Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Temporary Hiatus.
Life has happened to me in a very big way. I will return to writing in a couple weeks.
Saturday, March 1, 2014
The Aftermath of Pro Tour Born of the Gods
If you read my previous post located here, you know that I am currently on Kiki-Pod for Modern. The Pro Tour has happened and I feel like the deck was well positioned. Despite showing up in much smaller numbers than Melira Pod, Kiki-Pod had a higher percentage of its pilots make it to day two. Here was the final list I settled on before the Pro Tour started.
Domri Rade, Wall of Roots, Fauna Shaman, Murderous Redcap, Tarmogoyf
Domri Rade is still an amazing Magic card but just isn't as well positioned as it could be. Zoo can attack it and combo decks don't care about it. So the only matchup you actually want it for is UWR control and I would rather have another Voice of Resurgence for that matchup if I wanted anything more. That matchup is already pretty strong. Wall of Roots has its role taken by Lotus Cobra, I don't want to draw too many hands that produce a ton of mana with nothing to do with it. Fauna Shaman playing the role of Birthing Pod number 5 is also no longer necessary since we are bringing in Chord of Calling. The hardest cut to the main deck was Murderous Redcap but with 3 toughness being such a key number, Kitchen Finks is probably just better. I still have one in the board and it will see plenty of action from the sideboard. Tarmogoyf meets the same fate as Murderous Redcap but simply because it is the worst card left in the deck and I wanted access to the second Chord of Calling. It is a fantastic blocker against other Tarmogoyf decks but still doesn't do anything otherwise. This is easily the card I'm the most back and forth on because of all the times I draw a 1/2 (this deck is awful at growing a 'goyf) and my opponent doesn't even care.
The sideboard also had a couple more changes including the addition of a second Spellskite. It helps a really difficult Splinter Twin matchup and is the only card that matters in the entire 75 against the Boogles/Auras/Hexproof deck. It also has the important skill of being a 2 drop that does something against unfair decks (where do something is as simple as protecting a Birthing Pod). I found that I was sideboarding out a ton of 2 drops against unfair decks but then would draw a Birthing Pod and need two turns in order to get to my 3 and 4 drops that provide the high impact plays that swing a game.
I also cut Avalanche Riders, Aven Mindcensor, and the second Izzet Staticaster from the board. Avalanche Riders got the cut since I only needed the second land destruction creature against Tron and Tron isn't getting much play since its primary prey was Jund. Aven Mindcensor makes a lot of sense against Scapeshift still but that isn't a huge part of the field. Against other Birthing Pod players I either wanted Staticaster to kill mana guys, Harmonic Sliver to just kill the Birthing Pod itself, or Deceiver Exarch into Linvala, Keeper of Silence. I think it is a better hate card as a 2-3 of in the sideboard of non-Birthing Pod decks. The second Izzet Staticaster only came in against Robots and Infect. I also very rarely had to Birthing Pod up a second one when I have Phantasmal Image, Deceiver Exarch, Restoration Angel, Zealous Conscripts and Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker to do the exact same thing. With 2 copies in the deck you may be able to take down a Wild Nacatl or something with a lot of work but with that many Birthing Pod activations you are probably winning anyways.
As much as I love Modern I'm going to shift gears to a little bit of Standard. I had been running a Prophet Bant deck that used Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx to do silly things with Sphinx's Revelation and Polukranos, World Eater and I will probably keep working on the deck since they are few things as satisfying as a casting a Sphinx's Revelation for 15 and untapping at 37 life and 18 cards in hand with all the mana in the world to cast spells.
Then they printed this...
I saw thing and had a home for it immediately. I think this card is what can finally make the BWR decks tier 1. I had been playing a list like that for quite some time before Born of the Gods came out and was able to have some success with the deck. The biggest problem with the deck is that it couldn't stabilize the board before turn 4 with Desecration Demon but sometimes that was not enough. I will admit that Brimaz makes the bad mana worse but enough spike in power level could make it worth it.
Here's a list to start with.
The hardest thing about playing this color combination is the amount of different cards you can run in it. This is where I want to begin though. A few other cards you may want to consider Chandra, Pyromaster, more Assemble the Legion, Whip of Erebos, Erebos, God of the Dead, and Warleader's Helix. The removal suite is also subject to change with your expected Metagame.
| Kiki-Pod v3 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Lands | Creatures | Non-Creatures | Sideboard |
| 4x Arid Mesa 1x Breeding Pool 1x Forest 2x Gavony Township 3x Grove of the Burnwillows 1x Hallowed Fountain 4x Misty Rainforest 1x Mountain 1x Plains 1x Rugged Prairie 1x Sacred Foundry 1x Steam Vents 1x Stomping Ground 1x Temple Garden |
4x Birds of Paradise 4x Noble Hierarch 1x Fauna Shaman 1x Phantasmal Image 1x Qasali Pridemage 1x Scavenging Ooze 1x Spellskite 1x Tarmogoyf 2x Voice of Resurgence 1x Wall of Roots 2x Deceiver Exarch 1x Eternal Witness 1x Fiend Hunter 1x Izzet Staticaster 2x Kitchen Finks 1x Glen Elendra Archmage 1x Linvala, Keeper of Silence 1x Murderous Redcap 2x Restoration Angel 2x Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker 1x Zealous Conscripts |
4x Birthing Pod 1x Domri Rade |
3x Path to Exile 1x Ancient Grudge 2x Negate 1x Bant Charm 1x Ethersworn Canonist 1x Aven Mindcensor 1x Fulminator Mage 1x Harmonic Sliver 1x Izzet Staticaster 1x Avalanche Riders 1x Huntermaster of the Fells 1x Thragtusk |
In the end I decided I did want access to Tarmogoyf in the main deck. Even though my prediction of Jund being a non-factor came through and combo decks were all over the top tables, Tarmogoyf does such a good job slowing down Zoo. The matchup is winnable without, but you gain a bunch of percentage points by being able to search up the big body. I wish it provided a better clock but this is not the deck to grow everyone's favorite Lhurgoyf.
The more I thought about it the more I realized that Sigarda, Host of Herons is fine but Thragtusk is better right now and I wanted a good 4 drop to Pod into for value (against fair decks I pretty much play a midrange game and only combo when they are tapped out or if I have to). Enter Huntmaster. The life gain is nice but being able to find with Birthing Pod, then flip it that turn (you don't technically don't cast cards you find with Birthing Pod) is a big game. The minute you flip this card twice you have gained a ton of value, life, and have a quick clock on the table. Due to Huntmaster of the Fells and Thragtusk coming in, I find myself keeping in both Restoration Angels after board a lot more.
So my interests have shifted towards tuning in at post Pro Tour world now that everyone is going to start adjusting for a new metagame. Even though I will not be able to attend Grand Prix Richmond, I could be attending another Modern Grand Prix closer to summer.
The more I thought about it the more I realized that Sigarda, Host of Herons is fine but Thragtusk is better right now and I wanted a good 4 drop to Pod into for value (against fair decks I pretty much play a midrange game and only combo when they are tapped out or if I have to). Enter Huntmaster. The life gain is nice but being able to find with Birthing Pod, then flip it that turn (you don't technically don't cast cards you find with Birthing Pod) is a big game. The minute you flip this card twice you have gained a ton of value, life, and have a quick clock on the table. Due to Huntmaster of the Fells and Thragtusk coming in, I find myself keeping in both Restoration Angels after board a lot more.
So my interests have shifted towards tuning in at post Pro Tour world now that everyone is going to start adjusting for a new metagame. Even though I will not be able to attend Grand Prix Richmond, I could be attending another Modern Grand Prix closer to summer.
While the deck can go off pretty quickly and has a lot of ways to interact, the matchup with unfair decks can be improved. Without having access to Thoughtseize, there is a limit to how much combo hate we can really have and a limit to how good it actually is. So instead, I wanna be faster. Time to bring back an old friend.
This is not my first time playing with Lotus Cobra, in fact, I've run it in past versions of this deck. It lost its place however when every UR deck was running 4 copies of Electrolyze. Lately however, they have been cutting down to about 1-2 copies since the card does nothing against Zoo. Adding it back to the deck can allow us to combo as early as turn 3.
One thing that does happen with Lotus Cobra is that you happen to dump your hand on the table extremely quickly. All of a sudden, we need more mana sinks. Time to take another page from the ghost of Kiki-Pod's past.
This card is a lot better in Melira Pod since their combo pieces cost 1, 2, and 3 mana but it has to utility in the Kiki-Jiki version of the deck as well. The biggest thing this card can do is allow you a slow but effective kill over 3 turns once you can Chord for x=3. Simply Chord for Eternal Witness, returning Chord of Calling, then next turn Chord for Restoration Angel, blinking Eternal Witness, returning Chord of Calling, then Chord for Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker and win. The card gets a lot better when we can very easily put all our creatures in play by turn 3 or 4 and provides us instant speed interaction with the unfair decks of the format.
With this kind of massive overhaul some stuff has to get cut. I have worked out the current list.
| Kiki-Pod v4 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Lands | Creatures | Non-Creatures | Sideboard |
| 4x Arid Mesa 1x Breeding Pool 1x Forest 2x Gavony Township 3x Grove of the Burnwillows 1x Hallowed Fountain 4x Misty Rainforest 1x Mountain 1x Plains 1x Rugged Prairie 1x Sacred Foundry 1x Steam Vents 1x Stomping Ground 1x Temple Garden |
4x Birds of Paradise 4x Noble Hierarch 2x Lotus Cobra 1x Phantasmal Image 1x Qasali Pridemage 1x Scavenging Ooze 1x Spellskite 2x Voice of Resurgence 2x Deceiver Exarch 1x Eternal Witness 1x Fiend Hunter 1x Izzet Staticaster 3x Kitchen Finks 1x Glen Elendra Archmage 1x Linvala, Keeper of Silence 2x Restoration Angel 2x Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker 1x Zealous Conscripts |
4x Birthing Pod 2x Chord of Calling |
3x Path to Exile 1x Ancient Grudge 2x Negate 1x Bant Charm 1x Ethersworn Canonist 1x Spellskite 1x Tarmogoyf 1x Fulminator Mage 1x Harmonic Sliver 1x Huntmaster of the Fells 1x Murderous Redcap 1x Thragtusk |
Domri Rade, Wall of Roots, Fauna Shaman, Murderous Redcap, Tarmogoyf
Domri Rade is still an amazing Magic card but just isn't as well positioned as it could be. Zoo can attack it and combo decks don't care about it. So the only matchup you actually want it for is UWR control and I would rather have another Voice of Resurgence for that matchup if I wanted anything more. That matchup is already pretty strong. Wall of Roots has its role taken by Lotus Cobra, I don't want to draw too many hands that produce a ton of mana with nothing to do with it. Fauna Shaman playing the role of Birthing Pod number 5 is also no longer necessary since we are bringing in Chord of Calling. The hardest cut to the main deck was Murderous Redcap but with 3 toughness being such a key number, Kitchen Finks is probably just better. I still have one in the board and it will see plenty of action from the sideboard. Tarmogoyf meets the same fate as Murderous Redcap but simply because it is the worst card left in the deck and I wanted access to the second Chord of Calling. It is a fantastic blocker against other Tarmogoyf decks but still doesn't do anything otherwise. This is easily the card I'm the most back and forth on because of all the times I draw a 1/2 (this deck is awful at growing a 'goyf) and my opponent doesn't even care.
The sideboard also had a couple more changes including the addition of a second Spellskite. It helps a really difficult Splinter Twin matchup and is the only card that matters in the entire 75 against the Boogles/Auras/Hexproof deck. It also has the important skill of being a 2 drop that does something against unfair decks (where do something is as simple as protecting a Birthing Pod). I found that I was sideboarding out a ton of 2 drops against unfair decks but then would draw a Birthing Pod and need two turns in order to get to my 3 and 4 drops that provide the high impact plays that swing a game.
I also cut Avalanche Riders, Aven Mindcensor, and the second Izzet Staticaster from the board. Avalanche Riders got the cut since I only needed the second land destruction creature against Tron and Tron isn't getting much play since its primary prey was Jund. Aven Mindcensor makes a lot of sense against Scapeshift still but that isn't a huge part of the field. Against other Birthing Pod players I either wanted Staticaster to kill mana guys, Harmonic Sliver to just kill the Birthing Pod itself, or Deceiver Exarch into Linvala, Keeper of Silence. I think it is a better hate card as a 2-3 of in the sideboard of non-Birthing Pod decks. The second Izzet Staticaster only came in against Robots and Infect. I also very rarely had to Birthing Pod up a second one when I have Phantasmal Image, Deceiver Exarch, Restoration Angel, Zealous Conscripts and Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker to do the exact same thing. With 2 copies in the deck you may be able to take down a Wild Nacatl or something with a lot of work but with that many Birthing Pod activations you are probably winning anyways.
As much as I love Modern I'm going to shift gears to a little bit of Standard. I had been running a Prophet Bant deck that used Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx to do silly things with Sphinx's Revelation and Polukranos, World Eater and I will probably keep working on the deck since they are few things as satisfying as a casting a Sphinx's Revelation for 15 and untapping at 37 life and 18 cards in hand with all the mana in the world to cast spells.
Then they printed this...
Here's a list to start with.
| BWR Control | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Lands | Creatures | Non-Creatures | Sideboard |
| 4x Blood Crypt 4x Godless Shrine 2x Mountain 4x Sacred Foundry 1x Swamp 2x Temple of Malice 4x Temple of Silence 4x Temple of Triumph |
3x Brimaz, King of Oreskos 4x Desecration Demon 3x Blood Baron of Vizkopa 1x Stormbreath Dragon |
4x Chained to the Rocks 4x Thoughtseize 2x Devour Flesh 1x Dreadbore 2x Mizzium Mortars 3x Anger of the Gods 2x Hero's Downfall 3x Read the Bones 1x Elspeth, Sun's Champion 2x Rakdos's Return |
2x Duress 1x Wear // Tear 2x Last Breath 1x Revoke Existence 1x Anger of the Gods 2x Underworld Connections 1x Assemble the Legion 1x Rakdos's Return 2x Lifebane Zombie 2x Sin Collector |
Sunday, February 16, 2014
Pro Tour Born of the Gods
I am not playing at Pro Tour Born of the Gods. However, there is no reason that I can't prepare as if I am. Since I am not playing in the Pro Tour, I don't have to be silent about the deck I am playing (or would play rather). I can just go right into it. There is a chance that I try to bring this deck to GP Richmond. A lot of things have to go correctly for me in the coming weeks for that be a realistic possibility but if all those things happen I am not going to make the trip a waste of my time.
I knew a long time ago exactly which decklist I would be on for the Pro Tour (provided an essential piece wasn't banned) if I had been able to qualify. Maybe not the exact numbers, but I knew for a fact I was playing Kiki-Pod. I have been playing the deck for nearly a year now and I haven't considered playing anything else. Modern is a format where knowing your deck and knowing the matchups is incredibly important. Players who have been playing Birthing Pod decks tend to try to preform better.
The other reason I didn't consider any other deck is because Kiki-Pod is an incredible deck. For those that are in experienced with the deck I will do my best to give a quick primer. The deck is designed to assemble the combo of Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker and either Zealous Conscripts, Restoration Angel, or Deceiver Exarch. It does this with Birthing Pod, and it does so with incredible speed and consistency. Here are some example of ways you can "go off" with a Pod in play.
1-Drop and 2-Drop
Sacrifice 2-Drop, find Deceiver Exarch, uptap Birthing Pod; sacrifice 1-Drop, find Phantasmal Image, copy Deceiver Exarch, untap Birthing Pod; sacrifice Phantasmal Image (which is a 3-drop now), find Restoration Angel, blink Deceiver Exarch, untap Birthing Pod, sacrifice Restoration Angel, find Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker.
4-Drop with Persist
Sacrifice 4-Drop, find Zealous Conscripts, untap Birthing Pod; sacrifice persisted 4-Drop, find Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker.
Kitchen Finks (2 turns)
Sacrifice Kitchen Finks, find Restoration Angel, blink Kitchen Finks. Following turn, sacrifice Restoration Angel, find Zealous Conscripts, untap Birthing Pod, sacrifice Kitchen Finks, find Restoration Angel, blink Zealous Conscripts, untap Birthing Pod, sacrifice Restoration Angel, find Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker.
There are plenty more but all the other lines are either shorter or sometimes more complicated versions of those. Knowing when you can "go off" becomes really easy to see. Sometimes you won't go for it because you want to dodge removal. Sometimes you simply cannot go off and are better off trying to advance your board state. Once you have a Pod in play, if you cannot win on the spot, try to do whatever you can to delay the game (though try to think through lines in advance so you do not lose a creature that you need alive in order to "go off"). Luckily the deck has so many cards that many decks are just cold to.
On to the list I am currently on.
I don't believe in stock lists for a deck like this but they are an excellent place to start if anyone wants to pick up the deck. The deck needs to be suited to its pilot's needs and the metagame. If you know you struggle against control and you expect to see it in the field, then you may want to run more copies of Voice of Resurgence. I am not going to talk about every card since that would take forever with a deck that has so many singleton tutor targets. I am mostly going to talk about things that are different from the average Kiki-Pod list.
At the 2-drop, I am not running Tarmogoyf anywhere in the 75. Though that could change at the Pro Tour since they are mostly in there for the B/G/x matchup (which I feel like a huge favorite in even if I don't draw Birthing Pod) and that matchup just got a lot better with the banning of Deathrite Shaman. I include Ethersworn Canonist in the main deck since I believe combo is going to make a rise at this Pro Tour. It doesn't do much in a lot of matchups but the matchups that it matters in, it is back breaking. The matchups it happens to be good in are also nearly unwinnable without a quick combo kill.
Moving on to the 3-drops, I have a lot of random utility creatures between the main deck and sideboard. I am running 1 less Kitchen Finks than most lists but that is simply because I needed to make room for Eternal Witness and Finks are usually one of the first things cut during sideboarding (unless life gain matters in the matchup). I mainly wanted to make this switch so that I could rebuy Qasali Pridemages and Fulminator Mages when I really need them.
My 4-drops are pretty stock. Maybe one less Restoration Angel than most lists, mostly just to keep the curve down. I run both the 4-drop persist creatures, Murderous Redcap and Glen Elendra Archmage. I find that in most matchups you want a particular one of those two and many times you want to pod directly into a 4-drop with persist because that sets up a combo kill next turn (barring you don't draw a combo piece).
At five mana, I do have only two Kiki-Jiki's in the deck and frequently side out one of them during sideboarding. I really don't want to draw the card. It is hard to cast, costs five mana and needs another creature in play to be anything other than a 2/2 haste creature for 5..... This is Modern, that is nowhere near good enough. I know there are plenty of times that I have played a Kiki-Jiki with a Voice or Thragtusk in play and took a trip straight to value town but more often than not it either sits in my hand or forces me to pay a ton of life to get the lands necessary to play the card. If Noble Hierarch tapped for red I would probably run three copies. The only reason I run a second copy simply to avoid not being able to find one with Birthing Pod.
I have upped the fetch lands in the deck but I am guessing that will be a trend for all non-Deathrite Shaman decks since now you don't have to worry about powering up opposing Deathrites. Instead you have to worry about powering up opposing Knight of the Reliquary's. This deck doesn't really care that much about Knight of the Reliquary, simply since it is just a giant dude. By the time it is big enough to be really a threat, we have plenty of dorks that have been sitting around doing nothing. If we have a Pod then we can find Scavenging Ooze or Fiend Hunter to deal with it for a moment.
The sideboard is really split into two halves. The creatures and the non-creatures. The non-creature spells are spells that are meant for more general match ups. These cards are extremely versatile and you will always end up grabbing a few since between Negate and Path to Exile, one of them is live. Ancient Grudge is just insane in the matchups that you want it in. Bant Charm is an overcosted and worse version of each of the other 3 but being able to do any of them is incredibly powerful.
This is one area in which the deck shines. Thanks to Birthing Pod, playing single copies of these cards is enough. Thus it gives you a lot more sideboard slots. We have the traditional "deal with this permanent" cards in Izzet Staticaster, Harmonic Sliver, Fulminator Mage, and Avalanche Riders. There are your go to cards against fair decks, Voice of Resurgence, Thragtusk, and Sigarda, Host of Herons. Then there is Aven Mindcensor which doesn't really fit in either of those categories and is strictly a hate-card.
I have been bouncing around some ideas for the deck. Right now my biggest one is fixing my sideboard numbers based on CMC (Converted Mana Cost). In other words, I don't know if I like have two 5-drops in the sideboard especially since I want them both for a lot of matchups. It might be better if Thragtusk was Huntmaster of the Fells. If can function a similar role. Provides a 2 for 1 with some life gain. It is also easier to get to 4 mana than any other CMC with a Birthing Pod simply because Deceiver Exarch can let you go again. The thing is though, very few cards stabilize you like a Thragtusk. The combination of the life gain and the resilient body make it very tough to profitably attack into. I will probably test Huntmaster the next time I play. It also seems like Murderous Recap can fill a very similar role (minus the life gain) but doesn't die to Pyroclasm.
Another major change I have considered is actually going up to 81 cards. I say 81 because it can give me nice math to covert the old deck from. The reason for this is because one of the weaknesses of the deck is drawing your silver bullet cards in the wrong matches. By increasing the number of cards in the deck, you can slightly increase the amount of tutor targets but more importantly, draw them less often. You will start drawing your multiples more often if you don't add too many more tutor targets. In order to this though, I think you need to run Chord of Calling so that you still have ways to find the combo pieces since you will now draw fewer Birthing Pods.
Originally, most Kiki-Pod lists ran Chord of Calling. However, it is kinda lackluster in the deck. The problem is that for Chord to be good, it means your opponent isn't killing your creatures and doesn't have a counter spell. If that is the case then you are probably ahead. It is still a powerful card though and one the deck would probably need if it moved up to 81 cards. It could be one of the reasons to just stick to 60. I worked out a list that I want to try out.
This might just be bad but it is worth testing. How will I know it is bad without putting it through its paces? If anyone gets a chance to try out any version of the deck and has some feedback, feel free to post it in the comments section.
Until next time.
I knew a long time ago exactly which decklist I would be on for the Pro Tour (provided an essential piece wasn't banned) if I had been able to qualify. Maybe not the exact numbers, but I knew for a fact I was playing Kiki-Pod. I have been playing the deck for nearly a year now and I haven't considered playing anything else. Modern is a format where knowing your deck and knowing the matchups is incredibly important. Players who have been playing Birthing Pod decks tend to try to preform better.
The other reason I didn't consider any other deck is because Kiki-Pod is an incredible deck. For those that are in experienced with the deck I will do my best to give a quick primer. The deck is designed to assemble the combo of Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker and either Zealous Conscripts, Restoration Angel, or Deceiver Exarch. It does this with Birthing Pod, and it does so with incredible speed and consistency. Here are some example of ways you can "go off" with a Pod in play.
1-Drop and 2-Drop
Sacrifice 2-Drop, find Deceiver Exarch, uptap Birthing Pod; sacrifice 1-Drop, find Phantasmal Image, copy Deceiver Exarch, untap Birthing Pod; sacrifice Phantasmal Image (which is a 3-drop now), find Restoration Angel, blink Deceiver Exarch, untap Birthing Pod, sacrifice Restoration Angel, find Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker.
4-Drop with Persist
Sacrifice 4-Drop, find Zealous Conscripts, untap Birthing Pod; sacrifice persisted 4-Drop, find Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker.
Kitchen Finks (2 turns)
Sacrifice Kitchen Finks, find Restoration Angel, blink Kitchen Finks. Following turn, sacrifice Restoration Angel, find Zealous Conscripts, untap Birthing Pod, sacrifice Kitchen Finks, find Restoration Angel, blink Zealous Conscripts, untap Birthing Pod, sacrifice Restoration Angel, find Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker.
There are plenty more but all the other lines are either shorter or sometimes more complicated versions of those. Knowing when you can "go off" becomes really easy to see. Sometimes you won't go for it because you want to dodge removal. Sometimes you simply cannot go off and are better off trying to advance your board state. Once you have a Pod in play, if you cannot win on the spot, try to do whatever you can to delay the game (though try to think through lines in advance so you do not lose a creature that you need alive in order to "go off"). Luckily the deck has so many cards that many decks are just cold to.
On to the list I am currently on.
| Kiki-Pod | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Lands | Creatures | Non-Creatures | Sideboard |
| 4x Arid Mesa 1x Breeding Pool 1x Forest 2x Gavony Township 3x Grove of the Burnwillows 1x Hallowed Fountain 4x Misty Rainforest 1x Mountain 1x Plains 1x Rugged Prairie 1x Sacred Foundry 1x Steam Vents 1x Stomping Ground 1x Temple Garden |
4x Birds of Paradise 4x Noble Hierarch 1x Ethersworn Canonist 1x Fauna Shaman 1x Phantasmal Image 1x Qasali Pridemage 1x Scavenging Ooze 1x Spellskite 2x Voice of Resurgence 1x Wall of Roots 2x Deceiver Exarch 1x Eternal Witness 1x Fiend Hunter 1x Izzet Staticaster 2x Kitchen Finks 1x Glen Elendra Archmage 1x Linvala, Keeper of Silence 1x Murderous Redcap 2x Restoration Angel 2x Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker 1x Zealous Conscripts |
4x Birthing Pod 1x Domri Rade |
3x Path to Exile 1x Ancient Grudge 2x Negate 1x Bant Charm 1x Voice of Resurgence 1x Aven Mindcensor 1x Fulminator Mage 1x Harmonic Sliver 1x Izzet Staticaster 1x Avalanche Riders 1x Sigarda, Host of Herons 1x Thragtusk |
I don't believe in stock lists for a deck like this but they are an excellent place to start if anyone wants to pick up the deck. The deck needs to be suited to its pilot's needs and the metagame. If you know you struggle against control and you expect to see it in the field, then you may want to run more copies of Voice of Resurgence. I am not going to talk about every card since that would take forever with a deck that has so many singleton tutor targets. I am mostly going to talk about things that are different from the average Kiki-Pod list.
At the 2-drop, I am not running Tarmogoyf anywhere in the 75. Though that could change at the Pro Tour since they are mostly in there for the B/G/x matchup (which I feel like a huge favorite in even if I don't draw Birthing Pod) and that matchup just got a lot better with the banning of Deathrite Shaman. I include Ethersworn Canonist in the main deck since I believe combo is going to make a rise at this Pro Tour. It doesn't do much in a lot of matchups but the matchups that it matters in, it is back breaking. The matchups it happens to be good in are also nearly unwinnable without a quick combo kill.
Moving on to the 3-drops, I have a lot of random utility creatures between the main deck and sideboard. I am running 1 less Kitchen Finks than most lists but that is simply because I needed to make room for Eternal Witness and Finks are usually one of the first things cut during sideboarding (unless life gain matters in the matchup). I mainly wanted to make this switch so that I could rebuy Qasali Pridemages and Fulminator Mages when I really need them.
My 4-drops are pretty stock. Maybe one less Restoration Angel than most lists, mostly just to keep the curve down. I run both the 4-drop persist creatures, Murderous Redcap and Glen Elendra Archmage. I find that in most matchups you want a particular one of those two and many times you want to pod directly into a 4-drop with persist because that sets up a combo kill next turn (barring you don't draw a combo piece).
At five mana, I do have only two Kiki-Jiki's in the deck and frequently side out one of them during sideboarding. I really don't want to draw the card. It is hard to cast, costs five mana and needs another creature in play to be anything other than a 2/2 haste creature for 5..... This is Modern, that is nowhere near good enough. I know there are plenty of times that I have played a Kiki-Jiki with a Voice or Thragtusk in play and took a trip straight to value town but more often than not it either sits in my hand or forces me to pay a ton of life to get the lands necessary to play the card. If Noble Hierarch tapped for red I would probably run three copies. The only reason I run a second copy simply to avoid not being able to find one with Birthing Pod.
I have upped the fetch lands in the deck but I am guessing that will be a trend for all non-Deathrite Shaman decks since now you don't have to worry about powering up opposing Deathrites. Instead you have to worry about powering up opposing Knight of the Reliquary's. This deck doesn't really care that much about Knight of the Reliquary, simply since it is just a giant dude. By the time it is big enough to be really a threat, we have plenty of dorks that have been sitting around doing nothing. If we have a Pod then we can find Scavenging Ooze or Fiend Hunter to deal with it for a moment.
The sideboard is really split into two halves. The creatures and the non-creatures. The non-creature spells are spells that are meant for more general match ups. These cards are extremely versatile and you will always end up grabbing a few since between Negate and Path to Exile, one of them is live. Ancient Grudge is just insane in the matchups that you want it in. Bant Charm is an overcosted and worse version of each of the other 3 but being able to do any of them is incredibly powerful.
This is one area in which the deck shines. Thanks to Birthing Pod, playing single copies of these cards is enough. Thus it gives you a lot more sideboard slots. We have the traditional "deal with this permanent" cards in Izzet Staticaster, Harmonic Sliver, Fulminator Mage, and Avalanche Riders. There are your go to cards against fair decks, Voice of Resurgence, Thragtusk, and Sigarda, Host of Herons. Then there is Aven Mindcensor which doesn't really fit in either of those categories and is strictly a hate-card.
I have been bouncing around some ideas for the deck. Right now my biggest one is fixing my sideboard numbers based on CMC (Converted Mana Cost). In other words, I don't know if I like have two 5-drops in the sideboard especially since I want them both for a lot of matchups. It might be better if Thragtusk was Huntmaster of the Fells. If can function a similar role. Provides a 2 for 1 with some life gain. It is also easier to get to 4 mana than any other CMC with a Birthing Pod simply because Deceiver Exarch can let you go again. The thing is though, very few cards stabilize you like a Thragtusk. The combination of the life gain and the resilient body make it very tough to profitably attack into. I will probably test Huntmaster the next time I play. It also seems like Murderous Recap can fill a very similar role (minus the life gain) but doesn't die to Pyroclasm.
Another major change I have considered is actually going up to 81 cards. I say 81 because it can give me nice math to covert the old deck from. The reason for this is because one of the weaknesses of the deck is drawing your silver bullet cards in the wrong matches. By increasing the number of cards in the deck, you can slightly increase the amount of tutor targets but more importantly, draw them less often. You will start drawing your multiples more often if you don't add too many more tutor targets. In order to this though, I think you need to run Chord of Calling so that you still have ways to find the combo pieces since you will now draw fewer Birthing Pods.
Originally, most Kiki-Pod lists ran Chord of Calling. However, it is kinda lackluster in the deck. The problem is that for Chord to be good, it means your opponent isn't killing your creatures and doesn't have a counter spell. If that is the case then you are probably ahead. It is still a powerful card though and one the deck would probably need if it moved up to 81 cards. It could be one of the reasons to just stick to 60. I worked out a list that I want to try out.
This might just be bad but it is worth testing. How will I know it is bad without putting it through its paces? If anyone gets a chance to try out any version of the deck and has some feedback, feel free to post it in the comments section.
Until next time.
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