Adam Yurchick
6/18/2012 10:54:00 AM
Birthing Pod has been an integral part of the Magic world since its printing in New Phyrexia. Birthing Pod has made the biggest waves in Standard, where it has impacted the metagame since day one. The card fits into many shells, all of them held together by the amazing toolbox potential of Birthing Pod. Various decks of various shapes and sizes - ranging from Zombies to Wolf Run Ramp - have put the card to good use. The card has only gotten better over time, and it will only grow more powerful with each additional release. Now, with the release of Avacyn Restored, Birthing Pod is undergoing a much deserved renaissance in Standard.

The decks that get the most mileage out of Birthing Pod, and who can take biggest advantage, are green creature decks packed with one-drop acceleration. The deck I share today fits right into this category. It can deploy Birthing Pod early, often, and to good effect. To maximize Birthing Pod, it has its own special game plan.


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This deck is also built to abuse Green Sun's Zenith. The deck must always keep this card in mind; it does a lot to smooth draws while providing flexibility.

This deck was taken from Magic Online, where it has seen a lot of success lately. The specific list I'm playing is from a close friend who has been absolutely crushing with the deck, and insisted I tried it myself.

RG Birthing Pod by Adam Yurchick Main Deck Sideboard 1 Acidic Slime 4 Birds of Paradise 2 Borderland Ranger 4 Hound of Griselbrand 1 Huntmaster of the Fells 2 Llanowar Elves 1 Primeval Titan 1 Pyreheart Wolf 1 Stingerfling Spider 3 Strangleroot Geist 2 Wolfir Silverheart 1 Zealous Conscripts Creatures [23] 4 Birthing Pod 3 Bonfire of the Damned 4 Green Sun's Zenith 2 Rampant Growth Spells [13] 4 Copperline Gorge 9 Forest 4 Kessig Wolf Run 3 Mountain 4 Rootbound Crag Lands [24] Deck Total [60] 1 Bonfire of the Damned 2 Dismember 3 Huntmaster of the Fells 1 Phyrexian Metamorph 2 Pillar of Flame 1 Stingerfling Spider 1 Tree of Redemption 1 Viridian Corrupter 3 Zealous Conscripts Sideboard [15] View a Sample Hand! Solitaire this Deck! Click for full deck stats & notes!

The deck that I'll be playing today takes full advantage of undying. In fact, it plays a whopping eight undying creatures in the maindeck! Strangleroot Geist has been a natural pair for Birthing Pod since it hit Standard, but a lesser known, potentially more powerful creature lurks in the shadows. Hound of Griselbrand is a perfect fit in this deck, providing a very powerful, very robust creature. It sits nicely in the Birthing Pod curve, powering up upon death while yielding a fresh 5 drop. The effectively-six-powered creature that gets left behind is threatening against every opponent at every stage of the game, fighting even titans in combat.

The last undying creature, Pyreheart Wolf, serves as both a cog and a finisher. First, it fits right into the Birthing Pod chain at three. It can be sacrificed for value and still leave a nice creature to fight with. The ability serves as a mini-falter and allows other creatures to alpha-strike for the win. It can also put the opponent into awkward blocking situations in the midgame. All and all, it pulls its weight in this increasingly creature oriented metagame.

High Mid Low

Huntmaster of the Fells

$45.00

$14.25

$8.50

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The biggest question I had of this deck, and the question I'm sure you have, is the lack of Huntmaster of Fells. Rather than playing the usual playset, this list runs just one maindeck and three in the sideboard. The logic goes that Hound of Griselbrand is simply better against the metagame game one, and that Huntmaster of the Fells is best left in the sideboard. The logic was sound to me, but I'm not sure it is correct. I felt like I wanted to bring in Huntmaster of the Fells very often in the games I played. Naturally, against more rogue decks Huntmaster of the Fells shines, but Hound of Griselbrand seems well poised against the metagame. The correct configuration is tricky indeed, and requires more data. For now, I'll go with the masses.

These are my first games piloting the deck, so I'm learning right along side you! I'd like to learn about the deck from the Inside Out, rather than from starting at the decklist. Recording these games reveals my exploratory process with the viewer. It also exposes my plays to analysis or criticism.

My inexperience with the deck means I am sure to play sub-optimally at times. This deck is one with many possible lines of play, and the options are endless with a Birthing Pod in play. After the games I'll look back and look for things I could have done differently. Please turn to the forums for further discussion.

My first match was against Monoblack Zombies:



My keep in the first game was very loose. I have three five-drop toolbox targets in my hand. While they are all powerful, having them in combination makes my hand too clunky and slow. I didn't even have something like Birthing Pod to make keeping a harder choice. My early game available to the hand was solid but did not warrant keeping. My overzealous attitude towards playing the deck led to a very incorrect snap keep. I would have been better off on six.

I also learned that Cemetery Reaper is a real beating against my undying deck!

Next was against a near mirror, RUG Pod.



These games were pretty complicated, and I know I could have played differently, for better or worse. There are many things that seem to be driving the matchup, the most important being mana advantage and Birthing Pod advantage. Fighting over mana with Bonfire of the Damned, while not over-relying on mana accelerations that are vulnerable to opposing Bonfire of the Damned, is very important. Judiciously use artifact removal on opposing Birthing Pod. Keeping Birthing Pod in hand, as to not unnecessarily expose it to opposing removal, is also important.

The following match is against BW Tokens.



I'm surprised I lost game one, and I've studied the game to see how I could have won. The first real decision was turn 3, where I could have played Birthing Pod, Acidic Slime, or Bonfire of the Damned. Slime halted his development while putting out a blocker for Champion of the Parish, so I like the play. Bonfire of the Damned would have been premature, and I don't think Birthing Pod really does enough to impact the board.

Bonfire the Damned was necessary the following turn, giving me a real decision on the next turn. As it was, I walked my creature into Oblivion Ring and died. I should have thought of this out and went with Hound of Griselbrand. Had I made that play, I'm forced to chump and go to two. That would have given me some outs on the following turn, like Huntmaster of the Fells or Bonfire of the Damned.

Game two was rather complex, and showed the ability of this Birthing Pod deck to grind along and eventually come over the top of a worn down opponent with the help of Kessig Wolf Run.

The final match is against something rogue, a Monored Goblin burn deck. This might not be something I'll play against often, but it's important to pilot decks against a wide range of opponents. Doing so makes weaknesses very apparent, leading to better deck design.



I was impressed by both the speed and the reach of the red deck. It has draws that come out too quick for me to deal with. My creatures glut up the board well in the mid game, but his burn suite means I'm always at risk of dying if I take too much early. A deck like Goblins was a very great litmus test for Birthing Pod, and I like how I fared.

I like how this deck performed in these games. It has a super proactive game plan that has the ability to beat various opponents. It can out-tempo creature decks, exhaust removal, and go over the top of board stalemates. What this lacks is flexibility. It has the same plan most every game, and the fact of the matter is that most of the cards are creatures. The lack of removal and instants means the deck will generally play the same game every time, often right into opposing hands. It doesn't have the fluidity found in decks like Delver, but that comes with the territory. The high power level should makes up for this fact, but with additional variance.

I'd also like to note that it is very reasonable to swap out the Primeval Titan for an Inferno Titan. Primeval Titan is great with Kessig Wolf Run and Bonfire of the Damned, while Inferno Titan is powerful against weenie strategies. The correct card will come down to metagame and personal preference, so feel comfortable trying both. I'm sure Wurmcoil Engine is reasonable too.

I'll be back later in the week with a deeper look at this archetype. I'll look into how it is positioned in the metagame, and where I see the archetype evolving in the coming weeks. Standard is constantly changing, so too will this deck.

-Adam

PS: Here is a sideboard plan against Delver, given to me by an expert:

In: 1 Pillar of Flame, 2 Dismember, 1 Phyrexian Metamorph, 1 Stingerfling Spider, 3 Huntmaster of the Fells

Out: 3 Hound of Griselbrand, 1 Primeval Titan, 2 Wolfir Silverheart, 1 Zealous Conscripts, 1 Birthing Pod