1 Reply by jgarcia102

(4 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

I was lucky, I picked up my Birthing Pods before Jace was banned in standard, so I got them for about a dollar each in trades.

    I find that it's generally best to activate the Birthing Pod as soon as possible after playing it. Since casting Birthing Pod takes a lot of mana or life, you want to see an investment in your return. The more interesting discussion probably lies in when to cast Birthing Pod. Usually turn 2 with Birds of Paradise is ideal, but after that I cast it whenever I can sneak it in or when I need it. Since the deck is a toolbox deck, most games I find myself trying to find a turn to play Birthing Pod so I can get the most valuable creatures out as soon as possible.

    I have tried graveyard strategies before, and I found the best option so far is recursion. Sun Titan, Reveillark and Eternal Witness provide me with that. I have tried Boneyard Wurm before and was unimpressed, since I often get a few creatures out with Birthing Pod and then just bring them back over and over with recursion. My graveyard is often surprisingly small. I think Splinterfright would be counter productive if you were to mill a card you want to tutor up with Birthing Pod.

    I don't really have a favorite card in the deck. I've tried to make the deck so that it stands a chance against most other casual decks, so when I find a creature with Birthing Pod it's because that creature is the best for the situation, not because it's my favorite card. I do think Domri Rade is a lot of fun. That might be my favorite in terms of having fun.

    The cards that have provided the most unexpected successes are the ones without enter the battlefield triggers or death triggers, notably Strangleroot Geist, Birds of Paradise and Thrun. The realization that there may be better options than ETB effects is part of what led me to post here.

    I've played with many different people over the past couple years, and the response varies. Some groups think it's just another deck, while some newer players think it's too good. My biggest problem is that I play it too much sometimes and people get bored of it.

I'm curious, what would you do with Birthing Pod if you got your hands on a playset?

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2 Reply by jgarcia102

(3 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

I'll try to break my response into two parts, how you can improve your deck, and how you can beat his deck.

1. I would start by adding at least five more creatures(probably more than that though) and taking out eight lands. Usually you start a deck at 24 lands and add or subtract a few until you get to the right number. I like that you had more than 24 lands as many newer players try to play as few lands as possible. Next, let's look at some of your card choices.

Protect//Serve: I'm assuming you use this to keep attackers and blockers alive in combat, occasionally using it to deal two more points of damage to your opponent. Consider Doom Blade. It costs less mana, will keep your creature alive in combat every time, and will kill your opponents creature every time. Added bonus: you don't have to wait for your creature to meet your opponents creature in combat to use it.

Disentomb: This card gets stronger the more creatures you put in your deck. If there aren't any creatures in your graveyard, this card does nothing.

Paranoid Delusions: Unless you are actively trying to win by milling, or your deck has a lot of graveyard synergy to mill yourself, this card does little to nothing. Put a creature in instead of this card and win by damage.

Search Warrant/Demon's Horn: Cards that gain you life and do nothing else are typically very bad. The logic: a card that gains you life and does nothing else doesn't help you win the game, it just helps you lose slower. If you want to gain life, find a creature that gains you life, like Lone Missionary. You can do damage, and gain life.

2. You say your opponent's deck builds up Nivix Cyclops and attacks. Put Doomblade in your deck. When he builds it up and attacks, kill it. A hexproof or shroud creature can hep fight his burn, and learning to play around counterspells is about as much as you can do about them.

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3 Topic by jgarcia102

(4 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

Hi guys! For the past two years I have been working on a casual Birthing Pod deck. Throughout the past two years, I've tried many different strategies and creatures, which has been a lot of fun, but for the past couple months, my deck has been fairly stagnant. I'm looking for new creatures and ideas to try out, and I'm hoping you guys can help me out.

    Here's the current decklist: http://deckbox.org/sets/469330

    My goal is to have a deck that stands a chance against most other casual decks I encounter by having a creature or two that I can tutor for to handle most situations. Currently the deck struggles a little bit against control and faster aggro decks.

Restrictions:

1. This is a casual deck, meant to be played for fun. I'm not looking for infinite combos. I am aware that they exist, but many people find that they are not fun to play against, so I choose to keep them out of the deck. This also means that the deck isn't restricted to Modern or standard cards, so anything goes.

2. Budget: There aren't any budget restrictions.

More Info:

I like the way that the deck currently plays out which is (ideally):

T1: Land, Birds of Paradise

T2: Birthing Pod/Domri Rade

T3: Start playing creatures and using Birthing Pod/Domri Rade to answer the opponents threats and gain card advantage

Late Game: Use Sun Titan, Reveillark, Eternal Witness and Phantasmal Image for creature recurrence.

Strategies and Creatures I have tried: Infinite Creatures(Squadron Hawk, Daru Cavelier, and Screeching Seahawk with Trinket Mage and Elixer of Immortality), Equipment(Stoneforge Mystic, Trinket Mage, With Equipment and Trinkets), Frost Titan, Dungeon Geist, Squadron Hawks, Archon  of Justice, Phyrexian Metamorph, Trinket Mage with Trinkets, Stonecloaker, Stonehorn Dignitary, Boneyard Wurm, Vensor, Innistrad Garruk, and Molten Tail Masticore, just to name a few.

Strategies and Creatures I would like to try out and would like to hear feedback and opinions on: 5 Color Pod, Mystic Snake, Glen Elendra Archmage, Mulldrifter, Thragtusk, Duplicant, Chord of Calling, Green Sun's Zenith, Angel of Serenity, Thassa, God of the Sea, Loaming Shaman, Court Hussar, Imperial Recruiter, Vendilion Clique, and Spellskite.

    Thank you for your input and ideas! Also, I have been messing with this deck for a couple years, if you have any questions for me on the strategies or creatures I have tried or just want to discuss Birthing Pod decks, leave a comment!

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