Why not Torpor Orb?
Modern forum
Posted on March 19, 2014, 4:53 p.m. by flyguy
So I'm trying to get a bit more acclimated to the modern environment. I've studied the decklists and played them on cockatrice, and I realized that Torpor Orb would be a great sideboard play-
It shuts down Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker and Splinter Twin , two powerful decks in the meta. It doesn't completely stop them, but it comes close.
All the Presence of Gond + Intruder Alarm decks just become "creatures don't untap", which isn't bad, especially for a combo breaker.
Good luck Snapcaster Mage and Restoration Angel !
Best of all, it stops melira pod. Kitchen Finks and Murderous Redcap may enter the battlefield as many times as they want, but that won't do anything. It also stops removal like Shriekmaw . Only Qasali Pridemage can stop it here, on the off chance that it is drawn. The only other thing I've really seen that can destroy it is Harmonic Sliver , which too is turned to shit.
So my overarching question is "why isn't Torpor Orb run in the sideboard of many modern decks?"
Nigrescence says... #3
Probably because most modern decks run at least something that has an ETB trigger, often more than one. Also, easily sideboard removal can take care of it, and I'm not sure you'll be putting four of them in your sideboard.
You could make a deck based on Torpor Orb , however, and your sideboard could be extra ways to protect it.
March 19, 2014 5:02 p.m.
Doesn't really stop pod, as they just chord/pod for Qasali Pridemage .
March 19, 2014 5:47 p.m.
Ah- I just haven't seen them around as much. I see a few now, I guess I haven't been looking closely enough. Thanks guys!
March 19, 2014 5:52 p.m.
"Only Qasali Pridemage can stop it here, on the off chance that it is drawn."
If only the Pod decks had some way to tutor up such a useful card, two ways to tutor would be even better and one of them might even be the deck's namesake. Cough cough Birthing Pod and Chord of Calling . Sorry, giving you a bit of a hard time on that, but that's kind of important.
Modern sideboards are all about balance, trade-offs and trying to find cards that are useful across several match-ups. Torper Orb does see some play, but because it isn't a hard answer and only addresses a narrow avenue it's often mostly used for decks that get additional use out of it - like Affinity is happy to have it be an artifact. Other decks are going to relegate those sideboard slots to either better hoser cards or more versatile cards.
March 19, 2014 6 p.m.
@Slycne- Yeah, kinda realized that first point after I posted. Thanks for the concise description.
March 19, 2014 6:02 p.m.
@Blakkhand: Or worse: they get Viscera Seer and Kitchen Finks , then scry through their entire deck for Melira, Sylvok Outcast and Qasali Pridemage . Torpor Orb stops the creature from getting a -1/-1 counter.
I found this out the hard way lol (thankfully I had a Karn Liberated to restart the game).
March 19, 2014 6:06 p.m.
One problem with relying on Torpor Orb for SB against Melira Pod is that the deck is also completely capable of becoming a G/W beatdown list very rapidly.
March 19, 2014 6:26 p.m.
Nigrescence says... #10
Actually, Torpor Orb does not eliminate the -1/-1 counter from Persist. The Persist ability is not an ETB effect, but a ETG effect. It is triggered when the creature enters the graveyard.
JWiley129 says... #2
Umm...it is. The only decks that don't run it are Pod and Twin since those decks need their ETBs to trigger. Which is probably why you haven't seen Torpor Orb in many sideboards because two of the best decks in the format don't run it.
March 19, 2014 5:02 p.m.