Here is a quick tournament report on how I went with the recent M13 Gameday tournament here in Iloilo. Continuing the tradition with every new expansion, M13 Gamedays were scheduled on last weekend of August 4 to 5, 2012. We had our sked last August 4 & and the prizes were the foil cards for the top 8 and an M13 Gameday playmat for the champion.

The deck choice was quite the usual. I have been a big fan of Pod since Dark Ascension hit Standard, and the archetype being a Tier 1 deck in the current meta makes it a definite pick. I’ve been referring lately to Caleb Durward’s list and a detailed article reference from Craig Wescoe.

Here is the list I’ve played:

Naya Pod by Mark Ian Alloso
Maindeck
1 Acidic Slime
4 Avacyn’s Pilgrim
4 Birds of Paradise
4 Blade Splicer
2 Borderland Ranger
1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
2 Elvish Visionary
2 Huntmaster of the Fells
4 Restoration Angel
1 Sublime Archangel
1 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
1 Thragtusk
1 Wolfir Silverheart
1 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Zealous Conscripts

3 Birthing Pod
2 Bonfire of the Damned
1 Red Sun’s Zenith

3 Cavern of Souls
4 Copperline Gorge
4 Forest
4 Gavony Township
1 Mountain
2 Plains
4 Razorverge Thicket
1 Rootbound Crag
1 Sunpetal Grove

Sideboard
1 Ancient Grudge
2 Arc Trail
1 Celestial Purge
1 Combust
1 Crushing Vines
1 Day of Judgment
1 Dismember
2 Hero of Bladehold
1 Naturalize
1 Oblivion Ring
1 Spellskite
2 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben

A few “tech” I made is the use of Sublime Archangel. It acts as a mini-Silverheart that breaks creature stalls with Exalted. It can turn any lowly pilgrim into a dreaded attacker.

Also, I considered having one Spellskite in the sideboard specifically against Rancor. I noticed the only thing Dungrove becomes a threat is because of Trample and Rancor is the culprit. Spellskite can also protect Pod vs boarded hate and also your other critters from spot removals.

I’ve also reduced to one Thalia in the main as the local meta is now highly aggro-based.

The Matchups

The participants were about 18 players, with 5 rounds of Swiss. Here are the turn outs of my matches:

Round 1 vs Mono Black Control – Drew (1-1-1)

Round 2 vs Naya Aggro – Won (2-0)

Round 3 vs Dungrove Green – Won (2-1)

Round 4 vs RG Pod – Won (2-0)

Round 5 vs Delver – Intentionally Drew for the Top 8. (1-1-1)

I was already happy reaching this point. The top 8 were a variety of decks, including the usual Delver menace. I think there were about 5 different archetypes. So yeah, the top 8 matchup results:

Quarterfinals vs Solar Flare – Won (2-1)

Semifinals vs RG Aggro – Won (2-1)

Finals vs UW Delver – Won (2-0)

Overall, the deck turned out pretty fine though I found a few needed tweaks. First, the deck still needs ways to deal with flyers creature-wise even with the sideboard spells against flying. What I intend to do is to include a Stingerfling Spider on the board and maybe cut a Naturalize. Also if you have access to an additional 3rd Bonfire, I would recommend it rather than Arc Trails (though I am a personal fan of it).

To conclude, Naya Pod woud still be my recommended Pod build. It is consistent, flexible and can be tweaked according to meta. Just avoid your mana dorks getting shot in the gut.

Until next post.