“I find your lack of Faith disturbing.” Darth Vader
So what is Bx Devotion? We are a midrange to control deck that tries to use the power of Gray Merchant of Asphodel to win the game. For support we run powerful cards with lots of B symbols like Liliana of the Veil and Phyrexian Obliterator. Our creatures never stay dead, and our spells are as disruptive as our colors allow us to be. There is nothing we can’t kill, and (nearly) nothing we can’t make you discard.
Do you like Jund, BG Rock, and Junk? You'll probably be right at home here. Always wanted to Mono Black Control, or The Gate in Modern? We can scratch that itch too. We run lots of discard and spot removal effects, letting us control our opponents to great effect. Coupled with that, our creatures also are very resilient, turning off most removal. The game plan here is to grind into the late game, establish a board presence, and drop a large gary to ensure the victory.
If you want to win at instant speed, before turn four, this isn't the deck for you. But if you want to push the game to turn 10 and grind out wins, this is the deck for you.
All of our creatures are either recursive, discard outlets, or just big beaters. The one thing they all have in common is the B symbols.
Gravecrawler: My favorite recursive creature, a decent clock, and cheap to return if you have enough zombies to support him.
Bloodsoaked Champion: The second best creature we can run. Decent body for the cost, but much easier to return to the battlefield with few zombie.
Lotleth Troll: A discard outlet that grows our troll into a finisher with trample. Icing on the cake is that he is a Zombie. A reason to splash for green outside of Abrupt Decay.
Relentless Dead: Finally a mono black, two drop zombie Modern can really get behind. While it doesn't recur itself from the grave, in multiples, the guy can do just about anything. From enabling Gravecrawler, returning dead Gary's, blocking forever, or just getting in for two, this guy is great.
Geralf's Messenger: A three drop, who is over the curve, and gives the deck a bit of reach. His only downfall is never getting out of bolt range, and that he comes in tapped. Three devotion is a hard thing to get past I’ll admit.
Hidden Horror: Good body for the cost with a “drawback” this deck can really get behind.
Phyrexian Obliterator: Under the curve, trample, massive devotion, and nearly unblockable, un attackable, and un burnable. A great four drop option.
Kalitas, Traitor to Ghet. Finally, Obliterator has some competition. He improves our burn match up, and he can eat our 'Ghasts and Gravecrawlers to get bigger and bigger. Hunger for synergy, because I am.
Demigod of Revenge: The red splashes finisher of choice, if you can get several copies in your grave before you cast him, it's game over.
We have a lot of options here, tune your spells your individual meta games.
Discard Options
Thoughtseize: The best discard in modern if you can afford the life loss. Take nearly any card you want, and ruin plans.
Inquisition of Kozilek: The second best option we have. As long as it’s under three you can have it.
Duress: A decent discard option if your meta is burn heavy. Not as good as the other two options, but still pretty good.
Removal Options
Dismember: Sometimes losing four life is worth killing something. I typically have at least one in the side.
Bile Blight: Great for decks like tokens, and still is good at removing one medium sized creature.
Doom Blade: The old standard. If Junk or another black based deck is big in your meta I would look elsewhere, but Doom blade is a classic, and still powerful.
Go for the Throat: Doomblade 2.0. It does have it’s drawbacks, like Affinity. If Affinity is a local issue I would look else where, but this card is great.
Victim of Night: If you can stomach the double black cost, this is one of the best removal spells in the format. Unless you run into the rouge tribal build, it’s a solid main deck choice.
Geth's Verdict: Good against decks with few creatures, this is one of the best ways to get rid of indestructible creatures, or hexproof shroud guys. If there is a lot of creatures I would side this out.
Cruel Edict: Don't like the double black in Geth's Verdict? Well this is the card for you! You lose out on one damage, but this will still get the job done as long as there aren't to many tokens floating around.
Disfigure: Blacks best one drop removal. Gets a bit weak as the game goes long, but is great to have in the aggro match ups.
Darkblast: Like Disfigure, but can be used to bin your Bloodghasts and Gravecrawlers.
Abrupt Decay: The other reason to splash for green. If it’s three or under it’s yours, no two ways about it.
Maelstrom Pulse: Token hate in its finest, this is one of the more expensive, and more powerful removal spells you can have.
Slaughter Pact One of moderns more powerful spot removal spell, with this your opponents can never safely cast a creature. Just make sure you can pay for the upkeep cost.
Hero's Downfall: More expensive, but the ability to hit Karn and mean winning the game or losing. Consider if Tron players are an issue.
Terminate Great for red splash decks. One of moderns best two mana removal spells.
Lightning Bolt Yet another option for red splashes. One of the best options for one drop removal.
Utility Spells
Faithless Looting Repeatable card draw, and acts like a discard outlet. Solid for red splashes.
Golgari Charm: Serves three purposes, token hate, enchantment removal, and team regen. A great all-rounder spell.
Damnation: Plagiarism is the finest form of flattery right? Black getting it’s own Wrath of God is pretty sweet, and should be kept in mind.
Languish: Don't feel like paying for Damnation? Try Languish! While it doesn't kill some of the bigger creatures in the format, it can take out some of the midsized indestructible creatures.
Black Sun's Zenith: A good sweeper, if expensive to cast. To offset it’s somewhat expensive casting cost, if shuffles back into your deck (good for Liliana) and can be cast for amounts to not wipe your own board.
Profane Command: A great finisher when combined with Nykthos, this card can bring back a discarded Gary while draining your opponent of their last bit of life. Or it can allow for the Alpha strike you’ve needed while getting rid of otherwise indestructible creatures.
Kolaghan's Command A great role player for the red splash decks. It's first ability will be the one we use the most.
Collective Brutality: A great flexible card. Not worth it if you are only using one mode, but once you start discarding to activate it's other modes, it gets much better. As this deck enjoys discarding, it's a real option for us.
This section includes some of our most powerful spells we can drop. I would run at least three- five of these.
Liliana of the Veil: One of the best planeswalkers ever printed, she is a real powerhouse in this deck. Serving as a discard outlet for us, along with an edict and a win con, all in one attractive package.
Phyrexian Arena: Because most lists can't afford the life loss from Dark Confidant we get to use this. With two devotion, difficult to remove, and card draw at the low low price of one life per turn. Don't leave the home without it.
Grave Pact: Punish the opponents removal, and combos well with Viscera Seer. Three devotion is nothing to sneeze at either.
Whip of Erebos: A good option if you find yourself discarding Gary or Obliterator often. Or if your dredging a lot.
Tormod's Crypt: Free gravehate is always nice for the unknown metagames. Never forget there is always a storm player. Always.
Nihil Spellbomb: More gravehate + card draw, and can be used at instant speed.
Relic of Progenitus: Annnnnnnd more gravehate! Again this one has draw attached, but hits both yards. Limited use in this deck.
We can’t cast any of these cool spells without a good mana base. We have a lot of powerful options available to us below.
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth: Helps us stay on curve with all of our colored mana symbols and colorless lands.
Verdant Catacombs: Really it's fetch lands in general. Powers up Bloodghast, and fixes our colors if your running two color decks.
Mutavault: Turns up our clock, powers up Pack Rat and Gravecrawlers.
Bojuka Bog: Hate on combo decks, and other grave based decks.
Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx: More ramp than you’ll know what to do with. If you have room and creatures to abuse it with, it’s worth it.
Twilight Mire: The Black based filter lands are key if you are splashing a color in the deck, as hitting the correct colors in deck is extremely important.
Now on to deck lists. Below are the mono black and black green. If anyone would like to post a black blue, black red, or black white list I would gladly add it to the primer.
Mono Black
Genesis. Mono black is the most stream lined, and mana wise, constant. There are a lot of ways you could take this deck, from midrange to control. This is what I would start with, and change to your liking. This starter list has discard outlets for your creatures, a good number of recursive creatures, and solid finishers. The deck is resistant to most forms of spot removal and all non exile sweepers, making it a non issue as far as overextending goes, at least when it comes to board wipes. Grave hate isn't the end of the world for this deck, but it can hurt if timed correctly.
This deck can also lean heavily on tech and research from both 8 rack builds and MBC decks, as each are in depth looks into the viability of mono black decks. It's important to learn from the mistakes and successes of others, so study my friends.
Green splash
This deck focuses on a midrange strategy, trying to out grind and value out opponents at every turn. We get a great two drop in Lotleth Troll, and another one of the best control spells in modern with Abrupt Decay. The deck is very reliant on the synergy between Troll/Liliana+Gravecrawler/Bloodghast, aiming to cheat said creatures into play by first discarding them to our advantage, and some times, or opponent's disadvantage. This is also the only Bx devotion deck right now with the ability to run Dark Confidant, who can win games by himself. If you ever find yourself with half built Jund/Junk, and lost interest in the deck, give this a spin. Some would say we are playing a strictly worse BG rock, but they don't have a curve topper that can drain for 10+ mana when he comes down.
The new kid on the block, and pioneered by Goku890, this one is a bit different. It drops Gray Merchant in favor of the explosive Demigod of Revenge. It runs a combination of black and reds more aggressive and recursive threats with the eventual aim of getting a few 5/4 hasty flyers to beat face. The deck runs a similar amount of disruption as the other decks, so it can be extremely aggressive, or play the control role in match ups as needed.
This section is for alternative card choices, and splash cards.
Birds of Paradise: Mana fixing and ramp. Really good if you are in BG colors in the right meta games. If the meta goes grindy, the ramp can be enough to enable to really crazy lines of play.
Viscera Seer: If you want to get maximum value out of your recursive creatures, you can use Seer to set up the top of your deck, filtering your draws.
Dark Confidant: With some builds able to trim down the fat, a few select builds can afford to run Bob over Arena. While you do loose a devotion and it's easier to remove than Arena, it comes down a full turn earlier, which can make all the difference. Greatness at all costs.
Stromgald Crusader: A great devotion outlet that can turn into a win con if you also run Nykthos. Is also a zombie, which helps.
Gatekeeper of Malakir. Need an edict effect stapled on to a bear? This is your man! Coming in with two devotion is nice, but I would treat him like a three drop to get the most mileage out of him.
Vampire Hexmage: Are you having problems with planeswalkers? If so, here is your main lady. Taking down the Karns of the world, while leaving behind a bear that adds devotion.
Reassembling Skeleton: Another recursive creature, a bit weaker than our other options, but still usable.
Oona's Prowler: Like the idea of a 3 power flyer in black at two mana? How about adding a reusable discard outlet? If you said yes, and don't mind the small butt (hey that's the way some people like it) look no further.
Pack Rat: A great source of devotion, and a game ender. If you can find room in your mana base for Mutavaults this guy is a beast.
Asylum Visitor: Another great recent addition. An aggressive replacement to Phyrexian Arena or budget Bob with possible upside. If you are always finding yourself hellbent, or are able to get your opponent there, frequently, you may want to try this guy out.
Vampire Nighthawk: This guy has some of the best key words in magic, along with two devotion attached. The body leaves you wanting a little more, but it’s hard to go wrong with Flying, Deathtouch, Lifelink. Decent in the Burn match up.
Nightveil Specter: The RTR/Theros three drop of choice, it loses a bit of the shine in modern. Still it comes down with three devotion, and has a chance to gain card advantage. Loses in a lot of trades, but if you can reliably hit, he can do some work.
Stillmoon Cavalier: Provides two devotion, pro white and black, and has a nice suit of abilities. I like my three drops a bit stronger, but this guy is still pretty good.
Cunning Lethemancer: A budget option for Liliana, he provides a clock and a Global discard outlet that we are looking for. Can't take much of a hit, but will work on a budget.
Liliana, Heretical Healer/Liliana, Defiant Necromancer: Another great Liliana, and one with good synergy with the rest of the deck. Have yet to figure out how to really break the card, but she's certainty powerful.
Fulminator Mage: Our best out to land based decks. Provides two devotion while also putting a serious hurt of many decks.
Bitterblossom: A card that really hasn’t broken modern yet. A good source of devotion that supplies a near endless supply of blockers in the air. Could be really good in a meta infested with Lingering Souls.
Necrogen Mists: Want to play Liliana, but don't want to sacrifice you first born to a number of dark demons? This is you card! While you loose out on an Edict effect and a win con, you all you want is Global discard that is somewhat difficult to remove, you can't go wrong here.
Night of Souls' Betrayal: A much more expensive Illness in the Ranks that has a much wider AoE. Adds two devotion, and can really put a hamper on your enemies if you build your deck right.
Chalice of the Void: Set to zero, Affinity will have a huge problem, it’s one of my worst matchups so I run a few in my sideboard. Zombie heavy build can get the most mileage out of it if you run Cavern of Souls and name Zombie.
If you have color spashes, other creatures, spells or lands, or just general knowledge you’d like to add to the thread, just post it here, or PM me and I’ll add as I find the time. Here is the link to the old thread if you are feeling nostalgic, or just want to see past builds or theory on the deck. Welcome to the dark side, we have cookies.
One gary? That's insanity. I'd much rather have a higher count of Gary than any Demigods, but that's just me. His curve is strange two, Junk and Jund will out value him in the early game. He has an issue with UW control, which I don't, due to the one drops we run. Because there is a lack of recursive creatures counter really hurts him and he doesn't have a little guys beat down plan. I'm not a huge fan of Lash in the deck, just because the curve is so high, I'd rather early game action. I wonder what his plan is against Infect or Affinity, which should just trample all over him. Overall I don't like the deck at all, it's where I started building mine a year and a half ago, but I've feel like I've much improved since then.
This is great. Glad there is a new primer. You might want to mention Gatekeeper of Malakir in the "Other Card Choices" section. It's a good sources of devotion and does it's best Liliana of the Veil impression at fraction of the price.
This is great. Glad there is a new primer. You might want to mention Gatekeeper of Malakir in the "Other Card Choices" section. It's a good sources of devotion and does it's best Liliana of the Veil impression at fraction of the price.
Gatekeeer added! Thanks for the suggestion. I knew I was missing something but I couldn't remember what it was.
Would you ever consider Nightveil Specter over Vampire Nighthawk? One more devotion + something close to card advantage at the cost of deathtouch and lifelink.
You could run the Specter, but he shares a large issue with Nighthawk, in the low toughness. As much as I hate saying "dies to Lightning Bolt" it's still true, and it's a terrible thing for a three drop. Nighthawk makes up for it a little bit, by walling off any attacks until a removal spell is found. Nightveil doesn't, and if they aren't running like minded colors, his ability is as good a Mill (not good). If you have some hold overs from the last standard season, try them out, but I don't think they'll stick.
I can still add them to the primer post later tonight though, thanks for the suggestion, and welcome to Devotion!
I have an idea that I would at least find helpful. I was reading a random article about modern this week (http://www.channelfireball.com/articles/the-dredge-primer/) and at the end they had a really helpful sideboard guide. I'd love to see something similar here. You have a section where you talk about matchups (which is certainly helpful), but it would be awesome if you also included the main deck cards (from both mono-black and B/G) you think are the weakest in that matchup, and some possible sideboard cards that could be brought in. Obviously you don't have an actual 15-card sideboard listed, but that might even make things easier. You could just list any cards that might reasonably be in someone's sideboard.
I don't get to play Modern all that often, and am only somewhat familiar with the other decks and the best strategies to use against them. Something basic like this would be a huge benefit to me. It would help me critically evaluate/upgrade my sideboard based on the Modern meta in my area, and help me make decisions about the best thing to board out of my deck during any given matchup (something I always struggle with).
I have an idea that I would at least find helpful. I was reading a random article about modern this week (http://www.channelfireball.com/articles/the-dredge-primer/) and at the end they had a really helpful sideboard guide. I'd love to see something similar here. You have a section where you talk about matchups (which is certainly helpful), but it would be awesome if you also included the main deck cards (from both mono-black and B/G) you think are the weakest in that matchup, and some possible sideboard cards that could be brought in. Obviously you don't have an actual 15-card sideboard listed, but that might even make things easier. You could just list any cards that might reasonably be in someone's sideboard.
I don't get to play Modern all that often, and am only somewhat familiar with the other decks and the best strategies to use against them. Something basic like this would be a huge benefit to me. It would help me critically evaluate/upgrade my sideboard based on the Modern meta in my area, and help me make decisions about the best thing to board out of my deck during any given matchup (something I always struggle with).
I can start working on it for sure! It may take me a while, but I'll get working on it. Keep the suggestions coming!
The new exploit mechainic is right up our alley. Here's to hoping we get something worth playing.
I'm a little surprised Geralf's Messenger isn't on this list. 3 Devotion, ETB value, hard to remove, and aggressive. Also Gatekeeper of Malakir should almost be a staple in creature based matchups. I especially like him against Wurmcoil or Geist of Saint Traft. Its certainly got to be better than Stromgald Crusader.
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I'm a little surprised Geralf's Messenger isn't on this list. 3 Devotion, ETB value, hard to remove, and aggressive. Also Gatekeeper of Malakir should almost be a staple in creature based matchups. I especially like him against Wurmcoil or Geist of Saint Traft. Its certainly got to be better than Stromgald Crusader.
The biggest issue with the Messenger is that he can't block on turn three/four, depending on when you drop him. He is really good, but Bloodghast, Gravecrawler, and Nether Traitor all can't block, so it's important that we have some way to stop the bleeding. The messenger fails at doing this, instead opting for go for a more aggro approach. This would be fine in a deck that is more aggressive, but I tend to find the block more important than the shock.
Now all that being said, Messenger is still a card used by many, and remains popular, which is why I have him in the creature selection.
I personally prefer Underworld Connections but I run Liliana of the Dark Realms so having extra mana is normally not an issue. I also like that I have control over when I draw the card and you can minimize the impact of the mana cost by holding up mana for instant speed removal and then tapping to draw a card if you didn't need to cast anything.
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Ey guys, what do you think it's best: phyrexian arena or underworld connections? Arena doesn't make you play with one less mana each turn you want to draw extra, but it puts an innevitable clock on you, while underworld connections can be used or not as you like. Thoughts?
I much prefer Phyrexian Arena over Underworld Connections. The damage you take from arena is far out weighed by the cards drawn, and because our best threat typically gains us 8+ life, we are usually fine. Connections tying up a land for a draw is a big issue for me, as I tend to use all my mana from upkeep to upkeep. My Bg deck is super hard on it's mana base, so taping to draw can slow me down quite a bit.
I've got him in the other card choices. He is really good, as seen in standard, but I haven't been able to get him to work well yet. He wouldn't be bad in the mono black version, but you would have to cut some amount of your other utility lands in order to run more than 2 Mutavaults. My biggest point against him is to get to best value out of him you have to play him like a 5 drop.
I would run the split. It's better to have your lands come in untapped early rather than late IMO.
Edit- Quite the interesting list you have there. How has the red splash been treating you? It looks like you run on the more controlling side of midrange yes?
You could try for it, but if you do I would cut a lot of your other high end stuff. I would also add Dakmor Salvage so you can make sure you get some zombie cards in the bin. That, along with your Faithless Looting should enable some shenanigans with Zombie Apocalypse. The question I would ask is if you are constantly recurring your Gravecrawlers and Geralf's Messengers why would you need the Apocalypse? You could run Whips or Profane Command to get back Gray Merchant of Asphodel if he is dredged away.
I would give it a shot, and report back. It sounds interesting, and I'm always looking for the next "new" thing for my pet deck.
-Edit: Sorry for the late response, I've been working some crazy hours lately. I'm going to be working a lot for the next month or so, so please be understanding if I take a little while to respond or update the primer everyone. Thanks!
So I'm playing in a modern tournament at my LGS this weekend and I'd like to try BG for the first time (as opposed to mono-black). I figure I'll run something very close to Oopssorryy's BG list as a starting point and start tweaking it once I have a better feel for it. The only problem? I have a very incomplete mana base. Anyone have any thoughts on whether the downside of this is great enough that I should stick with mono-black? Here's what I'm currently planning to run...
It's possible that I'll be able to borrow some Bloodstained Mire and Wooded Foothills but no guarantees. (I also might be able to borrow a couple Liliana of the Veil to replace the Gatekeepers). Obviously the fetches make everything better, but it seems like it will run with a decent amount of consistency as is.
One other question. I'm seriously considering dropping Birds of Paradise for more Bloodsoaked Champion. Turn one green mana can be real difficult to hit consistently. Champion brings more aggressive starts, more recursive threats, and the ability to drum up a bunch of devotion late game to finish someone off with Gary, and all I lose is a bit of ramp and a flying chump blocker. But I've not played the BG version yet. Maybe Birdy Birds are better than they seem.
Goku,
Your list looks interesting but the mana curve looks fairly high. If I'm counting right, you have 11 cards that are 4-cmc or higher (and that doesn't count Phyrexian Metamorph), but you're not running an overabundance of removal/disruption to help get you to those late drops. I can't help but think you want to lower your mana curve somehow or another. Falkenrath Aristocrat would probably be first on the chopping block for me (even though I love that card).
I definitely like Blackcleave Cliffs better than Dragonskull Summit. You can usually afford to have a land come in tapped later in the game, but early mana is so important. I wish there was a BG version of Cliffs, it would be a solid budget mana option. I also think that Zombie Apocalypse isn't necessary. Casting cost is too high and you can already recur so many of your creatures.
Birds is best in a deck that can fetch out an Overgrown Tomb, or aggressively color fix. Without fetches you are extremely weak to Blood Moon and color screw, as my list is very mana intensive. In the last thread I thought it to be somewhat like Cruel Control. I ran the deck for a long time without fetches, and while the deck was very powerful, it could be inconstant due to color screw. I ran for sometime without BoP, but if you do, I can't stress how much you'll want Twilight Mire. Llanowar Wastes is also good, but you'll take a ton of damage off of it, making you weak to burn.
The birds are there to help color fix hands were I draw the single forest, and to have explosive starts. There is nothing sweeter than turn two Lilian without DRS. People just don't expect it, and it can blow them out. When people see Verdant Catacombs into Overgrown they think Junk/Jund, which can throw them off when you drop Gravecrawler. If you really want to play the BG deck you can cut the Birds for Bloodsoaked Champions, and really try to get the Lilianas. Alot of people just can't deal with her when we are using her to get ahead and push them behind. Twilight Mire is invaluable, I honestly can't believe it took me so long to start playing it.
Instead of doing a full sideboard explanation, I'm thinking about listing potential sideboard cards for each match up. Then people could attempt to create a sideboard for their individual meta, instead of relying on my meta sideboard. Does this sound like something people everyone would enjoy?
I see what you're saying about the Birds. I've actually never owned any fetches and haven't played with them so I haven't got to experience how helpful they are for smoothing out mana. I've confirmed with a friend that I can borrow 4x Bloodstained Mire, 2x Wooded Foothills, and 2x Polluted Delta this weekend so I'll have a better idea then.
I definitely like Twilight Mire and have played with it plenty in EDH but don't understand why you like it as much as you do. It doesn't let you cast a turn one Birds. How is it so invaluable?
I would be all for simply listing potential sideboard cards for each matchup; that would help me mix and match as I get used to my own local meta. The only other thing I would request (if it's not too much extra work) is a matching list of the main board cards that are weakest in each matchup. Those two things together would be very valuable to me.
Two in the main deck are invaluable, as they can smooth out my single forest no birds openers. This hand is the bane of my existence, but a singleton forest is needed to beat Blood Moon. That freakin forest has stalled my Obilterator more times than I can count. If your running Victim of Night or Geth's Verdict, Mire can and will get you there, when you have no business doing so. The Mire can also let you cast Abrupt Decay out of nowhere, which can be helpful, as some players don't think about the Mires ability to filter into BG, or forgetting that it does.
Also when running Tomb of Yawgmoth, your fetches become swamps which can in turn "tap" for forests with the Mire. I've won games off of this, getting people to play into Decay and Golgari Charm. Your lands are really the most intricate part of the BG version, and the more flexibility you can get without killing yourself, the more consistent you will be. The BG deck has really even matchup against the field, so that extra 5% here and there can really swing games for you.
I'll get to work on the sideboard stuff. To be honest I've yet to build a sideboard for the mono black deck, as I've been trying to get more comfortable with the BG list. There's a SCG's open coming to Columbus in a couple months and I've already scheduled the time off work. Better try to make it worth it! I'm leaving Ohio for a couple weeks due to work, but I should be getting my old laptop back by then, so I should be able to update a sideboard guide on my downtime as I'll be working in BFE West Virginia. No Destiny for me to play means all my down time goes to Magic.
So what is Bx Devotion? We are a midrange to control deck that tries to use the power of Gray Merchant of Asphodel to win the game. For support we run powerful cards with lots of B symbols like Liliana of the Veil and Phyrexian Obliterator. Our creatures never stay dead, and our spells are as disruptive as our colors allow us to be. There is nothing we can’t kill, and (nearly) nothing we can’t make you discard.
Do you like Jund, BG Rock, and Junk? You'll probably be right at home here. Always wanted to Mono Black Control, or The Gate in Modern? We can scratch that itch too. We run lots of discard and spot removal effects, letting us control our opponents to great effect. Coupled with that, our creatures also are very resilient, turning off most removal. The game plan here is to grind into the late game, establish a board presence, and drop a large gary to ensure the victory.
If you want to win at instant speed, before turn four, this isn't the deck for you. But if you want to push the game to turn 10 and grind out wins, this is the deck for you.
Gravecrawler: My favorite recursive creature, a decent clock, and cheap to return if you have enough zombies to support him.
Bloodsoaked Champion: The second best creature we can run. Decent body for the cost, but much easier to return to the battlefield with few zombie.
Lotleth Troll: A discard outlet that grows our troll into a finisher with trample. Icing on the cake is that he is a Zombie. A reason to splash for green outside of Abrupt Decay.
Relentless Dead: Finally a mono black, two drop zombie Modern can really get behind. While it doesn't recur itself from the grave, in multiples, the guy can do just about anything. From enabling Gravecrawler, returning dead Gary's, blocking forever, or just getting in for two, this guy is great.
Geralf's Messenger: A three drop, who is over the curve, and gives the deck a bit of reach. His only downfall is never getting out of bolt range, and that he comes in tapped. Three devotion is a hard thing to get past I’ll admit.
Hidden Horror: Good body for the cost with a “drawback” this deck can really get behind.
Phyrexian Obliterator: Under the curve, trample, massive devotion, and nearly unblockable, un attackable, and un burnable. A great four drop option.
Kalitas, Traitor to Ghet. Finally, Obliterator has some competition. He improves our burn match up, and he can eat our 'Ghasts and Gravecrawlers to get bigger and bigger. Hunger for synergy, because I am.
Demigod of Revenge: The red splashes finisher of choice, if you can get several copies in your grave before you cast him, it's game over.
Gray Merchant of Asphodel: Our other finisher. It’s like moderns own version of Tendrils of Agony if built around.
Discard Options
Thoughtseize: The best discard in modern if you can afford the life loss. Take nearly any card you want, and ruin plans.
Inquisition of Kozilek: The second best option we have. As long as it’s under three you can have it.
Duress: A decent discard option if your meta is burn heavy. Not as good as the other two options, but still pretty good.
Removal Options
Dismember: Sometimes losing four life is worth killing something. I typically have at least one in the side.
Bile Blight: Great for decks like tokens, and still is good at removing one medium sized creature.
Doom Blade: The old standard. If Junk or another black based deck is big in your meta I would look elsewhere, but Doom blade is a classic, and still powerful.
Go for the Throat: Doomblade 2.0. It does have it’s drawbacks, like Affinity. If Affinity is a local issue I would look else where, but this card is great.
Victim of Night: If you can stomach the double black cost, this is one of the best removal spells in the format. Unless you run into the rouge tribal build, it’s a solid main deck choice.
Geth's Verdict: Good against decks with few creatures, this is one of the best ways to get rid of indestructible creatures, or hexproof shroud guys. If there is a lot of creatures I would side this out.
Cruel Edict: Don't like the double black in Geth's Verdict? Well this is the card for you! You lose out on one damage, but this will still get the job done as long as there aren't to many tokens floating around.
Disfigure: Blacks best one drop removal. Gets a bit weak as the game goes long, but is great to have in the aggro match ups.
Darkblast: Like Disfigure, but can be used to bin your Bloodghasts and Gravecrawlers.
Abrupt Decay: The other reason to splash for green. If it’s three or under it’s yours, no two ways about it.
Maelstrom Pulse: Token hate in its finest, this is one of the more expensive, and more powerful removal spells you can have.
Slaughter Pact One of moderns more powerful spot removal spell, with this your opponents can never safely cast a creature. Just make sure you can pay for the upkeep cost.
Hero's Downfall: More expensive, but the ability to hit Karn and mean winning the game or losing. Consider if Tron players are an issue.
Terminate Great for red splash decks. One of moderns best two mana removal spells.
Lightning Bolt Yet another option for red splashes. One of the best options for one drop removal.
Utility Spells
Faithless Looting Repeatable card draw, and acts like a discard outlet. Solid for red splashes.
Golgari Charm: Serves three purposes, token hate, enchantment removal, and team regen. A great all-rounder spell.
Damnation: Plagiarism is the finest form of flattery right? Black getting it’s own Wrath of God is pretty sweet, and should be kept in mind.
Languish: Don't feel like paying for Damnation? Try Languish! While it doesn't kill some of the bigger creatures in the format, it can take out some of the midsized indestructible creatures.
Black Sun's Zenith: A good sweeper, if expensive to cast. To offset it’s somewhat expensive casting cost, if shuffles back into your deck (good for Liliana) and can be cast for amounts to not wipe your own board.
Profane Command: A great finisher when combined with Nykthos, this card can bring back a discarded Gary while draining your opponent of their last bit of life. Or it can allow for the Alpha strike you’ve needed while getting rid of otherwise indestructible creatures.
Kolaghan's Command A great role player for the red splash decks. It's first ability will be the one we use the most.
Collective Brutality: A great flexible card. Not worth it if you are only using one mode, but once you start discarding to activate it's other modes, it gets much better. As this deck enjoys discarding, it's a real option for us.
Liliana of the Veil: One of the best planeswalkers ever printed, she is a real powerhouse in this deck. Serving as a discard outlet for us, along with an edict and a win con, all in one attractive package.
Phyrexian Arena: Because most lists can't afford the life loss from Dark Confidant we get to use this. With two devotion, difficult to remove, and card draw at the low low price of one life per turn. Don't leave the home without it.
Grave Pact: Punish the opponents removal, and combos well with Viscera Seer. Three devotion is nothing to sneeze at either.
Whip of Erebos: A good option if you find yourself discarding Gary or Obliterator often. Or if your dredging a lot.
Tormod's Crypt: Free gravehate is always nice for the unknown metagames. Never forget there is always a storm player. Always.
Nihil Spellbomb: More gravehate + card draw, and can be used at instant speed.
Relic of Progenitus: Annnnnnnd more gravehate! Again this one has draw attached, but hits both yards. Limited use in this deck.
Dakmor Salvage: Helps dredge away recursive creatures. Is good with Whip of Erebos to recur Garys.
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth: Helps us stay on curve with all of our colored mana symbols and colorless lands.
Verdant Catacombs: Really it's fetch lands in general. Powers up Bloodghast, and fixes our colors if your running two color decks.
Mutavault: Turns up our clock, powers up Pack Rat and Gravecrawlers.
Bojuka Bog: Hate on combo decks, and other grave based decks.
Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx: More ramp than you’ll know what to do with. If you have room and creatures to abuse it with, it’s worth it.
Twilight Mire: The Black based filter lands are key if you are splashing a color in the deck, as hitting the correct colors in deck is extremely important.
Now on to deck lists. Below are the mono black and black green. If anyone would like to post a black blue, black red, or black white list I would gladly add it to the primer.
Genesis. Mono black is the most stream lined, and mana wise, constant. There are a lot of ways you could take this deck, from midrange to control. This is what I would start with, and change to your liking. This starter list has discard outlets for your creatures, a good number of recursive creatures, and solid finishers. The deck is resistant to most forms of spot removal and all non exile sweepers, making it a non issue as far as overextending goes, at least when it comes to board wipes. Grave hate isn't the end of the world for this deck, but it can hurt if timed correctly.
This deck can also lean heavily on tech and research from both 8 rack builds and MBC decks, as each are in depth looks into the viability of mono black decks. It's important to learn from the mistakes and successes of others, so study my friends.
4x Bloodghast
4x Dark Confidant
4x Geralf's Messenger
3x Gray Merchant of Asphodel
1x Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
2x Phyrexian Obliterator
Sorcery (8)
4x Inquisition of Kozilek
4x Thoughtseize
Planeswalker (4)
4x Liliana of the Veil
1x Bile Blight
2x Disfigure
2x Dismember
2x Go for the Throat
1x Slaughter Pact
Land (22)
2x Cavern of Souls
2x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
16x Swamp
2x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1x Bile Blight
2x Damnation
1x Illness in the Ranks
3x Leyline of the Void
2x Pithing Needle
2x Ratchet Bomb
2x Spellskite
2x Vampiric Link
This deck focuses on a midrange strategy, trying to out grind and value out opponents at every turn. We get a great two drop in Lotleth Troll, and another one of the best control spells in modern with Abrupt Decay. The deck is very reliant on the synergy between Troll/Liliana+Gravecrawler/Bloodghast, aiming to cheat said creatures into play by first discarding them to our advantage, and some times, or opponent's disadvantage. This is also the only Bx devotion deck right now with the ability to run Dark Confidant, who can win games by himself. If you ever find yourself with half built Jund/Junk, and lost interest in the deck, give this a spin. Some would say we are playing a strictly worse BG rock, but they don't have a curve topper that can drain for 10+ mana when he comes down.
3 Gravecrawler
4 Bloodghast
2 Relentless Dead
3 Dark Confidant
4 Lotleth Troll
3 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
2 Gray Merchant of Asphodel
3 Liliana of the Veil
Spells
3 Abrupt Decay
3 Doom Blade
3 Thoughtseize
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
1 Slaughter Pact
Land
1 Forest
5 Swamp
3 Overgrown Tomb
3 Blooming Marsh
2 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Twilight Mire
4 Verdant Catacombs
2 Bloodstained Mire
2 Polluted Delta
4 Blackcleave Cliffs
2 Blood Crypt
4 Bloodstained Mire
1 Polluted Delta
1 Woodland Cemetery
2 Overgrown Tomb
1 Bojuka Bog
7 Swamp
Creature: 17
4 Bloodghast
3 Geralf's Messenger
3 Vampire Nighthawk
3 Phyrexian Obliterator
4 Demigod of Revenge
3 Disfigure
1 Slaughter Pact
3 Victim of Night
2 Abrupt Decay
Sorcery: 11
4 Faithless Looting
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
2 Thoughtseize
Planeswalker: 3
3 Liliana of the Veil
3 Lightning Bolt
1 Slaughter Games
2 Pyroclasm
2 Feed the Clan
3 Fulminator Mage
2 Ancient Grudge
2 Illness in the Ranks
[/deck]
Birds of Paradise: Mana fixing and ramp. Really good if you are in BG colors in the right meta games. If the meta goes grindy, the ramp can be enough to enable to really crazy lines of play.
Viscera Seer: If you want to get maximum value out of your recursive creatures, you can use Seer to set up the top of your deck, filtering your draws.
Dark Confidant: With some builds able to trim down the fat, a few select builds can afford to run Bob over Arena. While you do loose a devotion and it's easier to remove than Arena, it comes down a full turn earlier, which can make all the difference. Greatness at all costs.
Stromgald Crusader: A great devotion outlet that can turn into a win con if you also run Nykthos. Is also a zombie, which helps.
Gatekeeper of Malakir. Need an edict effect stapled on to a bear? This is your man! Coming in with two devotion is nice, but I would treat him like a three drop to get the most mileage out of him.
Vampire Hexmage: Are you having problems with planeswalkers? If so, here is your main lady. Taking down the Karns of the world, while leaving behind a bear that adds devotion.
Reassembling Skeleton: Another recursive creature, a bit weaker than our other options, but still usable.
Oona's Prowler: Like the idea of a 3 power flyer in black at two mana? How about adding a reusable discard outlet? If you said yes, and don't mind the small butt (hey that's the way some people like it) look no further.
Pack Rat: A great source of devotion, and a game ender. If you can find room in your mana base for Mutavaults this guy is a beast.
Asylum Visitor: Another great recent addition. An aggressive replacement to Phyrexian Arena or budget Bob with possible upside. If you are always finding yourself hellbent, or are able to get your opponent there, frequently, you may want to try this guy out.
Vampire Nighthawk: This guy has some of the best key words in magic, along with two devotion attached. The body leaves you wanting a little more, but it’s hard to go wrong with Flying, Deathtouch, Lifelink. Decent in the Burn match up.
Nightveil Specter: The RTR/Theros three drop of choice, it loses a bit of the shine in modern. Still it comes down with three devotion, and has a chance to gain card advantage. Loses in a lot of trades, but if you can reliably hit, he can do some work.
Phyrexian Crusader: Dodges a ton of removal, and can be a great beater. Loses in a lot trades, which is why I personally don’t use him, but a case could be made for him if you are also running Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon and Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx.
Stillmoon Cavalier: Provides two devotion, pro white and black, and has a nice suit of abilities. I like my three drops a bit stronger, but this guy is still pretty good.
Cunning Lethemancer: A budget option for Liliana, he provides a clock and a Global discard outlet that we are looking for. Can't take much of a hit, but will work on a budget.
Liliana, Heretical Healer/Liliana, Defiant Necromancer: Another great Liliana, and one with good synergy with the rest of the deck. Have yet to figure out how to really break the card, but she's certainty powerful.
Fulminator Mage: Our best out to land based decks. Provides two devotion while also putting a serious hurt of many decks.
Illness in the Ranks: Great against Tokens, UB Faeries, and Thopter/Sword.
Bitterblossom: A card that really hasn’t broken modern yet. A good source of devotion that supplies a near endless supply of blockers in the air. Could be really good in a meta infested with Lingering Souls.
Necrogen Mists: Want to play Liliana, but don't want to sacrifice you first born to a number of dark demons? This is you card! While you loose out on an Edict effect and a win con, you all you want is Global discard that is somewhat difficult to remove, you can't go wrong here.
Night of Souls' Betrayal: A much more expensive Illness in the Ranks that has a much wider AoE. Adds two devotion, and can really put a hamper on your enemies if you build your deck right.
Chalice of the Void: Set to zero, Affinity will have a huge problem, it’s one of my worst matchups so I run a few in my sideboard. Zombie heavy build can get the most mileage out of it if you run Cavern of Souls and name Zombie.
PT Deck Tech
Frank Lepore's version
Gavin Verhey's take
Devotion beating Elves
Warpathdemon's MTGO Devotion matches
4th Place SCG States Finish By Doug Courtney
If you have color spashes, other creatures, spells or lands, or just general knowledge you’d like to add to the thread, just post it here, or PM me and I’ll add as I find the time. Here is the link to the old thread if you are feeling nostalgic, or just want to see past builds or theory on the deck. Welcome to the dark side, we have cookies.
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Still really cool to see it at the pro tour!
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Gatekeeer added! Thanks for the suggestion. I knew I was missing something but I couldn't remember what it was.
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I can still add them to the primer post later tonight though, thanks for the suggestion, and welcome to Devotion!
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I don't get to play Modern all that often, and am only somewhat familiar with the other decks and the best strategies to use against them. Something basic like this would be a huge benefit to me. It would help me critically evaluate/upgrade my sideboard based on the Modern meta in my area, and help me make decisions about the best thing to board out of my deck during any given matchup (something I always struggle with).
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I can start working on it for sure! It may take me a while, but I'll get working on it. Keep the suggestions coming!
The new exploit mechainic is right up our alley. Here's to hoping we get something worth playing.
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The biggest issue with the Messenger is that he can't block on turn three/four, depending on when you drop him. He is really good, but Bloodghast, Gravecrawler, and Nether Traitor all can't block, so it's important that we have some way to stop the bleeding. The messenger fails at doing this, instead opting for go for a more aggro approach. This would be fine in a deck that is more aggressive, but I tend to find the block more important than the shock.
Now all that being said, Messenger is still a card used by many, and remains popular, which is why I have him in the creature selection.
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I much prefer Phyrexian Arena over Underworld Connections. The damage you take from arena is far out weighed by the cards drawn, and because our best threat typically gains us 8+ life, we are usually fine. Connections tying up a land for a draw is a big issue for me, as I tend to use all my mana from upkeep to upkeep. My Bg deck is super hard on it's mana base, so taping to draw can slow me down quite a bit.
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4 Bloodsoaked Champion
4 Bloodghast
3 Vampire Nighthawk
2 Phyrexian Metamorph
2 Gray Merchant of Asphodel
3 Falkenrath Aristocrat
1 Mogis, God of Slaughter
3 Demigod of Revenge
2 Whip of Erebos
Instants
4 Lightning Bolt
Sorceries
4 Faithless Looting
3 Thoughtseize
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
1 Damnation
4 Blood Crypt
4 Dragonskull Summit
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
2 Bloodstained Mire
2 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
10 Swamp
I'm about to take this deck to a modern tournament and I was wondering if anyone would run Blackcleave Cliffs over Dragonskull Summit?
Edit- Quite the interesting list you have there. How has the red splash been treating you? It looks like you run on the more controlling side of midrange yes?
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4 Bloodsoaked Champion
4 Bloodghast
3 Vampire Nighthawk
2 Phyrexian Metamorph
2 Gray Merchant of Asphodel
3 Falkenrath Aristocrat
1 Mogis, God of Slaughter
3 Demigod of Revenge
2 Whip of Erebos
Instants
4 Lightning Bolt
Sorceries
4 Faithless Looting
3 Thoughtseize
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
1 Damnation
4 Blood Crypt
4 Dragonskull Summit
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
2 Bloodstained Mire
2 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
10 Swamp
I haven't actually gotten to play it in a tournament yet. My hopes are to get Whip of Erebos on the field and just gain life with Flying, Hasters.... The red splash allows me access to draw power such as Faithless Looting. This will allow me to put Bloodsoaked Champion, Bloodghast, Demigod of Revenge, and Gray Merchant of Asphodel into the grave. Mogis, God of Slaughter is a test card for me and Phyrexian Metamorph is there to copy their threats or perhaps a Gray Merchant of Asphodel I don't know, I don't even have a side board yet so I wont be going to a tournament anytime soon. This is just something I am trying to make work. Any suggestions?
During testing with Blackcleave Cliffs I have turn one Bloodsoaked Champion, turn two Faithless Looting, discard Bloodghast and Demigod of Revenge, played a land, bring back Bloodghast, and Thoughtseize or Inquisition of Kozilek. So I might end up running Blackcleave Cliffs over Dragonskull Summit because I am not able to make that play unless I pay life for Blood Crypt turn 1.
Do you think I could use Gravecrawler and Geralf's Messenger with Zombie Apocalypse for a better combo? Instead of Bloodsoaked Champion and Vampire Nighthawk...
I would give it a shot, and report back. It sounds interesting, and I'm always looking for the next "new" thing for my pet deck.
-Edit: Sorry for the late response, I've been working some crazy hours lately. I'm going to be working a lot for the next month or so, so please be understanding if I take a little while to respond or update the primer everyone. Thanks!
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3x Birds of Paradise
4x Bloodghast
1x Bloodsoaked Champion
2x Gatekeeper of Malakir
4x Gravecrawler
3x Gray Merchant of Asphodel
4x Lotleth Troll
2x Phyrexian Obliterator
4x Abrupt Decay
2x Victim of Night
Sorcery (6)
3x Inquisition of Kozilek
3x Thoughtseize
Enchantment (3)
3x Phyrexian Arena
Land (22)
2x Mutavault
4x Overgrown Tomb
10x Swamp
2x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
4x Woodland Cemetery
It's possible that I'll be able to borrow some Bloodstained Mire and Wooded Foothills but no guarantees. (I also might be able to borrow a couple Liliana of the Veil to replace the Gatekeepers). Obviously the fetches make everything better, but it seems like it will run with a decent amount of consistency as is.
One other question. I'm seriously considering dropping Birds of Paradise for more Bloodsoaked Champion. Turn one green mana can be real difficult to hit consistently. Champion brings more aggressive starts, more recursive threats, and the ability to drum up a bunch of devotion late game to finish someone off with Gary, and all I lose is a bit of ramp and a flying chump blocker. But I've not played the BG version yet. Maybe Birdy Birds are better than they seem.
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Your list looks interesting but the mana curve looks fairly high. If I'm counting right, you have 11 cards that are 4-cmc or higher (and that doesn't count Phyrexian Metamorph), but you're not running an overabundance of removal/disruption to help get you to those late drops. I can't help but think you want to lower your mana curve somehow or another. Falkenrath Aristocrat would probably be first on the chopping block for me (even though I love that card).
I definitely like Blackcleave Cliffs better than Dragonskull Summit. You can usually afford to have a land come in tapped later in the game, but early mana is so important. I wish there was a BG version of Cliffs, it would be a solid budget mana option. I also think that Zombie Apocalypse isn't necessary. Casting cost is too high and you can already recur so many of your creatures.
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The birds are there to help color fix hands were I draw the single forest, and to have explosive starts. There is nothing sweeter than turn two Lilian without DRS. People just don't expect it, and it can blow them out. When people see Verdant Catacombs into Overgrown they think Junk/Jund, which can throw them off when you drop Gravecrawler. If you really want to play the BG deck you can cut the Birds for Bloodsoaked Champions, and really try to get the Lilianas. Alot of people just can't deal with her when we are using her to get ahead and push them behind. Twilight Mire is invaluable, I honestly can't believe it took me so long to start playing it.
Instead of doing a full sideboard explanation, I'm thinking about listing potential sideboard cards for each match up. Then people could attempt to create a sideboard for their individual meta, instead of relying on my meta sideboard. Does this sound like something people everyone would enjoy?
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I definitely like Twilight Mire and have played with it plenty in EDH but don't understand why you like it as much as you do. It doesn't let you cast a turn one Birds. How is it so invaluable?
I would be all for simply listing potential sideboard cards for each matchup; that would help me mix and match as I get used to my own local meta. The only other thing I would request (if it's not too much extra work) is a matching list of the main board cards that are weakest in each matchup. Those two things together would be very valuable to me.
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Also when running Tomb of Yawgmoth, your fetches become swamps which can in turn "tap" for forests with the Mire. I've won games off of this, getting people to play into Decay and Golgari Charm. Your lands are really the most intricate part of the BG version, and the more flexibility you can get without killing yourself, the more consistent you will be. The BG deck has really even matchup against the field, so that extra 5% here and there can really swing games for you.
I'll get to work on the sideboard stuff. To be honest I've yet to build a sideboard for the mono black deck, as I've been trying to get more comfortable with the BG list. There's a SCG's open coming to Columbus in a couple months and I've already scheduled the time off work. Better try to make it worth it! I'm leaving Ohio for a couple weeks due to work, but I should be getting my old laptop back by then, so I should be able to update a sideboard guide on my downtime as I'll be working in BFE West Virginia. No Destiny for me to play means all my down time goes to Magic.
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