Let’s get straight to it, shall we? As I alluded to in my article about GP Chicago last week, one of the decks I’ve been working on for GP Boston is a variation on LSV’s Angel Pod, which he played to a top-16 finish in the last Modern GP. Some people call the deck Melira-less Pod, because the deck was originally based on this deck:

[deck title=Melira Pod by Jacob Wilson at PT BNG]
[Creatures]
4 Birds of Paradise
3 Noble Hierarch
1 Viscera Seer
1 Melira, Sylvok Outcast
1 Qasali Pridemage
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Spellskite
2 Voice of Resurgence
2 Wall of Roots
1 Eternal Witness
4 Kitchen Finks
1 Orzhov Pontiff
2 Murderous Redcap
1 Ranger of Eos
1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
1 Reveillark
1 Shriekmaw
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
2 Abrupt Decay
4 Birthing Pod
3 Chord of Calling
[/Spells]
[Lands]
3 Forest
3 Gavony Township
1 Godless Shrine
4 Misty Rainforest
2 Overgrown Tomb
3 Razorverge Thicket
1 Swamp
1 Temple Garden
4 Verdant Catacombs
1 Woodland Cemetery
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Slaughter Pact
2 Path to Exile
4 Thoughtseize
1 Kataki, War’s Wage
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Voice of Resurgence
1 Harmonic Sliver
1 Sin Collector
1 Entomber Exarch
1 Obstinate Baloth
[/Sideboard]
[/deck]

This well known Modern deck at some point started incorporating the [card]Archangel of Thune[/card] + [card]Spike Feeder[/card] combo as an alternative to the Melira + [card]Viscera Seer[/card] + [card]Kitchen Finks[/card] combo, giving you two infinite life combos in the same deck (actually more, because you can also have [card]Archangel[/card] + [card]Viscera Seer[/card] + [card]Kitchen Finks[/card]). Then, LSV decided he didn’t like playing 1/1s for one and 2/2s for two, so he cut the Melira combo from the deck in favor of some more individually powerful creatures like [card]Restoration Angel[/card] and more disruption spells in the form of maindeck [card]Thoughtseize[/card]s and an extra [card]Abrupt Decay[/card]:

[deck title=Angel Pod by LSV at GP Minneapolis]
[Creatures]
4 Birds of Paradise
2 Noble Hierarch
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Spellskite
3 Voice of Resurgence
2 Wall of Roots
1 Eternal Witness
1 Harmonic Sliver
1 Kitchen Finks
1 Orzhov Pontiff
1 Sin Collector
1 Spike Feeder
1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
1 Murderous Redcap
1 Restoration Angel
1 Archangel of Thune
1 Reveillark
1 Shriekmaw
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
3 Thoughtseize
3 Abrupt Decay
4 Birthing Pod
2 Chord of Calling
[/Spells]
[Lands]
3 Forest
3 Gavony Township
1 Godless Shrine
2 Marsh Flats
2 Misty Rainforest
2 Overgrown Tomb
4 Razorverge Thicket
1 Swamp
1 Temple Garden
4 Verdant Catacombs
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Burrenton Forge-Tender
2 Path to Exile
1 Thoughtseize
1 Qasali Pridemage
2 Dismember
1 Aven Mindcensor
1 Eidolon of Rhetoric
2 Lingering Souls
2 Creeping Corrosion
1 Entomber Exarch
1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
[/Sideboard]
[/deck]

Basically, this deck is stronger against Twin, while being weaker to Affinity (hence the seemingly excessive sideboard hate). When I saw the above list, I was instantly sold. I was boarding out the Melira combo in many matches already, and Affinity was not very popular in my region. I played the deck in a few matches, was fairly satisfied, and then I stumbled upon this, which won a Premier event online:

[deck title=Kiki Pod by Lurgold]
[Creatures]
4 Birds of Paradise
4 Noble Hierarch
1 Spellskite
4 Wall of Omens
2 Wall of Roots
1 Deceiver Exarch
1 Eternal Witness
1 Kitchen Finks
4 Sea-Gate Oracle
1 Glen Elendra Archmage
1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
1 Murderous Redcap
3 Restoration Angel
1 Sower of Temptation
2 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
1 Zealous Conscripts
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
2 Path to Exile
4 Birthing Pod
[/Spells]
[Lands]
3 Arid Mesa
1 Breeding Pool
1 Forest
4 Grove of the Burnwillows
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Island
4 Misty Rainforest
1 Plains
1 Razorverge Thicket
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Steam Vents
2 Stomping Ground
1 Temple Garden
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Path to Exile
2 Ancient Grudge
1 Combust
1 Ethersworn Canonist
1 Kataki, War’s Wage
1 Momentary Blink
2 Negate
1 Qasali Pridemage
1 Fiery Justice
1 Eidolon of Rhetoric
1 Harmonic Sliver
1 Avalanche Riders
[/Sideboard]
[/deck]

See, I might like playing with all these green dorks, but I *really* like drawing cards. The [card]Wall of Omens[/card] and [card]Sea Gate Oracle[/card]s in this deck do a lot of work helping you find your best card in the deck: [card]Birthing Pod[/card]. They also make you better at fighting decks like Jund and UWR, with all their one-for-ones. And with Jund and BG seemingly on the rise, this might be a good direction to go.

The main problem with this deck, I think, is that you lose [card]Gavony Township[/card], and that your mana is still worse than in the average Kiki Pod deck. You are now a full on four-color deck that wants to have RRR available around turn five. That is quite something to ask from your manabase.

That is when I started thinking back to Angel Pod. With Melira gone, the combo in that deck is just green ([card]Spike Feeder[/card]) and white ([card]Archangel of Thune[/card]). That means, perhaps I could use that combo instead of the Kiki-Jiki + [card]Restoration Angel[/card] combo, and keep my manabase somewhat simpler. For example, how does this list look:

[deck title=Bant Angel Pod by Jay Lansdaal]
[Creatures]
4 Birds of Paradise
3 Noble Hierarch
1 Spellskite
4 Wall of Omens
2 Wall of Roots
1 Eternal Witness
1 Harmonic Sliver
1 Kitchen Finks
3 Sea-Gate Oracle
1 Spike Feeder
1 Glen Elendra Archmage
1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
3 Restoration Angel
1 Sower of Temptation
1 Venser, Shaper Savant
1 Archangel of Thune
1 Reveillark
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
2 Path to Exile
1 Spell Pierce
4 Birthing Pod
1 Chord of Calling
[/Spells]
[Lands]
2 Breeding Pool
2 Celestial Colonnade
3 Forest
1 Gavony Township
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Island
4 Misty Rainforest
3 Razorverge Thicket
2 Temple Garden
3 Verdant Catacombs
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Path to Exile
1 Hurkyl’s Recall
1 Kataki, War’s Wage
1 Momentary Blink
3 Negate
1 Qasali Pridemage
1 Aven Mindcensor
1 Eidolon of Rhetoric
1 Hushwing Gryff
1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
1 Fracturing Gust
1 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
[/Sideboard]
[/deck]

This deck is basically Kiki-Pod and Angel Pod spliced together, trying to take strong elements from each. It also plays a number of “surprise” cards, which make it really hard to play against. Trying to figure out possible lines your Pod opponent has available to him is already a huge pain, but imagine also having to worry about his plays on your turn aside from “what can he Chord for?” With a bunch of [card]Restoration Angel[/card]s, possible counter magic, and [card]Venser, Shaper Savant[/card], keeping up mana will prove to be a giant headache for your opponent. After sideboard, this can be the case even more, with additional counter magic, Teferi, [card]Momentary Blink[/card] and the hate birds all being potential additions.

Compared to the Melira-less Angel Pod, this deck is lighter on the combo hate, since it lacks [card]Abrupt Decay[/card] and [card]Thoughtseize[/card]. This means its Twin matchup is probably worse, but the sideboard should help there, and it’s not like you have no shot. You do gain Glen-Elendra Archmage and [card]Venser, Shaper Savant[/card] to help protect yourself (and the miser’s [card]Spell Pierce[/card]), and you still have Linvala and Paths, or [card]Harmonic Sliver[/card] + [card]Restoration Angel[/card] against [card]Splinter Twin[/card] itself. Out of the sideboard, M15’s Hushwing Gryff and the extra Linvala should be great, combined with the extra countermagic and disruption in the form of Paths and Negates.

What you gain over Angel Pod is better Jund, Tron, and control matchups. Your access to counter magic helps the Tron matchup quite a bit (mostly after sideboard), and [card]Sower of Temptation[/card] stealing [card]Wurmcoil Engine[/card] (or Emrakul with the help of [card]Restoration Angel[/card] if you live the dream) is not bad either. The [card]Wall of Omens[/card] and [card]Sea Gate Oracle[/card]s provide bodies and gas at the same time, which is great against decks, like Jund and UWR Control, that mainly one-for-one you with removal, like I mentioned earlier. They draw you into more creatures, all of which are big threats (even if they are 0/4s or 1/3s) because you can start Podding them into more threatening creatures. You also gain [card]Celestial Colonnade[/card], which is another way to alleviate flood and make your topdecks better.

The big advantage over Kiki-Pod is that your mana is a lot better, although I am skeptical if the loss of Kiki-Jiki himself is worth it. With the cantrip creatures, you want to be playing as many [card]Restoration Angel[/card]s as possible, and the best card to go with it is definitely the mirror-breaking goblin. Can we just get a 2UUU version in [card]Planar Chaos[/card] Redux? That’d be great.
I hope you liked this look at a somewhat different form of a tier-one deck, and hopefully it inspires you to try and find variants on your own favorite tier-one Modern deck. With a lot of the decks in Modern, there are many different builds possible that are strong in a different meta. Don’t just hold on to the accepted lists when you know that there has been a major shift towards one deck or another. While sometimes an extra sideboard card or two might do the trick, shifting your deck a little more substantially could surprise you with its effectiveness.

Jay Lansdaal
iLansdaal on Twitter and MTGO