Here's my decklist.
Tested it a few games yesterday, 4-0. My opponent is using mono red aggro/burn. He just borrowed it from a friend so he's not familiar with how to "play" it, also he's into casual games only.
20 Lands:
9 Forest
4 Wooded Foothills
4 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
1 Kessig Wolf Run
1 Rootbound Crag (No budget for Stomping Ground as of now)
1 Mountain
Planeswalkers:
4 Garruk Wildspeaker
2 Nissa, Voice of Zendikar
Can you guys help me build my sb? My lgs have tron, dredge and aggro. Also, I appreciate if you can give suggestions to fine tune my deck
The main deck looks pretty on point for what you're plan is. Just a lot of great cards and a pretty good curve. With the right sideboard you're in good shape. I'd say if you are in a meta with a lot of Tron, Crumble to Dust may be a good choice (or even stone rain).
I was having fun with Aid from the Cowl, Congregation at Dawn and Mwonvuli Beast Tracker today (yeah I know right...) and realized the latter 3-drops also worked with Rishkar's Expertise at some degree (you may draw what you put on top). Aid can play our own permanent we'd put on top with Primal Command since it triggers Revolt...
Looks terribly cute, slow and bad, but I have trouble figuring what these Nykthos archetypes can do, so I let you guys tell me what you think.
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Pioneer - A bunch of stuff Modern - Humans Legacy - Grixis Phoenix / Death & Taxes
Just to chime in - early testing with walking ballista looks pretty good. I'm on stock Tooth and Nail and I think I just go -2 harmonize +2 walking ballista in the maindeck. The card is never fully dead and can clean up lots of problems like Thalia or vendillion clique or a fast dark confidant.
In the two test games where I drew it, I played it out t2 vs UW control just to get a body on board. It didnt come down to it because I snuck out a blood moon when he tapped for kitchen finks, but the fact you can pump mana into a resolved ballista will force their hand on a path or verdict eventually. That's not bad.
Another game vs infect I had all the ramp with no game except a garruk. I fogan attack and then rip primal command. Between garruk and 2 dorks I generated 13 mana for my primal command, and where tucking lands might have still left me dead to a blighted agent + pump I tutored up a ballista and set it down with 4 counters and mowed down agent, elf, and hierarch with 1 counter left (would have blown if he had had pump for an activation).
Small sample size = but some unusual examples in one case slipping it out just to have something on board vs control and in another actually tutoring it when flooded with mana in a situation where tutoring prime time is not really effective. I have often used atarka in that situation, but if I cast it and go 1-1-1 and he has pump for the agent it ends up not actually solving my problem.
Pretty good results anyways and I can see those types of scenarios again - anytime you're flooded it works, and anytime you need an early ping on a bob/thalia/pyro or to knock down clique to protect a garruk - you got it.
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Modern
* Esper Draw-Go
* Tezzeret Whir
* Blue Tron
Since no one is answering in the casual part of this forum, I'm trying my luck here. I hope I don't break any rules by doing so.
I want to remodel/redesign some of my decks and one of them is going to be Green Devotion. I know my deck is not modern legal, but this forum seems to be the best starting point, apart from the casual section.
What do you guys think? Anything you'd change, add or remove? Most of our decks are like $100-200, so I'm not sure about Craterhoof Behemoth and some other powerful cards.
I will post a few suggestions when I get a chance; but please do feel free to post here. We have a great community of Green Mages that would not only be happy to help; but would be happy to hear your thoughts and experiences with your deck.
Just to chime in - early testing with walking ballista looks pretty good. I'm on stock Tooth and Nail and I think I just go -2 harmonize +2 walking ballista in the maindeck. The card is never fully dead and can clean up lots of problems like Thalia or vendillion clique or a fast dark confidant.
In the two test games where I drew it, I played it out t2 vs UW control just to get a body on board. It didnt come down to it because I snuck out a blood moon when he tapped for kitchen finks, but the fact you can pump mana into a resolved ballista will force their hand on a path or verdict eventually. That's not bad.
Another game vs infect I had all the ramp with no game except a garruk. I fogan attack and then rip primal command. Between garruk and 2 dorks I generated 13 mana for my primal command, and where tucking lands might have still left me dead to a blighted agent + pump I tutored up a ballista and set it down with 4 counters and mowed down agent, elf, and hierarch with 1 counter left (would have blown if he had had pump for an activation).
Small sample size = but some unusual examples in one case slipping it out just to have something on board vs control and in another actually tutoring it when flooded with mana in a situation where tutoring prime time is not really effective. I have often used atarka in that situation, but if I cast it and go 1-1-1 and he has pump for the agent it ends up not actually solving my problem.
Pretty good results anyways and I can see those types of scenarios again - anytime you're flooded it works, and anytime you need an early ping on a bob/thalia/pyro or to knock down clique to protect a garruk - you got it.
Could not agree more....Walking Ballista has just been outstanding in my testing as well.
Here's where I'm at on my "main" deck right now (as I tend to try out as many interactions as possible to find broken new stuff...but have a main Walker Deck I play when playing a little more "seriously"):
Since no one is answering in the casual part of this forum, I'm trying my luck here. I hope I don't break any rules by doing so.
I want to remodel/redesign some of my decks and one of them is going to be Green Devotion. I know my deck is not modern legal, but this forum seems to be the best starting point, apart from the casual section.
What do you guys think? Anything you'd change, add or remove? Most of our decks are like $100-200, so I'm not sure about Craterhoof Behemoth and some other powerful cards.
I will post a few suggestions when I get a chance; but please do feel free to post here. We have a great community of Green Mages that would not only be happy to help; but would be happy to hear your thoughts and experiences with your deck.
It works surprisingly well, however it's a mess. It was build from what I had lying around and could get cheap. I wouldn't change much, since me and my friends play casual magic, but my buddies are stepping up now. Not in terms of deck building, I guess, but they're spending more money on cards. I need to follow, but I don't want to push it too far. I don't want to add 3x Tooth and Nail and slam Emrakul, the Aeons Torn on the table every game. I'm not a Spike, I'm a Timmy and a little bit of a Johnny.
I wanted to build an aggro, a control and a combo deck. For the combo deck I have choosen green devotion. It may not be a classic combo deck, but ramping into something is combo enough for me That being said, a combo deck seems to be pretty boring. Playing the same thing over and over again is not what I want to do. I like to have options and I like to do surprising stuff. This is why I came here. To ask for some ideas from people who actually played a deck like this and know some interactions that I could "steal".
So here's a random thought. Been scouring through magiccards.info for ferocious enablers for See the Unwritten (I want to make it work). I came across this old giantess - Rosheen Meanderer - that I think would be SWEET with Genesis Hydra and Genesis Wave! Has anybody ever used her? I could see her working well with Walking Ballista as well!
So here's a random thought. Been scouring through magiccards.info for ferocious enablers for See the Unwritten (I want to make it work). I came across this old giantess - Rosheen Meanderer - that I think would be SWEET with Genesis Hydra and Genesis Wave! Has anybody ever used her? I could see her working well with Walking Ballista as well!
I LOVE that idea!!! I played Rosheen a LONG time ago when I played Prime Time (I had Cavern in the board and multiple "giants") and had Genesis Wave and Bonfire.
What a great idea! I hadn't thought of that with the recent additions...I certainly am going to try it.
Once my order comes with the new cards, I will try to build a combo version. But a little different as your traditional approach. The aim is simply to get infinite mana with Temur Sabretooth as the main engine.
Nice part about that is also that when the combo fails, the creatures are still very suitable for regular beatdown.
Infinite mana and bouncing stuff with Sabretooth is the main win con (you can untap all your lands, make them creatures, make them X/X trample and swing). Ballista will go in to circumvent the attackstep, just in case (Ensnaring Bridge...)
But I feel there is more potential there as with durdling around with Cloudstone.
Anyway, once I tested a bit, I will let you know.
So would your main combo be the Eternal Witness + Temur Sabertooth + 2 Copies of the same Walker?
What is another infinite mana combo with Temur Sabertooth?
I would love if Temur Sabertooth worked out as well. I've tried it. I just always felt it didn't come together as easily...I do like Temur Sabertooth better as a card than Curio (in terms of being double green, a creature, etc.) so if I'm not seeing another infinite combo let me know. I'm excited!
I do know the haste enabler, Dotk that taps for more than its cost+Sabertooth cost of 2 thing (like in standard when they used Sabertooth + Karametra's Acolyte + Temur Ascendancy) as well; so if you had a haste enabler a card like Voyaging Saturday would do it with a Nykthos...
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I do think Walking Ballista gave us a little more interaction while being an amazing win-con...I'm currently a fan of having a Little interaction main.
I've been playing the Curio deck alot over the past little while and have yet to pull off the combo. So the first question is: maybe I don't know how to do it. What is the ideal setup? Minimal setup? Is it just an infinite mana combo? or also infinite cards? beasts? In fact, I think I've only cast the Curio a couple of times. Last question: how often do you combo off.
I know it's buried somewhere in this thread but I can't find it. I was hoping it was in the OP.
So I know it's been a few pages back, but I might be one of those few people interested in adding 4x Hidden Herbalist to my deck. BTE + Summoner's pact are my absolute favorite cards in devotion, and while Hidden Herbalist is not nearly as good as BTE, it does help a lot with very explosive combo starts. Having 8x BTE would also help in making chord of calling much more valuable in my deck. I can't wait to start tinkering more with the idea of an all in build with 4x summoners pact, 4x chord of calling, 4x BTE, and 4x Hidden Herbalist. You can just imagine the turn 2 crazyness that can be had. I do think this whole plan also rides on having a Nykthos in your opening hand, so Sylvan Scrying might be necessary for an all-in build. Now I just need to find a green fatty that 1. can be tutored by Summoner's Pact and 2. Can win on the same turn without needing too much help. Craterhoof is the first thing that comes to mind, but that would require some of the BTE's to have haste. Let me know what you think!
I've been playing the Curio deck alot over the past little while and have yet to pull off the combo. So the first question is: maybe I don't know how to do it. What is the ideal setup? Minimal setup? Is it just an infinite mana combo? or also infinite cards? beasts? In fact, I think I've only cast the Curio a couple of times. Last question: how often do you combo off.
I know it's buried somewhere in this thread but I can't find it. I was hoping it was in the OP.
Thanks.
I really should have provided a more detailed analysis, I just (a) assumed not many people would be interested in the Walker Combo build as compared to others, (b) did not want to "highlight" my deck on the Primer/OP when other devotion decks have had more historical success. I will make a section under a Spoiler for the Walker Combo deck, however, with some of the explanation below. It's not nearly "all encompassing" but hopefully the below will help hit the bigger points:
The Combo
Depending on which Walkers you use, the combination will nearly** always create infinite mana; but in most cases should also allow you to win the game on the spot. Garruk Wildspeaker is a powerful walker for the combo (as he often taps for a billion mana ) but he is not necessary. Any two "mana walkers" that IN SUM can generate EQUAL TO OUR MORE mana than the sum of their casting costs will allow for an infinite combo. Once you've done this, the following walkers will "Win the Game" outright:
1. Kiora, Master of the Depths - after creating infinite mana, (or just a good amount) you can begin -2 her. This will allow you to draw out your entire deck for creatures and/or lands. Hitting a Walking Ballista gives you infinite damage, hitting an Eternal Witness also allows you to bring back any non-creature she puts in the yard (such as Karn to wipe the board, etc.). Of course, if you play Kessig Wolf Run, Nylea, God of the Hunt, or any such sink you can win via an attack with a non-summoning sick creature(s). Also, a Craterhoof will win with any non-summoning sick creature (as you can keep bouncing it to compound the triggers).
2. Xenagos, the Reveler - After creating a ton of mana, you can start "0-ing" Xenagos to make infinite 2/2 haste Satyr tokens. This is probably the most "elegant" of all of the walkers (as it represents a very complete package of both mana and a same-turn win). It does have a few weaknesses (in the sense that you have to attack for the win and can sometimes be stopped by Fog Effects or Ensnaring Bridge (where drawing out the deck allows you to hit answers for the opponents permanents and/or spells prior to "going off").
3. Any Walker with an Ability that triggered Multiple Times wins the game or draws out your deck - The advent of Oath of Nissa changed things quite a bit. Now with an Oath on board; essentially every walker that is Modern legal can be cast with Green mana. Even without it; with Utopia Sprawl, Birds of Paradise, Abundant Growth, etc. allow us to most likely be able cast non-green walkers anyways.
If Garruk "taps" to create say...8-mana...than any 3-drop walker "goes infinite" (as you can:
- Trigger Garruk to generate 8 mana,
- Play the three-drop (bouncing Garruk to your hand)
- Trigger the 3-drop's ability
- Cast Garruk to bounce the 3-drop
You are still left with 1-mana and will net one on each "loop".
** the reason I said "nearly always" above is because you don't technically have to net one mana...if Garruk only "triggered" for 7-mana, the combo can still kill the opponent. If the walker can "ping" the opponent obviously each loop will deal damage whether you create extra mana or not. If the combo draws out your deck and you have another way to generate mana than it will eventually lead to enough mana to win the game). **
So essentially any walker that pings (Chandra, Saheeli Rai, Ral Zarek, Ajani Vengent, etc.) creates "haste" tokens or draws out the deck (so you can hit your Ballista, haste enabler, Craterhoof, Karn, etc.) will win the game. A good example of this is the combination of Garruk Wildspeaker and Karn Liberated. I've had countless games where my devotion was so high that Garruk could trigger to generate 11 or more mana. From there, with Karn Liberated I could keep looping them to exile the opponent's entire board.
You also have the ability to utilize cards like Primal Command to infinitely "lock" the opponent with the Witness/Command loop (as you can infinitely bounce Witness bringing back Command over and over again) and to gain infinite life and put all non-creature permanents on top of their library (and tutor as many creatures as you want). Bouncing all of the opponent's non-creature permanents (including their lands) will win 99% of all games; so you really don't have to put too many "non-Green Devotion" cards in the deck at all. While technically you don't "win" until the next turn; it doesn't matter as the opponent can't actually do anything outside casting a 1-drop (assuming it was already in hand as you can put a land back on top to ensure they top deck a land). The goal is to be able to utilize the cards you would be using anyways if you didn't have the combo.
I don't forsee WOTC stopping printing walkers that generate mana...so the future can only provide even more options for us!
Outline of Potential Combos and Other Combos within the Deck
*The Nykthos is not a must; but it is generally the way it will work (I have sometimes completed it with an Arbor Elf and two Utopia Sprawls as well as then Kiora "taps" for 6 while Garruk "taps" for 4 for a total of 10).*
This essentially is the "main" combo. It is as described above. You trigger one Walker, cast the other (to bounce the one on board), trigger the new walker, cast the other (bouncing the one on board) and repeat. You just keep looping the walkers to generate infinite mana, dig through the deck with Kiora, return whatever you want with Witness or Nissa, and kill the opponent.
Here you are essentially "looping" two of the same walker. Because the legend rule forces you to "sacrifice" the walker on board; you simply
- Trigger the walker on board,
- Cast the new walker (putting the one on board in the graveyard),
- Trigger the "new" walker on board,
- Cast Eternal Witness (recurring the walker in the yard and bouncing any other creature)
- Play the walker now in hand (putting the one on board in the yard)
- Bounce the Eternal Witness by casting dork (or visionary, etc.)
- Cast Witness to recur Walker in the yard.
- Repeat
The Walker in question would have to produce enough mana to pay for itself, the Witness, the other creature, and 1-additional man; but this is rarely a problem when you get there.
This combo can also be completed with Temur Sabertooh! Rather than requiring another creature and Cloudstone Curio it requires only Sabertooth, Witness, and the two copies of the Walker. The mana investment is essentially the same (as Sabertooth requires 2-mana to activate for each time you bounce Witness) but Sabertooth can be easier to tutor for at times (although it costs one more and is open to creature removal).
* Any walker that generates mana will do. You can loop two Kiora's if you have them instead of Garruk.*
There are other combos you can add to the deck if you wish as well. I have a list with TONS of crazy combos (many including different walkers...some work only with Kiora, some with other walkers, etc.) but I won't list them all here. I will try to come up with an organized way to list them all.
Ways to Set Up Combo
In many games, you will somewhat "draw" or "dig" into the combo. One of the "points" of the deck (at least it has thus far been my attempt) is to make the deck good without hitting the combo while also trying to use pieces that all dig to/recur/Tutor other pieces.. There are, however, many ways to set up the combo.
Often, after having a Cloudstone Curio on board, you can begin bouncing things, returning things, etc. to dig for the combo. One of the most straightforward ways is to continue "looping" a Utopia Sprawl and Oath of Nissa. Casting one "bounces" the other (your choice) and essentially for two mana you dig three cards deep as many times as you can afford . The nice thing is that each time you hit a Walker you can play them, untap, and continue the loop. The same is true of the first Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx you play. Even if you have one on board; you can still play the second as your land for turn and keep creating mana. Eventually you will hit either an Eternal Witness(to bring back a Walker in the yard), a Nissa, Vital Force (again to return or to combo off if you have Nykthos), the walker you are looking for, or a Genesis Hydra.
This is one I use a good amount now; but took some time to get proficient with.
This one doesn't necessarily require Cloudstone Curio to be on board. Say you have a mana dork on board, a Garruk, 6 devotion, and a Hydra in hand. You can cast a hydra for X=3+ (in most cases it will be a lot higher) to "dig" for a Curio. Once the curio is hit, it will actually enter the battlefield BEFORE the Hydra. Hydra will then trigger the Curio. This allows you to bounce the dork, replay it, and bounce the Hydra back into your hand. From there, you trigger your Garruk (or whatever walker was already on board); replay they hydra; but this time digging for a second Walker. Also, if you do already have Curio in play you get back to a position where any "mana walker" is fine (as they can "re-tap" the Nythos and continue the loop).
There is a trick here though...Kiora can only untap one land (and a mana dork). If you don't have any dork to untap; you will want to hold back 2 mana to ensure that if you hit Kiora (or Nissa Vital Force) that they can trigger the Nykthos.
Both of these become pretty important when trying to "dig" for the combo. Both can be bounced to draw more cards and/or return important items from your Graveyard. Witness is part of her own combo (assuming you have two copies of the same Walker). It's kind of straight-forward; but there is an important synergy to remember...Kiora, Master of the Depths -2 ability.
Kiora's ability will dig four cards deep to find a creature and/or a land...the combo pieces just so happen to be neither. So any Cloudstone Curio or Planeswalker she hits will be put in the graveyard. This is actually what you want...as when she does hit a Witness (or you draw a witness, Woodland Bellower to tutor a witness, tutor for witness, Nissa Vital force, etc.) you can recur the card directly from the graveyard. This is why the deck requires a good amount of practice...all of the cards in the deck work together to dig for and tutor each other; but you have to be relatively on top of what you are doing go get there.
Random Tips
1. Don't play out your land for turn early if you think you will be digging/drawing.
All devotion decks function better with the use of one or more Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx. If you are going to be digging/drawing anyways; you may as well wait and see if you hit one.
2. Remember to hold up 1-2 mana when casting a Genesis Hydra to complete the combo (just in case you hit Kiora or Nissa Vital Force) and need to continue the loop.
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It's really a matter of playing the deck a lot. I sometimes oversimplify the changes to the deck, how it plays out, etc.
To answer your other question; I would say that currently I win approximately 50%-60% of all games with an infinite combo.
The current deck tends to play best when you spend the first 1-3 (and sometimes 4-5 if it is a grindy/fair match up) turns building up your board and "answering" the opponent's most important aspect (via either making a big enough creature to block their early or large threat, playing a Primal Command and/or Karn to remove a problem permanent, or killing an important creature with a Ballista, Polukranos, or other kill spell/permanent...simply put; you spend the first few turns amassing a board presence that overwhelms theirs. Then, (generally turns 4-6...sometimes 3 but only on God Hand...) you "go off". This is why I like a little interaction (as it buys you about 1 - 2 turns).
You can, however, go a more "all in" route with another Curio, Burning-Tree Emissary, no interaction, etc. (and that will generally shave a turn or sometimes 2) but I've found the deck seems to win more when it plays more like a "big green" deck that can interact before it "Goes off". It's a balancing act. I hope this helps a little. I will try to add more tips, lines of play, ways to set up the combo(s), etc. as I think of them.
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In truth, however, have only scratched the surface of this archetype and "Green Devotion Combo".
I've spent a LONG time on Walker Combo; but there are many more options available. Even in the last couple days, a few crazy thoughts entered my mind:
- Adding the Saheeli Rai Combo to the deck (or even just Felidar Guardian)- Both cards are good in the deck by themselves. We are built on ETB effects, so bouncing permanents and/or Saheeli's making copies abilities both are great..." That, and simply bouncing a Walker in the normal But a Saheeli inside of the Walker Combo.
In decks with Temur Sabertooth you could create infinite mana simply by "bouncing" Felidar Guardian to bounce any Walker that can generate 6+their own cost mana. This may seem like a lot, but with Nykthos it's really not. You'd have to be vigilant about ensuring you had a white mana available via either Utopia Sprawl, Fertile Ground, or Birds of Paradise (with Kiora)); but it can be done within the normal confines of the deck.
- Adding Invasive Species to Temur Sabertooth builds - Again, just another way to use Sabertooth somewhat like a Curio (however using only creatures and walkers). This one is on-color and is a Woodland Bellower target. Here again, Sabertooth can "bounce" the Species; and when it enters it "bounces" the Walker of your choice. A little convoluted; but with tutors like Primal Command, Summoner's Pact, etc. and great cards like Duskwatch Recruiter and Oath of Nissa (not to mention Hydra)...often it can be easier to tutor/dig for creatures than anything else. The trick is to make sure the cards work well WITHOUT the combo (in this case we know Sabertooth and the walkers do...and Invasive Species has a few areas where it an be good (returning a Visionary, Witness, Bellower, etc. to re-trigger ETB). Invasive Species would probably be the weakest card in the deck; but it is tutorable in a million ways (including Woodland Bellower so it has potential.
- Another Combo I was toying with with the Walkers involved a VERY random card:
Oh, if only it wasn't for Snow Covered permanents!!! I don't think I would always meet this need (although could easily play snow covered Forests/one Island)...but it is a creature that can bounce Planeswalkers to "go infinite" with Kiora, Master of the Depths triggers.
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You also don't HAVE to play the walker combo to make Devotion a combo deck. You can just as easily incorporate other combos. Some of the creature based ones include:
There are MANY MANY more and as long as the cards function well enough on their own; the combo can just be a natural "benefit" of the deck without hindering the deck's performance too much. I just didn't want people to think the Walker Combo was the only combo available to green devotion. We have the fortuante position to have a "shell" that generates a lot of mana quite quickly and many efficient tutor/dig spells (mostly for creatures)...so the possibilities are there for many many combo decks.
Funnily enough, however, the best performing Devotion decks historically have been the Non-Combo variants (Tooth and Nail and Traditional Devotion). Of course, often these play very similar to a Combo deck (Tooth and Nail is essentially a 1-card Combo that tutors for a 2-card Combo and Craterhoof Behemoth his kind of it's own "combo" in the sense that it is a "cast and I win" card that requires other cards to be on board most of the time).
** I would like to put a Saheeli Rai in there; but don't know what I would remove. **
The prices are much easier to dig/tutor for (but Stirrings did hit Nykthos too)...but much easier to interact with too...although Sabertooth's indestructible nature and Felidar's big butt help.
I'll be testing this the rest of the weekend and beyond (so I'll fill everyone in) as I already own all of these cards.
Sorry to fill up a page; but The first was to explain the Curio deck; and now I've been testing this new Walker Combo (I've called it cat combo because both Sabertooth and Felidar Guardian are cats)
I've been suprised...it's different; but not bad at all. You have to manage mana differently (as Curio was just the cost and bounces the enchantments and Walkers)...but it feels VERy similar. It's nice hitting combo pieces off of Duskwatch
It makes Garruk's overrun WAY better.
It may actually be viable. It's the only time I've felt the Walker deck works without Curio.
Do have a Wuestion for you guys though. What's better:
1. Cloudstone Curio + two Walkers
2. One Walker + Temur Sabertooth + Felidar Guardian
Both are 3-card combos in a similar shell.
the Walker Combo deck would become more like:
(decklist)
Given the proposed lists, I would say that the curio version seems preferable, at least in concept. Guardian just doesn't do enough with the rest of the devotion staples compared to some of the things that Curio lets you do. Especially if you're looking to play x-cost creatures like Genesis Hydra and Walking Ballista, they're much better with Curio.
Do have a Wuestion for you guys though. What's better:
1. Cloudstone Curio + two Walkers
2. One Walker + Temur Sabertooth + Felidar Guardian
Both are 3-card combos in a similar shell.
the Walker Combo deck would become more like:
(decklist)
Given the proposed lists, I would say that the curio version seems preferable, at least in concept. Guardian just doesn't do enough with the rest of the devotion staples compared to some of the things that Curio lets you do. Especially if you're looking to play x-cost creatures like Genesis Hydra and Walking Ballista, they're much better with Curio.
Thank you for your input! I do agreee that being able to loop Sprawl+Oath and the other staples in the deck is a huge benefit to Curio.
Obviously I havent tested the "Cat" version (for lack of a better word..) much (compared to my significant testing with the Curio version)...but I will continue to test it this weekend to get a feel where the differences lie and/or how either List can be improved.
Absolutely fantastic response. Thanks for taking the time. This definitely needs to be linked somewhere in the OP. Thanks again.
No problem! I hope it helped. I'll work on getting the info more organized (and getting more info up) on the OP pertaining to the Walker Combo build and how it works/can be played.
One thing I've found with relative certainty (Regardless of the Version I've run)...Walking Ballista is really really good
It's a mana sink....I've won games attacking for 5 then second main "pinging" the opponent for 5....it kills big creatures...it kills little creatures (played against the new Abzan list with Fatal Push that just won the first tournament and killed 12 lingering souls spirit tokens just with Ballista's....it can block and kill...good with infinite mana...it's just really good.
I would not be surprised if a deck of just really good Devotion cards and 4x Walking Ballista was just as good as many other Devotion decks.
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Also, it looks like it might be a standout in standard too...I'd pick up copies tonight/early tomorrow if you can before they go to $10+ each.
Hey everyone! It's been awhile but I can't help coming back to see what the new sets do to our collective being abilities! First thing I see is a new guy asking questions and Curdbros writing a mini novel to describe the deck options. I love this thread!
I'm still on the "elegant" Walker Devo build with Wildspeaker and XenReveler. I just love the speed and simplicity of the combo even if it is 3 parts lol.
The new Felidar Sovereign is interesting and I thought about it for a while, but to me, in my version at least, it's just a more expensive, off color back up for Curio -- the least impactful on their own of the 3 combo pieces.
Probably the hardest part about the deck is that it is a true 3 piece combo deck, and changing the ratio of parts really makes testing an arduous process (and one I rarely complete).
I do really like the Walking Ballista for the board for match ups where combat is difficult due to Bridge or some other effect. Probably adding one to the sb.
The most exciting thing about Walker Devo is that it will only get stronger as time goes on. Planeswalkers will continue to be pushed in new ways and Curio begs to try new cards each set.
For instance, has anybody tried Hidden Herbalists or Rishkar, Peema Renegade in Curio builds? With enough fetches HH is BTE 5-8 and Rishkar makes the dork heavy builds more robust for only 3 mana which is important with Curio builds.
Anyway I'm trying those out.
I do hope the advancements on mtgo continue and we have loops available soon, as is still a nightmare to play online.
Thank you for the suggestions.
I finally got my Wolfbriar Elemental and Genesis Hydra but I dont know what to take out from my deck.
Well, I need to start playtesting.
Happy deck building guys. Love this thread.
I was having fun with Aid from the Cowl, Congregation at Dawn and Mwonvuli Beast Tracker today (yeah I know right...) and realized the latter 3-drops also worked with Rishkar's Expertise at some degree (you may draw what you put on top). Aid can play our own permanent we'd put on top with Primal Command since it triggers Revolt...
Looks terribly cute, slow and bad, but I have trouble figuring what these Nykthos archetypes can do, so I let you guys tell me what you think.
In the two test games where I drew it, I played it out t2 vs UW control just to get a body on board. It didnt come down to it because I snuck out a blood moon when he tapped for kitchen finks, but the fact you can pump mana into a resolved ballista will force their hand on a path or verdict eventually. That's not bad.
Another game vs infect I had all the ramp with no game except a garruk. I fogan attack and then rip primal command. Between garruk and 2 dorks I generated 13 mana for my primal command, and where tucking lands might have still left me dead to a blighted agent + pump I tutored up a ballista and set it down with 4 counters and mowed down agent, elf, and hierarch with 1 counter left (would have blown if he had had pump for an activation).
Small sample size = but some unusual examples in one case slipping it out just to have something on board vs control and in another actually tutoring it when flooded with mana in a situation where tutoring prime time is not really effective. I have often used atarka in that situation, but if I cast it and go 1-1-1 and he has pump for the agent it ends up not actually solving my problem.
Pretty good results anyways and I can see those types of scenarios again - anytime you're flooded it works, and anytime you need an early ping on a bob/thalia/pyro or to knock down clique to protect a garruk - you got it.
* Esper Draw-Go
* Tezzeret Whir
* Blue Tron
I will post a few suggestions when I get a chance; but please do feel free to post here. We have a great community of Green Mages that would not only be happy to help; but would be happy to hear your thoughts and experiences with your deck.
Could not agree more....Walking Ballista has just been outstanding in my testing as well.
Here's where I'm at on my "main" deck right now (as I tend to try out as many interactions as possible to find broken new stuff...but have a main Walker Deck I play when playing a little more "seriously"):
4x Arbor Elf
3x Birds of Paradise
3x Elvish Visionary
1x Duskwatch Recruiter
2x Eternal Witness
1x Woodland Bellower
3x Genesis Hydra
2x Walking Ballista
4x Oath of Nissa
4x Utopia Sprawl
Walker
4x Garruk Wildspeaker
3x Kiora, Master of Depths
1x Karn Liberated
Artifacts
2x Cloudstone Curio
Non-Permanent
2x Ancient Stirrings
1x Primal Command
4x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
7x Green Fetch Land
7x Forest
1x Breeding Pool
1x Horizon Canopy
Hey CurdBros Thanks!
Here is the green deck I'm running right now:
1 Blighted Woodland
12 Forest
1 Kessig Wolf Run
1 Kher Keep
4 Mountain
2 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
Spells (19)
1 Banefire
3 Fertile Ground
1 Garruk Wildspeaker
1 Genesis Wave
2 Green Sun's Zenith
2 Harmonize
1 Nissa, Worldwaker
3 Primal Command
1 Tooth and Nail
4 Utopia Sprawl
4 Arbor Elf
1 Dragonlord Atarka
1 Dryad Arbor
3 Eternal Witness
2 Flametongue Kavu
4 Inferno Titan
1 Nylea, God of the Hunt
3 Voyaging Satyr
1 Xenagos, God of Revels
It works surprisingly well, however it's a mess. It was build from what I had lying around and could get cheap. I wouldn't change much, since me and my friends play casual magic, but my buddies are stepping up now. Not in terms of deck building, I guess, but they're spending more money on cards. I need to follow, but I don't want to push it too far. I don't want to add 3x Tooth and Nail and slam Emrakul, the Aeons Torn on the table every game. I'm not a Spike, I'm a Timmy and a little bit of a Johnny.
I wanted to build an aggro, a control and a combo deck. For the combo deck I have choosen green devotion. It may not be a classic combo deck, but ramping into something is combo enough for me That being said, a combo deck seems to be pretty boring. Playing the same thing over and over again is not what I want to do. I like to have options and I like to do surprising stuff. This is why I came here. To ask for some ideas from people who actually played a deck like this and know some interactions that I could "steal".
I LOVE that idea!!! I played Rosheen a LONG time ago when I played Prime Time (I had Cavern in the board and multiple "giants") and had Genesis Wave and Bonfire.
What a great idea! I hadn't thought of that with the recent additions...I certainly am going to try it.
So would your main combo be the Eternal Witness + Temur Sabertooth + 2 Copies of the same Walker?
What is another infinite mana combo with Temur Sabertooth?
I would love if Temur Sabertooth worked out as well. I've tried it. I just always felt it didn't come together as easily...I do like Temur Sabertooth better as a card than Curio (in terms of being double green, a creature, etc.) so if I'm not seeing another infinite combo let me know. I'm excited!
I do know the haste enabler, Dotk that taps for more than its cost+Sabertooth cost of 2 thing (like in standard when they used Sabertooth + Karametra's Acolyte + Temur Ascendancy) as well; so if you had a haste enabler a card like Voyaging Saturday would do it with a Nykthos...
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I do think Walking Ballista gave us a little more interaction while being an amazing win-con...I'm currently a fan of having a Little interaction main.
I know it's buried somewhere in this thread but I can't find it. I was hoping it was in the OP.
Thanks.
I really should have provided a more detailed analysis, I just (a) assumed not many people would be interested in the Walker Combo build as compared to others, (b) did not want to "highlight" my deck on the Primer/OP when other devotion decks have had more historical success. I will make a section under a Spoiler for the Walker Combo deck, however, with some of the explanation below. It's not nearly "all encompassing" but hopefully the below will help hit the bigger points:
The Combo
Depending on which Walkers you use, the combination will nearly** always create infinite mana; but in most cases should also allow you to win the game on the spot. Garruk Wildspeaker is a powerful walker for the combo (as he often taps for a billion mana ) but he is not necessary. Any two "mana walkers" that IN SUM can generate EQUAL TO OUR MORE mana than the sum of their casting costs will allow for an infinite combo. Once you've done this, the following walkers will "Win the Game" outright:
1. Kiora, Master of the Depths - after creating infinite mana, (or just a good amount) you can begin -2 her. This will allow you to draw out your entire deck for creatures and/or lands. Hitting a Walking Ballista gives you infinite damage, hitting an Eternal Witness also allows you to bring back any non-creature she puts in the yard (such as Karn to wipe the board, etc.). Of course, if you play Kessig Wolf Run, Nylea, God of the Hunt, or any such sink you can win via an attack with a non-summoning sick creature(s). Also, a Craterhoof will win with any non-summoning sick creature (as you can keep bouncing it to compound the triggers).
2. Xenagos, the Reveler - After creating a ton of mana, you can start "0-ing" Xenagos to make infinite 2/2 haste Satyr tokens. This is probably the most "elegant" of all of the walkers (as it represents a very complete package of both mana and a same-turn win). It does have a few weaknesses (in the sense that you have to attack for the win and can sometimes be stopped by Fog Effects or Ensnaring Bridge (where drawing out the deck allows you to hit answers for the opponents permanents and/or spells prior to "going off").
3. Any Walker with an Ability that triggered Multiple Times wins the game or draws out your deck - The advent of Oath of Nissa changed things quite a bit. Now with an Oath on board; essentially every walker that is Modern legal can be cast with Green mana. Even without it; with Utopia Sprawl, Birds of Paradise, Abundant Growth, etc. allow us to most likely be able cast non-green walkers anyways.
If Garruk "taps" to create say...8-mana...than any 3-drop walker "goes infinite" (as you can:
- Trigger Garruk to generate 8 mana,
- Play the three-drop (bouncing Garruk to your hand)
- Trigger the 3-drop's ability
- Cast Garruk to bounce the 3-drop
You are still left with 1-mana and will net one on each "loop".
** the reason I said "nearly always" above is because you don't technically have to net one mana...if Garruk only "triggered" for 7-mana, the combo can still kill the opponent. If the walker can "ping" the opponent obviously each loop will deal damage whether you create extra mana or not. If the combo draws out your deck and you have another way to generate mana than it will eventually lead to enough mana to win the game). **
So essentially any walker that pings (Chandra, Saheeli Rai, Ral Zarek, Ajani Vengent, etc.) creates "haste" tokens or draws out the deck (so you can hit your Ballista, haste enabler, Craterhoof, Karn, etc.) will win the game. A good example of this is the combination of Garruk Wildspeaker and Karn Liberated. I've had countless games where my devotion was so high that Garruk could trigger to generate 11 or more mana. From there, with Karn Liberated I could keep looping them to exile the opponent's entire board.
You also have the ability to utilize cards like Primal Command to infinitely "lock" the opponent with the Witness/Command loop (as you can infinitely bounce Witness bringing back Command over and over again) and to gain infinite life and put all non-creature permanents on top of their library (and tutor as many creatures as you want). Bouncing all of the opponent's non-creature permanents (including their lands) will win 99% of all games; so you really don't have to put too many "non-Green Devotion" cards in the deck at all. While technically you don't "win" until the next turn; it doesn't matter as the opponent can't actually do anything outside casting a 1-drop (assuming it was already in hand as you can put a land back on top to ensure they top deck a land). The goal is to be able to utilize the cards you would be using anyways if you didn't have the combo.
I don't forsee WOTC stopping printing walkers that generate mana...so the future can only provide even more options for us!
Outline of Potential Combos and Other Combos within the Deck
For the Curio Combo, depending on your build, you will generally hit one of these two "Main" combos:
1. Garruk Wildspeaker, Kiora, Master of Depths, a Cloudstone Curio (and generally a Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx*.
*The Nykthos is not a must; but it is generally the way it will work (I have sometimes completed it with an Arbor Elf and two Utopia Sprawls as well as then Kiora "taps" for 6 while Garruk "taps" for 4 for a total of 10).*
This essentially is the "main" combo. It is as described above. You trigger one Walker, cast the other (to bounce the one on board), trigger the new walker, cast the other (bouncing the one on board) and repeat. You just keep looping the walkers to generate infinite mana, dig through the deck with Kiora, return whatever you want with Witness or Nissa, and kill the opponent.
2. 2x Garruk Wildspeaker*, An Eternal Witness, a Cloudstone Curio, and another creature.
Here you are essentially "looping" two of the same walker. Because the legend rule forces you to "sacrifice" the walker on board; you simply
- Trigger the walker on board,
- Cast the new walker (putting the one on board in the graveyard),
- Trigger the "new" walker on board,
- Cast Eternal Witness (recurring the walker in the yard and bouncing any other creature)
- Play the walker now in hand (putting the one on board in the yard)
- Bounce the Eternal Witness by casting dork (or visionary, etc.)
- Cast Witness to recur Walker in the yard.
- Repeat
The Walker in question would have to produce enough mana to pay for itself, the Witness, the other creature, and 1-additional man; but this is rarely a problem when you get there.
This combo can also be completed with Temur Sabertooh! Rather than requiring another creature and Cloudstone Curio it requires only Sabertooth, Witness, and the two copies of the Walker. The mana investment is essentially the same (as Sabertooth requires 2-mana to activate for each time you bounce Witness) but Sabertooth can be easier to tutor for at times (although it costs one more and is open to creature removal).
* Any walker that generates mana will do. You can loop two Kiora's if you have them instead of Garruk.*
There are other combos you can add to the deck if you wish as well. I have a list with TONS of crazy combos (many including different walkers...some work only with Kiora, some with other walkers, etc.) but I won't list them all here. I will try to come up with an organized way to list them all.
Ways to Set Up Combo
In many games, you will somewhat "draw" or "dig" into the combo. One of the "points" of the deck (at least it has thus far been my attempt) is to make the deck good without hitting the combo while also trying to use pieces that all dig to/recur/Tutor other pieces.. There are, however, many ways to set up the combo.
1. Oath of Nissa + Utopia Sprawl Loops
Often, after having a Cloudstone Curio on board, you can begin bouncing things, returning things, etc. to dig for the combo. One of the most straightforward ways is to continue "looping" a Utopia Sprawl and Oath of Nissa. Casting one "bounces" the other (your choice) and essentially for two mana you dig three cards deep as many times as you can afford . The nice thing is that each time you hit a Walker you can play them, untap, and continue the loop. The same is true of the first Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx you play. Even if you have one on board; you can still play the second as your land for turn and keep creating mana. Eventually you will hit either an Eternal Witness(to bring back a Walker in the yard), a Nissa, Vital Force (again to return or to combo off if you have Nykthos), the walker you are looking for, or a Genesis Hydra.
2. Genesis Hydra + one other creature "loop"
This is one I use a good amount now; but took some time to get proficient with.
This one doesn't necessarily require Cloudstone Curio to be on board. Say you have a mana dork on board, a Garruk, 6 devotion, and a Hydra in hand. You can cast a hydra for X=3+ (in most cases it will be a lot higher) to "dig" for a Curio. Once the curio is hit, it will actually enter the battlefield BEFORE the Hydra. Hydra will then trigger the Curio. This allows you to bounce the dork, replay it, and bounce the Hydra back into your hand. From there, you trigger your Garruk (or whatever walker was already on board); replay they hydra; but this time digging for a second Walker. Also, if you do already have Curio in play you get back to a position where any "mana walker" is fine (as they can "re-tap" the Nythos and continue the loop).
There is a trick here though...Kiora can only untap one land (and a mana dork). If you don't have any dork to untap; you will want to hold back 2 mana to ensure that if you hit Kiora (or Nissa Vital Force) that they can trigger the Nykthos.
3. Eternal Witness and/or Elvish Visionary
Both of these become pretty important when trying to "dig" for the combo. Both can be bounced to draw more cards and/or return important items from your Graveyard. Witness is part of her own combo (assuming you have two copies of the same Walker). It's kind of straight-forward; but there is an important synergy to remember...Kiora, Master of the Depths -2 ability.
Kiora's ability will dig four cards deep to find a creature and/or a land...the combo pieces just so happen to be neither. So any Cloudstone Curio or Planeswalker she hits will be put in the graveyard. This is actually what you want...as when she does hit a Witness (or you draw a witness, Woodland Bellower to tutor a witness, tutor for witness, Nissa Vital force, etc.) you can recur the card directly from the graveyard. This is why the deck requires a good amount of practice...all of the cards in the deck work together to dig for and tutor each other; but you have to be relatively on top of what you are doing go get there.
Random Tips
1. Don't play out your land for turn early if you think you will be digging/drawing.
All devotion decks function better with the use of one or more Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx. If you are going to be digging/drawing anyways; you may as well wait and see if you hit one.
2. Remember to hold up 1-2 mana when casting a Genesis Hydra to complete the combo (just in case you hit Kiora or Nissa Vital Force) and need to continue the loop.
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It's really a matter of playing the deck a lot. I sometimes oversimplify the changes to the deck, how it plays out, etc.
To answer your other question; I would say that currently I win approximately 50%-60% of all games with an infinite combo.
The current deck tends to play best when you spend the first 1-3 (and sometimes 4-5 if it is a grindy/fair match up) turns building up your board and "answering" the opponent's most important aspect (via either making a big enough creature to block their early or large threat, playing a Primal Command and/or Karn to remove a problem permanent, or killing an important creature with a Ballista, Polukranos, or other kill spell/permanent...simply put; you spend the first few turns amassing a board presence that overwhelms theirs. Then, (generally turns 4-6...sometimes 3 but only on God Hand...) you "go off". This is why I like a little interaction (as it buys you about 1 - 2 turns).
You can, however, go a more "all in" route with another Curio, Burning-Tree Emissary, no interaction, etc. (and that will generally shave a turn or sometimes 2) but I've found the deck seems to win more when it plays more like a "big green" deck that can interact before it "Goes off". It's a balancing act. I hope this helps a little. I will try to add more tips, lines of play, ways to set up the combo(s), etc. as I think of them.
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In truth, however, have only scratched the surface of this archetype and "Green Devotion Combo".
I've spent a LONG time on Walker Combo; but there are many more options available. Even in the last couple days, a few crazy thoughts entered my mind:
- Adding the Saheeli Rai Combo to the deck (or even just Felidar Guardian)- Both cards are good in the deck by themselves. We are built on ETB effects, so bouncing permanents and/or Saheeli's making copies abilities both are great..." That, and simply bouncing a Walker in the normal But a Saheeli inside of the Walker Combo.
In decks with Temur Sabertooth you could create infinite mana simply by "bouncing" Felidar Guardian to bounce any Walker that can generate 6+their own cost mana. This may seem like a lot, but with Nykthos it's really not. You'd have to be vigilant about ensuring you had a white mana available via either Utopia Sprawl, Fertile Ground, or Birds of Paradise (with Kiora)); but it can be done within the normal confines of the deck.
- Adding Invasive Species to Temur Sabertooth builds - Again, just another way to use Sabertooth somewhat like a Curio (however using only creatures and walkers). This one is on-color and is a Woodland Bellower target. Here again, Sabertooth can "bounce" the Species; and when it enters it "bounces" the Walker of your choice. A little convoluted; but with tutors like Primal Command, Summoner's Pact, etc. and great cards like Duskwatch Recruiter and Oath of Nissa (not to mention Hydra)...often it can be easier to tutor/dig for creatures than anything else. The trick is to make sure the cards work well WITHOUT the combo (in this case we know Sabertooth and the walkers do...and Invasive Species has a few areas where it an be good (returning a Visionary, Witness, Bellower, etc. to re-trigger ETB). Invasive Species would probably be the weakest card in the deck; but it is tutorable in a million ways (including Woodland Bellower so it has potential.
- Another Combo I was toying with with the Walkers involved a VERY random card:
Oh, if only it wasn't for Snow Covered permanents!!! I don't think I would always meet this need (although could easily play snow covered Forests/one Island)...but it is a creature that can bounce Planeswalkers to "go infinite" with Kiora, Master of the Depths triggers.
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You also don't HAVE to play the walker combo to make Devotion a combo deck. You can just as easily incorporate other combos. Some of the creature based ones include:
1. The Spike Feeder + Archangel of Thune combo.
2. Devoted Druid + Quilspike
3. Freed From the Real + Arbor Elf + Utopia Sprawl (this deck would also most likely play Bloom Tender
4. Heritage Druid + Nettle Sentinel + Dwynen's Elite + Temur Sabertooth (or Curio). The Curio combo would only require Heritage Druid and one of the other two; but you get the point...Combo Elves within Devotion shell.
5. Umbral Mantle + any creature that taps for 4+ (Karametra's Acolyte, Voyaging Satyr with Nykthos or Overgrowth, Elvish Archdruid, etc.)
6. 2x Devoted Druid and Ezuri, Renegade Leader (requires 1 additional mana to "start" the loop but is self sufficient after).
There are MANY MANY more and as long as the cards function well enough on their own; the combo can just be a natural "benefit" of the deck without hindering the deck's performance too much. I just didn't want people to think the Walker Combo was the only combo available to green devotion. We have the fortuante position to have a "shell" that generates a lot of mana quite quickly and many efficient tutor/dig spells (mostly for creatures)...so the possibilities are there for many many combo decks.
Funnily enough, however, the best performing Devotion decks historically have been the Non-Combo variants (Tooth and Nail and Traditional Devotion). Of course, often these play very similar to a Combo deck (Tooth and Nail is essentially a 1-card Combo that tutors for a 2-card Combo and Craterhoof Behemoth his kind of it's own "combo" in the sense that it is a "cast and I win" card that requires other cards to be on board most of the time).
1. Cloudstone Curio + two Walkers
2. One Walker + Temur Sabertooth + Felidar Guardian
Both are 3-card combos in a similar shell.
the Walker Combo deck would become more like:
4x Arbor Elf
3x Birds of Paradise
3x Elvish Visionary
2x Duskwatch Recruiter
2x Eternal Witness
2x Temur Sabertooth
2x Felidar Guardian
2x Walking Ballista
3x Genesis Hydra
4x Oath of Nissa
4x Utopia Sprawl
Walker
4x Garruk Wildspeaker
3x Kiora, Master of Depths
1x Karn Liberated
Non-Permanent
1x Primal Command
Land
4x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
7x Green Fetch Land
6x Forest
1x Breeding Pool
1x Temple Garden
1x Horizon Canopy
The prices are much easier to dig/tutor for (but Stirrings did hit Nykthos too)...but much easier to interact with too...although Sabertooth's indestructible nature and Felidar's big butt help.
I'll be testing this the rest of the weekend and beyond (so I'll fill everyone in) as I already own all of these cards.
I've been suprised...it's different; but not bad at all. You have to manage mana differently (as Curio was just the cost and bounces the enchantments and Walkers)...but it feels VERy similar. It's nice hitting combo pieces off of Duskwatch
It makes Garruk's overrun WAY better.
It may actually be viable. It's the only time I've felt the Walker deck works without Curio.
Given the proposed lists, I would say that the curio version seems preferable, at least in concept. Guardian just doesn't do enough with the rest of the devotion staples compared to some of the things that Curio lets you do. Especially if you're looking to play x-cost creatures like Genesis Hydra and Walking Ballista, they're much better with Curio.
Thank you for your input! I do agreee that being able to loop Sprawl+Oath and the other staples in the deck is a huge benefit to Curio.
Obviously I havent tested the "Cat" version (for lack of a better word..) much (compared to my significant testing with the Curio version)...but I will continue to test it this weekend to get a feel where the differences lie and/or how either List can be improved.
No problem! I hope it helped. I'll work on getting the info more organized (and getting more info up) on the OP pertaining to the Walker Combo build and how it works/can be played.
It's a mana sink....I've won games attacking for 5 then second main "pinging" the opponent for 5....it kills big creatures...it kills little creatures (played against the new Abzan list with Fatal Push that just won the first tournament and killed 12 lingering souls spirit tokens just with Ballista's....it can block and kill...good with infinite mana...it's just really good.
I would not be surprised if a deck of just really good Devotion cards and 4x Walking Ballista was just as good as many other Devotion decks.
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Also, it looks like it might be a standout in standard too...I'd pick up copies tonight/early tomorrow if you can before they go to $10+ each.
I'm still on the "elegant" Walker Devo build with Wildspeaker and XenReveler. I just love the speed and simplicity of the combo even if it is 3 parts lol.
4x Garruk Wildspeaker
4x Xenagos, the Reveler
Creature (18)
4x Arbor Elf
4x Birds of Paradise
4x Burning-Tree Emissary
2x Courser of Kruphix
2x Elvish Visionary
2x Eternal Witness
2x Abundant Growth
4x Oath of Nissa
4x Utopia Sprawl
Artifact (4)
4x Cloudstone Curio
Land (20)
1x Dryad Arbor
4x Forest
2x Kessig Wolf Run
4x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
2x Stomping Ground
1x Temple Garden
2x Windswept Heath
4x Wooded Foothills
The new Felidar Sovereign is interesting and I thought about it for a while, but to me, in my version at least, it's just a more expensive, off color back up for Curio -- the least impactful on their own of the 3 combo pieces.
Probably the hardest part about the deck is that it is a true 3 piece combo deck, and changing the ratio of parts really makes testing an arduous process (and one I rarely complete).
I do really like the Walking Ballista for the board for match ups where combat is difficult due to Bridge or some other effect. Probably adding one to the sb.
The most exciting thing about Walker Devo is that it will only get stronger as time goes on. Planeswalkers will continue to be pushed in new ways and Curio begs to try new cards each set.
For instance, has anybody tried Hidden Herbalists or Rishkar, Peema Renegade in Curio builds? With enough fetches HH is BTE 5-8 and Rishkar makes the dork heavy builds more robust for only 3 mana which is important with Curio builds.
Anyway I'm trying those out.
I do hope the advancements on mtgo continue and we have loops available soon, as is still a nightmare to play online.
Some of my decks:
Oath Walker Devo - Modern
Stompy - Modern
Battle of Wits - Modern
Teysa's Sac Circus - EDH
Rob's 450 Unpowered - Cube