Standard

A Token Innistrad Deck

I’ve finally decided to give Tezzeret a rest for a bit and try something new in standard. [Card]Ancient Grudge[/Card] is going to be a NIGHTMARE moving forward for any artifact based decks. It has been awhile since I shuffled up something that didn’t focus on getting a bunch of artifacts onto the board but with Innistrad revealed, one card in particular caught my eye: [Card]Parallel Lives[/Card].

Yes, that is half a [Card]Doubling Season[/Card] at a reduced cost. Let the Johnnies rejoice.

I immediately poured through Gatherer, looking at the token cards that could bust this wide open. [Card]White Sun’s Zenith[/Card] looked like a good choice, but the triple white seems so prohibitive. I started thinking about [Card]Blade Splicer[/Card] and [Card]Precursor Golem[/Card] and decided that a [Card]Birthing Pod[/Card] version of a token deck may actually work well with [Card]Parallel Lives[/Card]. Here’s my first pass at a post-Innistrad deck.

[Deck Title=Travis Hall – Parallel Pod]
[Lands]
4 Forest
1 Gavony Township
3 Hinterland Harbor
1 Island
2 Moorland Haunt
3 Plains
4 Razorverge Thicket
3 Seachrome Coast
3 Sunpetal Grove
[/Lands][Creatures]
1 Acidic Slime
4 Birds of Paradise
3 Blade Splicer
3 Doomed Traveler
1 Fiend Hunter
1 Geist of Saint Traft
2 Hero of Bladehold
1 Leonin Relic-Warder
1 Mentor of the Meek
2 Phantasmal Image
1 Precursor Golem
1 Spellskite
1 Sun Titan
1 Sylvok Replica
1 Viridian Emissary
[/Creatures][Spells]
2 Beast Within
4 Birthing Pod
1 Elspeth Tirel
2 Forbidden Alchemy
3 Parallel Lives
[/Spells][Sideboard]
1 Acidic Slime
1 Beast Within
2 Fiend Hunter
3 Purify the Grave
1 Sun Titan
4 Timely Reinforcements
1 Tree of Redemption
[/Sideboard][/Deck]

Why would you play this deck?

Well, friend, I’m glad you asked. I guess you won’t take “This looks fun as hell!” as an acceptable answer, so we’ll dig a little deeper. Birthing Pod has the potential to be the breakout card from New Phyrexia (and not just because of its rapidly rising price tag). It put up good results pre-rotation and loses one of its biggest enemies in Exarch Twin, post rotation.

Most of the cards in the deck are good enough to compete without the [Card]Birthing Pod[/Card]/[Card]Parallel Lives[/Card] engine. Turn 1 [Card]Birds of Paradise[/Card], turn 2 [Card]Blade Splicer[/Card], turn 3 [Card]Hero of Bladehold[/Card] is good enough to win a game on its own. Add a Birthing Pod or Parallel Lives and you get downright nutty results. The addition of Moorland Haunt and Gavony Township give the deck reach it didn’t have before.

The most damning thing about building a Pod deck is figuring out the right numbers for each card you want to include. It can be very metagame dependent. With that in mind, let’s look at some of the card choices I made for this initial brew.

[Card]Parallel Lives[/Card]: The card that inspired the deck. Wizards has given us so many good token makers in the last few sets, that I can’t see this not being a good card. As an enchantment, it’s a little harder to kill and it can be a “Do-Nothing” card that takes over a game. Sure, it may be terrible off the top late game but even a Sword without a creature to attach it to is terrible.

[Card]Birds of Paradise[/Card]: I really wanted this to be [Card]Avacyn’s Pilgrim[/Card], but I think the mana base really needs the additional versatility that the Birds provide.

[Card]Doomed Traveler[/Card]: This is the perfect card for a [Card]Birthing Pod[/Card]/[Card]Parallel Lives[/Card] intersection. It can give you value with combination or just serves as a great blocker in the early game. I’m gonna make a very bold statement (and a “could-be-very-embarrassing-in-the-future” statement) and say that this card has [Card]Squadron Hawk[/Card]-like potential in the right decks.

[Card]Geist of Saint Traft[/Card]: This guy is poised to be one of the breakout stars of the set. He doesn’t wade into battle well by himself and is horrible on defense but he does bring some pretty awesome friends to the party.

[Card]Blade Splicer[/Card]: A fine card on its own though it can get out of hand with [Card]Parallel Lives[/Card]. 7 power for 3 mana is nothing to disregard lightly.

[Card]Fiend Hunter[/Card]: A cheaper white [Card]Faceless Butcher[/Card]. I think we may see a lot of this guy in the next year.

[Card]Moorland Haunt[/Card]: This card and Parallel Lives could make their own deck. With [Card]Birthing Pod[/Card] fueling the graveyard, this can take over the long game. This is probably going to turn out to be one of the best cards in Innistrad.

[Card]Beast Within[/Card]: While a great card, it just gets so much better with [Card]Parallel Lives[/Card]. Trading a land for 2 3/3’s at instant speed makes me want to cackle.

[Card]Elspeth Tirel[/Card]: I keep flip-flopping on this or [Card]Garruk, Primal Hunter[/Card] or even [Card]Garruk Relentless[/Card] though I ultimately decided on Elspeth. The multiple creatures and life gain seem much better against aggro, and the ability to reset the board could be huge.

Other Cards to Consider

[Card]Jade Mage[/Card]: It seems like this would be a great trump for creature matchups, but I don’t think it fits well in this deck as the resident “Mana-Sink”.

[Card]Kessig Cagebreakers[/Card]: This was in an early version of the deck, but it seems like this would be replaced with [Card]Moorland Haunt[/Card] instead.

[Card]Acidic Slime[/Card]: Once I get a better feel for the metagame, I have a feeling I’ll be bringing in more copies of this guy.

[Card]Ponder[/Card]/[Card]Forbidden Alchemy[/Card]: I really, really miss [Card]Preordain[/Card], but I don’t know if either of these really helps the deck. Bant Pod may be the best “Ponder deck” because it gives you the additional avenues for shuffling. Forbidden Alchemy not only helps you find key cards, but also fills up the graveyard for Moorland Haunt. I’ve squeezed 2 Alchemy in to the main to test for now, but it may be that a full playset is necessary.

[Card]Mimic Vat[/Card]: This seems just silly with either Parallel Lives or Birthing Pod on the board, and it’s possible I should have one in the deck. With Parallel Lives, you get two tokens for double the fun. It may be too cute for this version, but it is definitely something I’m keeping my eye on.

[Card]Skaab Ruinator[/Card]: I get it, I really do. The guy is Dismember proof, huge and has flying. But, it seems like he’s only going to work if you Pod him out or if you get to the late game anyway (where he’ll have to contend with Titans and Sphinxes). I could be wrong, but I think an additional Blade Splicer is better in this deck. The Ruinator just seems a little overrated.

[Card]Archon of Justice[/Card]: I really, really wanted to fit one of these in the deck, but I just couldn’t find the room. With the increased focus on graveyards (and the return of Solar Flare) his exile ability is just going to get better.

I anticipate a lot of [Card]Tempered Steel[/Card], Mono-Red, and Solar Flare (kids just love to play with their new toys) at States this year. I think this deck could fight any of those. But, I may make adjustments as the tournament approaches and we get a better grasp of the meta.

However, if States were today, this is what I would take into battle. It provides a lot of flexibility, but it does require focus and practice. If you are considering playing Parallel Pod (or any Birthing Pod deck) I’d recommend getting the Sharpie out and proxying up a deck soon.

Next time, I hope to pique your interest with a truly Heartless deck. Until then, don’t hide your rogue brews in the shadows!

If you like my suggestions, you can follow me on Twitter: @travishall456. I throw around random observations and deck ideas every day.

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