Standard

Giving Birth to the BUG Pod

Since its printing, [card]Birthing Pod[/card] has been a card to keep an eye on. I took notice when in a recent Latest Developments column on the Mothership, Zac Hill noted that [card]Grafdigger’s Cage[/card] was partly designed with [card]Birthing Pod[/card] in mind:

“Internally, our Pod decks hadn’t started dominating the [Future Future League] until Innistrad, but it’s conceivable that we had missed something. Conceivably, Pod could have been oppressive from the moment it was printed. Had that been true, the environment would be terrible.”

 

Apparently, Pod decks were ripping up the FFL. With this in mind (and with the release of Undying, the most Pod-friendly ability ever), I decided to try and fit the pieces together again to see if [card]Birthing Pod[/card] could be a player in Standard (this time with 100% less [card]Parallel Lives[/card]):

[deck title=Travis Hall’s Birthing Pains]
[Lands]
1 Grim Backwoods
4 Woodland Cemetery
4 Evolving Wilds
1 Island
1 Buried Ruin
1 Hinterland Harbor
7 Swamp
5 Forest
[/Lands][Creatures]
3 Young Wolf
4 Strangleroot Geist
1 Viridian Emissary
1 Phantasmal Image
4 Geralf’s Messenger
1 Glissa, the Traitor
1 Sylvok Replica
2 Phyrexian Metamorph
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Skinrender
1 Havengul Lich
2 Acidic Slime
1 Massacre Wurm
1 Wurmcoil Engine
[/Creatures][Spells]
4 Tragic Slip
1 Ratchet Bomb
2 Beast Within
1 Black Sun’s Zenith
4 Birthing Pod
[/Spells][Sideboard]
1 Bitterheart Witch
1 Curse of Death’s Hold
1 Tree of Redemption
2 Ratchet Bomb
1 Black Sun’s Zenith
1 Glissa, the Traitor
1 Massacre Wurm
2 Sylvok Replica
1 Daybreak Ranger
2 Go for the Throat
2 Nihil Spellbomb
[/Sideboard]
[/deck]

Up front, let me tell you that I’d KILL to make [card]Llanowar Wastes[/card] standard legal right now. The GG and BBB costs of your two best Undying creatures (Geist and Messenger) are the things that really scare me about the deck. That said, this deck is full of fun and interesting interactions, with the most obvious interaction being between Undying and [card]Birthing Pod[/card]. This potent combination (I’ve been trying Pod with Persist in Modern, and this is even better) is one scary enough to have Development print an answer card immediately in [card]Grafdigger’s Cage[/card].

A quick aside on [card]Grafdigger’s Cage[/card]: I get it, it shuts down [card]Birthing Pod[/card], but:

  1. I don’t think it will see much maindeck play. If you think your opponent will side it in, feel free to bring in an extra 1 or 2 hate cards. If they bring in the Cage, they’re probably diluting their deck to do so. Most of the anti-Cage cards that the Pod decks run don’t slow down the deck at all.
  2. It’s an artifact. You’re playing green. You have approximately 8,643,864 ways to kill artifacts.

 

Explaining some of the card choices:

[card]Tragic Slip[/card]: This card seems ideal for a Birthing Pod deck. It can take out a [card]Delver of Secrets[/card] on turn one, or a Titan late game (since Pod decks usually have an easier time getting creatures in the graveyard). You can’t beat that versatility for 1 mana.

[card]Strangleroot Geist[/card]: It’s possible this card puts too much strain on the mana base, with too little reward. But, this card has a lot to offer, and gives the deck an additional aggressive element.  You can use one to Pod for a pair of Messengers.

[card]Geralf’s Messenger[/card]: If this guy costed 1BB, he’d be the best card in the set (maybe the block). The BBB is a very real restriction, but the benefits are worth exploring at this state. Using the Messenger to Pod into a [card]Phyrexian Metamorph[/card], then bring him back to be copied is a 4-point life swing without losing a beat. And, the Metamorph gains Undying to be sacrificed to get another Metamorph (letting the original come back to copy Messenger again or the best creature on the table). This can get out of hand very quickly, and you can usually win if you get this to go through once or twice.

[card]Glissa, the Traitor[/card]: Conley Woods highlighted the versatility of this card in GP Orlando, and I think she’s only going to get stronger. The imminent rise of token decks makes Glissa + [card]Ratchet Bomb[/card] a very potent combo. She also works well with [card]Sylvok Replica[/card] to clear away any/all artifact creatures and pesky enchantments (like [card]Intangible Virtue[/card] and [card]Oblivion Ring[/card]). She can even retrieve a destroyed/copied [card]Birthing Pod[/card].

[card]Black Sun’s Zenith[/card]: I expect tokens to be everywhere for the first 2-3 weeks after the release. This can clear the board or be used to “reset” your Undying creatures.

[card]Phyrexian Metamorph[/card]: It kills Thrun and [card]Geist of Saint Traft[/card]. It clones Titans. It copies Undying creatures and returns for twice the fun. It can be regrown with Glissa. What doesn’t he do?

[card]Havengul Lich[/card]: The Lich seems like a perfect late game card for [card]Birthing Pod[/card]. You can Pod it into play and immediately start using its ability. If they don’t answer it in a turn, you’ll most likely win with ease.

[card]Massacre Wurm[/card]/[card]Wurmcoil Engine[/card]:The top of the food chain in our deck. I also considered running a Grave Titan instead (which may prove to be the best idea for a particular metagame).

[card]Grim Backwoods[/card]: Used in conjunction with Undying creatures, this land can provide some late game card advantage in tight matchups.

[card]Buried Ruin[/card]: I love running the Ruins as a 1-of to get back Birthing Pods, but in this version it can also return a Replica, [card]Ratchet Bomb[/card], [card]Solemn Simulacrum[/card], Metamorph, or [card]Wurmcoil Engine[/card].

Other cards to consider:

[card]Snapcaster Mage[/card]: I have strongly considered running this as a one-of for Pod shenanigans. If I up the count on [card]Beast Within[/card]s I may return to this.

[card]Mikaeus, the Unhallowed[/card]: I love this guy, but I think he’s better suited for a [card]Heartless Summoning[/card] build.

[card]Dawntreader Elk[/card]: While his sacrifice effect doesn’t play well with Pod, his ability to find the land you need is one to consider.

[card]Gravecrawler[/card]: I was very tempted to make this a straight-up Zombie Pod list, but I think you gain too much value by reaching into other creature types. I think Zombies are 1 decent 2-drop away from being tier 1.

And finally, I’ll leave you with my top 10 cards from Dark Ascension. I mainly evaluate with an eye towards Standard, but some of these will see play in multiple formats:

1. [card]Tragic Slip[/card]
This card will really shake up the format.

2. [card]Sorin, Lord of innistrad[/card]
His ultimate is being severely underestimated.

3. [card]Faithless Looting[/card]
Fantastic value for a color that can really make use of it.

4. [card]Gravecrawler[/card]
This guy may make Zombies viable by himself.

5. [card]Lingering Souls[/card]
Once [card]Ratchet Bomb[/card] rotates, this may be #1.

6. [card]Grafdigger’s Cage[/card]
The perfect hate card.

7. [card]Drogskol Captain[/card]
Hexproof makes this thing unfair.

8. [card]Geralf’s Messenger[/card]
The Evil Finks.

9. [card]Vault of the Archangel[/card]/[card]Grim Backwoods[/card]
I expect to see these things as 1-ofs in a variety of decks.

10. [card]Havengul Lich[/card]
His ability is very strong, and there are quite a few ways to get him into play on the cheap.

Dark Ascension looks to be a fabulous set. Its interactions are deeper than they look at first. I, for one, look forward to seeing what Dark Ascension can birth in the new Standard.

Do your top 10 Dark Ascension cards mirror mine? Does my [card]Birthing Pod[/card] list look like a pile? Sound off in the comments!

If you like my deck ideas or suggestions, you can follow me on Twitter: @travishall456. I throw around random observations and deck concepts every day.

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