though the phoenix is nice.
The biggest issues for pod decks now are 3 and 4 drops.
for 1, there are options (birds for anything, and others depending on deck style)
for 2, there are a plethora of options in green, especially with the new undying guy
for 3, we have little to nothing
for 4, we have little to nothing other than sad bot
for 5, we have slimes and now this lich in bug versions
for 6, titans and wurmcoil
for 7, elesh, sheoldred, etc.
Those 3 and 4 drop slots are what really matter for a good pod deck, and the options are weak (save in white, where you do have some other 4 drop options). However, almost everywhere 3 is a really weak spot.
I guess OP wants it to be 'keyworded' like "dies" was. What word would you replace ETB with though?
When Aegis Angel is born?
When Huntmaster of the Fells arrives?
When Kitchen Sphinx lands?
When Faerie Imposter busts in?
When Dread Cacodemon pops in?
When Malfegor shows up?
I like the new ophidian wolf in the 3 slot. Problem is she cant be used to go up if she transforms, but a 4/5 ophidian is quite enough board presence as it. RUG also gives us Skaab Ruinator. Remember? that 20$ card everybody forgot
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EDH RADAMARO, FIRST TO DESIRER UKEFNET THE MINDFULU GSASAYA, OROCHI ASCENDANTG MODERN RMONO-RED ELDRAZIR
Problem with Pod is Ancient Grudge and the sheer size of the cardpool. There are so many options its impossible to find the best. I think a RG pod could be good with Geist, Pheonix, Brimstone Volley, Huntmaster etc. Or even mono green pod.
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EDH RADAMARO, FIRST TO DESIRER UKEFNET THE MINDFULU GSASAYA, OROCHI ASCENDANTG MODERN RMONO-RED ELDRAZIR
I'm sure we'll get it. They can't all be overcosted. Of course being worth the effort is another question.
Check out the spoiler for Pyreheart Wolf. A 1/1 for 3 is almost always unplayable, but it's ability is VERY relevant in an aggro deck, and it gets bigger from undying. Still probably not playable, but it's an option.
Chandra's Phoenix is really a great 3-drop for pod, since it can be reused just like Undying creatures. And I think Huntmaster fits nicely into the 4-drop slot, though it would be unfortunate if he flipped as you could no longer pod him. You'd need alternate targets of course too..
Going from geist to pheonix to aristocrat to urabrask means you'll always have a hasty, mostly evasive threat. Hex parasite means that a single geist turns into multiple phoenixes and vorapede can become all your 6 drops.
I prefer geistflame over brimstone as it can kill delver/bear/snapcaster/mana dorks better than brimstone, and can retrieve phoenix multiple times and for cheaper mana.
The pyreheart wolf is really just for undying. If a better 3 drop undying is spoiled it will probably take its place. Being able to turn it into 2 skinrenders is really strong, or it can just turn into removal via skinrender, and then into one of the great 4 drops.
Incidently, spending a turn to pod into huntmaster and nothing else is kinda amazing. You get a 2/2 wolf, 2 life, a shock to the face and to a guy and a powerful attacker. The token can even fetch hex parasite for undying shenanigans.
Wurmcoil and inferno titan are the default 6 drops, however massacre wurm erms a place by potential wrathing a board and possibly even killing moorland haunt decks outright. Sheoldred is just riddiculous and probably not even necessary, but makes for a nice pod target from wurmcoil and a really powerful endgame. If she lives even a turn, you have probably won.
Probably stick a metamoph or 2 in the sb to deal with the many powerful legends, ancient grudge for artifact hate, maybe slagstorm against aggro decks, though I'm not sure how good the mana is.
I want to fit in the new Mikaues, as he is the nuts. He serves as a huge pump to all your little guys and makes makes using birthing pod insane value. His mana is horrible though so he might have to be relegated to the sb to hate out human decks I guess, or he could even replace sheoldred as another 6 drop.
I'm seeing a lot of chandra's phoenix in these lists and I don't really understand it. The card only triggers off red instants and sorceries that deal damage to a player, which you can't run many of anyway because your deck has to be mostly creaturse, but if you were to run any such cards I would have thought it would be arc trail so that you actually get to kill a creature as well as reviving the phoenix.
By contast, using brimstone volley or geistflame on a player to revive the phoenix seems like quite a clunky and therefore weak play to me.
My other issue with the phoenix is that the 1RR and the Geist being GG makes running a third colour difficult. Yet you really want a third colour to expand your options.
Anyway, I'm looking at Naya pod with an midrange bent more than anything else now. Huntmaster seems super solid and only needs a splash of red. The other card that should be strong against the presumably still top tier delver decks is daybreak ranger. I would want at least 1 filling out an otherwise lacklustre 3 drop slot
Most obviously Undying birthing pod can now pod into a creature and buff instead of losing the creature.
We still have morbid from Innstrad.
Zombie based Pod will be able to recast creatures from its graveyard....
Gravecrawler,
It is interesting in a set with a lot of graveyard interactions that the birthing pod deck actually lost competitiveness since innstrad
...
Is it just Ancient Grudge? I was sure there was already a lot of artifact hate before Innstrad.
Pioneer:UR Pheonix
Modern:U Mono U Tron
EDH
GB Glissa, the traitor: Army of Cans
UW Dragonlord Ojutai: Dragonlord NOjutai
UWGDerevi, Empyrial Tactician "you cannot fight the storm"
R Zirilan of the claw. The solution to every problem is dragons
UB Etrata, the Silencer Cloning assassination
Peasant cube: Cards I own
I actually liked the idea so I hope it comes back.
Standard-
WRG-Naya Humans
EDH-
RUG- Animar
RW- Brion Stoutarm
If Pod does good again, then I am ready with my cards
Preordain and sea gate oracle (a.k.a. 'preordain on a stick') gave the deck some card selection and thus stability/consistency.
For example, they helped you to win when pod didn't stick by finding and just casting your big spells, *OR* if you didn't have the mana you put those big spells on the bottom of your library. That's a powerful effect for a deck which without pod is essentially a ramp deck. People underestimate card selection, as a rule. The oracle could then be podded away (into a phyrexian metamorph perhaps, copying your pod and requiring your opponent to find two artifact removal spells....) and filled in an otherwise lacklustre 3 drop slot.
Ancient grudge certainly didn't help, but I miss those two cards much more than I fear ancient grudge, especially since ancient grudge hasn't seen mass play for a while now.
Besides, birthing pod is a card that obviously gets much better as more targets are printed. When the card pool shrinks dramatically, as it does in a rotation, such cards get weaker.
Still, I'm optimistic now about the next two sets. Every playable undying card could push pod back into contention.
2011-2012:Bantblade, BantPod
2010-2011:Bant Shaman, Naya Shaman, Naya allies + Scars, URG Turboforce
2009-2010:Naya allies, Mono-White Titan Control
Standard
BR Zombies RB
Modern
W Death and Taxes W
EDH
BUR Thraximundar, Stax is fun, DUR! RUB
GWB Doran, The Pimp Tower BWG
That was how good pod decks played. As things happened, toolbox pod slowly drifted into obscurity. Certainly pod decks played more 2 ofs than other decks, but the kind of pod that had no 3 or 4 ofs disappeared.
I'm really liking
Strangleroot and the guy that lets you cast creatures from the graveyard. I'm going to be making a bug pod list when I get the chance.
- To my youngest sister when she was 6.
Tormentor is going to be a dead card really often. Though the phoenix is nice.
The biggest issues for pod decks now are 3 and 4 drops.
for 1, there are options (birds for anything, and others depending on deck style)
for 2, there are a plethora of options in green, especially with the new undying guy
for 3, we have little to nothing
for 4, we have little to nothing other than sad bot
for 5, we have slimes and now this lich in bug versions
for 6, titans and wurmcoil
for 7, elesh, sheoldred, etc.
Those 3 and 4 drop slots are what really matter for a good pod deck, and the options are weak (save in white, where you do have some other 4 drop options). However, almost everywhere 3 is a really weak spot.
I can't wait to see how many boost to pod deck,with undying ability and this badass werewolf.
Sac a 2 for a 3, next turn fetch up huntmaster, and he can flip that same turn. Seems good. So... RUG or Naya pod instead of Bant Pod?
RADAMARO, FIRST TO DESIRER
UKEFNET THE MINDFULU
GSASAYA, OROCHI ASCENDANTG
MODERN
RMONO-RED ELDRAZIR
4 Hinterland Harbor
4 Copperline Gorge
2 Rootbound Crag
1 Sulfur Falls
10 Forest
2 Island
1 Mountain
4 Birds Of Paradise
2 Phantasmal Image
3 Viridian Emissary
2 Skaab Ruinator
1 Lambholt Elder
2 Huntmaster Of The Fells
1 Solemn Simulacrum
2 Frost Titan
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
2 Acidic Slime
4 Gut Shot
1 Dismember
4 Birthing Pod
3 Brimstone Volley
4 Mana Leak
???
Problem with Pod is Ancient Grudge and the sheer size of the cardpool. There are so many options its impossible to find the best. I think a RG pod could be good with Geist, Pheonix, Brimstone Volley, Huntmaster etc. Or even mono green pod.
RADAMARO, FIRST TO DESIRER
UKEFNET THE MINDFULU
GSASAYA, OROCHI ASCENDANTG
MODERN
RMONO-RED ELDRAZIR
4 Viridian Emissary
4 Strangleroot Geist
4 Chandra's Phoenix
2 Huntmaster of the Fells
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Tormentor Exarch
1 Urabrask the Hidden
2 Acidic Slime
2 Inferno Titan
4 Brimstone Volley
2 Beast Within
1 Jar of Eyeballs
4 Rootbound Crag
4 Copperline Gorge
2 Kessig Wolf Run
9 Forest
5 Mountain
This needs just one more good Undying creature for me to be pleased enough to put it together. Preferably a 3-drop.
atm white is a very strong source for creatures,too hard to ignore.
I'm sure we'll get it. They can't all be overcosted. Of course being worth the effort is another question.
Check out the spoiler for Pyreheart Wolf. A 1/1 for 3 is almost always unplayable, but it's ability is VERY relevant in an aggro deck, and it gets bigger from undying. Still probably not playable, but it's an option.
My thoughts:
4 Viridian Emissary
4 Strangleroot Geist
4 Chandra's Phoenix
3 Huntmaster of the Fells
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
1 Solemn Simulacrum
2 Acidic Slime
2 Primeval Titan
1 Inferno Titan
1 Wurmcoil Engine
3 Birthing Pod
Instants (7):
4 Gut Shot
3 Brimstone Volley
Sorceries (4):
4 Rampant Growth
Lands (23):
4 Copperline Gorge
4 Rootbound Crag
2 Kessig Wolf Run
2 Inkmoth Nexus
8 Forest
3 Mountain
Draft My Cube!
Updating the list/bumping the thread for Vorapede. Aggro-pod looks even slightly better now.
While G/R gives a nice aggro pod, I think splashing black gives access to some nice cards.
CMC 1
4 Birds of Paradise
2 Llanowar Elves
1 Hex Parasite
CMC 2
4 Strangleroot Geist
2 Viridian Emissary
CMC 3
3 Chandra's Phoenix
1 Viridian Corrupter
1 Pyreheart Wolf
CMC 4
2 Skinrender
1 Huntmaster of the Fells
1 Falkenrath Aristocrat
2 Acidic Slime
1 Urabrask the Hidden
1 Vorapede
CMC 6
1 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Inferno Titan
1 Massacre Wurm
CMC 7
1 Sheoldred, Whispering One
Spells
4 Birthing Pod
3 Geistflame
4 Copperline Gorge
2 Rootbound Crag
3 Woodland Cemetery
2 Dragonskull Summit
7 Forest
3 Mountain
2 Swamp
Going from geist to pheonix to aristocrat to urabrask means you'll always have a hasty, mostly evasive threat. Hex parasite means that a single geist turns into multiple phoenixes and vorapede can become all your 6 drops.
I prefer geistflame over brimstone as it can kill delver/bear/snapcaster/mana dorks better than brimstone, and can retrieve phoenix multiple times and for cheaper mana.
The pyreheart wolf is really just for undying. If a better 3 drop undying is spoiled it will probably take its place. Being able to turn it into 2 skinrenders is really strong, or it can just turn into removal via skinrender, and then into one of the great 4 drops.
Incidently, spending a turn to pod into huntmaster and nothing else is kinda amazing. You get a 2/2 wolf, 2 life, a shock to the face and to a guy and a powerful attacker. The token can even fetch hex parasite for undying shenanigans.
Wurmcoil and inferno titan are the default 6 drops, however massacre wurm erms a place by potential wrathing a board and possibly even killing moorland haunt decks outright. Sheoldred is just riddiculous and probably not even necessary, but makes for a nice pod target from wurmcoil and a really powerful endgame. If she lives even a turn, you have probably won.
Probably stick a metamoph or 2 in the sb to deal with the many powerful legends, ancient grudge for artifact hate, maybe slagstorm against aggro decks, though I'm not sure how good the mana is.
I want to fit in the new Mikaues, as he is the nuts. He serves as a huge pump to all your little guys and makes makes using birthing pod insane value. His mana is horrible though so he might have to be relegated to the sb to hate out human decks I guess, or he could even replace sheoldred as another 6 drop.
By contast, using brimstone volley or geistflame on a player to revive the phoenix seems like quite a clunky and therefore weak play to me.
My other issue with the phoenix is that the 1RR and the Geist being GG makes running a third colour difficult. Yet you really want a third colour to expand your options.
Anyway, I'm looking at Naya pod with an midrange bent more than anything else now. Huntmaster seems super solid and only needs a splash of red. The other card that should be strong against the presumably still top tier delver decks is daybreak ranger. I would want at least 1 filling out an otherwise lacklustre 3 drop slot
4 Copperline Gorge
4 Sunpetal Grove
2 Rootbound Crag
1 Sulfur Falls
4 Forest
1 Mountain
1 Plains
2 Gavony Township
4 Birds of Paradise
1 Llanowar Elf
2 Avacyn Pilgrim
CMC 2
4 Viridian Emissary
4 Strangeroot Geist
CMC 3
1 Daybreak Ranger
1 Mentor of the Meek
1 Fiend Hunter
4 Blade Splicer
3 Huntmaster of the Fells
1 Phrexian Metamorph
CMC 5
1 Archon of Justice
1 Vorapede
CMC 6
2 Sun Titan
CMC 7
1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
Non-creatures
4 Birthing Pod
2 Garruk Relentless
With the rest of the set still to be spoiled, what I'm really hoping for is a strong 3drop. Blade Splicer could do with an upgrade.
2011-2012:Bantblade, BantPod
2010-2011:Bant Shaman, Naya Shaman, Naya allies + Scars, URG Turboforce
2009-2010:Naya allies, Mono-White Titan Control