Hi all. After the outcome of Grand Prix Kuala Lumpur, I am trying to relax myself on thinking about the Standard metagame. One reason is that I am waiting for goodies from the next expansion, Avacyn Restored which is to be released this month. But then again, the first Magic World Cup Qualifiers comes first so I had to somewhat prepare for that.
The recent weekend covered 3 Grand Prix including the Standard GP in Salt Lake City. Somewhat “new” or improved decks had emerged again, with Delver still dominating the format. Feels like Caw Blade era again isn’t it? The popularity of that Tier 1 deck is still there, but we won’t focus on that. What we will check is the update on Kibler’s Naya Aggro semi-pod list.
Here is the list from the SCG Invitational in Baltimore.
Maindeck
Artifacts
2 Birthing Pod
Artifact Creatures
2 Phyrexian Metamorph
Creatures
1 Acidic Slime
3 Avacyn’s Pilgrim
4 Birds of Paradise
4 Blade Splicer
1 Daybreak Ranger
1 Fiend Hunter
4 Huntmaster of the Fells
1 Inferno Titan
1 Llanowar Elves
4 Strangleroot Geist
1 Vorapede
Enchantments
2 Oblivion Ring
Legendary Creatures
2 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
Planeswalkers
2 Garruk Relentless
Sorceries
1 Green Sun’s Zenith
Basic Lands
6 Forest
1 Mountain
1 Plains
Lands
4 Copperline Gorge
3 Gavony Township
4 Razorverge Thicket
2 Rootbound Crag
3 Sunpetal Grove
Sideboard
1 Grafdigger’s Cage
3 Daybreak Ranger
2 Hero of Bladehold
2 Ancient Grudge
2 Celestial Purge
1 Combust
2 Ray of Revelation
2 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
According to the GP SLC coverage on the mothership, Kibler piloted the same deck archetype to make it on 33rd place. I am not sure though if the sideboards are the same, but I think a little adjustment should be made. Dungeon Geists are back on the spotlight for delver again so the deck should have immediate answers for that, aside from the lone Combust.
With that in mind, I made my version of the Naya Pseudo Pod with adjustments for White.
Maindeck
Artifacts
2 Birthing Pod
Artifact Creatures
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
Creatures
1 Acidic Slime
3 Avacyn’s Pilgrim
4 Birds of Paradise
3 Blade Splicer
1 Daybreak Ranger
1 Fiend Hunter
1 Hero of Bladehold
4 Huntmaster of the Fells
1 Inferno Titan
1 Llanowar Elves
1 Mirran Crusader
4 Strangleroot Geist
1 Vorapede
Enchantments
2 Oblivion Ring
Legendary Creatures
2 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
Planeswalkers
2 Garruk Relentless
Sorceries
1 Green Sun’s Zenith
Basic Lands
5 Forest
1 Mountain
2 Plains
Lands
4 Copperline Gorge
3 Gavony Township
4 Razorverge Thicket
2 Rootbound Crag
3 Sunpetal Grove
Sideboard
2 Daybreak Ranger
2 Hero of Bladehold
2 Ancient Grudge
2 Celestial Purge
1 Combust
1 Dismember
1 Oblivion Ring
2 Ray of Revelation
2 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
I think Green is very much supported already on the mana base so cutting a Forest to Plains would not affect it. The main decked Mirran Crusader is for mirror matchups and zombies, and Hero of Bladehold is important to push ahead against other aggro decks. Three Blade Splicers IMO is enough to support the Pod chain.
The new inclusions, the Dismember & Oblivion Ring are add-ups for immediate answers to threats. Though I’m considering a fourth o-ring, Dismember gives me an option to deal with Phyrexian Crusaders and other pro-White nuisance.
I am looking to pilot this deck on our next local tourney & hoping Kibler’s next article would discuss his sideboard in and outs. Guess I’ll just experiment on it.
Until next post!