[Let's break] Birthing Pod

[majikal]

Okay. Here's the deal. Birthing Pod is one of those cards that is narrow enough to require a build-around in order to be abused, but powerful enough to be balls out busted if you do it right.

We now have access to a slow enough format with a large enough card pool to do some absolutely ridiculous things with this card, and I would like to hear your ideas. I want any and all color combinations, and any ideas you can come up with.

I'll start.

My plan is a lockdown similar to the old Yosei/Greater Good loop from Kami standard, only obviously a little easier to abuse since we have a sac outlet that also happens to be a tutor.

The idea is simple. You run a bunch of ramp - Birds, STE, Wood Elves, whatever, obviously 4x Pod, with the end goal of saccing Yosei into Sheoldred -> GG. Once you have your lock in place, you can either proceed to beat face with Sheoldred for a few turns or tutor up an Avenger of Zendikar once you recur Yosei to take care of things in short order.

You can back all of this up with some discard and toolbox guys. Shriekmaw obviously is a great creature to pack since its 5cmc sets up Yosei perfectly, while some other shenanigans like Reveillark combo are also possible.

So, outside of GWB, am I missing any awesome Pod-combos? Go!

[Aggro_zombies]

Saffi + Lark + white Exarch + Mirror Entity.

Instant kill combo.

Seems fun if very bad.

[Koby]

Taking a page out of Standard, it's very (very very very) simple to assemble infinite Exarch/Pestermites combo with KikiJiki as the 5 drop. This would include such bombs as:

Mulldrifter
Kiki-jiki
Deceiver Exarch
Pestermite
Obstinante Baloth
Avalanche Riders?

Probably needs a good 4-drop to chain in between Pestermite/Kikijiki.

[majikal]

Saffi + Lark + white Exarch + Mirror Entity.

Instant kill combo.

Seems fun if very bad.
I was thinking about that. It's actually really easy to set up with Fauna Shaman, with the added bonus that you potentially get to Pod your Shaman away for Mirror Entity for the low, low price of a mana and 2 life.



Probably needs a good 4-drop to chain in between Pestermite/Kikijiki.
Glen Elendra Archmage?

[Amon Amarth]

I realllllyyyy like Acidic Slime and it's done some work in the Standard Pod lists.

[Fuzzy]

Some time ago we tried to break Pod in Legacy. We had this Chain (Pod+Drop 2):

Sac cmc2, search for Exarch, untap Pod.
Sac Exarch, search for Crypt Champion, return Exarch, untap Pod;
With the R mana trigger on stack, sack Champion for Kikki Jikki.
Profit.

But Birthing Pod was SO FUCKING GOOD designed and they put the "Sorcery clause" and it screws the combo.

Anyone had any idea how to fix it?

[Fuzzy]

Some time ago we tried to break Pod in Legacy. We had this Chain (Pod+Drop 2):

Sac cmc2, search for Exarch, untap Pod.
Sac Exarch, search for Crypt Champion, return Exarch, untap Pod;
With the R mana trigger on stack, sack Champion for Kikki Jikki.
Profit.

But Birthing Pod was SO FUCKING GOOD designed and they put the "Sorcery clause" and it screws the combo.

Anyone had any idea how to fix it?

[Zombie]

@Aggro_zombies:
Better to use something like Venser or Yosei to lockdown the opponent and then kill, dedicated kill conditions in these kinds of decks tend to be bad. You've won the game anyway.

@majikal: You don't want Sakura-Tribe Elder, you want Viridian Emissary. Annoys control, kills aggro's little men, neither wants to kill it but kinda has to, doesn't need to sac itself to get a land, so you can get a pod activation and the land out of the same creature.

I second Glen Elendra Archmage: Annoying Persist critters are good. Besides, if you have a -1/-1 Archmage, you can Pod it into a Body Double that acts as an Archmage. And we know where that ends.

[Spartacvs]

tangle golem into terrastodon/sundering titan/platinum imperion

[Bruticus]

I second Glen Elendra Archmage: Annoying Persist critters are good. Besides, if you have a -1/-1 Archmage, you can Pod it into a Body Double that acts as an Archmage. And we know where that ends.

UG Control Faeries?

Mutavault
Zephyr Sprite
Spellstutter Sprite
Walker of Secret Ways
Glen Elendra Archmage
Body Double

Body Double can copy the Walker and bounce itself to your hand when better options are available.

[Maveric78f]

Kill in 1 turn starting from 2CC (with a sac outlet for Fatestitcher and Hulk):
2CC into
Deceiver Exarch
=> untap pod, exarch into
Fatestitcher
=> sac it and unearth it to untap pod, fatestitcher into
Body Double
=> copy exarch and untap pod, body double into
Sun Titan
=> resurrect exarch and untap pod, Sun Titan into
Protean Hulk
=> sac Hulk into
Viscera Seer
Melira, Sylvok Outcast
Deceiver Exarch
=> untap pod, sac Exarch into
Murderous Redcap
=> Enjoy

I know, I'm a genius, I've just broken Modern.

[perm]

I am trying to use this with CITP creatures, but the lack of instant speed is a huge inhibitor. If it is usable, it won't be with a game winning combo IMO, but as a supplement to aggro-control creature strategies

[sporenfrosch1411]

Kill in 1 turn starting from 2CC (with a sac outlet for Fatestitcher and Hulk):
2CC into
Deceiver Exarch
=> untap pod, exarch into
Fatestitcher
=> sac it and unearth it to untap pod, fatestitcher into
Body Double
=> copy exarch and untap pod, body double into
Sun Titan
=> resurrect exarch and untap pod, Sun Titan into
Protean Hulk
=> sac Hulk into
Viscera Seer
Melira, Sylvok Outcast
Deceiver Exarch
=> untap pod, sac Exarch into
Murderous Redcap
=> Enjoy

I know, I'm a genius, I've just broken Modern.


Where exactly will the mana come from?
Its about 7 mana + 10 Life + having Pod in + having a cc2 creature (sorry if i misscounted here, correct me if so).

[Waikiki]

I dont think any form of combo should be played unless it takes only a few slots. I've been liking a 1 off bloodghast as a way to keep on getting 3drops into play. Too many higher cc creatures fuck up the starting hand tho.

[Maveric78f]

Where exactly will the mana come from?
Its about 7 mana + 10 Life + having Pod in + having a cc2 creature (sorry if i misscounted here, correct me if so).

You're right. I'm not a genius. Your insight is so cruel to me.

[Nonex]

That's not the problem. The problem is that Body Double copies mana costs, so by copying Exarch its cmc becomes 3 and can't find Sun Titan.

[TheInfamousBearAssassin]

People ought to be treating Pod like an old school Survival deck. Just build a good g/w/x utility deck that has the capability to randomly pull silly Pod tricks with Kitchen Finks and Reveillark, or Yosei into Sheoldred.

But building really elaborate and expensive combos around it seems counterproductive.

[Finn]

You're right. I'm not a genius. Your insight is so cruel to me. Lol!

The combination of tapping and sorcery speed really cuts into the breadth of its utility.

[rufus]

Pestermite/Deceiver Exarch -> Entomber Exarch allows you to pull the pestermite/exarch from the graveyard, recast it, and then activate the pod for Kiki-Jiki. But that means going off would require :8::u: in addition to a 2 cc creature in play.

[majikal]

Pestermite/Deceiver Exarch -> Entomber Exarch allows you to pull the pestermite/exarch from the graveyard, recast it, and then activate the pod for Kiki-Jiki. But that means going off would require :8::u: in addition to a 2 cc creature in play.
It seems much more realistic to flash Pestermite/Deceiver Exarch EOT and then go off on your own turn, which would only cost :5::u: and 4 life. With Birds/Hierarch in the deck that seems pretty doable.

I also realized that Squee, Goblin Nabob is in 10th Edition, which makes Fauna Shaman is a lot more attractive.

I'm thinking something like-

4x Birds of Paradise
2x Noble Hierarch
4x Fauna Shaman
3x Deceiver Exarch
2x Pestermite
2x Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
2x Glen Elendra Archmage
1x Squee, Goblin Nabob
1x Body Double
1x Scryb Ranger
1x Phyrexian Metamorph
1x Entomber Exarch
4x Preordain
4x Ponder
4x Birthing Pod

24 Land

GWB Pod-

4x Birds of Paradise
4x Fauna Shaman
1x Qasali Pridemage
1x Squee, Goblin Nabob
3x Kitchen Finks
1x Eternal Witness
2x Loxodon Hierarch
1x Dross Scorpion
1x Phyrexian Metamorph
2x Shriekmaw
1x Acidic Slime
2x Yosei, the Morning Star
2x Sheoldred, Whispering One
3x Green Sun's Zenith
4x Birthing Pod
4x Thoughtseize/Path to Exile/Beast Within
1x Dryad Arbor
4x Forest
2x Swamp
1x Plains
4x Verdant Catacombs
2x Marsh Flats
2x Misty Rainforest
2x Overgrown Tomb
2x Temple Garden
1x Godless Shrine
2x Twilight Mire
1x Wooded Bastion

[rufus]

It seems much more realistic to flash Pestermite/Deceiver Exarch EOT and then go off on your own turn, which would only cost :5::u: and 4 life. With Birds/Hierarch in the deck that seems pretty doable.

I was thinking in terms of 2cc -> Pestermite ...
:3: + 2 life for pod, :3: for activations, and :2::u: to recast the Pestermite.

It could plausibly use '187' triggers:
Esper Sojourners->Dross Scorpion->Child of Alara->?

[Draener]

I tossed out Tombstalker -> Iona, Shield of Emeria to a friend of mine a while back... perhaps it could also be thrown in as birthing pod naturally fills up the yards and tombstalker is a good card by itself?

[Koby]

I tossed out Tombstalker -> Iona, Shield of Emeria to a friend of mine a while back... perhaps it could also be thrown in as birthing pod naturally fills up the yards and tombstalker is a good card by itself?

This is too cute and probably too costly to make a difference in the format. There might be easier ways to put Iona into play (Summoning Trap).

[majikal]

Discussion of GWB Pod now happens here (http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/showthread.php?21828-Deck-GWB-Birthing-Pod).