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Thread: Trade Pod (Tradewind Rider Birthing Pod)

  1. #61

    Re: Trade Pod (Tradewind Rider Birthing Pod)

    Quote Originally Posted by Bed Decks Palyer View Post
    Wilt-Leaf Liege or Tolsimir Wolfblood?
    Sublime Archangel and/or Rafiq are way better thant Tolsimir (lol). Alpha Strike at 90%

  2. #62
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    Re: Trade Pod (Tradewind Rider Birthing Pod)

    I'm playtesting some lists vs Miracles now. Suddenly met several at my last local weekly. I'm thinking Vial is a good start. Since you can stop any miracle with meddling/gaddock vialed in. And since vial nullifies counterbalance. Your solution to bad lategame topdecks are brainstorms. I thought i'd try confidants instead. With a confidant and vial you'll be able to clutter the board or build up a hand quickly. And two gaddocks main. Whatever it takes just to see if i can get a positive miracles matchup. I may be playing it wrong though. I tried swan songs/envelops once to stop their miracles from resolving but it failed due to top+balance. It seemed too situational considering they may have ordinary counterspells or fow as well. Vial seems like a better plan.

    I'm also starting out with two maindeck muddle the mixtures and two glittering wishes. With vial you can keep lands untapped more easily during opponent's turns which allows for countering stuff. Also with vial you can tutor something up and put it into play by turn three and uncounterably. Ot also helps with sideboard one-of silver bullets. So i put one abrupt decay, just in case. For the counterbalance. And likewise the glittering wishes are good with vials. You can ignore color requirements, vialing in your sideboard bullets around turn three-four dependinv on CMC. Well i'll try them. But they are pretty much fighting with equipments for space. Note that jitte could be tutored for wit muddle though. Also for the miracles matchup i put slaughter games back in the board. Will get back to you if i get a setup that seems tobe working against that deck..

  3. #63

    Re: Trade Pod (Tradewind Rider Birthing Pod)

    Against Miracle i've a very good score: it's one of the deck that i want to fight against in a tournament. Now with Vial things are even better for us, but as i said before Most is a deck where skill is decisive. Many times one error means gg for the opponent (here lies a part of its beautiful): Miracle especially is very good to punish us if we have made a big mistake. But, believe me, i'll love to get only Miracle in my tournament (surely not because it's funny to play against).

    Brainstorm-Dark Confidant-other things.
    You've got the gist of my toughts after yesterday tournament (209 players) ended 5-1-2:

    t1 Rock 2-0

    t2 Ta 1-2 against a old good italian player, helped by: g1 OTP mull to 5, only dryad and vial in my open hand... so t1 driad t2 no land vial, he crush my hopes with maindeck jitte =( g2 win with tradewind and stuff, g3 he starts land delver, delver flilps and removal on every fucking creature i've played. Every, and golgari charm of course. Beaten only by this delver ^^ My opponent apologized for that...

    t3 Jund 2-1

    t4 D&T 2-0

    t5 Omniscence 0-2 ... very sad. G1 my opponent starts and go for fetch fetch fetch show omniscence enter the infinite. None cantrip, nothing, just a perfect and OTP. Nice.
    g2 I've Meddling mage, Vial at four, Fauna Shaman, two force in hand, only two lands... i need just 1 creatures in 3 draws, playing only 34... nothing. Land Land E.Tutor at the last turn. And none blue cards to pitch of course.... unbelievable

    t6 Merfolks 2-0 (Keeper keeper, ggs)

    t7 Sliver 1-1 (very slow player, i've died without seeing a blue fetch, a green sun zenith, a fauna shaman, a dorks... nothing. Only 3 moms. g2 keeper+tradewind+sublime gg)

    t8 Jund 2-1

    Games i've lost are essentially because of the deck sometimes... get stuck by itself. Beside that i think we are reaching a good version without impossible MUs and many strong points. Anyway, this is my yesterday list

    4 Mother of Runes
    4 Meddling Mage
    2 Scryb Ranger
    4 Fauna Shaman
    3 Green Sun's Zenith
    1 Gaddock Teeg
    1 Scavenging Ooze
    2 Tradewind Rider
    1 Sylvan Safekeeper
    1 Dryad Arbor
    3 Savannah
    2 Tropical Island
    2 Windswept Heath
    1 Peacekeeper
    1 Qasali Pridemage
    1 Forest
    3 Misty Rainforest
    4 AEther Vial
    1 Vendilion Clique
    1 Sublime Archangel
    1 Quirion Ranger
    1 Glen Elendra Archmage
    3 Noble Hierarch
    1 Sylvan Library
    1 Taiga
    3 Verdant Catacombs
    1 Keranos, God of Storms
    1 Magus of the Moon
    1 Birds of Paradise
    1 Phyrexian Revoker
    1 Stoneforge Mystic
    1 Umezawa's Jitte
    1 Sword of Fire and Ice
    1 Phantasmal Image
    1 Voice of Resurgence

    SB: 1 Wilt-Leaf Liege
    SB: 1 Zur's Weirding
    SB: 2 Rest in Peace
    SB: 1 Enlightened Tutor
    SB: 1 Blood Moon
    SB: 1 Ensnaring Bridge
    SB: 4 Force of Will
    SB: 1 Pithing Needle
    SB: 1 Spellskite
    SB: 2 Garruk Relentless

  4. #64
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    Re: Trade Pod (Tradewind Rider Birthing Pod)

    Wow, I need to do some serious playtesting. Even with vials or three Gaddocks, 4 meddling, 4 mothers and 1 safekeeper i was still getting terminused over and over.. Playtesting against myself on cockatrice. So, could you give me some tips on sideboarding in that matchup? Add all counters and any meddling from the sideboard? Remove what?

  5. #65

    Re: Trade Pod (Tradewind Rider Birthing Pod)

    First.... never play against yourself unless you just want to test the basics of the deck (like combo, mana, Open Hand and so on). That's true even more for Most, a deck that gains a lot of advantage on skill level, right timing, understanding situation and trick our opponents.
    Just play against real opponent on cockatrice and lear from that games... I'm playing this deck since 2010, as i said, and i've played houndreds of games against Miracle, and that matters... really.

    Apart from this, i and the people who are testing Most agree that Miracle is a good MU. But a good MU for a deck like ours means: If you don't goof and the luck is balanced, you will win 60-70 games on 100. Miracle player's skill matters a lot too, But if you have:
    3 gsz to Safekeeper, Gaddock, Qasali, 4 mother, 4 meddling, 4 Fauna Shaman and so on (Glen Elendra=gg?), you have to just save resources and play with calm, imposing your games (exalted is very good to make pressure without over-extending your board).
    If there are many Miracles and Combo in your field, i recommend 2-3x Zur's Weirding, aka gg at 3U cost. Sylvan Library is another great bomb, equips too...
    Keep on testing boss this deck is *really* strong in my/Terra's last lists if you menage to master it =D

  6. #66
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    Re: Trade Pod (Tradewind Rider Birthing Pod)

    Thanks for the advice, I appreciate it!

    I've tried Vials in one local tournament now and during playtesting and I really like them, will continue using them. They were mostly FoW:ed or otherwise destroyed though during the tournament. I would like to add ways to find the four copies, Trinket Mage is the obvious choice but it seems a bit slow. Otherwise I have played the Rock lately which is easier to get some success with.

    I really like that late game Vials at zero counters allow you to play one extra land per turn, if you have a Dryad Arbor. I'm playing two of them now. Usually due to ranger action I have most lands in my hand towards the end of the game.

    Some nice interactions with Derevi (didn't play with Derevi for a few months) that I didn't realize before is to put all untap triggers on a Mikeaus, Izzet Staticaster or Merieke. Also useful with Ooze (untapping BoP/Hierarch) or Deathrite for massive graveyard destruction. Or untapping Vial to put lots of creatures into play in one turn.

    The most interesting new topic has been from your new thread with the deck based on Patron Wizard. He looks perfect for this deck. I tried him last local weekly tournament but didn't get to play him once. I had 10 wizards in may last main deck already, without even trying, plus 3 rangers effectively acting as extra wizards and then another 2 in the sideboard so I think he's in strong competition for a place in the deck. He's also very good to put into play with Vial. And has good synergy with Thalia making it hard for the opponent to cast multiple cheap spells or a single expensive spell. Thalia + Wizard Patron are also making Winter Orb look sideboardable.

    Some good wizards to play in the deck include Qasali Pridemage, Meddling Mage, Sylvan Safekeeper, Derevi, Vendilion Clique, Dark Confidant, Izzet Staticaster, Magus of the Moon, Mangara of Korondor, Trinket Mage, Snapcaster Mage, Spellstutter Sprite, Aven Mindcensor, Sower of Temptation, Master of Waves, Magus of the Moat, Grim Lavamancer, Surgespanner, Cursecatcher. I'm curious in trying Surgespanner and Spellstutter Sprite (with 2 cliques, 2 scryb rangers, 1 glenn elendra being other maindeck faeries) but that wil have to wait. Surgespanner doesn't suffer from summuning sickness and could be used several times each turn. It works well with Tradewind Rider, Derevi (both tapping and untapping), Wizard Patron, Opposition. Probably not good enough on his own though, and at four mana you could have the possibly game-ending Sublime Archangel instead.

    I ran this deck about two weeks ago in a local weekly tournament trying to utilize Wizard Patron. Overall I went 1-2-1 with about 3 out of 4 vials cast being FoW'ed and not seeing Wizard Patron once. Also losing all die rolls. I really like Izzet Staticaster and decided to run it in the board with only the Vials and a single Deathrite to allow me to cast it. It was a problem against elves and Infect. Perhaps next time I'll try maindecking the Staticaster, I really like him. He kind of competes with Umezawa's Jitte for killing small creatures, Jitte is exceptionally good but the Staticaster is tutorable and both faster and easier to start killing with.

    Elves 1-1: Game 1 I didn't know what I was playing against and drew no relevant interaction. Angus Mckenzie allowed me to win (with Safekeeper backup) after a mulligan to 4(!) in game 2 and on his way to do the same thing in game 3 when time was called (heavy durdling from opponent who was returning all elves to his hand at end of turn each turn in anticipation of a topdecked Glimpse - which probably wouldn't have helped vs Angus + Safekeeper).

    Infect 0-2: He wins both games I believe from the unblockable blue 1/1 creature. I needed my Izzet Staticaster to deal with it but couldn't get him into play in time. Or a quick Angus or lucky Pontiff. Game one I played a Meddling Mage on Berserk and game two a Meddling Mage on Invigorate since I realized it's a better spell; after the game he shows me the two invigorates that were in his hand as I cast the Mage. Game two a Sublime Archangel allowed for an attack at 10 when he was at 11 but he still had an inkmoth nexus for blocking so not really that close.

    Miracles 2-0: I think he had some bad luck, not drawing a single Terminus in the second game which allowed me to put pressure with an Ajani, Caller of the Pride. In the first game he FoW'ed my turn 1 and turn 2 Vials. Don't recall any details.

    RUG Delver 1-1(?): Game one (I think it was) I start with a hand containing only land + Vial in terms of mana resources, probably after a mulligan. He starts the game with Probe and then FoW's (?) my Vial, then wasteland, stifle, wasteland and I never get much going. Game two I get a few lands into play, an active Fauna Shaman that he doesn't bolt, I think I get Safekeeper, Mikeaus and Rhox War Monk in consecutive turns which let me take over the game. Don't recall much of the third game, think we may have run out of time.

    Here is the deck I played:

    4 AEther Vial
    3 Green Sun's Zenith
    4 Noble Hierarch
    1 Deathrite Shaman
    2 Quirion Ranger
    1 Scryb Ranger
    1 Derevi, Empyrial Tactician
    4 Fauna Shaman
    4 Mother of Runes
    1 Sylvan Safekeeper
    1 Gaddock Teeg
    3 Meddling Mage
    1 Phyrexian Revoker
    2 Vendilion Clique
    1 Glen Elendra Archmage
    2 Glittering Wish
    2 Qasali Pridemage
    1 Patron Wizard
    1 Scavenging Ooze
    1 Sublime Archangel
    1 Tradewind Rider
    1 Mikaeus, the Lunarch
    1 Ajani, Caller of the Pride
    2 Dryad Arbor
    1 Forest
    3 Tropical Island
    1 Bayou
    2 Savannah
    3 Verdant Catacombs
    2 Wooded Foothills
    2 Windswept Heath
    1 Misty Rainforest
    SB: 1 Envelop
    SB: 3 Swan Song
    SB: 1 Gaddock Teeg
    SB: 1 Meddling Mage
    SB: 1 Notion Thief
    SB: 1 Orzhov Pontiff
    SB: 1 Izzet Staticaster
    SB: 1 Rhox War Monk
    SB: 1 Merieke Ri Berit
    SB: 1 Phyrexian Revoker
    SB: 1 Angus Mackenzie
    SB: 1 Aura Shards

    Next time I'll try something similar to this (61 cards main, may skip Spirit):

    4 AEther Vial
    3 Birds of Paradise
    1 Noble Hierarch
    1 Deathrite Shaman
    1 Quirion Ranger
    1 Scryb Ranger
    1 Derevi, Empyrial Tactician
    4 Fauna Shaman
    2 Vendilion Clique
    1 Glen Elendra Archmage
    1 Gaddock Teeg
    3 Meddling Mage
    3 Qasali Pridemage
    1 Sylvan Safekeeper
    4 Mother of Runes
    3 Green Sun's Zenith
    1 Tradewind Rider
    1 Patron Wizard
    1 Scavenging Ooze
    1 Mikaeus, the Lunarch
    1 Umezawa's Jitte
    1 Sword of Fire and Ice
    1 Spirit of the Labyrinth
    1 Izzet Staticaster
    1 Merieke Ri Berit
    1 Angus Mackenzie
    2 Dryad Arbor
    2 Tropical Island
    2 Savannah
    1 Bayou
    1 Taiga
    1 Forest
    2 Verdant Catacombs
    2 Wooded Foothills
    2 Windswept Heath
    2 Misty Rainforest
    SB: 2 Swan Song
    SB: 2 Envelop
    SB: 2 Pithing Needle
    SB: 1 Aura Shards
    SB: 1 Gaddock Teeg
    SB: 1 Meddling Mage
    SB: 1 Izzet Staticaster
    SB: 1 Spirit of the Labyrinth
    SB: 1 Peacekeeper
    SB: 1 Magus of the Moon
    SB: 1 Keranos, God of Storms
    SB: 1 Rhox War Monk

    I would like to try a build with Winter Orbs in the sideboards and Thalias in the main.

  7. #67

    Re: Trade Pod (Tradewind Rider Birthing Pod)

    Hola Pettdan,
    I was talking about you&this topic with the creator of the deck few hours ago ^^ He has told me (like 1 month ago) about the same idea of Patron Wizard and so on, but i think that this way deserves/Needs more slots
    I've not updated this topic because i don't want to fill it with my laments about 4-2 60p tournament losing by belcher (lol) and Burn (11 damage t4, i'm OTD) and about Ovino at Milan (476 people), where i was like:
    Win against an impossible MU with P.Fire, Deluge, Dack, Imperial strix ecc 2-0
    Lose against my teammate Marco Montani (top8) with DeathBlade: Mull at 3 the first, won the second, 2 loosely draws under active Fauna Shaman, he found Council to my Bridge with a MM naming Decay... very sad.
    Win against Infect (2-0), S&T, Lienman with BGR P.Fire/loam/DD and then lost by another friend with Ant, a very good MU for us but the deck shut down drawing all the most useless cards like Scryb Scryb Land Tradewind... lol.
    Since that moment ahead, only very big dicks on my mouth, brain off and opponents who were apologizing about their luck ^^

    Beside that, i really like the deck but there were changes to do, about the sideboard above all. Now i'm playing:

    4 Mother of Runes
    4 Meddling Mage
    2 Scryb Ranger
    4 Fauna Shaman
    3 Green Sun's Zenith
    1 Gaddock Teeg
    2 Scavenging Ooze
    2 Tradewind Rider
    1 Sylvan Safekeeper
    1 Dryad Arbor
    3 Tropical Island
    2 Windswept Heath
    1 Peacekeeper
    1 Qasali Pridemage
    3 Misty Rainforest
    4 AEther Vial
    3 Vendilion Clique
    1 Sublime Archangel
    1 Quirion Ranger
    1 Glen Elendra Archmage
    4 Noble Hierarch
    3 Verdant Catacombs
    1 Stoneforge Mystic
    1 Umezawa's Jitte
    3 Savannah
    1 Sylvan Library
    1 Phyrexian Revoker
    1 Merieke Ri Berit
    1 Bayou
    1 Spirit of the Labyrinth

    SB: 3 Rest in Peace
    SB: 3 Ensnaring Bridge
    SB: 3 Force of Will
    SB: 3 Misdirection
    SB: 1 Spellskite
    SB: 1 Orzhov Pontiff
    SB: 1 Caller of the Claw

    And i'm finding it wonderful, can't wait to test it in the next tournament (26 of this month). Me and Daniele Terra are testing another sideboard too, with a Bomberman B-Plan. My changes are:
    Mainboard: -1 Tradewind -1Library -1 Merieke -1Bayou +9°fetch +2 Eladamri's call +1 SDT
    Sideboard: 4 force 3 counterbalance 3 trinket 2 Auriok 1 U Bomb 1 Led 1 Pithing

  8. #68
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    Re: Trade Pod (Tradewind Rider Birthing Pod)

    so this may not be the right place but i encountered this list online and it was intriguing because I'm a sucker for trade wind rider. The person who was playing the deck referred to it as "MOST" and he posts on italian forums so it may not be the same.

    Any thoughts?



    3 Birds of Paradise
    1 Deathrite Shaman
    1 Dryad Arbor
    1 Edric, Spymaster of Trest
    4 Fauna Shaman
    1 Gaddock Teeg
    1 Glen Elendra Archmage
    3 Meddling Mage
    1 Merieke Ri Berit
    4 Mother of Runes
    4 Noble Hierarch
    1 Orzhov Pontiff
    1 Peacekeeper
    1 Phyrexian Revoker
    1 Qasali Pridemage
    1 Quirion Ranger
    1 Reclamation Sage
    1 Rhox War Monk
    1 Scavenging Ooze
    1 Scryb Ranger
    1 Spellskite
    1 Squee, Goblin Nabob
    2 Tradewind Rider
    1 Vendilion Clique
    1 Voice of Resurgence

    2 Domri Rade
    2 Green Sun's Zenith
    3 Force of Will

    1 Bayou
    3 Forest
    2 Misty Rainforest
    2 Savannah
    1 Taiga
    2 Tropical Island
    2 Verdant Catacombs
    2 Windswept Heath
    Play 4 Card Blind!

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    why cards are so expensive...hoarders

  9. #69

    Re: Trade Pod (Tradewind Rider Birthing Pod)

    Yes, he's for sure one of my italian companeros
    He plays a little old-style versione of the deck, with maindeck Force of Will and Squee (and five colors!).
    After many test i've found a list that really gives me "solidity" (in as much as this deck could): with the spread of TC Delver decks i've found the old black splash insufficient. The raw power of TC crushes the elegant and complex web of micro-advantages that this deck could do: so we need an equivalent bomb that could oppose to these broken-cards

    4 Mother of Runes
    2 Meddling Mage
    2 Scryb Ranger
    4 Fauna Shaman
    4 Green Sun's Zenith
    1 Gaddock Teeg
    1 Scavenging Ooze
    1 Tradewind Rider
    1 Sylvan Safekeeper
    1 Dryad Arbor
    3 Tropical Island
    2 Windswept Heath
    1 Peacekeeper
    1 Qasali Pridemage
    3 Misty Rainforest
    2 Vendilion Clique
    1 Sublime Archangel
    1 Quirion Ranger
    1 Glen Elendra Archmage
    3 Noble Hierarch
    3 Verdant Catacombs
    1 Stoneforge Mystic
    1 Umezawa's Jitte
    2 Savannah
    1 Sylvan Library
    1 Phyrexian Revoker
    1 Spirit of the Labyrinth
    3 Birds of Paradise
    1 Taiga
    1 Forest
    1 Magus of the Moon
    2 Domri Rade
    4 Brainstorm

    //Sideboard
    SB: 3 Ensnaring Bridge
    SB: 1 Caller of the Claw
    SB: 2 Blood Moon
    SB: 2 Misdirection
    SB: 3 Force of Will
    SB: 2 Pyroblast
    SB: 2 Null Rod


    Yes, to some extent a back-step (no vial, 6 dorks). But with Moon plan in mind you have to maximize the possibility of have 3 mana at t2, that's very important in combo MU too(and it's one of the bad sides of Vial). Even if our opponent has made a land-drs start, blood moon give us the calm of playing aroung Decay, Liliana, Charm (the most important one), TNN, Zealous, Verdict, deed and so on. The more i think about it, the more i'm convinced of this choice.
    Brainstorm is an eternal cross to bear for deckbuilders of this deck, in this version i really like them ^^

  10. #70

    Re: Trade Pod (Tradewind Rider Birthing Pod)

    This deck looks pretty interesting. Are there any videos of people playing this deck?

  11. #71

    Re: Trade Pod (Tradewind Rider Birthing Pod)

    Quote Originally Posted by Rad_Fishy View Post
    This deck looks pretty interesting. Are there any videos of people playing this deck?
    Not, except for 2-3 match last year against S&T but they aren't so interesting because:
    -Very bad luck by me/ a very good one by my opponent (stuff like 3 lotus petal in Open Hand, more thant one time)
    -I was coming back from 2 months of inaction and i wasn't prepared to the new side of S&T (i've thought bounce like wipe away and so on, not pyroclasm lol...for this reason i've made bad choices like sideout MotR

    I'm planning about comment some cockatrice match Up, aniway =)

  12. #72
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    Re: Trade Pod (Tradewind Rider Birthing Pod)

    I have been making a few updates since last time. Stopped playing this deck for a few weeks, worried about UR hate and eager to play depths pox, the rock and nic fit. I played it at a smaller Legacy tournament at GP Stockholm and it went quite bad, losing against UWR Cruise Delver (sword, bolt, sword, cruise, bolt, sword, bolt... stifle+waste somewhere too, followed up by Jitte) and then a dark maverick or something similar hitting me with Marit lage in tight games as I recall vaguely. And then I chose to leave during the third match vs Death and Taxes since the tournament organizers failed to plan Steve Prescott's availability for signing cards, going from "it's VIP-hour, return in one hour" just before the start of the third round to "Steve's leaving now" a few minutes later. Well I'm happy to have my playset of Japanese foil Fauna Shamans anyway.

    Yesterday at the local I decided to test my last changes and was rewarded with a 3-1 finish, beating a BG Depths deck with Chalices 2-0 (I didn't see too much of the deck actually), a waste not pox 2-1(?), losing to my own BG loam depths 1-2(?) (deed, tabernacle, deluge, smallpox, liliana is quite tough) and in the last round winning against a UR delver 2-0(?). I'm not sure how representative it is playing against three BG pox (or similar) decks.

    Then I've run probably two more local tournaments since my last post with average results.

    Anyway, on to the current status and the deck's evolution..

    Aether Vial:
    Like you mentioned, Aether Vial is a bit slow. I've went down to 3 vials. There is no reason to play the full set, I rather see an advantage in running a lower number since it makes the opponent's sideboarding more difficult and ineffecient. It has no implications for my deck building choices and a single Vial is a great addition of resources and utility.

    Patron Wizard:
    Patron Wizard won me another game yesterday. I had a wizard in play already when I played him, he survived a turn (vs some Depths-Chalice deck) and next turn a played another two wizards (meddling and qasali) and he scooped.

    Force of Will:
    Expecting sweepers due to UR Pyro-cruise I decided to try maindecking two FoW's, boarding two and working hard to increase the amount of blue cards in the main. This included playing 1 Dack Fayden and 1 Trygon Predator over the 4th Qasali. Using Dack Fayden to steal equipments will feel great, I could see a second Dack in the board for this purpose and would like to combine with a Notion Thief to put better use of the draw ability. However just drawing and discarding should be good in the lategame due to usually keeping a hand full of lands (due to ranger action).

    Edric:
    Having added the FoW's I decided it was time to try Edric. He fits in the deck naturally but especially with the FoWs. It's free to cast and it protects your overextended board and he's blue. And he's also in himself an answer to the sweepers, refilling your hand quickly.

    Thalia:
    I wanted Thalia back since she's good vs combo and vs the cruise strategies. Also good with mother (protecting thalia of course but also thalia makes it harder for the opponent to cast double removal cards) and Patron Wizard. I'm considering upping the number of wizards to two, it still seems good. Maybe in place of Glen Elendra.

    Izzet Staticaster:
    I'm playing 2 Izzet Staticasters main and 1 in the sideboard since a while. It's great at killing delvers, pyromancers, deathrites, elves. It pitches to FoW and it's a wizard so can tap for Patron lock.

    True-Name Nemesis:
    Also I added a True-Name Nemesis. It's an answer to goyf and jitte which I often have problems with, being unblockable is of course good with plenty of exalted triggers too. And he pitches to FoW. I would like to combine him with one Phantasmal Image, one Stoneforge Mystic and two swords.

    Derevi:
    Derevi fits bettern in than ever with staticasters, Patron Wizard and FoW. Also offering a non-zero-toughness version of the rangers. And trades with Delver.

    Changes:
    I'm considering cutting down further on a Fauna Shaman and adding black again with a Deathrite or two in place of Hierarchs. Adding Deathrites again will reduce dependency on X/1's, add a creature to the Edric assaults and the obvious graveyard hate. The problem is having to add Bayou again and losing exalted triggers. I think I need a great black card to motivate switching back to Deathrites.

    Current list:

    MD:
    1 True-Name Nemesis
    1 Glenn Elendra Archmage
    1 Trygon Predator
    1 Dack Fayden
    1 Edric, Spymaster of Trest
    1 Patron Wizard
    2 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
    2 Izzet Staticaster
    2 Vendilion Clique
    1 Tradewind Rider
    2 Force of Will
    3 Qasali Pridemage
    3 Meddling Mage
    2 Green Sun's Zenith
    1 Gaddock Teeg
    1 Scavenging Ooze
    4 Mother of Runes
    3 Fauna Shaman
    1 Derevi, Empyrial Tactician
    1 Quirion Ranger
    1 Scryb Ranger
    3 Aether Vial
    1 Dryad Arbor
    2 Birds of Paradise
    3 Noble Hierarch
    16 fetches, forests, tropicals, savannahs and a taiga

    SB:
    1 Force of Will
    2 Envelop
    1 Enlightened Tutor
    1 Dense Foliage
    1 Aura Shards
    1 Winter Orb
    1 Rest in Peace
    1 Gaddock Teeg
    1 Meddling Mage
    1 Izzet Staticaster

    Considering removing these from the sb:
    1 Umezawa's Jitte
    1 Rhox War Monk
    1 Dense Foliage
    1 Force of Will


    Changes to the sideboard that I'm considering are:
    Adding an Aura Shards. Great in an ench/artifact-heavy meta.
    Adding a Dack Fayden (if he proves as great as I believe he will). And a Notion Thief.

  13. #73

    Re: Trade Pod (Tradewind Rider Birthing Pod)

    Many interesting choice as always, pettdan. But there are things that i can't exlain, like all this hate vs artifact: i don't really see the point. The only played artifact we fear is Jitte, then swords, then batterskull. Really like Patron and 3 qasali could be ok but trigon and shards are really too much for me.
    I think that this's a good meta for Counterbalance+2-3 Izzet Staticaster. Really like derevi and Edric, not sure about Dack fayden (no too many way of abuse of him, but -2 could be ok... sometimes). In this case, 2 Jace could be very good.

  14. #74
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    Re: Trade Pod (Tradewind Rider Birthing Pod)

    Is there some unwritten agreement to not run Kiki-mite for a wincon in the deck?
    Quote Originally Posted by TsumiBand View Post
    ... It feels like a bummer to spend so much time not talking about the game and more time arguing over whether Dega or Mardu is the better name for a three color deck you'll never see in Legacy.

  15. #75

    Re: Trade Pod (Tradewind Rider Birthing Pod)

    I've actually fooled with a number of RUG shells with the main plan as going towards Kiki combo. It's usually a little too slow. Overwhelming board advantage is much better in this format.

  16. #76
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    Re: Trade Pod (Tradewind Rider Birthing Pod)

    @Memories of the Time

    First, let me try to motivate the 5 anti-artifact cards: 3 Qasali, 1 Trygon, 1 Dack. And then the sideboard Aura Shard(s). It's going to be a long motivation, bear with me..

    I'm meeting equipments all the time, and a Jitte practically wins the game if it connects once (Mother and a BoP usually gone), certainly if twice. So plenty of artifact removal is needed in case they counter the first. I dont like losing to Jitte + a single counterspell/FoW. That's a major reason why I have 5 anti-artifact cards in the main. And in order to play FoW's (for reasons mentioned above, namely sweepers) I lowered the amount of GSZ which unfortunately means I'm losing virtual copies of Qasali. So I have to add a couple of blue anti-artifact cards just to compensate for less GSZ's. The 2 blue cards serve as FoW-fodder in the matchups where they are unnecessary. Trygon is also an answer to Delver, another common cause of a game loss. But it still feels like a compromise.

    What could be better than destroying a Jitte or a Sword? Stealing it! I can't think of a better way to punish an opponent for playing equipments. And equipments are sooo common. So Dack is very interesting. He's not just an answer to equipments but actually a threat to the decks playing them. Dack is a bit hard to cast with R in the mana cost though, so for this reason he probably belongs in the sideboard. But in the sideboard he competes with Aura Shards which is brutal vs decks playing multiple artifacts or enchantments. Actually some of the most frustrating cards to meet are Jitte, Counterbalance and Chalice of the Void. Aura Shards deals with them while acquiring card advantage. It's also an answer to Humility and Cursed Totem, some of the toughest sideboard cards to face. Vs Death and Taxes you can get rid of all of their Vials, equipments and revokers with one single card (still talking about Aura Shards). Vs Miracles you can not only play your hard to remove answer to counterbalance, you can also keep Top off the board since it needs to be activated whenever you play a creature; if the opponent chooses to shuffle his/her deck you can vial random creature, flash in scryb ranger/clique or fetch for dryad arbor to have top shuffled away. Then of course there are decks that are dependent on artifacts/enchantments - like some Pox builds, decks with chalice and mox diamond, decks with trinisphere and chalice, tezzeret decks, MUD. Aura Shards is interesting since it offers our deck removal. The only removal I play is efficient mass removal like Izzet Staticaster vs creature decks; Aura Shards serves a similar purpose vs many control decks. It's a tough strategy to try to win by massive board presence alone, a little removal tends to seem good. Also bonus killing random Mishra's, Coursers, Sylvans, Pithing Needles.. And it's a better answer to Batterskull than most other artifact removal.

    So, with the limited use and red mana requirement perhaps Dack doesn't belong in the main. What else would fit?
    Jace seems good next to a True-Name but less so with Thalia. True-Name does answer the equipments, often enough, maybe a second copy is the way to go.
    Or maybe your suggested route of Counterbalance is worth trying again. I failed to get it online very often last time I tried, with 3 CB, 2 SDT, 1 Trinket Mage, 1 Brainstorm. Maybe settle for 2 CB in the main and use 2 Trinket mages (gets Vial too) with 1 Pithing Needle (it stops the Jitte and complements the deck by answering non-artifact permanents).
    -1 Glen Elendra, +1 Counterbalance
    -1 Patron Wizard, +1 Counterbalance
    -1 Dack Fayden, +1 Trinket Mage
    -1 Trygon Predator, +1 Trinket Mage
    -1 Fauna Shaman, +1 SDT
    -1 Thalia, +1 Pithing Needle
    -1 Thalia, +1 True-Name Nemesis

    @Pastorofmuppets & Zirath
    Kiki-Jiki costs triple red (and total CMC 5 is a bit much). It's challenging enough to get a single red mana so a build with Kiki would need to put more focus on red. Double colors are relatively easy to produce since all it takes is a ranger and a single dual or a single BoP/Deathrite. When it comes to Pestermite it allows for a single untap only. Repeatable extra untaps are at the core of this deck, the Rangers and Derevi allow for massive untapping. Kiki-Jiki would fit nicely with them alone I suppose. And it would be very powerful, for sure. But there are not enough red cards with good synergy, that I can think of, to motivate making a red build of the deck. Dualcaster Mage is one interesting card with double red in the mana cost, most other interesting cards only require a single red mana: Domri Rade, Izzet Staticaster, Magus of the Moon, Keranos..

  17. #77
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    Re: Trade Pod (Tradewind Rider Birthing Pod)

    I feel like you may want to run an anti-delver card in the main 60, but I can't think of anything better than Daybreak Ranger, which will get bolted/swords'd/Forked Bolted(?) at least 60% of the time. There are plenty of better options, but not one of them gets pulled up by GSZ.
    Quote Originally Posted by TsumiBand View Post
    ... It feels like a bummer to spend so much time not talking about the game and more time arguing over whether Dega or Mardu is the better name for a three color deck you'll never see in Legacy.

  18. #78

    Re: Trade Pod (Tradewind Rider Birthing Pod)

    @Pettdan: well argued,still seems to me that we live in different metagame... too much different.
    First of all, vial (forgotten last post): playing 3 vial is wrong, i'm pretty sure about this. That's because you want it T1 max t2, otherwise it starts to become a dead card. Either 0 or 4.
    Without vial, you can play the best equip card usefull in other MU : Null Rod/Stony Silence. Way better thant trigon or 3° qasali and so on.
    Playing 3 qasali and 2 gsz seems weird to me. Why? I can accept the second, not the third over 3° zenith.
    My experience, in these years, is that we lose for sure when they have t2 Stoneforge followed by removal while we have managed to have only 1 answer (like only mother -not active- or only qasali or only scryb+dryad and so on). But the point is: 3 qasali 1 trigon 1 aura 1 dack are all expensive card that you can't play in the same turn before t4, so they're useless against our main problem (above). If you fear so much SFM and equip the beste way is 4 Decay 1 qasali and stop, that's enough.

    I really hate Nemesis, in this deck you haven't equip and dies by Charm/all other cards we hate, i think it's just 1x of something strong. Probably 1x tarmogoyf is better, at this point ^^

    As said, i think that these two are the best version right now: Dark Maverick or Cb-top control. Can't see other competitive ways, sadly...

  19. #79
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    Re: Trade Pod (Tradewind Rider Birthing Pod)

    How nice with some discussion! I appreciate your input, as always... :)

    @Pastorofmuppets:
    These cards in the main deck are relevant vs Delver:
    2 Vendilion Clique
    2 Izzet Staticasters (if Delver flipped we need Scryb Ranger/Quirion Ranger/Derevi too for double damage)
    1 Scryb Ranger (protection from blue and flying)
    1 Tradewind Rider
    3 Birds of Paradise + 4 Mother of Runes
    1 Trygon Predator (about to swap for CB)
    1 Glen Elendra, Archmage (about to swap for CB)
    So there are a couple of blockers or killers in the deck, but you can't have too many.
    Also with a couple of exalted triggers we can sometimes race the Delver.
    Equipments in the deck are really good vs Delver though, since they either kill it or add an equivalent amount of life per turn.
    Daybreak Ranger is interesting, turning into a 4/4 that can shoot bigger creatures than Staticaster is quite relevant. And it's quite possible to start double shooting with him once he's flipped. But he's not blue, which is a current focus of my experiments.

    @Memories of the Time
    Well, you may be right regarding the Vials, but I'm not sure. I'll try to sum up some arguments that have some relevance but aren't fully convincing myself. I find it hard to make a black or white argument on this question, and that is in itself a reason to experiment with other numbers than 0 or 4 copies in the main deck.
    - In some versions we play 4 Vials, in others we play 0. It's not a mandatory card for this archetype. It has advantages and disadvantages.
    - I think I can pretty much trade the Vials one for one with BoP/Hierarch/Deathrite in my deckbuilding (this argument needs some scrutinizing). In a high creature count version it doesn't have other implications for the deck. This means that the deck is not relying very much on the choice between mana producing creatures and Vials. You have a freedom as a deck builder to choose either. In some builds at least. Cards like Wizard Patron and Glen Elendra become better with a Vial. But on the other hand, they can be played earlier in the game in a vial-less version...
    - While nice to play a turn 1 Vial there can also be starting hands where I prefer opening with BoP/Hierarch to have 3-4 mana on turn 2 (mother + gaddock/mage for example), playing the vial on turn 1 is not always the best choice, I think.
    - I'm usually happy to see Vial later in the game too. Vial has advantages in being extremely resource effective, offering uncounterability, offering multicolor mana, offering combat tricks, forcing end of turn reactions from opponent to add pressure, messing with Miracle-triggers, etc. Most of these tricks are still relevant later in the game. Actually in my experience the resource effectiveness of Aether Vial is usually very relevant in the later parts of the game. Once I have Mothers, Staticasters, Tradewind etc in play I usually maximize ranger action and return 2 forests to hand each turn. In this way the deck naturally drains itself of resources due to the ranger effects. So often in the late game I find myself wanting to put more lands into play, but it's impossible. Drawing a late game Vial in this situation is not only good because of the ability to play one extra land each turn (Dryad Arbor), but also because after 1-2 turns we can start putting the creatures from our hand into play while still bouncing lands and untapping whatever. And with an Edric drawing extra cards we'll hopefully be getting hands fuller due to that as well, needing to add resources but not being able to extend the amount of lands in play. I think this is the strongest argument for the value of late game vials.
    - Though multiple Vials are still useful (depending on amount of CMC 2/3/4 cards) they don't actually add to the effect; the second Vial is not better than the first one. So there is no reason to maximize on Vials because of their interaction with each other.

    Stony Silence and Null Rod are good vs SDT and equipments. But so is Pithing Needle, for one mana less it does pretty much the same thing vs e.g. Miracles in terms of stopping artifacts, well it doesn't stop Explosives if they have it but it can stop Jace. Stopping Jace is a big deal, obviously, since it's often about 50% of their win conditions. And it can stop Karakas. And Thespian's Stage. And Knight of the Reliquary. And Deathrite Shamans... SS/NR do stop all equipments though, which speaks in its favor so I probably need to test them. But with Aura Shards instead we have the same answer, or a better answer probably since once Shards did its job the equipment is gone and disenchanting the Shards doesn't bring the equipment back. As opposite to SS/NR. And Shards rids them of Chalice, Trinisphere, Sylvan Library. I'm not entirely sold on SS/NR, but guess I need to test them to see.

    I have considered Tarmogoyf over True-Name, but it is green which is the main problem since I'm currently using FoW's. When choosing between all non-blue cards I'm not sure if Tarmogoyf over True-Name is the most valuable swap there is. But maybe it is. It fits well with the creature theme, adding an agressive and defensive element to the deck that survives many of the sweepers that we are vulnerable to. On the other hand, TNN can attack through a cluttered board and it can wall an equipment. And goyf dies to sword, commonly played card obviously. I think it's only vs decks playing/splashing black that we actually have a disadvantage in TNN, it's only the black sweepers that kill TNN (and Council's Judgment). True-Name is probably the better alternative (not considering the blue count) vs UR Delver, Patriot, Maverick, Miracles, Death & Taxes, Burn. Goyf is probably better vs Team America, Pox, Deadguy Ale, The Rock... Maybe I'm missing some important matchup, probably. So they seem pretty equal, and considering that TNN actually helps the deck get away with playing Force of Will which hopefully offers a stop to the sweepers we want goyf for, I think TNN seems to offer a valid creature for a slot or two in the deck. Maybe I should try 1 TNN and 1 Goyf in the next version. :) A third alternative could be Jötun Grunt..

    I think playing 2 Qasalis in the deck as only artifact removal is a bit too few. Tradewind Rider can bounce them occasionally, but I have found 2 Qasalis to be too few in drawn out games earlier this autumn. GSZ is a great card though.. It's a tough decision.

  20. #80

    Re: Trade Pod (Tradewind Rider Birthing Pod)

    A friend of mine has reached top 4 in a 40-50p with this old style list :v he's my idol

    2 Misty Rainforest
    2 Savannah
    2 Tropical Island
    2 Taiga
    2 Forest
    1 Dryad Arbor
    4 Birds of Paradise
    4 Noble Hierarch
    1 Quirion Ranger
    3 Mother of Runes
    4 Fauna Shaman
    3 Meddling Mage
    1 Gaddock Teeg
    1 Spellskite
    1 Phyrexian Revoker
    1 Scryb Ranger
    1 Rhox War Monk
    1 Peacekeeper
    1 Merieke Ri Berit
    1 Vendilion Clique
    2 Tradewind Rider
    1 Glen Elendra Archmage
    2 Green Sun's Zenith
    2 Domri Rade
    1 Qasali Pridemage
    2 Verdant Catacombs
    2 Windswept Heath
    1 Squee, Goblin Nabob
    3 Force of Will
    1 Spirit of the Labyrinth
    1 Bayou
    1 Orzhov Pontiff
    1 Notion Thief
    1 Scavenging Ooze
    1 Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary
    1 Murkfiend Liege

    SB: 1 Null Rod
    SB: 1 Absolute Law
    SB: 2 Rest in Peace
    SB: 1 Magus of the Moon
    SB: 1 Force of Will
    SB: 2 Winter Orb
    SB: 1 Wilt-Leaf Liege
    SB: 1 Caller of the Claw
    SB: 1 Venser, Shaper Savant
    SB: 1 Llawan, Cephalid Empress
    SB: 1 Sower of Temptation
    SB: 1 Stromgald Cabal
    SB: 1 Containment Priest

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