So in the splinter twin thread, there was some discussion of potentially playing a RW version of splinter twin. Just for reference, splinter twin probably wouldn't be the best idea in here, but I titled the thread with "twin" because it's essentially the same combo, and it's how most people refer to the combo at this point. While I don't think purely based off combo, it would be the best idea, I do think with AVR a Naya aggro-combo splinter twin / kiki deck could be made. The main benefit of playing a deck like this vs. standard splinter twin would be that the deck can attack from both an aggro perspective as well as a comboo perspective. Furthermore, Restoration angel is a good creature on it's own outside of also being a combo piece with kiki jiki (unlike Exarch and Pestermite).
The main reason I think this is viable is that Restoration Angel Combos with Kiki Jiki in the same way that Deceiver Exarch combos out with splinter twin.
It's pretty self-explanatory, but here is how the combo works. Have Restoration angel + Kiki Jiki in play. Copy restoration angel with Kiki, when the copy comes into play, blink Kiki Jiki, which untaps it. Rinse, wash, repeat until you have infinite restoration angels.
What makes this a very strong deck (at the bare minimum based off theorycraft)
This deck basically sits as a cross-section of three powerful strategies.
This is essentially one part Melira-Pod, One part Splinter Twin Combo, and One part Naya Aggro.
-When comparing it to Splinter twin combo, it's much less straightforward, and while it's not as consistent at "comboing" out by turn 4, it also can't be hated out as easily as twin combo would be.
-When comparing this to Melira pod, this has a comparatively stronger aggro component, and the main combo of the deck requires only two cards to win on the spot as opposed to the 3 card combo melira requires.
-When comparing this to both Melira AND splinter Twin, there are very few dead creatures in here. Outside the combo itself, viscera seer and melira are pretty awful, but the combo pieces in Aggro-Twin are individually powerful cards (restoration angel and Kiki Jiki) plus have synergy with other cards in the deck outside the combo itself.
-Finally, when comparing this to a naya mid-range aggro deck, it's likely not as purely aggressive from an aggro standpoint, but very few of the creatures in here are bad from an aggro perspective. It's very common just to win the game from a curve of t1 hierarch into t2 Silverblade Paladin, followed by a turn 3 Avalanche riders (just as an example).
I think ideally you would want a few more blink targets for Restoration Angel and a few more silver bullets. But I do think it's a good start for a deck like this.
I love the idea.. I must say Naya sounds much more appealing to me than Izzet.
I wonder though, is Vengevine really necessary? And you're definitely going to need some form of utility in there. Maybe some combination of Path to Exile and Lightning Helix.
Vine isn't necessary, but It's a great card that's pretty underused in modern. Vengevine is a card that simply causes problems for the "fair" decks in modern, and if you're playing aggro, playing lots of creatures, and playing fauna shaman, it just seems like a natural fit.
Another benefit of VV is that opponents will board in extra creature removal against a deck like this, and Vengevine circumvents that problem in that it's resilient to removal upon recursion. The big thing is that the vengevine aspect of this deck requires a different type of hate than the combo aspect requires, making it very difficult to gameplan against.
That being said, I do like the pod idea, as that seems a natural way to play this as well, although it does seem much less "aggro" than a fauna shaman variant (although it has it's obvious advantages).
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Now you're making me brew a Naya Twin Pod deck. Kiki-Jiki, Restoration Angel, Village Bell-Ringer...and Zealous Conscripts. That new AVR card also combos with Kiki-Jiki and can do so even if Kiki-Jiki got stolen by Vedalken Shackles. (Gain control of Kiki-Jiki and untap him, Kiki-Jiki makes a new Conscripts, new Conscripts untaps Kiki-Jiki, etc.)
Seeing as the best combo pieces are 4 and 5 cmc, this necessitates a midrange build.
Nice catch on Restoration Angel comboing with Kiki-Jiki! At first, I just saw a bigger Flickerwisp, so I didn't see that interaction.
EDIT: More fun stuff with Zealous Conscripts--Conscripts steals planeswalkers (especially those about to ultimate), Ulamog, maybe Emrakul (dang you, Time Walk upon being cast), Elesh Norn, and more. Conscripts stealing a creature, then Restoration Angel blinking it steals it permanently (but is rather mana-intensive).
Good find on the Zealous Conscripts! Can you think of a good 4-cost creature that can be abused (such as with Undying/Persist) so we can more reliably fetch the 5-drops needed to combo off?
Now I'm building Naya Twin Pod. One hilarious interaction I found is processing Kitchen Finks into Birthing Pod for Restoration Angel blinking Finks. This now searches out all the Restoration Angels in your deck. As the final touch, process Finks twice into two more 4-drops.
Now I'm building Naya Twin Pod. One hilarious interaction I found is processing Kitchen Finks into Birthing Pod for Restoration Angel blinking Finks. This now searches out all the Restoration Angels in your deck. As the final touch, process Finks twice into two more 4-drops.
It's this kind of interaction that's going to make this deck sweet. I'm really excited for this guys..
Murderous Redcap is probably a good inclusion, but maybe only as a 1-of (since we're not trying to combo off with him like in Melira).
Do you guys think Huntmaster of the Fells is good enough to make the cut? It's a staple in standard pod but I'm not sure if it does enough for us. His effect is pretty relevant but I don't see him ever transforming in this format honestly (or very rarely). But he could be a nice 4-drop to create some value and then get podded away for Kiki-Jiki.
The thing I'm really liking about this idea is that we have more than one way to combo off. If we're going to include Village Bell-Ringer, do you think we should include a couple copies of Splinter Twin as well?
No I think it's fine, I'm more concerned about our bad matchups like Affinity, so definitely add 1-2 Kataki to sideboard. Ethersworn Canonist probably too in the SB.
This deck is also kinda sweet since it dodges GY hate pretty well.
Ranger of Eos I think provides plenty of value for a 4 drop.
But what 1-drops are we tutoring with Ranger? Just mana dorks? I don't see many good options honestly.
I've always been a fan of grabbing Goblin Bushwhacker, especially in a deck with this many creatures. It's pretty useful for creating a quick alpha strike.
After a bit of testing, I do think that the pod variant is better than the fauna/vengevine version.
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What kind of mana base are you working with? I've been struggling with getting RRR when I need it to hardcast Kiki-Jiki. I've lost more than a few games when I had a combo enabler in play (Angel, Bell-Ringer, or Zealous Conscripts) but couldn't cast Kiki from my hand.
I don't understand.. Why does Noble Hierarch make the Ranger so much better? Where is the value? We don't need the pumps from Exalted because we're a combo deck, dealing lethal damage all in one turn. We don't need the pod fodder because we have nothing important at 2 CMC to pod into. Mind explaining?
Good call on the lands though. I'll try adding a couple Fire-Lit Thickets to my list.
I don't understand.. Why does Noble Hierarch make the Ranger so much better? Where is the value? We don't need the pumps from Exalted because we're a combo deck, dealing lethal damage all in one turn. We don't need the pod fodder because we have nothing important at 2 CMC to pod into. Mind explaining?
Good call on the lands though. I'll try adding a couple Fire-Lit Thickets to my list.
I think this ideally ends up being a mid-range aggro deck first with the option to win off a combo kill.
If you want to go all in on the combo aspect, you would probably be better off just playing UR twin. The advantage here is that opponents have to worry first about stopping an aggro attack, and second about losing to a combo after stopping the aggro part.
The advantage of this over a deck like Melira is that it's a 2 card combo as opposed to 3 card combo, and is similarly more aggressive in the early game than Melira is.
As for 2cmc targets to pod into, if you added relevant pod targets at 2 cmc, that wouldn't be the case where there was nothing to pod into. Right now, you're playing 4x Sylvan Ranger, which doesn't seem to make sense. I could see 1x ranger perhaps, but why not just play Viridian Emissary? Strangleroot geist comes to mind as a creature that's great w/ pod and also good in the aggro role. Geist also conveniently pods into Bell Ringer or Finks.
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cbus hits it on the head. The trade off between this and UR Twin is that this list has creatures that are much better on their own (Deceiver Exarch and Pestermite are decent, but they're no Restoration Angel)
We gain more flexibility because we can combo off if necessary but our cards actually DO something which is highly relevant against decks like Jund where if they strip out 1/2 of your combo, you're just stuck wishing and praying.
Also my point about Noble Hiearch is that we run restoration angel a 3/4 flyer which can swing for 5 in the air with exalted pumps
Even without pod targets in mind, everything in here is a pretty solid naya aggro drop with blink-able abilities. I liked adding Hound of Griselbrand in here as an undying pod target that also is a relatively decent aggro creature when played t3. Realm Razer is a great top end, and is quite helpful against any would-be Tron deck. Similarly, Avalance Riders serves to help vs. tron.
Thalias are necessary maindeck to combat combo decks, and most of the board is devoted to hating out other combo decks and affinity.
Realm Razer is devastating against control decks as well as tron. I don't love the avalanche riders in here, I think they should be relegated to the SB since only really want it for RG tron.
I think we could move one Thalia to the side. I'm also concerned about Strangleroot Geist with GG, are there other 2 drops we could run (aka Tarmogoyf? Damn he's expensive though or maybe Lotus Cobra)? Also I love Gavony Township and I think it's much better in a swarm type decks like ours.
Every looks pretty sweet some other options would be Linvala, Keeper of Silence against Melira. Knight of the Reliquary as a giant beatstick with possible SB options. Bloodbraid Elf because y'know, Bloodbraid Elf. Burning-Tree Shaman since he doesn't get a lot of love in Modern. Fauna Shaman as a 1/2 of as a backup Pod. Grand Abolisher to try and hose Faeries and maybe Aven Riftwatcher against Delver? Also you're missing a mandatory 1 of Kataki, War's Wage in the SB.
cbus05, you run 3 Thalias maindeck and 2 in the board. You may want to change that.
I'm not a fan of Silverblade Paladin in GW/x Pod decks. All he is is a beater, and he must be the end of a Pod chain. Finks is a beater that gains life and has Persist (Pod away), Strangleroot Geist is a beater that has Undying (Pod away), Knight of the Reliquary is a beater that is both graveyard (Bojuka Bog) and LD (Tectonic Edge) hate, and even Baneslayer Angel is a beater that turns around the RDW match-up. He definitely takes over ground (and air) battles, but I don't think raw beaters are what a GW/x Pod deck needs.
...That being said, I'm not a fan of Baneslayer Angel in GW/x Pod decks, either.
I really like Chord of Calling in Pod decks. I like being able to search for combo pieces or appropriate hate. I usually end up running fewer singleton targets because I try to fit in 3-4 Chords.
...So I ripped an RUG Twin Pod deck and swapped the blue cards for the much better white ones. It feels like there's less missing in Naya than RUG, which is why I'm for this deck, though I'm always tempted to splash a fourth colour.
This deck's curve goes pretty high--5 4-drops and 4 5-drops--so I find having 12 mana dorks (Lotus Cobra and Nest Invader count) is pretty good.
From testing, the W/x Tokens match-up blows Game 1 (they're disruptive enough and always one turn faster than you), so the Sulfur Elemental, Caldera Hellion, and Ulvenwald Tracker try really hard to fix that match-up. Ulvenwald Tracker's a little unreliable, though--sometimes, all you have is a 2/1 or mana dorks.
The issue with Chord is that it's slow. I think it's much better in Melira where their combo pieces cost 1,2,3. This deck is foremost a beatdown deck so 4 of chord seems wrong to me. Maybe 1-2 of but definitely not 4.
The problem with Burning Tree Shaman is that it prevents you from comboing as well since it's a universal effect, and given that this is a deck with a lot of activated abilities, i'm not sure if it's where I would want to be.
As for the Chord, I agree, maybe 1 chord would be okay, but it's not great in here since you would be using it to tutor out a 4-5 mana card. It's good in pod since it grabs either a 1, 2, or rarely a 3 mana card, but that's just not the case in here.
As for the 3 Thalias, well... I don't like losing to combo decks, and Thalia is good against just about any deck we would be bad against (outside perhaps affinity, although it's not even bad vs. affinity). The extra thalia in the board is an error, prob a typo.
Casting strangleroot has been pretty easy. If you have a mana dork and a green land source, you've already cast it, and considering most of the lands in here are green anyway, it's rather simple to do. On the rare occasion that you can't cast it turn 2, you can either cast another 2 drop on turn 2, or just wait a turn, which is still worth the upside of playing it in here.
As for your list Lectrys, I think playing lotus cobra in a 22 land deck seems like a mistake. I wouldn't play this with fewer than 24 lands in general, and even then, I don't really think Lotus Cobra is really where you want to be with this.
As much as I LOVE knight of the reliquary in general, I don't feel like I can fit Bojuka bog in the manabase efficiently, and I also don't really like him in a pod deck based off blink effects. It's not that it isn't an amazing creature, but it's just not that awesome in here in general. The reason I put Silverblade paladin in here was that it's good with restoration angel, a decent aggro 3 drop, and can do funny stuff with pod, especially off strangleroot geist (sac geist, grab paladin, then swing for 6 with geist seems at least "decent"). I'm tempted to play a singleton Mangara of Corondor in here as a universal catch-all answer. It can act as a slightly slower fulminator mage if necessary, it can exile emrakul, Karn, or any other problem card, and can also get double value off Restoration Angel.
I gotta say, I do like decks like this. It actually takes work to get "right" and figure out the best mix here.
Even if we're not casting instants/sorceries, our opponent most likely is.
Also Ancient Grudge over Kataki is still wrong to me (Kataki helps fight Etched Champion a lot better) and I love Linvala as a versatile answer to both Splinter Twin and Melira.
Interesting concept, and I was getting excited...at first. Then I realized this is hated by all of the same hate as pod/twin. Torpor Orb, Ghostly Prison are all over modern these days.
I think you'd be better off playing either pod or twin since those are most consistent, efficient and developed.
Interesting concept, and I was getting excited...at first. Then I realized this is hated by all of the same hate as pod/twin. Torpor Orb, Ghostly Prison are all over modern these days.
I think you'd be better off playing either pod or twin since those are most consistent, efficient and developed.
This isn't any worse vs. torpor orb or prison than twin or "pod" aka melira is.
Being honest, it's probably a lot better vs. prison than twin is, since it actually has the ability to win off attacking with just 1 creature per turn, and has maindeck hate.
Similarly, it's better vs. orb than Melira since... well same reason, you can still just win off turning creatures sideways.
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The main reason I think this is viable is that Restoration Angel Combos with Kiki Jiki in the same way that Deceiver Exarch combos out with splinter twin.
It's pretty self-explanatory, but here is how the combo works. Have Restoration angel + Kiki Jiki in play. Copy restoration angel with Kiki, when the copy comes into play, blink Kiki Jiki, which untaps it. Rinse, wash, repeat until you have infinite restoration angels.
What makes this a very strong deck (at the bare minimum based off theorycraft)
This deck basically sits as a cross-section of three powerful strategies.
This is essentially one part Melira-Pod, One part Splinter Twin Combo, and One part Naya Aggro.
-When comparing it to Splinter twin combo, it's much less straightforward, and while it's not as consistent at "comboing" out by turn 4, it also can't be hated out as easily as twin combo would be.
-When comparing this to Melira pod, this has a comparatively stronger aggro component, and the main combo of the deck requires only two cards to win on the spot as opposed to the 3 card combo melira requires.
-When comparing this to both Melira AND splinter Twin, there are very few dead creatures in here. Outside the combo itself, viscera seer and melira are pretty awful, but the combo pieces in Aggro-Twin are individually powerful cards (restoration angel and Kiki Jiki) plus have synergy with other cards in the deck outside the combo itself.
-Finally, when comparing this to a naya mid-range aggro deck, it's likely not as purely aggressive from an aggro standpoint, but very few of the creatures in here are bad from an aggro perspective. It's very common just to win the game from a curve of t1 hierarch into t2 Silverblade Paladin, followed by a turn 3 Avalanche riders (just as an example).
Mana Dorks
4x Noble Hierarch
4x Birds of Paradise
Other Creatures
3x Strangleroot Geist
3x Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
2x Kitchen Finks
3x Restoration Angel
2x Kiki Jiki, Mirror Breaker
Singleton Pod Targets
1x Blade Splicer
1x Silverblade Paladin
1x Qasali Pridemage
1x Avalanche Riders
1x Reveillark
1x Realm Razer
1x Zealous Conscripts
1x Hound of Griselbrand
1x Phyrexian Metamorph
1x Eternal Witness
4x Birthing Pod
Lands
4x Copperline Gorge
4x Arid Mesa
3x Fire-Lit Thicket
1x Forest
1x Mountain
1x Plains
2x Raging Ravine
1x Kessig Wolf Run
3x Razorverge Thicket
2x Sacred Foundry
2x Stomping Ground
1x Temple Garden
1x Verdant Catacombs
2x Relic of Progenitus
2x Ancient Grudge
1x Auriok Champion
2x Ethersworn Canonist
1x Fulminator Mage
1x Gaddock Teeg
2x Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
1x Magus of the Moon
1x Thrun, the Last Troll
1x Vithian Renegades
1x Obstinate Baloth
I think ideally you would want a few more blink targets for Restoration Angel and a few more silver bullets. But I do think it's a good start for a deck like this.
I wonder though, is Vengevine really necessary? And you're definitely going to need some form of utility in there. Maybe some combination of Path to Exile and Lightning Helix.
I'm thinking something like this
4 Noble Hierarch
4 Birds of Paradise
3 Fauna Shaman
3 Qasali Pridemage
2 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Kitchen Finks
1 Village Bell-Ringer
1 Eternal Witness
3 Restoration Angel
3 Huntmaster of the Fells
2 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
4 Birthing Pod
Instants (4):
3 Path to Exile
1 Congregation at Dawn
Lands (22):
4 Grove of the Burnwillows
4 Arid Mesa
3 Verdant Catacomb
1 Horizon Canopy
1 Temple Garden
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Stomping Ground
3 Forest
2 Mountain
2 Plains
Draft My Cube!
Another benefit of VV is that opponents will board in extra creature removal against a deck like this, and Vengevine circumvents that problem in that it's resilient to removal upon recursion. The big thing is that the vengevine aspect of this deck requires a different type of hate than the combo aspect requires, making it very difficult to gameplan against.
That being said, I do like the pod idea, as that seems a natural way to play this as well, although it does seem much less "aggro" than a fauna shaman variant (although it has it's obvious advantages).
Seeing as the best combo pieces are 4 and 5 cmc, this necessitates a midrange build.
Nice catch on Restoration Angel comboing with Kiki-Jiki! At first, I just saw a bigger Flickerwisp, so I didn't see that interaction.
EDIT: More fun stuff with Zealous Conscripts--Conscripts steals planeswalkers (especially those about to ultimate), Ulamog, maybe Emrakul (dang you, Time Walk upon being cast), Elesh Norn, and more. Conscripts stealing a creature, then Restoration Angel blinking it steals it permanently (but is rather mana-intensive).
Draft My Cube!
It's this kind of interaction that's going to make this deck sweet. I'm really excited for this guys..
Murderous Redcap is probably a good inclusion, but maybe only as a 1-of (since we're not trying to combo off with him like in Melira).
Do you guys think Huntmaster of the Fells is good enough to make the cut? It's a staple in standard pod but I'm not sure if it does enough for us. His effect is pretty relevant but I don't see him ever transforming in this format honestly (or very rarely). But he could be a nice 4-drop to create some value and then get podded away for Kiki-Jiki.
The thing I'm really liking about this idea is that we have more than one way to combo off. If we're going to include Village Bell-Ringer, do you think we should include a couple copies of Splinter Twin as well?
Draft My Cube!
This deck is also kinda sweet since it dodges GY hate pretty well.
Ranger of Eos I think provides plenty of value for a 4 drop.
Draft My Cube!
I've always been a fan of grabbing Goblin Bushwhacker, especially in a deck with this many creatures. It's pretty useful for creating a quick alpha strike.
After a bit of testing, I do think that the pod variant is better than the fauna/vengevine version.
My updated list:
4 Birds of Paradise
4 Sylvan Ranger
3 Qasali Pridemage
4 Kitchen Finks
1 Blade Splicer
1 Village Bell-Ringer
1 Eternal Witness
4 Restoration Angel
3 Huntmaster of the Fells
3 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
1 Zealous Conscripts
4 Birthing Pod
Instants (4):
4 Path to Exile
Lands (23):
4 Grove of the Burnwillows
4 Stomping Ground
4 Arid Mesa
2 Fire-Lit Thicket
2 Sacred Foundry
1 Temple Garden
1 Horizon Canopy
3 Mountain
1 Forest
1 Plains
Draft My Cube!
We most likely want Fire-Lit Thicket
Also Ranger of Eos gets exponentially better with Noble Hierarch in the list.
Good call on the lands though. I'll try adding a couple Fire-Lit Thickets to my list.
Draft My Cube!
I think this ideally ends up being a mid-range aggro deck first with the option to win off a combo kill.
If you want to go all in on the combo aspect, you would probably be better off just playing UR twin. The advantage here is that opponents have to worry first about stopping an aggro attack, and second about losing to a combo after stopping the aggro part.
The advantage of this over a deck like Melira is that it's a 2 card combo as opposed to 3 card combo, and is similarly more aggressive in the early game than Melira is.
As for 2cmc targets to pod into, if you added relevant pod targets at 2 cmc, that wouldn't be the case where there was nothing to pod into. Right now, you're playing 4x Sylvan Ranger, which doesn't seem to make sense. I could see 1x ranger perhaps, but why not just play Viridian Emissary? Strangleroot geist comes to mind as a creature that's great w/ pod and also good in the aggro role. Geist also conveniently pods into Bell Ringer or Finks.
We gain more flexibility because we can combo off if necessary but our cards actually DO something which is highly relevant against decks like Jund where if they strip out 1/2 of your combo, you're just stuck wishing and praying.
Also my point about Noble Hiearch is that we run restoration angel a 3/4 flyer which can swing for 5 in the air with exalted pumps
Even without pod targets in mind, everything in here is a pretty solid naya aggro drop with blink-able abilities. I liked adding Hound of Griselbrand in here as an undying pod target that also is a relatively decent aggro creature when played t3. Realm Razer is a great top end, and is quite helpful against any would-be Tron deck. Similarly, Avalance Riders serves to help vs. tron.
Thalias are necessary maindeck to combat combo decks, and most of the board is devoted to hating out other combo decks and affinity.
Mana Dorks
4x Noble Hierarch
4x Birds of Paradise
Other Creatures
3x Strangleroot Geist
3x Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
2x Kitchen Finks
3x Restoration Angel
2x Kiki Jiki, Mirror Breaker
Singleton Pod Targets
1x Blade Splicer
1x Silverblade Paladin
1x Qasali Pridemage
1x Avalanche Riders
1x Reveillark
1x Realm Razer
1x Zealous Conscripts
1x Hound of Griselbrand
1x Phyrexian Metamorph
1x Eternal Witness
4x Birthing Pod
Lands
4x Copperline Gorge
4x Arid Mesa
3x Fire-Lit Thicket
1x Forest
1x Mountain
1x Plains
2x Raging Ravine
1x Kessig Wolf Run
3x Razorverge Thicket
2x Sacred Foundry
2x Stomping Ground
1x Temple Garden
1x Verdant Catacombs
2x Relic of Progenitus
2x Ancient Grudge
1x Auriok Champion
2x Ethersworn Canonist
1x Fulminator Mage
1x Gaddock Teeg
2x Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
1x Magus of the Moon
1x Thrun, the Last Troll
1x Vithian Renegades
1x Obstinate Baloth
I think we could move one Thalia to the side. I'm also concerned about Strangleroot Geist with GG, are there other 2 drops we could run (aka Tarmogoyf?
Every looks pretty sweet some other options would be Linvala, Keeper of Silence against Melira. Knight of the Reliquary as a giant beatstick with possible SB options. Bloodbraid Elf because y'know, Bloodbraid Elf. Burning-Tree Shaman since he doesn't get a lot of love in Modern. Fauna Shaman as a 1/2 of as a backup Pod. Grand Abolisher to try and hose Faeries and maybe Aven Riftwatcher against Delver? Also you're missing a mandatory 1 of Kataki, War's Wage in the SB.
I'm not a fan of Silverblade Paladin in GW/x Pod decks. All he is is a beater, and he must be the end of a Pod chain. Finks is a beater that gains life and has Persist (Pod away), Strangleroot Geist is a beater that has Undying (Pod away), Knight of the Reliquary is a beater that is both graveyard (Bojuka Bog) and LD (Tectonic Edge) hate, and even Baneslayer Angel is a beater that turns around the RDW match-up. He definitely takes over ground (and air) battles, but I don't think raw beaters are what a GW/x Pod deck needs.
...That being said, I'm not a fan of Baneslayer Angel in GW/x Pod decks, either.
I really like Chord of Calling in Pod decks. I like being able to search for combo pieces or appropriate hate. I usually end up running fewer singleton targets because I try to fit in 3-4 Chords.
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Okay, here's my current list:
1 Dryad Arbor
1 Fire-Lit Thicket
1 Horizon Canopy
1 Gavony Township
1 Tectonic Edge
3 Arid Mesa
3 Verdant Catacombs
2 Misty Rainforest
2 Temple Garden
2 Stomping Ground
2 Sacred Foundry
1 Forest
1 Plains
1 Mountain
Creatures
4 Birds of Paradise
3 Noble Hierarch
4 Lotus Cobra
1 Nest Invader
1 Village Bell-Ringer
3 Restoration Angel
1 Zealous Conscripts
2 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
3 Kitchen Finks
2 Huntmaster of the Fells
1 Eternal Witness
1 Reveillark
1 Knight of the Reliquary
1 Qasali Pridemage
1 Fulminator Mage
1 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Birthing Pod
4 Chord of Calling
1 Harmonic Sliver
1 Realm Razer
1 Obstinate Baloth
1 Ethersworn Canonist
1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
1 Spellskite
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
1 Caldera Hellion
1 Magus of the Moon
1 Kataki, War's Wage
1 Sulfur Elemental
1 Ulvenwald Tracker
1 Bojuka Bog
2 Path to Exile
...So I ripped an RUG Twin Pod deck and swapped the blue cards for the much better white ones. It feels like there's less missing in Naya than RUG, which is why I'm for this deck, though I'm always tempted to splash a fourth colour.
This deck's curve goes pretty high--5 4-drops and 4 5-drops--so I find having 12 mana dorks (Lotus Cobra and Nest Invader count) is pretty good.
From testing, the W/x Tokens match-up blows Game 1 (they're disruptive enough and always one turn faster than you), so the Sulfur Elemental, Caldera Hellion, and Ulvenwald Tracker try really hard to fix that match-up. Ulvenwald Tracker's a little unreliable, though--sometimes, all you have is a 2/1 or mana dorks.
As for the Chord, I agree, maybe 1 chord would be okay, but it's not great in here since you would be using it to tutor out a 4-5 mana card. It's good in pod since it grabs either a 1, 2, or rarely a 3 mana card, but that's just not the case in here.
As for the 3 Thalias, well... I don't like losing to combo decks, and Thalia is good against just about any deck we would be bad against (outside perhaps affinity, although it's not even bad vs. affinity). The extra thalia in the board is an error, prob a typo.
Casting strangleroot has been pretty easy. If you have a mana dork and a green land source, you've already cast it, and considering most of the lands in here are green anyway, it's rather simple to do. On the rare occasion that you can't cast it turn 2, you can either cast another 2 drop on turn 2, or just wait a turn, which is still worth the upside of playing it in here.
As for your list Lectrys, I think playing lotus cobra in a 22 land deck seems like a mistake. I wouldn't play this with fewer than 24 lands in general, and even then, I don't really think Lotus Cobra is really where you want to be with this.
As much as I LOVE knight of the reliquary in general, I don't feel like I can fit Bojuka bog in the manabase efficiently, and I also don't really like him in a pod deck based off blink effects. It's not that it isn't an amazing creature, but it's just not that awesome in here in general. The reason I put Silverblade paladin in here was that it's good with restoration angel, a decent aggro 3 drop, and can do funny stuff with pod, especially off strangleroot geist (sac geist, grab paladin, then swing for 6 with geist seems at least "decent"). I'm tempted to play a singleton Mangara of Corondor in here as a universal catch-all answer. It can act as a slightly slower fulminator mage if necessary, it can exile emrakul, Karn, or any other problem card, and can also get double value off Restoration Angel.
I gotta say, I do like decks like this. It actually takes work to get "right" and figure out the best mix here.
Even if we're not casting instants/sorceries, our opponent most likely is.
Also Ancient Grudge over Kataki is still wrong to me (Kataki helps fight Etched Champion a lot better) and I love Linvala as a versatile answer to both Splinter Twin and Melira.
I think you'd be better off playing either pod or twin since those are most consistent, efficient and developed.
This isn't any worse vs. torpor orb or prison than twin or "pod" aka melira is.
Being honest, it's probably a lot better vs. prison than twin is, since it actually has the ability to win off attacking with just 1 creature per turn, and has maindeck hate.
Similarly, it's better vs. orb than Melira since... well same reason, you can still just win off turning creatures sideways.