Reinventing the Wheel
Modern forum
Posted on March 4, 2013, 11:46 a.m. by vila_a23
Birthing Pod decks have been around in modern for some time now and it is evident that it is a powerhouse archetype. However, with the shift in the format thanks to bans pod has switched more towards the melira build rather than naya or 4 color pod. Why? Because there are alot more "fair" decks running around. This makes it easy for melira pod to just beat you with slow incrimental advantage and Gavony Township all while threatening to combo off and kill you on the spot if you slip up. It is alot harder for Naya pod to grind out an opponent and with U/W/x decks seeing a resurgence, grinding happens alot in modern right now. So how can we solve this problem? I present to you Domri Rade. Many of you may be thinking that i am crazy, or that the gruul walker is better fitting for an aggro deck instead of a combo deck, but you would be wrong. Just take a look at this list and take a moment to examine what domri actually offers the deck. Domri Pod. This is the list I have been championing for a while nd just recently made top 4 of a local ptq with it, going undefeated in the swiss and losing to g/r tron in the semi finals. Domri offers a unique direction for the deck to take and one that I believe will be a big step forward for naya and 4C pod decks in the future. On the front end, she acts essentially as a 5th and 6th pod, gaining you a creature with almost every +1 activation, not to mention you have plenty of shuffle effects for those times he does reveal a land. The card dvantage domri offers is absurd. Many games against U/W/x I have just landed a domri on turn 2 and watched as my opponent was drowned in card advantage. Thats right, I was actually out card advantaging my blue opponent! Another thing domri adds to the table is removal. Almost all of your creatures are bigger than your opponents, nay a Tarmogoyf or two, so his fight ability offers you insane reach. Why yes I would like to trade the first half of my Kitchen Finks with your Dark Confidant. VAlue!!!
In case you haven't seen it yet, domri offers the deck the same thing thr melira pod has. The ability to not care about comboing off. With domri, combo pieces are just a threat, you will kill your opponent with normal combat damage more times than you will by making infinite tokens, but the threat is still there and you opponent has to respect both angles of attack or he will lose. It is safe to say that if you untap with a domri, you are in the drivers seat of the game.
You may ask where domri fits into the deck, well lets take a look. Since your combo is not actually your primary goal for victory anymore, you dont actualy need all of your combo pieces. However, domri demands a high creature count so cutting kikis and restos is not an option. Chord of Calling is the next best option. Chord is used most of the time as a way to set up your combo or to just provide you with an extra blocker. Given that comboing off is plan b, and that domri offers plenty of removal, chord is a fine card to cut. Let me know your thoughts on the deck and on the concept as a whole, if you guys want I can write a primer for the deck if any of you want.