It's been 9 years since Birthing Pod was banned in Modern in 2015, and it's still one of the most iconic cards of the old format. It was possible to play it in two versions:
- Melira Pod, assembling the infinite combo consisting of: Melira, Sylvok Outcast (later replaced by Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit) + Viscera Seer + Kitchen Finks / Murderous Redcap;
- Kiki Pod, creating infinite copies of Restoration Angel thanks to Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker.
However the most scary thing about this card was the potential impact on the future of MTG, because the printing of each new stronger creature would end up strengthening Birthing Pod and its deck. And that's what happened with Khans of Tarkir with the arrival of Siege Rhino, which even managed to take the place of the persist combo thanks to its value alone. It was the straw that broke the camel's back and Birthing Pod was banned.
I know, today it's funny to remember this happened for Siege Rhino, which is no longer even played, but, for those who didn't live through those times and have no idea, it was probably comparable to Sheoldred, the Apocalypse in Standard last year, in terms of strength and oppressiveness.
Since then, there have been many attempts to replicate this artifact, but we can say they have been rather unsuccessful: Prime Speaker Vannifar, Pyre of Heroes, Evolving Door, Spawning Pod, Synthesis Pod, up until the new Birthing Ritual with MH3.
Unfortunately or not, none of these turned out to be good enough to see much play, but due to nostalgia combined with curiosity I couldn't resist brewing my own Pod in Explorer...
Vannifar Combo
Vannifar is effectively a Pod with legs although it has 3 more disadvantages:
- dies from any creature removal spell, Fatal Push included;
- has summoning sickness, so you have to wait a long turn before to activate it;
- costs 4 mana with no possibility of reducing it with Phyrexian mana.
Starting from Vannifer's fragility, Agatha's Soul Cauldron doesn't help us to protect it, but to safeguard its ability which is what we care about, once it has been killed or discarded.
To stem the slowness, Tyvar, Jubilant Brawler comes to our aid, allowing us to activate all the abilities of the creatures as if they had haste. Vannifar will therefore be operational from the first moment like the original Birthing Pod, as well as all the other creatures with an activated ability, usually chosen with mana value of 2 or less so they can be milled and reanimated by the planeswalker himself.
Of course 4 mana is not a small amount and the mana dorks allow us to accelerate its entry on the battlefield and speed up the deck. Paradise Druid is a useful follow up when an Elf is killed, but above all it helps us to fix our mana in a manabase that as we will see is quite colorful.
Furthermore, thanks to 8x Llanowar Elves, it's possible to curve out with Tyvar, Jubilant Brawler turn 2 and Prime Speaker Vannifar turn 3, ready to activate its ability and... win the game on the spot! Yes, because Vannifar's single activation is usually enough to put a critical mass of creatures on the battlefield and win by attacking for lethal damage. But how?
Vannifar kicks off the combo by sacrificing 1-mana creature for Corridor Monitor. The latter untaps Vannifar who reactivates its ability by sacrificing Corridor Monitor for Extraction Specialist. Corridor Monitor returns to the battlefield, Vannifar untaps again and sacrifices it for another Extraction Specialist, repeating the process. Once finished, we move on to Glasspool Mimic copying Extraction Specialist, in order to have many creatures we can in play. The last step is just to sacrifice the Monitor for Imodane's Recruiter // Train Troops, which buffs our team but above all gives haste, allowing us to attack for lethal damage.
Rarely it can happen it's not lethal yet, but we can work for it by untapping Vannifar with Tyvar and sacrificing another 2-drop to tutor a 2nd Imodane's Recruiter or more simply casting it from the hand if drawn.
All that remains is to find a way to increase our chances of seeing Vannifar every game, and Fauna Shaman and Rona, Herald of Invasion // Rona, Tolarian Obliterator are suitable for this purpose and at the same time they work well with Tyvar, Jubilant Brawler.
Both allow us to discard Vannifar to take advantage of Agatha's Soul Cauldron, giving its ability to another piece without summoning sickness and comboing off on that same turn. Additionally, together with Vannifar, they allow us to have access to a small toolbox of creatures post-sideboard.
Sideboard
The first sideboard slot is for Jegantha, the Wellspring, our companion. Its usefulness is known: an extra 5/5 to cast when you have nothing better to do, but here it's important to note how with Tyvar it gives mana on the same turn it's played, and how it actually fixes the mana in cases we need it for casting a specific creature.
Fatal Push is the thing can give us a bit of hope against aggro, as well as Go for the Throat and Blot Out which are also specifically thought for MonoG Devotion and Rakdos Vampires. The latter in particular is a disastrous matchup because both Vein Ripper and Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet block our combo and must be removed.
Knight of Dusk's Shadow, doesn't allow to gain life and it's there for Amalia Combo and Angels when it happens.
Deep-Cavern Bat is also good against Amalia, but it's there especially for Control. Unfortunately, they have a too diversified department of wraths between: Temporary Lockdown, Supreme Verdict, Sunfall and Settle the Wreckage, so cards like Selfless Spirit are not effective and it's better to take action preemptively on the enemy hand.
Another piece to fight counter spells and make value is Voice of Resurgence, also useful against midrange. Let's not forget the deck has 4x Extraction Specialist by default and Voice is a great target for it outside of the combo.
Similarly, Scavenging Ooze can also be placed in attrition matchups, taking advantage of our many creatures fallen in battle, even if its main function is to eat some Arclight Phoenix.
Then if we want to empty the entire graveyard and be safe from Treasure Cruise, Tranquil Frillback is for us, in addition to a Naturalize effect and to give us life against aggro. Of course, it is possible to tutor it in play with Vannifar and pay the costs for the additional effects.
Knight of Autumn is similar to Frillback but more immediate, while Deputy of Detention is our removal with legs. Unfortunately I had to choose it over Skyclave Apparition to not give up Jegantha but, even though I think this is a worse card, it still has some upsides since it's not limited by the mana value 4 or less and removes all the same permanents in one shot, especially the tokens.
My last addition was Ertai Resurrected which replaced Ruthless Lawbringer since it didn't prove effective in removing both Vein Ripper and Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet. Here too I do not choose Ravenous Chupacabra to keep Jegantha, but I still find decent how Ertai can also be used against Control to protect yourself from the enemy wrath.
Gameplay
At this point I should have made you curious enough to want to see it in action, so here are some example games I played while trying it out:
Vs MonoB
Vs Angels
Vs Amalia Combo
Conclusions
The deck is definitely cool and is a breath of fresh air to get out of the usual boring archetypes of Pioneer or Explorer, but we have to keep our feet on the ground and face the harsh reality because unfortunately I have to tell you it's not too competitive.
If your interest is to win do not play this deck, while if instead you want to try something new or relive the vibes of Birthing Pod, as well as underpowered creatures that populated the Magic of the past, feel free to give it a try and have fun putting into play as many Extractor Specialists as you can!
