For some, value is a means to an end. For others, it is the end.
Birthing Pod is all about value. It's about taking that Kitchen Finks you just attacked with and ramming it into a machine so hard it spits out Restoration Angel. And a Finks. Sometimes this isn't enough though. Sometimes we don't want to just drop Melira and combo off. Sometimes we just want to abuse ETB effects until even Ray Rice would ask us to stop. To that end we have Durdle Pod.
The obvious first thing all of you are probably saying is, "Genini, clearly you are brilliant, but I have some misgivings. How does this deck stack up against the other flavors of Birthing Pod in the current metagame."
Melira Pod:
The original and still most popular flavor. Creatures like Orzhov Pontiff, Murderous Redcap, and Shriekmaw all give Melira Pod the edge against creature decks. GW Hatebears and Affinity in particular are more difficult. In addition the extra combo gives the deck another way to win when speed is everything.
Angel Pod:
The most recent incarnation of pod drops the entire Melira combo altogether as unnecessary. As any experienced pilot will tell you probably 2/3 of the wins with pod decks come from non-combo wins so why waste slots on Melira, Viscera Seer, and Ranger of Eos. To that end this deck runs main deck Thoughtseize and Abrupt Decay in order to give it a better combo match up.
Kiki Pod:
The combo-iest of the pods. The only one with chains strictly designed to enable the combo this deck can be very fast with wins out of no where. The major downside is the weak mana base. Supporting RRR kiki as well as Birthing Pod activations and t1 mana dorks is painful. This deck has perhaps the weakest game against burn and aggro decks.
Compared to the above Durdle Pod comes in somewhere in the middle. It gives up the Melira combo and black in order to gain more general value cards (Sea Gate Oracle) and control cards (Glend Elendra Archmage) which gives it a better match up against decks like WUR and a worse match up against decks like Affinity compared to the original Melira Pod.
Those are all solid choices. Mulldrifter I've found to be too slow since you have to pod into it as a 5 drop and it's hard to save as an evoke. Phyrexian Metamorph is another one that isn't bad, but had the problem of never quite being what I needed. Almost always it was better to grab the Glen Elendra Archmage.
The only real problem with the deck is there are so many value choices you can't have them all and at some point you have to start trying to get in and win. Originally the deck had a lot more Wall of Omens, Sea Gate Oracles, Ephara, God of the Polis and Mulldrifters but it started having a real problem closing out a game particularly if you couldn't get a Pod down.
I did get some more testing in with the deck and went 3-1 in a daily event with a slightly different list than above, but now I'm back to this list. I'll run some more dailies soon to see what the matchups are really like since 2-mans and tournament practice aren't worth much.
For what it's worth, I play a single Acidic slime in my Melira Pod list and love it - it's another tool in the box against artifacts and enchantments, just like the sage, with the added benefit that your opponent is less likely to attack into it, is also a target for Reveillark, and can also hit opponents' lands which has been relevant for me a surprising number of times... it's a game winner any time an opponent is unable to draw into their lands, and is also a tutorable maindeck answer against things like Valakut or Vault of the Archangel.
For what it's worth, I play a single Acidic slime in my Melira Pod list and love it - it's another tool in the box against artifacts and enchantments, just like the sage, with the added benefit that your opponent is less likely to attack into it, is also a target for Reveillark, and can also hit opponents' lands which has been relevant for me a surprising number of times... it's a game winner any time an opponent is unable to draw into their lands, and is also a tutorable maindeck answer against things like Valakut or Vault of the Archangel.
I'll slot it in for tonight then. Possibly leaving Venser, the Sojourner in the sideboard for him to keep my top end somewhat low. Master Biomancer is probably the other slot to get dropped in testing out new tech. Probably Vendillion Clique.
Has anybody tried River Kelpie, Requiem Angel, or even splashing black for Grimgrin and/or Havengul Lich? River Kelpie loves what this deck does as, let's face it, we should be podding every opponent's end step, more with Kiora's Follower. Same with Requiem Angel. The black splash gives resiliency, what with Havengul Lich casting everybody's dead dudes, and gives an out to the awesome power of value via Grimgrin. I suppose viscera seer could do the same thing...but zombies.
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Birthing Pod is all about value. It's about taking that Kitchen Finks you just attacked with and ramming it into a machine so hard it spits out Restoration Angel. And a Finks. Sometimes this isn't enough though. Sometimes we don't want to just drop Melira and combo off. Sometimes we just want to abuse ETB effects until even Ray Rice would ask us to stop. To that end we have Durdle Pod.
Current List:
4x Birds of Paradise
3x Noble Hierach
1x Wall of Omens
1x Scavenging Ooze
1x Wall of Roots
1x Coilfang Oracle
1x Spellskite
2x Voice of Resurgence
1x Sea Gate Oracle
1x Reclamation Sage
1x Courser of Kruphix
1x Eternal Witness
1x Spike Feeder
3x Kitchen Finks
1x Restoration Angel
1x Stonehorn Dignitary
1x Linvala, Keeper of Silence
1x Master Biomancer
1x Glen Elendra Archmage
1x Venser, Shaper Savant
1x Reveillark
1x Archangel of Thune
4x Birthing Pod
1x Chord of Calling
2x Path to Exile
1x Venser, the Sojourner
Land(22)
2x Breeding Pool
2x Flooded Strand
2x Forest
2x Gavony Township
2x Hallowed Fountain
1x Island
1x Plains
2x Razorverge Thicket
2x Temple Garden
2x Misty Rainforest
4x Windswept Heath
The obvious first thing all of you are probably saying is, "Genini, clearly you are brilliant, but I have some misgivings. How does this deck stack up against the other flavors of Birthing Pod in the current metagame."
Melira Pod:
The original and still most popular flavor. Creatures like Orzhov Pontiff, Murderous Redcap, and Shriekmaw all give Melira Pod the edge against creature decks. GW Hatebears and Affinity in particular are more difficult. In addition the extra combo gives the deck another way to win when speed is everything.
Angel Pod:
The most recent incarnation of pod drops the entire Melira combo altogether as unnecessary. As any experienced pilot will tell you probably 2/3 of the wins with pod decks come from non-combo wins so why waste slots on Melira, Viscera Seer, and Ranger of Eos. To that end this deck runs main deck Thoughtseize and Abrupt Decay in order to give it a better combo match up.
Kiki Pod:
The combo-iest of the pods. The only one with chains strictly designed to enable the combo this deck can be very fast with wins out of no where. The major downside is the weak mana base. Supporting RRR kiki as well as Birthing Pod activations and t1 mana dorks is painful. This deck has perhaps the weakest game against burn and aggro decks.
Compared to the above Durdle Pod comes in somewhere in the middle. It gives up the Melira combo and black in order to gain more general value cards (Sea Gate Oracle) and control cards (Glend Elendra Archmage) which gives it a better match up against decks like WUR and a worse match up against decks like Affinity compared to the original Melira Pod.
Those are all solid choices. Mulldrifter I've found to be too slow since you have to pod into it as a 5 drop and it's hard to save as an evoke. Phyrexian Metamorph is another one that isn't bad, but had the problem of never quite being what I needed. Almost always it was better to grab the Glen Elendra Archmage.
The only real problem with the deck is there are so many value choices you can't have them all and at some point you have to start trying to get in and win. Originally the deck had a lot more Wall of Omens, Sea Gate Oracles, Ephara, God of the Polis and Mulldrifters but it started having a real problem closing out a game particularly if you couldn't get a Pod down.
I did get some more testing in with the deck and went 3-1 in a daily event with a slightly different list than above, but now I'm back to this list. I'll run some more dailies soon to see what the matchups are really like since 2-mans and tournament practice aren't worth much.
I'll slot it in for tonight then. Possibly leaving Venser, the Sojourner in the sideboard for him to keep my top end somewhat low. Master Biomancer is probably the other slot to get dropped in testing out new tech. Probably Vendillion Clique.
I do not. I only play on MTGO at the moment.