I tried to remember everything as best as I can but if I played you and it was different fire away what really happened in the comments, I think its close enough
to show the choices and tactics in the games.
Decklist: https://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/4c-pod-finals-july-192021/?cb=1626828149
RD 1 4c lands 2-0
Game one: He wins the dice roll after I pull out my 5 lucky green dice and get skewered on poker dice.
I have an insane hand of elf, fetch x2, and Wrenn and Six. I get strip mined on his t2, I play W6, get back a fetch
then he plays witherbloom command and kills both W6 and elf. The gods of luck smiled on me when he missed third land drop,
I play some idiots while he misses land drops. when he finally hits third land drop I have a bunch of
low powered pod creatures in play, he plays crucible of worlds and strip mines all my lands but its slightly too late.
Game two: Also super interesting, I forget the deep ins and outs but he draws DT when he is way behind to even up the
game and make it really close.
This match up is really difficult from both sides, Pod tries to draw the game out but is weak to getting strip mine locked at any point
while the 4C lands deck is weak to the grindy style the pod deck can assume in this type of matchup.
RD 2 Lotus Goblins 2-1
This matchup was really weird, I won the two games where he had t1 lotus.
Game 1: He played lotus, goblin pile driver, and two 1/1s and pass.
I play Deathrite shaman and the little buddy essentially takes me home.
Game 2: He played a bunch of fast mana and bbqed me with stronger goblins.
Game 3: Im on the play with t1 shock land tapped and pass, he played t1 lotus, Krenko, I play t2 Sylvan Caryatid. He plays
t2 goblin guide, attack, reveal nothing, pass. My t3 I play Spellseeker, he lets it resolve, I get Bolt and pass.
We have a staring contest but I am casting spells while leaving red up and he isn’t so Eventually he has to scoop it up
to an overwhelming board of garbage Pod creatures. Nobody beats sylvan ranger.
RD 3 RUG Tempo 2-1
This match is extremely hard for RUG Tempo but we had some fun games nonetheless.
Game 1: I play elf and it doesn’t get bolted, were off to the races and I drown the board in value.
Game 2: He has the necessary early interaction and slows me down while playing threats, I am in a super tight spot
at 4 life with no creatures in play but I have survival and 6 tapped lands in play. He has hooting mandrills, a 4/5 tarmogoyf, and a 6/6 quirion dryad. I
untap, play 7th land activate survival for woodland bellower, activate pitching bellower karmic guide and cast karmic guide, get back bellower, bellower gets
knight of autumn and gains me 4 life. with the board filled we still have an interactive game where he has a few counters and burn spells and just
finishes me off with a pteramander and lightning strike before I can kill in my attack step. Super close game.
Game 3: Decently interesting game where I cast kiki with exarch and karakas in play into his 5 untapped mana, think for a bit and pass the turn because
I havent seen many removal spells yet this game (big misplay as there is basically no downside to just going for it here, I thought I would make him waste his mana
but if he just bolts it on my end step I dont achieve anything different than if I just go for the win anyways).
He wastelands my karakas then casts direfleet daredevil and casts the swords I cast on his goyf earlier
on my kiki and absolutely BBQs me. We go on to play a long game where I just loop karmic guide and reveillark to fill the board and end up killing
all his lands with goblin settler between two turns then attacking in the air to get passed a true name nemesis.
RD 4 Burn 2-1
Game 1: All the games were won or lost on razor thin margins, I love playing against burn, games always feel competitive.
He wins the dice roll and gets to me to a spot where I am at a decent life total, approx 8 and have the board locked up, I feel uneasy even though I
am in a decent spot so I play around price to progress by mostly wasting my turn to get knight of autumn in play,
he has it and exactsies me with price and another spell.
Game 2: I have a sylvan caryatid t2 that stops his attacks and stay at a decent life total. He ends up bricking on fourth land to kill me at 10 with exquisite firecraft,
shard volley and an attack from dreadhorde arcanist. He taps out to firecraft me and I Kiki on my turn.
Game 3: This game has a decently involved play. I will make a different post with a picture and a ‘whats the play’ so refer to that for this game.
Rd 5 Med Red 0-2
Game 1: He gets out early with a smugglers copter that chips away at my life and draws him into gas early on that I end up not recovering from fast enough
and die at exactly zero life between a hellrider chump attacking to get 1 damage in and putting me to 1 with roiling vortex in play while I have lethal on the
crack back.
Game 2: I keep a terrible 6 with aether vial. I think its fine because hes playing a lot of creatures with what seems like a slower goldfish.
I end up ripping yavimaya land with no other green sources to be able to play survival and activate it to vial a creature in to and stabilize the board. I
was suddenly way ahead in a game that was all but over but he has a leftover card from his one attack trigger with his robber of the rich that my hit finale of
devastation to get magus of the moon which left bolt as my only draw to put me in the game. I didnt draw it and extended the hand.
Felt amazing to pod again but the extra 6 points after survival and pod that I put in actively made my deck worse. Classic mistake, just play 4 points,
Live and learn. All my matches were interesting and could have gone either way.