If I'd want to do that, it'd be because they'd be Siege Rhino #9+. Why durdle when you can just smash face with Siege Rhino..?Originally Posted by Nargoron
Random 2 drop -> Fierce Empath, get Tasigur/Gurmag Angler (and end the game with that) or -> Pod Tasigur/Angler to Elesh Norn/Griselbrand..? That's jumping from 2 to 6/7 and turning that into a 7/8 that either locks the board or gives you infinite gas (no pun intended). If there ever was a card (outside of Food Chain) to abuse the shit out of Delve, it's Birthing Pod. You even get to turn your Empath into a Siege Rhino if you decide to just finish out the game with Tasigur/Angler. That means that you go 2 drop -> Fierce Empath -> Siege Rhino + Tasigur/Gurmag Angler. If that isn't good enough to close a game for you, I don't know what is. Again - dont' durdle, just smash face.
Have any of you Pod players tried Nath of the Gilt Leaf or Kodama of the North Tree?
Kodama is a real problem for control decks, but Nath looks like an interesting option to me as a real problem for both combo and control.
Agree
I think Garruk is a good card in that list: it's another sac effect (8+2 Pod in that list) and a tutor. But yes, i've cut him in my take on Brug pod.
I've always played Image, but in a gsz based list i can think about cutting it
For Glen Elenadra: it's one of my favorite card, always in MB
Hi, I'm the guy that played BUG Pod on MTGO.
I haven't played legacy for a while and picked up the deck just copying the list from MKM tournament. As Tao said Glen Elendra Archmage must be moved to maindeck, cause it's really good against most tier decks.
Garruk has perfomed fine so far and i want to keep it in the maindeck for further testing. After two leagues played with the deck, i started wondering why Meren deserves a slot in the deck. Every time i draw it doesn't impact the board and i never want to Zenith or Pod into her. What's your Experience with this card?
I think Reclamation Sage deserves a maindeck slot too.
Very good card if we have time to grind, otherwise very rarely do I want to GSZ for her instead of rhino/sigarda/tusk/tracker. I'm talking about meren of course, and she has got replaced by tusk in my list.
I finally had the pleasure of winning against lands exactly with my favourite trick from the sideboard. Considering the card is really good against eldrazi and bug, I think that at the very least one (if not 2) copies of PoP are my new standard for my sideboard configuration.
While we're on the subject of Pod lists, I've been experimenting with a Jund list with both Kiki and Melira combos and feel like it has potential. I'm 9-2 with deck so far at my LGS with my only losses being to Burn (twice). The pros of the deck are that it can kill out of nowhere with Birthing Pod and Murderous Redcap and can grind like no one's business against fair decks with Meren of Clan Nel Toth and Imperial Recruiter. Falkenrath Aristocrat has also been overperforming since it can come off the Pod and kill planewalkers and with 12 humans it can become pretty large. The cons are that there's little early interaction for aggressive creature strategies. What do you all think?
4 Deathrite Shaman
3 Veteran Explorer
1 Viscera Seer
2 Melira, Sylvok Outcast
2 Wall of Roots
1 Scavenging Ooze
4 Imperial Recruiter
1 Reclamation Sage
1 Kitchen Finks
1 Eternal Witness
2 Falkenrath Aristocrat
1 Meren of Clan Nel Toth
1 Murderous Redcap
1 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
1 Zealous Conscripts
1 Shriekmaw
1 Thragtusk
3 Abrupt Decay
4 Birthing Pod
4 Cabal Therapy
2 Forest
2 Swamp
1 Mountain
2 Taiga
2 Bayou
1 Badlands
1 Phyrexian Tower
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Wooded Foothills
3 Bloodstained Mire
SB:
3 Surgical Extraction
2 Pyroblast
2 Slaughter Games
1 Magus of the Moon
1 Phyrexian Revoker
1 Scab-Clan Berserker
1 Minister of Pain
1 Pernicious Deed
1 Duress
1 Abrupt Decay
1 Garruk Relentless
Is there any point running both Kiki and Melira combos? Neither of them really does anything that the other doesn't. I guess you want Redcap anyway for the instant Kiki-Jiki combo, so it only costs you two slots for Melira + Viscera Seer, but it still doesn't seem that relevant.
Agree.
I love Recruiter in any pod list with a red splash, but i really think that Jund version is the worst color combination. Better try Bgr with a white splash for gaddock and restoration, maybe?
That's a strong line as well, but the ones I listed put even more power onto the field, spread over more creatures while not relying on the GY. In your line, if the Angler eats a Swords you're in big trouble.
You still have 3cmc creature for pod... aaand its card advantage
I tested a bunch yesterday vs. Grixis Pyromancer, Eldrazi, Aggro Loam and Maverick. Pleasantly surprised at how well this deck operated even under a Chalice @ 1. When I'm facing fair, I don't feel like I can lose, haha. I was on Junk Zenith Nic Fit (similar to the SCG MKE list).
You do, but you're now behind a turn and if you're going 3 to 4 without your big drop you would have been better off with something like a Finks into Rhino in the first place. You want to avoid your turns being answered by a single card.
If opponent has swords, then your kitchen finks eats swords and you have nothing... if you fetch for Fierce Empath and get Tasigur then one swords just kill your Tasigur and you can keep chaining..
Assuming of course that you can even cast the Tasigur. We don't fill the GY all that fast.
Edit: Then again I'm biased towards keeping the Pod curve constrained to creatures you can actually cast, so I've never liked the idea of using Elesh Norn or Griselbrand which also means I'm not a fan of using Delve to cheat the curve. If you want to get out a single big creature, Reanimator does it well... pod doesn't. I like using Pod to flood the field, not as a substitute for Reanimator.
You have 4x veteran, some DTS, tasigur cost 6 mana... you can delve 2 cards and u r still ok with this ,,hardcast"
Griselbrand and Elesh.. yea thats another story i agree :)
DRS offers no benefit to Delve other than color fixing. Tapping it to generate a mana removes a card from the GY that could be used to Delve instead. Excluding scenarios like eating an opponents land, but that's balanced out by opposing DRS's getting into a battle with yours.
I'm also assuming you cast it on the turn you get it, so that there's no opportunity by the opponent to strip it.
2 drop, pod for Empath, get/cast Tasigur is 4 mana minimum. You're probably not going to have access to more than 5-6 mana, so you do need to Delve 4-5 cards.
I had forgotten about Phantasmal Image, if you're 4 color you can use my earlier pod chain to Ranger of Eos, get some 1 drops (DRS+Vet for example), next turn Pod the Vet into Image, for another Ranger of Eos, use that for a DRS+Hangarback, and make a bigger Hangarback off of the Vet lands. Hangarback being particularly nice since both Trinket Mage and Ranger tutor it and this deck has the mana to make it large (the tokens also have nice synergy with Voice).
I fully agree with the sentiment before that you want to hit the opponent hard with Pod and not durdle, I just think you should do it spread out over several bodies, it's what makes the card work.
Pod chain going:
Sin Collector, Entomber Exarch, return Sin Collector
recast Sin Collector, then Nath?
I wonder if that's better than
Sin Collector into Entomber Exarch, return Sin Collector
Sin Collector, into Restoration Angel, blink Exarch, return Sin Collector
Replay Sin Collector.
Seems like Nath would come up on the third variation of the turn?
Last edited by Brael; 05-23-2016 at 06:07 PM.
I have noticed that the Melira combo is much harder to pull off and Melira is pretty lackluster by herself. What would you play instead of 2 Melira and 1 Viscera Seer?
Back safely from Charlotte. I'm pretty wiped, so I'm not going to spend a lot of time writing a big post at the moment -- just going to hit a couple of salient points and I'll move on from there tomorrow.
-) Events did not go well. I set a very modest goal for myself: I wanted to go 4-4, netting 80 prize tickets, which would be good enough for the S2 GP shirt, which I very, very badly want (and which nobody has listed on ebay). I only managed a combined 3-5, unfortunately. Some of this was due to bad variance (I won legit 1 die roll out of 8), and some of this was due to matchups: I played vs Sneak/Show, Elves, Bogles?, RUG Delver; then vs Grixis Delver, TES, Maverick with Dark Depths, and 4c Delver. I beat RUG and 4c Delvers, but got nutted on by Grixis. Bogles was my other win, but that was actually only because he scooped me: he came out swinging for 7 on turn 2 or turn 3, and then threatened lethal on turn 4, followed by actual lethal on turn 5 -- all unkillable by my spot removal.
Brief descriptions of the others:
Sneak Show won the die roll, Tundra pass. I assume Miracles, Therapy on Brainstorm into the untapped Tundra after he hesitates on resolution. I hit one, and see 2x Ancient Tomb, Emrakul, and a Show and Tell. He obviously turn 2 Emrakuls me, and I just as obviously die. I get game 2 off of him, but then lose to my own stupidity in game 3 because I didn't get Island + Swamp, and instead got Island + Island off of a Vet when playing around Blood Moon.
Elves won the die roll and killed me on turn 3 after going Cradle, tap for 4, play Cradle, tap for 4, Craterhoof, kill you. I'd Therapy'd away a Visionary blind on t1, and then called Natural Order on the flashback only to see the Hoof in hand. Game two I have Thoughtseize into Therapy, and he turn 2 NO's for Progenitus anyway.
RUG was an absolutely insane matchup, full details on that tomorrow. Was somebody who was there with Craig Wescoe, much better than your average RUG player. Winning this match (which is normally easy for us) actually vindicated this side event to me. I was fine going 2-2 just because it let me play this guy.
TES was a super fun and friendly match, my opponent and I got along great (and share fine taste in German foils). I won game 1 and lost both games 2 and 3 -- figure that one out. Some of this is likely because I mulled to 5 in g3.
Maverick Knighted out a Merit Lage and killed me with it. Had I won the die roll, my Deed would have been fast enough to prevent Merit Lage from hitting, and then Rhino would've cleaned up. But, alas, I was one turn too slow.
I think that touches on everything briefly.
I also met two Nic Fit players -- one on Saturday night, who apparently was aware of the Salvation thread but not us, so I directed him here. He was on BUG Pod. The other reads the thread, but I think he said he hasn't posted yet. Hung out with him for most of Sunday, and gave him some pointers here and there. He had some pretty insane Miracles matches in the first side event, which I'm hoping he'll post about at some point. I know he was 2-1 in the second side going into the last round, not sure how he made out, though.
Tomorrow I'll be posting a small book's worth of post. I learned a lot of valuable things in advance of Columbus, and I spent most of the day Saturday and most of the ride home today thinktanking about the various versions and their specific strengths and weaknesses moving towards GP Columbus. Lots of thoughts for everyone coming tomorrow.
Meh, in that line you gain 5 life and trade Empath for a Rhino when your opponent is down a Swords. You're up 8 life with a clock on the board, he's down 3 and a card. You can do worse. Besides, your line takes longer to get there. This basically boils down to "get an Empath, fetch Tasigur/Angler and Pod Empath into Rhino". Just 1 step not too high in the curve, 8/9 power (and expands naturally into Sigarda, our current default wincon).
Even with 3 cards in your GY, Tasigur costs only 3 mana. Since when is that a problem for this deck? You've Pod'd for Empath, so you must have had the 3 mana to cast Pod anyway (and probably 4 to get it through Daze). You play fetchland, spells and your Pod kills your own creatures. I've run Tasigur for quite some time, this has never been an issue. Besides, worst case scenario you cast it after you Pod Empath to a Rhino. Who cares? I'd laugh my ass off if my opponent'd Swords the Empath to prevent the Rhino from coming to play.
Except spreading it out among a number of smaller bodies means you open up all those bodies to Bolts and ADs. Or to be blocked to death b/c they aren't big enough to push through. The last time I faced Pod I kept his field (4/5 creatures at that point) at bay with a single Scavenging Ooze (which grew quite quickly b/c he was so kind to fill up his GY with creatures). At some point he had to blow up a Deed to take out my Ooze (and 2/3 of his own creatures). Awesome. Look, I'm not saying you should look to Pod from Empath to Elesh Norn, but that it is a possibility. I do think Podding into Empath to power out a Delve creature and a Rhino (which, after its first swing you turn into a Sigarda) should be a thing though. It gives you 2 (at least) 4/5 bodies, which should be enough to close out the game fast and can't be blocked to death by a Nimble fucking Mongoose.
Let me point out though that you can Pod for Fierce Empath into Emrakul-ish stuff, turn Empath into a Summoner's Egg and crack that Egg to hatch the Emrakul you dug up. And unlike Reanimator, if we manage to make it to the lategame we actually can cast anything from Elesh Norn to Iona (I know I have).
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