I still recommend a singleton Ranger of Eos. You might think about replacing Dismember, too; a singleton you can't tutor with Pod is just okay. Shriekmaw could be a reasonable replacement on budget. Finally, you might think about a Reveillark, which can recur your combo pieces since you tend to have fewer copies of them.
I think that's a fine list. I just want to clarify something. The point for my list is to get the dollars down though so that if somebody wanted to go from nothing to a deck quickly they can do that. If you're talking about what's "worth it," you have to have some context—worth it for what? My list is worth it for playing around, maybe getting familiar with the archetype in an FNM-like environment. It's not to take as a budget list to PTQ or even trying to win FNM-level events.
I see a lot of talk about the ground game, and I agree Pod wants a good ground game. The deck as it is maybe doesn't have the best GBw ground game, but it has some ground game and it gets you to the combo well.
I also want to stress that when you're aimed at making a basic Pod list to get you to the combo, Ranger of Eos really is the most exciting white card you can get—it easily finds a Viscera Seer and any other one-drop so that on the next turn you can Pod into a Melira.
What I really don't get is why you're all telling me to change the list by adding more money either directly or through the manabase to support white. The point for me was not to make the best deck for $125 or even to make the best one for $50, it was to make a passable Pod deck for as cheap as possible. Maybe if the posts were presented as, "Hey, here's level two," I would be a bit more appreciative, but I don't really appreciate, "Hey, skip that trash, do mine." That said, some of the specific card choice advice I have taken to heart; I'm thinking more about Wall of Roots and will definitely be replacing Fauna Shaman.
So for any reader, I would invite you to take these posts with a grain of salt. You can start from mysticc's list or anybody's list. That's fine. But don't feel like you need to start with any particular list. You can dip your toes in with mine, play it at some fun events or with your buds to learn how the deck works and what makes it tick. Then you can come back and follow other people's recommendations to ramp up before you jump into the most expensive versions. Or you can start with their recommendations; that's fine.
What would be a good a good answer to torpor orb in this? I'm thinking any green artifact hate (krosan's grip, naturalize, ancient grudge) but I am thinking the deck needs other answers.
Other than that, Qasali Pridemage's naturalize comes on an activated ability.
Thanks Vilgan and Phoenios. I understand those suggestions. For most of them, though, I would point out that they involve adding more white. I believe that adding more white would require putting duals in the manabase, and that's not what I'm after with this list. If somebody wanted to start with a $100-150 version, they should seriously consider all of those things. What I would really recommend is that people start with my list and then if they like it add more white over time. Step one would be the suggestions you all point out.
One that I really do like is taking out Fauna Shaman for something. I agree that it often feels slow and unhelpful, dies to removal without adding any advantage, and rarely makes for a good Pod target. I'll be on the lookout for 2-drops mainly in green but maybe in black that would be more helpful. Qasali might end up being that, but I really don't want something at white at 2 for CMC.
EDIT: Sajrajt, thanks for pointing out Reveillark. The bird appears to have dropped in price a bit since MoMa, so I'll start looking at that in the 5 CMC slot. At higher CMCs, a single white mana is okay because the list plans to either pod into that or to have a single Plains out from draw/Wilds/Farhaven/Pilgrim.
Modern Masters has shifted some prices, especially prices for Kitchen Finks. Also note that this budget deck's strategy has been to absolutely minimize white cards. I theorize that you can make up for not having a strong fetch/shock manabase by practically dropping to a two-color deck, and white's contributions to Melira Pod in particular mainly come from things that can usually be grabbed by podding. With that, I've dropped some of the duals because they're unnecessary for consistency in this list. I've replaced the awkward Aven Riftwatcher/Rendclaw Trow split with the now cheaper Finks. I briefly considered Cartel Aristocrat in a two-mana slot, but the deck's insistence on minimizing white means it's not really a good option unless the player wants to shell out for a more expensive manabase. Altogether, the current list sits at around $55-60 on tcgplayer with optimizer. That's about $15 higher than the list in the OP, but the Finks in the list make all the difference and will probably never be lower than the $4-5 they're at now.
I received a question a while back about how I would change the deck if I had an additional $50 for the budget. I would automatically put in a playset of Kitchen Finks in place of Aven Riftwatcher and Rendclaw Trow.
Also, in the current list, I dropped the ~$1.50ish duals for basics as I found the mana dorks and Evolving Wilds alone kept me from having mana problems 95% of the time:
It's pretty easy to change that up for budget duals, though—drop a Plains and a Forest for two GW duals; drop a swamp and a forest for two GB duals; turn one or two Swamps into Caves of Koilos; try to keep at least one basic Plains and two basic Swamps; etc.
Hope that helps anybody thinking about budget Melira Pod.
Wow, that's great for a $45 list! Have any thoughts after the experience - anything you hated seeing, anything that should get upped, holes where a new card needs added, etc.?
Given the down opinions on Rendclaw Trow, I also wonder about your thoughts on him in particular.
I'd drop the Rendclaw Traws for Strangleroot Geist. Lower on your curve, they haste, and get you your Riftwatchers through Pod. I'd drop Gravedigger for Entomber Exarch; same cmc, outright better. Drop Farhaven elf for Blade Splicer asap. Switch out safehold elite for qasali pridemage. More removal and it swings for 3.
When I get back from my stuff today, I'll post my list. It's not budget, but you can see what kinds of mechanics are useful to emulate with budget cards.
Thanks for your input! I hope I don't come across as unappreciative given my responses to most of your advice, but I think my responses are well-reasoned and justified by the time I've sunk playing with the list.
On Strangleroot Geist vs Rendclaw Trow, the troll is better in this list because I need persist fodder at 3CMC to get out Ranger of Eos and Murderous Redcap. Like I said in OP, Rendclaw Trow is my Kitchen Finks, and that's key to Melira Pod. So probably not on Geist. I do have a singleton Safehold Elite at 2CMC, but I like it more than Geist because of the potential for an infinite topdeck cycle combo with Seer/Melira and less mana-intensity.
On Gravedigger vs Entomber Exarch, good spot. My only hesitation is the double-black since I find myself hardcasting Gravedigger relatively often, so the casting cost might be more problematic than what it's worth to get the duress option. I'll try it out to see.
On Farhaven Elf vs Blade Splicer, probably not. I already tried Blade Splicer and didn't get that much extra good out of it over Trow (given that we're talking about podding into these), and on the Elf slot I really need the mana fixing sometimes. Further, it helps to avoid white mana symbols when you're not on a fetch/shock base. I know this weakens my list's ability to play beatdown or block, but it's the price paid for stabilizing the manabase.
On Safehold Elite vs Qasali Pridemage, I like having a persist option at 2CMC, and I've already had enough naturalize while testing Harmonic Sliver and Acidic Slime. It hurts my attacking, but it's better for blocking and podding.
Thanks for offering to post your list, but I'm pretty good at reading and found primers and other lists around for what effects I need, so I think if you read again the list I posted I've got most of the "mechanics [ ] useful to emulate" (for a budget list) in there.
Thanks for posting your list. I feel like sleeving this up now, and seeing how well it works
This isn't something that will win you a Modern PTQ, but it's something I'll be proud to take to casual games or maybe a Modern FNM in relatively affordable fashion.
Let me know if you end up playing with something similar and what does/doesn't work.
The mana is key. Now that you mention it, I do tend to roll my eyes when I see Llanowar Elves come up, so I'll try dropping the last copy. I'll keep looking over the dual list on the Wiki.
Are you interested in trying out modern or a new deck in modern without spending $500 or more? Are you tired of people telling you to try out tron—or did you try it and not like it? Melira Pod might be the deck for you.
Melira Pod centers on the interactions between sacrifice outlets like Viscera Seer, persist creatures like Kitchen Finks, and Melira, Sylvok Outcast. If you sacrifice a persist creature, the -1/-1 counter won't serve to mess up your creature because of Melira, meaning you can sacrifice the persist creature as many times as you like. With Finks, that means infinite life; with Murderous Redcap, that means infinite damage and a game won.
The other piece of the puzzle is Birthing Pod, which can be instrumental in assembling the pieces to this hilarious infinite combo.
Most Melira Pod decks are a three-plus color affair involving a very expensive fetch/shock manabase and only the best singles. And that makes sense for the most dedicated Pod players among us. But I wanted to make a passable Melira Pod deck without busting out the Benjamins. I think I succeeded; the recommended list below sits at around $55-60 at the time of writing, and it's not terrible.
Hope this gives you a good starting point for dipping your toes in modern or in Melira Pod. My purpose here hasn't been to be on the bleeding edge; it's to give you the best starting point possible. So from here you can start adding in more interesting tricks or diversifying your colors as you want.
Let me know your suggestions or ask away if you have any questions on card choices or interactions!
The Suggested Budget List
The most significant obstacle for developing a budget version of Melira Pod involved getting the manabase right. My theory for solving this problem is to make the deck almost completely a two-color affair rather than a three-plus color affair. Essentially, by focusing on black and green, I can seriously restrict white's presence in the manabase. And it just turns out that we have a way to get around basically all color costs: Birthing Pod. So the white things we do have can generally be fetched with Pod. Thus, after tirelessly surveying basically every candidate for every slot in a traditional Pod list (and updating over time), I came up with the following list. Tcgplayer with optimization puts the list in the $55-60 range right now. Originally I had posted a ~$45 list, but after Kitchen Finks had a price drop from Modern Masters I decided to bring him in—he's a great addition and will probably never be cheaper than right now.
Any good ideas in the 3ish range that does lifegain or otherwise stalls aggro without being $8 like Kitchen Finks? I've got a singleton Aven Riftwatcher when the lifegain is necessary, but that guy leaves something to be desired; I've got a few Rendclaw Trows for the persist side of Finks.
I tried Blade Splicer also per mordath's advice. I found that sometimes I need life gain straight up and that Aven Riftwatcher does that better; other times I need persist, e.g. for Birthing Pod, which Rendclaw Trow is better at; and, other times I need blocker, which Blade Splicer does better at. After some testing I decided that Trow can still block even if not quite as well as Splicer but that the persist at 3CMC is vital for birthing. So I kept the same 3-1 Trow/Aven split for the Kitchen Finks slot.
Finally, note that an important part of the manabase for the list is keeping white mana symbols low. There are basically three symbols in the whole list: Harmonic Sliver, Ranger of Eos, and Aven Riftwatcher. Those are all cards I'd prefer to Birthing Pod tutor rather than cast. With so few white symbols, the Avacyn's Pilgrims and Brushlands are "just in case."
So the mana symbols comes down to being mainly BG, which is why it can consistently work without a fetch/shock base.
Still, if anybody has any suggestions, open to hearing them.
I see a lot of talk about the ground game, and I agree Pod wants a good ground game. The deck as it is maybe doesn't have the best GBw ground game, but it has some ground game and it gets you to the combo well.
I also want to stress that when you're aimed at making a basic Pod list to get you to the combo, Ranger of Eos really is the most exciting white card you can get—it easily finds a Viscera Seer and any other one-drop so that on the next turn you can Pod into a Melira.
What I really don't get is why you're all telling me to change the list by adding more money either directly or through the manabase to support white. The point for me was not to make the best deck for $125 or even to make the best one for $50, it was to make a passable Pod deck for as cheap as possible. Maybe if the posts were presented as, "Hey, here's level two," I would be a bit more appreciative, but I don't really appreciate, "Hey, skip that trash, do mine." That said, some of the specific card choice advice I have taken to heart; I'm thinking more about Wall of Roots and will definitely be replacing Fauna Shaman.
So for any reader, I would invite you to take these posts with a grain of salt. You can start from mysticc's list or anybody's list. That's fine. But don't feel like you need to start with any particular list. You can dip your toes in with mine, play it at some fun events or with your buds to learn how the deck works and what makes it tick. Then you can come back and follow other people's recommendations to ramp up before you jump into the most expensive versions. Or you can start with their recommendations; that's fine.
Other than that, Qasali Pridemage's naturalize comes on an activated ability.
One that I really do like is taking out Fauna Shaman for something. I agree that it often feels slow and unhelpful, dies to removal without adding any advantage, and rarely makes for a good Pod target. I'll be on the lookout for 2-drops mainly in green but maybe in black that would be more helpful. Qasali might end up being that, but I really don't want something at white at 2 for CMC.
EDIT: Sajrajt, thanks for pointing out Reveillark. The bird appears to have dropped in price a bit since MoMa, so I'll start looking at that in the 5 CMC slot. At higher CMCs, a single white mana is okay because the list plans to either pod into that or to have a single Plains out from draw/Wilds/Farhaven/Pilgrim.
1 Acidic Slime
2 Avacyn’s Pilgrim
3 Elves of Deep Shadow
1 Eternal Witness
2 Farhaven Elf
1 Fauna Shaman
1 Gravedigger
1 Harmonic Sliver
4 Kitchen Finks
4 Melira, Sylvok Outcast
2 Murderous Redcap
1 Ranger of Eos
1 Safehold Elite
2 Shriekmaw
3 Viscera Seer
3 Wall of Roots
4 Birthing Pod
Lands 24
2 Evolving Wilds
13 Forest
2 Plains
7 Swamp
Also, in the current list, I dropped the ~$1.50ish duals for basics as I found the mana dorks and Evolving Wilds alone kept me from having mana problems 95% of the time:
13x Forest
7x Swamp
2x Plains
2x Evolving Wilds
It's pretty easy to change that up for budget duals, though—drop a Plains and a Forest for two GW duals; drop a swamp and a forest for two GB duals; turn one or two Swamps into Caves of Koilos; try to keep at least one basic Plains and two basic Swamps; etc.
Hope that helps anybody thinking about budget Melira Pod.
Given the down opinions on Rendclaw Trow, I also wonder about your thoughts on him in particular.
Anyway, sounds like you had fun, gj on piloting.
Thanks for your input! I hope I don't come across as unappreciative given my responses to most of your advice, but I think my responses are well-reasoned and justified by the time I've sunk playing with the list.
On Strangleroot Geist vs Rendclaw Trow, the troll is better in this list because I need persist fodder at 3CMC to get out Ranger of Eos and Murderous Redcap. Like I said in OP, Rendclaw Trow is my Kitchen Finks, and that's key to Melira Pod. So probably not on Geist. I do have a singleton Safehold Elite at 2CMC, but I like it more than Geist because of the potential for an infinite topdeck cycle combo with Seer/Melira and less mana-intensity.
On Gravedigger vs Entomber Exarch, good spot. My only hesitation is the double-black since I find myself hardcasting Gravedigger relatively often, so the casting cost might be more problematic than what it's worth to get the duress option. I'll try it out to see.
On Farhaven Elf vs Blade Splicer, probably not. I already tried Blade Splicer and didn't get that much extra good out of it over Trow (given that we're talking about podding into these), and on the Elf slot I really need the mana fixing sometimes. Further, it helps to avoid white mana symbols when you're not on a fetch/shock base. I know this weakens my list's ability to play beatdown or block, but it's the price paid for stabilizing the manabase.
On Safehold Elite vs Qasali Pridemage, I like having a persist option at 2CMC, and I've already had enough naturalize while testing Harmonic Sliver and Acidic Slime. It hurts my attacking, but it's better for blocking and podding.
Thanks for offering to post your list, but I'm pretty good at reading and found primers and other lists around for what effects I need, so I think if you read again the list I posted I've got most of the "mechanics [ ] useful to emulate" (for a budget list) in there.
This isn't something that will win you a Modern PTQ, but it's something I'll be proud to take to casual games or maybe a Modern FNM in relatively affordable fashion.
Let me know if you end up playing with something similar and what does/doesn't work.
The mana is key. Now that you mention it, I do tend to roll my eyes when I see Llanowar Elves come up, so I'll try dropping the last copy. I'll keep looking over the dual list on the Wiki.
Introduction
Are you interested in trying out modern or a new deck in modern without spending $500 or more? Are you tired of people telling you to try out tron—or did you try it and not like it? Melira Pod might be the deck for you.
Melira Pod centers on the interactions between sacrifice outlets like Viscera Seer, persist creatures like Kitchen Finks, and Melira, Sylvok Outcast. If you sacrifice a persist creature, the -1/-1 counter won't serve to mess up your creature because of Melira, meaning you can sacrifice the persist creature as many times as you like. With Finks, that means infinite life; with Murderous Redcap, that means infinite damage and a game won.
The other piece of the puzzle is Birthing Pod, which can be instrumental in assembling the pieces to this hilarious infinite combo.
Most Melira Pod decks are a three-plus color affair involving a very expensive fetch/shock manabase and only the best singles. And that makes sense for the most dedicated Pod players among us. But I wanted to make a passable Melira Pod deck without busting out the Benjamins. I think I succeeded; the recommended list below sits at around $55-60 at the time of writing, and it's not terrible.
Hope this gives you a good starting point for dipping your toes in modern or in Melira Pod. My purpose here hasn't been to be on the bleeding edge; it's to give you the best starting point possible. So from here you can start adding in more interesting tricks or diversifying your colors as you want.
Let me know your suggestions or ask away if you have any questions on card choices or interactions!
The Suggested Budget List
The most significant obstacle for developing a budget version of Melira Pod involved getting the manabase right. My theory for solving this problem is to make the deck almost completely a two-color affair rather than a three-plus color affair. Essentially, by focusing on black and green, I can seriously restrict white's presence in the manabase. And it just turns out that we have a way to get around basically all color costs: Birthing Pod. So the white things we do have can generally be fetched with Pod. Thus, after tirelessly surveying basically every candidate for every slot in a traditional Pod list (and updating over time), I came up with the following list. Tcgplayer with optimization puts the list in the $55-60 range right now. Originally I had posted a ~$45 list, but after Kitchen Finks had a price drop from Modern Masters I decided to bring him in—he's a great addition and will probably never be cheaper than right now.
1 Acidic Slime
2 Avacyn’s Pilgrim
3 Elves of Deep Shadow
1 Eternal Witness
2 Farhaven Elf
1 Fauna Shaman
1 Gravedigger
1 Harmonic Sliver
4 Kitchen Finks
4 Melira, Sylvok Outcast
2 Murderous Redcap
1 Ranger of Eos
1 Safehold Elite
2 Shriekmaw
3 Viscera Seer
3 Wall of Roots
4 Birthing Pod
Lands 24
2 Evolving Wilds
13 Forest
2 Plains
7 Swamp
Old Versions
Original Post
1x Acidic Slime
2x Avacyn's Pilgrim
1x Aven Riftwatcher
3x Elves of Deep Shadow
1x Eternal Witness
2x Farhaven Elf
1x Fauna Shaman
1x Gravedigger
1x Harmonic Sliver
4x Melira, Sylvok Outcast
2x Murderous Redcap
1x Ranger of Eos
3x Rendclaw Trow
1x Safehold Elite
2x Shriekmaw
3x Viscera Seer
3x Wall of Roots
2x Brushland
2x Evolving Wilds
11x Forest
3x Llanowar Wastes
1x Plains
5x Swamp
Artifact (4)
4x Birthing Pod
Here's what I'm wondering:
Any $1-2 duals other than the painlands that people recommend?
Any creature tutors to help Birthing Pod and Fauna Shaman that aren't $10 (as in Chord of Calling)?
Any good ideas in the 3ish range that does lifegain or otherwise stalls aggro without being $8 like Kitchen Finks? I've got a singleton Aven Riftwatcher when the lifegain is necessary, but that guy leaves something to be desired; I've got a few Rendclaw Trows for the persist side of Finks.
I tried Blade Splicer also per mordath's advice. I found that sometimes I need life gain straight up and that Aven Riftwatcher does that better; other times I need persist, e.g. for Birthing Pod, which Rendclaw Trow is better at; and, other times I need blocker, which Blade Splicer does better at. After some testing I decided that Trow can still block even if not quite as well as Splicer but that the persist at 3CMC is vital for birthing. So I kept the same 3-1 Trow/Aven split for the Kitchen Finks slot.
Finally, note that an important part of the manabase for the list is keeping white mana symbols low. There are basically three symbols in the whole list: Harmonic Sliver, Ranger of Eos, and Aven Riftwatcher. Those are all cards I'd prefer to Birthing Pod tutor rather than cast. With so few white symbols, the Avacyn's Pilgrims and Brushlands are "just in case."
So the mana symbols comes down to being mainly BG, which is why it can consistently work without a fetch/shock base.
Still, if anybody has any suggestions, open to hearing them.