Thanks guys. No, that actually helps a lot. I was asking because pithing needle must declare deceiver exarch in order to work, and splinter twin reads: "enchanted creature has." So that's why I thought tokens had splinter twin. Because the creature is gaining an ability and we're making tokens of that creature. Probably overthinking it though.
Anyone test out progenitor mimic? Saw it on mtggoldfish and it seems pretty crazy considering it also copies the mana cost of its target. Hence double devotion.
Anyone test out progenitor mimic? Saw it on mtggoldfish and it seems pretty crazy considering it also copies the mana cost of its target. Hence double devotion.
The card doesn't explicitly call out CMC, so I'm inclined to think it behaves just like every other token copy, where it has a CMC of 0.
We had the #1 deck on tapped out for over a week with the Walker Devotion deck. There have been a few minor changes (with one question left); but the response has been great!
The sideboard will continue to see a little work as I test more and more extremely detailed "meta tests". I wouldn't mind getting a Bow of Nylea in there somewhere.
The deck has been amazing in testing. It is just so powerful even if you don't "go infinite" because a majority of the cards are 2-for-1 or more (and the walkers are of course card advantage in their own right). It is heavily favored in "fair" match ups...but it can go infinite rather quickly as well. (turn 3 at the earliest, although on average it is more of a 4.5 turn deck)...I will continue to test it to get the board set; but the main deck feels pretty close to "set". As always, however, I am GREATLY appreciative of any ideas, criticisms, etc. that can help make the deck better.
I haven't played Joraga Treespeaker a ton, but Michael Jacobs swore by it. Here is a little excerpt from his discussion of the card as it works in Green Devotion:
...Provides a key function in being able to produce two mana from a single card and is critical in games you mulligan. The one-turn windup before Treespeaker produces mana restricts their number in the deck to two since drawing multiples can be too slow. Be aware the level up ability is something your opponent can respond to, so cast cards like Utopia Sprawl and Burning-Tree Emissary beforehand so that your whole turn does not get blanked by a card like Lightning Bolt or Path to Exile. Joraga Treespeaker is also an excellent mana sink because a 1/4 can block quite well. It's often better to level up turn 2 if you have nothing else to do, as attacking for one is not as useful as allowing Arbor Elf to produce two green later in the game...
Fertile Ground helps both Garruk Wildspeaker and Nissa, Worldwaker hit the infinite combo; so it would take a pretty good card to get there; but there are enough elves in the deck to potentially make it worth it. I'd love to hear from people who have played with Joraga Treespeaker.
Anywho, I'd love to hear more about how your green devotion decks are performing. I've got my own local tourney stuff; and am going to see if I can get all of the triggers to work on MTGO so I can make some videos/post some "global" results. I'll let you know when they are up! Can't wait to hear about what everyone has done with the new green cards!
Being a fan of Superfriends decks, I like your list alot. Interested to see how it fares, especially in aggro and burn matchups, as I see that you don't have any life gain.
Also, have you tested Ugin, the spirit dragon? The more I play, the more i see I want it in every matchup. Karn is fantastic too, but as we don't always aim for the "turn three seven mana" we don't want him as much as the Tron players. Ugin's ability to reset the board can make a comeback where no other card could. Be glad to hear your opinion.
Btw, as we discussed it earlier, Nature's claim has been overperforming so far. Having two in maindeck and never going back! Surviving a burn matchup by destroying my Ground was great.
Being a fan of Superfriends decks, I like your list alot. Interested to see how it fares, especially in aggro and burn matchups, as I see that you don't have any life gain.
Also, have you tested Ugin, the spirit dragon? The more I play, the more i see I want it in every matchup. Karn is fantastic too, but as we don't always aim for the "turn three seven mana" we don't want him as much as the Tron players. Ugin's ability to reset the board can make a comeback where no other card could. Be glad to hear your opinion.
Btw, as we discussed it earlier, Nature's claim has been overperforming so far. Having two in maindeck and never going back! Surviving a burn matchup by destroying my Ground was great.
Thanks for the kind words! I love discussing Green Devotion, so it's great to get this primer/thread back up and running.
I haven't tried Ugin...I was always worried I'd be exiling all of my stuff too; but I guess that's no big deal when they have nothing and you have an Ugin I'll certainly give it a try!
I've found vs. control; having two Primal Command and 1-2 Eternal Witness has been enough life gain (as I draw into them rather quickly)...I've also traditionally either had a Leyline of Vitality and/or Bow of Nylea in the baord as well...I also honestly thought about running a Nissa Revane as well (especially when I was running Elvish Mystic over Birds of Paradise....but that starting 2 Loyalty is truly terrible!!
GREAT discussion! I will keep you posted on some sideboard options I've been trying out (one things for sure...Bonfire of the Damned is staying...my god it's good)...I'll test out Ugin tonight as well.
Can't wait to hear about other's Green Devotion decks as well! I'll get back on the sites and see how it's performing on MTGO as well.
Sideboard
Been testing quite a bit; and feel relatively confident with this current board:
The Karn Liberated assumes I'm playing Ugin in the mainboard...Karn is actually really good removal (as he exiles any permanent). Seven mana isn't too tough to get to (neither is 9, which is all you need for a Genesis Hydra into a Karn Liberated if need be. I've also thought about Trinisphere (as I traditionally will cast it AFTER I've played some of my lower drops that ramp); however I'm not certain it would be effective enough (will have to do some side-testing with it).
I used to have a couple of Beast Withins in main to deal with whatever was problematic in the first game (Urza lands, artifacts, enchantments, planeswalkers), but got to a conclusion that I want to stick to my game plan on the first game because it is so fast and the Beast Withins were not needed that often. I've been thinking to add Primal Commands, but don't know what to take out, maybe Genesis Wave. The best accomplishment was managing hard casting Emrakul, the Aeons Torn on turn three even though one Voyaging Satyr got bolted. If you have some suggestions, especially considering sideboard, I'd like to hear them.
I went to my first modern tournament in my LGS and went 4-0 with this deck. I've been only playing modern with my friend mainly against burn, grixis delver and knew that those I can beat. I have an infect deck also, but that is a rougher match up.
Round 1, Rats: 2-0 (1-0)
I was against a black rat deck. I got to Tooth and Nail in both games despite his Inquisition of Kozileks and some Murders. His deck felt too slow against mine (but I don't know how fast it can be) and in these games his disruption wasn't enough.
Round 2, Rogues: 2-0 (2-0)
His deck was a UB Rogue deck. I think I didn't get Emrakul, the Aeons Torn+Xenagos, God of Revels combo in these games. The first game was interesting because I wasn't super fast, he casted some black creature and got to exile three cards from my deck taking two Primeval Titans and Xenagos, God of Revels so my combo wouldn't have worked as well. Got the win with Primeval Titans and Garruk Wildspeaker's beasts. The second game was horrible. I mulled to four, leaving three lands and a Genesis Wave. However my opponent got severely flooded drawing 11 lands and 5 non-land cards. Eventually Primeval Titan did the work.
Round 3, Junk: 2-0 (3-0)
He had Thoughtseizes, Abrupt Decays and Path to Exiles. I would have thought that this one I would lose, but no. He made me discard, Decayed my enchantments and mana dorks but still I managed to win both games. These were tough games, especially the second, which could have gone either way. At this point I was very impressed how well this decks handles all sorts of disruption.
Round 4, Naya Zoo: 2-0 (4-0)
First game we both mulled to five. My starting hand had only colorless lands, Genesis Wave and ramp. It would be a decent hand with a forest, which I luckily drew. Got to do the Genesis Wave X=6, got Primeval Titan, Garruk Wildspeaker, lands and dorks. Opponent instantly scooped, because his 5-card-hand wasn't as good. His main disruption was bolt, at least what I saw from his deck, and it wasn't enough. I ended the game with Tooth and Nail. He could have played Magus of the Moon on his last turn while I was having a Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx on the table, but he didn't because he didn't believe I would get to nine mana. However, I had a second Nykthos in hand, which he didn't expect, heh.
All in all, I was super impressed how the deck worked not losing even a single game, but I think I had a good amount of luck with me and the decks against me weren't exactly tier 1. I didn't face any counterspells so I don't know how this would handle a strict control deck.
so how do we beat control? against decks with a ton of removal/boardwipes its hard to get anything going... then when something like genesis wave or primeval titan gets countered i'm not really sure how to answer. are we just supposed to play more conservatively and poke for little increments of damage?
so how do we beat control? against decks with a ton of removal/boardwipes its hard to get anything going... then when something like genesis wave or primeval titan gets countered i'm not really sure how to answer. are we just supposed to play more conservatively and poke for little increments of damage?
The card I've found to be extremely powerful against control is Defense Grid. I play VERY few instants in my decks (and Green Devotion decks just tend to play very few instants in general); so it is a very lopsided advantage. A Lightning Bolt costing 4-mana and a 5-mana Remand or Mana Leak makes it very difficult for them to play on our turn. It also pushes Twin back a turn (as they can't cast the creature with flash on our turn and then untap and cast [[Splinter Twin]]. Control isn't always super difficult, however; as we can out-value them.
I've also been playing a 2-of [[Privileged Position]] in my deck. It pretty much nullifies all of the opponents removal (both land destruction and creature removal). 5-CMC is high; but we get to 5 VERY fast and it adds 3-Devotion for the remainder of the game! It "turns off" all of the opponents targeted spells and drives them wild
I've built the board around big, sweeping "rule" changes that effect the opponent way more than they effect us. It's worked better for me than random hate cards here and h= Green Devotion decks really need to do the following things
1. Ramp consistently and quickly (be explosive)
2. Generate so much value that traditional and expected removal do not stop us (including boardwipes)
3. While we need to be fast (this is Modern); more importantly, we need to be consistent
We don't need to be a "turn 4" deck....If we can maintain consistent turn-5 wins (with the possibility for turn 3 and 4 "God Hands"); we can position ourselves with our sideboards to compete in the meta. Green devotion can "out value" any fair deck in the format (including Jund, Grixis Control, Jeskai, Abzan, etc.). While we have to board for lightning fast and unfair decks; if we know our main-deck is favored in every "fair" match up; we can spend a vast majority of our board on cards to shut down or at least drastically slow down the unfair decks.
The deck is now VERY consistent and actually sped up as well. The board (as discussed above) is meant to basically to slow the fastest of decks down (Amulet, Burn, Grisholbrand, etc.). I'll discuss it more in my testing results to follow (and add more discussion of the board chicesl
hey thanks for the response! how do you think the walker devotion deck would fare without the karns/ugin? unfortunately they're a bit out of my price range as i'm trying to find the most budget options for this deck. on that note, did cloudstone spike in price or has it always been that high? i could've sworn it was down to 4ish bucks when i was considering buying a set a while back.
also, have you tried out building around eidolon of blossoms? if so, how did you like it? I was thinking it would be good to maintain hand advantage because after i get boardwiped its usually hard to come back
hey thanks for the response! how do you think the walker devotion deck would fare without the karns/ugin? unfortunately they're a bit out of my price range as i'm trying to find the most budget options for this deck. on that note, did cloudstone spike in price or has it always been that high? i could've sworn it was down to 4ish bucks when i was considering buying a set a while back.
also, have you tried out building around eidolon of blossoms? if so, how did you like it? I was thinking it would be good to maintain hand advantage because after i get boardwiped its usually hard to come back
hey thanks for the response! how do you think the walker devotion deck would fare without the karns/ugin? unfortunately they're a bit out of my price range as i'm trying to find the most budget options for this deck. on that note, did cloudstone spike in price or has it always been that high? i could've sworn it was down to 4ish bucks when i was considering buying a set a while back.
also, have you tried out building around eidolon of blossoms? if so, how did you like it? I was thinking it would be good to maintain hand advantage because after i get boardwiped its usually hard to come back
Curious were like $5 (I bought a set for $19 last week) before CVM played that Evolutionary Elves deck...ugh.
To answer your questions, yes, you can do both. You can Replace Karn with [[Xenagos, the Reveler]]. It is another infinite combo with Garruk and Nissa (with Cloudstone)! the Ugin you really want just to wipe the board if need be. I'll PM you about that though (I have one I can send your way).
Another awesome options replacing the Karns with one Sarkhan Vol and one Genesis Hydra. Sarkhan is again another infinite combo piece (say Garruk makes 10 mana...you can "bounce them to infinite mana; then bounce them to create 100 3/3 Beast tokens via Garruk; then bounce them to give all the tokens +1000/+1000 and haste via Sarkhan Vol!!
Also,
Genesis Hydra is just awesome in the deck because it digs for any piece while also being a sizeae threat. It's also a great combo with Sarkhan Vol as you can cast it say for x=8, find Sarkhan Vol, then give the 8/8 hydra +1/+1 amd haste and attack that same turn!
As far as the enchantments deck is concerned; there are a couple routes I've tried...
A little while back I wanted to make a more budget-friendly version of Combo Green Devotion; and I tried an enchantment theme...of course this was before Curios were expensive. Here is a version I toyed with:
This is close to it (on the road so doing it from memory); but the idea was pretty simple. Ramp and draw cards like mad; pushing your devotion way up; which leads to more ramp and more draw! In this case the win cons are Nylea and Wolf Run (to pump any tiny creature) and altar of the Brood (as you will have a TON of cards and a lot of "enchantment loops"...with Alter you can mill the opponent within a few turns (as you can loop" two 1-drop enchantments 20+ times a turn....plus, because of the walkers, you'll often hit one during your loop that lets you Untap Nykthos again and re-trigger it so you can keep going! It's a blast to play.
You also still have access to the infinite mana combo of Nissa + Garruk + Cloudstone! From there it's infinite punmps with Nylea or Wolf Run, Infinite 3/3 tokens, Mill the opponents entire deck (with Altar), etc.
There's a few things you can change if you have the cards or aren't as worried about budget:
1. Elvish Mystic can be Birds of Paradise - between Utopia Sprawl, Fertile Ground and Nylea's Presencem; you'll fix just fine for whatever color you splash; but the flying is a big deal too.
2. Can splash white for throne of empty sigil...tried this out for a bit; not sure it's any better than Altar to be honest.
3. Can play red fetches/shocks - this will help your mans a little and will thin to gas a little; but the deck functions fine without it. The only red needed is for Wolf Run main board (and a few sideboard options); and you'll get plenty of fixing from the land enchantments (discussed above).
Hopefully this helps! Even on s budget; Green Devotion combo can be great
The new spoiled uncommon, Rolling Thunder may actually be a great sideboard option for us (Green Devotion players) now. Gives us flexibility in an X-spell. Certainly worth a try.
Thoughts on early harvest? I don't know if it's been discussed yet. Seems great in enchantment ramp decks. If your lands create 6 mana, it should be able to push you to 9 mana.
Rolling thunder looks alright, I wish it were an instant though. Pyroclasm is great in sideboards but it's too bad it takes out our own mana dorks too. I still think dismember/rending volley is just enough disruption until we go off
Early Harvest is an interesting idea. I haven't played with it; so I'm not the best source of knowledge on the subject; but being an avid user of Garruk and Nissa; I can say That Untap effects are one of the most broken aspects (if not the most broken) aspects of Green Devotion. Early Harevest would also give us non-permanent "ramp" for a turn; which could be useful in heavy attrition matches. It's certainly worth testing.
Yeah...I've had a lot of success with Bonfire in the board...I was thinks though. I can't replace bonfire with Rolling Thunder due to the fact that Bonfire come in against Boggles, and other hex proof situations.
@curdbros I also checked out your primer on modern combo elves. Would you say that deck is, in general, superior to green devotion? Which would you recommend for a player that's newer to the game? And thanks for all the great info! Your primers are really a great introduction to some really interesting decks
Round 1, Elves: 2-1 (1-0)
His deck was a budget Elves so not as explosive as it could be. First game went horribly: I drew lands, mana dorks and Emrakul, the Aeons Torn. Second game I won on turn three with Tooth and Nail and third with Primeval Titan and Kessig Wolf Run.
Round 2, GR Tron: 2-1 (2-0)
This was a match-up I feared because of Oblivion Stone, Karn Liberated and Ugin, the Spirit Dragon. First game I won fast with Tooth and Nail, turn 3 or 4. Game 2 I lost to natural Tron. He resolved Karn Liberated, exiled my land with Overgrowth on it and that was that. Game 3 I mulled to four. I had a good four card hand. On his turn two he Pyroclasms my elf. I cast Garruk Wildspeaker on turn 3 and he gets Tron, but he had used his mana to get the Tron. On my turn 4 I have exactly 9 mana to entwine my Tooth and Nail. I was a bit baffled that I managed to win with mull to four and losing my Elf.
Round 3, Junk: 0-2 (2-1)
He ripped my hand apart. I mulled to six in both games. On first game he casted 5 discard spells and Liliana of the Veil at the end. The second game was closer and I had a chance to win with a lucky top deck, but two discard spells were enough. This was a very rough match up with so much discard. I won against Junk last week, but I felt this guy had more discard and definitely the mulligans didn't help. I think I should modify my sideboard better against Thoughtseize and Inquisition of Kozilek. Obstinate Baloth mainly works against Liliana of the Veil, but I don't know what would be the best choice. Leyline of Sanctity works, but casting it normally is hard, but not impossible. More Eternal Witnesses to get back what I've lost or more of a beat down plan with Kitchen Finks and Obstinate Baloths? Or refill my hand with Harmonize?
Round 4, Abzan Company Combo: 2-1 (3-1)
I won both games with Tooth and Nail and lost game 2 to his combo. After winning the first game, I sideboarded some disruption in for the combo. I lost that game to the combo and I thought maybe I diluted my combo too much. So in the last game I only had two Beast Withins boarding Eternal Witnesses out. He mulled to five and I comboed on turn 3 or 4.
Now I have went to two events with this deck and the total score is 7-1. I should focus more on my sideboard plan and try to figure out some ways to beat discard. I feel like once I get stuff on the table, the disruption is not so bad. I have 11 mana dorks, 10 enchantments and 4 planeswalkers that contribute to mana production so the opponent's disruption has to be versatile and one-for-ones haven't yet been very effective on the board. Discard is so cheap and it can give a very big tempo advantage against this deck. Or they remove a one-of win con and you rely on top-decks. I still haven't met control decks so I don't know about those.
I've taken a bit of a turn in my decks lately, having Affinity, Jund, and a couple flavours of Grixis built. That beings said, mono-Green Devotion is near and dear to my heart. I have it mostly foiled, so I'm looking for what the consensus best build(s) are so I can finish it up.
Any help would be appreciated
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The card doesn't explicitly call out CMC, so I'm inclined to think it behaves just like every other token copy, where it has a CMC of 0.
We had the #1 deck on tapped out for over a week with the Walker Devotion deck. There have been a few minor changes (with one question left); but the response has been great!
here is the current list:
Green Devotion Walker Combo
4x Arbor Elf
4x Birds of Paradise
4x Elvish Visionary
1x Eternal Witness
3x Genesis Hydra
Planeswalker (8)
4x Garruk Wildspeaker
2x Xenagos, the Reveler
1x Nissa, Worldwaker
1x Karn Liberated
Enchantment (9)
4x Utopia Sprawl
3x Abundant Growth
1x Fertile Ground
4x Cloudstone Curio
Instant/Sorcery (4)
3x Genesis Wave
1x Primal Command
Land (20)
7x Forest
3x Stomping Ground
4x Wooded Foothills
4x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
2x Kessig Wolf Run
3x Defense Grid
2x Damping Matrix
1x Primal Command
1x Beast Within
2x Bonfire of the Damned
1x Reclamation Sage
1x Seal of Primordium
1x Pithing Needle
1x Leyline of Vitality
2x Sowing Salt
The sideboard will continue to see a little work as I test more and more extremely detailed "meta tests". I wouldn't mind getting a Bow of Nylea in there somewhere.
The deck has been amazing in testing. It is just so powerful even if you don't "go infinite" because a majority of the cards are 2-for-1 or more (and the walkers are of course card advantage in their own right). It is heavily favored in "fair" match ups...but it can go infinite rather quickly as well. (turn 3 at the earliest, although on average it is more of a 4.5 turn deck)...I will continue to test it to get the board set; but the main deck feels pretty close to "set". As always, however, I am GREATLY appreciative of any ideas, criticisms, etc. that can help make the deck better.
My Current Question (NEED YOUR HELP)
1. Fertile Ground or Joraga Treespeaker?
I haven't played Joraga Treespeaker a ton, but Michael Jacobs swore by it. Here is a little excerpt from his discussion of the card as it works in Green Devotion:
...Provides a key function in being able to produce two mana from a single card and is critical in games you mulligan. The one-turn windup before Treespeaker produces mana restricts their number in the deck to two since drawing multiples can be too slow. Be aware the level up ability is something your opponent can respond to, so cast cards like Utopia Sprawl and Burning-Tree Emissary beforehand so that your whole turn does not get blanked by a card like Lightning Bolt or Path to Exile. Joraga Treespeaker is also an excellent mana sink because a 1/4 can block quite well. It's often better to level up turn 2 if you have nothing else to do, as attacking for one is not as useful as allowing Arbor Elf to produce two green later in the game...
Fertile Ground helps both Garruk Wildspeaker and Nissa, Worldwaker hit the infinite combo; so it would take a pretty good card to get there; but there are enough elves in the deck to potentially make it worth it. I'd love to hear from people who have played with Joraga Treespeaker.
Anywho, I'd love to hear more about how your green devotion decks are performing. I've got my own local tourney stuff; and am going to see if I can get all of the triggers to work on MTGO so I can make some videos/post some "global" results. I'll let you know when they are up! Can't wait to hear about what everyone has done with the new green cards!
Being a fan of Superfriends decks, I like your list alot. Interested to see how it fares, especially in aggro and burn matchups, as I see that you don't have any life gain.
Also, have you tested Ugin, the spirit dragon? The more I play, the more i see I want it in every matchup. Karn is fantastic too, but as we don't always aim for the "turn three seven mana" we don't want him as much as the Tron players. Ugin's ability to reset the board can make a comeback where no other card could. Be glad to hear your opinion.
Btw, as we discussed it earlier, Nature's claim has been overperforming so far. Having two in maindeck and never going back! Surviving a burn matchup by destroying my Ground was great.
Thanks for the kind words! I love discussing Green Devotion, so it's great to get this primer/thread back up and running.
I haven't tried Ugin...I was always worried I'd be exiling all of my stuff too; but I guess that's no big deal when they have nothing and you have an Ugin I'll certainly give it a try!
I've found vs. control; having two Primal Command and 1-2 Eternal Witness has been enough life gain (as I draw into them rather quickly)...I've also traditionally either had a Leyline of Vitality and/or Bow of Nylea in the baord as well...I also honestly thought about running a Nissa Revane as well (especially when I was running Elvish Mystic over Birds of Paradise....but that starting 2 Loyalty is truly terrible!!
GREAT discussion! I will keep you posted on some sideboard options I've been trying out (one things for sure...Bonfire of the Damned is staying...my god it's good)...I'll test out Ugin tonight as well.
Can't wait to hear about other's Green Devotion decks as well! I'll get back on the sites and see how it's performing on MTGO as well.
Sideboard
Been testing quite a bit; and feel relatively confident with this current board:
2x Defense Grid
2x Spellskite
2x Bonfire of the Damned
1x Bow of Nylea
1x Scavenging Ooze
1x Magus of the Moon
1x Primal Command
1x Reclamation Sage
1x Seal of Primordium
1x Karn Liberated
The Karn Liberated assumes I'm playing Ugin in the mainboard...Karn is actually really good removal (as he exiles any permanent). Seven mana isn't too tough to get to (neither is 9, which is all you need for a Genesis Hydra into a Karn Liberated if need be. I've also thought about Trinisphere (as I traditionally will cast it AFTER I've played some of my lower drops that ramp); however I'm not certain it would be effective enough (will have to do some side-testing with it).
4x Arbor Elf
3x Birds of Paradise
1x Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
2x Eternal Witness
4x Primeval Titan
4x Voyaging Satyr
1x Xenagos, God of Revels
Sorcery (5)
1x Genesis Wave
4x Tooth and Nail
4x Garruk Wildspeaker
Land (22)
11x Forest
1x Kessig Wolf Run
4x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
1x Stomping Ground
4x Wooded Foothills
Enchantment (10)
2x Fertile Ground
4x Overgrowth
4x Utopia Sprawl
3x Beast Within
1x Boseiju, Who Shelters All
2x Creeping Corrosion
2x Ghost Quarter
2x Kitchen Finks
2x Obstinate Baloth
1x Reclamation Sage
1x Relic of Progenitus
1x Scavenging Ooze
I used to have a couple of Beast Withins in main to deal with whatever was problematic in the first game (Urza lands, artifacts, enchantments, planeswalkers), but got to a conclusion that I want to stick to my game plan on the first game because it is so fast and the Beast Withins were not needed that often. I've been thinking to add Primal Commands, but don't know what to take out, maybe Genesis Wave. The best accomplishment was managing hard casting Emrakul, the Aeons Torn on turn three even though one Voyaging Satyr got bolted. If you have some suggestions, especially considering sideboard, I'd like to hear them.
I went to my first modern tournament in my LGS and went 4-0 with this deck. I've been only playing modern with my friend mainly against burn, grixis delver and knew that those I can beat. I have an infect deck also, but that is a rougher match up.
Round 1, Rats: 2-0 (1-0)
I was against a black rat deck. I got to Tooth and Nail in both games despite his Inquisition of Kozileks and some Murders. His deck felt too slow against mine (but I don't know how fast it can be) and in these games his disruption wasn't enough.
Round 2, Rogues: 2-0 (2-0)
His deck was a UB Rogue deck. I think I didn't get Emrakul, the Aeons Torn+Xenagos, God of Revels combo in these games. The first game was interesting because I wasn't super fast, he casted some black creature and got to exile three cards from my deck taking two Primeval Titans and Xenagos, God of Revels so my combo wouldn't have worked as well. Got the win with Primeval Titans and Garruk Wildspeaker's beasts. The second game was horrible. I mulled to four, leaving three lands and a Genesis Wave. However my opponent got severely flooded drawing 11 lands and 5 non-land cards. Eventually Primeval Titan did the work.
Round 3, Junk: 2-0 (3-0)
He had Thoughtseizes, Abrupt Decays and Path to Exiles. I would have thought that this one I would lose, but no. He made me discard, Decayed my enchantments and mana dorks but still I managed to win both games. These were tough games, especially the second, which could have gone either way. At this point I was very impressed how well this decks handles all sorts of disruption.
Round 4, Naya Zoo: 2-0 (4-0)
First game we both mulled to five. My starting hand had only colorless lands, Genesis Wave and ramp. It would be a decent hand with a forest, which I luckily drew. Got to do the Genesis Wave X=6, got Primeval Titan, Garruk Wildspeaker, lands and dorks. Opponent instantly scooped, because his 5-card-hand wasn't as good. His main disruption was bolt, at least what I saw from his deck, and it wasn't enough. I ended the game with Tooth and Nail. He could have played Magus of the Moon on his last turn while I was having a Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx on the table, but he didn't because he didn't believe I would get to nine mana. However, I had a second Nykthos in hand, which he didn't expect, heh.
All in all, I was super impressed how the deck worked not losing even a single game, but I think I had a good amount of luck with me and the decks against me weren't exactly tier 1. I didn't face any counterspells so I don't know how this would handle a strict control deck.
4 Arbor Elf
1 Garruk Wildspeaker
1 Eternal Witness
2 Genesis Hydra
I wanted to know which is the budgetest way i could go, not cut throat competitive but i wanted a playable deck.
1 Nylea, God of Hunt
4 Elvish Visionary
4 Voyaging Satyr
4 Kalonian Tusker
4 Aspect of Hydra
2 Reclamation Sage
1 Vigor
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Garruk, Primal Hunter
1 Garruk Relentless
2 Pit Fights
4 Naturalize
I think i have most of what i need except for sprawls and decent win condition. Which variant would i best be able to adapt to?
The card I've found to be extremely powerful against control is Defense Grid. I play VERY few instants in my decks (and Green Devotion decks just tend to play very few instants in general); so it is a very lopsided advantage. A Lightning Bolt costing 4-mana and a 5-mana Remand or Mana Leak makes it very difficult for them to play on our turn. It also pushes Twin back a turn (as they can't cast the creature with flash on our turn and then untap and cast [[Splinter Twin]]. Control isn't always super difficult, however; as we can out-value them.
I've also been playing a 2-of [[Privileged Position]] in my deck. It pretty much nullifies all of the opponents removal (both land destruction and creature removal). 5-CMC is high; but we get to 5 VERY fast and it adds 3-Devotion for the remainder of the game! It "turns off" all of the opponents targeted spells and drives them wild
I've built the board around big, sweeping "rule" changes that effect the opponent way more than they effect us. It's worked better for me than random hate cards here and h= Green Devotion decks really need to do the following things
1. Ramp consistently and quickly (be explosive)
2. Generate so much value that traditional and expected removal do not stop us (including boardwipes)
3. While we need to be fast (this is Modern); more importantly, we need to be consistent
We don't need to be a "turn 4" deck....If we can maintain consistent turn-5 wins (with the possibility for turn 3 and 4 "God Hands"); we can position ourselves with our sideboards to compete in the meta. Green devotion can "out value" any fair deck in the format (including Jund, Grixis Control, Jeskai, Abzan, etc.). While we have to board for lightning fast and unfair decks; if we know our main-deck is favored in every "fair" match up; we can spend a vast majority of our board on cards to shut down or at least drastically slow down the unfair decks.
Updated Walker Devotion Combo List
4x Arbor Elf
4x Birds of Paradise
4x Elvish Visionary
Planeswalker
4x Garruk Wildspeaker
3x Nissa, Worldwaker
2x Karn Liberated
1x Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
Enchantment
4x Utopia Sprawl
4x Abundant Growth
2x Fertile Ground
2x Nylea's Presence
3x Cloudstone Curio
Instant/Sorcery
3x Genesis Wave
Land
8x Forest
2x Stomping Ground
4x Wooded Foothills
4x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
2x Kessig Wolf Run
2x Defense Grid
2x Damping Matrix
2x Privileged Position
2x Bonfire of the Damned
2x Spellskite
2x Primal Command
1x Reclamation Sage
1x Seal of Primordium
1x Elderscale Wurm
The deck is now VERY consistent and actually sped up as well. The board (as discussed above) is meant to basically to slow the fastest of decks down (Amulet, Burn, Grisholbrand, etc.). I'll discuss it more in my testing results to follow (and add more discussion of the board chicesl
also, have you tried out building around eidolon of blossoms? if so, how did you like it? I was thinking it would be good to maintain hand advantage because after i get boardwiped its usually hard to come back
Curious were like $5 (I bought a set for $19 last week) before CVM played that Evolutionary Elves deck...ugh.
To answer your questions, yes, you can do both. You can Replace Karn with [[Xenagos, the Reveler]]. It is another infinite combo with Garruk and Nissa (with Cloudstone)! the Ugin you really want just to wipe the board if need be. I'll PM you about that though (I have one I can send your way).
Another awesome options replacing the Karns with one Sarkhan Vol and one Genesis Hydra. Sarkhan is again another infinite combo piece (say Garruk makes 10 mana...you can "bounce them to infinite mana; then bounce them to create 100 3/3 Beast tokens via Garruk; then bounce them to give all the tokens +1000/+1000 and haste via Sarkhan Vol!!
Also,
Genesis Hydra is just awesome in the deck because it digs for any piece while also being a sizeae threat. It's also a great combo with Sarkhan Vol as you can cast it say for x=8, find Sarkhan Vol, then give the 8/8 hydra +1/+1 amd haste and attack that same turn!
As far as the enchantments deck is concerned; there are a couple routes I've tried...
A little while back I wanted to make a more budget-friendly version of Combo Green Devotion; and I tried an enchantment theme...of course this was before Curios were expensive. Here is a version I toyed with:
4x Arbor Elf
4x Elvish Mystic
3x Elvish Visionary
3x Eidolon of Blossoms
1x Nylea, God of the Hunt
4x Utopia Sprawl
4x Abundant Growth
3x Fertile Ground
3x Nylea's Presence
Other Permanents
3x Cloudstone Curio
2x Altar of the Brood
4x Garruk Wildspeaker
2x Nissa, Worldwaker
14x Forest
4x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
2x Kessig Wolf Run
This is close to it (on the road so doing it from memory); but the idea was pretty simple. Ramp and draw cards like mad; pushing your devotion way up; which leads to more ramp and more draw! In this case the win cons are Nylea and Wolf Run (to pump any tiny creature) and altar of the Brood (as you will have a TON of cards and a lot of "enchantment loops"...with Alter you can mill the opponent within a few turns (as you can loop" two 1-drop enchantments 20+ times a turn....plus, because of the walkers, you'll often hit one during your loop that lets you Untap Nykthos again and re-trigger it so you can keep going! It's a blast to play.
You also still have access to the infinite mana combo of Nissa + Garruk + Cloudstone! From there it's infinite punmps with Nylea or Wolf Run, Infinite 3/3 tokens, Mill the opponents entire deck (with Altar), etc.
There's a few things you can change if you have the cards or aren't as worried about budget:
1. Elvish Mystic can be Birds of Paradise - between Utopia Sprawl, Fertile Ground and Nylea's Presencem; you'll fix just fine for whatever color you splash; but the flying is a big deal too.
2. Can splash white for throne of empty sigil...tried this out for a bit; not sure it's any better than Altar to be honest.
3. Can play red fetches/shocks - this will help your mans a little and will thin to gas a little; but the deck functions fine without it. The only red needed is for Wolf Run main board (and a few sideboard options); and you'll get plenty of fixing from the land enchantments (discussed above).
Hopefully this helps! Even on s budget; Green Devotion combo can be great
Rolling thunder looks alright, I wish it were an instant though. Pyroclasm is great in sideboards but it's too bad it takes out our own mana dorks too. I still think dismember/rending volley is just enough disruption until we go off
Yeah...I've had a lot of success with Bonfire in the board...I was thinks though. I can't replace bonfire with Rolling Thunder due to the fact that Bonfire come in against Boggles, and other hex proof situations.
4x Arbor Elf
3x Birds of Paradise
1x Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
2x Eternal Witness
4x Primeval Titan
4x Voyaging Satyr
1x Xenagos, God of Revels
Sorcery (5)
1x Genesis Wave
4x Tooth and Nail
4x Garruk Wildspeaker
Land (22)
11x Forest
1x Kessig Wolf Run
4x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
1x Stomping Ground
4x Wooded Foothills
Enchantment (10)
2x Fertile Ground
4x Overgrowth
4x Utopia Sprawl
2x Beast Within
1x Pithing Needle
1x Boseiju, Who Shelters All
2x Creeping Corrosion
1x Ghost Quarter
2x Kitchen Finks
2x Obstinate Baloth
1x Relic of Progenitus
1x Scavenging Ooze
1x Vexing Shusher
1x Spellskite
Round 1, Elves: 2-1 (1-0)
His deck was a budget Elves so not as explosive as it could be. First game went horribly: I drew lands, mana dorks and Emrakul, the Aeons Torn. Second game I won on turn three with Tooth and Nail and third with Primeval Titan and Kessig Wolf Run.
Round 2, GR Tron: 2-1 (2-0)
This was a match-up I feared because of Oblivion Stone, Karn Liberated and Ugin, the Spirit Dragon. First game I won fast with Tooth and Nail, turn 3 or 4. Game 2 I lost to natural Tron. He resolved Karn Liberated, exiled my land with Overgrowth on it and that was that. Game 3 I mulled to four. I had a good four card hand. On his turn two he Pyroclasms my elf. I cast Garruk Wildspeaker on turn 3 and he gets Tron, but he had used his mana to get the Tron. On my turn 4 I have exactly 9 mana to entwine my Tooth and Nail. I was a bit baffled that I managed to win with mull to four and losing my Elf.
Round 3, Junk: 0-2 (2-1)
He ripped my hand apart. I mulled to six in both games. On first game he casted 5 discard spells and Liliana of the Veil at the end. The second game was closer and I had a chance to win with a lucky top deck, but two discard spells were enough. This was a very rough match up with so much discard. I won against Junk last week, but I felt this guy had more discard and definitely the mulligans didn't help. I think I should modify my sideboard better against Thoughtseize and Inquisition of Kozilek. Obstinate Baloth mainly works against Liliana of the Veil, but I don't know what would be the best choice. Leyline of Sanctity works, but casting it normally is hard, but not impossible. More Eternal Witnesses to get back what I've lost or more of a beat down plan with Kitchen Finks and Obstinate Baloths? Or refill my hand with Harmonize?
Round 4, Abzan Company Combo: 2-1 (3-1)
I won both games with Tooth and Nail and lost game 2 to his combo. After winning the first game, I sideboarded some disruption in for the combo. I lost that game to the combo and I thought maybe I diluted my combo too much. So in the last game I only had two Beast Withins boarding Eternal Witnesses out. He mulled to five and I comboed on turn 3 or 4.
Now I have went to two events with this deck and the total score is 7-1. I should focus more on my sideboard plan and try to figure out some ways to beat discard. I feel like once I get stuff on the table, the disruption is not so bad. I have 11 mana dorks, 10 enchantments and 4 planeswalkers that contribute to mana production so the opponent's disruption has to be versatile and one-for-ones haven't yet been very effective on the board. Discard is so cheap and it can give a very big tempo advantage against this deck. Or they remove a one-of win con and you rely on top-decks. I still haven't met control decks so I don't know about those.
I've taken a bit of a turn in my decks lately, having Affinity, Jund, and a couple flavours of Grixis built. That beings said, mono-Green Devotion is near and dear to my heart. I have it mostly foiled, so I'm looking for what the consensus best build(s) are so I can finish it up.
Any help would be appreciated
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